Good 'Onya'

Hey Guys

I have contributed to so many things whilst completing my work experience that it gets hard to remember specific or exciting projects I have done.

In my first week I was given my own client to manage and maintain. ... ‘Onya’ anyone ever heard of them? Hrmmm not likely because Onya is a producer of ‘environmentally friendly alternative bags’. They are these little enviro-bags which pack down into this little pouch which can be clipped to your keys or handbags and they then expand up to 32 times their size. The concept behind the bags is that you will always have it ‘On Ya’... get it. Most people have the intention of going to the shops, refusing plastic bags and bringing their green coles bag or something but most of the time people will shop sporadically and forget their enviro bag and resort back to plastic. Onya bags are made in Fremantle and are frequently sold at the Freo markets on the weekend and they are also sold internationally to Canada, the US and England. You can also visit onyabags.com for a clearer understanding of what I am trying to explain.

So after researching about Onya Bags and the owner my first thing was to create a database (yep another database, if you haven’t figured it out yet it is a very important communications tool in PR) that would include all the media which could be targeted to feature a story on the Onya Bags. The database included all the ideal print media from a range of interests in Australia which could potentially feature the Onya story.

After weeks of backwards and forwards between The Hub and Onya we finally had an agreement as to how the Onya products were to be pitched to the media. We ensured that both companies had a clear understanding of the key messages and branding and then we developed a fact sheet which would be sent to the media. Once the fact sheet was completed I had to resize about 200 photos. The photos illustrated all of the different product ranges, their uses and how they all packed down. It was important that all of the photos needed to be of a high quality and small size so that when sent to the media, the photo could be successfully reproduced to best illustrate the products and their different bright colours.

So the fact sheet is done. The photos have been resized. What next? Pitching.....

Something I had never done before, but knew was coming. At the time, Cottesloe and Mosman Park IGA’s had refused the use of plastic bags and all plastic bags were to incur some sort of surcharge for customers. So it was a perfect time to start calling up the media to grab their attention. I don’t know about anyone else, but the first time you start pitching to the media it can be quite a nerve racking thing. You have to push the positives and the key messages of your product as much as you can to try and persuade the journalist to want to print your story. Lucky for me my first call was to the Fremantle Gazette- the local community paper which is distributed to Fremantle and the surrounding suburbs. I talked to David who made it very easy to talk to. David was very enthusiastic which made it easier to pitch to and he was thrilled with the idea of talking about environmentally friendly alternatives. He then started talking about photo opportunities and meeting the owner in person for an interview and photo opportunity... WOOHOO

After getting off the phone with David, I sent him the fact sheet with all of the information needed for an article with all of the bright and high quality pictures and all that was needed was to call Onya and tell them to wait by the phone for the media to call.

The one thing I have learned, is that you can line up as many media opportunities as humanly possible, but the brand or the product will not get featured in the media if the owner/company do not pick up the phone! Yes David said that he tried calling Onya three of four times and no answer....

Not to fear however because neither have given up on the opportunity to feature Onya in the paper and you should be seeing an article for Onya in the papers! So keep a look out

Thanks Guys

Amy