Australian bushfire hit towns will soon get their own PR agency

Chris Pash
By Chris Pash | 17 February 2020
 
Getty

The Australian public relations (PR) industry has united to support businesses and communities impacted by bushfires with  the formation of the Bushfire PR Alliance (BPRA). 

A string of agencies will be paired by the NSW Business Chamber, Visit Victoria and other tourism bodies with a local area,
town or region that needs communications support. 

The agencies will work with an adopted community  to provide PR and communications support to educate and inspire domestic and international audiences. 

Major media organisations, including News Corp Australia and Bauer Media, have agreed to collaborate with the Alliance to storytell and provide valuable exposure to communities. 

Twenty-one agencies, both global and independent local players, have signed up to the alliance: Thrive, Mango (DDB), WE Communications, Haystac (Dentsu Aegis), Cox Inall Change (Dentsu Aegis), Six O’Clock Advisory, Poem, Frank, DEC PR, Impact Agency, McCo Group, Bastion Effect, Red Havas (Havas Group), One Green Bean (Havas Group), Eleven (TBWA), FleishmanHillard (TBWA), N2N (HerdMSL), Touch (HerdMSL), Fuel (HerdMSL), Hotwire, Cassette, Campaign Lab. 

“Agencies uniting as a collective like this is unprecedented in our industry," says Leilani Abels, founder and managing director of Thrive, on behalf of the Bushire PR Alliance. 

"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.

“The role of public relations in changing perceptions, positioning, educating, building brands and promoting local towns is critical. Storytelling is what we do best as practitioners and it can have a huge impact on the rebuilding and
recovery of locations. 

Brendon Hill, Chief Executive Officer, Bauer Media Group: “Our readers have huge hearts. They are looking for practical ways in which they can help their fellow Aussies, so we will continue to leverage the power of our 30+ brands, such as The Australian Women’s Weekly, Woman’s Day and Country Style, to share recovery stories and support communities around the country." 

Peter Blunden, Chairman, Editorial Board - News Corp Australia: “News Corp Australia is committed to helping rebuild and reinvigorate the communities across the country that have been devastated by the recent bushfires. We are pleased to support this initiative to ensure we can continue to share the most heart-warming, uplifting and inspiring stories with our readers and honour our pledge to support affected communities until they stand tall again."

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