News

BlueFreeway to acquire Spectrum Communications Group

Sydney, Australia – Wednesday 18th July 2007: BlueFreeway (ASX: BLU), an independent global digital marketing company, is pleased to announce that it has entered an agreement to acquire public relations and communications group, Spectrum Communications Group.

The revenue is forecast to contribute an additional $2.8m to the BlueFreeway group and to expand its suite of products and service offerings.

Spectrum is profitable and the acquisition is expected to be revenue and earnings accretive to BlueFreeway in the 2008 financial year.

BlueFreeway will acquire 51% of the Spectrum Group for a sum of approximately $1m, with additional payments as per the standard BlueFreeway earnout model over a three-year period.

Arguably Australia’s foremost corporate and consumer IT Public Relations firm, Spectrum Communications Group has a blue chip client list including Blackberry, Commander, Symantec, Acer, and Intel, amongst many others. In April Spectrum announced that it had been appointed the Google Australia PR account.

BlueFreeway Chief Executive, Richard Webb, said: "The best public and media relations practitioners build strategies which incorporate digital media. The proliferation of user generated content, consumer forums and online communities assembled around specific issues, means corporations and governments are exposed to more analysis and scrutiny than ever before. A digital strategy is incomplete unless it engages these forums. Spectrum Communications brings to BlueFreeway a highly reputed team and we are eager to integrate their skills with the expertise across the group, to deliver best practice online reputation management on behalf of our clients."

Established in 1996 by co founders Naomi Beames and Wendy Docherty, Spectrum Communications Group now comprises three distinct businesses: the flagship company Spectrum Communications, specialising in corporate, consumer and technology sector public relations; Max Australia, a sister company, also focusing on consumer and technology public relations; and Spectrum Life, a division of Spectrum Communications, specialising in the consumer lifestyle market.

"As the public relations industry begins to focus more and more on digital communications mediums, Spectrum's place in a group of companies such as BlueFreeway, is increasingly relevant. We are very excited about the unique opportunity to shape the future of PR as traditional media is being shaken up by the rise of social media and its many new tools and technologies. With BlueFreeway, the change from trying to control the message, to participating in it, will become a reality. We believe our clients are going to benefit enormously from this transition in our business," said Wendy Docherty, Spectrum's Principal.
The Spectrum Communications Group will retain its brand identities.

The acquisition of Spectrum Communications Group takes the number of companies in the BlueFreeway Group to 17, seven of which have been acquired since the company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in December 2006.



Google: Media arrangements

In February, Google appointed Rob Shilkin as Head of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs - Australia and New Zealand.

Google Australia has now appointed SpectrumLife to provide PR agency support in Australia and New Zealand.

It's an exciting time for Google as it continues to increase its investment and release new products and services. Google's Australian office in Sydney is a regional R+D engineering hub and houses sales, operations, business development and more.



Spectrum Sees a Great Start to 2007

Sydney, 20 March 2007 - Spectrum Communications, one of Australia's leading IT public relations consultancies, today announced a new team appointment and internal promotion.

The announcement comes at a time of continuous growth for the consultancy, with enterprise mobile marketing solutions provider Emagine International counted among recent client wins.

Felicity Ryan joins the Spectrum team as account director, bringing broad experience in technology PR both in Australia and the UK. Before joining Spectrum, Felicity most recently managed a communications campaign for Sharman Networks, owner and distributor of the Kazaa file-sharing software. Prior to this, she ran her own successful communications consultancy in London, counting Amalfi, BT and InterForum among her client base.

In other news, Saxon Shirley has been promoted to the role of senior account manager, having joined the team as an account manager in January 2006. Saxon's work managing MessageLabs' and Business Objects' public relations, and successfully implementing communication strategies for Acer, Teradata and the Blu-ray Disc Working Group have been contributing factors to securing his recent promotion.

Roger Marshall, group managing director, Spectrum Communications, commented, "Spectrum has always secured and nurtured the best people at all levels of experience and Felicity and Saxon will be a great asset to our senior team. This year is already shaping up to be an exciting one for us and in their new roles, Felicity and Saxon will play an instrumental part in Spectrum's continued growth as an independent leader in the PR industry."



Top Tier Recruits At Spectrum

Sydney, 20 November 2006 - Spectrum Communications, one of Australia's leading public relations consultancies, today announced a new business win and three appointments to round out another year of strong business growth.

Spectrum has been appointed as the PR agency of choice for Australian software solutions company Tier-3. The company's flagship product, "Huntsman" uses behavioural anomaly detection to protect a company's IP assets in real time. Spectrum will work closely with Tier-3 to develop the brand, initially through a strong PR fundamentals campaign.

On the team front, Belinda Cotter has joined the Spectrum team as consultant. She comes from a strong background in technology PR, having previously worked at Kinetics Pty Ltd, where she lead accounts in the distribution, broadband and software industries. Prior to this, Belinda worked with media monitoring agency Rehame as media reporter and information analyst.

Also joining Spectrum as a consultant is Jasleen Lamba. Jasleen was previously employed in the position of Public Relations Officer at the Embassy of the State of Kuwait in Canberra. Prior to this, Jasleen was employed by the University of Canberra in a Domestic Marketing role and also in the University's International Office.

Finola Methven joins the Spectrum team as Account Executive. Finola previously worked as an intern at Spectrum, before turning her successes on accounts like Intel, Lanier and DBM into a full time position. Finola is a recent graduate of the University of Technology Sydney, when she also held a volunteer position as PR assistant at the children's charity, Essere.

