Pulse and Howorth go Bach to the future
Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division, travelled down-under in February in an Australian first to share the Microsoft consumer vision, how it will evolve over the next decade, and what we can expect to see here in the coming years.
Both Pulse and Howorth were charged with organising a series of media activities for Robbie during his three-day stay.
Howorth utilised Robbie as part of a press conference to announce the local commercial availability of Microsoft Surface. The launch was a great success with 32 media and analysts attending the event. To date, more than 40 pieces of coverage have been published across a variety of online, print and broadcast outlets.
Following the press conference, Robbie rushed off to an industry roundtable lunch at Quay Restaurant, organised by Pulse. Moderated by ABC television news journalist Kerry O’Brien, the discussion focused on how platforms and devices would evolve, media consumption habits, the way traditional media industries had to progress, content protection and monetisation. A number of senior executives attended from leading organisations including Foxtel, Sydney Opera House, HP and Warner Bros. Both the media and technology editors from The Australian were invited to exclusively cover the event.
That evening, Robbie gave a talk at the Sydney University’s new Law School Building where he spoke in detail about the future of entertainment and Microsoft’s plans for the next decade. The event was a huge success with more than 300 industry influencers packing out the auditorium.
Pulse was lucky enough to secure some snippets of time in Robbie’s busy schedule to conduct one-on-one media interviews with journalists from top-tier media outlets including an in-studio interview with Lateline Business, The Australian Financial Review, The Sunday Herald Sun and New Zealand’s Sunday Star Times.
The print coverage that has appeared to date includes a full page spotlight feature in The Australian Financial Review’s Tuesday IT section, a double page spread in the Sunday Herald Sun’s Play lift-out, and a half-page article in The Australian.
Sam North and Brian Giesen take second place in the Ogilvy Digital Influence Essay Writing Competition
In November 2009, the Ogilvy Digital Influence Essay Writing Competition was announced. All Ogilvy employees from Asia Pacific were invited to submit an essay on the topic of Digital Influence. Our very own Sam North and Brian Giesen joined forces, with their essay Digital Influence taking second place out of 28 entries submitted. Congratulations Sam and Brian from everyone at Ogilvy PR!
Digital influence
By Sam North (with sorely needed input from Brian Giesen)
At the start of 2009 Ogilvy PR in Australia makes a brave decision. No doubt some think it foolish, but at the height of the Global Financial Crisis two senior people are employed – and to newly-created positions.
One is a 57-year-old, overweight, grey-haired, career journalist, direct from a 21-year stint at the Sydney Morning Herald where he had ended up as the paper’s Managing Editor. He’s the Sam North in the above byline and it’s fair to say that when he begins as Ogilvy’s Media Director he is pretty much a digital influence sceptic.
The other is Brian Giesen, a buff, enthusiastic 35-year-old from Ogilvy in Washington DC, and a digital influence expert brought to Sydney to give the locals the low-down on this shiny new toy [Note: Giesen says that ‘’shiny new toy’’ is North’s description. Giesen describes the digital world as the most exciting, liberating thing to happen to communications since the invention of the telephone].
The two find they get on well together, but North delights in asking the hard-bitten, cynical questions of Giesen and other experts at the various educational forums run for the Ogilvy crew in Sydney. He throws around phrases like ‘’how do we see a return on investment’’ and intimates that the likes of Twitter and Facebook and Yabber are of interest only to the young and the restless who will soon move on to something else.
Giesen and North give speeches at the same new media conference in Brisbane. Giesen talks about the election of Obama and how social media is harnessed to motivate tens of thousands of usually apathetic Americans to become involved in the political process. His speech is a triumph.
North talks about how the old media is still alive and kicking. He sounds, even to himself, like Canute trying to hold back the tide. His speech is politely ignored.
Giesen and North work on a KFC campaign to promote a new grilled chicken burger. North provides some media training for the spokespeople while Giesen sets up a Facebook page for KFC.
