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MEPRA Connect Breakfast

PR in the Technology Sector

Thursday 22nd May 2014

#MEPRAConnect

Twitter: @mepra_org

Facebook: Middle East Public Relations Association

Agenda

• Rijosh Joseph, Senior Account Manager, DABO & CO

• Sarah Campbell, Head of Brand, Communications and Digital, Philips Middle East and Turkey

• Laurie Doyle Kelly, Head of External Relations, Group Communications, Mubadala Development Company

INTRODUCTION

TODAY’S SESSION

• Launch of Nokia Asha range in the Middle East

• Campaign objective

• Target audience

• The key challenges

• Using research to build a 360 degree campaign

• A public driven campaign

• Impact full business results

THE STORY

• Bringing ‘hope’ through mobile connectivity to low-income individuals from the sub-continent and Philippines

CAMPAIGN CHALLENGES

• Community connection

• Going beyond tradition media

• Connecting with the right media

• Public activation

RESEARCH

• Research enabled DABO & CO to develop a campaign that went direct to Nokia’s target audience

CAMPAIGN: NOKIA ASHA – “DON’T MISS OUT”

Press conference

Radio competition

Product testing

Manila 365 Cricket Onam Festival

PHASE1:CREATING MEDIA ADVOCATES

PRESS BRIEFING WITH A DIFFERENCE

WINNING THE HEARTS & MINDS OF THE INDIAN & PINOY COMMUNITY

KARAOKE SINGING – MANILA 365

• 1,000 Filipino clubbers engaged • Significant brand exposure for a total of 30 days • SMS broadcast and email blasts to over 700 club members.

ASHA CRICKET TOURNAMENT

• 2,500 attendees were engaged • Over 1,000 entries for the lucky dip• SMS contest generated 6,850 entries

ASHA FLORAL DESIGN COMPETITION

• 25 teams• 400 participants• Radio activation• Direct consumer product engagement

RADIO – THE RIGHT MEDIUM

• Over 350 entries• 9 winners • Emotional connection with Nokia

KEY MEDIA RESULTS

• 238 pieces of press coverage

• 179 media attended in total

• 38 one-on-one interviews

• 15 product reviews

THE BUSINESS IMPACT

DRIVING SALES

Increased sales by 300%

IMEA region named BEST PERFORMING MARKET for the Asha range in the whole world

Increased Nokia’s market leadership

TRA report

KEY LEARNINGS

• Importance of understanding target audience.

• Using research to build an impactful campaign that delivers a strong ROI.

• Putting the ‘Public’ back in Public Relations .

QUESTIONS?

LAUNCH OF NOKIA ASHA

Sarah Campbell Philips Middle East & TurkeyMay 22, 2014

Understanding Complex Technology through Stories

2 May 22, 2014 Philips Middle East & Turkey

My journey in technology PR

• My first job in PR began in 2002, promoting multi-function printer, fax and copy machines.– I learned fairly quickly media weren’t very interested in how many color or black and

white pages could be printed, faxed or copied per minute.– In fact, I didn’t really know who my end audience was at all.

• In 2014 I moved to Philips, focusing on consumer electronics. It was much easier to call the same journalists and tell them about the wattage or bass of the boom box or the latest pixel technology of the television.

• We did not spend anytime on the “other” parts of the Philips business, Lighting and Healthcare. There was little understanding of how B2B PR could benefit the business, but soon I found out it was not only more interesting, but also much more valuable.

• The story of Petra, changed forever my view of the importance of telling a story over selling a list of features.

Meet Petra – The world’s most famous Koala

3 May 22, 2014 Philips Middle East & Turkey

Petra getting ready for her CT Scan

4 May 22, 2014 Philips Middle East & Turkey

Petra safely in the CT Scanner

5 May 22, 2014 Philips Middle East & Turkey

The CT images that saved Petra’s life

9 May 22, 2014 Philips Middle East & Turkey

Syndication via Reuters took Petra around the world

• Stories for Petra were featured in: – Australia– China– USA– UK– Germany– Poland– Netherlands – India– Malaysia– New Zealand– And many more…

16 May 22, 2014 Philips Middle East & Turkey

Key Learnings from Petra to follow

• In B2B Communications your first role is create awareness for a brand and understanding how our audience digests information.

• Technology communications is all about telling stories of impact.

• Focus on how the technology improves lives – features may drive sales at the counter, but customers look for brands that matter.

• Move fast when you have good opportunities and use your media connections, no matter what field of journalism to gain interest.

• Enjoy the successes, because there aren’t many Petra’s out there.

LAUNCH OF NOKIA ASHA

Shaping the Technology ConversationA Case Study in Telling a Challenging Story in an

Innovative Manner

Laurie Doyle KellyHead of External Relations

Mubadala

What is a semiconductor?

