Parker & Partners Wins Atticus Award

June 27, 2011: Parker & Partners, Australia’s leading bi partisan public affairs agency and part of Ogilvy PR Australia, has been awarded the Atticus Award in the Corporate Category for ‘State of Change: The Parker & Partners Guide to Working with an O’Farrell Government’.

The WPP Atticus Awards are exclusive to WPP companies worldwide, and recognise excellence and original thought in communications services. Parker & Partners is the only Australian winner for 2011. WPP is the world leader in marketing communications services, made up of over 300 companies and 146,000 employees.

‘State of Change’ was published in December 2010 and is Parker & Partners’ assessment of the policy priorities, personalities and political realities that were likely to shape the incoming government in NSW. It was written as a guide to what Parker & Partners anticipated would be a radically different approach to the way that business, the non-profit sector and others would engage with government in NSW following the NSW election.

”As Parker & Partners specialises in state and federal government engagement, media management, policy development, research and issues and crisis management, it is essential that we are constantly thinking about how the ever-changing political landscape influences the work and aims of our clients, our industry and ourselves,” said Sarah Cruickshank, Parker & Partners’ Joint Managing Director.

“We are thrilled to win this award as it reflects the fantastic response we have had to ’State of Change’ from the new NSW Government, our clients, and the industry.

“It’s a testament to the hard work and passion for politics our staff all have, and it’s gratifying to see, three months into the new Government, how many of our predictions have come to pass.”

Parker & Partners is a part of Ogilvy Public Relations Australia, a joint venture between Ogilvy PR Worldwide and the STW Group. Ogilvy PR 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.

‘State of Change’ can be downloaded on the Ogilvy PR Australia website http://www.ogilvypr.com.au/news/state-change/

Ogilvy PR Melbourne Boosts Team

Melbourne, June 22, 2011: Ogilvy Public Relations Australia, a joint venture between Ogilvy PR Worldwide and STW Group, has appointed James Cameron as Senior Account Manager as part of its growth plan for Melbourne.

James has corporate, B2B and financial services PR experience across both Australian and European markets.   Prior to joining Ogilvy PR Melbourne, James was with N2N in Sydney and in London, James honed his communications skills at Consolidated PR, supporting the PR activity for international companies including HSBC and American Express.

James will work across Ogilvy PR Melbourne’s government, B2B and financial services clients.

Lelde McCoy, Managing Director, Ogilvy PR Melbourne, said: “We are really excited about James joining our award-winning team. He has strong skills and as we look to grow the business in Melbourne, his experience across the public and corporate sectors will prove invaluable.”

Commenting on his appointment, James said: “I am very happy to be joining Ogilvy PR Australia, and supporting its growth in Melbourne. I look forward to working with the agency’s high-calibre team and excellent client base.”

ENDS

For more information contact:

Rebecca Tilly, STW Group

Ph: +61 410 501 043

Ogilvy Public Relations named Digital Consultancy of the Year

We’re very excited to announce that Ogilvy Public Relation’s 360˚ Digital Influence team have just been awarded “Digital Consultancy of the year” by the Holmes Report, in its Asia-Pacific Specialist Agencies of the Year awards. A coveted global award, the accolade makes 360˚ Digital Influence the most awarded social media team in the region and recognises its consistently outstanding work, innovation and growth.

Brian Giesen, Regional Director of 360˚ Digital Influence, said, “All of our clients are embracing digital – it’s where their business, communications and marketing is going.  In just two years in Australia, we’ve achieved phenomenal growth across Ogilvy with our disciplined approach to developing and executing social media strategies for our clients. That growth is demonstrated through our fiscal performance, which in 2010 grew by 300% compared to the year before. Our team has also grown from three at the end of 2009 to nine at the end of 2010. We are in the process of expanding that team further following continued growth in the first quarter of 2011.”

