2014 PRIA Golden Target Awards by arkmedia4217

Recognising Excellence in Communications

2014 THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TARGET AWARDS

CONTENTS Message from the Judges’ Chairperson

About the Golden Target Awards

Award Categories

Winners & Commendations

Category 1 – Government Sponsored Campaigns

Category 2 – Public Affairs

Category 3 – Issues Managment and Crisis Communication

Category 4 – Community Relations

Category 5 – Internal/Change Management Communications

Category 6 – Investor Relations

Editor: Bridget Sweeney

Category 7 – Consumer Marketing

Artwork

Category 8 – Business-to-Business Marketing

Category 9 – Sustainability/Corporate Social Responsibility

Studio Manager: Byron Bailey Art Direction & Layout: Amanda Bennett Design Team: Byron Bailey, Carol Taylor

Category 10 – Health Organisations

Advertising

Category 11 – Low Cost/Pro Bono

Category 12 – Best Use of Analytics

National Sales and Marketing Manager: Trish Riley Sales: Ally Lazogas Production Controller: Brooke Travers

Category 13 – Emerging PR Practitioner of the Year

Category 14 – PR Consultancy of the Year

Category 15 – In-House PR Team

Category 16 – PR Educator of the Year

Category 17 – Campaign of the Year

Public Relations Institute of Australia Level 5 - 83 York Street Sydney, 2000 Phone: (02) 9331 3346 Email: events@pria.com.au Fax: (02) 9279 3888 Copy compiled with assistance from University of Technology Sydney students: Cassandra Coyle, Isabel Lister, Estelle Tsaur.

Published by:

Editorial

Contact Details PO Box 824 Surfers Paradise QLD 4217 Phone: 1800 063 150 Email: publications@crowtherblayne.com.au Web: www.crowtherblayne.com.au Printed by: PrintCraft

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

MESSAGE Message from the Judges’ Chairperson The Golden Target Awards celebrate Australia’s most outstanding public relations and communication campaigns. The awards recognise exceptional work and those best of the best practitioners. The Golden Target awards remind us that the PR profession has much to give our community. Winning entries tackled homelessness, championed the rights of women who are victims of violence, communicated the health benefits of exercise and promoted time saving technology. The success of such work reminds us that this is vibrant industry filled with creative people whose work affects communities on day-to-day basis. It’s an industry to which I’m proud to belong and that’s why I am proud to have chaired the Golden Target Awards this year. The 2014 winning campaigns all shared one major attribute; they were highly successful, but not just in generating media or communications outputs. The winning campaigns moved the needle and made a real and lasting difference to their clients and their communities. The Golden Target Awards first and foremost celebrate the contribution of PR in making a real world difference. Successful campaigns did not rest in assumptions. Practitioners interrogated the brief, challenged clients’ understanding and brought new insights to the communications problems faced. As a result, their campaigns were strategically sound, with better output and excellent results. The Golden Target Awards recognise creative thinking that cuts through to audiences bombarded with communication from fragmented and constant media sources. Winning PR practitioners did not regurgitate old, formulaic campaigns. They brought bright ideas, creative responses and clever concepts to communications problems. They galvanised their audiences, making both the media and communities pay attention. Our smart practitioners were channel-agnostic, refusing to be bound by the old fashioned rules regarding earned media. Winning practitioners eagerly took on the challenges of amplifying PR campaigns in owned and paid media too. These practitioners became content creators and amplifiers, working digitally as well as using traditional PR techniques. The Golden Target Awards recognise that PR is ultimately about conversations. Our best of the best know this and own the conversation.

Creative ideas and innovative responses win not just awards, but also client and company respect. As result, clients are increasingly turning to PR companies to lead those other agencies operating in the marketing mix. As well they should, the entrants to the Golden Target Awards show they best understand how to create brands, engage customers and publics, guard reputation and engender loyalty. It is through the brilliant work of our members that PR is being recognised as a sophisticated and subtle tool to which the blunt instruments of other marketing disciplines should pay homage. As PR professionals direct and lead marketing efforts, it is vital that we develop and speak a common language with not just those in the marketing team, but also with the CFO, the COO, the CEO and the board. Successful entrants used best practice evaluation techniques to measure their results and to communicate them. More than one winning entry set the benchmark for PR efforts in international markets or proved indispensable at board level. This year, judges toughly debated each entry, scrutinising its merits. While all entries proved worthy, judges raised the bar to recognise and reward truly stellar campaigns. The Golden Target Awards recognises those entries. Not only does this book celebrate excellence, it provides an invaluable resource for public relations practitioners everywhere. The winning communications professionals are role models for us all and their work sets a benchmark for the rest of the industry. Allison Lee 2014 Golden Target Chair The Public Relations Institute of Australia would like to acknowledge, with thanks: Artwork and graphic design sponsored by Jason Gemenis Design

Trophies subsidised by Etchcraft

ABOUT

JUDGING PANEL

The Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) is the industry body for public relations and communications professionals, representing public relations and communication practitioners nationwide.

Golden Target Executive Committee

Business to Buisness

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Chairperson Allison Lee, IMPACT Communications Australia Founder and Fellow

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For 63 years it has been PRIA’s role to promote and enhance the profession on behalf of its members. PRIA members commit to maintaining the highest standards of ethical practice and promote excellence in the industry.

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James Wright, Red Agency/Havas Managing Director and 2013 Campaign of the Year winnerAssociate Professor

Sustainability/CSR

The Golden Target Awards

Established in 1976, the annual Golden Target Awards recognise excellence in public relations and celebrate the achievements of PRIA members.

The Golden Target Awards

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Gwyneth Howell, University of Western Sydney and 2013 PR Educator of the Year

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Claire Salvetti, 2014 Cannes PR Lion Judge and Mango Managing Director Sydney

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Judging Panel: Ava Lawler, Cait Tynan, David Leahy

Judging Panel: Brigitte Claney, Katarina Farrell, Jorn Sanda

Health Organisations •

Judging Panel: Lelde McCoy, Rena Richmond, Kate Dorrell, David Leahy

All Golden Target Award categories recognise the achievements of an individual entrant and the person who created and managed the campaign. The Consultancy and In-house Team of the Year Awards recognise the managing director/principal/team leader. Team members and clients can be nominated to receive certificates in the event of success at state or national level.

Government Sponsored

Low Cost/Pro Bono

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Golden Target Award entries are judged by a panel of leaders in the PR profession and industry sector representatives.

Public Affairs

Best Use of Analytics

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Judging Panel: Geoff Michels, Michelle Hutton, Lorelei Baum and Paul Matthews

Judging Panel: Donald Alexander, Alain Grossbaird, David Donohue

Judging Panel: Marie Lousie Hunt, Matthew Gain, Peter Taylor

Judging Panel: Lee McLean, Vicki Bamford, Michael Ziviani

Issues Management and Crisis Communication

Emerging PR Practitioner of the Year

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Judging panel: Grant Smith, Robyn Sefiani, Jane Jordan Meier

Judging Panel: Katharina Wolf, Taree Dayman, Jo Eime, James Wright

Community Relations

PR Consultancy of the Year

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Judging Panel: Pippia McIntosh, Sheila O’Sullivan, Kathryn Ogilivie

Judging Panel: Allison Lee, Gwyneth Howell, Claire Salvetti

Internal/Change Management Communication

In-house PR Team of the Year

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Judging Panel: Frances Dwyer, Eva Ford Murphy, Jackie Oates

Judging Panel: James Wright, Vanessa Liell, Allison Lee

Investor Relations

PR Educator of the Year

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Judging Panel: Anthony Tregoning, Stephen Woodhill, Susan Redden Makatoa

Judging Panel: Gwyneth Howell, Jim Macnamara, Mike Watson

Consumer Marketing

Campaign of the Year

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Judging Panel: Claire Salvetti, Tarnya Durning, Jackie Crossman, Maria Ferreira

Judging Panel: GTA Executive Committee

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

CATEGORIES Category 1 – Government Sponsored Campaigns

Category 6 – Investor Relations

Programs funded by government departments and agencies, including defence, police and health, that advance public understanding of a societal issue, problem, concern or initiative. Entries are open to government departments and organisations that conduct programs on behalf of the government. Note: similar programs conducted principally to enhance an organisation’s standing or to otherwise directly service its’ interests fall in Category 2 – Public Affairs.

Programs intended to influence present and prospective investors and the financial community in companies listed on a stock exchange or about to be listed. These programs can also include merger and acquisition communication.

Category 7 – Consumer Marketing Category 2 – Public Affairs Short-term programs specifically designed to influence public policy and/or affect legislation, regulation or political activities – at local, state or international government levels – so that the entity funding the program benefits.

Category 3 – Issues Management and Crisis Communication Programs or campaigns aimed at dealing with a crisis, issue or emerging issue that could have an extraordinary or critical effect on an organisation’s operations, either in the private or public sectors, or the wellbeing of a community. This may include a disaster or other unpredicted emergency, as well as political, financial or business issue that impacts on the reputation of an organisation or its ability to deliver services to its communities. Campaigns aimed at assisting in recovery efforts may also be included in this category.

Category 4 – Community Relations Programs aimed at those in one or more particular community in which a company, organisation or institution has a special presence or interest. Includes programs that seek to win the support or cooperation of, or that aim to improve relations with, people or organisations in specific geographic location or locations in which the sponsoring organisation has an interest, need or opportunity.

Category 5 – Internal/Change Management Communications Programs designed to improve employee relations within the organisation or those aimed at change management initiatives. This may include programs designed to increase efficiency, address OH&S issues, enhance or create awareness of changes in policies or programs aimed at improving or changing stakeholder knowledge or morale or new initiatives being undertaken by the organisation.

Programs promoting a consumer services which is new or existing to the marketplace. These programs can include initiatives to introduce business services to the community or programs that are designed to enhance sales, as well as the profile of an organisation in a community, and can include social marketing techniques and approaches.

Category 8 – Business-to-Business Marketing Programs that promote sales of business-to-business products or services, which are new or existing to the marketplace. This could include anything from new software development to services being offered by a professional group or business to clients, and can include social marketing techniques and approaches.

Category 9 – Sustainability/Corporate Social Responsibility Programs designed to deliver or support an organisation’s corporate social responsibility programs or to promote sustainability. Programs may be short-term or support long-term goals. These campaigns should seek to have a defined benefit to society. This category should also include programs dealing with environmental initiatives.

Category 10 – Health Organisations Programs designed and implemented by government departments/organisations, hospitals, patient associations, medical research institutes and medical charities and other similar entities dedicated to the improvement of health and wellbeing in the community. If the campaign relates to prescription medicines, the campaign must highlight significant benefit to the community and its assistance in promoting the health and wellbeing of the community. It must also have client or company endorsement in the entry process.

Category 11 – Low Cost/Pro Bono

Category 16 – PR Educator of the Year

A campaign designed and implemented for not-for-profit organisations by PR students or practitioners. Professional fees for the campaign should be less than $2000.

Self-nominations for PR Educator of the Year must come from PRIA members who have had a full-time, part-time or sessional contract at an Australian tertiary institution in the 2013/2014 financial year. Entrants must submit a portfolio that will be judged on teaching and learning, research and service to education and the profession.

Category 12 – Best Use of Analytics This category award will go to the campaign, project or program that demonstrates the most effective use of research, insights and evaluation. As well as media evaluation, the judges will expect to see evidence of how research amongst target audiences (qualitative or quantitative or both) was used to create a compelling strategy and execution plan.

Category 13 – Emerging PR Professional of the Year Open to all PR professionals under the age of 30 on 1 July 2014. Nominations are accepted from employers and should contain detail regarding the nominee’s career history. In addition to the submission, a 500 word statement should also be included from the person nominated outlining why they feel they should win this award. The judges will look for evidence of outstanding achievement in the PR profession, with a particular focus on the nominee’s role in the creation and execution of one or more PR campaigns. A focus on research, insight, creativity and proven results should form part of the submission.

Category 14 – PR Consultancy of the Year Open to any PR consultancy in Australia (regardless of size). In case of owned groups, any single office may enter the category. Submissions should include a company history, profile of employees, profile of key clients, two years fees and profit data and outline of the consultancy’s market offering. Judges will look for evidence of growth appropriate to the consultancy profile, client list growth and profile, client retention, talent retention/development and PR innovation.

Category 15 – In-house PR Team of the Year Open to any in-house team within the private and corporate sector, this category is designed to recognise excellence within organisations. The judges will assess evidence of success in executing campaigns or programs in support of business and marketing goals. For this category, the team may be large or as small as one member.

Category 17 – Campaign of the Year The Campaign of the Year will be chosen from those declared winners of a Golden Target Award in categories 1 to 11. A separate panel of judges will score those entries against the published criteria used for judging the Golden Target Awards, and the ‘best of the best’ will be declared winner of the Campaign of the Year Award.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

WINNER Category 1

Government Sponsored Campaigns Porter Novelli Melbourne Victoria

THE CAMPAIGN

PRIA Member Peter Kent

Greyhound Racing Australia sought a communications strategy to educate Victorians about the existence and benefits of their Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP). With the number of retiring greyhounds outnumbering the number of adopted ones, this strategy aimed to dispel myths about having greyhounds as pets.

Porter Novelli is one of Australia’s longest established public relations agencies, tracing its heritage to the industry’s beginnings more than 40 years ago. It is part of a global network of 90 offices in 60 countries. Porter Novelli’s work in Australia, particularly in Melbourne, crosses many sectors, but the agency always recognises the importance of informing and supporting change. It mixes social marketing, corporate communications and consumer marketing with contemporary smarts, and an emphasis on government, corporate, health, FMCG/retail and not-for-profit sectors. Porter Novelli is part of Clemenger Group Limited, Australasia’s largest, most successful marketing communications company. It has been recognised five years running by the Australian Business Awards as an Employer of Choice.

