Case Study

Foreword Communications was appointed Hewitt Associates’ PR consultants for Singapore in September 2000 for a year-long PR programme. Foreword’s responsibilities included the co-ordination of all PR activities in Singapore in unison with Hewitt’s regional PR office based in Hong Kong. Hewitt Associates is a global management consulting firm specialising in strategic workforce solutions headquartered in the US. The company’s global revenue for 2000 was US$1.3 billion.

Hewitt Associates decided on Foreword Communications after preliminary discussions with a number of local and international PR agencies in Singapore. Foreword Communications was chosen in view of its established track record in PR and its extensive client base and expertise in corporate PR.

Hewitt Associates’ primary aim was to increase its consulting business in Singapore and use PR as a business development tool to generate business leads. The company’s primary target groups were multi-national companies and large local firms who may use the services of Hewitt’s consultants for advice and solutions.

Foreword Communications immediately embarked on a media focused PR programme to position Hewitt as a brand leader and expert in human resource and workplace issues. The key media targets were the business and trade media. The strategy was to position Hewitt consultants as leading experts in HR issues and in the process, gain significant media mindshare in publications focusing in this area. In view of this, Agency generated media interest in Hewitt’s seminars and surveys on workforce issues. To reinforce this, Foreword Communications distributed news releases on corporate events, awards and staff movements and pitched for one-on-one interviews with Hewitt foreign based consultants who made brief stops in Singapore. The media targeting strategy reaped enormous benefits as Hewitt Associates was able to establish a strong and intimate working relationship with the business media, including premiere business channels like CNBC Asia, BBC, Channel NewsAsia and prestigious publications like CFO Asia, CIO, Human Resources, Intelligent Enterprise, Business Online.

Agency also proposed that Hewitt Associates utilise the vast resources and intellectual capital in their possession and contribute significant articles to Business Times on a regular basis. Agency contacted the Business Times and emphasised the value of Hewitt Associates’ research and knowledge in workforce solutions and issues. A series of six articles in the paper’s Knowledge Economy section was commissioned which helped build better name recall of Hewitt among target groups.

To enhance and build on the positive media coverage of Hewitt, Foreword Communications proposed that the company spearhead a groundbreaking and newsworthy project - the “Best Employers in Singapore” Award. Agency emphasised that apart from positioning the company as an expert in workforce solutions, the award will also allow Hewitt to meet potential clients for follow-on business leads.

To enhance the significance of the event, Foreword Communications approached The Straits Times to solicit their support and endorsement. The newspapers support was instrumental in garnering widespread publicity for the Award. The campaign culminated in a presentation ceremony where Hewitt consultants had the opportunity to mingle and meet Award winners and senior corporate executives of major local companies and MNCs. The event also allowed Hewitt to gain “ownership” of the annual award in Singapore.

The PR retainer programme was able to position Hewitt as a leading player in HR and workplace solutions with a short span of one year. Prior to the campaign, few outside the industry were aware of the Hewitt brand name and capabilities. A dipstick survey of corporations and businesses after the programme showed that the market was more aware of Hewitt’s name and capabilities. A major contributing factor was the launch of the “Best Employers in Singapore” Award which greatly enhanced Hewitt's image and reputation in the local and regional marketplace