More information about the Awards can be found here:

http://www.holmesreport.com/news-info/10171/Holmes-Report-Names–AP-Specialist-Agences-Of-The-Year.aspx

Highlights from the citation include:

“Top quality digital and social media work is supplemented by a commitment to thought leadership. Regional practice leader Thomas Crampton maintains one of the best blogs in the region, and is a frequent speaker at local events, and the firm has produced Asia specific content focused on the growing importance of digital and social media in the region.”

Take a look at Thomas Crampton’s blog here http://www.thomascrampton.com/

How to survive a brand in crisis

If your brand is in crisis, complacency will kill you, according to Samantha Allen, New York-based managing director of Ogilvy Public Relations Global Consumer Marketing Practice.

Speaking at the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA)’s Women in PR Forum on March 1, Allen drew case studies from BP, Toyota and Charlie Sheen as examples of ‘Brands that kick the hornet’s nest…and thrived, survived or nearly died in 2010’.

Last year, brands, clients and the general global environment has been crisis rich with BP’s gulf oil spill, the Toyota Prius recall, the European economic crisis the Haiti earthquake, floods, snow and volcanoes.

Worldwide economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters added up to $222bn last year and the number of deaths due to catastrophe – man-made or natural – reached over 250,000 in 2010, the highest figure for the past 30 years.

Two thirds of the 25 most expensive disasters in the past 40 years have taken place in the past decade, but Allen believes as PR practitioners, we can learn from such terrible journeys that brands and countries have been on to ensure our clients don’t suffer the same traumas.

She enthuses: “We see newspapers, bloggers and a variety of commentators talk about the way many of these crisis struck brands handled their communications. All brands receive criticism when they handle a crisis – it’s the nature of our world.”

As part of crisis management, she says, there is no perfect path and every crisis needs to be handled differently.

Toyota suffered a constant a barrage of criticism in 2010 as its PR was not seen to respond quickly enough or openly enough.

But Allen warns: “If a brand responds too quickly it can risk jumping the gun and not having all the facts. On the other hand, if it responds too slowly, it’ll be attacked for not having all the facts fast enough.”

Furthermore, in today’s media environment, there’s also the role of parody to contend with.

Allen explains: “Parody plays an enormous role in taking the most extreme elements of a crisis and taking it to absurd lengths. It’s these images that are remembered so as communications advisors, we need to be ready to see extremes and approach that by asking how the media and commentators are going to see our brands before they actually do.”

And there is some good news. Companies that take responsibility in a crisis can outperform those that blame someone else when it comes to trust.

Allen explains: “In a crisis, a client’s worse enemy is self absorption. The best way to deal with a crisis is to continue to communicate how the customer will come first.”

Consumer perception can become stronger after a crisis as it can show consumers the real you and transparency is a great place to start when building trust.

Allen concludes: “When it comes to bad news, the more indirect it is, the more likely it is it could have a positive effect.

“We may not remember the context in which we heard something, we just know it is familiar and we feel close to that brand.”

Three new hires for Ogilvy PR Melbourne

Melbourne, April 8, 2011: Ogilvy Public Relations Australia, a joint venture between Ogilvy PR Worldwide and STW Group, continues to grow its Melbourne office announcing three new hires to its accounts team.

Melissa Circosta, fresh from the UK’s Blue Rubicon, joins the team as senior account manager. Circosta is a highly-credentialed corporate communications and consumer PR professional with more than seven years’ experience across Australian and European markets. Along with Blue Rubicon, her time in the United Kingdom included stints at prominent London consultancies Fishburn Hedges and Clarion Communications. She will work across Ogilvy PR Melbourne’s retail clients.

Melinda Varley joins Ogilvy PR from marketing trade title B&T, where she was a reporter and Melbourne correspondent. She has more than six years’ journalistic experience and spent five years in London, where she was editor of UTalkmarketing.com and a senior reporter for mad.co.uk and Brand Strategy magazine. Varley will work on creative content across Ogilvy PR Melbourne’s corporate, consumer, B2B and social marketing practices. She will also assist with digital communications.