Roger Marshall, Group Managing Director, Spectrum Communications, commented "I'm delighted to announce the appointments of Belinda, Jasleen and Finola, at the end of what has been another great year for Spectrum. Were going from strength to strength and look forward to working closely with all our clients in 2007."



Spectrum shines brightly with new business wins and appointments

Sydney, 9 August 2006 - Spectrum Communications, one of Australia's leading IT public relations consultancies, today announced a new team appointment and two internal promotions. This announcement comes at a time of continuous business growth and recent client wins, including document management company, Lanier and software solutions company, De Data.

Andy Sommer joins the Spectrum team as senior account manager and brings extensive experience from the UK and other overseas markets. Andy previously worked at TTA Public Relations within the property industry on a number of high profile accounts including Harrods Estates, Berkeley Homes and Dubai Sports City. His previous PR experience covers a range of industries working for clients such as Freecom Technologies, Densitron Technologies, Office World and Southampton Football Club. Andy will apply his IT experience to a number of Spectrum accounts and will play an instrumental role in growing the company's client base.

Stephanie Ryan has been promoted to the role of account manager, having served in the role of consultant for less than a year. Since joining Spectrum in September of 2005, Stephanie has consistently achieved exceptional results for her portfolio of IT and non-technology clients.

Jennifer Jefferys has been appointed to the role of consultant, having previously supported the team in the role of account executive across most of Spectrum's accounts. Jennifer's enthusiasm in the account executive role, as well as consistently delivering brilliant results for her clients, has ensured her promotion to consultant.

Naomi Beames, principal, Spectrum Communications, commented, "I'm delighted to announce Andy's appointment and the well deserved promotions of Stephanie and Jennifer, who have proven to be a great asset to our company. The team's enthusiasm, commitment and individual experience have attracted a number of new clients and helped maintain Spectrum's position at the front of the PR pack."



Spectrum has Lanier's name in print

Sydney, 18 July 2006 - Spectrum Communications today announced that it has been appointed as the PR agency for document management company, Lanier. Spectrum was selected for its knowledge and experience of the consumer technology and IT industry, and its reputation as an agency dedicated to producing outstanding results for its portfolio of clients.

Spectrum will implement a strategic PR program designed to strengthen Lanier's position as a market leader in document management which is distinguished through its DOCutivity® methodology. Lanier uses DOCutivity® to develop innovative products and services which help customers achieve business results through cost effective and environmentally friendly solutions. Spectrum will also work to raise awareness of Lanier's strong environmental leadership program.

Naomi Beames, principal & group director, Spectrum Communications commented, "We are very excited to have won the Lanier account and look forward to working with them to help drive awareness of Lanier's technology in the Australian marketplace."

Lanier has been servicing copiers, facsimile and printing systems in Australia continuously for 32 years. The company has achieved significant growth, especially over the last four years. The company now services approximately 17,000 faxes and 10,000 copiers in Australia and employs approximately 170 people in its direct operations in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane. Lanier has built a national dealer network to support additional centres.

Spectrum's Lanier team includes Roger Marshall, managing director; Andy Sommer, senior account manager; Saxon Shirley, account manager and Stephanie Ryan, account manager.



A Year of Success at Spectrum Communications

Leading public relations consultancy wins numerous clients, expands team and sees Principal appointed to the PRIA Board

Sydney, 15 Dec. 2005 - Spectrum Communications, one of Australia's leading public relations consultancies, today announced the end of another successful year, celebrating client wins and continued business growth. The consultancy also welcomed new team members, announced internal promotions and celebrated the appointment of principal, Naomi Beames, to the Board of The Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA).

New client partnerships for Spectrum 2005 include:

Due to Spectrum's growing client base and continued success, new team members have been recruited and internal promotions carried out. Veronica Colvin, previously of Hill & Knowlton has joined the team as senior account manager, and Stephanie Ryan, previously of Etcom, has been appointed to the role of consultant. Marty Filipowski, who joined Spectrum as a senior account manager, has been promoted to the position of account director.

Naomi Beames, principal of Spectrum Communications has also been appointed as a member of the PRIA Board. Naomi said, "I'm proud to have been accepted onto the PRIA board and am looking forward to working with the other members to raise awareness of our profession, as well as help further progress the valuable work of the PRIA.

"Spectrum continues to go from strength to strength. Our reputation and experience in consumer and business-to-business technology and telecommunications PR is unparalleled. We are delighted with our achievements this year and look forward to working closely with all our clients in 2006, to drive their communication campaigns and deliver great results."

The next big milestone for Spectrum Communications will be in April next year when the consultancy celebrates its 10 year anniversary.



About Spectrum Communications Australia
Established in 1996, Spectrum's business is founded on delivering public relations and communications for the consumer/information technology and telecommunications industry.

Spectrum uses fresh ideas and intuitive approaches that provide clients with unparalleled levels of strategic advice and the tactical execution of first-class campaigns. Some of its clients include Intel, MessageLabs, BlackBerry, Acer, webMethods, Business Objects, Smart Internet, Commander, Personal Broadband Australia and DBM. For more information visit www.spectrumcomms.com.au

For further information contact:
Roger Marshall / Veronica Colvin - Spectrum Communications
T: 02 9954 3299
E: rogerm@spectrumcomms.com.au / veronicac@spectrumcomms.com.au