Ogilvy Public Relations Australia Announces Senior Addition to its 360° Digital Influence Group

Link to interactive media release

Sydney, May 1, 2009 – Ogilvy Public Relations Australia (Ogilvy PR) announced today that Brian Giesen, current vice-president and senior strategist with Ogilvy PR’s 360 Digital Influence Group in Washington, DC, has joined Ogilvy PR Australia in the position of Digital Strategist.

An award-winning global expert, Giesen brings more than ten years of experience developing, managing and executing a range of digital marketing and social media campaigns for brands such as Lenovo, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, DuPont, Yum!, National Institutes of Health and the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  Working from Ogilvy PR Australia’s Sydney office for the next 12 months, he will provide senior counsel on crisis and issues management from a digital perspective, educate employees on the fundamental parts of digital influence strategy and educate on a range of digital tools to help build further understanding on the power of digital influence among both existing and new clients.  

“This is a well timed appointment and provides all the Ogilvy PR companies in Australia the opportunity to further grow our digital influence skills as they become increasingly important to our client’s communications campaigns,” Ogilvy PR’s Managing Director John Studdert said.  “Brian will also boost our leadership position in the Australian market across each of the areas of specialisation, while maintaining a high-level global role based out of Sydney.”

Giesen will also work with other Australian-based STW Group and Ogilvy Group companies, including Singleton Ogilvy & Mather, OgilvyOne, OgilvyInteractive, and Neo@Ogilvy.

“The Australian Ogilvy PR companies have already established themselves as leaders, having executed a number of digital campaigns for their clients,” Giesen said.  “I’m excited at the prospect of now working alongside them in person, to merge our international experience from our overseas campaigns, with local and regional clients.

“With the explosive growth of online media, consumer word of mouth and new technologies springing up every day, we now have to create comprehensive digital strategies for clients who want to engage customers or constituents in direct conversation.  We’ve spent several years developing our methodology for identifying and engaging these new influencers in a way they find valuable, and it is this discipline we call digital influence.”

Prior to joining Ogilvy PR, Giesen worked as a legislative assistant for US Congressman Jay W. Johnson, where he lead an effort to promote the federal E-Rate program, connecting Wisconsin schools and libraries to the Internet.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and is an active member of the Social Media Club of Washington, DC.

Brian’s arrival in Australia follows the appointment last month of Thomas Crampton. Thomas is a veteran, award-winning journalist and digital media specialist and was named Asia Pacific Regional Director of 360 Digital Influence at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. In addition to his Australian responsibilities, Brian will support Thomas and the region.

Follow Brian’s blog posts at:  http://blog.ogilvypr.com/contributing-writers/brian-giesen/
Follow Brian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bdgiesen

Join the Ogilvy PR team of bloggers: www.360digitalinfluence.com / www.asiadigitalmap.com

EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

Brian will be speaking at The Insight Exchange’s launch event, The Power of Influence, on 19 May 2009, where he will give an overview of how influence impacts the success of businesses.

Visit www.theinsightexchange.com for more information.

About Ogilvy PR Australia

Ogilvy PR Australia is a joint venture between Ogilvy PR Worldwide and STW Group, Australia's leading marketing content and communications services group.  Specialist Ogilvy PR firms and affiliates in Australia include Cannings,  Howorth,  Impact Employee Communications, Ogilvy PR Health, Parker & Partners and Pulse Communications. For more information visit www.ogilvypr.com.au.

About Ogilvy 360 Digital Influence

Founded in 2001, Ogilvy PR’s 360 Digital Influence creates and executes social media-driven word of mouth marketing strategy for clients worldwide. The 360 Digital Influence team engages with influencers and communities to drive participation, sharing, co-creation and authentic word of mouth – the most trusted and efficient form of communication today. Based upon the Digital Influence Strategy Platform, all programs deliver on sustained word of mouth and are evaluated via the Conversation Impact model. 360 Digital Influence has activated fans and word of mouth for brands such as, Lenovo, Unilever, National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ogilvy PR 360 Digital Influence Group is led by Managing Director John Bell. For more information visit http://www.ogilvypr.com/en/expertise/360-digital-influence.

About Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide

Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide (Ogilvy PR) is a leading global marketing communications firm, with offices in more than 60 cities around the world. In its 28^th year, Ogilvy PR provides strategic public relations counsel to a variety of clients across its social marketing, public affairs, healthcare, consumer marketing, 360 digital influence, corporate, technology and entertainment practices. Through its subsidiary, Feinstein Kean Healthcare, the agency also offers additional experience in the cancer field, as well as specialized expertise in molecular medicine, advanced biomedical research, leading life science and healthcare technologies and treatments. Ogilvy PR also offers government affairs services through its subsidiary Ogilvy Government Relations. Ogilvy PR is part of the WPP plc, one of the world’s largest communications services organizations (NASDAQ: WPPGY, www.wpp.com). For more information, visit www.ogilvypr.com.