SHO+

In 2013, Ogilvy PR is holding a festival of creativity. It’s a festival that will celebrate the creativity of our amazing people in a fun and interactive way.

Building on 2012’s film competition, Ogilvid, SHO+ will open the business to individual forms of creativity. Whether it is through film making, writing, music or photography, each person will be tasked with creating something unique to them to showcase to the rest of the company.

At the end of each month we’ll showcase the submissions and the company will vote. All monthly winners will then be up for the grand prize in September.

We’re looking forward to sharing our stories with each other and discovering hidden talents.

Bride again

Challenge: When Getty Images photographer Adam Pretty won the prestigious Getty Editorial Fellowship, he grabbed his camera and prize money and headed to the Japanese town of Kesennuma – one of the most devastated regions from the Tohoku quake and tsunami in 2011.

Overwhelmed by the scope of tragedy, Adam resolved to give something back to the people by reconstructing wedding portraits of couples whose original wedding photographs were destroyed.

Adam’s Bride Again project is a strong example of the depth and power of the work of Getty Images’ photographers.

Strategy: To coincide with the second anniversary of the Tohoku quake and tsunami, Howorth approached two media outlets – Fairfax Media and ABC – with the opportunity to speak with Adam.

Both interviews would discuss why Adam chose to focus on the Japanese tsunami and uncover stories of survival and love among the families involved in the project.

The story that Howorth and Getty Images wanted to tell was that of the strength, resilience and hope of the Japanese people living in Kesennuma.

Results: Following an interview with The Sun Herald, a half page article featuring a Bride Again wedding portrait was published in the newspaper.

This piece was syndicated to 157 online Fairfax metropolitan and regional news sites including the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times as well as featuring in Fairfax’s tablet edition.

Adam’s interview with the ABC resulted in an online feature piece, exposing the news to a potential audience of 3,700,000 Australians.

This campaign generated a combined total of 159 clips and reached a potential audience of 18,022,235 Australians.

Target 100 Virtual Farm – Bringing the farm to the city

Challenge: Target 100 is an initiative by Australian cattle & sheep farmers to deliver sustainable farming by 2020 and help Australians understand more about where their food comes from.

We needed to communicate with a mass audience about how their food is produced, as for many people, farming is not close to home.

Research showed that this was a topic of interest for many though – with 58% of urban dwellers saying they are interested to know about the process undertaken to produce the beef and lamb they consume.

Strategy: What better way to bridge the gap between city folk and the country than to bring the farm to the city?

In order to overcome traditional barriers, Pulse Communications created the Target 100 Virtual Farm, a pop-up farm in Martin Place complete with native bushland, farmers from across Australia, and live cattle and sheep.

A giant screen beamed members of the public into Aussie farms using virtual technology, providing a unique opportunity for passers-by to speak directly with farmers without leaving the city centre.

We also enlisted popular journalist, blogger, qualified health coach and Target 100 ambassador, Sarah Wilson to share tips with the public on why beef and lamb are an important part of a healthy and sustainable diet.

Results: Numerous Sydney-siders got involved in the Target 100 Virtual Farm and spoke directly with our farmers Kara and Stu.

Media coverage was enormous – with over 214 clips to date, and a reach of over 8 million.

The event was attended by regional TV and radio networks which was crucial to its success.

Making Olive Oil from Spain the consumers choice

Challenge: As we all know, olive oil is a staple item in many Australian pantries.

However, research found that many consumers are undecided as to which type and variety of oil to choose. With a large number of brands, types and nationalities of oil on the market, who wouldn’t be overwhelmed?

Our aim was to simplify this problem by making olive oil from Spain, the oil of choice for Australian consumers.

We needed to leverage the quality, taste, heritage and value-for-money olive oil from Spain offers consumers, and take a leadership position amongst other olive oils that are available in stores.

Strategy: To introduce the campaign to the public we created a pop-up Spanish olive oil grove in the middle of Sydney’s CBD (George St) to celebrate Spain’s culture and heritage – imagine a fiesta of colour, sound and taste.

