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Weber Shandwick Appoints Jeffrey Gilbert to Head Japan Healthcare Team |
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Tokyo, 06 September 2010 Weber Shandwick, one of the world's leading global public relations firms, today announced the appointment of Jeffrey Gilbert to its healthcare practice in Tokyo. Gilbert will bring a unique combination of global and Japanese pharmaceutical industry experience in both the private and public health sectors to the agency. In his role as senior vice president and practice leader, he will report to Akihiko Kubo, president and CEO, Weber Shandwick Japan and work very closely with Laura Schoen, Weber Shandwick global healthcare president. "Jeffrey is an individual who arguably has one of the richest healthcare experiences in the PR industry in Japan, with his deep knowledge and expertise of issues such as market-entry strategies, government relations and cooperation with international agencies and non-governmental organizations. I believe he will help companies tackle challenging issues in today's healthcare marketplace in Japan and elsewhere in Asia," said Kubo. For more than 10 years, Gilbert served as director of government relations and earlier as a team leader in strategy and business development for one of the world's major pharmaceutical companies. He worked with international health agencies and non-government organizations to expand patient access to medicines, and his successes contributed to an improvement in the company's image among key stakeholders, including United Nations agencies. Gilbert also led a team in Japan that assessed impacts of proposed Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare reforms and pursued initiatives such as the review of drug pricing strategies, field force deployments and drug wholesaler networks. Gilbert was also appointed by the World Bank, where he worked for over two years on healthcare system reforms in developing and middle-income countries. His successes there included deepening constituencies' knowledge of pharmaceuticals policy options. A native of the United States, Gilbert is fluent in Japanese and holds a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University and an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago. About Weber Shandwick
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Weber Shandwick Honored At Marketing Magazine Agency of the Year 2010 Awards |
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Hong Kong, 02 September 2010 Weber Shandwick recently received several industry honors at Marketing magazine's "Agency of the Year 2010" Awards. The firm won awards in the key PR categories of Media Relations (silver) and Overall Public Relations Strategy (bronze). Albert Shu, managing director Weber Shandwick Hong Kong said, "These awards reflect our success in building strong client partnerships. We are very proud of our staff and client work and of course our reputation as a leading public relations consultancy in Hong Kong." The Agency of the Year 2010 Awards are based on a survey of senior marketers in Hong Kong. Respondents are asked such questions as, "Which agency would you hire for PR Strategy?", "Which agency would you hire for media relations?" and "Which agency would you most likely hire to manage your marketing and communications business?" The results are tallied up by Marketing magazine and unveiled at the annual award ceremony in Hong Kong. Weber Shandwick was also a finalist in the Event Marketing and Brand Consultancy categories and the only public relations firm to qualify as a finalist for the Overall Agency of the Year in Hong Kong. About Weber Shandwick
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Weber Shandwick Wins Brand Campaign for ArvinMeritor, Inc. In China |
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Shanghai, China, 30 August 2010 ArvinMeritor, Inc., a global supplier to commercial truck, trailer and specialty original equipment manufacturers and certain aftermarkets, has chosen Weber Shandwick to launch a brand campaign in China following a competitive pitch. Weber Shandwick has been working with ArvinMeritor on a retainer basis since 2007 and was selected for the new brand campaign for its expertise in the technology and public affairs industries and strategic communications planning. Weber Shandwick will work with ArvinMeritor to develop an integrated communications plan and deliver media relations, event management, advertising planning and public affairs services to elevate the company's brand profile in China as it moves toward building a new manufacturing facility and technical center in Nanjing. The project will begin in August 2010 and will continue through December 2011. "ArvinMeritor has an exciting campaign coming up in Nanjing, and we are excited to partner with Weber Shandwick to raise our brand awareness in China," said Linda Cummins, senior vice president, ArvinMeritor. Darren Burns, managing director, Weber Shandwick Shanghai and Guangzhou commented, "Weber Shandwick is proud to win the brand campaign for ArvinMeritor and to provide communications counsel for its business expansion in China. We look forward to a successful launch and continued collaboration with ArvinMeritor." About Weber Shandwick |
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Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick Campaign For P&G's Gillette 'Shave India Movement' Wins International Stevie Award |
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Mumbai, 14 July 2010 Corporate Voice I Weber Shandwick's PR campaign for P&G's brand Gillette has won an International Stevie Award for PR Campaign of the Year - Marketing Consumer Products, in the 2010 International Business Awards (IBAs), otherwise known as the Stevie's. The winning campaign was called "Shave India Movement" and tapped women and celebrities as influencers, encouraging men to shave while unveiling the newly affordable and comfortable Gillette Mach3 razor. The IBAs are the only global, all-encompassing business awards program honoring great performances in business. Nicknamed the Stevie® for the Greek word "crowned," the awards will be presented to winners at a gala dinner on Monday, 27 September in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey.
