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

Howorth appoints two Practice Directors

Howorth Communications, the technology and business to business specialist firm within Ogilvy PR Australia, has appointed two senior Practice Directors to manage ongoing growth across its consumer technology and corporate practices.

Amanda Kiddle and Kathryn Torpy will now lead Howorth’s Digital Lifestyle and Business to Business (B2B) and Corporate practices respectively.

Howorth’s Managing Director, Graham White said: “These key strategic appointments ensure that Howorth has strong and experienced leadership across key areas of the business. Both roles are vital in delivering our long term growth plan, broadening our offer and ensuring continued commitment to excellence and added value for our clients.”

Kiddle joins from the UK, bringing a wealth of consumer lifestyle experience, having led large consumer teams and driven award-nominated brand campaigns at some of London’s top PR firms including Edelman and Weber Shandwick UK. Kiddle’s extensive brand-building and reputation management experience stretches across a range of industries and includes global clients such as Samsung, Warner Bros, Reckitt Benckiser, Mars and Kraft.

Torpy has been instrumental in the growth of Howorth’s B2B and Corporate practice since its inception in 2008. Formerly a journalist in Brisbane, including The Courier Mail, her international PR experience includes business, finance and technology from in-house and consultancy positions in the UK, US and Australia. Her more recent client experience includes Microsoft Australia, CTIMySmart, LexisNexis and Bluescope Steel.

“Howorth recorded its best ever fiscal year in 2010, with headcount now at 35 people,” said White. “In addition to our broader enterprise technology business, which had another terrific year, our B2B and Corporate and Digital Lifestyle practices both enjoyed strong growth. With these two new appointments, we are excited about the year ahead.”

Howorth is part of Ogilvy PR Australia, the country’s largest and most awarded public relations agency, which has scooped more than 50 Australian and global trophies in the past two years.  In 2010, Howorth took top honours amongst all WPP-owned worldwide PR agencies, winning best PR campaign of the year.

How do you get distributors x-cited about steel?

Work with Australia’s leading manufacturer to unleash an X-Factor public relations campaign!

In the face of challenging economic conditions, BlueScope Steel asked the Howorth business-to-business/corporate public relations practice to help build distributor awareness of its Australian manufactured XLERPLATE® steel plate products, converting them from passive referrers to passionate champions of the range.

Steel producers and on-sellers had an extraordinarily tough year in 2009, with sales and revenues falling as global demand for steel weakened and import competition increased. While the public relations campaign needed to communicate the core brand values of XLERPLATE® (quality, flexibility, diversity), we needed to deliver these messages to a sales-savvy audience without them being rejected as marketing ‘clutter.’

Howorth’s insight was to package up new product information within a wider marketing campaign, challenging distributors to take part in ‘Operation XFACTOR’.

We took updated sales collateral, developed e-communications and a striking X-Factor website to cover off all channels, ensuring that distributors could not help but be exposed to XLERPLATE® steel.  Once the buzz had been created around the product, a three stage online competition created strong incentives for participants to review and retain key product information, with Red Balloon vouchers rewarding those who successfully completed a ‘Quest for Quality’ around the plate’s key features and benefits.

Howorth worked with Random Studio and Alpha Salmon to deliver the PR campaign, including the development and design of marketing collateral and website. Participation rates have been strong and initial feedback has been overwhelmingly positive:

“I wish our marketing department thought of this a long time ago”

“Really clever concept…”

“Appreciate all of the new info. Thanks so much”

“Quality information”

The first phase of the PR program will continue through to May 2010 – Howorth is also in discussions with BlueScope Steel about subsequent phases of the campaign.

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