‘Digitalising Aunty’ – Mark Scott’s vision for the ABC

Australia’s ABC, affectionately known as ‘Aunty’, is often regarded as an institution that is slow to embrace innovations and technologies –almost a relic of bygone times.  Aunty has a certain old school feel about her, whether it be the familiar faces of its presenters or its consistent programming. However, in reality, a more fitting name for the ABC of today would reflect that the ABC has broken down barriers ahead of its commercial cohorts.

Last month, about 150 guests crammed into a small room at the UTS Aerial Function Centre to hear Mark Scott, the managing director of the ABC, outline how the ABC was responding in the era of digital information, as part of the UTSpotlight series for the university’s alumni.

Scott reflected on a time when the ability of audiences and readers to quench their news thirst was at the mercy of the country’s news editors and newsagents. For example, if your newsagent wanted to, he could sell you a nine day-old copy of the New York Times; if you made it home in time, you would watch Richard Morecroft read the news, and if the head of news at Fairfax thought you might be interested, you could read an article from The Washington Post.

However, times have changed and while many see the ABC’s charter, structure and funding to be constraints holding it back, Scott believes innovation loves constraints and he’s taken these constraints by the horns. His view is the ABC should be more innovative, more relevant and more responsive to Australians than any other network.

Since taking the helm in 2006, Scott has expanded its services and the ABC now provides news, information, entertainment and other content across an expanding array of platforms: four television channels; digital radio channels to complement the four national and 60 local services; an elaborate online operation and customised material for mobile and other new media devices.

It’s fair to say the ABC is leading the digital charge. Its iView product, developed on a typical ABC budget of ‘as little as possible’, was the first to unlock audiences from their nightly 7pm social contracts with newsreaders to view their news. It meant they could view the news, and their favourite TV shows, at any time, from anywhere using the device of their choosing – iPhone, iPad or iMac. The ABC has realised the importance of digital and online in helping it to engage and maintain its audience.

Even the stalwart ‘old school’ bastions of the ABC have moved into the digital age – Four Corners has a Facebook page to interact with its audience, and Q&A regularly generates more than 30, 000 tweets in a single hour. The ABC has revolutionised the content Australians are seeing on their screens, centering it around them and what they have to say.

According to Scott, the role of the ABC is no longer that of a news teller but as a news host — a place where people can tell their own news and stories. The ABC is about Australian content and stories, stories for Australians by Australians. It provides a platform that allows them to do so. And where better than in their own world – online.

Guest post by Dorea Lau (@dorealau)

Howorth unveils three new hires

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 (pictured left) 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 (pictured middle) 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 (pictured right) 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.

Ogilvy 360 Digital Influence appoints seven new specialists on the back of strong and continued growth

Ogilvy’s social media practice 360 Digital Influence, part of STW Group, has added another seven employees to its team on the back of significant growth and demand for social media expertise. Ogilvy will also unveil a further two appointments in August.

Since the April 2009 arrival of Brian Giesen, Regional Director of Ogilvy 360? Digital Influence, the practice has grown to 14 specialist practitioners. In that short time, the practice has seen revenue growth of 440%.

Graham White, Managing Director of Ogilvy 360? Digital Influence Australia, said the practice has experienced rapid growth from day one. “Our growth, both in people and financial performance, reflects the ongoing demand from clients across the Ogilvy Group for strategic counsel and the creation and execution of powerful social media strategies – integrated with other marketing and communications disciplines.

“We’re seeing clients continuing to push more funds into ongoing social media activity. As such, we are also adding two more hires in August to ensure we can fulfil that demand and continue to be at the forefront of social media and digital engagement in Australia.”

Ogilvy 360? Digital Influence also became the most awarded social media team in the region after winning ‘Digital Agency of the Year’ by the region’s highly coveted Holmes Report Specialist Agencies of the Year Awards in April.

Giesen said the practice was extremely proud to receive this award as it recognised the consistent and disciplined delivery of outstanding work by the team.

“This is an excellent achievement which is particularly rewarding given the challenges of growing demand as digital influence skills and successful execution become increasingly important to all of our clients,” said Giesen.

“We’re thrilled to have another new wave of experienced talent joining us. They bring with them an array of knowledge and expertise in strategic digital planning, video content creation, analysis and analytics and community management.”

