Today, Ingrid Roepers consults in marketing and communications, implementing campaigns with a highly skilled crew of freelance specialists and creatives and bringing great ideas to life.
But the IRPR story began in 1989 when Ingrid launched IRPR, a Sydney public relations agency. As it evolved, IRPR's client service broadened with a strong marketing-led approach and the development of campaigns that included communications, publicity and media management, advertising and digital media. At its height, IRPR had a crew of 12 professionals who delivered outstanding campaigns for our clients. Many of Australia's great brands and events worked with us for well over a decade and one, the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, has remained with us since we launched way back in 1989.
Over three decades we have ridden the changes in marketing and media and its been a wild ride. With Sydney winning the 2000 Olympics in 1993, IRPR's decade was dominated by a blue-chip client roster and great work for big Australian brands, personalities and events and the media management for athletes, sporting and industry associations, government initiatives and major causes including Olympic Aid, the fundraising movement of the athletes.
As we turned the century, new mediums in marcoms came into play and communciation was transformed. Welcome to the smart phone and the immediacy of a 24/7 news cycle, massive changes in the transfer of vision, still image and copy, digital and social media, analytics and app tech, influencers, zoom comms and AI in all its manifestations.
We are proud of our client list that boasts leading Australian and global brands including The Uncle Tobys Company and Goodman Fielder; The Gillette Company and brands Braun, Venus, Duracell and Mach3; car brand Mazda; beverage concerns CUB, Lion Nathan, the Coca Cola Company and Veuve Clicquot; media brands News Ltd, MTV, Channel Ten, Telstra, the Atlanta Dream and Pacific, Horwitz and Studio Publications; oil companies Shell and Mobil; St George Bank, Kraft, Disney and Feld Entertainment, Crusty Demons, Sanitarium, Sheridan Textiles and more.
We've a passion for very fast sport, and have worked for the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit since 1989 - from the very first Australian Motorcycle Grant Prix won by Wayne Gardner to World Superbikes, MotoGP, Island Classic, V8 Supercars and general circuit comms.
We’ve represented sporting associations - Triathlon Australia, Kayaking Australia, Basketball Australia, Cricket Australia, the Association of Surfing Professionals, and the Australian Sports Drug Agency – and had contracts with major event organisers like IMG for 15 years, Supersprint, Crusty Demons, Feld Entertainment and more.
Once Sydney won the Olympics in '93, life became frantic for seven mayhem years working with sponsors, sports and athletes, and Olympic Aid. Such giddily busy times and we’d do it all again..tomorrow!
We’ve worked closely with many Australian and international athletes handling comms and marketing; crisis management; and developing strong professional and personal relationships.
There’s been loads of highlights - here’s a quick review….The Uncle Tobys Super Series and fun times with Madonna and even a week on the set at Baywatch with Pammy; Coca-Cola Surf Classic with Kelly Slater and the icons of the decade; years with Disney on Ice, Disney Live and Monster Jam; FMCG work for so many Australian brands; sponsorship leverage for Uncle Tobys and Gillette and working with athletes of the time - Ian Thorpe, Kieren Perkins, Clint Robinson, Sam Riley, Susie O'Neill, Michael Klim, Grant Hackett, Andrew Gaze, Trevor Hendy...to name just a few. In motorsport, we've worked on the great events hosted at Victoria's Phillip Island GP circuit, Sydney’s Eastern Creek, Bathurst's Mount Panorama and INDY500 on the Goldy; launching truck racing in Australia; looking after AVESCO and their relaunch of the national championship with V8 Supercars - and memorable years working with Peter "Perfect" Brock and the Mobil1 Race Team; conceptualising and launching Canberra’s National Capital 100 – a V8 Supercar event on the Parliamentary Circle; launching the F1 Grand Prix in Adelaide in the '80s and staging the Fosters’ Aussie BBQs at the Detroit and Silverstone F1.
Life was fast - super fast - but we had to take the pedal off the metal at some stage. Since 2011 with young children in tow, Ingrid has wound back a tad and focussed on work for the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit and Monster Jam and several probono assignments. But the strategising and the creativity still flow. Today she relishes applying her marketing and comms expertise to challenges with a freelance crew, continuing to bring great ideas to life.