Case Studies
The below case studies are just a few examples of what we do - along with outlining the power of the media in delivering justice and beneficial outcomes - less the cost to our clients.
S E N S E S V S S E N S I S
A David v Goliath battle developed when a small business owner was threatened to shut down his business after the Federal Court ruled his company's name infringed the trademark of a telecommunications giant.
Mark Mina's company 'Senses Direct' employed about 30 staff. Justice PR Media Agency was hired to highlight his plight in the media, particularly with respect to Mr. Mina facing the possibility of a huge financial burden, on top of a $1.4 million legal bill accrued before finally reaching out to us.
Within a week, Justice PR Media Agency was able to secure Mr. Mina substantial media coverage allowing for negotiations and a resolution with Sensis outside of lawyers and the court system, saving him millions of dollars.
TESTIMONIAL
"I’m the owner and manager of a business in Western Sydney and I have been involved in a long and most stressful legal battle with a national company which not only took its toll on my business as well as financially but also was extremely damaging in many other ways.
Feeling frustrated with the legal system I reached out to Justice PR and Media Agency who within days of contact achieved results. The outcome that I received from Justice PR and their tenacious nature was nothing short of fantastic. I was interviewed and my story was aired on A Current Affair, Channel Nine, among many other media outlets with unbelievable results. Not only did we get coverage, but it had the desired results with the company, and we have since drawn many supporters and in the process exposed many other SME who have also been pursued by the same company which continues to destroy small businesses due to their inability to fight this national company.
I would absolutely recommend others to reach out to Justice PR due to their skills and contacts within the national media. They are effective, extremely tenacious, and result driven."
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Mark Mina
ZARY LITTLE WISDOMS V ZARA
A battle developed when Sydney mother and author Kay Andrews revealed she was embroiled in a legal battle with global fashion giant Zara for using the name 'Zary' in her children's book. The published book titled 'Zary: Little Wisdom' was filed with IP Australia for an application to trademark the name. But the 57-year-old mother-of-two received a letter from Inditex, the company behind global fashion retailer Zara, opposing her application. Zara was opposing her trademark registration and wanted her to change the name of the book, claiming it was too similar to 'Zara' and consumers would get confused. The letter also threatened her with ongoing legal action if she did not concede and change key elements of the book - at Zara's discretion. That’s right, Zara — one of the largest clothing distributors in the world.
Ms. Andrews had three options. She could choose to fight Zara in court, which would be extremely costly and risky with little chance of winning. The second option was to negotiate with Zara and meet in the middle. Finally, she could elect to ignore the letter altogether and risk being sued by Zara. Ms. Andrews wouldn’t back down, so she chose to hire a lawyer and fight the fashion giant, yet 12 months and thousands of dollars in legal fees later, she reached out to Justice PR Media Agency.
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Ms. Andrews knew there was no basis for the opposition, as there was ‘no comparison with the name or the product’. The trademarks were being used in different industries and therefore different classes. To explain: each trademark registration is registered in a certain ‘class’. Each class represents a particular industry or marketplace. Class 25, for example, is the main class for clothing products, and that’s one of the classes in which Zara has a registered trademark. If you have a registered trademark in a certain class, you’ll have protection within your class and for other similar goods or services, but it’s still possible for people to use your trademark outside of that class.
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Relying on this argument, Ms. Andrews claimed that Zary would be registered in a completely different industry, saying that although she intended to release a wide range of products like toys and puzzles, she wouldn’t be creating clothing — meaning it was unlikely her character would be confused with the popular clothing brand.
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Within a week of hiring Justice PR and Media Agency, Kay's David-versus-Goliath story received national and international coverage, seeing television coverage on The Today Show, Sunrise, and A Current Affair (to name a few), radio stations, and with every major news outlet in Australia covering the story. Zara was inundated with requests for comments from the media, Change petitions were created and mother's groups banded together to boycott the clothing store if the company did not back down. The response was swift; immediately after our exposure of the case, Zara ended up withdrawing their opposition and apologised to Ms. Andrews.