Maya Rana joins the Melbourne office as an account executive and will work within the social marketing practice. Previously she was with Socom Communications where she was a public relations consultant, working on government campaigns. She is also Chairperson of Young Communicators, PRIA (VIC) subcommittee.

Lelde McCoy, Managing Director of Ogilvy PR in Melbourne said the new talent added greater capacity and additional skills to the office, following solid growth across the business.

“Our new hires bring new insight and a strong track record in developing and implementing successful communications campaigns.  We are delighted that they have joined our award-winning team,” she said.

Ogilvy PR 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.  It opened its rapidly-growing Melbourne office last August.

Ogilvy PR is part of 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

Ogilvy PR’s NextGenLeaders 2011

On Thursday 24^th March, Ogilvy Public Relations launched its 2011 leadership program, NextGenLeaders – Creating Giants. This is the third year we have run NGL, a 12 month program designed to train and develop 30 of our future leaders across all of the Ogilvy PR businesses.

This year’s theme of ‘Creating Giants’ grew from the ‘David Ogilvy Giants’ which focuses on exhibiting and living the characteristics that David Ogilvy looked for. We have built the program around three pillars – The Craft, The People and The Performance.

Matt Buchanan, Managing Director of Pulse Communications is the new champion of the program, taking over from Kieran Moore who has led NGL for the last two years.

Matt said: “Our Next Generation Leaders program is testament of our investment in rising and senior talent. This year’s program will provide participants with the best industry training to enhance and improve both technical and behavioural communication skills as well as training in Ogilvy tools, products and services. It’s also a great networking opportunity for participants to work with other like minded people from across our different businesses.”

Ogilvy PR makes Malaysia the hottest, most talked about cuisine in Australia

Ogilvy Public Relations’ consumer PR agency, Pulse Communications, helped to put Malaysian cuisine on the map when it recently launched Malaysia Kitchen Australia, transforming Sydney’s State Theatre Laneway into Australia’s first ever Malaysia Kitchen Food Market.

Malaysia Kitchen is an initiative from the Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), and aims to increase Australians’ awareness of Malaysian cooking and encourage them to experience the diverse tastes of Malaysian cuisine in restaurants across the country. It follows the successful roll out of Malaysia Kitchen in London and New York.

The Malaysia Kitchen Food Market was a contemporary take on a Malaysian hawker-style market and featured long dining tables, where guests were seated to experience a tasting plate of authentic Malaysian dishes from some of Sydney’s finest Malaysian restaurants including Chinta Ria and Mamak[i].

Interest in the contemporary hawker-style event was much higher than anticipated with over 1,300 guests attending, completely selling out for both lunch and dinner sessions for the four days Malaysia Kitchen Food Market was open in February.

Over 16 million Australians heard about the campaign via a tailored PR program which included over 8o pieces of editorial coverage including The Morning Show, Sydney Morning Herald, MX and News Limited online.

A social media campaign saw key bloggers such as Helen Yee of Grab Your Fork and Jennifer Lam of Jenius encourage Sydney-siders to visit the food market, and start a discussion around Malaysia cuisine.

Matt Buchanan, Managing Director of Pulse Communications said: “We are thrilled with the success of the launch of Malaysia Kitchen Australia, and the positive response to Australia’s first Malaysian Food Market.  The popularity of the event completely surpassed our expectations and it was amazing to see how many Sydney-siders were willing to queue to experience a taste of Malaysia. The results demonstrate the strength of a truly integrated PR and social media campaign to drive consumer engagement.”

Australians can continue to engage in Malaysia Kitchen Australia, by visiting the dedicated Malaysia Kitchen website, www.malaysiakitchen.com.au which provides information on Malaysian cuisine, recipes, chef profiles and tips and events taking place across the country.