Facebook for a chicken burger, thinks North. Yeah, right!
Traditional media virtually ignores the launch but the Facebook page, which offers a coupon for which a free burger can be redeemed, has hundreds of people lining up around the block causing pedestrian chaos in downtown Sydney.
Within a week the Facebook page has attracted 84,000 friends. A handful of people post messages attacking KFC for the nutritional value of its products, but those voices are quickly stamped on by other KFC fans. It’s the perfect scenario, consumers standing up for the brand without any input from the company.
Giesen has the good manners not to mention North’s nay-saying.
His prejudices wounded but still functioning, North hangs on to his suspicion that it’s only the young and tech-savvy who get the digital world.
Then Giesen shows him a statistic from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. For the uninitiated, the ABC is Australia’s public broadcaster with TV and radio networks. The demographic of viewers and listeners skews towards older people. What Giesen says is that the ABC audience (in a country with a population of 22 million, mind you) downloads 5 million vodcasts and podcasts each month.
While North ponders the fact that there might just be a few older people out there with at least some semblance of technical skill, Giesen tells him that of the 8.1 million Australians who use Facebook, 700,000 are over the age of 50. I must get myself on to Facebook, North thinks to himself.
Giesen, never one to let an opportunity pass, adds that in October Facebook’s Australian users uploaded 80 million pictures and wrote 32 million wall posts and 45 million status updates.
North pretends not to be impressed by that, or by the help Giesen’s team gives him during a big announcement for Ford in Melbourne.
They set up on-line monitoring for the period surrounding the announcement and North finds himself finding out in real time what the websites and blogs and Tweeters are saying. It’s an invaluable service that gives North the opportunity to react and target the message to counter any growing trend of criticism, complaint or query. North looks good, Giesen and Ogilvy look better.
Giesen’s glow becomes even rosier when the TED organisation want help with publicising the quest by religious scholar Karen Armstrong, the winner of the 2008 TED Prize, for the world’s major religions to come together in recognition of the principle which is at the core of all faiths – compassion.
At the heart of the campaign is the Charter for Compassion, a document crafted by people of all religions which was launched in November with the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond TuTu as its first two signatories. It is intended that people will access the website to join the charter and show that the overwhelming voice in all religions is one of compassion – not negativity or violence.
Giesen’s team creates a 3 minute video featuring prominent Australians saying just what ‘’compassion’’ means to them. Those giving their thoughts range from celebrity chefs through to influential food and marketing bloggers.
The video is completed in a day and a half and is sent to around 200 bloggers and Twitterers. By any measure it delivers an outstanding, authentic, heartfelt message.
The video is picked up by Australia’s major news organisation and run on its websites, with more than 20,000 viewers choosing to spend three minutes of their time thinking about compassion and being driven to the Charter’s website.
Giesen then steps right into North’s territory and builds a social media centre for Microsoft Australia’s website, to coincide with the new Windows 7 operating system. North thinks he knows something about media centres so logs on to pick holes in Giesen’s work.
There’s access to Twitter and Facebook and Ustream TV. You can click onto various Microsoft bloggers. There’s are current and historic media releases, and recent news items featuring Microsoft, not to mention the impressive image bank available via Flickr and the plethora of videos. Suddenly North is feeling that the current crop of journalists have it too good.
The year ends with North at a pitch. ‘’You should think about social media,’’ he advises the client, without even a hint of embarrassment.
North explains that in the future every campaign is likely to embrace social media and will get ordinary people involved in a brand, a campaign, or an issue, through sharing values and opinions.
He goes on about all forms of communications being about conversations and about how it’s not necessarily all about a brand interacting with its customers but as much about facilitating customers’ interaction with each other.
‘’Social media will grow your brand, strengthen the connection between you and your customers and keep you grounded and aware of what people really think about your company,’’ he says with all the conviction of the newly-minted zealot.
A wry, tolerant smile touches Giesen’s lips as his innate good manners prevent him from commenting.
