The Changing Face Of PR: opr’s Young Guns Doing Creative Work For Good

The Changing Face Of PR: opr’s Young Guns Doing Creative Work For Good

The PR industry is in a state of change. PR agencies are much more than the old “PR = Press Release” maxim.

These days, many PR agencies cover all facets of marketing, sometimes even crossing over into the realm of creative development.

Jumping on the creative and work for good bandwagon, PR agency opr recently created its first ever Young Leadership Team (YLT). The YLT is a cohort of five junior members of opr who were selected to support the agency’s executive leadership team on specific briefs. 

The YLT work to engage the agency’s younger members in key agency initiatives while also contributing to agency culture and important social good programs. 

As a first project, the YLT was given the opportunity to revamp opr’s corporate social responsibility program (CSR). The YLT selected Mission Australia as its first partner organisation.

B&T chatted with the opr YLT team to get a better idea of the social responsibility work they’re doing, and why it’s important for the broader advertising, media, and marketing industry.

Why are social good programs like opr’s YLT important for the industry?

Like most companies, corporate social responsibility is important to our business as we need to be socially conscious of the impact we are making on the world. It is important that all businesses are looking beyond profits and giving back to society. We need to put action to our words and work together to make sure we are giving a voice to those who don’t have a platform to speak.

We are in a special place in the media comms industry in the sense that we have the ability to broadcast important issues to a wider audience. By partnering with charities such as Mission Australia, we hope to use our social media and media industry knowledge and expertise to inspire, promote and appeal to the public to help out with social causes such as homelessness, disability and inclusion, mental health, alcohol, and drug addiction, to name a few.

What was the YLT’s involvement in Mission Australia’s Sounds of the Streets? 

opr was briefed to support one of the projects that Mission Australia runs called the Creative Youth Initiative. It is a unique service that provides free creative programs for young adults who are facing many and varied challenges in their lives, such as homelessness, mental health issues and substance abuse, amongst other challenges. Bi-annually, students from the program perform in front of family and friends in an evening called ‘Sounds of the Street’.

Our involvement included outreaching to journalists to build awareness of the program, as well as supporting on the evening with photography. These photographs were then shared with Mission Australia for further promotion of the program, but also shared with the students who performed at the event. Some of these students are pursuing their passion for music and are using these photographs to promote themselves. 

How is the YLT going about developing a social strategy for Charcoal Lane?

We are looking at working with the wider opr team, specifically our colleagues at opr Melbourne who are based in the same state as Charcoal Lane. Charcoal Lane has been set up as a catering supplier by the team and is used for client meetings. We are also looking at opportunities to expand our relationship with Charcoal Lane, including the development of a social audit to help expand awareness and reach of the program.

What are the broader reaching impact CSR programs have on the media/advertising industry?

By implementing these kinds of CSR programs within the workplace, there is an increased understanding and awareness for issues that are sometimes forgotten. In turn, media and advertising companies are becoming more aware of social issues and are willing to invest more time and our expertise into these programs – which can only be a good thing.

How is each of the YLT members using their specific skillsets across Sounds of the Streets and Charcoal Lane programs?

With our work supporting the Mission Australia Sounds of the Streets and Charcoal Lane programs to date, the members of the YLT have each used their skills in media relations, outreaching to journalists to raise awareness of the Sounds of the Streets program. As for our work with Charcoal Lane, the team is looking forward to using their skills in social and digital to conduct an audit of the restaurant’s channels to help build awareness of the program online.

opr’s YLT team

Anastassia Keltchina, account manager, Howorth
Caitlin Falls, senior account executive, Pulse
Christine Yangoyan, senior account executive, opr agency
Yat Shum, senior account executive, opr corporate
Fergus Buncle, account manager, Pulse




Please login with linkedin to comment

Mission Australia opr young leadership team

Latest News

It’s Friday Quiz Time Again!
  • Media

It’s Friday Quiz Time Again!

