1. Core submission document template Campaign Categories PR Awards is organised by Marketing magazine, a division of Lighthouse Independent Media Ltd. 2/F Connaught Harbourfront House, Connaught Road West, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Tel: Fax:

2. Entry Details Please provide the following information:
1. Entry Category: Best PR Campaign- Media Relations
2. Name of Campaign: Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants
3. Name of Organisation: William Reed Business Media
4. Name of Brand: Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants
5. Name of PR Agency: CatchOn & Company Limited
NOTE:  Any specific information or content intended for judging purposes only must be clearly indicated in Red, or highlight it in red.  Marks may be deducted if the strict slide number of entry submission is exceeded.

3. Entry Video
Please paste the entry video link if there is any. (optional but strongly recommended)

4. Challenge (10%) Max. 1 slide
• A clear description of the business/brand consumer challenge that public relations was being asked to address. • Any key statistics which help illustrate the scale of this challenge in more detail. Mandatory information to submit: Start date, end date, key objectives, target audience, budget and key competitors
Challenge
Business/brand consumer challenge:
How do you increase media coverage for an annual event in its fourth year? In 2013, regional journalists were introduced to Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, a spin-off of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards. Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants was created to honour the region’s best chefs and celebrate Asia’s best restaurants. CatchOn took over the account for the 2014 edition and media coverage has increased each year.
Our Challenges:
- How do you engage regional media in stories that focus on a specific market, restaurant or cuisine?
How do you generate interest for an event that many journalists perceive as being elitist and targeted to the expat market?
- Although Singapore hosted the first three editions, Thailand was chosen to host the 2016 awards ceremony. This required CatchOn to engage Thai media in the awards ceremony, generate pre-awards coverage and secure their support.
Key Objectives:
Engage media in the awards program and foster a sense of goodwill for the brand
Ensure a pan-regional reach and engagement from a variety of markets
Build anticipation for Asia’s 50 Best awards through comprehensive pre-awards PR program
Increase the reach, quality and quantity of news coverage of the 50 Best Restaurants List
Secure quality features in key titles as well as broadcast coverage of the announcement and results.
Period of Engagement:
For the 2016 edition, CatchOn was engaged from September 2015-April 2016.
Target Audience:
- F&B, lifestyle and trade media and dailies
Budget: Key Competitors:
- HKD400, Michelin Guide/ Regional restaurant guides

5. Strategy (30%) Max. 2 slides – slide 1
A clear rationale of why you chose this PR approach. The core insight on which you focused your
strategy. An outline of your message, along with creative and media thinking. How these were
developed to be both distinctive and impactful.
Mandatory information: Core strategy, campaign concept and creative rationale.
Strategy
Core Strategy Rather than have journalists report the 50 restaurants included in the list, CatchOn crafted a comprehensive pre-awards strategy to engage media and build interest in the awards ceremony. Since 2016 marked the first year Thailand was hosting the awards, CatchOn was also responsible for supporting and promoting the positioning of Thailand as a regional leader in gastronomy . Campaign Concept 1. Host a press conference in Bangkok to announce the awards CatchOn announced that Thailand would host the awards ceremony in October at a press conference in Bangkok. Together with Thai chefs, restaurateurs and representatives from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, over 40 Bangkok-based media attended the press conference and post-event dinner. This initiative was designed to: - Localise Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants so media can craft stories relevant to their market - Educate local media, chefs and restaurateurs on Asia’s 50 Best manifesto and mission - Give Thai journalists direct access to the organizers as well as the leading chefs in their market - Engage local media by providing them with story angles, background information and interview opportunities 2. Maintain Media Visibility Through Ongoing Announcements CatchOn maintained media interest through a series of pre-event press releases announcing the recipients of several key awards, including Asia’s Best Female Chef, The One to Watch Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award. This initiative served to: - Build momentum for the awards and reinforce the brand - Provide journalists with newsworthy stories and angles - Encourage media to produce in-depth articles and create multi-page features on the winning chefs - Allow CatchOn to pitch related stories on regional culinary trends and emerging personalities - Build a database of key F&B media who will receive the final press release announcing Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants.

