GolinHarris: Agency A-List Submission

In the Urban Dictionary, Prevolve is defined as intentional change. Changing because you want to; not because you have to. That’s exactly what we did. We’ve aligned our people, processes, training and technology to offer the holistic solutions today’s media environment requires.

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GH PREVOLVES. We introduced a new business model under the banner of Agency for the Future. The idea was simple. PRevolve our company to keep pace with what our clients need -- business insights, creative ideas, holistic media engagement -- all seamlessly integrated. 

We call our new model g4. It's a radical departure from the way most agencies operate. See what it's about. 

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“GolinHarris’ Move Could Redefine PR Shops”

Danny Rogers, Editor-in-Chief, PRWEEK UK

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TWO MILLION FANS AND COUNTING

As Unilever’s biggest ice cream brand, Magnum’s first move into social media was led by GolinHarris. The team developed a single global Facebook page to engage local audiences, enabling each target market to populate the pages with rich content. Partnering with style icon, Karl Lagerfeld created a hotel suite of breathtaking chocolate décor, helping to secure a total Facebook fan base of over two million and counting.

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Launching the World's No. 1 Ice Cream in the U.S.

It was one of the most anticipated launches of 2011. An international fashion icon partners with a stylish Hollywood starlet for the official unveiling. More than 50 premier fashion and lifestyle media line the red carpet—flashbulbs popping, bloggers a-Twitter—to catch a first glimpse.

Was it the launch of a celebrity scent? A preview of Chanel’s new line? A celebration for the latest Louboutin? Nope—not even close. It was the debut of a new ice cream bar. But, you see, it had to be buzzworthy.

We weren’t just selling ice cream; we were selling an indulgent lifestyle.  Magnum Ice Cream is one of the world’s largest ice cream brands—thrilling pleasure-seekers around the globe—and now it was debuting in the U.S., the No. 1 ice cream market in the world. Unilever turned to GolinHarris to tap the massive potential of this mammoth brand.

We didn’t ask ourselves, “How would you launch an ice cream?” But rather, “How would you introduce a luxury item?” We knew that ultimately our goal was to turn this delicious, super-premium ice cream brand into one of the most coveted fashion accessories of the year.

And we did. Collaborating with Unilever’s marketing agencies, Karl Lagerfeld and Rachel Bilson; we created a film series celebrating Magnum’s pleasurable lifestyle. The film series debuted during the Tribeca Film Festival at an exclusive event for 350 guests, including a red carpet with more than 54 media attendees. As part of the sponsorship, 10,000 Magnum Ice Cream bars were strategically seeded among influencers and celebrities during the Festival. The launch is considered one of the most successful in Unilever’s history, making it one of the top selling ice creams in the country.

Finally, how do you know when you’ve positioned a premium ice cream bar as one of the most coveted fashion accessories? When the fashion authority, Vogue, calls to request Magnum product for a prop in their own spread. We truly had our Magnum Opus.

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Client Wins

During our agency redesign, we never lost sight of new business. We continued to compete, and WIN, some of the hottest pitches around. We added more than 150 new clients and brands to our client portfolio across the world. In the US, we won the Slim-fast, King’s Hawaiian; Crown Imports; Aramark; e-music; Discover Financial Services; Alcoa and Cephalon, among others. In Europe, we added Disney; Tullamore Dew; PriceRunner; R&R Music; Saucony; Good Energy; Mayo Clinic and Zoosk, to name a few. We added Green Giant; Hong Kong Airport Authority; Singapore Polytechnic; Vodafone; Pirelli Tires; Rodeo China; and METRO Cash and Carry in Asia.

Client losses: Society of Actuaries, Underwriters Laboratories, Rosetta Stone

GolinHarris is a wholly owned agency of the Interpublic Group of Companies (“IPG”), a Fortune 500 company. Per policy and in response to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, IPG does not break out or release financial information.

