The efforts of the Hong Kong office on behalf of Cotton Council International (CCI) resulted in a big win at the SABRE Awards. The team took home the Bronze SABRE award in the “Poster/Calendar/Photography” category.
In order to elevate cotton to the status of high fashion in Hong Kong and attract promotional partners, GolinHarris determined that CCI needed strong seasonal images with accompanying messages to open dialogue.
The team executed CCI Director Karin Malmstrom’s concept for a fashion calendar by combining stunning fashion photography with the latest designs in cotton. Featuring bilingual information pertaining to cotton growing seasons, phases of the moon, important dates, etc., it appealed to both English and Chinese audiences.
GolinHarris executed CCI Director Karin Malmstrom’s concept for a fashion calendar, combining stunning fashion photography with the latest designs in cotton. Featured above are the images used for "August" and "October."
The Hong Kong team was also named a Bronze SABRE finalist in “Issues Advertising” for their work with Bayer HealthCare’s Levitra brand. Additionally, our Taipei team was a finalist in the Bronze SABRE “Product Placement” category for their work with Unilever’s LUX brand.
On May 8 in New York, the remaining Gold and Silver SABREs will be announced. GH offices in Shanghai and Taipei are in the running for the Gold SABRE “Asia Pacific” category for their work with Bristol-Myers Squibb and again, Unilever’s LUX brand, respectively.
The SABRE Awards are sponsored by one of the United States’ top PR publications, The Holmes Report. SABREs are especially competitive because international campaigns are pitted against the best of the best from the United States.
Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron SABREs represent categories rather than rank. Gold SABREs recognize the best programs in specific brand-building and reputation management categories; Silver, the best programs in specific industries; Bronze, excellence in technical aspects of communication; and Iron, the best practices in public relations management.
Betting On GH in Asia ByFred Cook
In January, 80 members of the agency's senior management team attended our annual meeting outside Las Vegas at the Red Rock Resort, a GolinHarris client. The meeting was appropriately themed "Betting on Our Future" and focused on how we should place our bets to ensure that GH continues to prosper for the next 50 years. Strong participation from Asia and Europe made this our most global meeting ever.
In addition to our senior managers from around the globe, a group of nine mid-level "delegates" brought their own points of view and enthusiasm to the meeting. Carlo Niederberger from our Tokyo office and Sarah Chin from Shanghai joined colleagues from Frankfurt, London, Atlanta, New York, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles for an enlightening panel discussion of the issues that are most important to our emerging leaders. This is the first time we have invited mid-level staff to join the meeting, and everyone agreed that they provided a valuable perspective. I am certain we will do it again.
The GolinHarris management team and mid-level delegates gather in Las Vegas, United States.
Over two days, we conducted a handful of interactive sessions on the critical aspects of our future: new business, client service and financial growth. We spent several hours reviewing our nine new product areas—everything from the growing internet capabilities of Dialogue, to our rapidly expanding internal communications capability with Insidedge. Everyone agreed that these products have tremendous potential in all of the markets we serve. There is a lot more to come.
In addition, Andrew Pirie and Mark Herford, managing directors of Asia Pacific and continental Europe, provided an interesting look into our future in both Asia and Europe. It is clear that Asia is a critical region for our agency, and I am confident we are well-positioned to take advantage of the opportunity.
With John Morgan as regional MD for Greater China working with Lydia Lee, Nikki Lin and Stanley Liu, there is a much stronger sense of collaboration, which is paying off with new business wins like Shiseido and regional client growth with Dow. We are seeing a similar trend in Southeast Asia under Chitra Rajaram's leadership. Not only are we expanding in places like Indonesia, but we are also experiencing growth with regional accounts like BMS.
As I said in Las Vegas, after 50 years, GolinHarris is stronger than ever—both in business and reputation. And the excellent work we are doing in Asia is a huge factor in our success. If we continue to bet on our energy and our creativity, we are poised to have another winning year and hopefully 50 more after that.
Hansgrohe Takes Home Top Award
Hansgrohe's industry-leading awards reflect the company's positive reputation in market media.
The high-end luxury innovation leader of the sanitary world, Hansgrohe, a Shanghai client, recently celebrated winning two distinctive awards.
On December 15, 2006, the leading home and design publication in China, Ella Decoration, presented an award for "Best Bath and Materials Design" to the Hansgrohe Axor Massaud collection. Additionally, the China Institution of Interior Designers, along with leading designer magazine Interior Design named Hansgrohe one of the "Top Ten Trustworthy Sanitary Brands for Architects and Interior Designers in China." Held on November 30, this is the largest architecture and interior design event in China. More than 600 popular and respected designers in China participated in the event.