Shiv Reddy, CEO, Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick commented on the win. "It is a great honor that a PR-led campaign in India has created history by being acknowledged for its contribution to business outcomes for a global brand like Gillette. Campaigns like these demonstrate the potential of PR in the overall communication process that changes the minds of customers." Shweta Shukla, Associate Director & Head of External Relations, P&G India, reinforced these comments. "We are delighted to see Gillette's Shave India Movement, once again, being recognized on such a prestigious platform like The 2010 International Business Awards. Public relations continues to be fundamental to brand building and a core pillar in all marketing campaigns at P&G, including being the source of holistic ideas such as the Gillette Shave India Movement." About Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick |
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Weber Shandwick's Gillette Campaign Wins IPRA Golden World Award |
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Mumbai, 02 July 2010 Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick's (CV|WS) "W.A.L.S." (Women Against Lazy Stubble) campaign for client Procter & Gamble (P&G), which successfully launched Gillette's Mach 3 razor in India, won "Launch of a New Product" at IPRA's annual Golden World Awards (http://www.ipra.com). The Golden World Awards are among the most competitive in the industry, with this year's judges electing 26 winners from 352 entries received from 42 countries. The prize ceremony is scheduled to take place at the IPRA Summit in London on 5 November 2010. The W.A.L.S. campaign for men's grooming brand Gillette creatively mobilized women in India to advocate for men to adopt the clean-shaven look. The campaign utilized the results of an A.C Nielsen survey that showed that 85% of Indian women prefer clean-shaven men, a finding that runs contrary to the look that numerous Indian men and even celebrities often wear. Corporate Voice I Weber Shandwick leveraged this survey result to create the women's advocacy group W.A.L.S that led to the "Shave India Movement" to convince men to shave. The campaign, culminating in a mass "Shaveathon" in which approximately 2,000 men publicly shaved their beards using Gillette's Mach 3 razors, created world records in the Guinness World Book of Records and the Limca Book of Records in India. "We are delighted to see Gillette's Shave India Movement, once again, being recognized on such a prestigious platform like the IPRA Awards - the only winner from India. PR continues to be fundamental to brand building and a core pillar in all marketing campaigns at P&G, including being the source of holistic ideas such as the Gillette Shave India Movement. I'd like to thank Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick for helping to bring this innovative idea to life and building the equity of Gillette Mach 3," said Shweta Shukla, associate director & head of external relations, P&G India. "The W.A.L.S. campaign demonstrates the power of Weber Shandwick's unique Advocacy approach. By equipping women to be advocates for the clean-shaven look that Gillette delivers, the campaign impacted male consumers' grooming preferences and purchasing decisions," said Shiv Reddy, CEO, Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick. "This award-winning campaign produced history-making results that we are very proud of." Days earlier, the same campaign earned a Silver Lion at the 57th Cannes International Advertising Festival in the "PR Led Integrated Campaign" category. About Weber Shandwick |
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Weber Shandwick Wins Media Communications For City of Madrid At World Expo 2010 |
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Shanghai, China, 01 July 2010 Weber Shandwick is working with the city of Madrid to manage its media communications for the current World Expo 2010. As a result of a competitive pitch, Weber Shandwick's offices in China and Spain were chosen over four other major network agencies. The firm was chosen because of its experience with other Expo clients, its relationship with Shanghai's Expo bureau and its vast global network that includes offices in Madrid and Shanghai. The assignment is to promote the city of Madrid to Chinese audiences. Weber Shandwick is responsible for counseling on media relations, events and on-site support. Other responsibilities involve inviting, organizing and managing the media in both professional and consumer venues, including forums, panel discussions and media briefings. About Weber Shandwick
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National Cervical Cancer Campaign Scoops PR Lion in Cannes |
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London, 28 June 2010