For more information and images, please contact Lyndsey Gordon at Pulse Communications on 02 8281 3839 / Lyndsey@pulsecom.com.au

• Ogilvy Public Relations www.ogilvypr.com.au
• Malaysia Kitchen www.malaysiakitchen.com.au
• MATRADE www.matrade.gov.my

Ogilvy On… NSW

With the latest and most disastrous Nielsen poll leading that day’s Sydney Morning Herald it was perhaps inevitable that Tony Jones started by repeating Graham Richardson’s quote that the forthcoming State election would be ‘a slaughter of unimaginable proportions’ for the Labor Party.

Jones, the host of ABC TV’s Q&A program, was talking this week at the latest in a series of panel discussions on topical issues hosted by Ogilvy Public Relations. This time the topic was ‘Ogilvy On… NSW’ and around 90 invited guests gathered for breakfast at leading Sydney restaurant The Establishment to hear the panel’s views on next month’s election and its aftermath.

“So”, Jones asked Sean Nicholls, the Herald’s State Political Editor, “is Richo right? Will it be a slaughter of unimaginable proportion?”

“Yes,” was Nicholls’s succinct response, adding that the Nielsen pollster had pointed out that to get such dire results (Labor with a primary vote of just 22 per cent) was unprecedented this close to an election.

That set the tone for much of the discussion about the ALP.

Annabel Crabb, the Chief Political Writer for ABC Online, likened the State Government’s current standing to “the last days of Rome” and said that Monday’s Valentine Day’s announcement of free marriage certificates had her thinking: “Just go now”.

Neil Lawrence, the man responsible the successful Kevin ’07 campaign and the Executive Creative Director of the  STW Group, confirmed that he was also predicting disaster and quoted from the final line of a Frank Hardy novel, the Outcasts of Foolgarah: “The air was thick and black with chickens coming home to roost.”

It fell to the former Treasurer in the Iemma Labor government, Michael Costa, to give at least a glimmer of hope to his erstwhile colleagues. While agreeing that the Keneally Government would lose the election, Costa said he was “not convinced about the polls”, which he said would tighten in the lead up to the election, and believed the ALP primary vote would be in the low to mid 30s.

That gave some solace to Gladys Berejiklian, the Shadow Minister for Transport, who was clearly uncomfortable with incessant talk about record landslides and slaughters of unimaginable proportions.

Pointing out that the Coalition had not unseated a sitting government in NSW since 1988, and before that in 1965, Berejiklian predicted that the polls would narrow. “We can’t afford to, and won’t, take the result for granted,” she said.

Berejiklian said a Coalition government would concentrate on “making NSW No 1 again”. “We are languishing behind other States,” she said, naming issues like the economy, infrastructure and health reform as issues on which an incoming government would concentrate.

However, Simon Sheikh, the National Director of the political activist group GetUp!, had some sobering news for Berejiklian: in his opinion the budget limitations meant that unless there was a complete renegotiation of Commonwealth/State relations then the State’s budget would be unsustainable in 30 years.

That was a theme seized on by Costa, who said that regardless of who was in Government the growth in health and education would absorb the entire NSW budget in the next 30 years. “The state system is broke,” he said.

Patricia Forsythe, the Executive Director of the Sydney Business Chamber, said her organisation – and business in general – was expecting an in-coming O’Farrell government to focus on jobs. “Business is looking for a sense of certainty,” she said, adding that the cancellation of projects in the past had led to huge damage to the State’s reputation with business.

Forsythe said business wanted to see a clear plan for the next 20 years, with a pipeline of projects that would bring certainty to the economy.

Nicholls said that public sector expenses had “exploded” but the Coalition did not want to talk about public sector job cuts. Berejiklian said the growth in public sector expenses could be addressed by cutting government waste and said there were no planned cuts to the public service.

Crabb said that at both a Federal and State level neither side of politics wanted to talk about hard decisions.

And so it went: lively, opinionated, informative and fun. Just another ‘Ogilvy On…’ event.

Public relations client panel

It was an invitation not to be missed.

Around 30 from Ogilvy Public Relations’ pool of young talent took the chance on Friday afternoon to hear insights into the working of public relations from some of its foremost practitioners on the client side.

