Ogilvy’s 360 DI team continues pattern of growth with new hire

January 19, 2012: Ogilvy PR Australia’s social media practice, 360˚ Digital Influence continues its strong pattern of business growth, this week announcing the appointment of Roger Christie as Senior Digital Strategist.

Charged with helping to further build the 360˚ DI business in Australia, which has seen rapid and consistent growth since launching several years ago, Christie was most recently Head of Digital at Sefiani Communications.

He will join the team at the end of January and begin work immediately on developing and delivering  B2B social media strategies for a range clients.

Director of Ogilvy 360 Digital Influence Australia Brian Giesen said:  “The addition of Roger confirms Ogilvy’s commitment to strengthening our social media capabilities off of the back of a highly-successful 2011,” he explained.

“Having someone with Roger’s experience and entrepreneurial drive joining the Ogilvy social media team in Australia is a major win for our business and we’re excited to have him on board.”

360 DI is part of Ogilvy PR Australia, a joint venture between Ogilvy Public Relations and STW Group, Australia’s leading marketing content and communications services group.

Ends.

For more information contact:

Rebecca Tilly, STW Group

Ph: +61 410 501 043

 

About Ogilvy Public Relations

­­­­­­­­­­­Ogilvy Public Relations (Ogilvy PR) is a global, multi-disciplinary communications leader operating in more than 80 offices across six continents. In 2011, Ogilvy won more Cannes PR Lions than any other agency worldwide, was named Global Digital/Social Consultancy of the Year by the Holmes Report, won Specialist Agency of the Year in Asia Pacific (Campaign Asia), and won the WPP global, top award (WPPed Cream, Crème de la Crème) for the fourth time in five years. Ogilvy PR integrates deeply with all Ogilvy & Mather disciplines (advertising, direct marketing, activation, promotional, digital and entertainment) through the proprietary Ogilvy Fusion™ approach to delivering comprehensive, business solutions through content creation, community building, and communications with measurable results. Ogilvy PR is a unit of Ogilvy & Mather, a WPP company (NASDAQ: WPPGY), one of the world’s largest communications services groups.  For more information, visit our Web site at www.ogilvypr.com or follow us on Twitter at @ogilvypr.

Ogilvy PR trumpet winners

December 20, 2011: Last week, we announced the second round of our trumpet winners. The Trumpets is our formal employee recognition program launched in May this year. Our company culture is built on our three core Values – Partnership, Learn & Grow and One Step ahead, and the program recognises values-based behaviours across the whole business – from great client work to the way we work with each other and aligned with our social and environmental commitments.

A very big congratulations to the winners for this quarter:

Martine L’Eveille – Partnership, nominated by Tam Sandeman

“Martine has been at Ogilvy PR for almost seven years and in that time put her energy and passion to a number of Ogilvy initiatives, but never in that time has she been client-facing. Martine rose to the challenge for Ogilvy Impact when the team was faced with a last minute, but large employee event for a client. Embracing the challenge head on, Martine delivered exceptionally. Her story is about pushing herself professionally and living our partnership value absolutely outstandingly!”

Jacqui Teurlings – Learn & Grow, nominated by Tam Sandeman

“Jacqui personifies Learn & Grow, day in day out. Since day one Jacqui has a thirst for learning.  Jacqui always puts her hand up. What drives this? For Jacqui every day is about stretching herself and professional growth; this not only includes client work but Ogilvy Impact business initiatives too.  She continue to be in the fast lane when it comes to learning and growing every day.”

Melinda Varley – One Step Ahead, nominated by Lelde McCoy

“The usual dictionary definition of “one step ahead” is ‘slightly better prepared or more successful than someone else’. In Melinda Varley’s case she is usually ‘several leaps ahead’ in her approach to solving a client’s PR issue, contributing to a team event or embracing professional development opportunities.”

We look forward to congratulating more trumpet winners in 2012.

Ogilvy PR Australia appointed to support Veda PR activities in 2012

Sydney, December 16, 2011:  Ogilvy Public Relations Australia, a joint venture between Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and STW Group, has been appointed by Australasia’s leading data intelligence and insights firm Veda, following a competitive pitch.

The appointment from January next year, will see specialists from Ogilvy PR’s business-to-business consultancy Howorth and sister consumer and brand agency, Pulse work together to develop and implement a national PR campaign for Veda.

