As BPR celebrates its tenth anniversary this month, we have had great pleasure reflecting on the last decade. Integrity, experience and genuine investment in the success of our clients is what has grown BPR to be an independent PR agency with national clients and a committed team of five. 10 years in business is no easy feat, and one that we are truly proud of. So, in honour of the last decade, we’re taking a trip down memory lane remembering all the influential clients, people and projects who have shaped who we are today…

The story of Belinda (BPR Director)

After completing her Bachelor of Arts (BA), Communications degree at the University of South Australia in 1998, Belinda Bocson, BPR Director, dove head first into the world of PR, taking on a Publicity Officer role at the Museum of South Australia. Her role soon transitioned into PR and Marketing Manager, and she spent four years living and breathing the fast-paced, ever-changing, challenging yet incredibly rewarding world of PR, an instrumental time of her career and life.

In 2004 Belinda decided to try her luck in London, the ‘world hub’ of PR. She landed herself a job working for the British Museum, before taking on a new role as Marketing Manager at Royal Parks. Her time in London was full of incredible opportunities including crisis managing the 2005 Banksy stunt at the British Museum and coordinating international media outside of Buckingham Palace. She was a small fish in a big pond, and as result learnt countless invaluable lessons which made her time in London the best of her life.

3 years later Belinda moved to Melbourne, Australia and began working for Parks Victoria. As the tale often goes, she got married and started a family, and learnt how to navigate the balance between work-life and mum-life. Eventually Belinda returned to Adelaide, with her partner, a 5-year-old son and a 7-month-old son in tow.

It was in October of 2013 that Belinda took the leap of faith and decided to pursue a recurring dream of running her own PR agency. She started networking and landed herself a job doing PR for the Bay to Birdwood and the Helen O’Grady Drama School. A year passed and she landed OTR as a client, a real turning point for her business. She then got herself an office and hired her first employee, a dear friend Simon Jacob who was moving back from London at the right time.

Fast forward 10 years, and Belinda runs a dynamic PR and Communications Agency with five employees and a beautiful office space on Rundle Street. While she has worked for some amazing clients across a diverse range of sectors and delivered some huge projects, the most fulfilling part of her business is being Director of a team.

“There is nothing I love more than teaching the ins and outs of PR to those who are eager to learn. Imparting knowledge and wisdom on my staff while also helping them grow as human beings holds such great importance in my heart. It is very much the ‘why’ of my business.”

Belinda is looking forward to seeing what the next decade brings BPR, and all the new and existing clients who will be part of the journey.

BPR Highlights

BPR has had countless highlights over the last decade, but one constant is the ongoing working relationship with certain clients. Relationships are a huge part of the BPR core, and we have been so lucky to work with so many beautiful people and businesses for many years. Some of our longest relationships include Bay to Birdwood, who we worked with for 8 years, Burke Urban who we have been working with for 5 years and counting, and Archer & Holland who we have been working with for five years and counting. Other notable highlights include:

Working with KickStart for Kids and launching KickStart for Kids Against Period Poverty

A very special highlight for BPR is our relationship with KickStart for Kids. Director Belinda is on the board of KickStart for Kids and is incredibly passionate about everything they do for young South Australians. They are also a BPR client, which is something we are extremely proud of. In 2020, BPR launched the KickStart for Kids Against Period Poverty Program. The program now distributes over 1000 packs of pads and 200 packs of tampons to 200 schools every month. Being a female-run agency, our staff hold this cause extremely close to our hearts and are looking forward to expanding the program year on year.

Krispy Kreme Airport Stunt

In 2017, BPR executed a fabulous PR stunt for the Krispy Kreme store opening at Adelaide Airport. Krispy Kreme had a mission to ‘touch and enhance lives through the joy that is Krispy Kreme doughnuts’ in the lead up to their store opening. BPR organised to surprise and delight passengers arriving into Adelaide Airport by sending out random dozen doughnut boxes on the luggage carousels with messages like ‘Please take and share me,’ ‘For your loved ones’ and ‘Welcome home’. The PR stunt has been shown internationally to Krispy Kreme stores at a worldwide marketing conference for the brand and commended on its innovation. See the stunt here.

