Industry comes together to help victims of bushfires

A raft of public relations, marketing, advertising and media companies have joined forces to help ravaged communities.

From left: CHE Proximity’s Chris Howatson, Clemenger BBDO’s Pete Bosilkovski, Twitter’s Suzy Nicoletti, ING Australia’s Danielle Hamilton, Samsung Australia’s Josh Grace and Carat’s Sue Squillace. Picture: Britta Campion.

A raft of public relations, marketing, advertising and media companies have joined forces to help ravaged communities get back on their feet following the devastating bushfires.

In an Australian first, 21 public relations agencies have come ­together to form the Bushfire PR ­Alliance, which will offer its services free of charge to towns. Other agencies are being urged to sign up and help, and media companies News Corp Australia and Bauer Media have pledged their support.

Separately, ad chiefs and marketers are calling on the industry to get behind a new fundraising campaign, Wage for a Wage, aimed at raising $1m for volunteer fire­fighters in NSW and Victoria.

Under the Bushfire PR Alli­ance, each agency will be paired by the NSW Business Chamber, Visit Victoria and other tourism bodies with a local area, town or region needing communications support.

The agencies will work with their “adopted” community on a project or on a continuing basis to provide PR and communications support to showcase its wares and help boost visitor numbers.

Founding members of the BPRA include Thrive, Mango, WE Communications, Haystac and Cox Inall Change, Six O’Clock Advisory, Poem, N2N, Touch, One Green Bean, Eleven, FleishmanHillard, Frank, DEC PR, Cassette, Impact Agency, Hotwire, Fuel, Red Havas, Campaign Lab and McCo Group.

Thrive managing director Lei­lani Abels said PR agencies uniting as a collective was unprecedented. “We know we can make a bigger impact as a group than alone and the weight of this effort is demonstrated by the willingness of major media organisations who want to work with the alliance,” she said.

Leigh McClusky, national president of the Public Relations Institute of Australia, urged its members to “get involved and do what they do best”.

The Wage for a Wage appeal is calling for industry executives to donate one day’s pay to the Rural Fire Service Association and Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria.

It already has the backing of such industry leaders as Samsung Australia chief marketing officer Josh Grace, Carat’s ANZ boss Sue Squillace, Clemenger BBDO Sydney boss Pete Bosil­kovski, local Twitter boss Suzy Nicoletti, CHE Proximity boss Chris Howatson and ING Australia marketing head Danielle Hamilton.

Mr Bosilkovski said it was a way for the industry to show its support and gratitude, and “help repay these brave men and women in some small way”.

News Corp, publisher of The Australian, and media proprietor Kerry Stokes have donated more than $20m to bushfire relief.

News Corp has pledged $5m and last Tuesday's newspaper sales and advertising proceeds of $1.5m-plus to bushfire relief. The Murdoch family has also personally donated $4m. Contributions from Foxtel, which is 65 per cent- owned by News Corp, will push the total to more than $11m.

Mr Stokes has pledged $10m through his investment vehicles Seven Group Holdings and Australian Capital Equity, with at least $5m in cash and $5m in services in kind such as equipment to bushfire relief and rebuilding efforts.

Network Ten, which is owned by newly merged US entertainment giant ViacomCBS, will match dollar for dollar all proceeds raised in support of the celebrities’ chosen charities on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here, and ­donate it to organisations supporting those affected by the fires.

Nine Entertainment, which owns free-to-air television network Nine and several metropolitan newspapers, plans to provide $10m in advertising to regions and businesses in affected areas.