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I Love My McJob: McDonald's National Hiring Day

The view of McDonald’s as the opposite of “employer of choice” was solidified in 2003 when Merriam Webster added the term “McJob” to its dictionary. A job at McDonald’s meant low skill, low pay and little opportunity. The reputation—undeserved—stuck, but McDonald’s never really fought back. 

That changed last spring, when McDonald’s announced its plan to hire more than 50,000 people—a bold and exciting story during these recessionary times. McDonald’s had been evading the McJob label. But we saw “National Hiring Day” as something more:  A chance to embrace and redefine the term McJob.

To support the goal of hiring thousands and driving positive nationwide awareness of McDonald’s employment opportunities and business strength, PR presented the rallying cry: I love my McJob.  The voices of employees—including Jan Fields, president of McDonald’s USA, who began her career as a crew member—helped spread the word. From National Hiring Day events nationwide, to media interviews, to employee social videos, the passion of McDonald’s employees brought to vivid life the opportunity that comes from working there.

Overwhelmingly positive stories and social dialogue about what it means to work for McDonald’s spread like wildfire across the country. More than 500,000 applicants competed for a McJob at McDonald’s.  

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“GH is an invaluable partner. This year, the agency considerably expanded its business with us as well as delivered exceptional results on current programs, in particular the US Magnum launch. Of the many areas of expertise and capability contributing to this level of achievement, most notable are a triple threat of bench strength, thorough approach to planning and executional excellence.”

Christine Cea, Director of Marketing Communications, Unilever

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Our Movember Mixologists give new meaning to "desksides": Mixing up creative cocktail concoctions on a traveling libation station to raise funds and awareness for men's health.

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Our Performance and Growth

We achieved another year of highest revenue and profit in our history. Revenue will grow 9% over last year, and our profit margin remains at the top of the industry. The strong financial performance of the past several years is driven by the continued growth of our global client relationships, new business, as well as our investments in key leaders throughout the world and our practices.

We grew our practices, added new capabilities and expanded our global footprint.

Under the leadership of Jeff Beringer, we increased the size of our already-robust digital offering, adding resources in Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, London and China. We added new capabilities and services including real-time media engagement centers, interactive design, content and application development and social media/digital training boot camps for clients.

We formalized our food and nutrition practice, hiring a team of experts to help clients and teams navigate challenges, and provide sound guidance and solutions. The team is led by R.D. Patricia Groziak, who joined from Unilever.

We added five new offices. We established a presence in Latin America with IPG’s acquisition of Brazil’s fifth largest PR agency, S2Publicom, which has been rebranded GolinHarris and Weber Shandwick. We opened an office in Bucharest. We are expanding our health care capabilities and footprint in Germany through strategic partnerships or acquisitions. We established offices in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur.

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GH Culture

You asked what we've done to foster talent, a creative workplace and collaboration. Here's our answer: We redesigned our agency...after 55 years of success. 

In June, we announced that we’ve realigned our people, processes, technology and training to help clients win in a complex, connected society. We’ve blown up the traditional PR agency model and replaced it with something new called g4. We’re moving away from a structure designed around a hierarchy of PR generalists—where everyone is expected to be good at everything—to one that embraces and develops specialized expertise. 

In our new model, clients will be served by integrated teams of dedicated experts who will deliver what they’ve told us they want most:  Actionable insights,  bold ideas, multi-media engagement, and flawless, integrated execution.  Four communities of specialists—Strategists, Creators, Connectors and Catalysts—will work together seamlessly to apply specific and deep expertise to our clients.

As part of our redesign, invested in tools and technologies to foster deeper collaboration and a more creative and rewarding workplace.

We created a network of real-time storytelling centers known as The Bridge™.

We developed, Bright Collective, an idea harvesting system that allows every Catalyst, Creator, Strategist and Connector to solicit more thinking from around the globe.

We appointed Specialist Community Leaders (SCL) for each community. 

We invested heavily in technology, creating global online facebook-like communities using Present.ly for each community.

We brought together nearly 100 employees, representing each community, for an in-depth, two-day, training session to dive deeper into the g4 model and our Agency for the Future initiatives.