Ogilvy PR NextGen Leaders 2010 – the next peak
The talent team at Ogilvy PR recently launched its 2010 leadership program, NextGen Leaders – the next peak, a rigorous 12-month program aimed at training, developing and supporting 20 of its future leaders across its six businesses, Cannings, Howorth, Impact Employee Communications, Ogilvy PR Health, Parker & Partners and Pulse.
NextGen Leaders is designed to provide senior team members best-in-class industry training. The curriculum focuses on enhancing core technical and behavioural communication skills and training Ogilvy-specific tools, products and services across practice areas such as digital influence, insights and strategy, research and sustainability.
NextGen Leaders first launched at the beginning of 2009 with 30 senior consultants. This year, the training will focus on creativity, senior client management and advanced business skills.
NextGen Leaders also have the responsibility to train core skills back within each of their teams and businesses. In 2010, much of the curriculum will also be used as a foundation for training rolled out via Ogilvy PR School, a dedicated program targeted at consultants from graduate to account manager levels. This is to ensure that all the training that Ogilvy PR provides for its consultants are ultimately aligned with the company’s business strategy and its core values to Learn & Grow, be One Step Ahead and work in Partnership.
Telstra Productivity Indicator 2010 Report
Australia’s productivity gap – the difference between productivity expectations and action – has widened from 29 per cent in 2009 to 34 per cent this year, according to new Telstra research.
Underlining the findings of the Government’s Intergenerational Report, the Telstra Productivity Indicator research found that improving customer service and productivity are the key priorities for Australian organisations, ranking 78 per cent and 76 per cent respectively
The Productivity Indicator also found that only 42% of decision makers measure productivity, have a target and know what that target is compared with 49% in last year’s report.
For more information please visit http://www.interactivemediarelease.com/back/productivity.
Experts Predict the Year Ahead
Parker and Partners released Trends 2010 on 11 February 2010, a snapshot of the political and policy landscape, and one or two bold predictions for the next 12 months.
The risks inherent in the Government’s media strategy, the rise and rise of Julia Gillard and the possible fate of four the state Labor governments going to the polls are all covered in Parker & Partner’s fourth annual public affairs forecast.
Trends 2010 also reads the tea leaves in key Federal policy areas like taxation, health, education, defence, and climate change, as well as the fast-evolving media landscape. As an example, Parker & Partners predicts that the proximity to the Federal election will ensure that the response to the report of the Ken Henry-led review of taxation will be more aspirational than prescriptive.
Parker & Partners is part of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, and was the team behind the much-discussed publication, Lobbying Kevin07.
The booklet is an invaluable resource for organisations that interact with governments, oppositions, minor parties and bureaucracies in a year when politicians will be fighting for votes and business backing.
“With five elections between now and March 2011 the political landscape has never been more interesting or more competitive,” said Sarah Cruickshank, P&P Joint Managing Director.
“As always, most of the political attention will be on Canberra, with the Rudd Government seeking its second term in Government.
“We believe the most likely timing for the Federal election will be in the spring. Although the potential for an earlier double dissolution election is still a strong possibility, should the Government’s legislative agenda continue to face roadblocks in the Senate.”
This year’s Trends includes for the first time findings from a wide-ranging poll What’s keeping Australians up at night?, conducted late last year by Ogilvy Illumination, Ogilvy Public Relations’ new dedicated research firm.
What’s keeping Australians up at night? results covered in Trends include:
- 39 per cent of respondents felt they were financially worse off than 12 months earlier, while 18 per cent actually felt they were better off;
- 29 per cent of respondents expect to be financially better off in the next 12 months, while 19 per cent thought they would be worse off in a year;
- Those over 60 are less likely to feel under financial pressure, while generations X and Y are more likely to be feeling the pinch (29 per cent compared to 39 per cent);
- Voter concern about so-called broken promises also splits along generational lines, with 67 per cent of those aged over 50 saying they are highly concerned about this issue compared to just 38 per cent of those aged under 40.
