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.

Microsoft Surface Launch

To mark the commercial availability of Microsoft Surface, Ogilvy PR’s technology public relations agency Howorth worked with Microsoft Australia to host a media launch event to showcase the features of this innovative new hardware device at their Australian headquarters in Sydney on Tuesday, 9 February 2010. Surface is a new multi-touch product, developed as a software and hardware combination technology. The device allows a user, or multiple users, to manipulate digital content by the use of gesture recognition.

The launch produced fantastic results for Microsoft, with 32 key media and analysts attending the public relations event including The Australian, SMH.com.au and CNET. Following the launch, over 40 pieces of coverage were published across a variety of online, print and broadcast outlets, including key metropolitan, consumer, technology and business media targets. Stand out pieces following launch included a five minute, live-to-air interview on Sky Business News’ Tech Report and a live demonstration of Surface on Channel 9’s TODAY program. The show’s technology editor, Charlie Brown, and host Karl Stefanovic demonstrated the Surface product and discussed its potential commercial uses.

Howorth’s primary PR role was to drive awareness across broadcast, consumer and IT media to strengthen Microsoft’s profile as an innovator and leader in the technology field, as well as to promote Microsoft Surface as a desirable and game-changing product to potential partners and customers. The results of Howorth’s PR strategy helped generate an extremely positive buzz around the launch event. The coverage that appeared in the days following positioned Microsoft as an innovative company and highlighted the collaborative and inventive features of Microsoft’s new Surface unit.

Following the launch, Microsoft Australia Developer Evangelist, Michael Kordahi praised Howorth’s efforts by saying, “Howorth deserve some major credit for delivering a successful launch. They not only delivered, they delivered with the highest of standards and passion. Despite the very aggressive timeframe of the launch, they provided a-class service.”

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.