The Challenge: Amid a sea of cruise industry negative perceptions and myths, the Pulse team was challenged by Carnival Cruise Lines not only to build excitement for the brand, but also to promote the launch of its Thrill Slide – the world’s steepest and fastest water slide at sea.

Our Insight: To engage and excite Aussies, the Carnival Cruise Lines and Pulse teams understood they needed to bring a piece of “Aussie spirit” to the Carnival Spirit. That meant inviting Aussies to be a part of it – by naming it.

Creative Idea: The “Name the Thrill” public relations campaign was born. Pulse created a consumer experience that invited Aussies to experience the ‘thrill’ of the anticipated Carnival Thrill slide, and then invited them to name it. Building on the great Aussie tradition of the slip and slide, Pulse and Carnival created a 30 metre inflatable Slip & Slide, inviting hundreds of Aussies to attempt to break a new world record for the longest distance travelled on a slip and slide in one hour.

Campaign: The world record attempt was held at Cronulla beach, one of Carnival Cruise Lines’ target audience hotspots. Volunteers to break the record, from local Surf Life Savers to Fitness First members and local triathletes, all took part for the love of Slip & Slide and through a carefully orchestrated media campaign. Driven by a fully integrated campaign across Facebook, NOVA Sydney’s breakfast program, and traditional and social media, Aussies were
invited to get involved, break a record, enter their name the slide submission , then watch as the visual content from the day unfolded.

Outcome:

In total, approximately 1.5 million Australians were touched by the ‘Name the Thrill’ slide public relations campaign

• Over 100 local Aussies, watched by over 1,000 spectators, broke a new world record for the longest distance travelled on a slip and slide – 36.24kms in one hour (smashing the previous world record of 26kms)
• In just four days after the event, Carnival Spirit’s Facebook page saw more than 1,000 new fans, over 4,000 page views, 380 comments and likes and over 40,000 impressions of Carnival updates
• In total, over 1,600 names were entered on the Facebook page to name the Thrill Slide, exceeding KPIs seven times
• Key media coverage highlights included a call to action for Aussies to participate in the world record attempt by weather presenter, James Tobin on Weekend Sunrise (reaching 400,000), a call to action for Sydney-siders to attend the event in Sydney Morning Herald’s “what to do this weekend” pages (reaching 600,000) and TimeOut Sydney (reaching 105,000)
• Close to 9 million Australians were reached with messages about the campaign via more than 25 pieces of media coverage

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.

Challenge:

Insight: When targeting butt litter messages to smokers, the public relations campaign needed to be mindful that socially many smokers already felt persecuted. The campaign’s message couldn’t point the finger at them or lay blame. The campaign’s creative ‘Don’t be a Tosser – Bin Your Butts’, therefore used humour to capture their attention.

Following extensive research and stakeholder consultation, a campaign was developed focussing on changing smokers’ behaviour at venues identified most at risk of increased littering. Harnessing hospitality industry and local government involvement activities aimed to minimise pressure on local governments and pubs and clubs and make it easier for them to take an active role in the campaign. This included providing bin infrastructure and promoting cleanliness.

Campaign: The public relations campaign encouraged a collective approach to reducing butt litter between the smoker, licensed premises, local government and state government. Campaign toolkits were provided to pub and club owners and local government staff. An incentive scheme was introduced to encourage licensed premises to buy appropriate butt bins. Radio, bus shelter and convenience advertising and a state-wide media campaign raised awareness of the issue and kept it on the public’s agenda. ‘Butts Champs’ took to the streets handing out ‘Don’t be a Tosser’ personal ashtrays and extensive media publicity highlighted the problem and what needed to be done about it.

Results: The campaign achieved a major increase in the number of smokers binning their butts, and no increase in butt litter, demonstrating that smokers’ behaviour changed.  Butt littering behaviour fell by almost half. Independent evaluation found 73% of targeted venues actively supported the campaign and 66% of Victoria’s local governments participated in the campaign. Media publicity firmly placed the issue on the public’s agenda –212 positive electronic and print media items were achieved over four months with the majority highlighting key messages.

The public relations campaign was awarded an International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Gold Quill Excellence Award and a Public Relations Institute of Australia Golden Target Award in the environmental category.

