The four-man Aussie squad – Canon’s technicians battle it out for cup title

January 13, 2012: In October 2011 four technicians from Canon Australia and New Zealand flew to Shanghai to compete for the title of Canon’s undisputed top technician at the Asia Pacific (APAC) Cup.

The APAC Cup is a Canon technician’s version of the football grand final, but instead of battling it out on the footy field, they’re troubleshooting business imaging equipment. It’s a highly skilled and very competitive series of practical and theoretical tests.

It’s also a way for Canon to provide its technicians with opportunities to build their skills by sharing ‘tricks of the trade’ with colleagues from around the world.

Howorth spotted an opportunity to get involved in the hype that surrounded the Rugby World Cup – from one international sporting event to another.

What started as an internal competition in Australia caught the imagination of the media and became one of Canon’s biggest corporate stories for 2011. In total there were 23 pieces across Australia of coverage around the APAC cup including The Today Show, Herald Sun, News.com, MX, ABC 720 Perth, 2GB Sydney, 4KQ Brisbane and Adelaide Now.

The Daily Telegraph even made this online video to accompany its story about the competition.

“Forget Cadel Evans, forget Sam Stosur and forget that guy who won the Nobel Prize for discovering what the universe was made of – Australia has a new hero.” –The Daily Telegraph

“Got a paper jam? Can’t get your printer working? Mt Gravatt based technician Daniel Leong is the man who knows how to solve your printing woes.” – Southern Star

“O’Brien is a paper jam’s worst enemy.” – The Daily Telegraph

“Newing, a specialist senior engineer with Canon, earned his spot in the four-man Aussie squad to compete at the Canon Asia Pacific Cup.” – MX

Shane McClelland, marketing and communication manager of Canon Australia, said it was great to be able to recognise the technicians for all their hard work and enthusiasm.

“We were very pleased with the coverage we received around the APAC Cup and the media hype was fantastic for the finalists – Paul O’Brien even mentioned that he was stopped on the street once and asked if he was “the Canon technician from the TV?,” said Shane.

The Canon APAC Cup showed that the right story angle can make a niche story go a long way.

Did they bring home the cup? Although the four-man Australian squad wasn’t successful in bringing home the APAC Cup – they did prove that good old Aussie sportsmanship is alive and well – on and off the footy field.

Two new hires for Ogilvy PR

Strategic wins and organic growth in client work sees agency expand

Sydney, November 17, 2011: Ogilvy Public Relations Australia, a joint venture between Ogilvy PR Worldwide and STW Group, continues its pattern of growth today announcing two new senior hires. Sarah Creelman has been appointed as Account Director to focus on a portfolio of consumer lifestyle brands including Canon. Ogilvy PR won the Canon consumer business in September following a highly competitive four-way pitch.

Creelman joins from CBS Interactive where she spent nearly four years working on its consumer and entertainment brands, such as GameSpot AU, CNET, TV.com and last.fm, driving PR, events and partnership activity. Prior to that, Creelman worked at network PR agencies, driving campaigns for global consumer brands including Samsung, Hitachi and 3 Mobile.

Ogilvy PR Practice Director, Amanda Kiddle, said: “Sarah joins at an exciting time for the agency, following some key strategic wins, and incremental growth in integrated brand communications work. She is a key hire to our expanding team and our vision to continue to drive great content-led, collaborative and conversational campaigns.”

In another senior hire, Emma Koubayssi joins Ogilvy PR’s consumer agency, Pulse Communications as Senior Account Manager. Koubayssi most recently worked at London’s Diffusion PR, working within the retail and consumer sector directing a number of client accounts including high street giants Mothercare and Early Learning Centre. Her role will see her working across the Nestle and Canon accounts.

“Emma brings a strong agency background and solid track record in developing and implementing successful campaigns,” said Pulse Managing Director, Matt Buchanan. “She also has great experience and proven results in building new business, and will be a wonderful asset to our business.”

DHL Export Barometer 2011

September 2, 2011: The challenge: DHL Express enlisted the Howorth B2B team to develop and execute a media strategy to release the results of the 2011 DHL Export Barometer, the annual survey into the health of the Australian export economy.

Conducted by independent researchers and supported with analysis from Tim Harcourt, Chief Economist of Austrade, the Barometer provides insights into factors impacting Australia’s exporters by conducting in depth research across range of industries including agriculture, manufacturing, mining, tourism and professional services.

Our approach: Hot topics in the Australian media in the weeks leading up to the launch of the Barometer were the negative impact that the strong dollar and online retailing were having on Australian businesses.