When we set out on this journey, we anticipated that it would take us 12-18 months to implement it across the system. Our long-term success hinges on our ability to effectively implement the model, seamlessly and without sacrificing client service or our culture. And we want to do it right.

Beyond the headlines, we know we’re on the right path. Our business win rate is up, our attrition rate is down and we’ve received hundreds of resumes from professionals interested in joining us on our journey. It’s only the beginning.

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2012 Toyota Camry Launch

Described as the most critical launch in the company’s history, the debut of the all-new 2012 Toyota Camry had to be strong, successful and make a big splash. Traditionally, an auto show press conference would be the platform to unveil a new vehicle, but the announcement would be competing with 30 other manufacturer events. We also felt that such a venue wouldn’t reach all the audiences we needed to reach, and wouldn’t have the impact this launch demanded.

GH conceived the idea of a multi-city media launch event, tied by satellite, and webcast live around the world to media and consumers. We called it “Real Camry/Virtual Reveal.” Our goal was not only to reach a bigger audience and own the news cycle, but to make a statement that Toyota is back – better than ever.

Los Angeles would originate the broadcast and host the main event at the 100-year-old Paramount Studios in Hollywood, with its highly recognizable New York backlot (“Seinfeld”, “Glee”). The show also included a segment from the Georgetown, Kentucky assembly plant, where the first new Camry rolled off the line driven by Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda. NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin appeared in Hollywood to announce that the new Camry will be the official pace car of next year’s Daytona 500.

The Camry debut exceeded all expectations. More than 200 media attended the four live events, while 90,000 viewers watched the webcast. More than 1,500 Toyota associates viewed the show online as well, and dealers participated through a separate, dedicated broadcast. A Tweet chat was held with Toyota group vice president and general manager Bob Carter following the reveal, generating some 6,200 tweets.

In total, nearly two billion media impressions – 90 percent favorable – resulted from the event. Just one of several USA Today stories had more than 76,000 page views. Car shopping site Edmunds.com reported that Camry had the highest number of visitors for any vehicle in more than three years. In short, on August 23rd, Camry owned the day.

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More than 100 people from around the agency gathered for a two-day training summit to learn more about GH's PREVOLUTION and what it means for them.

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One of the best experiences of my career.

GH Employee's reaction to the g4 training summit

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The London team gets down and dirty for charity on Al's Day, an annual worldwide community service initiative.

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LONDON BRIDGE IS...

GH developed a global network of real-time storytelling centers known as The Bridge.  The Bridge was conceived as a distinct service offering of GolinHarris, to help clients build, manage and protect their reputations in the age of real-time marketing across earned, owned, shared and paid media.

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All In: Betting Big on Galaxy Macau

Nine months ‘til opening. No PR and virtually no brand recognition. A $2 billion investment in the world’s biggest gaming market at stake. World-famous, established competition. Being dealt a hand like this was a sure way to go bust. Or was it?

Fortune smiled upon Galaxy Macau when it appointed GolinHarris to help with its launch. A scorching winning streak ensued, from a whirlwind seven-city travel trade and media roadshow through Grand Opening weekend on May 13-15, 2011, when more than 300 regional and international media, dozens of leading analysts and thousands of VIP guests arrived at the integrated destination resort’s gilded gates to welcome the newest, brightest star in Macau. 

The PR campaign was about telling the Galaxy Macau story to audiences for the first time via targeted media channels, and with messages focusing on the property’s resort-like features and pan-Asian characteristics. It was also driven by a bold strategy – unheard of in the local industry – to grant the media the privilege of being the first overnight guests to experience the property, rather than keep it under wraps until the doors opened.

When the chips were counted, Galaxy Macau was well exceeding its projected daily visitation, its stock price was going through the roof, its brand awareness was trumping more established players, it had the 6th most popular Facebook page among companies of its kind in the world and readers across Asia were absorbing positive coverage at a rate of 150 clips per month.

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Thank you, [GH], for allowing us to be a part of g4 and AFTF in the early days, allowing us to help share the agency for the future.

GH Employee's feedback from the g4 training summit