Oscar Barossa Announcement

BPR was responsible for the PR announcement of the new $50 million, six-star luxury hotel and day spa at Seppeltsfield which is set to become an iconic landmark for the Barossa and the Australian tourism industry. BPR strategically engaged mainstream media and hotel, architecture and tourism media to maximise exposure. They also communicated with key stakeholders of the project including the Premier of South Australia, Barossa and Light Council, South Australian Tourism Commission and the South Australian Tourism local and international offices. BPR crisis managed this announcement, which had considerable backlash from the local Barossa community, however was successful in ensuring the narrative surrounding the Oscar Barossa announcement was a positive one. The announcement achieved media locally, nationally and internationally to the value of over $2 million with an estimated audience reach of 3.4 million.

Announcing the Mount Barker City Centre for Burke Urban

BPR worked with Burke Urban to deliver the announcement of the Mount Barker City Centre project. The $100 million project was one of the largest joint private business and local council projects in regional South Australia. BPR worked closely with government bodies and various stakeholders to achieve local and mainstream media, achieving a total media value of over $300,000.

The Adelaide Italian Festival

BPR has absolutely loved working on the Adelaide Italian Festival, formerly known as Carnevale, to inspire our Italian-Australians to embrace their heritage and encourage the wider South Australian community to experience Italian culture. Last year’s festival had almost 60 events across our state, making it the biggest year for the festival yet. Highlights included Cristina Tridente’s San Remo Pasta Dress which was displayed at Burnside Village and the Opening Night at Vardon Ave that attracted over 5,000 attendees. We are so thrilled to have taken on even more responsibility in 2023, running everything from event management to registrations and creating all of the design materials. With over 70 events lined up for this year’s event, we are excited to truly make our mark on Adelaide’s festival scene.

Mix102.3’s ‘Find my Dad’ Story with Ali Clarke

It was an absolute honour to share the raw and emotional journey of Mix102.3’s Ali Clarke as she searched for the truth about her birth father. Discovering her story and a part of her life she never knew about not only encouraged her to reflect on her past and future relationships but also inspired the Mix102.3 audience and beyond to share their own similar stories. BPR achieved an SA Weekend front cover as well as stories in a range of mainstream and trade media publications. It was incredibly fulfilling to see such a positive public response and be part of sharing such an impactful story.

Words from our nearest and dearest…

“I am wishing Belinda and her team at BPR a very big happy birthday. I have worked with Belinda and her team for the last three years and they are absolutely amazing. Not only are they professionals in everything they do, but they also invest. They invest in their clients; they invest in their team and no matter what time I ring they always answer. Together we have taken the Adelaide Italian Festival from something we always dreamt of to a reality. This year, with the help of Belinda and the girls, the Adelaide Italian Festival has got 75 events lined up over 10 days and we quite seriously couldn’t have done it without them.” – Tania Milohis – Adelaide Italian Festival Chair

“A huge congratulations to BPR on 10 years. These guys do such a fantastic job for KickStart for Kids. We love them so much and we wouldn’t be where we are without their magnificent PR and marketing skills. Belinda has been on our board for a very long time and is so passionate about what we do and I couldn’t speak more highly of her and the BPR team. We love them so much and they really are such a huge part of KickStart for Kids.” – Ian Steel, KickStart for Kids CEO and Founder

“Congratulations to BPR on their 10^th anniversary, what an incredible achievement! Belinda and her team have been an innovative and insightful support to me for many years. Their strategic communications skills have enabled me to work closely with local and national media which has been instrumental in my various roles. They are committed to professional and consistent messaging and they offer creative, timely solutions to any PR challenge. Belinda is always thinking of her clients and goes above and beyond to ensure every possible opportunity for success. So, on that note, congratulations Belinda and team on 10 years. – Jo Skene, Senior Manager Brand & Business Development

Here’s to the next decade…

We are so very grateful to everyone who has been part of our journey so far. Looking back on the last 10 years has given us a true sense of fulfillment and we are genuinely honoured to do what we do each day.

A special shoutout goes to the amazing journalists and media publications who have supported us over the years. Adelaide has a small but mighty media community, and we have loved building relationships with some very special journos who have helped us share a countless number of stories over the last decade.

We also hope to continue working with some of our nearest and dearest clients over the next 10 years, while also developing relationships with new people and businesses, managing new projects and challenging ourselves to progress as an agency day in and day out.

So, on that note, thank you to each and every single person who has been part of the journey. We are truly excited to dive head first into the next decade of BPR.