TESTIMONIAL
"Justice PR and Media did a fantastic job for me when I was in a terrible situation with a very large corporate company, Zara, who was trying to stop me from trademarking my business name which was nothing like theirs.
Justice PR managed to get me some amazing press on TV, radio, and online news in Australia and overseas, which not only helped me win my trademark case but helped to sell my product and take my business to the next level.
Justice PR Media Agency was quick and efficient, have all the right contacts in the industry, and are passionate about their work.
I highly recommend Justice PR and Media Agency and I will always be grateful for their assistance".
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Kay Andrews
TANYA HICKEY & 'SUITCASE GATE'
Sydney woman Tanya Hickey faced criminal charges and the prospect of five years jail, after her ex-husband, Brian Pasfield went to the police accusing her of damaging a $165 suitcase.
Mr Pasfield claimed damage to a suitcase was caused by his ex-wife, visiting three police stations before charges were finally laid against his Ms. Hickey. Despite the couple separated for many years, Chatswood police stated the case had "all the dangers of developing into domestic violence" and were "obliged to take action". The matter, clearly a civil case (excuse the pun), incredulously proceeded with the police stating, "despite the relatively low value of the goods destroyed, police still find the matter to be in the public interest to put before the courts as the matter is domestic violence related". Yes, you heard that right, domestic violence, against a suitcase.
Police alleged that Ms. Hickey had, "cut open the bag to circumvent the lock and in doing so has caused irreparable damage to the suitcase, rendering it unusable." But Ms. Hickey said she told police it was someone else that cut open and damaged the suitcase during an argument over a painting. Ridiculously, "suitcase gate" was listed for a court hearing.
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With a luggage-loving vengeful ex-husband baying for blood and no finances to hire a lawyer to defend herself, Ms. Hickey reached out to Justice PR Media Agency. We immediately obtained a pro-bono lawyer to help defend the charges and then, in conjunction with domestic violence charity White Caravan, orchestrated media coverage including television exposure and articles in Australia-wide news agencies.
Given the ridiculousness of both Mr. Pasfield's actions, and that of the NSW police, our job was made relatively easy with a frenzy of media coverage gracing the pages of major news media within days. After the police were questioned by media outlets, they quickly indicated they planned to drop the charges when the case went to court the following month.
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After the case was dismissed, we helped Ms. Hickey to begin the process of suing the State of NSW in reference to the mishandling of their investigation and the consequential injustice and suffering experienced by Ms. Hickey.
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Ms. Hickey told A Current Affair she was happy to compensate her ex-husband for the damage to the suitcase, yet he strangely declined the offer.
TESTIMONIAL
"If it weren’t for Justice PR I honestly don’t know where I would be. I was wrongly and falsely charged by the police for something I did not do. Had the police done their due diligence and investigated the facts at all, this charge would rightfully have simply been ignored with my accuser sent on their way however, I was wrongfully charged and bullied by the police, along with my children.
With little money for a lawyer and with no understanding of how to defend myself, I reached out to Justice PR & Media. It's immeasurable how many positive outcomes Justice PR delivered to me. In my case, they helped me garner the appropriate media attention along with the pro-bono legal help I required to defend myself. The charges were subsequently dropped and we are now in the process of suing the State of NSW in reference to the mishandling of their investigation and the ensuing injustice.
I cannot recommend Justice PR & Media more who have saved me from ongoing trauma within what would otherwise have been unavoidable and lengthy litigation costing thousands of dollars. The support that Justice PR provides to you saves you time, money, and heartache. I don't know of any other services covering or providing what they do."
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Tanya Hickey
ELECTRIC CONFETTI VS INSTAGRAM
A mum who struggled to keep her business alive during Melbourne's brutal Covid lockdowns was on the edge of collapsing again after Instagram decided to delete her account just two days out from Black Friday sales.
Natalie Jarvis and her husband's company Electric Confetti - which designs custom LED light displays and 'shimmer walls' - had spent the past seven years painstakingly building up a large Instagram following since having the business idea in 2015.
