Livewire social network for seriously ill Aussie teenagers

Howorth ensured Livewire – www.livewire.org.au – was the website on everyone’s lips after officially launching the groundbreaking new online community in Australia. The PR campaign led to an immediate 25% increase in membership on launch day and invitations of support from like-minded not for profit companies.

More than 250 stories were placed in a wide range of media across every state in Australia – and even across the globe. Considering Google ranked Livewire as ‘the most searched story’ on launch day, this in no surprise. Highlights included

• Print – The Daily Telegraph, The Australian Financial Review, mX and suburban and regional news in NSW, QLD, VIC, SA and WA.
• Radio – more than 166 stories, inc luding coverage on every ABC station across the country
• Online – more than 55 pieces of coverage across news.com.au, yahoo.com.au, australianit.com.au, couriermail.com.au, heraldsun.com.au, smh.com.au, theage.com.au and more
• Bloggers – overwhelmingly supportive postings from Mum and Dad, tech and health bloggers
• Livewire ranked as ‘the most searched story’ on Google on launch day

As the first initiative of its kind, Livewire provides a free, safe and supportive online social network for Australians aged between 10 and 21, currently living with a serious illness, chronic health condition, or disability. It is a way for Australia’s sickest teenagers to understand that they’re not alone and support does exist for them.

Key steps

Howorth ensured the Livewire story was blasted far and wide across the country by devising a strategic media and blogger engagement plan. Key steps:

• Pre-negotiated interviews with AAP, Radio National, The Daily Telegraph and news.com.au to drive news interest on launch day
• An exclusive launch event featuring the Hon. Senator Conroy, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and Jill Weekes, CEO of The Starlight Children’s Foundation, for over 150 media and corporate partners
• More than 50 interviews organised post-event to drive momentum across radio, print and online news
• Blogger outreach to establish brand evangelists and generate positive word of mouth

Livewire were thrilled with the results of the campaign

“The Howorth team was appointed at short notice. The particular expertise of Vida and her team was their comprehensive knowledge and contacts within the media industry, particularly with online media which was a key strategic area we wanted to target.

“The Howorth team went over and beyond our expectations, and we were delighted with the level of media that was generated. They were always available and, most importantly very quickly established a thorough understanding of what Livewire is all about and what we were hoping to achiev.,”

Omar Khalifa, Managing Director, Livewire.

F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin

Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment’s  F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin  launched as one of the most highly anticipated  and successful games of the year. Howorth developed an extensive public relations program with a key focus on media relations work included:

• Scheduling media interviews with the game’s developer
• Managing reviews program
• Scheduling promotional giveaways and
• Planning the media event.

The media event was the focus of the media relations campaign by providing pre-release access to the title. We approached specialist gaming media with the offer to meet with Dave Matthews, a leading producer of the project, as well as an opportunity for exclusive game play and a behind-the-scenes look into the game weeks before the scheduled release. Journalists were able to experience the intensity of the F.E.A.R 2:Project Origin and gain a deeper understanding into the game development process.

Howorth worked to secure over 150 pieces of coverage were secured, including:

• A review and interview on Good Game, ABC
• Video reviews and interviews on CNET, My360, MyPS3 and Games.on.net
• Daily coverage on Nova 96.9 radio and online as part of a promotional giveaway.
• Two articles, including a double page spread in Zoo Weekly
• Alpha
• The Sydney Morning Herald
• News.com.au
• Herald Sun
• MX
• iTWire
• Official Playstation Magazine
• Official Xbox Magazine
• Sea FM and syndications across the Macquarie Radio network
• PC Powerplay
• A number of online gaming websites

Insights

F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin was predicted not live up to its predecessor. Although there was much hype around the game’s release, much of this was plagued with issues ranging for naming rights and classification issues to competition from other first-person-shooter releases at the time.  Howorth was able to overcome this and generate media interest in the title through extensive outreach

Summary

Howorth helped to successfully launched F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin by generating enough media interest to secure over 150 pieces of coverage. The fact that coverage continues to surface 3 months after the game’s release is testament to the success of the media outreach plan.