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Andrew Pirie, president, Asia Pacific
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Renewed Purpose in the Region
It may be hard to believe, but we are entering the final stretch of yet another year. Although it’s rather early to be writing an annual review just yet, we’ve recently completed our Network of the Year entry for the forthcoming Asia Pacific PR Awards, so our recent achievements are top of mind.
After a stellar year of record growth in 2006, winning numerous accolades and culminating in being named Asia Pacific Network of the Year, Weber Shandwick has increased its momentum in 2007.
Growth has been driven by significant progress across the business including an impressive list of new client wins; expansion of the breadth and depth of existing client relationships; continued development of existing practice area strengths in consumer marketing, corporate communications, financial services, healthcare, travel/leisure, public affairs and technology PR; the launch of new service offerings in digital PR, screengrab™; sports marketing and corporate social responsibility; and an influx of new senior talent into the agency network.
Truly, Weber Shandwick has been operating at peak performance. This has provided us the perfect vantage point to analyse our objectives and focus on what is important.
This issue of In Touch testifies to the renewed sense of purpose our regional network has found. There are inspirational stories of pro-bono projects for Habitat for Humanity in Sydney and Singapore. From promoting the organisation’s mission to eliminate poverty housing to lending a hand to local construction projects, consultants are part of the community (Click here read more about our partnership with Habitat for Humanity).
It is precisely these purposeful campaigns that have caught the attention of the PR community. Condoms Bindaas Bol, a campaign to promote condom usage and family planning in India, earned Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick in New Delhi two prestigious awards—the International Public Relations Association’s Golden World Award and the United Nation’s Grand Award (Click here to read more about the UN award and here to learn more about the winning campaign).
We have also put a new emphasis on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Visiting four Asia Pacific markets—Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney—Brendan May, global head of corporate responsibility and sustainability, spoke to staff, clients and new prospects on “Building brand advocacy through CSR.” (Click here read more about the CSR initiative).
Finally, Weber Shandwick’s new thought-leadership initiative, advocacy, continues to add depth to our campaigns across the region. Instead of merely representing our clients, team members have uncovered the most rewarding part of this forward-looking PR strategy, believing in the potential of our client’s brands.
All in all, an exciting time for everyone at Weber Shandwick and, together with our clients, we look forward to a strong end to the year and an even more successful 2008!
Andrew Pirie
President Asia Pacific
Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick in New Delhi, India, has been named winner of the United Nations (UN) Grand Award for outstanding achievement in public relations—the first PR agency in India to receive the global accolade.
The campaign promoted the consistent use of condoms in India as part of safe sex practices and family planning. This is the third year in a row that Weber Shandwick has won this highly coveted award, which is an unparalleled feat as no other communications agency network has won the award more than once since the award’s inception in 1990.
“This is a significant win and further reinforces Weber Shandwick’s ability to harness the power of advocacy for clients,” said Shiv Reddy, CEO, Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick. “The Condom Bindaas Bol (Say Condoms Freely) campaign successfully engaged celebrities, chemists and the media to amplify campaign messages, and mobilised support across diverse audiences and regions.”
Condom Bindaas Bol is a joint effort of PSP-One, a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) project; Lowe Lintas (IPG)—marketing and advertising agency; Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick New Delhi; ICICI Bank; and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Congratulating the Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick team, Anand Verdhan Sinha, country director, PSP-One Abt Associates said, “We are thrilled! Since the beginning, the Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick team has considered every detail to create a truly strategic marketing communications campaign. Its solid strategy, supported by flawless execution, has been outstanding. This award recognises creative and innovative PR at its best, and the difference it can make.”
The UN Grand Award is jointly sponsored by the UN Department of Public Information and International Public Relations Association (IPRA), a professional organisation for senior international public relations executives. The Grand Award was established in 1990 to recognise excellence in campaigns that address priority issues before the world organization.
Click here to learn about the hugely successful Condom Bindaas Bol campaign.
