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.

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.

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.

Case Study: Australia – Who Do You Think You Really Are?

Issue: As the generation gap widens and the population ages rapidly, Australia is in the midst of an identity crisis. Traditionally, family history has been passed down by our grandparents, however, as they pass away, so does their knowledge and many adults now know surprisingly little about their family history. To assist in closing the gap, Ancestry.com.au has worked over the last four years collating the Australian, Birth, Marriage and Death Indexes.

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 activity 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 on their family tree pass their grandparents.

Creative Idea: With the information available in the collection and results from the research, the 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, we dug through the collection to uncover multiple human interest stories which would resonate with modern day Australians. We also used the allure of ‘celebrity names’ to help Australians understand the depth and breadth of the type of records available.

By asking ‘who you really are’, it encouraged speculation on 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 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, we 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 on when they could listen to live radio interviews.

Outcome: Overall, the 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.

Howorth visits Starlight Express Room at Sydney Children’s Hospital

This week Graham White, Le Tran and Adam Clatworthy from Howorth attended morning tea at the Starlight Express Room in Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick. This is part of a new initiative by Starlight to give something back to their corporate partners, and to show them first-hand how their contribution significantly helps to improve the often traumatic journey that patients go through from diagnosis to treatment.

The seven Starlight Express Rooms are located in Australia’s major paediatric hospitals providing a medical-free respite for children and their families. Other locations include The Children’s Hospital at Westmead and the Princess Margaret Hospital for Children in Perth.

The Starlight Express Room is a place where patients can forget about the reasons why they’re in hospital and take part in fun and mayhem with Captain Starlight, alongside the latest computer games, movies, crafts and activities. Children too ill to leave their beds can join in the fun via the daily Captain Starlight shows which are broadcasted to their bedside TVs, or even have the fun and games delivered straight to their bed.

We heard Christian’s story – a young boy diagnosed with a brain tumour. The Starlight team lifted his spirits while he was undergoing treatment by giving him the space to daydream about being an astronaut, helping him build his space costume and granting him his wish of owning a cubby house. The enthusiasm, compassion and generosity of the Starlight team bring happiness to thousands of children across Australia. Most importantly, they help patients to remember how to be children again.   

The sad reality is that every minute of every day a child is admitted to a hospital in Australia.  With this demand, there is a need to open more Starlight rooms around the country. Howorth has been a long term corporate ambassador of the Starlight Children’s Foundation since 2000. Howorth is currently helping with the annual Starlight’s IT Fund for Kids charity fundraiser dinner in Sydney (Sept 30) and Melbourne (Sept 23). If you would like to attend, please contact Le Tran on +61 2 8281 3295 or at le@howorth.com.au.

Starlight will be running these morning tea sessions on a regular basis. If you would like to get involved and see how you can help, please contact Starlight’s Corporate Head of Partnerships Anne Johnston on 02 8425 5934 or anne.johnston@starlight.org.au

Howorth donates laptop to Livewire Hospital Program

Howorth recently visited Liverpool Hospital in Sydney to take a look at the Livewire on Wheels hospital trolley and laptop we donated to the children’s ward through Livewire’s Hospital Program, and to see the program in action. The Livewire Hospital program provides bedside access to Livewire’s online community for hospitalised young people.

Livewire, an initiative of the Starlight Children’s Foundation, is a free and safe online community, which aims to improve the emotional and social wellbeing of young people aged over 10 and under 21, living with a serious illness, chronic health condition or disability.

Howorth made a decision to drop by the hospital with the Livewire team to see first-hand how our donation and this fantastic initiative are enhancing the lives of young people in hospital.

Howorth’s Ellie Shaddick said: “We were fortunate enough to meet some of the children and their families and witness how important the Livewire community is and the impact it has on their stay in hospital – playing games and chatting online with other children that are in a similar situation. 

“It was certainly a rewarding experience to see how our donation is helping to bring some welcome distraction for these children from the reason why they find themselves in hospital.”

Howorth has been providing PR support for Livewire since its inception in 2009. For more information about Livewire visit www.livewire.org.au

Howorth has also been a long term supporter of the Starlight IT Fund for Kids, which is now celebrating its tenth year. The IT Fund for Kids, which is supported by Australia’s ICT community, raises money to improve the quality of life for children living with serious illness, disability or autism, running Starlight Rooms at numerous children’s hospitals across Australia. Graham White, Howorth’s Managing Director, has been an ambassador for the fund since 2005. More information can be found at www.itfundforkids.org.au.