6. Strategy (30%) Max. 2 slides – slide 2
A clear rationale of why you chose this PR approach. The core insight on which you focused your
strategy. An outline of your message, along with creative and media thinking. How these were
developed to be both distinctive and impactful.
Mandatory information: Core strategy, campaign concept and creative rationale.
Strategy
3. Provide opportunities for media to have direct access to visiting international chefs and award winners.
To ensure journalists had opportunities to produce in-depth, multi-page features, CatchOn arranged for a series of press conferences, one-to-one interviews and media sessions.
This initiative served to:
- Generate a sense of goodwill between media and chefs
- Allow media to craft stories relevant to their publication
4. Pitch various story angles to promote the 2016 awards.
To broaden content offered to media and build momentum for the Awards, CatchOn pitched a series of story angles to regional titles. The stories included profiles of the top-ranking chefs, where the 50 Best Chefs eat in their respective cities and food trends in the region.
- Secure multi-page features in regional dailies
- Provide journalists with alternative story angles
- Broaden the content to position Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants as the authoritative voice on the F&B scene
5. Conduct a proactive outreach to regional broadcast media to cover the awards
To raise brand awareness of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, CatchOn collaborated with regional broadcasters to generate pre- and post-awards coverage.
- Raise brand awareness across the region through pre- and post-awards coverage
- Profile key regional chefs and restaurateurs
- Generate pre-event media interest in the awards
- Position the awards as a prestigious regional event

7. Execution (30%) Max. 2 slides – slide 1
- An overview of how your campaign/strategy was implemented
- The different tactics/medium used within the programme
- The roles of these different tactics/medium
Execution
1. Host a press conference in Manila to announce Filipino chef Margarita Forés as the 2016 winner of the Best Female Chef Award. This initiative served to: - Engage local media in the announcement - Generate significant online buzz via the attendees’ social media accounts - Provide key Philippine journalists with direct access to Margarita - Create a sense of goodwill about the awards among Philippine media - Build momentum for the awards in March and remind media of the upcoming ceremony Accompanying the press release to regional media, CatchOn also filmed Margarita being informed of her win and released this clip to YouTube. This 20-second clip clocked over 4,800 views on World’s 50 Best website and was shared on various social media platforms and websites, including CNN Philippines. CatchOn also prepared a series of Q&As with Margarita during the press event and shared these with regional media. 2. Collaborate with National Geographic Channel to produce a series of two-minute profiles on chefs and award winners Following CatchOn’s pitch to the National Geographic Channel, the regional broadcaster produced four two-minute interstitials that aired throughout Asia in February and March as part of the pre and post-event coverage. National Geographic produced three pre event segments focusing on Chefs David Thompson (Lifetime Achievement Winner), Hiroyasu Kawate (One to Watch Winner) and Gaggan Anand (2015 Winner of Best Restaurant). A post-awards episode reporting on the ceremony also aired in March. The National Geographic People channel is distributed to 9.2 million homes in the Asia-Pacific region. These short-form videos were put on high on-air rotation and were transferable via social media platforms. The videos were shared on the official Nat Geo platforms as well as the official Asia’s 50 Best social media channels. Other regional broadcasters also covering the event included Fuji TV, TBS CS (Japan), ABS-CBN (Philippines) and Channel 3 (Thailand). CNN dedicated an episode of its international Culinary Journeys series to 2016 Best Female Chef winner Margarita Forés. CNN International reaches more than 315 million households around the world.