Every Greyhound has a Story

The primary audience was people who would enjoy the attributes of greyhounds as pets, with a secondary audience of people who had already fostered or adopted greyhounds. These audiences were engaged with the goal of increasing greyhound adoptions by an average of 10 per month in the 2014 financial year. The campaign’s centrepiece was its Every Greyhound Has a Story exhibition, featuring more than 40 professionally shot images. This was paired with extensive coverage across all media platforms, incorporating paid, earned and social media, as well as engaging key opinion leaders such Victorian Premier Dr Denis Napthine. The campaign proved to be a turning point for greyhound adoption rates in Victoria. The exhibition’s launch welcomed more than 100 guests, and overall more than 1200 guests viewed the exhibition and interacted with onsite GAP dogs. There were more than 10 on the spot adoption inquiries and greyhound adoptions increased from an average of 32 per month in the 2013 financial year to 45 in 2014.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Category 1

Government Sponsored Campaigns

Insight Communications New South Wales

TAFE Western Sydney Institute & Sefiani Communication Group New South Wales

PRIA Members Clare Collins and Alice Collins Insight Communications is a full-service boutique public relations and communications agency providing strategic public relations, event and communication management services for cause, culture, community and health organisations. Founded in 2008 by directors Clare and Alice Collins, Insight has won nine Australian public relations industry awards including the Public Relations Institute of Australia’s Golden Target Award in 2013 for Asbestos Awareness Week 2012. Insight’s effective public awareness campaigns have also been recognised in NSW Parliament as having made a significant contribution to improving community health. Clare and Alice make a unique mother-daughter team, offering more than 30 years collective experience in all aspects of communication management. Their clients have included Ovarian Cancer Australia, Cystic Fibrosis Australia, the RPA Transplant Institute, Dry July, The Big Issue, Bravehearts Inc, the Asbestos Diseases Research Institute and the Asbestos Education Committee. THE CAMPAIGN

2013 Asbestos Awareness Month Campaign By 2050, 25,000 Australians will die of mesothelioma, an incurable cancer with a latency period of 30-40 years and a life expectancy post-diagnosis of 6-18 months. The only known cause is asbestos fibre exposure. To build on Insight’s multi-award winning 2011 and 2012 Asbestos Awareness Week Campaigns, although working

with a reduced budget, Insight launched November as National Asbestos Awareness Month. To increase awareness, Insight delivered a strategic national campaign utilising traditional and non-traditional tools and innovative tactics. Public relations, marketing, digital, stakeholder engagement, education and fundraising forums, experiential communication, events and Community Service Announcements combined to engage multiple target publics. Insight’s 2013 Asbestos Awareness Month significantly exceeded all goals and objectives, increasing national awareness of the dangers of asbestos.

PRIA Member Robyn Sefiani Sefiani is a leading Australian corporate, financial and issues management firm with a growing and successful consumer practice. Led by an experienced team of directors, Sefiani offers smart thinking and strategic counsel backed by industry expertise, deep commercial insight and strong networks. A multiple award-winner, Sefiani has a proven record for delivering communication programs that make a real difference to clients’ success. The agency works with CEOs, boards and senior executives to shape tailored and integrated communication programs. THE CAMPAIGN

Raising the Profile of TAFE NSW – Western Sydney Institute In early 2013 the NSW Government introduced its Smart and Skilled reform program, which saw increased competition across the VET sector and reduced funding for some TAFE courses. For the TAFE NSW-Western Sydney Institute (WSI), this meant developing a communications strategy to strengthen its position in the market as the number one VET provider. The campaign’s objective was to raise awareness of WSI within western Sydney, and reinforce its position as the top VET provider in the region. This was done through

tactics such as engaging students through social media, media outreach and thought leadership, leveraging WSI’s ambassador and other high profile personalities, profiling student success stories and establishing an issues management protocol. The campaign proved to be successful, and all objectives and goals were met or exceeded. It received overwhelmingly positive media coverage in NSW and WSI dominated the media landscape in comparison to other TAFE institutes. Student inquiries increased by 700 per cent in 2013-14 and strong positive relationships were established with senior journalists at multiple news outlets.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

HIGHLY COMMENDED

COMMENDED

Category 1

Government Sponsored Campaigns

NSW Health New South Wales

n2n communications New South Wales

PRIA Member Samara Kitchener NSW Health oversees the biggest public health system Australia, with more than 220 public hospitals and around 105,000 dedicated staff as part of the health workforce. NSW Health released the HIV Strategy 2012-2015: A New Era on 1 December 2012 which refocuses efforts to dramatically drive down the number of new HIV infections. Through advances in HIV testing and treatment and the continued promotion of safe behaviour, the means to virtually eliminate HIV transmission by 2020 is now possible. THE CAMPAIGN

HIV Pop Up Testing: Changing the HIV Testing Landscape Across NSW 2012 saw a 24 per cent increase in HIV infection rates in NSW. Although HIV testing technologies have advanced greatly, these have not been paired with new testing models outside medical settings. NSW Health aims to end HIV transmission by 2020, and hence developed a communications strategy to combat this increase. The strategy aimed to deliver the premier pop-up HIV testing site in NSW and involve key opinion leaders in its promotion. This was implemented in Taylor Square in the lead up to world AIDS day 2013. After promotion in a number of paid, earned and donated media channels, as well as heavy social media engagement, the pop-up testing centre was launched by the Health Minister and established in conjunction with

key partners such as the AIDS Council of NSW (ACON), Local Health District and SydPath. The pop-up centre was brightly decorated with AstroTurf and deck chairs to provide a welcoming arena to combat the anxieties associated with traditional HIV testing. The campaign resulted in extensive and on-message media coverage, including publication in three medical journals. At the site, 503 people engaged to talk about HIV and hours even had to be extended to meet demand. Testing was carried out at capacity, and the NSW HIV Quarter 1 2014 Data Report showed a 7 per cent increase in HIV testing from Quarter 1, 2013.

PRIA Member Vanessa Liell n2n communications is one of Australia’s largest independent public relations agencies. Founded in 1996, the agency has built a reputation for outstanding results, quality senior consultants and best-practice communication strategies and campaigns. The agency delivers fully integrated campaigns that encompass communication strategy, public relations, marketing communications, stakeholder relations, issues and crisis management, and digital and social media. n2n communications is committed to continuous growth, as well as development and investment in the team to ensure it is at the forefront of innovation in the industry. The team at n2n consists of communication professionals who are passionate about technology and innovation, have deep business and consumer knowledge and, more than anything, love a challenge. THE CAMPAIGN

Australia’s Digital Switchover The switch from analogue to digital television was a major Australian Government initiative that had implications for all Australian households. While advertising played an important role at the outset of the campaign, by 2013 awareness had reached saturation levels. The role of n2n communication was critical to ensure hard-to-reach audiences were ready in time.

The goal was for n2n was to ensure the smooth transition to digital-only television through a targeted campaign that raised awareness, understanding and conversion. The PR strategy focused on: key messages that addressed the audience’s barriers and drivers; effective engagement of stakeholders and media; creative stories and events that drove coverage and maximising digital technology to scale the campaign. By December 2013, 98 per cent of 8.7 million of Australian households had successfully and smoothly switched to digital television. The campaign was acknowledged as a resounding success from both sides of the Australian Parliament and key stakeholders.

COMMENDED

Category 1

Government Sponsored Campaigns

CSIRO Queensland

Socom Victoria

PRIA Member Adam Harper The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is the federal government agency for scientific research in Australia. It was founded in 1926 originally as the Advisory Council of Science and Industry. This is the country’s national research organisation, working across the globe to provide new ways to improve quality of life, as well as the economic and social performance of Australia’s industries. The CSIRO seeks to have a profound and positive impact on the most significant challenges and opportunities facing Australia and humanity. CSIRO delivers science through its nine research ‘Flagships.’ The Flagships deliver benefits by forming largescale multidisciplinary research partnerships with Australian universities, publicly funded research institutions, the private sector and international organisations.

this. The best way to do this was to focus on the highly visual nature and unique appearance of these insects with wearable technology. High-resolution images were taken of the bees on flowers and high definition video content was filmed to offer media, but also feature on CSIRO’s social media channels including YouTube. The resulting inquiries from around the world led to CSIRO establishing the Global Initiative for Honeybee Health. This local research project became a global program to protect one of the world’s most underrated insects, while also promoting CSIRO’s development of a platform technology, which can be applied across numerous industries.

PRIA Member David Hawkins Socom is a multi award-winning agency with more than 20 years’ experience in assisting organisations achieve its goals. It is recognised as an industry leader in delivering effective and innovative stakeholder engagement and crisis management strategies. Socom’s award-winning strategies are based on best practice. It continually works to ensure the knowledge and professional development of staff to stay abreast of the latest and most effective trends in communication. From local and state governments to private companies, schools and community groups, Socom has successfully assisted organisations and industries develop effective campaigns. THE CAMPAIGN

THE CAMPAIGN

Bees with backpacks

Fairer Funding for the Outer Suburbs

In a bid to try and help protect dwindling worldwide honeybee populations, the CSIRO initiated a research program in Hobart. Miniature sensors glued to the backs of wild bees would help record their movements for computer modelling to understand their movements in the environment. These sensors affectionately became known as backpacks.

2011 census data revealed in the last decade substantial growth had occurred in the outer suburbs of Melbourne (Interface Councils). Thanks to this growth, Interface Councils accounted for 25 per cent of Victoria’s population. Predictions estimated this would grow to more than 1.7 million people by 2031.

A communication campaign was developed to help raise the profile of the plight of the humble honeybee, but also to promote the micro technology being developed to deliver

This level of growth was too much for local governments to sustain without state government support. Community indicators showed residents were geographically isolated from social support programs and suffered from inevitable social consequences. Socom’s goal was to convince

government, opposition and other minor parties to increase funding allocated to Interface Councils. The campaign involved developing a clear, evidencebased business case to be used for the election campaign with strong support from residents, businesses and key stakeholders. Using research, an evidence-based business case was developed and translated into a range of material, including the Fairer Funding Report. Councils descended on Parliament House during ‘Interface Week’ to meet Ministers and opposition and meetings were held with local members of parliament. The campaign goal was achieved with more than $1 billion in promised spending allocated to the interface areas.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

COMMENDED Category 1

Government Sponsored Campaigns Leverage PR South Australia PRIA Member Adam Thomson Established by Strategic Communications professional Adam Thomson in 2012, Leverage Public Relations is an Adelaide-based strategic communication management consultancy that provides a wide range of professional corporate affairs and public relations services to a diverse range of South Australian, interstate and national clients. Managing Director Adam Thomson has more than 15 years’ experience working across public relations in corporate and government environments and in print and broadcast journalism. As well as being a regular lecturer on public relations for UniSA, he is a former PRIA State President and recently completed a two year term as the National Deputy President. He is a current member of a Media and Communications Advisory Panel for UniSA. THE CAMPAIGN

Great Night Out Following a number of violent assaults, the South Australian Government announced nearly $1 million of funding for the development of an awareness and education campaign to curb incidents of alcohol-related violence. After a pre-campaign research phase involving more than 1700 young people, Great Night Out ran until 30 April 2014 to reinforce that it is not socially unacceptable to go out drinking and get into a fight. With a primary target audience of 18-30 year old males, the campaign had a prominent online and social media

presence, as well as a dedicated website that provided a range of educational information. As the campaign’s centrepiece, the ‘blog-a-van’ attended nearly 140 locations to provide direct engagement opportunities with more than 5,343 individuals. A total of 266 video blogs were captured and promoted online, allowing participants to share their own personal insights and experiences of youth violence. The campaign met all objectives and a post-campaign survey identified that 80 per cent of participants would walk away from a violent confrontation as a result of the campaign.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

COMMENDED

Category 2

Public Affairs

CallidusPR New South Wales PRIA Member Viv Hardy CallidusPR is a full service corporate communications company specialising in the legal, professional, financial services and corporate sectors. A background in Federal Government public affairs and almost 50 years experience responding to complex business issues, very often in a challenging commercial and political environment, has positioned CallidusPR as the corporate communicators for both short and long term public affairs campaigns, where it knows how to make an impact. THE CAMPAIGN

Gender Reporting is Not Red Tape In April 2014, the Federal government planned to amend Schedule 1 of the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 to remove gender and other reporting requirements from the Act, to reduce ‘red tape’ for business. Australian women’s groups believe reporting of gendered metrics on pay, recruitment, retention and promotion is critical to improving workplace equality and female participation in the workforce, particularly in management and leadership roles. CallidusPR approached Women on Boards and suggested they form a coalition to compel the government to retain the gender reporting requirements.

The newly named Coalition for Working Women (CWW) members included: • • • • • • • • • • •

Women on Boards (WOB Pty Ltd) National Foundation for Australian Women (NFAW) Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA) Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Australian Local Government Women’s Association Business and Professional Women Australia National Council of Women of Australia Women’s Electoral Lobby Diversity Council of Australia The Work and Family Policy Roundtable Local Government Managers Australia NSW

Through a comprehensive short-term public affairs program leveraging the CWW’s political relationships and public influence, CallidusPR and the CWW retained the gender reporting requirements.

Socom Victoria PRIA Member David Hawkins Socom is a multi award-winning agency with more than 20 years experience in assisting organisations achieve its goals. It is recognised as an industry leader in delivering effective and innovative stakeholder engagement and crisis management strategies. Socom’s award-winning strategies are based on best practice. It continually works to ensure the knowledge and professional development of staff to stay abreast of the latest and most effective trends in communication. From local and state governments to private companies, schools and community groups, Socom has successfully assisted organisations and industries develop effective campaigns. THE CAMPAIGN

Fairer Funding for the Outer Suburbs 2011 census data revealed in the last decade substantial growth had occurred in the outer suburbs of Melbourne (Interface Councils). Thanks to this growth, Interface Councils accounted for 25 per cent of Victoria’s population. Predictions estimated this would grow to more than 1.7 million people by 2031. This level of growth was too much for local governments to sustain without state government support. Community indicators showed residents were geographically isolated from social support programs and suffered from inevitable social consequences. Socom’s goal was to convince

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

COMMENDED Category 2

Public Affairs BBS Communications Group Queensland PRIA Member Lisa Nixon BBS Communications Group is a full-service consultancy operating across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Region. Chairman and Chief Executive Jane Edwards AM established BBS in 1989 and fostered the creative and professional culture still underpinning the business today. The firm is run by a four-person executive management team: Jane Edwards, Lisa Nixon, Matthew Hart and Tracey Rhys. In the area of stakeholder engagement, BBS is the only consultancy where every member of staff holds an international qualification certified by the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2). BBS has evolved to become an industry leader, recognised nationally for innovative and results-driven professional communications practice. THE CAMPAIGN

Pharmacy Under Threat In August 2013, the Federal Government, to the surprise of the industry, announced changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) that would seriously impact community pharmacies. While pharmacists support cheaper medicines, this announcement meant the government had broken its contract with the pharmacy sector in accelerating price disclosure mechanisms to the detriment of more than 5,000 pharmacy businesses nationally.

