With the transition to new ownership and a new vision, 2011 has been a high pressure year for Sotheby’s Australia. Ellis Jones and management worked to meet the initial challenges of critics, consistently delivering results and staying true to the promise of a rare, exclusive and scholarly experience.
Segmenting consumer and stakeholder audiences to develop a media strategy, Ellis Jones expanded media relationships from arts and culture to business, fashion, and investment channels. The result, greater attendance at jewellery auctions, higher brand awareness and jaw dropping ROI of 690%.
2011 had some key milestones for Sotheby’s in a record breaking jewellery auction and record breaking jewel, the rare Melbourne and Queens Cups going to Museum Australia and a new romance with Asian art and artifact collectors.
Media relations had some outstanding successes as well.
The media took particular interest in the rare Cups, auctioned mid-year. Ellis Jones approached the 7.30 Report, organising filming, spokespeople, and rounding out the story with intriguing aspects about the Cup and the winning horses. It was a lovely piece. The story was also covered by major daily papers and nightly news. Examples can be seen here, here and here.
Another highly respected work to auction was Russell Drysdale’s Gran, which had not been seen by the public eye in forty years. The Age and the Fin speculated the painting would sell for more than it’s million dollar high estimate, which became reality when the painting sold for $1,176,000 IBP to an anonymous bidder. Read it in the Herald Sun online here and here.
Record breaking jewellery auctions and an interest in jewels as investments were summed up by multiple journalists including the Sydney Morning Herald here.
There were profiles on the Chairman and the CFO in The Australian’s The Deal and BRW. Radio interviews in five states. And some fun moments with Australia’s arts and culture media which, although shrinking, features some very fine journalists.
In 2012, we particularly look forward to working on more integrated marketing activities to take the Sotheby’s Australia brand to new markets. With networks forming across the web around every conceivable interest and in every social stratum, online engagement via social media and websites is the obvious partner to ‘real world’ publicity.
Ellis Jones is honoured to work for such a revered global brand, helping build the customer base while remaining true to an incredible legacy.
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