The Howorth team spotted an opportunity to capitalise on this by linking the Barometer findings to these topics but adding new elements to the conversation – the growth opportunities that online commerce was presenting Australian businesses and highlighting

Blockbuster bites back!

Blockbuster Australia approached Howorth in 2010 to develop a public relations campaign as part of the planned roll out of a $3.5 million brand repositioning campaign – their biggest in ten years.

Despite being wholly owned by Franchise Entertainment Group and maintaining strong business performance, Blockbuster Australia was perceived to be affected by the financial challenges faced by Blockbuster Inc in the US –fuelling misconceptions around the viability of the business domestically.

Howorth set out to:

• Address the immediate challenges resulting from the coverage of Blockbuster Inc.;
• Use the launch of the brand repositioning as a platform to generate positive stories around Blockbuster Australia’s market position and the health of the industry in Australia;
• Engage the franchisees in the brand repositioning campaign and communicate the role franchisees play in driving the success of the company.

To tackle the misconceptions resulting from the US, Howorth developed key messages around the independence of Blockbuster Australia from its US counterpart and the stability of the local business. Statements were distributed to domestic media in response to further developments in the US and media that had previously covered the issue.

Howorth recognised the importance of incorporating the franchisees in the public relations strategy as it is they who drive the business and owner operated model which makes the local industry unique. Howorth worked directly with franchisees to seek potential local media opportunities to change perceptions at a grass roots level and support local business objectives.

Finally, in preparation for the brand repositioning launch pre-briefings with top-tier media were arranged to: create buzz around the evolution of the brand; explain the rationale behind the repositioning and its role within Blockbuster’s long-term business objectives; and share Blockbuster Australia’s point-of-view on the future of the industry.

As a result of the PR launch of the brand repositioning in October 2010, the US challenges had been disassociated, the business’ health was reinforced and pre-conceived perceptions on the industry and future of the business had begun to shift.

Over the months of July to November 2010, the PR campaign reached 7,278,413 online readers, 224,089 TV viewers and radio listeners and 991,255 newspaper readers – a total of 8,493,757 Australians.  Key messages were prevalent in prominent headlines, such as:

• Blockbuster adopts social hub strategy, The Australian
• Blockbuster invests in rebranding campaign, Franchising
• Blockbuster Australia leaves bankrupt US chain’s woes behind, Dynamic Business
• Blockbuster Australia gets a makeover, Retail Biz
• Blockbuster Repositioning Campaign, Sky News

Going like Blockbusters, Australian Financial Review

Howorth unveils three new hires

Sydney, 13 July 2011: On the back of continued growth, Howorth has appointed three new employees across its specialist practices. Robin Clark joins in the position of account director in the technology team, Tegan Knight in the position of account manager in the consumer and lifestyle team, and Steven Reilly in the position of senior account manager in the corporate and business-to-business team.

Howorth’s managing director, Graham White, said: “Howorth experienced a record year in 2010 and we’ve seen continued growth and momentum in 2011, adding a number of new clients and further organic growth within our existing portfolio. As a result, we’ve had to further expand the teams and we’re delighted with the new talent coming into the agency.”

Clark is relocating to Sydney from Weber Shandwick, London, where he has spent eight years working his way through to the position of account director, leading a number of international technology and corporate accounts including Capgemini, Microsoft Research, Microsoft EMEA and Monster Europe. Clark’s first role in PR was at Apple in 2002, when he was offered a role as a PR assistant following a successful internship. At Howorth, Clark will be working on clients that include Telstra, Intel and Hitachi Data Systems.

Reilly joins from the Sydney Opera House where he has been working as a communications specialist for the past five years. Two key highlights include the Oprah Winfrey Show with Tourism Australia and the YouTube Symphony Orchestra with Google, which gained 33 million viewers, overtaking U2 as the most viewed live performance on YouTube. Other key events included APEC Australia and the FIFA World Congress.

Reilly started his career in his native Scotland and prior to coming to Australia held communications roles at organisations including the UK Film Council, Scottish Screen and marketing agency 2Fluid Creative, At Howorth, he will be supporting the management and growth of Howorth’s B2B/Corporate practice, working on a range of business-to-business and corporate clients and including reputation, sustainability and CSR-focused programs.