GolinHarris' strong relationships with key industry media were crucial in developing successful brand awareness for Hansgrohe products, not only by highlighting their beauty and elegance, but also by explaining their value and reliability as well as the pleasure they bring to customers. Since the partnership began in 2006, GH has contributed to Hansgrohe's impressive success, generating 346 press clippings in 2006.
GolinHarris Greets New Year across Asia
Cultural activities engaged team members and office leadership across the Asia Pacific region.
With both Western and Lunar New Years on the horizon, GolinHarris decided it was time to celebrate with good food, good conversation and, of course, good colleagues.
The Hong Kong office started things off early with a Christmas party. Staff gathered for a cook-off hosted by two seasoned culinary professionals: GH consultant Madison Wai and her mother. The two prepared one mouthwatering dish after another—Chinese, Thai, Italian, continental—all in a state-of-the-art kitchen facility that the team had booked. Then, in true "Iron Chef" style, Wai, her mom, Greater China managing director John Morgan and a couple of senior consultants split the group into two teams, gave each team an ingredient to work with, and watched as they raced to cook up a winner. The "Champions" won with their special duck-themed concoction, "Christmas Quack-quack."
The Beijing office was the next to party down, deciding it was best to sing in the New Year. Inspired by songs young and old, and led by karaoke diva and Beijing general manager Nikki Lin, the team partied all afternoon.
"Teamwork takes on a fresh new meaning when joining together in song," joked Brad Burgess, senior associate. "We had a great time singing some classics, including everything from Elvis to the party hit ‘High, High, High' by Taiwan songstress A-mei."
Other offices welcomed the Chinese New Year with a "Wei-Ya," or "end-of-the-year" party. GH in Taipei chose the theme "Fashion Fanatics." Everyone met at a trendy Italian restaurant in the Westin Taipei, with the ladies dressed for the runway and the guys looking Hollywood-handsome.
Every office had their own special way of celebrating the beginning of a bright new year.
After a delicious dinner, the party got underway as hosts Anthea Chien and Elvan Chen started performing skits depicting famous celebrities in Taiwan. Things got buzzing as staff competed in friendly games to determine the prize order for the lucky draw. Several hours later, the party headed over to the local karaoke bar, where the fun lasted until the wee hours of the morning.
Shanghai extended its Wei-Ya to a full week. At the beginning of the week, each staff member drew a colleague's name from a hat and acted as their "guardian angel" by presenting them with secret gifts leading up to the annual dinner. The fun continued during the Guardian Angel Dinner on February 9, which was held at a glamorous 1930s-style French concession villa. Colleagues were asked to dress in "something you would wear to meet someone attractive." The night included games, storytelling of the most angelic "guardian angel" deeds, distributing traditional Chinese red envelopes, and a few rounds of karaoke for everyone.
In Singapore, a buzz of a different kind filled the meeting room in mid-February as co-workers armed with chopsticks got ready for a special lunch of lobster, noodles and a gleaming plate of "yu-sheng," a Chinese-style raw fish salad.
According to Chinese tradition, tossing the "yu-sheng" as high as possible will usher in prosperity and happiness, meaning the room was filled with shouts of "Toss it higher!" from the team. The celebration not only marked an energetic start to the lunar New Year, but was also symbolic of GH's positive outlook for 2007.
Announcement: New Locations in Shanghai and Beijing
The new Shanghai office will allow the team to meet a growing list of clients
The Beijing team boasts a smart, new home base to serve clients in China's capital.
On December 18, 2006, the Shanghai team together with several other Interpublic Group companies moved into seven floors of Grade A downtown real estate. The new location provides much-needed space for the fast-growing office, which includes two new corporate practice hires this month.
To accommodate its growing staff and client base, the Beijing team also moved to a new location on February 12. Having formally opened business in Beijing just last year, this new office move is a clear demonstration of GolinHarris' commitment to China. The new office, at China Life Tower, is at the heart of the business district in Beijing.
"The GolinHarris operation in Beijing is still young. As a young team, it is great to step into a fresh new office, especially in this vibrant part of the city," explained Nikki Lin, director of GolinHarris' Beijing team. "This is an exciting testament to our growth, and I am glad that we have invested in this move. Stop by and visit sometime!"
