At Urban HQ in Sydney we get a little seasonally affected for the two and a half weeks a year that aren’t totally awesome.  Enter Stayz Give & Getaway – our latest project where you get to score  incredible getaways for a fraction of the cost with 100% of your hard earned notes going to charity!  Kudos you!

Over eight weeks, Stayz Give & Getaway Charity Auction will provide the opportunity for Australians to bid on more than 300 holiday getaways with 100% of proceeds going towards some of Australia’s most worthy charity causes – RSPCA, Surf Lifesaving Foundation, CanTeen and Breast Cancer Network Australia.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the response from Stayz property owners who have generously donated their holiday rentals and now we’re urging Australians to get onboard, give to charity and organise a holiday they can really feel good about,” said Kirsty Shaw, General Manager of Stayz.

The online auction will run from 15 June to 10 August 2010 and over this time Australians are invited to visit www.stayzgiveandgetaway.com.au to bid on great value getaways ranging from two to seven nights. Successful bidders will be asked to nominate which of the 2010 charity partners they would like to support. All money collected from successful bidders will be forwarded to the charity partners on the bidder’s behalf.

“Stayz is thrilled to be working with property owners to raise funds for some of the country’s most important causes,” added Shaw. “Stayz Give & Getaway is a great way to support charity and feel even better about your next holiday!”

Each getaway will be on auction for up to a week with new properties coming up for auction each day between 15 June and 10 August.

We’re so excited to be able to finally announce a project we’ve been working with Mazda on for the last few months. The Mazda2 Big Night Out promotion gives one lucky winner the chance to create their very own massive, decked out, dream party. Simply log on to www.mazda2.com.au/bignight and pitch your party idea including music artist (we’ve signed some awesome bands including Gyroscope, Washington and Xavier Rudd!), celebrity chaperone, theme, venue type and your outfit for the night.

As well as having the power and freedom to design the ultimate party, the winner will also receive VIP treatment for themselves and 15 of their mates, a meet and greet with their chosen music artist, a personal stylist, shopping spree and chauffer-driven Mazda2s to look A-Class and party-ready all throughout the night.

The four most creative entries will be voted for by the public and the lucky winner with the most votes will be given the opportunity to bring their ultimate dream party to life. Voters will also get the chance score a double pass to their favourite event. So get to it! Register now for your chance to win!

A bote-what, you ask?  A botequim (pronounced boo-chi-king) is a traditional little bar found on almost every street corner in Brazil, offering locals a quick coffee, cold beer and cheap snacks.  Havaianas delighted visitors to Perth’s Sculpture by the Sea with an authentic reproduction of a botequim, nestled amongst the incredible artworks on Cottesloe Beach.

The Botequim Havaianas provided a meeting spot and hangout for visitors to the festival to sit, reflect on the surrounds and sip on a fresh drinking coconut.  During the night the Botequim was transformed into a VIP Sunset Bar, where festival partners and media were entertained.

Sculpture by the Sea is an annual public sculpture exhibition that begain in Bondi in 1997.  In 2007 a sister event was launched at Cottelsoe Beach in Perth.  The exhibition is run by a not for profit organisation and attracts artists from every state in Australia and across the world including Argentina, Japan, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, USA, France, New Zealand, China, India and England.

We’re incredibly excited to announce that Urban has been selected as the exclusive experiential partner for DMG Radio, parent company for Nova and Classic Rock (formerly Vega). Urban will provide creative and activation support to the DMG team for all experiential activity conducted by their radio stations.

The first phase of the partnership saw us welcome the notorious Casanovas into the Urban family. The re-energized team have already been spotted busting a move with the cast of So You Think You Can Dance and partying it up at the last of the summer music festivals.

Needless to say that we’re incredibly proud to be working with such a great partner.  We couldn’t have asked for a better fit with our youthful, energetic approach to marketing and can’t wait to show off some of the great projects we’ve got in the works! Watch this space!

We’re incredibly proud to announce that Urban has been awarded AdNews Experiential Agency of the Year.  Urban picked up the first award of the night at the official ceremony held at Sydney’s Star City Casino on Thursday evening in front of an audience of 650 industry professionals.

A huge thanks to our clients, staff and supporters for what was certainly our best year to date.  We’re stoked to have been given the nod by our peers and can’t wait to see what 2010 will bring.

Urban partnered with Channel 10, media agency Starcom and Fitness First to launch this season of The Biggest Loser with Australia’s BIGGEST Aerobics Class, hosted by trainers Shannan and Michelle.

Over three hundred people attended the event which was held at Sydney’s Entertainment Quarter and featured a healthy lunch bar, health checks and gym packs for all participants in addition to the headline event; a 45 minute group aerobics class.

“It was exciting to be part of something that was a first of its kind in Australia.  Three hundred people doing aerobics steps in unison was certainly a sight to be seen!” says Ryan McDonough, Director at Urban. “Shannan and Michelle both love meeting fans of The Biggest Loser, so it was great to be able to produce an event that allowed them to connect with the public, listen to their stories and give participants a taste of what it’s like to be on the show.”

Cottesloe took home the trophy for the highest number of participants in the annual Havaianas Australia Day Thong Challenge and set a new world record with a total of 1,301 participants.

Following closely behind was North Bondi at 1,262 and Torquay with 1,255.  Rounding out the states was Mooloolaba with 1,020 and Glenelg with 850.

Stay tuned for loads of images and video from our most successful challenge yet and for those of you who missed out, join the facebook group for updates and info on next year’s event.  For now, we’ve uploaded a few pics from the Torquay event.  Enjoy!

To launch the new Baileys with a hint of Coffee we’ve installed  pop-up Coffee Shops in major shopping centres to give guests a much needed break during their last minute Christmas shopping sprees.

The Baileys Coffee Shop is currently at Westfield Bondi Junction until Sunday December 20th (right by the new Sony Store).  Drop by to take a load off, chat to our charming team (including the always bubbly bartender Nikola) and enjoy a free sample of the new Baileys with a hint of Coffee.

Sydney-siders were offered a cool break from last week’s high temperatures as part of the launch for the new NESTEA Pear & Honey flavour.

Urban transformed Wynyard Place into a massive chill zone, anchored by a huge, yellow hexagonal tent (honeycomb, get it!?) with custom-installed misters that spread a fine, cooling mist througout the square.

Sydney-siders were invited to take a step inside the tent to cool off and enjoy an ice-cold sample of Pear & Honey Nestea.

A select few decided to take things a step further by stripping down to get the full effect.  Word on the street is that BA’s Chloe and Rachel did very little to dissuade them (and afterwards needed a little cooling down themselves).  Way to go gals!

Well, it’s the day after Breaka Poolies and there’s some serious back-patting happening amongst the team.  The rides were awesome, Yves Klein Blue were incredible and Phrase & DJ Flagrant pulled off an impressive (and at times quite hilarious) set.

Better yet, the immediate feedback from all of the kids who came along was overwhelmingly postive.  Stay tuned for the case study and more great pics from the night.