BENCH PR

"When I took over the IFS business 18 months ago, I met with a number of high profile PR Consultancies, with the objective of selecting a business that would help IFS by providing strategic communications and media relations programs.

With BENCH PR specifically focusing on the information technology and communications space, it was clearly evident that they were extremely well connected in this domain, which was critical to my decision making process.

Jocelyn Hunter, the Director of BENCH PR stressed the importance of working “with us” and not “for us” in a genuine trusted advisor approach. She gained my trust very quickly due to her sincere and down to earth approach.

Over the last twelve months we have achieved extraordinary results in relation to the breadth and depth of PR exposure through Bench PR’s efforts.

Whilst IFS is part of a large global enterprise, IFS Australia only has a very small footprint to leverage in this part of the world and Jocelyn and her team have done an amazing job to really focus on the vertical sectors we are trying to penetrate with great success. Many times I have thought to myself that Jocelyn has a better understanding of the IFS business and our competitors, domain, etc than even I do. This In-depth industry knowledge and her focus on results and not process have given me great comfort. Our results speak for themselves.

BENCH PR come with my highest recommendation. Jocelyn is extremely proactive and results-focussed, coupled with the fact that I feel like she is actually part of the IFS Australia and New Zealand business!"

Rob Stummer, Managing Director, IFS

"Having worked with several other PR agencies in the past, I was looking for new and creative ideas that would help raise our profile and communicate our experience in managed print services. BENCH PR was recommended to us and proactively delivered the results I was looking for. Their great work in pitching ideas for opinion pieces and features to editors and organising media interviews with senior national journalists ultimately exceeded our expectations on many occasions. I would highly recommend BENCH PR to our partners and customers and wish them every success in the future. "

Neil Tilley, Executive Director, Upstream Print Solutions

"We chose to partner with BENCH PR following an industry recommendation. The expertise BENCH PR provides and the increase in media exposure they have given Netsolutions is exceptional. Jocelyn is passionate about what she does, proactive and a pleasure to deal with. If you’re looking for a trusted PR advisor and can handle some honest feedback, you’ve come to the right place. I know BENCH PR will continue to do very well in the future and we look forward to continuing to work with them. "

Theo Dimopoulos, Managing Director, Netsolutions Australia

"2009 was a very busy and successful year for Synnex. Having previously tried to do our PR activity in-house with limited results, we realised that we needed professional PR expertise to communicate our success. After an initial meeting with BENCH PR it was clear that they understood our industry, had excellent contacts in the business and IT media and could help us increase our profile as one of the top IT distributors in the world. As CEO, I needed someone who could work with us and our partners on quality materials for the media, organise media interviews, proactively identify media opportunities for us and overall, support our marketing team and the business moving forwards. BENCH PR did all of this and more. I have been very impressed by the results and BENCH PR are very much part of our team now. Feedback from our partners and vendors has also been very positive. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend BENCH PR and look forward to working with them in 2010. "

Kee Ong, CEO, Synnex

"Following a recommendation, I asked BENCH PR to help promote the Kogan Agora netbooks.We had done little PR to support the launch of these products earlier in the year and in an increasingly competitive market, wanted to communicate a significant price reduction to drive more sales.

BENCH PR gained an impressive amount of publicity and handled our journalist product review program very well.

Netbook sales increased and Jocelyn and her team were always professional and easy to deal with.I’d highly recommend BENCH PR. "

Ruslan Kogan, Managing Director, Kogan Technologies

"BENCH PR has consistently met or exceeded our expectations of a PR partner. They have not only achieved some great results in the media but have also helped us communicate effectively with other influencers such as analysts and prospective customers. Always looking proactively for opportunities, they are easy to work with and respond quickly to requests as they arise.  I would happily recommend Jocelyn and her team at BENCH PR. "

Ian Graystone, Marketing Manager, Asia Pacific, Attachmate and NetIQ

"BENCH PR is a gem in the PR industry. They have excellent media contacts, have a very strong knowledge of the IT industry, take the time to understand client organisation and proactively identify opportunities on their behalf. Jocelyn and her team look at the whole picture, not just media relations and I value our partnership very highly "

Andrew Gorecki, Managing Director, Retail Directions