Ogilvy PR Australia welcomes Steve Dahllof to Sydney

Steve Dahllof (right), Ogilvy PR’s recently appointed Regional CEO of Asia Pacific, and John Studdert, the managing director of Ogilvy PR Australia, before a dinner at Sydney’s Bennelong Restaurant.

Prior to taking up his new role, Dahllof was the managing director of Ogilvy PR’s Global Strategy+Planning Group. He replaces Christopher Graves, who has taken over as Ogilvy’s Global CEO.

Dahllof, who is based in Hong Kong, was making his first visit to Australia since assuming the position in January. At the dinner he spoke of the pivotal role Ogilvy PR Australia was playing in the worldwide organisation, pointing particularly to the exporting of intellectual property like Ogilvy Earth, the sustainability communications practice established in Australia which has now become the model for Ogilvy worldwide, and Ogilvy Illumination, Ogilvy Australia’s research firm which is similarly being seen as a global template for the company.

Ogilvy’s Asia Pacific network spans more than 30 offices in Asia, India, Southeast Asia and Australia. The region was recently named as Asia PR Awards’ 2009 Asia Pacific PR Network of the Year. ?

Samantha Allen appointed MD of Global Consumer Marketing

Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide (Ogilvy PR), an integrated global communications firm, announced today that Samantha Allen has been appointed Managing Director of the agency’s Global Consumer Marketing practice, effective July 1.  With nearly 20 years of experience, Allen brings strong expertise in building effective and award-winning consumer marketing campaigns for her clients and leading multi-national teams.

“One of the most  powerful things a large agency network can do is rejuvenate and refresh its thinking by moving great talent around the planet,” said Christopher Graves, chief executive officer, Ogilvy PR. “Samantha has the guts and resiliency of an entrepreneur, the professionalism of a world class practice leader, and the creative leaps of imagination of an inventor. She has won some of the top awards in the world for her creative work connecting people and ideas in ways no one else could.”

Allen will relocate to New York and report directly to Graves. She founded Pulse Communications as a consumer PR agency in Australia, which is part of the Ogilvy PR network. It’s one of Asia Pacific’s most awarded and successful consumer PR agencies with a client base that includes LG Electronics, Tourism Australia, Fosters CUB, Rolls Royce, Ford, Unilever and more. Pulse was awarded the Best New Consultancy in 2004 (Asia Pacific PR Awards), Campaign of the Year (2008 Asia Pacific PR Awards), and has gone on to win over 50 Australian and global awards including the top honour for all WPP-owned PR agencies worldwide.

In congratulating Allen on her appointment, Ogilvy PR Australia’s Managing Director, John Studdert said:  “This appointment formally recognizes the outstanding leadership that Australia has shown in the field of consumer public relations. Samantha knows how to build brands through creative programs and is a talented thinker who delivers strong results for clients.  We’re proud and excited to have her move to this role, and look forward to working with her in the future as she takes up global responsibilities.”

Allen said she was both honored and excited to be appointed to the global position, which she said would be “an undoubtedly challenging, but rewarding role.”

“Since joining Pulse, I have had the chance to work with this country’s most outstanding PR practitioners on some of the most interesting and exciting client projects available, and achieved my wildest PR goals.  As a result it feels bittersweet to be leaving this behind, but it’s time for my next challenge.  I’m looking forward to making the global consumer marketing practice a living, breathing community, full of the most talented consumer PR people in our industry,” she added.

Prior to joining Pulse, Allen worked in various agency roles in London and San Francisco.  She also founded Chocolate Communications, a full-service consultancy offering consumer, corporate and business-to-business public relations, attracting companies such as Ben & Jerry’s and Diageo. While in the UK, Allen led campaigns for a variety of consumer brands including Nokia, Packard Bell, Dualit Homewares and Nescafe.  She earned a bachelor’s degree in business from RMIT (Melbourne) and a post-graduate diploma in accounting and finance from Guildhall University (London).

Ogilvy PR Australia is a joint venture between Ogilvy PR Worldwide and STW Group, Australia’s leading marketing content and communications services group.

Australia faces widening ‘productivity gap’

Australia’s productivity gap – the difference between productivity expectations and action – has widened from 29 per cent in 2009 to 34 per cent this year, according to new Telstra research.

Underlining the findings of the Government’s Intergenerational Report, the Telstra Productivity Indicator research found that improving customer service and productivity are the key priorities for Australian organisations, ranking 78 per cent and 76 per cent respectively

The Productivity Indicator also found that only 42% of decision makers measure productivity, have a target and know what that target is compared with 49% in last year’s report.

The Telstra Productivity Indicator was the brainchild of Howorth and sister agency Parker&Partners and is now in its second year.  The report has already received widespread media coverage in Australia.

