The Great Information Glut 2011

Case Study: DHL Export Barometer 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 that exporters were maintaining employment levels despite the challenges presented by exchange rates.

The results:

Over 60 pieces of editorial across TV, radio, print and online were generated in the two days following the release of the Barometer.  Highlights included:

• An eleven minute interview on Sky Business News with DHL’s Gary Edstein and Austrade’s Tim Harcourt.

• Gary and Tim featured in tier one media targets including The Australian Financial Review, The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Herald Sun and Daily Telegraph in addition to news.com.au, SBS news online, yahoo7 and ninemsn.

• International coverage across the London Stock Exchange website, NASDAQ.com and the Dow Jones international news wire.

Blockbuster Bites Back!

Case Study: SKA – the world’s biggest telescope

Issue: Ogilvy PR (OPR) was engaged by the Department of Innovation Industry, Science and Research (DIISR)  to get the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) public behind the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) bid to bring the world’s biggest telescope to Australia. With the bid element of the project nearing crunch time (early 2012), it was time to ramp up public awareness, build excitement and most importantly gain the public’s support.

Challenges:

OPR had to overcome several challenges in order to successfully execute the campaign objectives:

-          Creating the news hook: Given there were no new bid milestones during the campaign activity period, OPR had no timely news hook to engage media around.

-          Making a complex message relevant and engaging for the public: The SKA is a technical scientific feat had previously only received interest from the science community. The radio astronomy jargon had to broken down and the question “why should I care about a telescope?” had to be answered before gaining the support of the ‘man on the street’ for the project.

-          Overcoming negative perceptions such as the project cost and environmental impact:  The SKA will cost the international community over $2 billion to build – to some, a perceived waste of tax payers’ money. Many Australians were also feeling uneasy about the way in which 3,000 dishes would change and impact the Australian landscape.

PR Strategy:

To create mass awareness and gain the support of the Australian public, OPR developed a number of media opportunities to feed to the media over the three month campaign period. In order to build these opportunities, OPR:

• Put a personal face to the story

Science commentator, author and radio presenter, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki was engaged as the campaign ambassador; a spokesperson which the Australian public could relate to and who transcends the science community, taking the story out of  the “geek” world and into the everyday. Dr Karl took part in a media tour supported by additional spokespeople relevant to different audiences and media outlets

• Created a unique media experience

To provide media with new and exclusive content, OPR coordinated a media visit to the proposed SKA site in Western Australia. TV, online and print journalists attended capturing photographs and footage of the site coupled with interviews with various key spokespeople

• Generated tailored stories that would spark interest with the different audience groups

OPR created a number of different angles to bring to life the bid for different media. This ensured the SKA message reached everyone from school children to young males, from the working professional to the tech savvy individual.

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.

Hu Yoshida, Hitachi Data Systems’ Chief Technology Officer visits Australia

The Ogilvy 360 Digital Influence team is now hiring!

Launching Microsoft CRM in the Cloud

In January 2011, Microsoft Corp. announced the global availability of its newest Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software suite – Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. Although an already established name in the Australian CRM marketplace, this was Microsoft Australia’s first cloud-based version in its Dynamics CRM product portfolio.

To execute a successful local launch, Howorth had to consider a number of factors, including a highly competitive local CRM marketplace and how to make this global launch relevant and interesting to our local media.

In preparation, our efforts focused on two key elements to support the release. Firstly, securing an Australian partner and customer to support the launch to give it a local flavour. And secondly, providing key media with an in-depth briefing and demonstration of the product, to show the benefits of the product and ensure the key messages landed in print.

As well as issuing a local news release to media – including the support of both an Australian customer and partner – Howorth also organised and hosted a CRM Online media workshop at Microsoft Australia’s offices. Six key Australian journalists attended and received a comprehensive overview of the news and product, from both a local and corporate viewpoint. To round off the workshop a Q&A session was hosted with the local customer and partner, providing the journalists with real examples of a customer and partner embracing the new product and an overview of the benefits they had already experienced. Howorth also secured nine break-out media interviews for Microsoft, customer and partner executives.

Almost 20 pieces of local coverage appeared throughout launch week and the news was also pushed out via Microsoft’s social media channels, including Twitter and blog posts.

Key themes picked up by media included the competitive landscape, pricing, customer offers, channel partner opportunity and the new product features. The vast majority of coverage was positive and Microsoft executives, partners and a local customer were all quoted extensively.

Ogilvy PR Australia Lays Down Gauntlet; Invests in First Strategy & Planning Director

Howorth & OgilvyEarth kickoff 2011 with Canon account win

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