The Pharmacy Under Threat campaign was designed to assist the Pharmacy Guild of Australia to communicate the issues linked to the PBS changes and to secure a fair deal from decision-makers. The campaign was executed in a challenging timeframe of eight weeks during the 2013 election campaign. It succeeded in enlisting strong participation from community pharmacies and industry partners across Australia. The centrepiece of the campaign was a petition to decision-makers that attracted 1.2 million signatures â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the largest petition ever presented to parliament. This was then combined with radio advertising, a social media campaign and direct political lobbying to achieve maximum support.

WINNER Category 3

Issues Management and Crisis Communication Financial & Corporate RelationsNew South Wales PRIA Member Anthony Tregoning Financial & Corporate Relations (FCR) is a leader in corporate, financial and investor communication, providing counsel and assistance to directors and senior management. FCR combines skills in media and public relations, issues and crisis management, marketing, research, writing, and graphic design and production under one roof. Since 1985, FCR has built a reputation for creative and effective corporate, investor and financial communication. This has been based on detailed knowledge of a wide range of business sectors and issues, sound analysis, and direct experience of assisting clients to overcome just about every challenge that a company can face.

THE CAMPAIGN

Successfully Navigating Troubled Waters The client was Captain Hossny of National Navigation Company (NNC), Egypt’s government-owned shipping line. He explained that the NNC received negative media coverage when Egyptian sailors on one of NNC’s coal-carrying vessels, Wadi Alkarm, had gone on strike while visiting Port Kembla and made false allegations about the company. Hossny requested that FCR arrange media interviews with the aim of restoring reputation by refuting the allegations. Extensive research revealed that NNC’s problems were more complex. Australian maritime industry leaders were taking the allegations very seriously, leading to the blacklisting of Wadi Alkarm by Port Kembla Coal Terminal (PKCT) and of all NNC vessels by Gladstone Ports Corporation (GPC). As these are two of Australia’s main coal ports, the consequences for NNC were extremely damaging. Hossny was subsequently prepped for meetings with key stakeholders. He communicated that everyone was misled and that the NNC acknowledged its communication management failures and were currently making improvements. FCR persuaded PKCT’s manager to arrange a special meeting so Hossny could state his case for the lifting of the blacklisting. After this success with the PKCT, FCR worked closely with GPC stakeholders until it was confirmed that the Gladstone blacklisting was also lifted. FCR gave interviews with media that had covered the story. This resulted in factual articles with supportive quotes from earlier critics of NNC. The campaign successfully lifted the blacklisting of a foreign company – an unprecedented achievement in Australian PR.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

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THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

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HIGHLY COMMENDED

Category 3

Issues Management and Crisis Communication

John Holland/Public Transport Authority/ Transperth/Perth City Link Rail Alliance Western Australia

Pesel & Carr Victoria

PRIA Member Michelle Ferrari Announced in March 2011, the Perth City Link Rail Alliance of the Perth Transport Authority, John Holland and GHD is designing and constructing the first stage of the Perth City Link. The Perth Transport Authority brings its knowledge of the operating rail system, while John Holland and GHD brings a long history of delivering major projects locally and nationally. Together, their vision is to lay the foundation for revitalising Perth. THE CAMPAIGN

Perth City Link Rail Alliance: Major Train Shutdowns 2013 The Public Transport Authority, Transperth and Perth City Link Rail Alliance worked collaboratively to communicate two unprecedented six-day rail closures for the Perth City Link, impacting 40,000 passengers, more than 100,000 CBD visitors each day of the shutdowns and a western derby AFL match. To widely communicate the shutdowns with the limited budget, the strategy was to tailor communication activities to targeted stakeholder groups. The results were phenomenal. Aside from the unexpectedly low number of complaints and high number of compliments

received, the most surprising aspects were the unknown advocates, such as CBD businesses using the shutdowns as marketing opportunities and external organisations commenting publicly on the communications campaign. Measuring the campaign’s results against the initial objectives clearly shows the tactical communications plan set out what it initially aimed to achieve.

PRIA Member Barbara Pesel Pesel & Carr is all about success and striving for extraordinary outcomes. As an independent communications, digital and creative firm, it works with market leading organisations across three key areas: health and wellbeing; industry and innovation; and people and action. A diverse team, Pesel & Carr employs specialists in journalism, strategic advice, public relations, branding and marketing, publishing, investment banking, stockbroking, corporate affairs and public and private board positions. Pesel & Carr has helped to grow reputations and build leadership positions since 1997 by managing perceptions, generating exposure, creating connections and delivering positive results. THE CAMPAIGN

Bevilles’ Brilliance Cuts Through: Stakeholder Communication During Voluntary Administration In early 2014, Australian jewellery and giftware chain Bevilles faced a dilemma. Business had improved through rebranding and tighter retail strategies, but costs were still high and a need to expedite the changes was critical. The decision was made to enter voluntary administration (VA), allowing the Beville family to restructure the business, reduce costs and bid to retain the 80-year old brand.

Pesel & Carr was appointed to manage internal and external communications. Staff were notified of the VA prior to any external communications, with a detailed explanation and Q&A distributed to clarify the process. All stakeholders were notified with within 18 hours of VA announcement, with 100 per cent of media coverage generated featured Bevilles’ key message of their intent to restructure. On 2 May 2014, the Beville family announced that its bid to reacquire the business and retain the brand was successful; 16 out of 28 stores were saved in three states and more than 250 employees retained.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Category 3

Issues Management and Crisis Communication

Weber Shandwick Australia New South Wales and New Zealand

Leighton Contractors South Australia

PRIA Member Ava Lawler Weber Shandwick is one of Australia’s leading public relations agencies, providing communications counsel and support to some of the most recognised brands in the country. It is an agency of researchers, analysts, strategists, copywriters, editors, videographers, digital producers, speechwriters and creative directors. Weber Shandwick Australia has called Sydney home since 2001. In Australia, the agency has been noted for its ability to develop new services ahead of the curve. In 2010 it established one of first digital practices in the firm’s Asia Pacific operations. It set up a highly regarded public affairs and issues and crisis management practice in 2012 and established a new digital studio that provides digital and content development services the following year. THE CAMPAIGN

Danone Nutricia Contamination Crisis In August 2013, New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra sparked a global food safety scare when it admitted there could be bacteria in one of its milk whey products that could cause botulism, a severe and often lethal form of food poisoning. A number of Danone Nutricia’s Karicare infant formula products were falsely implicated in the scare, prompting a series of product recalls across international markets. The impact of the scare was unprecedented, causing the New Zealand dollar to drop and instigating a wave of

panic that saw many countries block all dairy products from New Zealand. Weber Shandwick’s crisis team worked tirelessly to develop communication strategies that informed and reassured the public, health professionals and other important stakeholders. Danone Nutricia’s Managing Director underwent intensive media training to prepare her for multiple press conferences and ensure accurate information was disseminated to concerned parents.

PRIA Member Cait Tynan Leighton Contractors, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leighton Holdings Limited, is one of Australia’s leading contracting and project development groups, with over $13 billion work in hand and employing more than 14,000 people across Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Africa. The company delivers projects for clients across the infrastructure, telecommunications, civil construction, industrial, energy, health and services sectors. THE CAMPAIGN

Whyalla – Closure of Operations Case Study Leighton Contractors has been proactively building its reputation in South Australia as a leading contractor with the $1.85 billion new Royal Adelaide Hospital and other projects. In July 2013 a head office decision meant its Whyalla division would be sold or closed. Closure meant a loss of 64 jobs for people who had lived and worked in Whyalla all their lives. The community impact and the potential reputational issues this would present ran deep and wide. The ultimate objective of this campaign was minimising impact on the reputation of the business. The communication approach had to be simple enough to be effective and adaptable to the circumstances as they unfolded. At the core was the engagement and communication with all key stakeholders to establish credible relationships with employees.

A key element was communicating with all audiences. Verbal communication with unions, employees and customers became increasingly important while decisions were being made about the future of the business and with 64 peoples’ jobs and the reputation of the company on the line. Using this approach, with the right messaging, resulted in what could have been national news limited to two articles in Whyalla publications that ran the story based on the facts. As a sideline, all 64 employees have since found employment.

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THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

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HIGHLY COMMENDED Category 3

Issues Management and Crisis Communication Chatterbox Marketing Victoria PRIA Members Meg Law and Matt Jones Chatterbox Marketing was founded in 2009 and is a thriving, imaginative and energetic boutique agency focusing on providing innovative solutions to all marketing, media and PR related ventures for a number of clients from Melbourne and regional Victoria. The agency has a strong entrepreneurial spirit and delivers varied creative projects within the tourism, lifestyle and education sectors. With a well-rounded, strategic approach to increasing visitation, driving membership and marketing campaigns, improving business profiles and generating strong brand awareness for all clients, Chatterbox always ensures clients receive a solid ROI and have fun along the way. THE CAMPAIGN

Black Saturday Bushfire Recovery – Marysville, VIC: A Tale of PR Success on How a Regional Destination Rebuilt Its Reputation Within a Changing Media Landscape The Black Saturday bushfires created another chapter of history in Marysville, Victoria when over five years ago, devastation hit the town, with 45 lives lost and 90 per cent of the town’s buildings destroyed.

In 2011, Chatterbox Marketing was engaged to develop and implement a three-year PR campaign for Marysville to generate interest in the rebirth of the town. An Instagram and PR campaign was launched was called There’s Something About Marysville. As part of the campaign, Chatterbox Marketing set up an Instagram account for Marysville, a tailored hashtag and provided a series of Instagram workshops for local Marysville businesses. Instagrammers and bloggers were invited to Marysville and asked to share their experiences Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+. The campaign results were phenomenal attracting a longstanding online presence for a town that had been through so much.

WINNER Category 4

Community Relations Professional Public Relations WA Western Australia PRIA Member Carla Shearman Professional Public Relations WA is the largest and most experienced communications agency in Western Australia, with four specialist business groups comprising of corporate, investor relations, consumer and digital communications. In 2013 it was awarded the inaugural PRIA WA Agency of the Year. PPR’s clients operate across a range of industries and include notfor-profit organisations, state government agencies, high-profile international and national companies and publicly listed entities. PPR established its Perth office in 1996 and currently employs nearly 50 staff, including 40 professional PR consultants with a diverse range of professional experience and specialised career backgrounds. Founded by Chairman Peter Lazar AM in 1970, PPR is part of WPP, the world’s largest integrated communication services group.

Photo courtesy of Ian Gillespie

THE CAMPAIGN

St Bart’s Homeless for a Day Western Australia has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the country, with women over the age of 55 the fastest growing demographic. PPR worked with St Bart’s to raise awareness of the issue and to raise funding for a new housing facility in East Perth for women aged 55 years and over who are currently, or at risk of becoming homeless. PPR wanted to make homelessness relatable by promoting the message that it can happen to anyone. They did this by enlisting high profile businesspeople to take part in the social experiment Homeless for a Day. The event took place over two days in October 2013, in which six people were transformed into appearing like vagrants, after which they were dropped at several locations in Perth’s CBD. PPR utilised social media to record the event and capture their experiences. Today Tonight and the West Australian’s WestBusiness Insider magazine documented the event, allowing the Homeless for a Day project to reach not just Perth’s business community but the public as well. The project raised enough donations to begin the development of the new housing facilities and elevated St Bart’s reputation and the awareness of the Perth community.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

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THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Category 4

Community Relations

Perth City Link Rail Alliance (PTA, John Holland and GHD) Western Australia PRIA Member Natasha Guerinoni Announced in March 2011, the Perth City Link Rail Alliance of the Perth Transport Authority, John Holland and GHD is working together to lay the foundation for revitalising Perth. The Perth Transport Authority brings its knowledge of the operating rail system, while John Holland and GHD brings a long history of delivering major projects locally and nationally. Together, they aim to minimise the impact of works during construction. THE CAMPAIGN

Perth City Link Rail Alliance The Perth City Link Rail Alliance of the Public Transport Authority, John Holland and GHD designed and delivered the first stage of the Perth City Link, sinking the Fremantle Line and associated upgrades within the busy Perth Station.

• Traffic disruptions in an already congested CBD • Citiplace Childcare Centre playground closure • Pedestrian disruption with early removal of a key CBDNorthbridge connection • Cumulative effect of previous and concurrent CBD construction The increase in awareness, maintaining project support despite the number of disruptions and low number of complaints surpassed all expectations. The PTA/Transperth considered the community engagement a huge success, with commendations from the project team through to the Transport Minister.

Geebung Overpass Alliance Queensland PRIA Member Krysten Booth Following a joint funding agreement between Brisbane City Council and the Queensland Government in mid-2012, Council was charged with delivering the Robinson Road Open Level Crossing Replacement Project by late 2014. In October 2012 the Geebung Overpass (GO) Alliance, comprising Council, BMD Constructions and SMEC Australia, formed to design and construct the project, including managing communication and stakeholder engagement. The Alliance’s commitment to considering the community when planning construction works and proactively engaging with stakeholders delivered positive outcomes for the project and the Geebung community. Mitigating and managing community concerns fostered high levels of community support for the project, which allowed all milestones to be met. THE CAMPAIGN

From the very beginning community engagement was recognised as one of the project’s biggest challenges.

Robinson Rd Open Level Crossing Replacement

The scale of the impact was unprecedented. 40,000 passengers and hundreds of thousands CBD visitors walked within metres of the construction site every day and a number of other community issues, including:

The Alliance facilitated dialogues by establishing a Community Reference Group and investing in one-on-one engagement with impacted stakeholders, and minimised impacts by tailoring work methodologies and hours.