A chip? A square? About the size of a thumbnail; “in computers, right?”

Few understand how this device has fundamentally reshaped the human condition. Smartphones, computers, cars and aircraft, each has tens to thousands of semiconductors processing the data that enables our world to function. Remove the semiconductor, and modernity grinds to a halt.

Who cares? And Why?

Mubadala owns the world’s second largest semiconductor foundry, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, with eight manufacturing centers in Europe, Asia and North America. We also invest significantly in research and talent development within Abu Dhabi, laying the foundations for the Emirate’s future advanced technology ecosystem.

In a media landscape dominated with tech stories about the latest gadget or app – what the readers care about most -- little is said about the hardware enabling it all to function – nor the talent and innovation needed to drive progress. This landscape provides a skewed context – especially in Arabic media - undermining our stakeholders’ understanding of our company, our potential impact on the growth of the UAE economy and the development of this nation’s human capital.

The Challenge

Strategy

To effectively tell our story, we had to go beyond just talking about ATIC and semiconductors. We needed to take an active and strategic role shaping the technology conversation. We identified Abu Dhabi leaders and

influencers as our clear priority audience and Abu Dhabi Media, therefore, as the ideal entity to partner with in driving content development. We understood that content would need to align with three main criteria in order

to be effective:

Thoughtful Understandable ConsistentProviding timely and relevant

analysis on subjects readers were actively interested in.

Utilizing mediums such as infographics and relatable commentary to convey key

concepts.

Not something read once or twice, but regular content readers

come to rely on.

The Sponsorship

In partnership with Abu Dhabi Media Company, we curated two Business pages per month, one in Al Ittihad and one in The National, focusing on intelligent and relevant technology analysis.

Using our industry knowledge and contacts, ATIC recommends subject matter and facilitates the majority of interviews. To shape the most thorough technology analysis possible, we even arrange interviews with our asset’s competitors. When the journalists need support, we’ll conduct the interviews ourselves, draft feature content and even Arabize.

Quality Arabic is a key target for us. It is the language our stakeholders read and where we collaborate most closely with journalists to curate thoughtful and engaging analysis. What we’ve helped The National to enhance, we’ve worked with Al Ittihad to essentially build from scratch.

In the page’s first six months (Jan-Jun) ATIC:

Facilitated 8 interviewsConducted an additional 6 interviewsDrafted 3 featuresArabized 10 articles

Anatomy of the Page

We buy0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

160000

180000

200000Value in AED

We get We buy

Each page consists of:

• Infographic• Deep-dive feature• Personal industry voice (Op

Ed or Q&A)

Leveraging the Relationship

It is difficult to adequately convey the true scale of our asset, a 13,000-person, $14+ billion dollar company with major manufacturing centers in Singapore, Germany and New York.

The collaborative relationship built with ADM through the Tech Page, along with the industry interest the page has generated, enabled us to organize media trips to every single one of GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ manufacturing centers. Without the page, media commitment for such extensive travel would have been unthinkable.

The vast majority of content resulting from these tours was not printed on the sponsored pages, leveraging the Tech Page relationship to tell a core element of our story prominently and broadly across the papers.

Results

Our close collaboration and commitment to quality delivers significant results, both for ATIC and ADM. For ADM, the page helps provide readers with a deeper understanding of this critical

industry.

Mustafa Alrawi, Business Editor, The National:

"ATIC's support of The National's technology coverage has been invaluable in helping provide a 360 degree understanding of how the sector is supporting the growth of the UAE economy and the development of its precious human capital. Articles covering medical technology, innovation, research & development, Emirati talent and the outlook for technology investment have given our readers unparalleled insight into how advancing technology in the country can provide a higher quality of life and greater prosperity for all who live here. This is a great example of how different local institutions can work together for a common purpose at the grassroots level."

Rasha Tubeileh, Business Editor, Al Ittihad:

“ATIC’s Technology Page adds significant quality reports for our readers about the role of advanced technology in transforming everyday life. Each month, the page presents stories that focus on a particular sector like healthcare, automotive, education, in addition to a special focus on UAE success stories in the technology sector through interviews with those shaping the future of Abu Dhabi’s technology industry. Some of the stories published in the tech pages were considered among the most read stories on Al Ittihad’s website, especially Emirati success stories. The Technology Page has also further introduced the readers to the semiconductor world and the role Abu Dhabi is playing globally through building GLOBALFOUNDRIES.”

At ATIC, we see a distinct growth in industry understanding amongst our core target audiences: senior Abu Dhabi leaders and influencers – most of

whom regularly read Al Ittihad.

Thank you!

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