For more information please visit http://www.interactivemediarelease.com/back/productivity

Marcia Silverman Inducted into the PRNews Hall of Fame

On Tuesday 1 December at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, Marcia Silverman was inducted into the PRNews Hall of Fame.   Ogilvy PR is proud to see Marcia’s accomplishments recognised on a national stage as she joins a group of the most influential and respected professionals in the industry’s history.

Marcia has worked with Ogilvy since 1981 and took on the role of CEO in 2002.  During that time she has increased staff retention and revenue growth and has demonstrated admirable leadership.

Congratulations Marcia!

http://post.ogilvypr.com/UserFiles/singleFilePosts/Marcia_Lifetime.mov

New business wins for Howorth

Howorth has recently won a slew of new clients for its business to business, digital lifestyle and technology practices:

CTI and mySmart

CTI and mySmart provide the latest technology and energy saving solutions to existing or new buildings that make them smarter, more efficient and better work environments. Howorth will be providing CTI and mySmart with a sustained communications program to help drive awareness, preference and credibility for both brands.

The program will aim to position CTI and mySmart as the market leader, whilst building long term brand equity with key customers, buyers and stakeholder groups.

Try & Byte

Howorth has won the account for Try & Byte, one of Australia’s leading Macintosh software, games and accessory providers.

Howorth has been engaged to specifically assist in introducing Try & Byte’s existing and new product ranges to the media, with the ultimate goal of driving sales online and through retailers.

To achieve objectives and reach the target market, Howorth will engage with consumer and lifestyle media as well as mainstream, technology and street press.

Blue Reef

Blue Reef is a leading Australian Internet Management vendor focused on developing products and services for education institutions, as well as small to medium businesses.

With the launch of its new Internet Management solution, MySonar, Blue Reef has engaged Howorth to create a campaign style public relations program that will speak to consumer and business media, as well as education and technology verticals. Some of the media results to-date includes profile stories in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Computerworld, CIO online, TechWorld  and ARN.

Howorth named as finalist in Asia Pacific SABRE Awards

Howorth is enjoying a rich vein of form with award entries this year, and that run continues with the company being informed today that it is a finalist in the inaugural Asia Pacific SABRE Awards, which attracted close to 400 entries this year.

Howorth’s work with Microsoft has been announced as best program in the technology sector in the Technology category.

In addition to Howorth, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide turned in an impressive performance with 16 finalists, 13 of which came from Ogilvy PR Australia (eight nominations for Pulse Communications, three for our employee communication specialists Impact, and one for Cannings).

Paul Holmes, editor of The Holmes Report and chairman of the SABRE Awards judges, said: “We were delighted with the quality of the entrants we received in our first Asia-Pacific SABRE Awards competition. The SABRE competition now sees the best work being done in North America, EMEA and the Asia-Pacific, and it is clear that the best work in Asia is now every bit as well-planned, well-executed and well-measured as the best work anywhere in the world.”

Winners of the 2009 competition will be announced in two weeks.

Australian Research Reveals the ‘One Kilometre Phenomenon’

Consumers set the research agenda in ‘concern and control’ measurement study

A lack of respect for both other people and public property are two of the most common concerns raised by Australians in a new suite of research released today.

Conducted by advertising and communications group Ogilvy, the study was designed to discover what issues were concerning Australians, rate the level of concern and measure how much control we felt over those concerns. The study uncovered a spectrum of concern spanning relationships, juggling work and life, ageing, health and wellbeing, technology, food, finances, security and government.

Titled ‘What’s Keeping Australians Up at Night’, the research revealed that as a nation it’s the concerns closest to our daily lives that we have in common.

“We’ve coined the term one kilometre phenomenon – we read the headlines and know what’s happening on a global and national scale, but it’s those issues that are closest to us – people in the street and our community – that’s keeping more of us awake at night. It’s interesting these concerns are equally high across the demographics. Even younger generations feel concern about damage to public property and the lack of personal respect,” said John Studdert, managing director of Ogilvy PR.

The one kilometre phenomenon

As a nation, it’s the concerns closest to our daily life that we have in common. The top six most commonly shared causes for concern were:

• 67% How disrespectful people are of public property (littering and vandalism)
• 65% The growing lack of respect and consideration for others
• 61% That companies are charging me to pay my bills
• 60% That children today are exposed to things prematurely as a result of the internet and TV
• 58% The poor customer service from international call centres
• 57% The rising cost of groceries

About the concern /control methodology: Australians set the research agenda

“Measuring both concern and control delivered a new layer of insight that basic polling rarely uncovers,” said Mike Daniels, managing partner Ogilvy & Mather.

“We found that if a respondent was feeling under financial pressure, every other issue in their lives became both more concerning and less under control – even if it wasn’t directly related to money. Personal relationships, community and security worries – even concerns about their wellbeing – all rated more concerning and less controllable for this group. If a respondent reported their financial situation as ‘getting by’ or ‘doing well’ their general levels of concern fell and feelings of control increased,” said Daniels.