• Numerous public transport disruptions, including shutdowns and station layout changes

Despite an intensive construction program delivering new road and pedestrian bridges in a constrained urban area, the Alliance’s commitment to best practice community relations

resulted in broad community support and confidence in the project’s delivery. The Alliance is proud to have designed and constructed the Robinson Road Open Level Crossing Replacement Project, while minimising construction impacts and proactively engaging with stakeholders about works.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

COMMENDED

Category 4

Community Relations

Brisbane City Council and Transcity Joint Venture Queensland PRIA Member Teresa Henderson Brisbane City Council (BCC) is Australia’s largest local government authority, investing $1 billion in infrastructure in the 2014/15 financial year. Council is delivering Legacy Way as part of this investment and has a strong commitment to best practice community relations across the city’s many projects. Council contracted Transcity, a joint venture between Brisbane’s local experts BMD Constructions (BMD), Italian tunnelling specialists Ghella and Spanish tunnelling and civil infrastructure giant Acciona Infrastructures to design, construct and maintain Legacy Way. Combining more than 30 nationalities and 10 languages, Transcity fosters a culture that centres on international experience and the expertise of its partners. THE CAMPAIGN

Delivering Legacy Way with the Community in Mind Legacy Way is Brisbane City Council’s $1.5 billion flagship project comprising twin tunnels connecting the Western Freeway at Toowong with the Inner City Bypass at Kelvin Grove.. January 2013 to June 2014 was the peak of construction activities, with three surface work sites, underground tunnelling and 45 underground worksites for cross passages and substations.

External research undertaken informed the communications strategy and highlighted stakeholders’ preferences for face-to-face, grass-roots community relations. To ensure consistency and enable long-term relationships to be built, an area-based strategy was developed with community relations team members allocated to geographic areas to implement the chosen tactics. The positive outcomes of focusing on targeted and individual communications, rather than mass communications tactics on major infrastructure projects, proved to be successful for Legacy Way.

Queensland Police Credit Union Queensland PRIA Member Anna Streater QPCU strongly believes that its members are everyday heroes in the community and is dedicated to offering exclusive member-only products and services to those who protect and serve Queenslanders. IIt supports many community organisations and individuals through various programs and initiatives with the Queensland Police Service, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, Queensland Ambulance Service and other groups. QPCU is committed to supporting those who serve our communities so bravely. THE CAMPAIGN

QPCU 50th Anniversary As part of its 50th anniversary celebrations during 2014, Queensland Police Credit Union (QPCU) launched an inaugural awards program aimed at recognising the work of everyday heroes in the Queensland community. Nominations were opened across five categories in the QPCU Everyday Heroes Awards 2014 to all Queenslanders who had made an outstanding contribution to the community or had given meritorious service to their association. The five awards categories were: Dedication, Working Together, Excellence, Ownership and Achievement. An awards ceremony was hosted at Brisbane City Hall, attended by Commissioners from Queensland police, fire

and emergency, ambulance and the Minister for Police and Emergency Services Mr Jack Dempsey MP. A selection of new and vintage service vehicles were on display in King George Square, paying homage to ambulance, police and fire services past and present. There was widespread media coverage for the awards program, reaching more than 3.7 million Queenslanders.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

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THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

COMMENDED

Category 4

Community Relations

Clarity Communications Western Australia PRIA Member Anthony Hasluck Clarity Communications is a fully integrated communications agency servicing clients’ public relations, social media, digital and graphic design requirements through the latest in communication methods, branding approaches and technology. Clarity is the largest Western Australian owned and based communications agency. Since 1999 it has provided a full corporate communications service across a range of industries from mining and resources, agriculture, property, health and not-for-profit. Clarity is owned and operated by four directors: Anthony Hasluck (Managing Director and PR Director), Daniel Carroll (Design Director), Angie Lidbury (Digital Director) and Kellie Hasluck (Chairperson). The Clarity team members combine their skills to help clients build their reputations, profile and ability to communicate with stakeholders ranging from the media, local communities, investors, customers and employees.

for campaign creative) and Bain Media (responsible for Western Australian of the Year branding). Two major strategies were critical to the success of the campaign, both set under the unifying theme of ‘We Are.’ The first was media partnerships with Channel 7, The West Australian and West Regional Publications to reach a large, diverse and widespread audience. The second was a digital campaign orchestrated through social media. The 2014 campaign exceeded the key objectives and continued to build a sense of pride around WA Day. The coverage reached approximately 4.32 million people, which contributed to a participation increase in excess of 20 per cent.

BBS Communications Group Queensland PRIA Member Lisa Nixon BBS Communications Group is a full-service consultancy operating across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Region. Chairman and Chief Executive Jane Edwards AM established BBS in 1989 and fostered the creative and professional culture still underpinning the business today. The firm is run by a four-person executive management team: Jane Edwards, Lisa Nixon, Matthew Hart and Tracey Rhys. In the area of stakeholder engagement, BBS is the only consultancy where every member of staff holds an international qualification certified by the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2). BBS has evolved to become an industry leader, recognised nationally for innovative and results-driven professional communications practice. THE CAMPAIGN

THE CAMPAIGN

Hamilton Harbour

WA Day Integrated Community Campaign (Celebrate WA)

The $550 million Hamilton Harbour development presented communications challenges for developers Leighton Properties and Devine Limited. The mixed-use precinct comprised residential, retail and commercial developments,

In 2012, the State Government established the WA Day long weekend as an inclusive celebration of the State’s diversity and culture. In 2013, Celebrate WA engaged Clarity Communications to build awareness of the weekend. In 2014, Clarity was supported by The Shed (responsible

Key issues included neighbours who had issues with the development, building defects and a depressed sales market. Delivery of clear communication was required to a large and complex mix of stakeholders, including 2,290 neighbours and residents, 900 workers and 90 joint venture stakeholders.

BBS undertook research to gauge the reaction of the community, which guided media story pitches, targeting project needs and enhancing coverage. The overarching strategy was to communicate with key stakeholders honestly, transparently and regularly. BBS’ communications strategy supported the client to deliver the project ahead of schedule and to set Brisbane sales records in a post-GFC environment. The performance of the construction team was acknowledged with a National Award for Residential Construction from the Australian Institute of Building.

COMMENDED Category 4

Community Relations Mendleson Communication Victoria PRIA Member Nicola Mendleson Mendleson Communication is a small, responsive and proficient communications agency that has been providing a broad range of communications services to corporate, government and not-for-profit clients for more than 16 years. Its services include public relations, media relations, communications management, stakeholder engagement, community relations and consultation, issues management, crisis management, marketing and writing and editing. Mendlesonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work crosses a broad range of industries but specialises in health and community, financial and business services, engineering and infrastructure, resources and sustainability. THE CAMPAIGN

Launch of the Auburn High School In January 2014, the Victorian Government launched Auburn High School, a new coeducational secondary school. Mendleson Communication partnered with the school to deliver a comprehensive communications program to facilitate a smooth transition and launch. Government schools donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t usually market themselves beyond open days and school tours. This campaign developed a new approach to marketing government schools in a highly competitive environment, creating dynamic and striking branding and materials, and a high

profile in the community. Creating a tailored marketing campaign for each feeder primary school paid off, as did the media relations and relationship building programs, which engaged the community grapevine in supporting the school. Results to date have exceeded expectations in terms of enrolments, stakeholder support and positive feedback. Already, there are increased enrolments of 70 per cent more for 2015 over 2014. There has been a high level of inquiries about enrolments, over 200 families have taken school tours and around 500 people attended the open day. The principal has presented to a number of local groups and has been invited to be part of initiatives by Melbourne, Swinburne and Deakin universities.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

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THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

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WINNER Category 5

Internal/Change Management Communications Phillips Group Queensland PRIA Member Scott Maclean Phillips Group is one of Australia’s leading strategic communication consultancies – multi service and fully integrated. The firm’s close client relationships, executional excellence and innovative thinking has resulted in it winning more than 170 industry awards, including 20 coveted international awards. Phillips Group is a founding partner in the world’s largest independent communication network, WORLDCOM Public Relations Group, with 128 offices globally.

THE CAMPAIGN

Queensland Health Payroll Self Service In March 2010, Queensland Health had replaced the ageing ESP Kronos rostering system and LATTICE payroll system with the Workbrain rostering system and SAP HR payroll system. After implementation, many staff experienced under and/or overpayments which resulted in significant media interest. In 2012, an online system, the Payroll Self Service (PSS) was introduced. Feedback sessions revealed that while staff did not trust payroll, they did trust their managers and not everyone has access to computers. The campaign was delivered in four stages between 1 March 2013 and 1 July 2014: • State-wide rollout release of PSS was phased geographically over twelve weeks to allow high level communication and hotline support • Self-initiated repayments and removal and paper payslips. Release of self-initiated repayments functionality and formal approval to stop paper payslips for PSS registered staff • Registration drive and PSS access review. Refreshed registration campaign creative materials and an organisation wide review of computer access • Rebranding for future service and improved access. Rebranded and renamed PSS for future services beyond payroll, and planned the introduction of computer kiosks for staff without access On 21 January 2014, the Minister of Health profiled this campaign in the media as a key success. 84 per cent of the staff have registered for PSS with 94 per cent of registered staff say the new system was easy to access.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Category 5

Internal/Change Management Communication

Telstra New South Wales

An end-to-end communications strategy drove enrolment and leveraged leadership communications to overcome resistance to online training.

Creative Territory Northern Territory

Within six months the App was downloaded 412 times by 40 per cent of the estimated audience of 1050. Views by unique monthly visitors grew from 50 to 290.

PRIA Member Sandra Hilmer

One in four staff enrolled, making it the most popular training course ever. The training measurably improved participating employees’ communications skills, enabled them to better serve customers, and was followed by a 3 per cent increase in the number of customer advocacy ratings for employee communications.

PRIA Member Tracy Jones

Creative Territory developed the first app deployed for internal communication on a mine site anywhere in the world. Other companies are now looking to develop similar tools.

Telstra is Australia’s leading telecommunications and information services company, offering a full range of communications services and competing in all telecommunications markets. The company employs close to 32,000 people, facilitates access to more than 1,900 points of presence in 230 countries and territories across the globe and has one of Australia’s largest shareholder bases, with 1.4 million shareholders. Telstra has a diverse range of customers and strives to put them at the centre of everything it does. In Australia, its services are offered through Telstra-branded retail stores, Telstra Business Centres, Telstra business and enterprise partners and are distributed by thousands of retail points of presence managed by its partners. THE CAMPAIGN

Connecting with Words IImproving customer advocacy is Telstra’s number one strategic priority. A review of internal data and customer survey feedback revealed an opportunity to improve customer advocacy by improving employees’ communication skills. Telstra recognised that changing the way it communicates with customers and colleagues would improve customer relations with Telstra, positively impacting customer advocacy. This led to the introduction of two voluntary online communications training programs for 30,000 staff called Connecting with Words.

Creative Territory is based at the remote community of Dundee Beach, located 150km south west of Darwin. Principal Tracy Jones delivers public relations counsel to a select group of clients across a range of industries including mining, manufacturing, retail and government. THE CAMPAIGN

McArthur River Mining Community McArthur River Mine (MRM) is located in the remote Gulf of Carpentaria. The extended community includes 700 employees and contractors who work on a fly-in/fly-out basis and their families back home. The need for new communications channel was realised when telephone outages left workers onsite unable to contact their families and management unable to get messages to the community, including cyclone warnings. Creative Territory developed MRM Community, an app that could be downloaded and used by anyone working or visiting the site and their families. As the site’s mobile telephone tower continues to operate when other systems fail, the app offered continuous service. The app was promoted in the quarterly staff magazine, toolbox talks, posters and at presentations to staff. A user guide was developed and QR codes made it easy for people to download. Regularly updating content gave people a reason to keep using the app and engaged the community on a more personal level.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

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THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

WINNER Category 6

Investor Relations Buchan Consulting Victoria PRIA Member Rebecca Wilson As an integrated public relations and communication agency, Buchan Consulting develops strategies that effectively cut through the clutter. It combines traditional and digital strategies to bring campaigns to life through meaningful brand engagement and exposure. Buchan works with clients across corporate and public affairs, health, consumer, technology, investor relations, financial services and energy sectors. Buchan is a business partner of Waggener Edstrom, representing this international communications group in Australia and extending representation for clients through AsiaPacific, North America and Europe.

THE CAMPAIGN

dorsaVi: a cure for the IPO hangover dorsaVi listed on the ASX in December 2013. Buchan entered late in the IPO process, with the challenge to maintain and attract further interest to ensure the stock stayed above its issue price following listing. dorsaVi has developed wearable sensor technology used to measure and assess movement. This applies to three markets consisting of sport, health and safety, and medical. The strategy was to: â&#x20AC;˘ Develop positioning that capitalised on the elite sports aspect of the company to engage a different cohort of potential investors via direct outreach and a multi-faceted and exhaustive media campaign â&#x20AC;˘ Stimulate competitive tension in the market to generate onmarket buying The strategy was to use an integrated PR and IR media campaign that combined news relating IPO with creative story angles to drive in-depth news coverage. An innovative strategy was to invest in a sport event at the Sydney Cricket Ground and undertaking a live demonstration of the products at investor meetings. Volumes increased following the investing in sport event held on July 10 2014, peaking on July 24 with 707,000 shares traded and a record price of $0.49c. There were 66 articles featured in the media. Exclusive media coverage was also secured with A Current Affair, Australian Financial Review and the Herald Sun Business.

WINNER Category 7

Consumer Marketing The Red Republic Queensland

THE CAMPAIGN

PRIA Member Fleur Madden

Suncorp Bank has sponsored Australian running events for over 10 years. However, it was found that the public did not see a clear link between banking and health and fitness. The Red Republic saw that there was an opportunity for Suncorp to engage event participants in a more sincere way and educate the wider community about the sponsorships, ultimately strengthening Suncorp’s brand position.