“A modern public affairs environment requires more than just access to ministers and their advisers,” said Greg Sam, P&P Joint Managing Director and Ogilvy Illumination Senior Counsel.
“Testing concepts and attitudes, researching community and stakeholder views, and having a deep understanding of how an issue is likely to play out based on proven methodologies are now must-haves for any sophisticated public affairs effort.
“The findings from What’s keeping Australians up at night? make for fascinating reading as they provide a great snapshot of community attitudes on issues respondents themselves identified as important to them and their families.
“The research has already been presented to some of Australia’s leading companies and political organisations, and we’re delighted to be able to share it more widely via Trends.”
OgilvyEarth Communications Partner for Enviro 2010
The Enviro Conference and Exhibition will be held in Melbourne from 21 to 23 July 2010. The main objective of Enviro 2010 is to provide networking opportunities for the leaders of the Australian environment industry and business and policy makers.
The Enviro Conference and 2010 Exhibition will run concurrently with the conference including speakers and workshops dealing with the sustainability issues facing governments, business and the public. There will be over 100 exhibitions on display in the 2010 Exhibition, including OgilvyEarth, showcasing the latest in environmental and sustainability innovation.
To register for Enviro 2010 go to http://www.enviro2010.com.au/
Parker & Partners Win at 2009 Gold Standard Awards
Ogilvy PR would like to congratulate Parker & Partners for winning the Gold Standard in Government Relations at the 2009 Gold Standard Awards. Managing Director, Sarah Cruickshank attended the ceremony on February 4 at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Hong Kong, to accept the award on behalf of the team. Parker & Partners won the award for their outstanding government relations campaign working with Veolia Environmental Services and Australian Landfill Owners Association.
Read more about the campaign here.
Ogilvy PR Health looks into the crystal ball…
On Thursday 28 January Ogilvy PR Health looked to the future with clients and friends at an intimate dinner at Pier Restaurant in Rose Bay. The beautiful waterfront setting was the perfect location to gaze into the crystal ball and discuss what the future holds for 2010. As a celebration to the year ahead, the dinner was a success and the future looks bright for our clients and for Ogilvy PR Health.
Bake Off For Haiti
On Friday 22 January, the Ogilvy Public Relations Australia staff hosted a bake off to raise funds for Haiti. The money made from the bake off was combined with donations from So Inspired and Ogilvy PR to make $3,923.60, which was donated to the Haiti Relief Fund. With an amazing number of cakes, biscuits, slices and other tasty treats lovingly baked and enjoyed by the Ogilvy PR staff, we sincerely hope our donation will bring some relief to the immense devastation the people of Haiti are currently experiencing. Our thoughts and prayers are with the earthquake victims and their families.
The Executives Guide To Social Media For Business-to-Business Companies
Across Asia, social media tools like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and blogs have redefined how businesses operate. While the focus is often on Social Media strategies for reaching consumers, companies operating in the B2B space – consultancies, wholesalers and manufacturers – can sometimes benefit even more than consumer-focused companies.
Shouldn’t you learn how to leverage social media?
Join the award-winning Social Media team from Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide for a free 30-minute online seminar powered by Citrix GoToWebinar.
This webinar will provide concrete examples, action plans and case studies, including:
· 5 key steps for a business-to-business strategy;
· How to build and engage a community of potential and current customers;
· Real-life case studies from successful business-tobusiness strategies;
· The highly popular – and now extended – Question and Answer section;
· Much more…
The seminar will be led by Brian Giesen and Tania Chew, both senior regional strategists in Ogilvy’s 360 Digital Influence team, and moderated by Thomas Crampton, the team’s Asia-Pacific director.
Hurry! Space is limited for this 30-minute webinar* and registration
is required.
Join us Wednesday, 3 March at 11:00am (Hong Kong time)
To register go to wsj-asia.com/webinar