The seven new hires include two Digital Strategists and five Digital Analysts. They are:

• Lachlan Hibbert-Wells, joining as a Digital Strategist from Daemon Group where he was a Digital Planning Director;
• Megan Anhalt, joining as a Digital Strategist from US-based DoSomething.org, where she was Director of Media and Talent Relations;
• Mitch Phillips, joining from OMD as a Digital Analyst to work across a number of the practice’s consumer and natural resources sector clients;
• Gregory Tan, joining as a Digital Analyst from an online retail start-up in Melbourne;
• Mark Redshaw, joining as a Digital Analyst after three years as a researcher and sub-editor at online business information service, IRD Group;
• Melanie Vaz, joining as a Digital Analyst after working in Ogilvy PR since 2009. She is currently completing Award School through the Communications Council;
• Nathalie Bulsing, joining as a Digital Analyst following four years as a microbiological analyst in The Netherlands.

Ogilvy 360? Digital Influence is Ogilvy’s industry-leading social media and word of mouth marketing practice designed to help brands in an era of changing sources of influence. It is part of Ogilvy PR Australia, a joint venture between Ogilvy PR Worldwide and STW Group, Australia’s leading marketing content and communications services group.

Ends

For further information:

Tessa Sexton

STW Group

+61 421 098 674

JVC announces major new partnership with Ruby Rose

JVC 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 also currently DJing Australia wide.

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.

Election fever: where did they come from?

Capitalising on the interest and broad media attention surrounding the 2010 Australian Federal Election, Ancestry.com.au set the Howorth Digital Lifestyle team the challenge to find an opportunity to get the family history website into the 2010 election debate.

Our Solution
We immediately spotted a powerful media opportunity to unearth the findings of family history research into the two main 2010 Federal Election candidates.  Our research revealed the news 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.

Working closely with the Ancestry.com.au team to pitch this unique insight to the media, we negotiated an exclusive opportunity with Channel Nine’s Today Show. This was followed by special briefings with print and radio, with many interviews conducted under embargo.

Results
The campaign highlighted the real reward brands can reap by exploiting a topical news issue, and taking ownership of it by interjecting it with a related brand-owned insight. The story generated:

• Over 44 stories across national radio, television, print and online reaching more than 3.4 million Australians.
• 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.

A very royal “I do”: marrying a brand with a global cultural phenomenon

The Challenge
Wills and Kate’s Royal Wedding saw many brands trying to jump on the magic in order to drive media traction. Our challenge was to create a differentiated voice for the Ancestry brand, and one that would cut through the clutter, delivering a tangible business return i.e. site traffic and subscriptions – not just be ‘publicity for publicity’s sake’.

Our Solution
We set about theming our story around the real number of Royal Weddings i.e. the number of Australians that had a direct correlation to royalty through their ancestry. Partnering with the Innovations Team at News.com.au, we challenged the nation to reveal the real royal ties in their family tree.

The team opened up the Ancestry.com.au marriage indexes on the site, which drove widespread reach and visibility, as well as delivering site trial and subscriptions. To kick-start the launch, we leveraged research and case studies to drive a story targeting weekend news cycles one week prior to Wedding Day.

Results
The results showed what a solid media strategy can deliver when it meets a global cultural phenomenon with a differentiated brand storytelling twist. This one-off media drive generated:

• Over 71 pieces of branded coverage across all media channels – radio, print and television
• 15 radio interviews were generated with an Ancestry.com.au spokesperson

Keystone coverage was placed in leading Australian titles such as : Sunrise, Sunday Telegraph, News.com.au, Adelaide Now, 2GB, 2UE and ABC 702.

Howorth named Microsoft’s best PR agency partner in Asia Pacific

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 has appointed two senior Practice Directors to manage its 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 with her 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.

Howorth works with Telstra Enterprise & Government for ‘best brand’ win at World Communications Awards

Howorth scored further award accolades last Wednesday, with Telstra Enterprise & Government taking out the 2010 Best Brand gong at the World Communications Awards ceremony in London.

The award recognises the more than two years of research and consultancy work for the ‘Telstra Productivity Indicator’, which is now an integrated program incorporating marketing, advertising, media relations and sales tools to provide productivity consultancy to Australia’s largest organisations.

Now in its 12^th year, the World Communications Awards recognises the best telecommunications companies across every sector. The best brand award recognises a carrier or service provider that has been the most effective in creating a compelling brand for its products or services in one or more branches of the media.

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