Our prestigious media and bloggers were also treated to an exclusive dinner hosted by ambassador Justine Schofield. They were able to preview the delicious array of food, infused with a splash of Spanish goodness (olive oil from Spain) that was to be opened to the public for breakfast, lunch and dinner the following day.

This provided consumers the opportunity to taste and sample the olive oil for themselves, all the while in a fun Spanish setting.

Results: The olive oil from Spain campaign was not only fun for us but also for the estimated 7,500 Sydneysiders who tasted olive oil from Spain, consuming a total of 35 litres of Spanish olive oil varieties.

Another 1,500 Sydneysiders tasted Justine’s tasty dishes featuring olive oil from Spain for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

We generated a huge amount of coverage with 28 articles reaching over 1.8 million Australians with messages about olive oil from Spain. Highlights included mX, TimeOut and The Morning Show.

A Winning Formula: The Official Launch of Windows 8

Challenge:  Building on the wave of interest and anticipation from Windows 8 Consumer Preview, the PR team was tasked to deliver a high impact, broad-reaching publicity campaign to amplify the local Windows 8 story.

Windows 8 heralded a huge brand shift for Microsoft, of which the PR campaign needed to emulate. The approach needed focus on people not product, stories over messages and product engagement over sales in order to help audiences emotionally connect with the experience that Windows 8 offers.

Strategy:  With an audience spread across the entire gamete of media – from technology to consumer lifestyle and everything in between, the PR team developed an educational approach that would deliver targeted information, purely relevant to each segment before culminating in the official launch event.

In September, a series of 10 one-on-one briefings were held with the most influential people across technology media in order to ensure a well-grounded level of knowledge and understanding of the Windows 8 story in the lead up to launch.

Following this, in October five consumer lifestyle mini-events were hosted at the Ivy Penthouse. The events saw the presence of 26 key media from Australia’s highest circulating consumer glossy magazines, providing these media with a first look and touch of the new operating system.

The third phase of activity offered our influencers the opportunity to ‘touch and try’ Windows 8 through the seeing 10 RTM Samsung Slate 7 devices.

Results:  All of this activity culminated in the official Windows 8 Australia launch on the 26th October 2012.

Launch day kicked off early with three pieces of solid coverage across breakfast TV which highlighted the availability of Windows 8 and Surface in Australia. The PR team worked with key morning reporters to educate them on the new product features so they could speak as ‘experts’ on Windows 8.

The tone of the coverage was very positive, with many broadcast articles positioning the Windows 8 launch as Microsoft striking back against other tablet competitors – to quote Sunrise host Andrew O’Keefe commenting “The Empire strikes back,”. News of the availability and Harvey Norman’s Midnight Madness stunt echoed across the daily news cycle and wells as the availability of devices and the different SKUs available locally.

The Australian media event commenced at 9:30 AM and saw the attendance of over 110 media from an extensive array of consumer lifestyle, broadcast, news, consumer tech and more. Media guests included the likes of Channel 7, Channel 9, SBS World News, ABC Radio National, ABC News 24, 6PR, Better Homes and Gardens, Rolling Stone, Men’s Health, The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph…etc.

Key results include:

• 1457 pieces of local coverage in the first 14 days post launch
• 246 hours of broadcast coverage
• 110+ media attended the launch event

 

Climate photo exhibition at Ogilvy House

A picture is worth a thousand words.

And it can cut through debates that are otherwise characterised by complexity, confusion and rhetoric.

For the last few weeks, OgilvyEarth, our community and environment practice, has been delighted to host an exhibition of photographs documenting the challenge of climate change, here at Ogilvy House. They were taken by renowned Australian photographer Michael Hall and generated a huge amount of interest among Ogilvy’s clients, and the several hundred people who work here at Ogilvy House, where the exhibition was held.