“Every issue of concern in our study was fed to us directly by participants in the focus groups across regional and metropolitan Australia. We ran a series of twelve focus groups across the country and asked – without pre-conceived ideas – what they were concerned about. We then asked them to rank their concerns and rate the level of influence they had over each issue. We then took that research to our partners at ORU and asked 1015 Australians in an online poll about how they felt about those same issues,” said Eugene Catanzariti, head of strategic planning, BADJAR Ogilvy.

Relationships: Men and women back on the same planet

It seems Australian men and women feel the same when it comes to relationship concerns and the level of control they feel over them. Almost a quarter of respondents reported ‘that I constantly feel as though I have to please other people’ (22%) which was the highest response for a relationship concern. Across the survey, 18% were highly concerned that ‘I feel I have to try and fit in with people all the time’.

“As a nation, the Ogilvy research shows we generally feel we have a high level of control over relationships. In some cases – like making sure we don’t leave it too late to start a family – the feeling of control actually increases with household income. This is consistent with other research which shows cost is a key issue for Gen Y when deciding to start a family,” said Anne Hollonds, CEO Relationships Australia NSW.

The Work / Life Juggle

More than one-fifth of Australians are highly concerned they will never have a good balance between work and play. About the same proportion don’t know if they will ever find the ‘right job’. People aged 18-24 are particularly concerned with employment issues and more likely to say they have less control over these issues.

Ageing

Despite the boom in Botox, it’s not losing our looks which are causing us the most concern when it comes to ageing.

• 47% of Australians are highly concerned about ‘how getting old will affect my physical ability’.
• 41% are highly concerned about ‘how getting old will affect my mental capacity’.
• 29% are highly concerned about ‘care for my ageing parents’.21% are highly concerned about ‘how getting old will affect my personal appearance’.

Health & Wellbeing

Almost half of all Australians are highly concerned about preservatives and artificial ingredients in food, obesity and not exercising enough. “Women are more concerned than men about most health and wellbeing issues and those with children in the household are more concerned about not exercising enough than those without,” said Graham Edwards, managing director of Ogilvy Healthworld. Respondents aged 18-24 are more likely to say they have less control over these issues than others.

Government: high concern, low control

Australians are concerned about the way they’re governed and the quality of public services, but feel little control over these issues. The sense of disconnect between Australians and their governments is very high. More than seven million Australians say they are highly concerned about the quality of public health care in Australia, only exceeded by the 8.3 million who are concerned by politicians’ broken promises. The level of control felt over these issues is lower than for almost every other set of issues assessed in the study.

Perhaps counter-intuitively, Australians feel they have relatively more control over environmental issues like climate change and drought than other government issues despite having similarly high levels of concern about them.

Concern over the drought is the same among Liberal and Labor voters, however Labor voters are notably more concerned about climate change than Liberal voters, demonstrating the political partisanship of this debate extends well into the community.

Golden Targets PR awards winners revealed

The winners of The Golden Targets, the Australian PR industry’s main awards event, were announced this week at the national conference in Brisbane.

Having picked up two awards from the New South Wales event earlier in the month, Howorth was once again picking up more accolades. In the Business to Business category, we were Commended for Identifying the Gap: The Telstra Productivity Indicator commissioned by Telstra Enterprise & Government.

In the Health Organisations category, we were Highly Commended for Social Network is Livewire for Sick Kids commissioned by Livewire.

Our trophy cabinet just got a whole lot bigger. Next up are the PR Week Awards in November, where the Telstra campaign is a finalist once again.

Howorth shortlisted for Asia Pacific PR Awards

Howorth has been shortlisted for the 2009 Asia Pacific PR Week Awards for its work with Telstra.

The campaign, Identifying Australia’s Productivity Gap, positioned Telstra as a thought leader in the area of business challenges and the supporting role of IT and telecommunications.  The PR driven idea led to an integrated campaign for the Telstra including events, above the line advertising and direct mail.

Winners will be announced in a presentation ceremony held on the 11th November in Hong Kong. Stay tuned for more.

Howorth Honoured in Global PR Awards

Howorth was an honourable finalist for the Livewire launch campaign in the category of community relations at the 2009 Platinum PR Awards held in New York yesterday.

The Platinum PR Awards provide PR professionals the opportunity to showcase their best communications initiatives of the year and salute outstanding performance by individuals. Presented by PR News, the highly competitive program honours the best PR campaigns and initiatives of the year.

In the same awards, Ogilvy PR was named 2009 Large Agency of the Year. This award evaluated agencies against four key criteria: business development, people, network initiatives and cohesion, and external thought leadership. Ogilvy was recognised for its strong performance in a tough economy, impressive new business wins across multiple markets, and innovative and award-winning work for clients. This accolade follows on the heels of an impressive year of recognitions including being named Large Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report, PRWeek’s Editor’s Choice “Agency to Watch” and Bronze Award for PRWeek Global Firm of the Year.

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