To celebrate the launch, Mickey & Minnie Mouse travelled to Australia from Disneyland for the first time in 7 years. An exclusive launch party was held at the Sydney Opera House in the week before launch, which was attended by hundreds of parents and kids. Pulse also secured a number of celebrity mums and dads to attend the launch party, including cricketer Ricky Ponting and TV star Katrina Warren.

In addition, Pulse managed a media photo call with Mickey & Minnie and excited local kids at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair. Nancy Kanter, Senior Vice President for Disney Junior Worldwide was also in Australia for media interviews in the days before launch, and Pulse secured back-to-back interviews for Nancy over the course of two days.

At the conclusion of the public relations campaign, Pulse had secured positive editorial coverage on the Disney Junior launch that reached over 8 million Australians. Coverage highlights included morning TV show The Circle, and large news pieces with photos in The Australian and the Courier-Mail.  The campaign delivered a 4:1 ROI and exceeded KPIs by almost double.

On launch day, Disney Junior rated the #1 kids channel in Australia and enjoyed 44% more viewers compared with Playhouse Junior the previous Sunday.

From humble beginnings, to becoming the world’s biggest car manufacturer, Hot Wheels continues to be a hit for Aussie car lovers of all ages in 2011.

With more than four billion model cars sold since 1968, Hot Wheels is one of the world’s most enduring motor vehicle manufacturers. Starting with a range of just 16 cars, the Mattel Hot Wheels brand now boasts a an awesome range of over 1000 models, with an estimated 41 million adults loving and ‘driving’ Hot Wheels all over the world. In 2011, consumer public relations agency Pulse Communications, has been tasked with reigniting the passion and creating great experiences for ‘vehicle loving boys of all ages’.

To kick the year off, in January and February 2011 Hot Wheels^™ gave motorists in the key markets of Sydney and Melbourne, a blast from the past, transforming Shell service stations into fully serviced pit stops and offering fuel at the price it was in 1968, an amazing, 10c/L, the year the toy brand began manufacturing. The Fuel Your Passion public relations campaign aimed to draw on the spirit of 1968, by offering Aussies the chance to remember the ‘good old days’ when fuel was cheap and many of today’s classic cars were born.

The events held between 12-2pm at key Coles Express service stations attracted over 1200 customers and generated news coverage reaching 13,897,428 eyeballs nationwide.

To maintain this momentum, Hot Wheels introduced 3D projection to Australia for the first time when the dynamic speed racing battle lit up Sydney’s Customs House on the evening of March 10. Brought to life by international digital production agency Muse, the projection featured footage of the world’s fastest toy vehicles, shattering the building’s facade and racing into a fantasy world. Hot Wheels® fans, young and old, gathered to watch the debut live on March 10 as the iconic Twin Mill crossed the finish line and Sydney’s most historic buildings was left in a virtual pile of rubble.  Since then, almost 200,000 Aussies have clicked through to get in on the action. Check it out below!

And some fun fast facts about Hot Wheels:

• The highest price ever paid for a single Hot Wheels car is approximately $72,000, for a pink 1969 1:64-scale Volkswagen Beach Bomb, in 2000
• Placed front-to-rear, all Hot Wheels vehicles produced in the last 40 years would circle the Earth more than four times
• Some of the largest Hot Wheels collections are valued at more than $1,000,000
• To commemorate Hot Wheels 40th anniversary and the production of the four billionth Hot Wheels car, celebrity jeweller Jason of Beverly Hills created a one-of-a-kind, 1:64-scale jewel-encrusted Hot Wheels valued at $140,000

Issues:

Insight: Salvos Stores are full of great bargains and unique, one-off items. In addition, each time Australians shop at their local Salvos Store they’re helping the environment (by buying recycled goods) and their local community (as 100% of all proceeds from purchases made at local Salvos Stores go back to The Salvation Army to help the local community). Consumer public relations agency, Pulse Communications, knew that these key factors needed to be communicated to Australia, as it would encourage people to revisit their local Salvos Store.

Strategy: Pulse partnered with Salvos Stores as a pro bono client and created the first ever ‘Shopping with a Conscience’ month, to launch during the ‘New Years Resolution’ period to encourage Aussies to “shop local and discover local” at their local Salvos Store. To coincide with the public relations campaign, Salvos Stores launched its online store – the first charity online shopping site of its kind in the country. The online shopping story was our lead angle at launch, supported by the start of ‘Shopping with a Conscience’ month.

