By Belinda Sieben
At the recent Mumbrella CommsCon event held at the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, Roberto Pace (FleishmanHillard & Eleven PR) and Fee Townshend (Eleven PR) inspired us on the art of making culture, not just PR noise.
Great PR isn’t just about column inches. This is just a part of what we deliver for clients but there is a lot more to great PR that’s beyond distributing press releases to media. Great PR creates culture for a brand and to do this, you need to be on top of what is trending, or even better what is about to begin trending.
Here are Roberto and Fee’s top tips for turning work up ‘from a ten to an eleven!’
Develop a framework for culture
In our industry, we have less time but so many more opportunities than ever before. We need to stop the cycle of PR 101 and think outside the box. MJ Bale customers wanted suits that don’t crush so the brand partnered with Woolmark to prove its 100% Australian Merino wool suits wouldn’t! They dressed a model in a suit and booked him the longest travel route possible to London, visiting nine countries and using 10 different modes of transport. All over 5 days. Want to know if there was a kink in that suit? Check it out here.
Crack the cultural tension
Roberto and Fee involve the LGBTIQ community in a lot of their campaigns. ANZ partnered with Galaxy Research to survey around 1,000 Australians on their attitudes toward LGBTIQ issues and noticed a lot of tension directed towards them. ANZ developed a powerful ad that showed same-sex couples holding hands but then letting go of each other’s hands under the judgemental gaze of passers-by. ANZ’s campaign aims to highlight its ongoing commitment to the values of diversity, inclusion and respect by helping people understand the challenges that many members of the LGBTIQ community face. See the ANZ #holdtight ad here.
Be part of a brand’s culture
The Marriage Amendment Act is an Act of New Zealand Parliament that allows same-sex couples to legally marry. Tourism New Zealand leveraged this recent amendment to offer Australian same-sex couples the chance to win a wedding in New Zealand on the first day the legislation comes into force. The brand, Tourism NZ, used its country’s laws and culture to create a campaign with huge buzz across broadcast, print and online. Read about the case study here.
If you’re interested in the actual wedding, you can watch it here.
Enhance the story with technology
Use technology to make something culturally relevant. Skyy Vodka used smart-tech glassware to show its support for marriage equality in Australia. When two short smart-tech glasses clinked together a photo of the two people is generated and overlaid with #CheerstoEquality. At the same time, a digital signature petitioning support for marriage equality is sent through via Twitter using #auspol. See more of it here.
Be more human
Have less greed and share more good. Telco giant Virgin Mobile partnered with mindfulness app Smiling Minds and placed meditation pods around the city for people to switch off. The activation reminded people that no matter where you are, it is feasible to take 10 minutes a day to practice mindfulness (and even switch off your Virgin mobile!). Jealous you missed out? See more here.
Win-win
Brands should be doing less solo work and more collaborations as they allows both brands to reach new audiences. If the advantages for both brands are outlined clearly and the partnership aligns with everyone’s values and objectives, it’s a win-win. eBay partnered with the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard and renamed itself Seabay for a fundraising campaign. It allowed Aussies to bid on items recovered by Coast Guard volunteers and equipment used on actual rescues. This helped to raise vital funds for the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard and people to the Seabay site. Win-win. Check out what people leave behind at the beach here.