Howorth and Pulse will be supported by Ogilvy’s 360 Digital Influence teams to ensure social and traditional media integration. Ogilvy PR will also work closely with Veda’s communications team to grow brand awareness of the company, with a particular focus on its Commercial Credit Risk and Consumer Credit Risk (B2C fraud identity and credit file) markets.

A leader in credit reporting, analytical tools and marketing services, Veda serves a diverse range of markets including large financial institutions, small to medium sized enterprises, and consumers.  It provides services in Consumer Credit Risk, Commercial Credit Risk, Credit Analytics, Data Solutions, Fraud and Electronic Verification, Insurance, Automotive, Customer Location Services and Commercial Information Brokerage.

Kieran Moore, Ogilvy PR Australia’s Chief Executive Officer, said the win reaffirms Ogilvy PR Australia’s ability to offer highly specialised services tailored specifically to meet a client’s business needs.

“The grouping of expertise from multiple agencies and practices is a key strength within the Ogilvy PR offering in Australia and one which enables us to meet the diversity of client’s requirements   within very specialised areas,” she explained.  “We are also finding the demand for this approach is increasing within the current climate and having our deep expertise under one roof facilitates a tailored response that can address complex requirements.  We are excited about the prospect of putting this deep specialisation to work for an outstanding market leader such as Veda.”

Veda’s Marketing Communications Manager, Katherine Craig, said: “Veda is undergoing an exciting period of growth and change and we needed a PR agency with a track record in delivering successful campaigns. We were very impressed by Ogilvy PR’s understanding of the challenges and opportunities in our market, and in their ability to offer a depth and breadth of expertise. Ogilvy PR’s approach and philosophy matched well with ours, and we look forward to working with the team to make 2012 a successful year.”

Ogilvy PR Australia is a joint venture between Ogilvy PR Worldwide and STW Group, Australia’s leading marketing content and communications services group.  Veda is Australasia’s leading provider of commercial and consumer data intelligence and insights and has been at the forefront of the information services industry for many decades.

Ends.  For more information contact Rebecca Tilly, STW Group, Ph: +61 410 501 043

A new look for Pulse

December 5, 2011: 2011 was a big year for Pulse Communications and what better way to end the year than with a fresh new start.

Following eight very successful years, Pulse has reinvigorated its visual identity to reflect its offering and essence, helping the brand to continue to lead the rapidly-changing consumer PR landscape. 2011 has been our most successful year to date with some of the biggest consumer PR account wins in the industry including Activision, Mattel, Malaysia Kitchen and Milo. We’ve also received recognition for some of our best work with two Asia Pacific Sabre Award wins, a NSW and national PRIA Golden Target award win and we were a finalist for the PR Agency of the Year in the 2011 B&T Awards.

Managing Director, Matt Buchanan, said “Our new logo is the visual representation of a much wider piece of work to craft an agency which will deliver to the needs of clients, media and consumers in a rapidly shifting market. The new identity expresses the brand’s new mantra to ‘be curious’ – a rallying cry to ensure that we are consistently producing both strategically and creatively excellent work.”

Curious? We’d love to chat some more, please get in touch with Matt Buchanan matt@pulsecom.com.au

Ogilvy PR announces leadership changes at Parker & Partners and OgilvyEarth

Ogilvy Public Relations Australia today announced new leadership at public affairs and government relations specialists Parker & Partners and sustainability communications consultancy OgilvyEarth.

Ogilvy PR Australia is investing further in OgilvyEarth, announcing that after a decade at Parker & Partners Managing Director Sarah Cruickshank will move formally into the role of OgilvyEarth Managing Director.

Former senior political adviser Mathew Jones, with Ogilvy PR Australia since 2008, will take on the role of Parker & Partners Managing Director. Both changes are effective 1 January.

“Politics and policy making have never been more interesting and the requirements on public affairs professionals have never been so complex, and so we’re thrilled to announce that Mathew Jones will take on the role of P&P Managing Director after three years at Ogilvy PR,” said Ogilvy Public Relations CEO, Kieran Moore.

“Mat came to us after a stellar career in NSW Labor politics and government, and since joining Ogilvy PR has excelled at providing top quality advice and support to clients engaging with governments and other stakeholders.

“He has also driven some of our key thought leadership initiatives, including the State of Change booklet on the change of government in NSW, work which just last month won an Atticus Award from WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell in London.”

Mr Jones said that in its 14 year history the company’s client roster had never been stronger, providing public affairs support to category-leading corporations in industries including QSR, resources, FMCG, technology, childcare and airlines.