Challenges: The week before launch, the state of Queensland experienced its worst flooding on record. This caused loss of life, wide spread devastation and severe damage to Salvos Stores in the area. The Salvation Army was heavily involved in the relief efforts, and it was therefore important we addressed this issue in a sensitive way without compromising the ‘Shopping with a Conscience’ campaign. Therefore our messaging was: Given the recent flood disaster, it’s more important than ever that Australians ‘shop with a conscience’ this month to help us help flood affected areas and victims.

Activities: To strengthen the online message and provide a cost efficient way for the charity to communicate its announcement, Pulse conducted the press conference via an online presentation program webex, which received wide praise from the client and media. To complement the webex, Pulse held a vision call at a local Salvos Store which helped generate TV coverage. Pulse also conducted an extensive ambassador engagement program of behalf of the charity, which secured key Australian identities including two TV presenters, a fashion designer, a local mayor and a famous photographer to use for media outreach and consumer engagement in-store.

Results: Pulse generated 104 pieces of coverage (more than double the agreed KPIs) in the first week alone. Coverage highlights include Channel 9 News, Channel 7’sToday Tonight and a half page feature in one of Australia’s largest newspapers, the Daily Telegraph. The public relations campaign has allowed Salvos Stores to connect with over 10 million Australians (nearly half the population) and generated an equivalent of $263,231 worth of advertising value for the worthy cause.

Brief

Challenge: Prior to the tea’s launch, Australians had a limited understanding and awareness of the Rainforest Alliance Certification™. Pulse needed to manage media skepticism and claims of “green washing” which was an issue high on the media agenda.

Insight: Australians want to make a positive contribution to sustainability and make their world a better place but any actions they undertake need to be manageable and accessible.

Creative Idea: Give Australians tips to make better, sustainable choices at home.

Campaign:  Ogilvy PR’s consumer public relations agency, Pulse Communications, released the “Sustainable Australia?” report, a 12 month study which delved into Australians attitudes and perceptions of sustainability, with support from the Rainforest Alliance.

Pulse briefed 20 key NGO and influencers in the field of sustainability on the new research and certification process. Following this, a press conference featuring key Unilever and Rainforest Alliance spokespeople was held to engage news, environment and marketing media.

Pulse invited two journalists from Notebook and the Sydney Morning Herald to visit the Lipton’s first certified tea plantation in Kericho, Kenya.

To increase longevity of the story as a new angle in phase two of the public relations campaign Pulse focused on one of the key findings from the “Sustainable Australia?” report which revealed Australians are confused about sustainability and how to take action. In order to overcome this, Pulse gave Australians the tools to act sustainably by engaging key women’s/sustainability bloggers by getting sustainability expert Katie Patrick to develop the Lipton “Make a Better Choice” pack which will included top tips for Australians to act sustainability in the home.

Outcome:

• Over 13 million people have been reached through consumer and trade media coverage including key pieces in mx, Sydney Morning Herald, metro radio 2UE and a five-page feature in Notebook
• Pulse successfully managed to overcome any “green washing” claims and negotiated two positive stories with Julian Lee, Marketing Editor of the SMH, including a key news piece in the front section of the paper
• Twenty NGOs and key influencers were engaged on the certification process and the launch announcement received wide support
• 50 pieces of consumer and trade media coverage has been secured including key pieces in metro newspapers
• Every piece of media coverage secured featured at least one key message and over 85 per cent of coverage featured two key messages around Lipton’s commitment to sourcing tea with the Rainforest Alliance
• Over 7,000 Australians engaged in the blogger micro-contest therefore becoming involved in the sustainability concept, and Lipton’s partnership with the Rainforest Alliance

Challenge:

Idea: Research the family history of the two main candidates to discover their family pedigree and to investigate if there was anything in their family history that may have formed the basis for their political ideologies. This would create an interesting news angle, with human interest, and quite different from the traditional election coverage.

Insight: Research undertaken by Ancestry.com.au unveiled that for the first time in over 87 years, Australia’s elected Prime Minister would not be Australian born, with both Gillard and Abbott both from the UK.