The first decision was what to talk about, so Ogilvy PR surveyed those attending to see just what they wanted to ask the panel. The most popular questions were what the panel looked for in a successful client/agency relationship and what makes the perfect pitch, but others included queries about how communications was viewed within their respective organisations and the role of digital communications in their businesses.

Answering those questions and others were: Kerry I’Anson, the manager of global public relations at Tourism Australia; Tanya Baini, the general manager of public affairs at BHP Billiton Energy Coal (and a former consultant with Parker and Partners); Nestlé Australia’s head of corporate communications Fran Hernon; and Christian Tuerk, Telstra Enterprise and Government’s head of marketing.

And while it is impossible to crystallise an hour and a half of discussion into a few sentences, the overriding message was that clients want an authentic relationship with the public relations and communication agencies that help them.

What this entails is having the ability to listen to, understand and respond to the client’s needs and wishes, the capacity to deliver honest advice and a strong and trusting relationship that can cope with feedback and dispute.

The Ogilvy PR audience was told that PR and communications operatives need to be passionate about their work and about the companies they service. They need to be questioning and challenging, finding out what clients really want so that responses can be long-term rather knee-jerk solutions.

The panel also agreed that it was much better for practitioners to under-promise and over-deliver, rather than the reverse, and to demonstrate value, authenticity and at every level.

IABC World Conference 2010 – Day One

This week, the home of the Blackberry (the phone not the fruit), Toronto, sees the world conference of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) which had its fill of Ogilvy Public Relations.

Scott Kronick, president of Ogilvy PR North Asia, represented us in speaking about “Brand Building in China”. Scott’s insights reflect his 19 years in Asia, complete with success stories and failures of brand building efforts. The thirst for knowledge about China was evident through a very well attended session.

However, I am here to attend sessions on employee engagement, communication and change – hear and possibly bring back new thinking.

Day one saw various themes running through a packed agenda of sessions – change management, employee communications and leadership communication.

From the first sessions, the most obvious issue presenting a significant opportunity for improvement for internal communicators, is that there is now a recognised lack of confidence in senior leadership from employees.

This problem has grown since 2003, as cited by Professor Veronica Hope Hailey, from Cass Business School in London, who has been researching change communications for over 20 years (including Australia). Interestingly, she sees real danger in 2010, that leaders will attribute the reason for this breakdown in trust to the economic downturn. And, more importantly, going into recovery will NOT rebuild trust in organisations. Leaders need to invest time in improving the way they communicate and engage, and do it better than they ever have before.

Secondly, (and unsurprisingly) all sessions I attended highlighted the strong need for authenticity in leaders. As communicators we must work with senior leaders enabling them to communicate strategy and direction in a real, authentic manner. Only then will we ensure we turn business strategy into action.

Lastly, as with all our work, driving interaction and conversation will be fundamental for success as leaders trying to engage employees in business critical initiatives.

One particular first day highlight was hearing keynote speaker, Kevin Warren, CEO and President of Xerox Canada. A leader who truly lives and breathes employee communication and engagement and one who directly attributes positive outcomes on the bottom line to their investment in this area. Even better was his inspiration – a sign he’d seen on the wall of Ford Motor Company – “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”, emphasising your strategy is nothing if you can’t get the people piece right.

Another highlight for our team must be our attendance at the prestigious IABC Gold Quill Awards dinner which saw us collect our two Gold Quills of Excellence for work with Bayer ANZ and Ford Australia, as well as a best of the best award for the Ford work. No other consultancy took as many awards and proved again, Australia and particularly Ogilvy Public Relations punches well above its weight on the world stage.

So far, Toronto has treated me well, and I’ve also managed to catch the BlueJays vs the New York Yankees before the conference started. Given Toronto is also the city of choice for this year’s very imminent G20 frivolity…  if they coped with an Ogilvy PR invasion, they’ll be OK.

More from day two to follow…

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