“It’s a really exciting and interesting time for the public affairs and government relations sector, with greater scrutiny and oversight and the impact of technology on communications demanding both strong specialisation and broad skillsets.

“Last week’s events in Canberra once again demonstrated the quick moving political ground. In this environment clients demand not only access and knowledge, but the ability to forecast and interpret trends and respond intelligently to developments.”

Ms Moore said the changes at OgilvyEarth were the next stage in the evolution of the practice in Australia.

“Sarah’s move is a testament to her dedication to OgilvyEarth and her knowledge of and passion for the sustainability policy area,” Ms Moore said. “OgilvyEarth was created here in Australia – where it is the recognised leader in sustainability communications – and has now been successfully established across the global Ogilvy network.”

Ms Cruickshank will be supported by Practice Director Teljya Oka-Pregel – who commenced full time with OgilvyEarth in July 2011 following her in-house role with a major blue-chip company driving its sustainability communications strategy – as well as a dedicated team of sustainability consultants drawn from across the Ogilvy PR Australia business.

She will continue to manage a select high-end client roster at Parker & Partners in a new role of Executive Counsel.

“CEOs, sustainability managers and communications specialists now recognise the need to transform their business operations, but understand it isn’t necessary to have scored a perfect 10 before they communicate this,” Ms Cruickshank said.

“What is important is being able to show that an organisation takes sustainability seriously and this commitment is supported at the most senior levels, that the organisations has commenced its journey of improvement, and that its roadmap to greater sustainability is clear and measurable.”

OgilvyEarth recently announced its formal partnership with the Carbon Disclosure Project, an international NGO that operates the only global climate change reporting system for companies, and is a Major Partner of independent research think-tank The Climate Institute.

Ms Moore said the leadership changes meant Ogilvy PR would go into 2012 putting renewed energy and commitment into key parts of the business.

“The fact that we’ve been able to fill these key roles internally shows just how much talent we have here at Ogilvy PR, and that there are fantastic career opportunities within the company that keep employees interested, engaged, and challenged and which meet long-term career goals,” she said.

The changes at Parker & Partners include Canberra Managing Director Greg Sam, who will leave to take up new opportunities outside public affairs consultancy.

“While we understand Greg’s desire to move on to other challenges after eight years with the company we’re very sad to be losing him and wish him all the best,” Ms Moore said.

Ogilvy Public Relations Australia is a joint venture between Ogilvy PR Worldwide and the STW Group. It is the largest and most awarded public relations agency in Australia, scooping more than 50 Australian and global trophies in the last two years, including the top honour amongst all WPP-owned PR agencies.

A little bit of change for Impact

Today marks a significant change day in Impact’s history as we are changing – but just a little bit. From today, we’re dropping two words from our name (‘employee communications’) and becoming ‘Ogilvy Impact’ to reflect the ever-broadening scope of our work.

Over the last 17 years we’ve been engaging and driving action not only with employees, but franchisees, members and sales channels as well. We’re still the same strategic thinkers, playful creatives, compelling storytellers and fearless doers we’ve always been helping Australia’s leading companies achieve great business results.

Being the change experts – everyone in our team has raced through the change curve, is on board with our new name and are now even more passionate about driving creativity and delivering even more award-winning work for our clients. Work that truly makes a business difference.

In the spirit of simple, clear, concise communication, that’s all we wanted to say. Happy Thursday all.

Conference of the Parties

This week has seen the commencement of the 17^th annual Conference of the Parties (COP17) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Durban, South Africa.

As with every COP meeting, commentators place undue emphasis on whether or not an all-encompassing global treaty will be achieved – a highly unrealistic expectation given the complexity of international negotiations. You only have to think about how long it takes for international trade agreements to be formalised to realise that in fact the practical progress achieved at each successive COP, by comparison, is impressive.

The Climate Institute – with whom OgilvyEarth is a Major Climate Partner - has a senior representative on the ground and actively involved in the Durban negotiations. To keep up to date with the progress of these important discussions over the next ten days, visit this link http://www.climateinstitute.org.au/durban for some background to COP17, daily updates and regular video blogs.

Sam North speaks at the IABC forum

Sam North, Ogilvy PR’s Media Director and all-round media guru spoke at the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) forum on how businesses should prepare for and respond to a communications crisis.

He was one of two media experts on hand to give his insights into the recent crisis situations to hit Australian businesses and how they were handled from a communications view-point. High profile media dramas like the recent Qantas dispute, the GASP “bad service” email, and the brand damage to Tiger Woods from his extra marital affairs were covered.