The Red Republic (formerly Red PR) is one of Australia’s leading national lifestyle and consumer PR agencies with offices in Sydney and Brisbane. Specialising in communications for property, hospitality, fashion, travel, beauty and special events industries, the agency has a large portfolio of high quality work and boasts an enviable client list. Created by experienced television and print journalist Fleur Madden in 2004, The Red Republic team comprises of vastly experienced professionals from diverse backgrounds who aren’t afraid to push the boundaries. The Red Republic’s approach is always creative and the agency is known for delivering great return on investment for clients big and small. The Suncorp Bank runPositive campaign was led by Account Director Mia Hamilton in collaboration with Senior PR Executive Ambre Harford Birkett and Account Manager Justine Clementi.

Suncorp Bank runPositive

The strategy was to create a mechanism to support participants, listen to their stories and help them achieve their goals. Because a majority of event participants got information from social media, The Red Republic created an online campaign that would provide a hook for wider media coverage. The Red Republic developed a virtual community using an application on Facebook. Runners could join runPositive, make a profile, share stories, goals, fundraising pages and send supportive messages. They could win money for their charity and the first 5,000 could create a free personalised singlet with their reason for running on the front. The campaign created a successful online community of over 4,500, reaching 3,176,896 Australians through Facebook. Additionally, 154 runPositive participants were profiled in traditional media. 96 per cent of all media coverage on runPostive included Suncorp branding, reinforcing the brand alignment.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

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THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

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HIGHLY COMMENDED

Category 7

Consumer Marketing

Res Republica New South Wales PRIA Member Melissa Cullen Res Publica was founded in 2003. Since then, it has established itself as one of Australia’s leading PR agencies, recognised through various industry awards. It has worked with some of the world’s leading companies and best-known brands on a wide variety of projects, helping to build brands and reputations, moulding the legislative landscape and successfully steering clients through major issues and crises. Res Publica is committed to building and protecting the reputation of its clients and their brands. The award-winning Res Publica team has international experience and uses an unflappable, realistic and straightforward approach to their work to get the best results.

the product any more; it was about convincing the public that Flora pro-activ has worked for real people. The Floraville Cholesterol Challenge focused on the small community of Floraville just outside Newcastle. By encouraging people to incorporate one tablespoon of Flora pro-activ into their diet every day for three weeks, 84 per cent of participants lowered their cholesterol. This was a great news story and securing early commitment from A Current Affair allowed them to follow the activity from start to finish.

Edelman Australia New South Wales

Edelman disguised Best&Less clothes with new labels and inflated prices and watched secretly while shoppers made their selections.

PRIA Member Matthew Gain

When they reached the checkout, it was revealed that the clothes were actually from Best&Less and that the price was far more affordable than they were originally willing to pay.

In 1952, Dan Edelman planted the seed for a new kind of company – one that would redefine the role of public relations. 60 years later, it continues to push the boundaries of what PR can do. Dan founded Edelman Australia on the values of quality, integrity, respect, entrepreneurial spirit and mutual benefits, and they remain at the core of the agency’s culture today. Grounded by core values and strengthened by its independence, Edelman Australia evolves, promotes and protects its clients’ brand and reputation. Edelman in Australia has offices in Sydney and Melbourne, with partners in every other major capital city, employing close to 100 professional consultants across a range of practices, sectors and specialties.

THE CAMPAIGN

Flora pro-activ, From Floraville to the Nation In a first for Flora pro-activ in Australia, rather than invest solely in a full scale advertising push, the marketing team tasked Res Publica to create a campaign which put PR firmly in the driving seat. Consumer research indicated some major barriers to purchase. People were not only confused about cholesterol lowering products, but also sceptical. Furthermore, Res Publica were working with a product that has been in the market for years. It wasn’t just about selling

THE CAMPAIGN

The LAB experiment – Best&Less The fashion industry runs on the perception that higher prices and designer labels mean that you’ll look more stylish. Standing against this myth is low-cost Australian retail chain Best&Less, who believe that fashion should be affordable for everyone. The problem was that some Australians would be mortified at the idea of being seen in a Best&Less store. They wouldn’t go to Best&Less, so Edelman took Best&Less to them in disguise by creating LAB – a new store in the heart of Sydney’s high-end fashion district.

Through primetime news media coverage, the LAB story reached one in three Australians. The LAB pop-up store sales outperformed the best performing Best&Less store sales by 1733 per cent, giving Australians a reason to think again about the price they’re paying for fashion.

COMMENDED

Category 7

Consumer Marketing

Ogilvy PR and Canon Australia New South Wales PRIA Members Kieran Moore, Ogilvy PR and Andrew Giles, Canon Australia Canon is the world’s leading imaging brand that actively inspires with imaginative ideas that enable people to connect, communicate and achieve more than they thought possible through imaging solutions for business and consumers. Canon’s Australian R&D company, CiSRA, develops and exports digital imaging technologies for use in Canon products worldwide. Canon has ranked among the top-four US patent recipients for the past 22 years, and had global revenues of more than $US35 billion in 2013. Canon Australia also operates Canon Finance Australia, which offers one-stop shopping for customers wanting leasing or finance services. THE CAMPAIGN

Canon Shine The rise of social media and smartphone photography has contributed to an avalanche of ‘selfies’ and smartphone lifedocumenting snaps, which Canon believes are drowning out meaningful images. Photos are plentiful, not powerful. The challenge of this campaign was to reinforce Canon’s position and relevance as the authentic photography brand in the Australian market. The solution was Canon Shine, a platform for everyday Australians to shine a light on what matters to them through a powerful photograph. Australians were asked to submit

their image to the Canon Shine website accompanied by a 50 word description of how they wished to change perceptions with their image. In return, Canon would assist them in changing the perceptions of the nation through a documentary on their winning story. Canon Shine received 220 pieces of coverage from launch, reaching over 187 million unique visitors, and the social media buzz generated by PR activity alone reached 2,154,754 people. There were a total of 2,438 entries and 64,786 online shares received over the six weeks, making the campaign a resounding success.

Red Agency New South Wales PRIA Member Rachel White Red Agency is a multi award-winning public relations, experiential and social media agency with offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The agency’s mission is to make its clients’ brands famous through storytelling and to be a leading light in strategic creativity. “We have the coolest offices in the business, the funkiest hairstyles and the hippest attitudes. Basically, we are the James Bond of PR. Other agencies want to be us and clients want to be with us. We certainly like to both shake and stir things up, and have a license to write cheesy lines like this one. We occasionally fight tigers and eat bears for breakfast.” THE CAMPAIGN

Know What They Like, Find What They Love Online retailers have a number disadvantages versus the high street when it comes to shopping at Christmas. Delivery times mean that you need to be well prepared if you want everything wrapped and under the tree in time. Christmas shoppers also prefer the random browsing experience of physical stores to the category-specific world of online retail. As a result of this, online retail sales as a whole stay steady or drop off while traditional retailers thrive. Although eBay lists millions of new products from a large range of merchants, the perception remains that the site is a great place for second-hand items sold in the auction format. This reality gap meant that Australians had no reason to consider eBay as a solution to their Christmas needs.

The campaign aimed to educate Australians about eBay’s Christmas offer via earned media to increase traffic and transactions over the Christmas shopping period. One of the most stressful aspects of Christmas is knowing what to buy your family and friends. Red Agency’s strategy was to emphasise that eBay’s range allows you to search by interest and create a list of meaningful items. eBay had a very merry Christmas. The number of buyers grew significantly year on year and, over the peak of the campaign, eBay had its biggest three weeks on record, including the highest number of buyers in a single week. The PR component generated significant earned media including key messages and a call to action.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

COMMENDED Category 7

Consumer Marketing Keep Left Public Relations Victoria PRIA Member Caroline Catterall When you combine creative left field thinking with strategic left brain processes, you get the Keep Left philosophy: great ideas executed well. An independent cross–media agency, Keep Left has been helping brands and businesses successfully communicate with their audiences since 2001. The team firmly believes in the fundamentals of traditional media relations, while simultaneously bringing clients into the right digital and social media conversations. Now an agency of sixteen consultants, Keep Left specialises in six key areas: food and drink; retail and lifestyle; social change; property; corporate; and franchising. THE CAMPAIGN

endota spa’s Mother’s Day Experiment Mother’s Day presents endota spa with its second largest sales opportunity every year. However, the occasion is cluttered and it’s a challenge for beauty brands to secure ownership and cut through in this space. This year, the beauty franchise realised it needed to strike a chord with consumers on an emotional level to truly resonate and hold their attention for longer. The idea behind the endota loves mums campaign was born and with it, a video experiment documenting Australia’s feelings towards our mums and the barriers which keep us from expressing these feelings directly to them. It follows

a handful of adults as they’re asked to write about what makes their mums so special, then in a surprising twist, are asked to call their mums to read their cards out. Both sides of the conversation are recorded. The video was distributed via an e-newsletter to endota’s database of customers, linking to the brand’s Facebook page where the video was hosted. In a first for the brand, endota also took out cinema and radio advertising to promote the campaign. Keep Left was engaged to secure earned media opportunities for the video by editorialising the story to catch the media’s attention.

JOINT WINNER Category 8

Business-to-Business Marketing Edelman Australia Victoria Established in the early 1950s, Edelman is the world’s largest communications marketing firm, with more than 5,000 employees in 67 cities, as well as affiliates in more than 35 cities. In Australia, where the company has operated for over 20 years, Edelman has its main offices in Melbourne and Sydney and employs some 70 people. Edelman Australia’s support stems from expertise in corporate communications, public affairs, stakeholder engagement, corporate social responsibility, sustainability and B-to-B and B-to-C brand marketing, along with specialty expertise in strategic planning and creative execution, advertising, design, content marketing, research, social media, digital and traditional media relations.

THE CAMPAIGN

Fonterra Proud to be a Chef: Driving Awareness and Entries From Apprentice Chefs with Fonterra Proud to be a Chef For 14 years, Fonterra had run its annual Proud to be a Chef (PTBAC) competition, providing the chance for apprentice chefs to receive extensive culinary master classes from Australia’s leading chefs, with one apprentice winning an international culinary scholarship. Edelman identified that the commitment funnel for entrants had a high degree of leakage through the path to entry. Edelman therefore designed the PTBAC Facebook community to be a single-source destination, facilitating information sharing, community cheer-leading and helping applicants submit their entries directly via a custom-built Facebook application. The 2013 PTBAC competition beat previous years’ entries with 143 apprentices entering (and 23 People’s Choice nominations). The entrant pool included applicants from every state and territory, with a competition-best intake from Western Australia. More than 12 per cent of entrants represented pubs and clubs, cafes, healthcare and accommodation food service providers. During the campaign period, Fonterra developed 40 new relationships within the catering industry and new reference contacts at 50 educational institutions around Australia. For the first time in PTBAC history, 14 per cent of nominations were driven directly through social media nominations by friends and families.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

JOINT WINNER Category 8

Business-to-Business Marketing Edelman Australia Victoria PRIA Member Clare Gleghorn In 1952, Dan Edelman planted the seed for a new kind of company – one that would redefine the role of public relations. 60 years later, it continues to push the boundaries of what PR can do. Dan founded Edelman Australia on the values of quality, integrity, respect, entrepreneurial spirit and mutual benefits, and they remain at the core of the agency’s culture today. Grounded by core values and strengthened by its independence, Edelman Australia evolves, promotes and protects its clients’ brand and reputation. Edelman in Australia has offices in Sydney and Melbourne with partners in every other major capital city, employing close to 100 professional consultants across a range of practices, sectors and specialties.

THE CAMPAIGN

GE Capital Australian midmarket report 2014 Australian Mid-Market businesses represent the great untold story of the Australian economy. GE Capital has been championing this high performing sector for some time. Its annual Mid-Market Report checks the pulse of Mid-Market businesses, conducting in-depth analysis of sentiment, seeking to understand the challenges and opportunities that drive the MidMarket so GE Capital can provide better products and services. But like many research reports, its hardcopy format was tired; GE Capital worked with Edelman to develop fresh and innovative ways to engage this important customer group. Working with the communications, digital and sales teams, an entirely new platform was developed, with compelling content at its core, bringing to life elements of design, digital, animation, video, traditional PR, social, paid and media partnerships. This B2B marketing project not only drove increases in qualified business leads and greater engagement with customers and partners, it gave GE Capital permission to embark on a new kind of B2B relationship, laying the foundations for ongoing business growth.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Category 8

Business-to-Business Marketing

Bite New South Wales

Edelman Australia New South Wales

PRIA Member Karen Coleman Bite provides global marketing services for companies that are innovating in their fields, disrupting markets and changing the world. Reflecting the evolving needs of clients in a rapidly changing marketing and communications environment, Bite today offers services in five core service areas. While its services go far beyond traditional public relations, the unrivalled power of content and storytelling to engage customers and influence actions remains at the heart of Bite’s work. Bite’s culture and core values of teamwork, creativity, passion, courage and fun have played a significant role in providing continuity and a sense of purpose throughout this period of dramatic transformation to create a model agency for the always-on world.

video series to assist Brother in educating its channel and retail partners on its new printer range. Following numerous interviews with Brother staff, additional research and analytics of the audience, Bite advised against the video series in favour of creating a training app. The result is greater alignment of marketing and sales and, crucially, partners and sales teams being more confident in selling the right Brother solution to their customers. After six months in the field, the app is being rolled out across all product lines in Australia, with discussions underway for international markets.

PRIA Member Matthew Gain In 1952, Dan Edelman planted the seed for a new kind of company – one that would redefine the role of public relations. 60 years later, it continues to push the boundaries of what PR can do. Dan founded Edelman Australia on the values of quality, integrity, respect, entrepreneurial spirit and mutual benefits, and they remain at the core of the agency’s culture today. Grounded by core values and strengthened by its independence, Edelman Australia evolves, promotes and protects its clients’ brand and reputation. Edelman in Australia has offices in Sydney and Melbourne with partners in every other major capital city, employing close to 100 professional consultants across a range of practices, sectors and specialties.