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But after a tough few years, including surviving Melbourne being the most locked-down city in the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Jarvis was facing yet another battle.
Ms Jarvis had 'poured everything' into a marketing campaign for the yearly Black Friday - only to see the Electric Confetti Instagram page, the main place of interaction for her customers, disappear.
Ms Jarvis desperately reached out to Instagram to get help from the company sending multiple emails a day to Instagram to have the issue resolved only to receive what appear to be standard template responses in broken English. "The team has reviewed and informed that the advertiser itself need to report this issue with the team. Rest if you think your account was disable by mistake,' the response from Instagram reads.
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Eventually, a customer service representative said the account was 'disabled due to not following Instagram's Community Standards' but did not explain what the issue was or any solution to the problem.
The email then informed Ms Jarvis she might receive a standard feedback survey 'to help us improve' and to 'have a good day'.
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Ms Jarvis then replied and asked what the sentence of 'the advertiser needs to report this issue with the team' meant.
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Another representative then replied and said it meant the couple needed to 'fill the form from your side and can send the submit request' but no link to a form or further explanation was given. Yet another representative told the couple 'rather than giving you any information, I will ensure that we are thorough about it'.
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One of the last messages the couple received said they would get an update within 48 hours but they are 'still completely in the dark about why it's down and when or if it will be fixed'.
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Ms Jarvis spent days crying after their page went blank and feared she would lose the business if it was not fixed within the next few days. It was at this point a friend suggested she reach out to Justice PR and Media Agency.
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Thanks to ensuing media coverage within days, Instagram was contacted by media outlets for comment and as a result, immediately admitted the account was deleted in error, reinstating Electric Confetti's handle just in time to capitalise on the Black Friday sales. Not only was Ms. Jarvis over the moon to have her near 90,000 customer base returned, but she also accrued some great PR and even more customers as a result of the bad experience, proving you can make lemonade when life hands you lemons.
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TESTIMONIAL
"Instagram removed our business page, and all attempts at communication with them had only resulted in a templated reply. No way of getting hold of them to stress the importance of reinstating our account as it was the main way we advertised to our audience and this supported our family and paid staff wages.
Justice PR Media Agency did an outstanding job of getting media for my business Electric Confetti. From the start, they were very reassuring, as a business that has never ventured down the PR path before. They were clear about expectations and super supportive along the way, as what I was going through was unprecedented and very stressful.
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In addition to being an emotional support they composed, wrote, and sent the appropriate communications to the plethora of media contacts, clearly gained in years of experience. Something I learned was that this does matter in PR! Within 2 days of being in contact with them, Justice PR had managed to get us coverage which directly attributed to our account getting back up.
Always professional and a brilliant support to boot, I have been busy since recommending Justice PR and Media Agency to anyone as the media coverage is still generating a lot of interest. Thank you, Justice PR and Media!"
Natalie Jarvis
CHARITY DIRECTOR VS OATELY
The founder of a domestic violence charity was up against yachting royalty Ros Oatley after she was bitten by Oatley’s dog on the bum.
According to her claim filed in the District Court of NSW, the dog bite took place at Oatley’s lavish Mosman home, where she was attending a charity soiree thrown by well-known elite Sydneysiders, including Oatley’s son, Bobby.
Things took a turn for the worse when the late winemaker and sailor Bob Oatley’s daughter’s Great Dane dog viciously bit the charity director on the behind on the staircase of her grand Mosman home.
After suffering cellulitis and then septicemia, facing significant legal bills for medical compensation from the well-heeled family for her injury, the director was faced with further hurdles when attendees at the function claimed she had agitated the dog, despite a surprise attack from behind.
Convinced the dog had bitten before, our agency strategically placed media articles in mainstream outlets, with the desired outcome achieved within days as more victims of the dog (all bitten from behind) reached out to journalists, proving that despite all the odds being stacked against you, the truth always prevails.
The matter was consequently settled out of court between all parties by way of compensation, with the reoffending pooch subsequently euthanised at the request of the local council.