The national campaign was developed to educate girls and women about cervical cancer so they could better understand their risk and how to reduce it. The campaign pushed health education boundaries, created a website for pledges of support, commissioned a designer for the campaign scarf, recruited ambassadors, brought doctors and nurses on board for support, and hosted an event attended by Sarah Brown that was filmed by Channel 4. A first for the pharmaceutical industry, the campaign garnered influential support, reached thousands of young women and motivated them to reduce their risk. There have been more than 91,000 visitors to the website, 26,000 pledges of support and almost 100% understanding of key messages among girls who attended the event. "It is an honour to win this prestigious award and become the first UK public relations agency to win a Cannes Lion two years running," said Colin Byrne, CEO, Weber Shandwick UK & Europe. Richard Heath, Director of Vaccines, GSK UK said; "Reaching out and engaging with girls and women about health messages is a big challenge. The innovative use of fashion, music and celebrity made sure that this campaign really engaged with its audience on their level. We are very proud of what has been achieved and are confident that this campaign will have a positive impact on the health of girls and women in the UK." "We are delighted to have been involved in such a worthwhile campaign educating girls and women about the risks of cervical cancer and making a genuine difference in people's lives," said Molly Hooper-Aldridge, Global Managing Director, SLAM PR. Now in its second year, the Cannes Lions PR programme received 567 entries from around the world. From a shortlist of 87, the jury chose to award 32 Silver and 11 Gold PR Lions. Weber Shandwick in London is the only PR agency to win two years running, scooping the award second time around in partnership with its sister lifestyle boutique SLAM PR. The 57th International Advertising Festival - Cannes Lions - was held from 20-26 June 2010. It is the largest gathering of worldwide advertising professionals and advertisers. About Fight Cervical Cancer in Style About Weber Shandwick About SLAM PR
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Wanted: Better Conference ROI -- New Study Shows 44% of Communications Professionals Have No Process for Placing Senior Executives at Conferences |
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New York, 16 June 2010 Senior executive participation at business leadership conferences has held steady or grown since the start of the global economic crisis, according to nearly three-quarters (73%) of external communications professionals surveyed online by global public relations firm Weber Shandwick and executive communications journal Vital Speeches of the Day. Driving this rise in executive visibility are CEOs themselves, who consider speaking engagements prime channels for communicating thought leadership platforms (61%), attracting new business and cultivating customer relationships (58%), and defining or redefining brands (52%). Despite the growing demand for, and strategic value of, elite conference placement, 44% of professionals responsible for making these important placement decisions have no formal process for identifying the optimal placements.
The online study, "From Guessing to Planning: Placing C-Suite Executives in the Most Strategic Forums," examines how executive communications professionals evaluate the leadership forum landscape, stay ahead of trends in thought leadership, and ensure they put their executives in front of the best audiences with the right messages. Several dozen corporate communications executives and executive speechwriters from North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East were polled during April 2010. "As the economy slowly recovers and companies reposition themselves for growth, executives are increasingly looking to engage more publically with key constituencies and industry peers," said David Murray, editor of Vital Speeches. "Communications professionals who support C-suite executives are under a lot of pressure to identify the best forums and get their chiefs placed strategically and successfully." CEOs Have High Expectations for Elite Events The survey also asked respondents to identify the one event they believe generates the most positive word-of-mouth in the global business community. The leading conference, by a wide margin, is the World Economic Forum in Davos, identified by 44% of communications professionals as the most buzz-worthy event. Placement is Art, Not Science Despite acknowledging that it is the job of executive communications professionals and executive speechwriters to identify the best venues for their executives, a large 44% report that they have no related processes in place. Of the remaining 56% who say they have a process, confidence in their system is evenly split - exactly half are confident and half are not. Clearly, the executive conference marketplace could use better metrics and insights to assure that executives are using their time well.