THE CAMPAIGN

The Brother Partner Training Tool The key objective of this campaign was to improve sales enablement between Brother Partner Account Managers and their retail and channel partners’ sales teams. Although brand awareness for Brother products was high and the brand recognised for quality, Brother maintained a sizeable field team to support retail partners in educating customers. Research had shown that often the product brochures created to support this education process were ignored and therefore a new training tool was needed. To assist in this process, Bite was commissioned to develop a

THE CAMPAIGN

GEReports.com.au – General Electric General Electric (GE) is a brand steeped in history. It is the oldest listed company on the New York Stock Exchange. Today, GE continues to innovate with a diverse portfolio and a significant footprint in Australia. Demonstrating the scale and scope of innovation to players from a variety of industries was a challenge for GE in Australia, especially in a shrinking traditional media environment. GE Global Reputation Research pointed to a need for the American company to enhance its reputation as an innovative player.

Edelman designed and built GEreports.com.au in October 2013 as a dynamic and responsive content platform for timely and relevant stories about GE’s technologies. A client-agency editorial team was assembled, comprising media relations experts, social media strategists, journalists and designers. Content is published daily and amplified through GE social channels. To date, GEreports has driven baseline increases in reputation tracking. It has also contributed to tripling of GE’s social community since launch.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

HIGHLY COMMENDED

COMMENDED

Category 8

Business-to-Business Marketing

Financial & Corporate Relations New South Wales

effective branding strategy. The agency studied numerous quantitative and qualitative research reports, including the Investment Trends ETF Report, ASX Monthly Funds Reports and ATO SMSF asset allocation figures.

Mendleson Communication Victoria

PRIA Member Anthony Tregoning

The overarching goal was to build a strong and trusted corporate brand for Market Vectors in Australia. We achieved this via a two-fold strategy, which involved cutting through noise in the media by commenting on economic data relevant to Market Vectors ETFs and communicating the benefits of purpose-built indices versus traditional indices.

Mendleson Communication is a small, responsive and proficient communications agency that has been providing a broad range of communications services to corporate, government and not-for-profit clients for more than 16 years.

Financial & Corporate Relations (FCR) is a leader in corporate, financial and investor communication, providing counsel and assistance to directors and senior management. FCR combines skills in media and public relations, issues and crisis management, marketing, research, writing, and graphic design and production under one roof. Since 1985, FCR has built a reputation for creative and effective corporate, investor and financial communication. This has been based on detailed knowledge of a wide range of business sectors and issues, sound analysis, and direct experience of assisting clients to overcome just about every challenge that a company can face.

PRIA Member Brigitte Claney

Its services include public relations, media relations, communications management, stakeholder engagement, community relations and consultation, issues management, crisis management, marketing and writing and editing. Mendlesonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work crosses a broad range of industries but specialises in health and community, financial and business services, engineering and infrastructure, resources and sustainability. THE CAMPAIGN

THE CAMPAIGN

Establishing a New ETF brand in the Australian Market The Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) market is extremely competitive, with over 80 ETFs listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Market Vectors appointed FCR to launch its brand in the Australian market and differentiate its ETFs from competitors based on purpose-built indices. FCR undertook research to ascertain investor trends and appropriate target audiences, and to formulate an

pitt & who? pitt&sherry is a leading Australian multi-specialist infrastructure consultancy. The overarching challenge was that there was little or no awareness of pitt&sherry outside their home state of Tasmania. To meet their business objectives, pitt&sherry needed to build a strong national profile. This campaign was developed to align with pitt&sherryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business objectives, which primarily evolved around growing the business nationally. The overarching objective of the program was to raise the profile of pitt&sherry nationally and highlight their capabilities in a range of target industries.

The campaign was designed as a multi-pronged marketing campaign, encompassing PR, advertising, strategic partnerships, networking, speaking engagements, joining industry think tanks, awards programs, marketing collateral and signature events. Evaluation of the program was established at commencement and would focus on the basic principles of who, what, when and how much impact would be expected from the program. The focus was on achieving outcomes rather than just clippings. The ultimate goal was to create an increase in awareness of pitt&sherry to help achieve key business goals.

WINNER Category 9

Sustainability/Corporate Social Responsibility Weber Shandwick Australia New South Wales

THE CAMPAIGN

PRIA Member Ava Lawler

Australians reportedly spend more than $150 million per year on capsule coffee. As the country’s love affair with coffee grows, so does its toll on the environment. Weber Shandwick was tasked with increasing awareness and participation in Nespresso’s, capsule recycling program without revealing confidential sales figures or the number of capsules recycled.

Weber Shandwick is one of Australia’s leading public relations agencies, providing communications counsel and support to some of the most recognised brands in the country. It is an agency of researchers, analysts, strategists, copywriters, editors, videographers, digital producers, speechwriters and creative directors. Weber Shandwick Australia has called Sydney home since 2001. In Australia, the agency has been noted for its ability to develop new services ahead of the curve. In 2010 it established one of first digital practices in the firm’s Asia Pacific operations. It set up a highly regarded public affairs and issues and crisis management practice in 2012 and established a new digital studio that provides digital and content development services the following year.

Nespresso Project Upcycle

Project Upcycle involved challenging six leading Australian designers and artists to create an artwork made entirely from recyclable materials, including Nespresso capsules. A media strategy was developed to target the print and online news, lifestyle publications and social media consumed by Nespresso Club Members. Key tactics included: • Issued an eDM and distributed 150 recycling bags to employees • Targeted Club Members with eDM’s and geo-targeted Facebook content so they could follow the Project Upcycle ambassadors. • Invited Club Members to recycle used capsules in-store to claim a free recycling bag • Sent recycling canisters to Nespresso-loving celebrities so they could share the news with their social networks • Undertook local and national media outreach. Top-tier lifestyle titles attended the official launch at the Museum of Contemporary Art The project reached over 3.5 million Australians and received 14,000 unique hits to the Project Upcycle website. More than 80 articles were published in mainstream media and on sustainability blogs, Sales of Nespresso recycling bags and canisters also increased by 367 per cent. The campaign was recognised by other Nespresso markets around the world as best-practice.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

HIGHLY COMMENDED

COMMENDED

Category 9

Sustainability/Corporate Social Responsibility

Red Agency New South Wales

Buchan Consulting New South Wales

PRIA Member James Wright Red Agency is a multi award-winning public relations, experiential and social media agency with offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The agency’s mission is to make its clients’ brands famous through storytelling and to be a leading light in strategic creativity. “We have the coolest offices in the business, the funkiest hairstyles and the hippest attitudes. Basically, we are the James Bond of PR. Other agencies want to be us and clients want to be with us. We certainly like to both shake and stir things up, and have a license to write cheesy lines like this one. We occasionally fight tigers and eat bears for breakfast.”

Red Agency created a Coalition of Climate Communicators, bringing 30 NGOs/organisations together to deliver agreed messages from the report to target political and social influencers, used plain language that people will understand, tapped into issues Australians care about from the research and delivered the facts about how they will be impacted. In 12 months there has been a noticeable change in climate change media coverage, social conversation and overall confidence from these groups speaking up. Climate sceptics in Australia have effectively been made to look like the ‘Flat Earth society,’ silenced by the vast number of positive media reports. This is an exciting step in the right direction for the whole country.

PRIA Member David Leahy As an integrated public relations and communication agency, Buchan Consulting develops strategies that effectively cut through the clutter. It combines traditional and digital strategies to bring campaigns to life through meaningful brand engagement and exposure. Buchan works with clients across corporate and public affairs, health, consumer, technology, investor relations, financial services and energy sectors. Buchan is a business partner of Waggener Edstrom, representing this international communications group in Australia and extending representation for clients through Asia-Pacific, North America and Europe.

THE CAMPAIGN

United Nations Foundation – Changing the conversation on climate

Australian Bites & Stings

Red Agency’s role was to support the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report approved by 195 governments. This campaign aimed to improve the quality of conversation and coverage on climate change, which had been overwhelmingly sceptical and negative. Research conducted by the agency showed that Australians are confused about climate change and concerned about the impact on the economy if the country moves away from fossil fuel usage.

In late 2013 Australia’s sole producer of antivenom, bioCSL, engaged Buchan Consulting to launch its new Australian Bites & Stings smart phone app. The app was developed as part of bioCSL’s community commitment to education. Anecdotal research showed native venomous creatures have long been a fascination for Australians but this wasn’t matched by awareness on what to do when bitten or stung. With the need established, Buchan Consulting worked closely with bioCSL, their partners and leading clinicians to provide media a rounded story highlighting the app’s availability, while also providing accurate information on treatment and first aid.

To launch the app, Buchan employed a multi-faceted approach to target communication to different audiences. This involved linking with reptile and animal bloggers and websites, liaising with researchers and establishing communications with journalists to bolster support. The Australian venomous bites and stings story generated extensive and consistent multi-platformed national media coverage, resulting in an increased awareness of the dangers of the country’s venomous creatures and increased understanding of the value of knowing first aid in case of emergency. The campaign’s call to action to download the app received an overwhelmingly positive response and indicated outstanding key message penetration.

WINNER Category 10

Health Organisations NSW Health New South Wales PRIA Member Samara Kitchener NSW Health oversees the biggest public health system Australia, with more than 220 public hospitals and around 105,000 dedicated staff as part of the health workforce.

THE CAMPAIGN

HIV Pop Up Testing â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Taking Testing to the People 2012 saw a 24 per cent increase in HIV infection rates in NSW. Although HIV testing technologies have advanced greatly, these have not been paired with new testing models outside medical settings. NSW Health aims to end HIV transmission by 2020, and hence developed a communications strategy to combat this increase. The strategy aimed to deliver the premier pop-up HIV testing site in NSW and involve key opinion leaders in its promotion. This was implemented in Taylor Square in the lead up to world AIDS day 2013. After promotion in a number of paid, earned and donated media channels, as well as heavy social media engagement, the pop-up testing centre was launched by the Health Minister and established in conjunction with key partners such as the AIDS Council of NSW (ACON), Local Health District and SydPath. The pop-up centre was brightly decorated with AstroTurf and deck chairs to provide a welcoming arena to combat the anxieties associated with traditional HIV testing. The campaign resulted in extensive and on-message media coverage, including publication in three medical journals. At the site, 503 people engaged to talk about HIV and hours even had to be extended to meet demand. Testing was carried out at capacity, and the NSW HIV Quarter 1 2014 Data Report showed a 7 per cent increase in HIV testing from Quarter 1, 2013.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Category 10

Health Organisations

Edelman Australia New South Wales PRIA Member Matthew Gain In 1952, Dan Edelman planted the seed for a new kind of company – one that would redefine the role of public relations. 60 years later, it continues to push the boundaries of what PR can do. Dan founded Edelman Australia on the values of quality, integrity, respect, entrepreneurial spirit and mutual benefits, and they remain at the core of the agency’s culture today. Grounded by core values and strengthened by its independence, Edelman Australia evolves, promotes and protects its clients’ brand and reputation. Edelman in Australia has offices in Sydney and Melbourne with partners in every other major capital city, employing close to 100 professional consultants across a range of practices, sectors and specialties. THE CAMPAIGN

Loud House – Hearing Australia While Australian Hearing is a major player in the hearing space, it set out to do something new with its marketing. They decided to change their strategy and focus on reaching the “influencer” of the hearing loss sufferer. Edelman recognised that a traditional media relations program simply would not achieve the outcomes proposed by the client and as a result developed a media program that tapped into digital story-telling, social and traditional media engagement, as well as targeted online content and paid analytics.

The subsequent program was called Loud House. Edelman developed a single 70 second piece of video content that played on the concept of the Loud House and told the story of a ‘30-something year old’ daughter’s troubles with her father, who did not realise his hearing loss was isolating him from the outside world. The result was a funny, shareable piece of content that resonated with the influencer, offering a story that many can relate to on a daily basis. Overall, the Loud House campaign delivered a 120 per cent increase in calls to the Australian Hearing consumer inquiry line, a 12 per cent increase in traffic to the Australian Hearing website, a 7 per cent increase in new client identification and an astounding 128 per cent sales target for the duration of the campaign period.

Red Agency New South Wales PRIA Member James Wright Red Agency is a multi award-winning public relations, experiential and social media agency with offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The agency’s mission is to make its clients’ brands famous through storytelling and to be a leading light in strategic creativity. “We have the coolest offices in the business, the funkiest hairstyles and the hippest attitudes. Basically, we are the James Bond of PR. Other agencies want to be us and clients want to be with us. We certainly like to both shake and stir things up, and have a license to write cheesy lines like this one. We occasionally fight tigers and eat bears for breakfast.” THE CAMPAIGN

The Royal Flying Doctor Service – Buy the Sky The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) relies on donations, but its donor base is limited to an aging, rural demographic. The charity needed to engage a younger, metro-based, online donor. The brief was to connect city people with this outback service and create a sustainable fundraising platform. Red Agency’s strategy focused on the idea that donors could buy a patch of virtual sky on flight paths, making them part of the RFDS team. Donors received a certificate with their sky coordinates and received weekly alerts detailing the number of times RFDS had flown through their patch. Red Agency liaised with

media about how donations would help secure the future of the service. Celebrity spokesperson Matt Wright, from TV’s Outback Wrangler, was secured. Matt aligned with the campaign’s message of the crucial health services provided to the outback, where he lives and works. Sponsorship was secured with Qantas to sell patches of sky as part of their frequent flyer program. Over the campaign’s two-month period and working within a $10,000 budget, Red Agency achieved 130 media pieces. The website achieved 40,000+ views and 15,000 new Facebook fans. RFDS received large donations, with 62 per cent of those from the target demographic.

COMMENDED

Category 10

Health Organisations

INFORMED BEAUTY – Allergan There is only one BOTOX® and there are no generic versions. However, the brand name is so firmly associated with the product, that in many countries consumers, the media and even some healthcare professionals (HCPs) believe that all anti-wrinkle injections are “botox.” The brand was also facing competition from alternative and counterfeit cosmetic products being introduced into the country, further heightening confusion around real BOTOX®. Allergan approached Edelman with a brand protection brief. There was, however, a dilemma: prescription products

cannot be promoted by brand name to Australians. The challenge therefore was to encourage those seeking antiwrinkle treatments to request the genuine product, without promoting the brand name. Edelman developed a longterm strategy and campaign, coined Informed Beauty. Edelman also secured the support of HCPs and media to advocate on its behalf, built and designed a highly successful digital platform. Informed Beauty generated real ROI, with Allergan recording an increase in unit sales by 4.5 per cent, and maintained 70 per cent market share of BOTOX® during the campaign period.