TESTIMONIAL
Due to legal proceedings, the client is unable to comment however, needless to say, was happy with the outcome for herself and other victims.
KATE HEUSSLER VS CATFISH SCAM
Mother Kate Heussler reached out to Justice PR after she discovered that someone was using her image for catfishing in the United States.
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Kate Heussler, a model coach and former beauty queen who won the Mrs. Australia pageant, was contacted by a man in the United States. He informed her that he had been conversing with an obvious scammer who had been sending him photos.
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However, the man later admitted that he had sent money to the scammer but ceased communication once Kate's daughter became involved.
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Initially, Kate thought the man's report of a scam might be a scam itself since she often received strange messages through her website. However, the use of her real first name and surname and a functional email contact made her believe that this message was more legitimate than the others.
Considering Kate's entire career and business revolved around branding, she took the situation seriously. She wasn't certain where this would lead, but she decided to investigate. Her initial question to the man was, "What do you mean?" because she didn't know if this was merely someone poking fun at her image or defacing it.
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The man's response made Kate realize the gravity of the situation, and that's when she learned that this individual believed he was in a relationship with her before being scammed for money.
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The man began sending Kate screenshots of messages the unknown catfisher had sent him, and shockingly, these images included pictures of her that were not currently on her social media.
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Kate initially suspected that the person must know her personally, as they had detailed information about her family and divorce situation. This suspicion led Kate to report the situation to the police, as some of the screenshots contained images that were not available online.
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Kate didn't believe there had been a security breach since she used encrypted passwords and two-step authentication. It seemed more likely that this person had been stalking her for a while, as the images dated back nearly five years. That's when she realised this was a very serious matter and decided to involve the police.
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Kate expressed concern for her safety, especially since she had dealt with a stalker in the past and had obtained court orders for protection.
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Initially, she suspected her stalker might be behind the catfishing, but she quickly realised it was a woman based in the US or Canada when the man shared voice recordings of his conversations with her.
Kate now believes that someone who discovered her profile found it enticing enough to use in a scam. Because her profile isn't "A-list," it was small enough to be exploited. She's now wondering how many other men this person may have scammed and how many people might genuinely believe they are in a relationship with her and financially supporting her.
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When Kate attempted to report the scam to the police, they informed her that there was nothing they could do because the scammer was based in the US. Therefore, she encouraged the man who initially contacted her to report the scam from his end.
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Feeling violated because this person had created an entire persona that included her daughter, and realising that her only recourse after involving the police would be to hire a private investigator, a solicitor, and potentially an online hacking specialist, Kate felt she had no other option.
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Justice PR advised Kate to use the media not only to expose the scammer and create a visible online record of the scam using her name and image but also to use her experience to warn others about this growing issue.
As a result, Kate received significant media coverage across Australia, which inadvertently boosted her online presence and led to other opportunities to comment on AI and online space-related issues.
TESTIMONIAL
Justice PR consistently demonstrates an unwavering commitment to efficiency, maintaining the highest standards of professionalism and integrity with an unbridled passion for their work. I wholeheartedly recommend their legal and investigative services to others seeking dedicated and results-driven partners in the field.
THE REAL SLIM SHADY
Justice PR was approached by an author who had paid a substantial amount to a publisher but had no verifiable record of book sales and minimal royalties, raising concerns about continuing her contract with this publisher for a second book.
We immediately identified issues with the contract and began investigating the company's Director. Our research revealed that the Director was not only an author signed with the publisher but also operated under multiple pseudonyms - one of which had a criminal record.
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After connecting with other authors who had experienced similar issues and had sought legal help to exit their contracts, we compiled this information and collaborated with The Sydney Morning Herald exposing the vanity publisher. Our efforts led to the release of our client and over 600 other authors desperate to also be released from their contracts. Just a month after the exposure, the publisher went into liquidation, securing a positive outcome for all involved.
TESTIMONIAL
You never gave up and for that and so much more, I will be forever grateful. You are a rare, incredible human. Well done!!!!! - Happy Author.
