Ogilvy PR Worldwide wins Telstra International’s global PR business

Ogilvy PR won the 3-way final round pitch against the incumbent Weber Shandwick and Waggener Edstrom. The appointment was confirmed a week ago, with the contract officially starting on 1 August.

The client previously worked with two incumbent agencies, UK-based Nelson Bostock Communications for the UK market, and Weber Shandwick for its global market.

Telstra International Group also owns CSL, and 50 per cent of Reach under PCCW in Hong Kong. The client's business hub is in London, while Hong Kong is its international headquarter, with business in Singapore, China, the US.

Ogilvy’s brief will be to position Telstra International in the B2B and enterprise market against global competitors like AT&T, British Telecom Global Services, SingTel, and Cable & Wireless Worldwide.

Clare Kitts, associate director of Ogilvy PR UK will lead the global account, while Yeelim Lee, associate director of Ogilvy PR Worldwide will manage Telstra’s regional PR business from Hong Kong.

“Telstra liked our strong global team and our proprietary global communication optimisation model,” Luca Penati (pictured) MD, global technology practice of the agency, commented on this win. “It is a big opportunity for us, as Telstra's ambition is to grow their business internationally, and raise awareness in some markets, especially in Europe and America.”

One of the client’s key PR drives will be to increase its presence in social media, which B2B clients often ignore.

Ogilvy PR has previously worked for Qwest in US and China Telecom.