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Rea Francis
 Rea Francis cut her public and media relations teeth in Canberra, exiting for Sydney after a term as press secretary to Dr. “Nugget” Coombs as Chairman of the first Royal Commission into Australian Government Administration Club from 1974 to 1976. She attributes her company’s success to those educative years of liaison within parliament government and relevant media categories across national and community levels. And from the experience of working with Coombs, an Australian national treasure. Francis is considered integral to the set up and success of the Australian film and television industry at international marketplaces Festival International du Film in Cannes, and the American Film Market in Los Angeles. Francis held the role of Director for Public Relations for the Australian Film Commission in its formative and critical years – selling Australian film to the world and ensuring government support at home (1976-1981). A consultancy was an obvious progression. The Rea Francis Company, forerunner to today’s RFMedia was formed in 1981 and initially concentrated on film, television and hospitality/tourism. Its start-up clients were The Australian Film Commission, New Zealand Film Commission, Jack Thompson and a film company called Adams Packer - with obvious owners. Accounts quickly extended to tourism, arts and cuisine. At one Cannes Film Festival, Francis wove a magnificent campaign between clients that dominated RFMedia’s early profile. Club Mediterranee’s sleek 200 metre cruise ship CLUB MED 1 sailed into Cannes Harbour as an international first. A gala event on board was co-hosted by Le Club, the Hotel Carlton Intercontinental, and the American Film Marketing Association. The ship was moored 5 metres from the Hotel Carlton Wharf. Guests were promenaded aboard by a jazz band on the Carlton’s pier. Editorial coverage stretched worldwide. That finely honed ability to marry product and media is the key to her personal and corporate profile. The world stage of film, television, cuisine and travel has provided invaluable contacts and canny market knowledge. Club Mediterranee remained a client for 23 years, during which time Francis became an expert in travel media across the Pacific, South East Asia, Indian Ocean, Europe and North America. Cruise and ski media were constant partners, as were food and lifestyle editors and producers. Francis thrives on diversity. Given a product with promise, her company creates lively intelligent campaigns that can be tracked on the website www.rfmedia.com.au Some of her most spectacular briefs include profiling Andrew Lloyd Webber for his Australian subsidiary, the first Papal Tour in Australia, the 10th Anniversary of the Sex Discrimination Act, the New Zealand film industry’s “Project Blue Sky”. And a bevy of chefs, restaurateurs and hoteliers the calibre of Tony Bilson, Michael McMahon, Luke Mangan and the Hemmes family, Leslie Caron’s Auberge in Burgundy, the Dorchester Group’s Plaza Athenee in Paris and the Athenaeum Hotel in London. A born networker, Francis has for many years managed bi-partisan round tables that bring together business, government, industry, publishing, the arts and media. Those tables run today – one exclusively for women and another known as the Bilson’s Club. Enthusiastic memberships are diverse and indicative of RFMedia’s spread in the business, media, arts, hospitality and tourism arenas. The tables have an active mentoring role. |
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