Sam noted that businesses must identify who their key stakeholders are before deciding what key messages should be relayed in response to a crisis. Furthermore, general messaging, without specific relevance to customers or employees (as in the Qantas crisis) is not an adequate response. For example, if an employee is worried about the future of his/her job, messaging about flight cancellations is not going to be of interest. Indeed, to a customer looking to get the next flight home, information about the future of the airline in Australia will also not be as immediately relevant.

Reputation, and correctly fostering it, was raised as a key part in dealing with a crisis. Having a good reputation with your stakeholders before a crisis hits, will mean you get more leeway from them when the proverbial hits the fan. Naturally, having “good will” will only last so long in a crisis, but if you already have a bad reputation with customers – like BP during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill – your stakeholders will be more likely to inflame the situation. Businesses must be honest about their reputation.

The growing use of social media from organisations to respond to crises was also addressed during the debate. However, if the presence of a business in this field is not genuine (i.e. just being there as a marketing ploy rather than being used to engage with stakeholders), this can actually do more damage to your brand in a crisis. Allowing your followers on Twitter and Facebook to moderate the discussion themselves, is also a key part of using social media effectively in these tricky situations.

2012 Parker & Partners Politzer Prize winners announced: Barry Haase MP takes the Politzer Prize!

Parker & Partners is pleased to announce the winner of this year’s prestigious Politzer Prize. Western Australian Member for Durack, Barry Haase’s photo “A perspective on cultural resilience” beat more than 60 high quality entries to take the main award. He was awarded the Politzer Prize on Tuesday night at Parliament House, along with a cheque for $5,000 to go to the charity of Mr Haase’s choice – The Royal Lifesaving Society.

Parker & Partners’ Managing Director, Sarah Cruickshank congratulated Barry Haase MP: “His picture is not only visually stunning; it perfectly encapsulates the theme of this year’s Politzer Prize – Resilience – designed to portray the spirit of the Australian community and environment to fight back against adversity.”

“This year’s competition theme was inspired by the significant natural disasters and resultant human challenges faced by so many Australians at the outset of 2011, and our participants put considerable thought into their entries accordingly” she said.

“Barry’s photo tells a great human story of a 105 year old Indigenous elder still living alone, medicine free, in Mr Haase’s electorate of Roebourne, Western Australia, and outliving the built environment around him.”

Ms Cruickshank commended the more than 30 Federal parliamentarians who participated this year. “Their support for Politzer is evidence of the great respect, pride and passion each of them has for their constituencies. We are thrilled that each year the number of entries continues to grow.”

“Our Politzer Australian Political Photographic Competition has been embraced by parliamentarians from across the political spectrum and it is great to get a glimpse of our politicians’ genuinely creative flair – something not normally seen in the hectic pace of their day-to-day lives,” she said.

The winning Politzer entry, along with the 13 Finalists, were selected by a panel of leading press gallery journalists including: Mike Bowers, David Speers, Malcolm Farr, Lenore Taylor, Simon Benson and Steve Lewis.

Mr Bruce Scott MP, a previous Politzer winner, this year won the A-PAC Award, selected by Politzer Prize sponsor, the Australian Public Affairs Channel, for his photo “Colours of the outback races”.

“Parker & Partners has a longstanding tradition of supporting the not-for-profit sector, through our pro bono work for a range of community based organisations, and our annual sponsorship of the Federal Press Gallery Midwinter Ball. We are very pleased to present our annual $5,000 donation to Mr Haase’s charity of choice.”

Competition background: Parker & Partners, Australia’s leading bipartisan public affairs firm and part of Ogilvy PR Worldwide, launched the Politzer Prize in 2006 as an annual photographic competition for Australia’s Federal politicians to showcase their passion for their communities. All Members and Senators are invited to submit a photo, with the finalists comprising the annual Parker & Partners Australian Political Calendar, and vying for the prize of $5,000 to donate to a charity, school or non-government organisation of their choice. The final 13 photographs to be included in the 2012 calendar have also been announced. Photos entered can be viewed on: www.politzer.com.au.

Parker & Partners would like to thank the supporters of the 2012 Politzer Prize:

Canon Australia and A-PAC – Australia’s Public Affairs Channel.

