My Best Pitch - Feb08

Who was the client?

State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) and the World Gold Council (WGC).

What was the brief?

Publicise the Singapore listing - in October 2006 - of streetTRACKS Gold Shares, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, among the regional media and investment communities.

What was memorable?

The nature of the announcement, and implications for investors throughout the region, presented the greatest challenges.

How did you pull off the process?

It required precise coordination between Mileage, SSgA and WGC in terms of coordinating logistical arrangements, scheduling one-on-one interview sessions etc.

Mileage's branches in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand invited selected media platforms from their home countries to the Singapore briefing. The Mileage head office in Singapore invited locally-based journalists and masterminded the entire event.

Who was there?

Virtually all Singapore-based dailies, broadcasters, wire agencies and business publications, and about 15 print and broadcast journalists from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. International TV stations like BBC, Bloomberg and CNBC held studio interviews with SSgA and WGC spokesmen.

How did you create the buzz?

We organised a highly-successful event, the Gold Challenge, at Raffles Place to create greater awareness among local retail investors.

What feedback did you get?

SSgA and WGC representatives were smiling from ear to ear even before the briefing began.

What were the client's metrics on success?

Widespread regional coverage.

What were the results?

We secured six interviews with international and local TV stations, plus widespread coverage from print media and wire agencies within and outside Singapore.

Is there anything you could have done better?

A seven-figure total ad value was concrete proof of a well-executed regional project.

 

Steven Ng

Senior Consultant

Mileage Communications