Knight has been freelancing since arriving in Australia in September 2010, including TMTE Group, Hausmann Communications and Hill & Knowlton. He has also worked as a trade marketing assistant at ninemsn.  In London, Knight was a senior publicist at Romley Davies Publicity managing PR campaigns for Universal Pictures and 20^th Century Fox, as well as press management of the BAFTA Children’s Awards and the EMPIRE Film Awards. At Howorth, he will be working on a number of accounts in the company’s Digital Lifestyle Group including Microsoft.

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.

JVC announces major new partnership with Ruby Rose for 2011

Ruby Rose steps on board as new JVC ambassador and launches Bustival – Sydney’s newest pop-up festival

Sydney, 18^th May 2011: JVC announces today it is working with Australia’s favourite VJ, model, designer and DJ, Ruby Rose, throughout 2011 in a special partnership which will see Ruby Rose launch Sydney’s newest pop-up festival, Bustival.

A one-day, portable festival which will tour various Sydney destinations by bus, Bustival will be fronted and curated by Ruby Rose as the event’s DJ, and will launch at the start of Sydney’s summer festival season. Music fans, festival-goers and Ruby followers will be invited to co-create the experience, from the music Ruby plays, to the destinations the festival visits, driven by public voting.

In addition to Bustival, the JVC Ruby Rose partnership will also see Rose appear in a range of marketing activities, including an advertising campaign, a series of digital films, and retail POS material.

Launched by the Howorth Digital Lifestyle team who will handle the PR and publicity for the partnership and the Bustival event, JVC is also working in conjunction with a number of agencies on the wider marketing activity, including IM Advertising and The Punch Agency.

JVC’s partnership with Rose is the first time the brand has brought a major personality on board to support its portfolio of audio, visual and car entertainment products in Australia. As well as integrating the products into her lifestyle, Rose will feature in marketing activities and advertising for JVC specifically created for each product category. Rose will also engage with JVC’s key target demographic talking directly with users of technology.

Commenting on the partnership, Howorth Digital Lifestyle Director Amanda Kiddle said: “Bustival is a new kind of co-created experience that invites people to get closer to, and personalise, their own festival experience.

“Ruby Rose has a strong connection with Australians from all walks of life, and the partnership with JVC will enable fans to enjoy new kinds of Ruby Rose-curated content and experiences that are delivered through JVC’s extensive range of entertainment products.”

Comments Ruby Rose: “JVC products fit really closely with how I live my life so the brand was a natural fit for me. With a number of exciting new launches scheduled for this year, there’s a product that taps in to everything I’m interested in right now, from music to filming to learning to drive – so it’s great to be working with JVC and together bringing new experiences for my fans this year.”

Ruby Rose is currently hosting MTV STYLE Sunday nights at 6:30 PM on MTV and is a proud ambassador of Head Space Australia (www.headspace.org.au).  Ruby is currently DJing Australia wide and on May 26^th is hosting Live at the Chapel featuring The Vines.

Details of the Bustival event will be released throughout the coming year, and fans can get further information on the event by following: http://www.facebook.com/JVCAustralia, http://twitter.com/JVCAustralia , http://twitter.com/RubyRose1, www.rubyrose.com.au and www.facebook.com/OfficialRubyRose.

-ends-

About JVC

JVC (Victor Company of Japan, Limited) is a leading international electronics company that has advanced audio and video technology and hardware. Headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, JVC was founded in 1927.

About Hagemeyer Brands Australia

Hagemeyer Brands Australia is the exclusive Australian distributor for JVC. Established in 1946, Hagemeyer Brands Australia is a B2B marketer and the ‘exclusive’ manufactures representative of leading brand name consumer products from around the globe via dedicated sales and marketing teams to numerous retailers and outlets throughout Australia.

Hagemeyer Brands Australia Pty Ltd is part of the Rexel France Company.

www.hagemeyer.com.au

www.jvc.com.au

For more information contact:

Ellie Shaddick

Howorth

Ellie@howorth.com.au

02 8281 3834

Telstra Productivity Indicator 2011

In 2009, Telstra Enterprise & Government (Telstra’s largest sales and service division, which provides services to more than 1,500 large organisations) launched a three-year thought leadership campaign to re-position the brand from transactional supplier to trusted advisor and differentiate it from its competitors.

For the third year, Howorth worked with Telstra Enterprise & Government to launch the “Telstra Productivity Indicator” – a commissioned research report

surveying more than 300 directors, senior executives and managers around their attitudes and behaviours to productivity.  This year, the research focused on traits that successful businesses had in realising productivity improvements, a group Telstra labeled ‘Productivity Leaders’. Over the last three years the campaign has successfully been integrated into TEG’s sales and marketing initiatives, meaning that besides media relations activity, Howorth has been integral in developing internal collateral including sales materials, customer brochures and website copy.