The photographs are the result of a collaboration between Hall and the Climate Institute, Australia’s foremost climate thinktank.  A near fatal cycling accident with a semi-trailer in 2007 and a life-changing period of recovery and reflection led Hall to start the project, capturing over 300 photographs from around the world, covering a range of issues affected by climate change. Hall was awarded the Climate Institute’s first Creative Fellowship in mid-2012.

OgilvyEarth is proud to be a Major Climate Partner of the Climate Institute.

And we are delighted that the Institute is pioneering new ways of communicating this issue to people.

Although Hall’s Fellowship has received seed funding, additional partners are needed to bring his work to life. For more information see www.climateinstitute.org.au.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Challenge: Call of Duty is the biggest selling entertainment franchise of all time.

To continue the success of the gaming phenomenon, Activision engaged Pulse Communications to help launch its latest release, the ninth installment in the franchise Call of Duty: Black Ops II into the Australian market.

Q4 is the busiest time in the gaming calendar and the challenge was to ensure that we generated a high level of anticipation about Call of Duty: Black Ops II  and effectively communicate to consumers why they should purchase this game above all others in market. We needed to drive home that this was a bigger and better game than its predecessors and competitors.

Strategy: The gaming community were key in driving early buzz around the game. They are our core audience so we hosted an exclusive event to give our top 50 AU players the chance to play the game before anyone else.

Celebrity influencers were also important in spreading the excitement of Black Ops II. Pro rugby players like Quade Cooper and Karmichael Hunt, musicians like Ronan Keating and Guy Sebastian received early delivery of the game which lead to them driving conversation ahead of the release within their fan base.

We also hosted AU media at several press events in Los Angeles throughout 2012 to secure front cover features which gave fans their first look analysis of the new game.

Results: We landed front covers across the main gaming magazines. We generated mainstream news stories off the back of nationwide midnight store launches at EB Games including a prime time news feature on Sam Worthington’s role in the game on Today Show.

We generated mass conversation through social media channels and drove early talkability of the game.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II set a new entertainment record by making $1 billion in just 15 days.

Imagine Cup Microsoft

Challenge: Student technology competitions, such as the Imagine Cup, have traditionally appealed to a narrow audience. Howorth was challenged with taking the Imagine Cup to the masses. Mainstream media coverage that told stories for the everyday Australian which generated conversations, and told the Microsoft innovation story around four key event milestones: the local finals, the Road to Sydney, the 2012 World Wide Finals, and the APAC BizSpark Entrepreneur Summit.

Strategy: Howorth focused on strategic storytelling across broadcast and key national print media. To ensure understanding of the key messages, we brought the story to life using the student’s journey and their projects to showcase the innovative solutions they have devised to solve real-world issues, and positioning the students as tomorrow’s Bill Gates or innovators.

Results: Results included high impact and broad stories on the Imagine Cup. Telling the Imagine Cup story through broadcast outlets and the student projects helped us showcase the global nature of the competition and brought media on the journey. Out of the 75 unique pieces of coverage for the World Wide Finals, 72 clips mentioned Microsoft and were in-line with corporate key messages for the competition.

The Top End Photography Adventure

Challenge: The Top End is known for many things, crocodiles, vibrant colours, hot weather and salt-of-the-earth Aussies. When we brought together Canon and Tourism Northern Territory to showcase all the area has to offer through the best lens in the industry – we knew we were onto a winner.

For Canon’s part, we identified the trend of people purchasing new equipment when they planned to go travelling. This was an opportunity to use a premium destination to showcase the features of the EOS and digital compact camera ranges from Canon and target travellers at a time they are considering their next trip.

Tourism NT aimed to encourage travellers, both local and international, to travel to one of the most beautiful places in the world and take beautiful photos in the process.

Strategy: To kill two birds with one stone we thought we’d share the love and take media on a six day photo safari to the NT to play with Canon’s arsenal of super cool EOS and compact cameras, including the newly launched EOS 650D and tough compact, PowerShot D20.

Sound fun? It was.