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| The Condom Bindaas Bol (Say Condoms Freely) campaign successfully promoted the consistent use of condoms by encouraging its audience not to be shy of buying or saying the word ‘condom’ |
Shikha Arora, Ramnika Jain and Gunjan Bagga, the PR team behind the Condom Bindaas Bol campaign |
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Dual Olympic Success for Weber Shandwick |
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Sochi 2014 Olympic Victory
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An athlete carrying the Olympic torch. With permission from the Air Force Services Agency |
Weber Shandwick has been celebrating the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) selection of Sochi in Russia as the host city for the 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. The successful Bid by Sochi, up against South Korea’s PyeongChang and Austria’s Salzburg, brings an 18-month communications campaign to an end. The campaign involved Weber Shandwick’s extensive global network of offices working to support the Sochi Bid team as it sought to demonstrate Sochi’s suitability as the venue for the Games.
The Sochi 2014 Bidding campaign mobilised Weber Shandwick teams in 29 countries, including five Asia Pacific markets—Australia, China, Japan, Singapore and Thailand. The firm brought many of the lessons learned in its successful work supporting the bid for Beijing in 2008.
“There is no sporting event like the Olympic Games. Media from all around the world have followed the progress of the 2014 Olympic Games bidding campaign,” commented Jack Leslie, chairman of Weber Shandwick. “We are delighted and proud to have been on Sochi’s team throughout this process and to be able to add another triumphant campaign to our long list of successful Olympic bids.”
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Weber Shandwick to Support Tokyo’s Bid For The 2016 Olympic Games
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Tokyo’s sky lit up on October 2 as the Tokyo Tower shone the Olympic colours, two years before the Copenhagen decision regarding the host city for the 2016 Games |
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More exciting Olympic news followed on October 2 when it was announced that Weber Shandwick has been selected by the Tokyo 2016 Olympic Games Bid Committee to provide public relations support for the committee’s bid to host the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in 2016.
Weber Shandwick will help develop the global communications strategy and execute various aspects of the public relations campaign for the Tokyo bid throughout the world. With a wealth of experience managing successful global communications campaigns for Olympic host-city bids such as Sydney 2000, Torino 2006, Beijing 2008, and most recently Sochi 2014 (see previous feature), Weber Shandwick will put the expertise it has gained to work to bring the Games to Tokyo.
The 2016 Olympic Games Bid Committee said: "We are extremely pleased to be able to begin this campaign with a firm such as Weber Shandwick supporting our bid to be the host city for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Weber Shandwick has unprecedented experience as well as an outstanding record of public relations accomplishments … We look forward to welcoming the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo."
Weber Shandwick CEO Harris Diamond expressed his extreme satisfaction to be partnering with the Tokyo 2016 Bid Committee in pursuing the Olympic and Paralympic Games for Tokyo, saying: “It is a great honour to work with the Tokyo Olympic Games Bid Committee. Our goal is to help showcase the tremendous attributes that Tokyo and the Japanese nation will bring to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016.”
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| Brendan May presenting to staff at Weber Shandwick Shanghai |
Brendan May and Ian Rumsby in Sydney at the start of the Asia Pacific launch of the new CSR offering |
Earlier this month marked the launch of Weber Shandwick’s CSR service offer in the Asia Pacific region. Over a period of five days, Global Head of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Brendan May, supported by Ian Rumsby, EVP client strategy, Asia Pacific, gave ten separate presentations to more than 500 clients, prospects and staff in Sydney, Singapore, Beijing and Shanghai. AmCham and EuroCham members were also in attendance as well as select media. Building on the new corporate mission, the theme of the events was “Building Brand Advocacy Through CSR.”
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| Pirie posing with Taiwan team members |
Discussing future prospects |
A photo wall depicted the agency’s activity over the decade |
The Weber Shandwick team in Taiwan recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary.
Andrew Pirie, president, Asia Pacific, was on hand to congratulate the entire crew and introduce the agency’s newest thought-leadership initiative, advocacy. He also spoke to reporters about recent changes in the industry.
“Weber Shandwick’s decade-long relationship with clients in Taiwan is flourishing,” said Wei Hsiang, general manager for the Taipei team. “It is rewarding to remember the legacy we have in the local PR industry, and this experience helps us move forward as a premier PR agency in Asia Pacific.”
In Asia Pacific, where many PR agencies are still in their infancy, the occasion displayed Weber Shandwick’s deep, established roots in the region.
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