8. Execution (30%) Max. 2 slides – slide 2
- An overview of how your campaign/strategy was implemented
- The different tactics/medium used within the programme
- The roles of these different tactics/medium
Execution
3. Generate and sustain interest through a strategic pre-event campaign - CatchOn staggered press release distribution throughout the campaign to sustain media interest and build momentum for the awards. - The series of press releases included announcing Thailand as host of the 2016 awards (21 Oct, 2015), Asia’s Best Female Chef (12 Jan, 2016), The One to Watch (26 Jan, 2016) and the recipient of The Lifetime Achievement Award (16 Feb, 2016). A final press release listing the 50 Best Restaurants was distributed on the night of the awards (29 Feb, 2016). - CatchOn also prepared comprehensive Q&A documents with the respective winners of the Best Female Chef, One To Watch and Lifetime Achievement awards prior to their announcements. This allowed the team to have a stockpile of responses to ensure quick turnaround times when responding to media requests. 4. Facilitate interviews for regional media with award-winning chefs. - To drive media interest and build anticipation for the awards ceremony, CatchOn arranged over 75 individual pre-event interviews for regional media with chefs via phone, or in person. - CatchOn arranged interviews with media in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and Thailand - The information generated from the phone and interviews provided CatchOn with valuable PR assets that were then adapted to pitch new angles to local and regional media. - On the day of the awards (Feb 29th), CatchOn arranged for media to have access to the most prominent chefs attending the awards ceremony. - With the journalists divided into groups, CatchOn arranged 15-minute interviews for over 30 regional and international media. - These interviews were held over a two-hour period prior to the awards ceremony. - For journalists unable to attend this session, CatchOn also arranged a series of interviews the day after the awards. - CatchOn also arranged a post-awards press conference for media as well as one-to-one interviews with winning chefs.

9. 2016: IMV GROWTH ACROSS MARKETS
(30%) Max . 2 slides – slide 1
- The campaign’s bottom-line impact.
- Notable changes to the stakeholders’ behaviour.
- Clear evidence/metrics demonstrating the campaign’s performance.
- A clear rationale as to why you believe this qualifies for a PR award.
Results
Increased Media Values
CatchOn far exceeded the client’s KPIs, generating more than three times the expected media values.
Pre-event coverage increased by 31% compared to 2015.
- CatchOn’s cumulative IMV for the 2016 event increased
by 36% compared to the 2015 result.
- Comparing the cumulative IMV for the inaugural 2013
event to 2016, the value has increased by 386%.
- IMV totals for the Lifetime Achievement announcement increased by 209% over 2015 result.
- CatchOn achieved cumulative IMV growth in the following markets:
Thailand
Hong Kong
Philippines
Japan
- Importantly, media sentiment was overwhelmingly positive.
2016: IMV GROWTH ACROSS MARKETS
Market
IMV % Growth*
Thailand
304%
Hong Kong
22%
Philippines
67%
Japan
1,956%
* Compared to 2015 figures

10. Results (30%) Max . 2 slides – slide 2
- The campaign’s bottom-line impact.
- Notable changes to the stakeholders’ behaviour.
- Clear evidence/metrics demonstrating the campaign’s performance.
- A clear rationale as to why you believe this qualifies for a PR award.
Results
- Coverage highlights
Momentum was sustained throughout the campaign with dramatic increases in IMV seen with the individual press releases compared to the results from the previous year.
Press Release IMV % Growth*
- Launch announcement (20 Oct, 2015) 309%
- Lifetime Achievement Award (16 Feb, 2016) 209%
Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Results (29 Feb, 2016) 78%
- Throughout the engagement period, CatchOn arranged over 175 media interviews.
- CNN profiled Margarita Forés, Best Female Chef winner, on an episode of the food-related series, Culinary Journeys
- Full-page features ran in leading daily newspapers in Singapore, Philippines, Thailand and India as well as a three-quarter page
articles in Wall Street Journal and Japan Times.
- Multi-page features ran in lifestyle and F&B publications in all of the major media markets
- The press release announcing Thailand would host the 2016 edition generated almost US$1mil in press coverage.
CatchOn generated over 1,536 clippings related to Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Media Attendance
130 journalists attended the ceremony, a 22% increase over the previous year.
Since the inaugural awards ceremony in 2013, media attendance at the awards ceremony has increased by 51%.
- CatchOn hosted international media from Australia, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Russia, Singapore,
Taiwan and the UK in addition to 70 Bangkok-based journalists.

11. Supporting Visuals Max. 2 slides – slide 2 (optional)
Pre-awards coverage increased by 31% compared to 2015.

12. Supporting Visuals Max. 2 slides – slide 1 (optional)
Regional coverage of the awards ceremony.
CNN International- Culinary Journeys
International Broadcast coverage