Agenda

ROPES of Case Study

Critical Evaluation
Key Take-aways

I. ROPES of Case Study

1. Research
Background
Gumtree Australia
Number 1 free and online classifieds
Achieving coverage is challenging
Situation Analysis
Research released in August 2011, Sydney became
the 7
th
most-expensive city in the world
Australian businesses, particularly retail suffer from
depressed spending

1. Research (cont.)
Target Publics
Key Influencers
National and metro publications (online & print)
Street press
Broadcast media (TV & Radio)
Mummy bloggers
2. Objectives
Goal
To promote Gumtree brand & provide a thought leadership
platform able to evade competitive concerns by Australian media
Objectives
1. Business impact create a 10% spike in unique visitors to
Gumtree.com.au
2. Use a research media platform highlighting brand key messages
in 80% of coverage
3. Widespread coverage; at least 15% pieces of feature coverage
and 1 million impressions
4. Five tier one interviews for spokesperson
5. Garner usage of Second-Hand Economy in 80% of coverage


3. Programming
Key elements of Communication Strategy
1. Create strong Research & Data Platform for
Campaign
2. Identify & secure a respected Third-party
Ambassador
3. Create localized media storylines and strong
campaign collateral, and develop state-by-state
pitches and story angles
4. Pre-briefings: Media could be briefed on the results
by spokespeople prior to launch
4. Evaluation
Business impact create a 10% spike in unique visitors to Gumtree.com.au
15% increase in traffic and live ads to site
Use a research media platform highlighting brand key messages in 80% of
coverage
100% of coverage
Widespread coverage; at least 15 pieces of feature coverage and 1 million
impressions
66 pieces of coverage, exceeding target 440%
Over 16 million impressions
Five tier one interviews for spokesperson
Sky, ACA, Today Tonight, News Ltd, AAP, mX
Garner usage of Second-Hand Economy in 80% of coverage
100% of coverage

II. Critical Evaluation
Positive Aspect (1)
Public Information Model
Provides information with accuracy (Lattimore et al
2012)
The research report is the practice
It has credibility and informative
Longer impressions on readers
Good to introduce new term Second-Hand Economy

Positive Aspect (2)
Diffusion of Innovation Theory
Seeks to explain how, why and what rate new ideas
and technology spread through cultures
Scott Pape as Innovator
Influence on Late Adopters in the evaluation stage of
innovation-decision process
Informal Opinion Leader
Influential role model who has respect and confidence
of the public (Smith 2009)
Independent ideas
Word-of-mouth
Negative Aspect
Primary Target Public
Uncontrolled
Not guarantee that Gumtrees target audiences will
be reached
Not everyone will see or hear about the news Just
because a message is available in some vehicles,
doesnt mean that people attend to it and remember
it (Lattimore et al. 2012)
Opportunity
Active Audiences
Uses and Gratification Theory
The audiences are not passive, but take an active role in
interpreting and integrating media (Katz, Blumper & Gurevitch
1959)
The arrival of Internet
Australian households with Internet access reached 7.3 millions -
83% of total households (Australian Bereau Statistics 2013)
23,3 hours online per week and 60% of them are active users of
Facebook (Nielsens Australian Connected Consumers Report
2013)
Recommendation (1)
Secondary Target Audiences

Demographics Psychographic
s
Behavioral Geographic
Both gender

18 35

Middle class &
Blue collar

University
education


Interests in
earning & saving
money from
online classifieds

Want to do
online business

Learn to check
products quality
before buying &
bargain skills

Strong social
media users
Throughout
Australian

Urban & Rural
Recommendation (2)
Facebook fan page
Share the research report & Scotts analysis
Share real-life profiles of Australians who successfully
in Second-Hand Economy
Human interests
Get-rich-fast or save-more-now attached with
Second-Hand Economy
Interactions between Gumtree & the publics
Conclusion
Key take-aways
Current situation and publics concerns are important
factors that can affect the success of the campaign
The media or key influencers are always essential
publics in order to achieve third-party endorsement
Media analysis is a common evaluation tool in PR
industry
Public Information Model & Diffusion of innovation
theory are good start for promoting new terms and
ideas
An opinion leader is always good source of third-party
endorsement to attract medias attention.
References
Australian Bereau Statistics 2013, Household Internet Access, ABS, viewed 25
August 2014,
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/8146.0Chapter12012-13.
Katz, E, Blumler, JG & Gurevitch, M 1973, Uses and gratifications research', Public
opinion quarterly, pp. 509-523.
Lattimore, D, Baskin, O, Heiman, S & Toth, E 2012, 'A Theoretical Basis for Public
Relations, Public Relations: The Profession and the Practice, 4th edn, McGraw-Hill,
pp. 50-68.
Nielsens Australian Connected Consumers Report 2013, Nielsen: Australian
Connected Consumers Infographic, Nielsen Report, viewed 23 April 2014,
<http://www.iabaustralia.com.au/research-and-resources/research-
resources/item/1528-nielsen-australian-connected-consumers-infographic>.
PRIA 2012, Gumtree Australia The Second-Hand Economy,
http://www.pria.com.au/eventsawards/consumer-marketing-services/gumtree-
australia-the-second-hand-economy.
Smith, RD 2009, Analyzing the publics', Strategic Planning for Public Relations,
Routledge, New York, pp. 54 55.