The challenge in 2011 was in launching findings that would still continue to be relevant and interesting to Telstra’s target audiences and the media. As has worked well in previous years, embargoed media briefings were conducted with tier one business and technology media to maximise the amount of quality media coverage. Following the briefings, a general news release was distributed.

PR drove positive results with more than 40 pieces of traditional print and online media coverage achieved, with 31 articles appearing on launch day.

Key highlights so far this year have included:

• Paul Geason, TE&G Group Managing Director, was interviewed under embargo by eight national newspapers, news wires and business television programs including The Australian, AAP, Business Spectator, Sky Business News and ABC Lateline Business;

• 23 articles appeared in Telstra’s core media list (The Australian, iTWire, Business Spectator, BNET, Communications Day, Exchange, Sky Business News, BRW), doubling 2010’s day-one coverage;

• The Telstra Productivity Indicator continues its influence and reach to TEG’s key audiences – in April, the 2010 report was referenced in the Federal Government’s draft paper on its information and communications technology (ICT) strategy. Previous reports have also been referenced by Australian public policy think tank The Grattan Institute and in a speech by former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Howorth named Microsoft’s Best PR Agency

Following several successful years of continuously great results, Howorth is the first agency to be named Microsoft’s Best PR Agency in Asia Pacific during Microsoft’s 2011 PR Strategy Summit in Singapore. Howorth won the award against stiff competition from 11 agencies across APAC.

Howorth works on strategy-lead projects across the breadth of Microsoft’s business groups including consumer, enterprise, education, small business and citizenship. Recent successful projects have showcased Microsoft products and services through major consumer product launches, integrated multimedia campaigns and leading edge social media activities.

Howorth works directly with Microsoft’s partners and customers to showcase how Microsoft technologies or involvement in Microsoft-led community programs help them ‘be what’s next’. Examples of partner and customer collaborations include the Lync launch, Dynamics CRM Online launch and Cloud Computing briefings.

Howorth develops media relations campaigns that achieve maximum impact and message cut-through, while positioning Microsoft as a major enabler of the technology ecosystem and as a leading corporate citizen. The launch of Windows Phone 7 into a market dominated by competitors is an example of a high-impact campaign that Howorth managed for Microsoft, which witnessed IT media touting the event as Microsoft’s ‘comeback into the smartphone market’.

Howorth and Microsoft have developed a long term relationship, which has led to a deep mutual understanding of Microsoft’s business. The staff at Howorth have kept a consistent and insightful team working closely with Microsoft’s business in Australia.  The team reacts quickly to unforeseen issues and last minute developments, using their knowledge of the business to mobilise and craft solutions to whatever event, launch, issue, media or social media enquiry has arisen.

Howorth goes green with mySmart CTI

Howorth began work with mySmart CTI in late 2009 and together, have worked to raise awareness of the solutions available for commercial building owners, facility managers, electrical engineers and lighting consultants.

mySmart CTI is an Australian company that saw a burgeoning market for energy efficient solutions, as early as 2001, when the business was formed.  The concept of green buildings was once deemed ‘new age’ and the challenge was in educating potential customers about energy efficiency. For some, it can seem overwhelming – business owners seeing both time and initial costs as barriers to making the switch.

Howorth has helped mySmart CTI to further enhance its reputation as a leader within the industry, building long term equity with key customers, partners and stakeholder groups. The campaign to-date has taken a phased approach:

• Phase 1: Educating target audiences about the issues, obligations and opportunities associated with sustainable practices.
• Phase 2: Demonstrating the effectiveness of mySmart CTI solutions through case studies, showcasing both the features and benefits of mySmart CTI products and projects.
• Phase 3: Elevating mySmart CTI’s profile through the use of opinion-driven content, by providing commentary on topical and regulatory issues.

mySmart CTI Managing Director, Peter Garrett, said the PR program had shown tangible results: “There were several examples of leads directly attributable to PR in 2010,” he said. “The heightened awareness of our products and services has made a real difference in having conversations with customers.”

“We are working with Howorth to educate the industry, and our prospective customer base, on the energy efficiency issues directly relevant to them; to help them get the most out of their surroundings, while remaining environmentally responsible.”

The campaign has delivered coverage for mySmart CTI across a range of business titles, including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Open Forum, and industry publications including Sustainability Matters, The Circuit and Electrical Solutions.

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.

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