Communicators should follow a four-step process to conference selection: 1) audit where their own company and competitors are speaking; 2) rate conferences on performance criteria (overall reputation, audience composition, past speakers, topic affinity, media opportunities); 3) score conferences on clearly defined strategic criteria (Will new or current clients will be present? Will business and positioning will be advanced?); and 4) assess whether conference opportunities are extendable to other audiences and third-parties. C-Suite Tweeting Under-Leveraged
Weber Shandwick's chief reputation strategist and executive communications expert Leslie Gaines-Ross remarked, "Video is a preferred communications channel today because of its ability to viscerally humanize executives. Twitter has also has the added advantage of being immediate and customer-centric. We expect that these online channels of executive communications will grow over time as executives recognize how they complement, not replace, traditional means of communications." For a copy of the executive summary, please go to http://tinyurl.com/23z54r9. About the Research About Weber Shandwick About Vital Speeches of the Day |
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METRO Cash and Carry Appoints Weber Shandwick In China |
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Shanghai, China, 16 June 2010 Weber Shandwick has been selected to handle the China corporate communications brief for leading self-service wholesaler METRO Cash & Carry. The brief calls for Weber Shandwick to support METRO Cash & Carry's change management communciations and World Expo association. This includes a nationwide roadshow to 19 stores and communications around its exclusive sponsorship of the Dusseldorf pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai. "We chose Weber Shandwick for its strong experience in change management communications in the China market and their unequalled history and understanding of the Shanghai Expo," said Katrin Sulzmann, Head of Corporate Communications, External Affairs & CSR, METRO Cash & Carry China. "A strong communications partner is key for us as we communicate our enhanced strategy in China to key stakeholders." The wholesale giant will be running the Good Food Bistro at the Düsseldorf pavilion where visitors will be able to enjoy products from members of the Star Farm Initiative. Launched in China in 2009, the Star Farm initiative allows products to be traced along the entire supply chain - from "field to fork". Guests can use special information terminals to call-up the routes taken and stops made by goods. Weber Shandwick will be charged with organizing key stakeholder visits to the pavilion so that media, regulators, academics and government leaders can learn more about the Star Farm Initiative. About Weber Shandwick |
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Weber Shandwick Named Official Communications Partner for YOUTH'10 |
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Kuala Lumpur, 28 May 2010 Youth Asia has named Weber Shandwick as the Official Communications Partner for YOUTH‘10, which will be held in Putra World Trade Centre from 28-30 May 2010. Weber Shandwick is responsible for all media initiatives and publicity leading up to and during the three-day festival. Now in its third year, Malaysia's largest youth festival will gather more than 70,000 youth under one roof to engage with brands, leaders, government and media through a range of activities and programmes. "YOUTH‘10 breaks away from an organizer-defined festival to one that incorporates the ideas and collaborative power of youth and youth-directed stakeholders, which is why we are pleased to bring on Weber Shandwick as our Official Communications Partner as they have successfully demonstrated a keen understanding of our target audience," said Joel Neoh, co-founder and chief executive officer, Youth Asia. "The working team, which comprises the young and young-at-heart, has helped us to strategically reach out to youth all over Malaysia and inspire participation through a variety of media initiatives." The impressive line-up of speakers include Dato' Sri Ahmad Farid Ridzuan, CEO of Media Prima Berhad; Dato' Sri Shazalli Ramly, CEO of Celcom Axiata Berhad; Niki Cheong, journalist, blogger and social media advocate; Roshan Thiran, a New Age business leader focused on "extreme leadership" concepts and founder of Leaderonomics; Dennis Lau, violonist and recording artist; Datuk Rocky Bru, blogger and editor of Malay Mail; and Weber Shandwick's own Tim Inthirakoth, account manager. Rozani Jainudeen, general manager of Weber Shandwick Malaysia commented, "YOUTH‘10 provides a powerful platform for us as a brand to engage with young minds. At the same time, it is also an opportunity for our very own young employees to come together and share their best ideas, knowledge and experience through our involvement in this large-scale festival."
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The prestigious Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival has announced the winners of its 2010 awards for public relations work. The ‘Fight Cervical Cancer in Style' campaign developed and funded by GlaxoSmithKline, executed by Weber Shandwick and its sister lifestyle boutique SLAM PR, on behalf of GSK in association with Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust, has won a Silver Lion, the only winner in the healthcare category.
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- Weber Shandwick Appoints Jeffrey Gilbert to Head Japan Healthcare Team (06-09-10)
- Weber Shandwick Honored At Marketing Magazine Agency of the Year 2010 Awards (02-09-10)
- Weber Shandwick Wins Brand Campaign for ArvinMeritor, Inc. In China (30-08-10)
- Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick Campaign For P&G's Gillette 'Shave India Movement' Wins International Stevie Award (14-07-10)
- Weber Shandwick's Gillette Campaign Wins IPRA Golden World Award (02-07-10)
- Weber Shandwick Wins Media Communications For City of Madrid At World Expo 2010 (01-07-10)
- National Cervical Cancer Campaign Scoops PR Lion in Cannes (28-06-10)
- Wanted: Better Conference ROI -- New Study Shows 44% of Communications Professionals Have No Process for Placing Senior Executives at Conferences (16-06-10)
- METRO Cash and Carry Appoints Weber Shandwick In China (16-06-10)
- Weber Shandwick Named Official Communications Partner for YOUTH'10 (28-05-10)
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