Queensland Department of Health Queensland PRIA Members Jennifer del Mundo and Phillip Storkw Queensland Health is the state’s largest healthcare provider. It is committed to ensuring all Queenslanders have access to a range of public healthcare services aimed at achieving good health and well-being. Through a network of 17 Hospital and Health Services, as well as the Mater Hospitals, Queensland Health delivers a range of integrated services including hospital inpatient, outpatient and emergency services, community and mental health services, aged care services and public health and health promotion programs. THE CAMPAIGN

Young Females Quit Smoking Campaign – If You Smoke, Your Future’s Not Pretty Queensland Health market research has found that young female smokers were aware of the negative health effects of smoking but were generally not concerned. They did not feel that the long-term health risks of smoking, like lung cancer, applied to them. However, the physical effects of smoking like smelly clothes and hair, ‘smoker’s breath’ or damages to their looks resonated well. The $1.5 million campaign aimed to give young women a compelling incentive to quit smoking now. It included

TV, digital, outdoor, and print advertising, as well as social media, public relations, and an state-wide experiential ‘make-under’ road show. Miss Universe Australia 2009 and campaign ambassador Rachael Finch underwent a ‘See the Future You’ ‘make-under’ showing what she would look like in the future if she smoked. Qualitative research carried out at the ‘make-under’ popups found they were highly successful in supporting the campaign’s messages with the recommendation to revisit the concept.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

WINNER Category 11

Low Cost/Pro Bono Pesel & Carr Victoria PRIA Member Barbara Pesel Pesel & Carr is all about success and striving for extraordinary outcomes. As an independent communications, digital and creative firm, it works with market leading organisations across three key areas: health and wellbeing; industry and innovation; and people and action. A diverse team, Pesel & Carr employs specialists in journalism, strategic advice, public relations, branding and marketing, publishing, investment banking, stockbroking, corporate affairs and public and private board positions. Pesel & Carr has helped to grow reputations and build leadership positions since 1997 by managing perceptions, generating exposure, creating connections and delivering positive results.

THE CAMPAIGN

Her Name Was Tracy And She Was Loved On 21 July 2013 sex worker Tracy Connelly was found brutally murdered in her home – a van on Greeves Street in St Kilda. Although similar to the murder of Jill Meagher, few media stories appeared, and those that did mentioned Tracy’s profession rather than her name. Not-for-profit organisation St Kilda Gatehouse, which operates a safe house for sex workers, believed the lack of respect and interest from the media was because they considered this attack normal and that in some way she ‘deserved’ it. Gatehouse wanted to change the perception of sex workers portrayed in the media, as well as highlight their rights and the potential for violence against women in any profession. Pesel & Carr used Tracy’s murder as a catalyst to reframe the story. Their strategy was to humanise Tracy by releasing her photograph and name, using a candlelight vigil held as a focus for the campaign. The goal was for people to identify with Tracy, not an anonymous sex worker. It allowed other women in violent situations, their friends and family to identify with her and consider acting on their own situation. Social media generated by traditional media drove the online commentary. The story gathered momentum and more than 50 articles subsequently appeared. Of these, 80 per cent included Tracy’s name in the headline, with her story also featured on channels 9, 7, 10, ABC and SBS. Nearly a thousand people attended the candlelight vigil, including actress Rachel Griffiths.

Tracy Connelly and Tony Melissovas

HIGHLY COMMENDED

COMMENDED

Category 11

Low Cost/Pro Bono

Fenton Communications Victoria

beyond the arts pages and create opportunities within mainstream media, extending its reach and broadening its audience.

PRIA Member David Micallef

Strategy implementation included media calls, photo opportunities and feature interviews and pitches around key features of the festival, while delivering day-to-day media and promotion for events across the three weeks of the festival.

Fenton is a leading Australian strategic communications agency with an integrated approach. It combines in-house expertise in strategic planning, public relations, digital, stakeholder engagement, marketing communications and visual design. Fenton works with clients to engage with their target audiences, putting the audience in the centre and building valuable relationships. Fenton believes the best reputations are owned by organisations that do what they say they do. With more than 25 years’ experience working with clients in sectors that impact the Australian community, it combines deep knowledge with diverse skills to build reputations based on authenticity. THE CAMPAIGN

Midsumma Festival 2014 Fenton’s pro-bono support of the 2014 Midsumma Festival saw it deliver a media strategy to promote the 131 events that highlight the diversity of queer culture in Victoria. The Midsumma Festival is a key part of Melbourne’s culture, and a major event in its festival and arts calendar. Midsumma organisers approached Fenton to help build awareness of the festival through the media. Fenton created a strategy with a dual focus: promoting Midsumma as a key part of Melbourne’s festival calendar, and promoting the individual events that made up the 2014 three-week program. The approach was to take Midsumma

Interest in the 2014 Midsumma Festival increased significantly, with coverage achieved in all mainstream print and television news, as well as significant support in local, arts and LGBTQI media.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

HIGHLY COMMENDED Category 12

Best Use of Analytics Leighton Contractors Queensland PRIA Members Lauren Coar and Eva Ford-Murphy Leighton Contractors are more than just contractors, delivering solutions spanning every stage of the project lifecycle, from finance to project management, design and construction, right through to long-term operation and management. It is structured to consolidate core areas of capability within businesses that are directly aligned with clients’ projects. From its original construction business, the company has grown to now deliver its projects and services across infrastructure, oil and gas, mining, telecommunications and services sectors. Today, Leighton Contractors is an organisation of more than 14,000 people delivering over $13 billion worth of projects for clients across Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Botswana – all backed by parent company Leighton Holdings. THE CAMPAIGN

Leighton Contractors ‘Social Media Facelift’ Six months after launching its social media channels, Leighton Contractors (LCPL) conducted research using metrics within the social media channels to gain a better understanding of the audience. The aim was also to increase engagement, create a stronger online presence and contribute to external positioning objectives.

Tools and tactics used to deliver these outcomes included targeted online campaigns, identification of internal SMEs to drive online conversations through channels, industry related Q&As, content generation strategies, including podcasts and video, boosting posts and monthly reporting to refine strategies when required. As a result of the new strategies employed, Leighton Contractors saw a 907 per cent growth in the number of Facebook followers, while LinkedIn and Twitter saw a 387 and 170 per cent growth in followers respectively.

WINNER Category 13

Emerging PR Practitioner of the Year Ishtar Schneider Palin Communications New South Wales Ishtar fell in love with Australia in 2011 after leaving the University of San Francisco to spend a semester abroad at Boston University’s Sydney campus. While on exchange she took the first steps towards realising her dream of becoming a successful PR professional when she landed a job as an intern at Edelman’s Sydney office. She instantly fell in love with the unique and frantic world that is public relations in Sydney. After completing her degree, Ishtar returned to Sydney, landing a job as an Account Executive at Palin Communications, a specialised healthcare PR agency. Since then, she has worked on a number of exciting campaigns, including new product launches, nonprofit disease awareness campaigns, clinical trials and industry conferences. She has made a significant contribution in improving the agency’s pitch rate success and the general expansion of the business. Ishtar also kick started Palin’s online course in healthcare PR (supported by PRIA), giving young consultants a taste of the niche industry. Ishtar has a knack for connecting relevant campaigns with spokespeople, particularly celebrities, to bring a high level of value to clients. She previously secured the late Charlotte Dawson as an advocate and spokesperson for a cutting-edge stem cell therapy treatment for people with osteoarthritis.

COMPANY PROFILE Palin Communications is an independent Australian public relations consultancy that has been promoting health-related news opportunities to the Australian media and managing health promotion assignments for more than 15 years. The team has developed a sharp news sense and a wealth of media and stakeholder contacts from that experience. The agency operates exclusively in the healthcare sector and provides strategic communications counsel and media relations services to pharmaceutical companies, not-for-profit foundations, industry bodies, nutrition-focused organisations and other players in the health and wellness sector. The Palin team is close-knit and consultants are hand-chosen for their understanding of media relations, keen interest in social media and, most importantly, genuine interest in the healthcare sector. The PR services Palin Communications provides are deeply specialised and have been fine tuned to deliver exceptional healthfocused communications. The Palin Communications team helps clients raise awareness of their issues, expand referral networks and change behaviour related to their issues and services. It is where evidence based PR drives health-related change.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

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Palin Communications congratulates our very own Ishtar Schneider on her award as the

“Emerging PR Practitioner of the Year” at the 2014 NSW PRIA Golden Target Awards Martin Palin, Managing Director, Palin Communications

Ishtar Schneider, Account Manager, Palin Communications

“The most talented and committed teams will always generate the best results for clients. Ishtar’s award shows that Palin Communications continues to attract and develop the very best talent in healthcare PR.” - Martin Palin To find out how we can help you visit

www.palin.com.au

or contact martin@palin.com.au

HIGHLY COMMENDED

COMMENDED

Category 13

Emerging PR Practitioner of the Year

Alison Whealing n2n Communications New South Wales

The agency delivers fully integrated campaigns that encompass communication strategy, public relations, marketing communications, stakeholder relations, issues and crisis management, and digital and social media.

Amber Thompson communikate et al South Australia

Alison started her PR career in 2010, the same year as the launch of a small photo-sharing app called Instagram. In 2013 the app was purchased by Facebook for $1 billion, and now has 200 million active monthly users. In Alison’s four years at n2n, she has gone from a nervous graduate to a confident, senior consultant, working hands-on in the digital world.

n2n communications is committed to continuous growth, as well as development and investment in the team to ensure it is at the forefront of innovation in the industry. The team at n2n consists of communication professionals who are passionate about technology and innovation, have deep business and consumer knowledge and, more than anything, love a challenge.

After graduating from UniSA with a PR degree in 2009, Amber was eager to gain practical experience in the industry and took on regular internships and volunteering roles.

A three-month secondment to CommBank to develop and execute a social media risk and governance project threw her into the digital world headfirst. CommBank is regarded as the most sophisticated Australian organisation in regards to its social media strategy, pioneering methods yet to be adopted by others. During her time at n2n, Alison has earnt the trust of senior executives within the agency’s clients’ list and is in high demand by the agency’s teams to work with them on their clients. “Alison is a thinker who can take complexity and identify the issues and opportunities that matter. She has a unique talent to then articulate these observations into a plan that makes sense and can be implemented,” said Vanessa Liell, the Managing Director of n2n Communications. COMPANY PROFILE n2n communications is one of Australia’s largest independent public relations agencies. Founded in 1996, the agency has built a reputation for outstanding results, quality senior consultants and best-practice communication strategies and campaigns.

Her determination led to her joining communikate et al as a receptionist and consultant support officer, where she gained vital insights into the workings of an agency and life as a PR practitioner. She later took on extra work, including assisting with internal communications, event coordination, copywriting and publicity. Since starting out as a receptionist, Amber made it clear that her sights were set on a position as a consultant, but never allowed this to dilute the focus on her administrative role. Rather than treating the position as a stopgap, Amber used it as an opportunity to learn new skills and prove herself. Amber now applies those same traits to her work as a consultant. COMPANY PROFILE Founded in 1995, communikate et al is a national marketing, public relations and digital agency with offices in Adelaide and Brisbane. It creates integrated campaigns that help organisations to actively connect with their customers and clients using a tailored mix of marketing, PR and digital.

communicate et al takes pride in offering the personalised service of a boutique agency supported by the resources of a national consultancy. The handpicked team of 20 focuses on truly partnering with clients to get results. The agency’s values of grounded, tenacious, progressive and genuine underpin everything it does. communicate et al’s growing list of local, national and international clients continues to offer diverse and interesting work.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

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THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

COMMENDED

Category 13

Emerging PR Practitioner of the Year

Rebecca Schrauf Rowland. Pty Ltd Queensland

Nick Creevey n2n Communications New South Wales

Nick is most energised when working on things that matter. He loves using his skills and experience to brands and organisations that need it and that are doing things in which he genuinely believes in. In joining n2n, he was able to pursue that passion, as well as utilise his skills in the consumer and corporate spaces to own and execute public relations campaigns and media strategies for worldleading and innovative brands. Nick has since established himself as a strong and valued consultant and achieved significant results for his clients cross the span of media relations, issues management, strategic counsel and creative and proactive campaign generation.

Rebecca is a remarkable and mature PR practitioner, as well as a wonderful friend and colleague to those that know her. She gives her time freely as a Council Member of PRIA (Queensland), a reflection of her commitment to both her professional development and to the industry as a whole. Her personal approach to public relations and business is to ensure open and frequent lines of communication. Rebecca is meticulous in documenting activities and providing regular work-in-progress status updates, which is reflected in the positive feedback often received from clients and line managers, expressing their confidence that projects are being progressed, actions undertaken, and deadlines are being met. “She is an extraordinary young practitioner with a rare combination of technical excellence and emotional intelligence. She has a bright future in our industry and will make an outstanding contribution to public relations practice,” said Helen Besly, Managing Director of Rowland.

What really sets Rowland apart is its ability to couple creativity and strategic thinking to deliver insightful, innovative outcomes that maximise results and exceed expectations. Added to this, its inquisitive nature and collaborative approach underpin productive partnerships; every challenge is tackled with energy and enthusiasm.

Managing Director of n2n Communications Vanessa Liell says Nick impressed from his very first interview with his passion and drive. “His energy is infectious and a significant motivator to everyone around him – he’s a big, creative thinker and shows outstanding determination and persistence to get results,” she said.

COMPANY PROFILE Rowland’s PR philosophy is simple: think, advise, integrate and inspire. Rowland brings together communication consultants, business advisors and a creative studio to offer integrated client solutions. So much more than the sum of its parts, Rowland is in the business of helping clients achieve their business goals and corporate objectives.

COMPANY PROFILE n2n communications is one of Australia’s largest independent public relations agencies. Founded in 1996, the agency has built a reputation for outstanding results, quality senior consultants and best-practice communication strategies and campaigns.

