At 4pm on December 15, 2005, whilst preparing for its company Christmas Party, the BAM Group was put to the ultimate test: Subaru Australia approached BAM Media to launch its involvement with Chris Atkinson – who they would announce as Australia’s first ever full time World Rally Championship driver.
The very next day.
The challenge was to produce a launch that would garner media results across Australian media, the UK motoring and motorsport media (where the Subaru World Rally Team – Prodrive – was based) and the Japanese market prior to information being leaked to media from other sources.
The short lead time of the Subaru/Atkinson announcement allowed the BAM Group to showcase its big agency thinking – but small agency alacrity.
The announcement was one of the biggest since Subaru’s introduction into the Australian market in 1973 and right on the knell of Christmas – one of the biggest announcements in Australian sport for the year.
“Japan charged us with announcing the addition of Chris Atkinson to the Subaru World Rally Team prior to the news leaking out,” said Nick Senior – Subaru Australia CEO. “Our prior knowledge of BAM’s impressive PR work and established relationship with Chris made them an ideal fit.”
BAM Group cancelled the Christmas party and got to work on the event. Immediately, BAM Vision was engaged and worked through the night to edit a number of pieces for the launch and then film the launch and produce a Video News Release the next day.
A venue and catering was booked, 120 guests were invited, a show car transported 1000km from Sydney to Brisbane, dignitaries flown in, backdrops, clothing, gift packs and a temporary media centre were all created.
BAM Media used its extensive Government contacts to fast-track vehicle access to the venue.
Working across international timelines, getting approvals on quotes and media materials provided a challenge, however BAM staff worked through the night to ensure all materials were ready to be distributed consistently throughout key media – both locally and internationally.
Turning up to the event, guests and media were treated to a professional launch that appeared as though it had been months in the planning.
RESULT:
BAM Group was able to involve BAM Vision and the media component of the business to pull together the event. The BAM Group can take a macro approach of large agencies, whilst having the flexibility and personal attention of a small agency to produce an event no matter how significant.
The results generated by the Atkinson/Subaru announcement led to further business from Subaru, which included BAM Media being contracted as the conduit for Subaru’s rally activities with Atkinson throughout the region.
Given the busy Australian sporting landscape (Cricket, Sydney-to-Hobart Yacht Race etc.) and international motorsport news at the end of the year, vast amounts of press was generated across print and electronic platforms, despite the short lead time.
“Multiple television, radio and print stories followed (the launch),” said Nick Senior. “Our fruitful relationship with BAM developed from their impressive ability to coordinate this high profile press event at very short notice.
“This launch led to a long-term relationship with BAM – who were tasked with communicating Chris’ endeavours in the World Rally Championship to Australian media, which was done with equal amounts of creativity and success.”
Atkinson added to Senior’s comments:
“BAM Media has been around since the start (of my career) and the company’s commitment, attention to detail and contacts in Australia and internationally has been invaluable.”