In October, Hobart City Council took out a national award at the Australian Marketing Institute (AMI) Awards held in Sydney. The awards are presented to organisations and marketers who have achieved extraordinary success from innovative and effective marketing practices.
Hobart took out the Loyalty Program category for its Hobart Advantage Card.
City of Hobart General Manager, Brent Armstrong, said he was particularly thrilled by the announcement as Council had won out against tough opposition from six other national finalists.
“Winning a national award for this marketing initiative highlights the quality of work being undertaken by Council’s Marketing Unit,” he said. “We launched the Hobart Advantage Card in May 2006 to focus attention on the shopping diversity of Hobart. The program offers something for everyone – from retail shopping to health and fitness, tourism and business services to great café and dining deals.
“Participation is free for any business offering an appropriate incentive for card holders. The program achieved 150 per cent of targeted business memberships before the launch date and annual retention of businesses is 100 per cent. Six times the number of targeted card holders have enrolled, of which 83 per cent use the card monthly and 32 per cent daily.
“A well thought out communication program, effective use of a database, relevancy and interaction helped to make the Hobart Advantage Card the most visited area on Council’s website.”
In presenting the award to Council, Chairman of the Australian Marketing Institute, Roger James, said the AMI Awards are distinguished by criteria that force marketers to articulate the whole process that leads to measurable results – they require commitment and effort.
“These are the toughest marketing awards to enter and the toughest to win,” he said. “Our aim is to acknowledge exceptional examples of marketing practice and to raise the standards of marketing professionalism.”
The Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) was also recognised at the awards, taking out the Community Insight Category. The association developed the ‘A Matter of Trust’ campaign, which was based around the critical finding of the importance of trust to community satisfaction in Council performance. The campaign challenged programs traditionally used by Councils and enabled development of a successful television campaign. The advertisements targeted skill shortages in specific vocation and encouraged voter participation at the recent Council elections in Western Australia.
Among the organisations that competed with Hobart City and WALGA were Ericsson, IBM, Telstra, St George Bank, Sunbeam, ANZ, Stockland and Tourism Australia.
For further information on the awards and winners visit www.ami.org.au