Winners:

Winner – 2012 Politzer Prize

• “A perspective on cultural resilience” Mr Barry Haase MP, Member for Durack

Commendation – 2012 Politzer Prize

• “Human Resilience” Dr Mal Washer MP, Member for Moore

Winner – A-PAC Award

• “Colours of the outback races” Mr Bruce Scott MP, Member for Maranoa

Full list of participants

• Senator the Hon Mark Arbib, Minister for Sport, Indigenous Employment and Economic Development;
• Senator Simon Birmingham, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Environment;
• The Hon Julie Bishop MP, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade;
• Senator Carol Brown, Senator for Tasmania;
• Mr Darren Chester MP, Member for Gippsland;
• Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Innovation, Industry and Science;
• Senator Alan Eggleston, Senator for Western Australia;
• The Hon Joel Fitzgibbon MP, Chief Government Whip;
• Mr Barry Haase MP, Member for Durack;
• The Hon Joe Hockey MP, Shadow Treasurer;
• Senator Gary Humphries, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Materiel;
• The Hon Greg Hunt MP, Shadow Minister for Climate Action, Environment and Heritage;
• Mr Stephen Jones MP, Member for Throsby;
• Senator Barnaby Joyce, Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Water;
• Senator Helen Kroger, Senator for Victoria;
• Mr Andrew Laming MP, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Health Services and Indigenous Health;
• Dr Andrew Leigh MP, Member for Fraser;
• The Hon Sussan Ley MP, Shadow Minister for Childcare and Early Childhood Learning;
• Mr Michael McCormack MP, Member for Riverina;
• Senator Christine Milne, Deputy Leader of the Greens;
• Mr Scott Morrison MP, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Productivity and Population;
• Mrs Jane Prentice MP, Member for Ryan;
• Mr Bernie Ripoll MP, Member for Oxley;
• Ms Amanda Rishworth MP, Member for Kingston;
• Mr Alby Schultz MP, Member for Hume;
• The Hon Bruce Scott MP, Second Deputy Speaker;
• Mr Patrick Secker MP, Member for Barker;
• The Hon Wayne Swan MP, Deputy Prime Minister;
• Mr Dan Tehan MP, Member for Wannon;
• Senator Matt Thistlethwaite, Senator for New South Wales;
• Dr Mal Washer MP, Member for Moore;
• Senator Larissa Waters, Senator for Queensland; and
• Mr Tony Windsor MP, Member for New England.

For further information, comments or images, please contact Peta Lange on 02 6215 4200.

Ogilvy PR campaign showcased at PRIA leaders’ event

At a Public Relations Institute of Australia Leadership Breakfast Lelde McCoy shared success strategies from Ogilvy PR’s award-winning “To donate life, discuss it today-OK” campaign developed for the Organ and Tissue Authority.

The public relations campaign has won both Australian and international awards.

Lelde told the audience that the campaign had a clear outcome in mind – getting more Australians knowing and sharing each other’s organ and tissue donation wishes.

“Whilst most Australians support donation, the campaign needed to convert this support into the actions required to ultimately increase family consent rates. It also needed to address the misconception that it is enough to register your intentions regarding organ and tissue donation on your driver’s licence.  In Australia organ transplantation will only proceed if family consent is given.”

Ogilvy PR’s strategy was to increase Australians’ knowledge so that they could make an informed decision, promote family and community wide discussion through the media, correct misconceptions through helpful resources and social media channels and provide information and practical tools to facilitate grassroots involvement by the sector.

Key campaign tools included a Family Discussion Kit, leaders’ Action Kits, and a campaign launch with former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, a heart value transplant recipient.

Lelde said that throughout the six week campaign there was an ongoing conversation with the Australian public.

“This campaign lent itself to the telling of inspirational stories about donor families and transplant recipients. We used a variety of mediums including Facebook. Media, especially TV doctors were helpful in getting our message across. Community organisations working in the sector were also actively involved, implementing information activities at a grassroots level.”

The campaign resulted in 429 pieces of positive media coverage. Significant support was generated through building an online community for DonateLife – Facebook fan numbers increased by more than 1,000 per cent. The DonateLife network held 95 events and community leaders publicly supported the campaign.

In terms of outcomes, levels of family discussion increased by 10%, of which 83% were rated by respondents as memorable conversations. Knowledge of family member’s wishes increased by 7%; and  awareness that family consent is requested before donation can proceed increased by 9%.

Importantly, 2010 organ donation figures show that 309 donors and their families saved or significantly improved the lives of 931 Australians in 2010. This is the highest annual total of transplants in Australia’s donation and transplantation history.

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