WINNER Category 14

PR Consultancy of the Year Red Agency New South Wales PRIA Member James Wright The team at Red Agency set themselves the goal of winning eight awards at five shows over a 12-month period. The aim was not only to draw in new clients, but also to retain the best talent. This was based on the belief that with the best talent, the agency is able to do its best work and in turn deliver commercial success. To deliver this the agency set about pioneering a major shake-up of the traditional PR agency structure that focuses on compelling storytelling, social engagement, brand experience and content creation, all of which is embedded in audience insight and brilliant creative. This is a radical move away from traditional PR organisational models, and one that is more agile and attuned to the needs of today and clients.

Using this model, Red Agency sought to create campaigns that are ‘deliberately shareable’ and that audiences feel compelled to talk about. This has been demonstrated through a bank of more than 10 powerful case studies that showcase how the model has come to life with incredible outcomes. Over the past year, the agency has won more than 30 international and domestic awards with this new model, including three Grand Prix and a D&AD Black Pencil, one of the world’s foremost creative awards. Red Agency has also developed a range of special offers according to the various needs of clients. During the 12 month period, Red Agency experienced incredible staff retention rates, helping the agency beat its growth and revenue targets. It was also showcased globally as an agency that embodies what PR means in today’s world.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

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THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

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HIGHLY COMMENDED

COMMENDED

Category 14

PR Consultancy of the Year

Edelman Australia New South Wales

Key results for 2014:

PRIA Member Matthew Gain

•

Today, the speed of change is unprecedented. Edelman Australia understands that a business cannot continue to be successful by doing things the same way. To evolve and stay ahead of the competition is the only way to maintain relevancy and breakthrough in today’s market. Being an independent agency network means Edelman can take more risks, allowing it to drive the company and the industry in new directions. It has also allowed the agency to make investments where it’s most important: in its people. All of this change opens the door for more creative thinking, resulting in innovative work for our clients. 2014 was the year Edelman decided to chase down opportunities with not only the PR departments, but direct with the big spending CMOs. With this new philosophy in mind, Edelman’s key objectives were to: • • • • • •

Retain and grow existing core clients Retain high-performing talent Grow digital as a core offering Expand services and capabilities Deliver a 20 per cent increase in revenue 2014 has proven to be a stellar year for Edelman Australia.

•

• • • •

36 per cent increase in revenue – 14 per cent above the target figure Grew core clients Samsung by 64 per cent, eBay Inc (PayPal, Gumtree and eBay) by 69 per cent, Sanofi by 67 per cent and KFC by 72 per cent 50 per cent of the agency’s total revenue came from Top 10 clients Retained 98 per cent of identified top talent and 90 per cent of all staff – higher than the industry norm Increased digital work by 65 per cent More than 40 per cent of revenue from expanded service offering

Sauce Communications Pty Ltd New South Wales PRIA Member Liane Sayer-Roberts Sauce Communications is an independent full-service and multi-award-winning public relations and events agency based in Leeton in rural New South Wales. Sauce’s team specialises in working with organisations that are based in, represent or need to reach audiences in regional and rural Australia. With a clearly defined service offering in a dynamic niche, Sauce is the only registered consultancy of its kind to be headquartered in the bush with satellite offices and staff in three capital cities. Sauce has experienced substantial growth over the past 18 months, including adding Devondale-Murray Goulburn, Australian Pork Limited, Rural Councils Victoria and Gundagai Meat Processors to its already impressive client list; opening a Melbourne office; increasing staff retention; and securing three award wins. Underpinning these outcomes are impressive 2013/14 commercial results, in which Sauce diversified its earnings while delivering its 10th successive year of revenue growth, averaging a 23 per cent increase per annum since 2010, a year-on-year 15 per cent gross profit uplift and a 32 per cent increase in the agency’s client base. Sauce’s consultants are passionate advocates for rural and regional Australia and together have lifted the agency’s profile in, and contribution to, this sector.

Experience life at The Australian National University through ANU Reporter Available on your tablet and in print To find out more visit http://bit.ly/anureporter Download the app via the Apple App Store or Google Play

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THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

Photo courtesy of Stuart Hay

WINNER Category 15

In-House PR Team of the Year The Australian National University Australian Capital Territory

THE CAMPAIGN

PRIA Member Jane Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Dwyer

Strategic Communications and Public Affairs (SCAPA) was established in 2013 to build a stronger capacity for The Australian National University to engage with its communities.

The Australian National University is like no other university. Established by the Australian Government in 1946 as a nation building institution, it has a unique national and global mission in research, education and public policy. The university is consistently ranked among the best universities in the world. In 2011, 94 per cent of research from ANU scholars was rated above world standard or well above world standard by the Australian Governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Excellence in Research for Australia initiative. The University is home to more than 4000 staff, 16,000 students, 45 per cent studying at the postgraduate level. ANU also attracts people from around the world, with roughly one quarter of its students coming from overseas and its staff drawn from every corner of the globe. .

ANU Strategic Communications and Public Affairs

From the beginning SCAPA defined itself as a team of innovative professionals who lead the country in university communications and public affairs by questioning practices, refining business strategies and experimenting with new techniques. The skills that the team brings to its public relations remit have been applied to developing responsive and open relationships with campus leadership, staff and students. These relationships have allowed SCAPA to change the way ANU thinks about public relations. By approaching this mission with energy and creativity, SCAPA can now confidently say it reflects in our work the excellence that defines ANU.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

COMMENDED

Category 15

In-House PR Team of the Year

Carnival Australia New South Wales

Gavin McLeod, a show-stopping Priscilla moment on Mardi Gras morning and the biggest ever boot-camp at sea – the team has helped make cruising the talk of the town.

Logan City Council Queensland

PRIA Member Peter Taylor

But it’s more than spreading the good news. The Carnival Australia Corporate Affairs team is also responsible for government relations, issues and crisis management, sustainability, staff engagement and community partnerships.

PRIA Member David Shaw

Carnival Australia was formed in July 2004 to meet the growing demand for cruising and the number of Carnival Corporation & PLC cruise companies home-porting ships from Australia and New Zealand. Since then, Carnival Australia has led the rapid expansion of the industry, which has tripled in the past five years alone and now sees more than 800,000 Australians take a cruise holiday each year. Today, Carnival Australia operates three home-ported brands in Australia – Carnival Cruise Lines, P&O Cruises and Princess Cruises – as well as another four international cruise brands that operate in the region seasonally – Cunard Line, Holland America Line, P&O Cruises World Cruising and Seabourn. THE CAMPAIGN

Carnival Australia Today, close to 900,000 Australians cruise each year and the number is growing, making cruising the fastest growing category of Australian tourism. Dominating the cruise market, with seven distinct cruise brands, the eight-member Corporate Affairs team at Carnival Australia is kept very busy and lives by the mantra, Go Big Or Go Home. In the past year they’ve done just that. From the world’s first TV program broadcast live from the open ocean, to a visit from everyone’s favourite Captain,

In fact, a partnership established by this team just 18 months ago is now raising close to half a million dollars a year to build kindergartens and aid posts for the Pacific Island communities that so warmly welcome cruise passengers year after year.

Logan City Council is a local government organisation south of Brisbane in Queensland, responsible for providing community services and infrastructure to more than 300,000 residents across 63 suburbs. The city is the fifth largest in Australia by population, following boundary changes in 2008, which took the city’s population from 175,000 to 260,000 overnight and tripled the city’s land area to 957 square kilometres. It is a city with 215 cultures represented, hundreds of parks, a mix of rural and urban lifestyles, a warm and involved community and a range of educational, industrial and business opportunities. THE CAMPAIGN

Logan City Council Media and Communications Team Logan City Council’s dedicated seven member Media and Communication Branch has a genuine passion for the city and is firmly focused on its mission to ensure the media fairly and honestly reflects the Logan that many people call home. The Media and Communication Branch addressed what was arguably its most challenging situation in January 2013, when the so-called Woodridge “race riots” resulted in unfavourable national news coverage that continued for a number of weeks, repeating old issues and reinforcing negative perceptions of Logan.

This was a turning point and eventually was the catalyst for a total branch review. There was a clear expectation from the Mayor, 12 Councillors, Chief Executive Officer and four Deputy CEOs that the team would reduce the number of negative stories in the media, increase tenfold the number of positive stories and turn around the city’s perceived reputation. Thanks to a focus on relationship building, Council has increased and improved coverage across local, state and national media platforms, achieving more than $10 million worth of positive and neutral coverage for the city.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

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THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TA RGET AWA R DS

2014

WINNER Category 16

PR Educator of the Year Association Professor Christine Daymon

Since 2011, Christine has published nine books, chapters and journal articles. She has made 14 conference and seminar presentations.

Murdoch University

Her latest book, Gender and Public Relations, was awarded the 2013 Outstanding Book of the Year by the Public Relations Division of the National Communication Association. Her previous book, Qualitative Research Methods in Public Relations and Marketing Communications, made a major international contribution to the uptake and development of qualitative research in public relations. To date, it has had over 600 citations and multiple positive reviews in international journals. It is used as a core text on PR research courses in the UK, Europe and USA.

Christine Daymon’s approach to teaching is based on over 20 years of expertise in postgraduate and undergraduate course design, curriculum development, innovative teaching methods, international education research and significant academic leadership. She believes students learn best by critically reflecting through the lens of theoretical frameworks on their PR experience, be it in the workplace, through research, or via stakeholder or activist roles. Christine chaired Murdoch University’s MA Communication Management to 2013, introducing rigor, relevance and practicality to its design. Accredited by PRIA, it is now the core postgraduate course in the School of Arts. She has more than 17 years of experience supervising multiple doctoral and masters students and mentoring PR academics. Christine’s teaching combines experiential-based activities via case studies, theoretical analysis and application, and research to ensure that the process of student learning is characterised by rigor, relevance, and practicality. Recognising that PR is now a global practice, Christine leads international, government-funded project to develop global education resources and strategies so PR academics might develop greater proficiency in cross-cultural, academic environments. In 2012, Christine was awarded a large government grant to lead an international education project to develop education resources to assist lecturers to support Chinese postgraduates entering Australian postgraduate study. The project involves universities in China, Australia, the UK and USA. It brings together PR academics from Victoria, Deakin, Canberra, Monash, and Murdoch universities.

UNIVERSITY PROFILE Murdoch University has more than 22,500 students and over 2,600 staff, including 2,000 overseas students from around 100 countries studying in Perth and another 6,500 studying offshore. That’s more than 25,100 unique stories, backgrounds and ways of thinking that help to make a difference in the world. In Western Australia, the South Street campus has a range of facilities including a comprehensive vet hospital (with WA’s only equine operating theatres), engineering pilot plant, a chiropractic clinic, media arts centre and more. Murdoch also has campuses in Singapore opposite the National Library in the education hub and in Dubai, where students use state-of-the-art TV and radio studios, newsrooms and editing suites. Murdoch is recognised as one of Australia’s leading research institutions, as more industries place their belief and resources into projects to provide Murdoch’s research candidates and scientists with the opportunity to make amazing discoveries.

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2014

WINNER Category 17

Campaign of the Year Financial & Corporate Relations

JUDGESâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; COMMENTS

PRIA Member Anthony Tregoning

Successfully Navigating Troubled Waters

Successfully Navigating Troubled Waters shows a highly sophisticated approach to issues management. Not only did FCR manage the media reaction to the National Navigation Companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s industrial relations, it challenged the client to recognise the larger issues of stakeholder management. In doing so, FCR made a significant impact on the ability of the company to operate in Australian waters. The campaign was sophisticated and well executed at every level. It sets a benchmark in issues and reputation management. Judges recognised Successfully Navigating Troubled Waters as Campaign of the Year for its insightful approach, excellent implementation and its overall efficacy.

In the age of digital media, managing stakeholder relationships and reputational risk is more complex than ever. The importance now being placed on strategic resourcing of the corporate and public affairs function is an essential component to sustaining competitive advantage. Against this backdrop, we can advise on the best executive search and selection strategy, managing all aspects of the assignment from initial briefing to successful negotiation and placement. In addition, with our years of experience specialising in these functions, we are well placed to advise on best-practice organisational structures, role definition, assessment and remuneration planning.

Call us today for a confidential discussion. For more information please call Lucinda Attrill on (02) 9947 9718 or visit www.saltshein.com.au

As a communication specialist you know the industry is constantly developing, expanding and changing with globalisation, advances in technology and breakthroughs in research.

policy issues facing an organisation, gives our Masters’ students a strategic focus beyond tactical day-to-day media centric practice,” Course Convenor and PRIA Life Fellow, James Mahoney, says.

The University of Canberra’s flexible Master of Strategic Communication has been developed to reflect the need for professional practitioners to work at a strategic level in this changing environment.

INTAKES: Semester 1 & Semester 2, 2015 DURATION: 1 year full-time or equivalent STUDY MODE: Available face-to-face and online GET MORE INFORMATION TELEPHONE: 1800 864 226 EMAIL: study@canberra.edu.au

The Master of Strategic Communication can be studied online, faceto-face or a mixture of the two. The program combines academic and industry-based teaching with the choice to major in either marketing or strategic issues communication and the ability to use real issues from your workplace for assignments. “Understanding how a top-level communication strategy can successfully deal with significant marketing and public

The University of Canberra Master of Strategic Communication provides the knowledge and skills needed to advance your career as a strategic issues, or marketing, communication expert in the business, public and not-for-profit sectors. One graduate who has done just that is Maria Fleming. One of the first graduates of the Master of Strategic Communication program in 2013, Maria has used her degree to advance her career.

“Now that I have a Master’s degree, I feel more confident about branching out into other areas of work,” Ms Fleming says. Ms Fleming has been selected to undertake a special project in Japan on Japanese -Australian bilateral relationships in education. In the Master of Strategic Communication program you will study with leaders in research, who shape communication education, alongside your peers in senior professional communication positions around Australia and the world. If you are a professional communicator who wants to further you professional education through flexible study, and to focus on a strategic approach to issues facing your organisation, enrolling in the Master of Strategic Communication at the University of Canberra is the right step for you.

master of

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION FACULTY OF ARTS & DESIGN

UCDOM0247

Learn from leaders in communication research and alongside peers

CANBERRA.EDU.AU

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THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TARGET AWARDS 2014 Recognising Excellence in Communications

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA GOLDEN TARGET AWARDS 2014