Opinion

Mumbrella Readers Choice Awards – PR agency of the year shortlist

Mumbrella Awards trophiesThe following entries have been shortlisted in the PR agency of the year category of the Mumbrella Readers Choice Awards.  

The order that follows was deliberately randomised so there is no alphabetical advantage in the order they appear.

Subscribers to the Mumbrella daily email will receive a link to the voting website.

While readers are invited to comment on the entries, please be aware that we will be alert for both astroturfing and deliberate attempts to sabotage a particular entry. Multiple comments from the same IP address, or otherwise suspicious postings will be moderated.

In this category, you are looking for the answer to two questions: Has the agency had a good year? And has the agency done well for its clients?

Please remember that including a video was optional, so entries that do not do so should not be judged down for that reason.

The shortlist:

  • Klick Communications
  • Liquid Ideas
  • Wordstorm PR

LIQUID IDEAS

Liquid Ideas should be the Reader’s Choice 2009 PR Agency of the Year for the following 10 reasons.

1. We have increased our workforce by 25 per cent in a dire economy, won more than a few new clients against bigger agencies and continue to deliver stellar results across all media.

2. We have continued to invest in the best staff, who are given the best opportunities to do the best job in the business. We have two starting MBAs, one nominated as the Wine Communicator “Young Gun” for 2010 and staff retention is really good – why go elsewhere?

3. Our client mix is the best in the business – seriously why would you look elsewhere when our roster of current clients includes Crown Lager, Chivas Regal, Australian Open golf, MUMM Champagne, Mr & Mrs Smith, Jacob’s Creek and more.

4. We have done more pro-bono work in 2009 than ever before. We have helped Starlight Children’s Foundation through a tough year and have built food rescue charity OzHarvest into a highly visible organisation that is going national in 2010. Founder Ronni Kahn was also just nominated as NSW Local Hero 2010.

5. We have continued to build, not burn, media relations in a year where so many other practitioners seem to have gone out of their way to piss the media off with daft stunts or ill-advised campaigns.

6. We have stuck to our guns. In a year when ill-informed clowns have convinced a few gullible types that 15 minutes of infamy with no long term brand benefit is somehow good “PR”, we have remained steadfast in encouraging the building of relationships and credibility and trust in our brands and our business.

7. We have finally settled into our sweet new offices in Alexandria, which is the new Surry Hills, and we have the best Friday drinks in Australia (just ask News Mags).

8. We are still small (15 full-time account staff), nimble, passionate, fun and creative.

9. Because anyone who votes for us gets a free bottle of wine (limited to the first 50 voters – hey we’ve seen people caught out on these sort of cheap promotions before).

10. Because Stu has promised us free beer at the Argyle all afternoon if we win, and some nice Champagne, and maybe a pay rise but that hasn’t been confirmed, but if he’s drunk enough…

 

WORDSTORM PR

Instead of blowing our own trumpet, here are some of the compliments we have received from clients this year:

Paula Lorenzo, iWishiWish.com.au –

“Your team is undeniably one of the best! You have exceeded all of my expectations and always accommodated me no matter what. I could not have asked for more and will definitely be recommending you to everybody. I am thrilled at the results you have achieved for me.”

Sharon Thurin, Slim Secrets –

“We have achieved some great coverage which has been a great help with Slim Secrets sales, branding and recognition. The team is always on hand to give advice and I have been impressed by the friendly and professional way they approach their job. I would have no hesitation in recommending them to another business.”

Shaun A. O’Toole, Lake Crystal –

“May I congratulate you and your team for a job very well done. It is true to say that my expectations have been exceeded in many ways. The number of articles and other coverage that WordStorm was able to gain was very impressive. Particularly pleasing were the number of quality publications nationally all with large circulations, that were prominent. I shall have no doubt about using your services again in the future.”

Pamela Higgins, Wilfred Owen –

“Words can’t describe how delighted we are with the interview on ACA. Thank you, Thank you. That was truly wonderful, well done on getting our product on prominent national television in prime time.”

As a result of WordStorm PR’s campaigns here are just some of our clients’ success stories:

– Having originally been turned down by two major retail chains, our consumer tech client approached us for assistance. Following a short but intense campaign these two major retailers ended up banging down his door to become a distributor of the product.

– Sometimes clients don’t want to sell more products, but rather their entire business. This was the case with a gourmet food client who wanted to sell his business. The amount of publicity generated was a key selling point and contributed to a sale price that exceeded his expectations.

– Due in part to an enormously successful PR campaign, one of our clients products was the best selling beauty product in Myer for months.

– Having worked with WordStorm for three years, an internationally renowned brand has eliminated nearly all of their marketing spend and now rely almost entirely on public relations.

We believe the secret to our success is our culture. PR Princesses are not our thing. WordStorm is a PR consultancy with a down to earth approach and prices. Our team enjoy a work life balance. It is rare to see anyone in our office after 6pm. We have one life, we choose to live it. We believe balancing work and play leads to happy people, healthy attitudes and therefore delighted clients.

KLICK COMMUNICATIONS

Why should Klick win? Because people love things that are awesome, and we the very definition of the term. It’s as simple as that!

We turned one this year and like all one year olds, our development has been fast and full of surprises. We started out with one partner (to you they might be clients but we don’t play the traditional client / agency roles) and now Klick works with 15 partners across the travel and lifestyle sectors.

• We have gone to Hawaii and gotten paid for it! (Mahalo, Hawaii Tourism Oceania!).

• We have hired the best in the business and had fun mucking around at work by inviting American video blogger, Scotty Got an Aussie Job, to Australia to create content for brands that people actually WANT to see.

• We have even tasted the world’s best tequila in the name of research (Salud, Casa Herradura!).

• We’ve convinced a room full of travel writers to cram into a shower to sing together at a press event.

• We generated over $1m worth of earned media for the 2009 Havaianas Australia Day Thong Challenge.

• Worked with Australian Traveller magazine, who increased their readership by 16 per cent. That’s right, we said increase. For a magazine. Printed on paper. In 2009!

We don’t think about “which media to target”, we seek out the consumer and utilise the channels where they play. The new media (not “New Media”) landscape has changed the way we talk to one another. It’s changed the way brands communicate with consumers. It’s not as easy as coming up with your “Viral Video Hit!!!” or building a Facebook page for your company. Brands today must become a part of the ecosystem in which they wish to reach people. They’ve got to be people. They’ve got to get real.

Smart brands are the ones who preach what they practice.

No PR collective does this better than Klick Communications. Just into our second year, we have bounced onto the scene with some bold manoeuvres, and in a constantly changing industry, we’ve learnt that fortune favours the bold.

Our ethos is to Harness the Unexpected. The team at Klick are constantly innovating, and our ever-growing roster of partners shows that more people are looking for what Klick has to offer: a deeper insight into what makes people stand up, to pay attention, and a dedication to making things that are awesome.

Finally, we undertake every project in the spirit of partnership. We exist in a symbiotic relationship with everyone we make contact with, and the fundamental tenet of symbiosis is harmony. We are not talking about peace and love – although we fully support this notion – we are talking about developing understanding through communication with everyone we deal with. We have achieved a great level of understanding in this past year on our collective journey towards success. We have been fortunate enough to work with experts who have contributed an enormous amount to the ongoing development of our team, and subsequently we are richer in knowledge, in experience, and in reputation due to this individual and collective benefaction to our organisation.

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