PRIA|Golden Targets PR winners

The Public Relations Institute of Australia, the trade body for public relations professionals has named its best PR campaigns of the year at its Golden Target Awards.

The winners:

Government Sponsored Campaigns:

Water & Vine campaign by Peter Fuller of Fuller for the Grape and Wine Research Development Corporation

Australia experienced what became known as “the worst drought in 100 years” from 2005 to 2009. Severely reduced water allocations threatened the livelihoods of wine grape growers, as well as the $4 to $5 billion wine industry and dozens of regional communities along the Murray River. A Federally funded $1.3 million integrated communication strategy was delivered by Fuller and the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation.

Public Affairs:

Regional Cities Victoria – A Growing Solutions campaign for Regional Cities Victoria by Rachael Sweeney and David Hawkins of SOCOM

In 2008, new population projections indicated the State Government had substantially under-estimated how many people would be living in Melbourne by 2030. A rapid and unplanned increase in population would threaten the city’s highly publicised liveability, and the State’s productivity. Regional Cities Victoria believed encouraging significant population growth in the regions would ease the pressure on Melbourne and create a productive, liveable regional Victoria. Socom worked with the group to ensure the State Government’s policy for managing Victoria’s population growth included increased government investment in Victoria’s regions to stimulate population growth.

Issues Management:

Adelaide: Australia’s Learning City campaign by Mark Osborne of Education Adelaide

During 2009 Australia was labelled “racist” by the Indian media following attacks on Indian students. Australia’s reputation as a safe place to study was in tatters and the lucrative Indian education market was in danger of drying up as enrolments dropped and students returned home. South Australia’s international education marketing agency Education Adelaide, which has overseen the tripling of student numbers since 2002, launched an issues management strategy to re-establish South Australia’s reputation as a safe destination.

Community Relations:

Jesus. All About Life campaign by Sharon Williams and Sharon Ghatora of Taurus Marketing for Bible Society NSW.

In September 2009, the Bible Society launched the largest promotional campaign ever undertaken by Christians in Australia. Nearly 1800 Churches from 15 different Christian Denominations in NSW came together for the first time to focus on one task – bringing Jesus back into everyday conversations. The campaign presented a huge challenge with no product, service or event to promote, with a 2000 year old intangible.

Internal Communication:

Turning Around Morale and Employee Engagement within a Dispersed Construction Business campaign by Susan Pantall of Leighton Contractors

Employees of Leighton Contractors Western Australia were experiencing low morale and job insecurity after a period of negative publicity. This was largely due to industrial action on a high profile Perth project and organisational changes that significantly reduced the company’s revenue base. With no existing internal communication program in place, the challenge was to build morale, deliver communication that met the needs of the employees and build the company’s reputation.

Investor Relations including Merger Acquisition Communication:

Maintaining a Strong, Independent Profile For St George Bank Following its Merger with Westpac campaign by Robyn Sefiani of Sefiani Communications and Simon Covill of St George Bank.

After the St George merger with Westpac was passed in November 2008, Westpac committed to have St George operate an independent brand within the multi-brand Group. Over 2009 St George and Sefiani executed a national media relations campaign, themed “St George is open for business”, that leveraged consumer-centric surveys, sponsorship and executive profiling for maximum effect. St George achieved its key objective – maintaining its No. 1-ranked reputation among major banks – and St George brand consideration among consumers increased.

Consumer Marketing and Social Marketing – New and/or Existing Product or Service Including Prescription Medicines:

First winner -Intense Tomatoes Australian Launch campaign by Shay Ashton of BBS PR for SP Exports

SP Exports, Australia’s largest supplier of fresh field grown tomatoes, appointed BBS in 2009 to manage the Australian launch of the world’s first no mess tomato – Intense® tomatoes. BBS’ strategy incorporated traditional communication methods with an online social marketing program to target opinion leaders, generate a sense of excitement and drive sales.

Second winner – Oroton Blogger Outreach campaign by Natalie Musico and Jaselyn O’Sullivan of bellamyhayden: chatterbox

bellamyhayden:chatterbox was engaged to promote Oroton’s The Studio, their new online store. Through highly targeted and individualized blogger outreach program to the top 10 influential fashion bloggers in Australia, bellamyhayden:chatterbox engaged these influencers and recommend their readers visit the Oroton website.

Third winner – Fresher Tastes Better campaign by Melanie King of 303 for the Australian Olive Association

303’s challenge was to find a sticky and compelling idea that would get the Australian media and general public behind an Australian product to get maximum exposure for a very deserving primary industry. In creating the ‘Fresher Tastes Better’ concept using blind taste tests at food shows and in the media led by campaign spokesperson chef Matt Moran, 303 generated a tremendous amount of coverage by more than 58 million pairs of eyes and increased sales by 20 – 30% in the six month campaign.

Business to Business Marketing – New and/or Established Product or Service: Recipe For Foodservice Success campaign by Lee McLean of Professional Public Relations for the Incremental Marketing Group on behalf of Unilever, Simplot and Fonterra.

In 2009, IBIS World research was forecasting that the next two years would see negative growth for the foodservice industry. Recipe for Foodservice was developed as a business-to-business program to better equip hospitality businesses in the running of their restaurants and eateries during an economically turbulent 2009. Foodservice companies Unilever, Simplot and Fonterra partnered to provide collective support to their customers and other eateries by sponsoring this program which offered practical business advice and encouragement in a non-competitive environment.

Special Event/Observance: Back to Burrinjuck campaign by Liane Sayer-Roberts of Sauce Communications for State Water.

To celebrate Burrinjuck Dam’s centenary, the program was designed to engage Yass residents and downstream communities in recognising the significance of NSW’s first major irrigation dam and the contribution of the people connected to it. The pinnacle of the program was the opening of the dam wall to the public for the first time in 20 years, with demand so high that the scheduled tour program was doubled.

Environmental: Developing a Long Term Plan for the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth campaign by Judith Bleechmore and Janet Pryor of the Department for Environment and Natural Resources.

Drought, over-allocation of water and climate change have left the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth region’s internationally significant wetlands on the brink of suffering irreversible damage. An opportunity existed to plan a community engagement strategy that informed, consulted and collaborated in a way that developed the best possible long-term plan for managing the region’s future.

Health Organisations: FebFast 2010 campaign by Sally Tyrell of Haystac Positive Outcomes for FebFast.

FebFast is an education and charity campaign encouraging individuals to work towards a healthier lifestyle by inviting people to forgo alcohol during February and secure sponsorship for their efforts.

Corporate Social Responsibility: DDA: Community Engagement Program by Celina Weis of QR Passenger.

The Queensland Rail Disability Discrimination Act Community Engagement Program is an initiative developed to obtain community input into the development of non-discriminatory and accessible Rail services. Since the introduction of the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992, Queensland Rail has worked to systematically identify and remedy the barriers that have historically impeded access for our customers with disabilities. To engage with customers who have disabilities a variety of strategies and activities are used including, reference groups, forums, consultations, information sessions, educational experiences, marketing materials and community sponsorship. The program has ensured Queensland Rail achieves its obligations under the DDA and ensures their services are in line with community requirements.

Low Cost/Pro Bono: Cat Haven Christmas campaign by Jessica Reid for Cat Haven.

In 2009, as an unpaid volunteer, Jessica Reid implemented the shelters first Christmas media and communication campaign. The campaign addressed the euthanasia of thousands of cats at Cat Haven occurring when the shelter is inundated with animals leading up to and during Christmas. Nearly 200 more cats lives saved during the largest cat dumping month and nearly 700 more saved between July and December compared same periods the previous year. These rates are also the highest the shelter has seen in its statistical history.