When I returned to Australia after working overseas for a number of years, I realised that CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programs at many companies were severely lacking. Given Australians’ giving, friendly and helpful nature, I was shocked to realise that corporate Australia was at least 10-15 years behind what I had seen in the US and UK markets.
Following my journeys, I embarked on my first role as a senior publicist at a mid-sized Sydney PR agency. There, I tried to incorporate such programs into the PR plans of the brands I worked on. Some of these were huge household names. I won’t mention them, but I was stunned at the lack of interest shown by CEOs, Marketing and Brand Managers in such initiatives. Most of them were all about PR for their products, and just getting their name out there in a way that would result in sales.
Times were good in the mid naughties, and there was much less of the financial pressures and economic uncertainty we face now. So I felt that there was no reason (other than greed), for the lack of alignment to giving back in one way or another.
So when I launched Agent99 Public Relations in January 2007, I was determined to demonstrate how giving back was so important to a brand, and how it can return in spades by aligning my own business with the right non-for-profit.
I went on a search for a charity that held similar values, both in terms of their cause and their approach to business, and also one that was small and really needed the help from a PR perspective. I wanted our agency to really make a difference to their marketing.
I chose the Life Changing Experiences Foundation (LCEF) and their SISTER2sister program. This incredible initiative partners successful corporate women with ‘at risk’ teenage girls who need a mentor in their life to break the destitution cycle they are in.
Some of these girls were poverty stricken, had been neglected by their parents, experienced abuse, suffered depression and in some cases, had attempted suicide. One girl had seen her father murder her mother in the family’s own kitchen. Unspeakable experiences, things I hadn’t imagined in my wildest dreams and ones that made me realise how lucky I was to have the family and upbringing I had.
This was the charity for me. I immediately set out to plan a full year of PR activities for the program, which I would roll out along side growing my business and servicing the clients that came on board during our first year.
Within that year, I had successfully profiled the program on countless TV, radio, magazine and online outlets including key ones such as Mornings on Channel 9, WHO Magazine, Sydney Morning Herald, Cleo and many more. This resulted in an instant boost both of brand awareness for the charity, interest from potential Big sisters (mentors) and donors, who are of course the lifeline of the charity.
As our business has grown, we have continued to support the charity. As such, each member of my team has worked on the account at one stage or another.
And in terms of how it has affected Agent99 PR and why it’s so important to give back, I believe the following can be applicable to any organisation:
1. Boosting staff morale
It’s amazing how good it feels to see my team working on something that is ‘non –commercial’ and for them to know that everything they do on this account will help to better the life of a young girl. It’s not about selling another burger or PR’ing something we know people don’t really need. The awareness we generate for the program will mean that these girls will go on to become healthy, functioning and contributing members of society and not another statistic.
2. Attracting quality staff
When we interview potential new staff, our pro-bono work is something that always comes up. Usually it’s the interviewee who raises it, because it’s on our website and they are enthralled by the idea of giving back through the work they will do.
3. Generating sales
As a result of our PR for the program, other corporates associated in some way with LCEF have taken interest in our work. We have had some sizeable businesses sign up to have Agent99 PR represent their products and services as a result. Unintentional, but an amazing return on our own investment in terms of time and effort pro-bono.
4. Customer loyalty
When we talk about our pro-bono work, it’s incredible how other brands that we either work with, or are pitching for, are impressed by this. It is an excellent vehicle to express our company values of honesty, results orientation, creativity, and tenacity to return value on PR investment.
5. Awareness for Agent99 PR
Being aligned with the charity means that by way of our sponsorship we have access to their contacts, which helps to generate awareness for our business too. We are also able to leverage the work that we do to generate PR in our own industry publications.
So all in all, giving back assists a brand on so many levels, but most of all? It feels good. And that’s why we should do it. There are so many less fortunate people than us and every bit counts to make a difference in their lives.
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