Micro business customer satisfaction in the banking sector

Customer service from financial institutions has been a major topic of discussion over the past few months. While the big banks are apparently prioritising customer service, are their business customers really happy?

This was the focus of a Telstra Enterprise & Government white paper entitled ‘Servicing Micro
Businesses – What Financial Institutions Need to Know’. This comprehensive piece of research found that banks needed to improve customer service to the micro business segment (employing 1-5 employees) in order to better meet their needs.

Howorth worked with Telstra Enterprise & Government to develop a technology public relations campaign that would communicate this issue across ICT, financial services and small business media.

White paper key findings
Telstra engaged two research companies to develop the white paper, Roy Morgan Research and McCrindle Research. The results from Roy Morgan – one of Australia’s most respected and established market research companies – showed that micro businesses are the least satisfied business segments when it comes to customer service from banks.

Telstra also sourced a third party spokesperson, social commentator Mark McCrindle from McCrindle Research, who provided valuable insight into the changing profile of micro businesses in Australia so that banks could better serve this segment. Mark outlined two trends – micro business owners (the majority who are baby boomers/pre boomers) passing the leadership reins to Generation X and Y and the increasing mobility of micro businesses – and how this can influence the way banks provide customer service.  

Equipped with these findings, Telstra aimed to go one step further than other research available, by understanding the reasons for the customer dissatisfaction gap whilst outlining the technologies available to better capture the micro business segment. 

Media strategy and outcomes
To maximise media coverage about the paper’s findings, Howorth organised a white paper launch event at Telstra’s Experience Centre in Sydney. The one hour event included presentations by Telstra spokesperson and paper author Rocky Scopelliti and Mark McCrindle, as well as a demonstration of the technologies available to boost customer satisfaction levels.

The event was successfully attended by journalists from ICT, financial services and small business outlets, with additional highlights on the day including a podcast interview with BNET and a live studio interview on Sky Business News in the afternoon. Other significant coverage included pieces in the Australian Financial Review, mX, Communications Day, Dynamic Business, Exchange, iTWire and Banking Day.

From clink to click: Ancestry.com.au calls up the past

Do you have a convict ancestor? If you did, would you know? In our first project for Australia’s leading family history website, Ancestry.com.au, Howorth led a PR campaign to launch two new convict-based historical record collections to the public. These records (the Convict Registers of Conditional and Absolute Pardons, 1791-1846 and the New South Wales Certificates of Freedom, 1827-1867) complete the journey from arrest to release of almost one third of all convicts transported to Australia.

With more than 2.3 million criminal and convict records now available online, Ancestry.com.au made the entirety of its 15-part Australian Convicts Collection accessible for free for eight days in January 2010.  With the door to the past wide open, we had to convince the public to come knocking.

Insight

Howorth constructed a public relations campaign, tied into Australia Day, to get consumers thinking about how their families originally made it to the Lucky Country, before encouraging them to dig down into their own pasts.

Creative idea, relentless execution

We knew we needed a high-profile partner for the campaign launch, so we secured a national News Limited exclusive for Australia Day itself, which resulted in coverage in all news.com.au sites across Australia.  We also targeted metropolitan radio talk back programs with embargoed material so they could incorporate the story into the weekly plan. Following this initial coverage burst, the release was then issued to all other media.

Outcomes

The response locally for the convict collection was overwhelming, with more than 200 pieces of coverage, including breaking news online across Fairfax and news.com.au, and radio news bulletins. 20 radio interviews were conducted across commercial, AM and community radio, from the ABC to 2GB, with some stations syndicating the interviews across their networks and regions to raise coverage levels even further.  Print coverage included major pieces in the Hobart Mercury, Canberra Times and Sunday Territorian. Through our social media engagement, we also generated 21 ‘Tweets’ on the open Convict Collection indexes, with some of the influential Twitter users having over 1000 followers.

As a result of the PR campaign, Ancestry.com.au received their highest ever unique visitors for a single day on Australia Day (25^th January 2010).

Gratifyingly, the client was thrilled with the results; “The Howorth team achieved results well beyond our expectations. This is a great start to our relationship,” said Debra Chesterton, Managing Director, Ancestry.com.au.

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