Campaign: Working closely with Ancestry.com.au to research and pitch this unique insight to the media, Howorth negotiated an exclusive opportunity with Channel Nine’s Today Show. This was followed by both print and radio outreach, with many interviews conducted under embargo.

Results: The media outreach resulted in more than 44 ‘on message’ stories, including radio, television, print and online. Highlights included a five minute live-to-air TV interview on Australia’s highest rating morning show, the Today Show. The team also secured a full page feature article in The Daily Telegraph and an 18 minute interview with 2GB radio in Sydney.

In total the public relations campaign reached more than 3.4 million Australians, highlighting the value of taking a topical news issue and finding a related new insight.

Issue:

For the first time ever online, the records of those who were born, married or died in Australia from 1788 through to 1985 have been assembled into one fully searchable database.

Challenge: Researching a family tree has typically been a difficult process, involving long hours poring over microfiche in libraries and requiring a significant financial investment to obtain the necessary records. Additionally, this has traditionally been the activity of older generations. The launch of this collection makes it easier to research your family tree, and because of the depth of information included, generates mainstream appeal.

Insight: Through research it became clear that Australians did have a passion to discover where they came from and who their ancestors were. However many did not know much, if anything, about their family tree past their grandparents.

Creative Idea: With the information available in the collection and results from the research, the public relations campaign idea focused on asking Australians to rediscover “who they really are”, in order to drive a renewed interest in genealogy.

To bring this theme to life, Ogilvy PR’s business and technology public relations agency, Howorth, dug through the collection to uncover multiple human interest stories which would resonate with modern day Australians. The allure of ‘celebrity names’ was used to help Australians understand the depth and breadth of the type of records available.

By asking ‘who you really are’, it encouraged speculation of famous connections, including the Murdoch Family (Head of News Corp), Sir Donald Bradman (Famous Cricketer), Henry Lawson (Poet) & Edmund Barton (Australia’s First Prime Minister).

Campaign:  The public relations campaign featured a strong overall communications programme which included a digital and online strategy, backed by strong radio and print coverage to help drive discussion about family history and to set the news agenda on launch day.

Under embargo, Howorth negotiated a series of radio, print, online, TV and newswire exclusives with Australia’s most prominent and influential journalists. Additionally, Ancestry.com.au actively used Twitter and Facebook to promote where and when you could hear Ancestry.com.au speaking about family history – either at events or on radio. This included posting coverage and links of details of live radio interviews.

Outcome: Overall, the public relations campaign generated over 70 pieces of coverage (including 15 radio interviews) and reached over 5 million Australians during the two week campaign.

The collection launch resulted in Ancestry.com.au receiving its highest number of unique browsers to the site in one day. After the campaign, the website continued to receive a high volume of browsers and registrations – with registrations for the free trial membership increasing by 348 per cent from the previous year, and paid membership by 246 per cent.

The campaign has firmly placed family history back at the forefront of conversations and at the same time established Ancestry.com.au as the leading authority for family history.

The idea was to capture the hearts and minds of Avatar fans and to make them feel as if Avatar had spread across the country. With the parameters of only nine working days from the initial concept to execution, Pulse Communications was responsible for bringing the concept to life.

A large public relations stunt was created utilising an Avatar inspired Virgin Blue Boeing 737, 20 Nova competition winners and current and former NRL bulldogs players. The lucky competition winners and Bulldog players were expertly airbrushed into the Na’vi people, complete with wigs and ear pieces, and sent on the trip of a lifetime to be a part of the biggest DVD launch in the country.

The Virgin Plane flew from Brisbane to Sydney airport to be met by four models that had been completely transformed from head to toe into Na’Vi. The four Na’Vi models posing outside the Avatar inspired plane, and inside the cockpit resulted in a fantastic photo which generated huge media attention.

The resulting media coverage reached an audience of over 25 million and created a return on investment of 20:1. Highlights included The Daily Telegraph and Sydney Morning Herald Online, mX Sydney, Gold Coast Bulletin confidential, Channel 10, Fox Sports News and Nova FM.

The success of the public relations campaign was only further reinforced as AVATAR shattered industry records delivering the biggest “day one” DVD and Blu-ray sales results of any film in Australia, announced today by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (TCFHE).  In just one day, TCFHE sold 360,000 combined units of AVATAR (DVD and Blu-ray) – beating all “week one” release records.