The Challenge
Hong Kong has one of Asia's most sophisticated legal frameworks to protect intellectual property. However, the piracy rate is still comparatively high for a developed economy and government difficulties have stemmed from a lack of credible leads to investigate corporate end-user piracy. To improve the situation, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) worked with the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department (HKC&E) to set up a BSA-funded reward scheme to encourage better quality leads. APCO was asked to develop the communication strategy.
The Solution
APCO leveraged the visit of Robert Holleyman, BSA President and CEO, to Hong Kong by hosting a joint HKC&E and BSA press conference to officially announce the reward scheme and demonstrate the software industry's support for the government to enforce the law.
A day before the press conference, APCO advised BSA on the development of a press release announcing the results of the alliance's 7th Annual Benchmark Survey to explain the need for additional anti-piracy efforts. At the press conference, a photo-call of the agreement signing between BSA and HKC&E was staged to maximize media coverage. APCO also arranged interviews for Mr. Holleyman to explain how software piracy damages local and regional economies and to call for continuous efforts to combat software piracy.
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The Result
The press conference received excellent media focus, including coverage on CNN. The reward scheme was also a success, resulting in a significant increase in the number of software piracy leads.
This campaign demonstrated APCO's ability to combine the announcement of a global news item, an executive visit and the launch of a local BSA campaign within one consistent program. The alliance was ultimately portrayed as an effective, multi-national organization to combat software piracy.
APCO won the "Best of BSA 2002" Award for this communication campaign.
Services Provided
- Government relations
- Issue management
- Media relations
- Positioning
View all APCO services
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APCO's good understanding of the media environment ensured the successful
launch of the Global Software Piracy Study and the reward scheme, where the latter was run in partnership with the Customs and Excise Department of Hong Kong.