Take B&T's trivia quiz for your chance to win a $100 booze voucher and possible cirrhosis of a major internal organ.

by B&T Magazine

B&T Magazine
Big data technology and data science illustration. Data flow concept. Querying, analysing, visualizing complex information. Neural network for artificial intelligence. Data mining. Business analytics.
  • Marketing

SenateSHJ Launches New Trans-Tasman Practices

SenateSHJ has launched a new digital, data and insights capability designed to help clients tackle the growing complexity of communication challenges. SenateSHJ Digital, Data and Insights (DDI) will combine the firm’s existing Digital and Insights functions to create a Trans-Tasman capability focused on digital communication, and the generation and use of data to improve communication. […]

New BrandStory Format From Bonzai Allows 3x More Ad Space on Mobile
  • Media

New BrandStory Format From Bonzai Allows 3x More Ad Space on Mobile

Creative technology platform Bonzai has announced the launch of BrandStory – a new premium mobile ad format. BrandStory offers triple the ad space and 2.8 times greater time in view than single scroll ad formats, addressing the surging demand from brands worldwide for more real estate to drive real results by seamlessly intertwining awareness, exploration […]

B&T’s Search For Australia’s Greatest Ad Heads To Channel 7
  • Advertising

B&T’s Search For Australia’s Greatest Ad Heads To Channel 7

B&T went through the looking glass this morning, with editor-in-chief David Hovenden (above) appearing on Channel 7’s The Morning Show to get the general public involved in our search for Australia’s Greatest Ad. Hovenden chatted with Kylie Gillies and stand-in host Matt Doran about what makes a great ad and showcasing some of our favourites […]

by B&T Magazine

B&T Magazine
Opinion: The Tall Planner’s Kate Smither On The DBA Dilemma
  • Opinion

Opinion: The Tall Planner’s Kate Smither On The DBA Dilemma

The science is not in question – smarter people than I, with far more data, have codified it. The logic is not up for grabs…it makes sense that creating mental shortcuts to your brand keeps you at the top of your mind. Lead image: Kate Smither – Owner, The Tall Planner I wouldn’t even take […]

Opinion

by B&T Magazine

B&T Magazine
African woman using a cellphone in an office alone
  • Marketing

Ortto & Tall Bob Partner To Deliver Better SMS & MMS For Australian & NZ Businesses

Two Australian-born technology providers have joined forces to bring more power and choice to marketers in Australia and New Zealand with mobile messaging that is more local, cost-effective, and integrated. It’s a partnership that sees two Australian software companies come together to deliver a world-class mobile-first solution for marketers building data-driven, personalised, omnichannel campaigns. While […]

Slew Of New Hires At Snap Inc.
  • Media

Slew Of New Hires At Snap Inc.

Snap Inc. has announced a number of new recruits. B&T unaware if it positively impacted SEEK's share price.

Reddit Gets Playful Brand Refresh
  • Technology

Reddit Gets Playful Brand Refresh

This will be of interest to any Reddit fans, graphic designers or lovers of an orange so bright it burns the retinas.

Zitcha & Broadsign Partner To Drive Global In-Store Retail Media Market
  • Advertising

Zitcha & Broadsign Partner To Drive Global In-Store Retail Media Market

Zitcha and Broadsign have teamed up to integrate the Broadsign out-of-home (OOH) advertising platform with Zitcha’s retail media platform. The collaboration empowers retailers to maximise and monetise in-store digital display networks and enables advertising partners to easily view and book available in-store inventory and review campaign performance alongside the retailer’s other media channels. With the […]

Double Rainbouu & 7-Eleven Launch Exclusive Summer Fashion Label
  • Marketing

Double Rainbouu & 7-Eleven Launch Exclusive Summer Fashion Label

Today, 7-Eleven has announced a one-of-a-kind collaboration with the popular Sydney-based anti-resort wear label Double Rainbouu. Dropping tomorrow, December 1, just in time for summer, this limited-edition capsule will infuse the fashion brand’s rebellious spirit with a distinctly iconic 7-Eleven flavour. The unisex collection features five must-have styles comprising two signature Hawaiian shirts, a peaked cap, a bucket hat […]