Think Mindil Beach Sunset Markets, Kakadu National Park, Cooinda – Yellow Water, Gunlom Falls- working with Tourism NT we designed an itinerary to showcase the best of the NT region, and give Canon’s range the workout of a lifetime.

Along with our top tier travel and photography media and bloggers, were two winners of a competition hosted on the Tourism NT Facebook page which challenged fans to share a photo which they believe best represented the area. Pro photographers Krystle Wright and Peter Eve were also on hand to guide the group on how to use the best equipment for each occasion.

Results: The Top End Photography Adventure was not only a blast for all involved, but an awesome example of how we took a real strategic look at our campaign thinking and brought two brands to work together to achieve not only their own objectives, but expose themselves to whole new audiences.

The NT adventure saw coverage surface across the photography, tourism, and lifestyle sectors, along with deep penetration across social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

After six intrepid days surveying, eating, exploring and snapping the very best of the NT, the trip culminated in photo competition at the Darwin Ski Club. Check out some of the handy work!

Say G’Day to Carnival Spirit – Australia’s newest and largest cruise ship

Challenge: More than 18 months ago, Pulse Communications was tasked with building excitement and anticipation for the arrival of the world’s largest cruise line, Carnival Cruise Lines, a brand barely known in this market. The challenge was to whet the Aussie appetite for a very different style of cruising in a marketplace not only cynical about cruising, but which had also yet to experience the ship, Carnival Spirit.

To grab the attention of the nation, the Carnival Cruise Lines and Pulse teams understood they needed to make Aussies feel part of the new ship which meant bringing the “Aussie spirit” to Carnival Spirit. As Carnival Cruise Lines spent $15 million in upgrades ensuring Carnival Spirit was just right for this market, so Pulse Communications invited Australians to be part of the big changes being made.

Strategy: Playing on the theme of “Aussification”, Pulse engaged the country to help make Carnival Spirit their ship through a series of activities and events. A world record slip and slide attempt provided a thrilling way of finding a name for the steepest and fastest waterslide – created specifically with Australians in mind; Australia’s Barista of the Year was brought aboard to train the ship’s staff in how to create that perfect flat white, and Aussie kids competed to design the giant Power Drencher tipping bucket in the waterpark.

When Carnival Spirit sailed through Sydney’s Heads for the very first time on 17 October 2012, her Aussie Spirit was almost complete – now all she needed was the ultimate Australian welcome to bring her into her new Sydney home. Waving Aussie flags from Spirit’s top deck, hundreds of guests signaled Spirit’s arrival whilst aerial stills and vision coordinated by Pulse was picked up by the Sydney Morning Herald, Channel 7, 9 and 10 news, The Project, Sunrise and TODAY.

Once the ship docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal, a press conference attended by AAP, News Limited, 2GB, 2UE and every commercial TV network, was held in Serenity – a huge child-free retreat with panoramic ocean views, and one of the major Aussification upgrades. Media could then sample the true extent of the Aussie upgrades including testing their adrenalin on Green Thunder, the steepest and fastest water slide at sea, and sampling a cool Aussie beer at one of the newly-subbed bar taps.

The blanket publicity that followed triggered the highest booking period in Carnival Cruise Lines Australia’s history. Jennifer Vandekreeke, Director Carnival Cruise Lines Australia said, “Public relations played an integral part in driving awareness and ultimately, consideration of Carnival Spirit as Australia’s newest holiday destination. Website visits, calls to the contact centre and bookings jumped following the extensive media coverage surrounding Spirit’s arrival, notably the three and a half minute segment on A Current Affair.”

Results:

Monday, October 22^nd was CCL’s biggest booking day EVER

Net bookings versus the same day prior week were up 393%

Trade bookings up 606%

Direct bookings up 150%

Over 70 clips to date, with a reach of over 35 million

Total PR value of more than $1.5 million

Social media engagement up by 269%

Over 800 new Facebook page likes in 5 days

358 Twitter mentions

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