PR News in Brief

PR news round-up (16-20 July)

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Here’s a round-up of the week’s top PR news – featuring Ketchum’s Alexandra Marsh, Launch’s new account win with Brewers Fayre and senior hires at Hudson Sandler and Greenbrook.

Thought leadership

Alexandra Marsh, associate director at Ketchum London, explores how the agency’s Cannes Lions winning #bloodnormal campaign shows that integrated comms can drive societal change.

Richard Johnson, who recently joined Clarion’s Advisory Board to help relaunch its reputation management service, shares his thoughts on why corporate reputation is more important than ever before.

Interviews

Simon Francis, a founder member at Campaign Collective, discusses why he created a PR agency as a social enterprise, recent award wins and why it eschews job titles.

PR Case Study

PR Case Study: Red Consultancy - The Rubbish Café

Emily Morgan, managing director – consumer at Red Consultancy, discusses how the agency helped Ecover to launch the Rubbish Café.

Account wins

Whitbread’s Brewers Fayre brand has appointed Launch to deliver a 10-week integrated programme to promote the restaurant’s latest summer offer.

The Radisson Hotel Group has selected Camron PR to promote its new Radisson Collection lifestyle brand and its new hotel in Stockholm.

National property consultancy Bruton Knowles has appointed Eden PR to oversee a refreshed PR and digital strategy focused on its expertise in core sectors.

Events firm Fresh Montgomery has selected William Murray to promote its two new Birmingham shows: The Professional Kitchen Show and The Foodservice Show.

Gift brand Sass & Belle has appointed Cool Blue to deliver an integrated PR and influencer relations campaign.

Urban cycling brand beryl has appointed Fusion Media to help raise its profile in the UK, Europe and US.

Digital threat management firm RiskIQ has appointed Finn Partners as its agency of record to build awareness of its cyber security platform.

Sharp Relations has won two new contracts from trade organisation Produced in Kent. The agency will handle an extensive brief to promote the work of the group and its members, as well as also winning a bid to promote its new Kent Food Trails initiative.

AP Ventures, a venture fund spun out of Anglo American, has selected CNC to support its launch.

Pets Choice has appointed integrated comms agency One to handle PR across its diverse brand portfolio.

AM+A Marketing and Media Relations will run a 24-month PR and digital marketing campaign to promote the Wales Coast Path.

People news

Hudson Sandler has appointed Sue Hutchinson as an associate partner, where she will help to lead the development of its growing brands practice.

Greenbrook has appointed Michelle Pinggera, former partner and international chief of staff at Goldman Sachs, as a non-executive advisor.

The British Chambers of Commerce has appointed Claire Walker and Hannah Essex as co-executive directors of policy and campaigns. They will be responsible for leading the organisation’s policy positioning and lobbying efforts.

Campaign Collective has hired Beth Andlaw and Helen Donohoe as new members of its social enterprise agency.

Big Cat Agency has promoted Hannah Davies to managing director. The agency’s founder, Anthony Tattum, will move into the role of chairman.

Education, social impact and behaviour change specialist Hopscotch has appointed Nicola Dodd to the role of managing director.

Bubble Agency has hired Josh Paterson as senior account manager and Benjamin Kidd as an account executive.

Agency news

Weber Shandwick has acquired social creative agency That Lot, which was founded by writer, actor and director David Schneider. The deal will combine Weber Shandwick’s integrated offering with That Lot’s social-first, platform-specific content and production.

Endeavor Global Marketing has purchased sport and entertainment comms agency Clifford French. Founders James Clifford and Dan French will continue to lead the team as senior vice presidents at Endeavor.

Transport, technology and environmental PR agency Prova is the first UK agency to join the Public Relations Network, a global collective dedicated to providing high level consultancy and quality local support for worldwide PR campaigns.

Meet the journalists: It's a Grown Up Life's Samantha Simmonds and Lauren Libbert

Meet the Journalist: It’s a Grown Up Life’s Samantha Simmonds and Lauren Libbert

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Freelance presenter Samantha Simmonds and freelance writer and editor Lauren Libbert discuss the launch of their new podcast; It’s a Grown Up Life.

How did you both meet?

Lauren: We met through a newspaper ad! Samantha responded to my advert in the Jewish Chronicle for a travelling partner, reluctantly posted at the behest of my parents who didn’t like the idea of me travelling solo to Asia at 26.

I said I’d post it to keep them happy but I never imagined a travelling partner would actually transpire.

We met, we talked and she didn’t really seem my type – she was all fur, high heels and glossy lipstick – but I begrudgingly agreed she could meet me in Vietnam and perhaps we’d go onto Thailand together.

We did end up travelling through Thailand together and I soon discovered how wrong first impressions could be – she was great fun, adventurous and got totally stuck into travelling.

How has your working relationship changed throughout your 20 years of friendship?

Samantha: Lauren and I haven’t really worked together before. Our careers have run in parallel as she has focused on her writing and I’ve focused on my broadcasting. We would often discuss work and give each other advice though.

In recent years I have started writing more about my family life and the trials and tribulations that many of us face as working mums, and Lauren has often proof-read and advised me on some of my pieces which have appeared in the national press. She’s a great sounding-board for ideas!

Why did you decide to set up a podcast looking at mid-life?

Samantha: At this age, women are caught in the guts of midlife: working, earning, parenting, trying to be good daughters, partners, sisters, friends and, as journalists, a germ of an idea began to take hold.

We kept thinking, what if we could do a podcast for women like us? Something to make us laugh, give us ideas, interviewing women in midlife who could inspire us.

And so, It’s a Grown Up Life was born, our first episode launched last month – 20 years after our friendship started – and there’ll be one coming every two weeks. I certainly couldn’t have a better friend to do it with. The podcast is about us, the people we know, the chats we already have, only now we’re recording them.

What sort of segments and ideas feature in the podcast?

Samantha: We discuss news stories that have piqued our interest which are relevant to midlife women, recommend TV and books in different genres and we also have a guest spot with a high profile woman about her ‘grown up life’.

So far, we’ve talked to BBC presenter Louise Minchin, author Erin Kelly, actress and impressionist Francine Lewis and we also have Samantha Cameron and S Club 7’s Rachel Stevens lined up. We have a “grown up” talking point each episode too where we tackle some of the big midlife issues with experts who really know their stuff.

We’ve already covered parenting style conflicts, the health checks we should be getting in midlife and how to tackle the midlife crisis and there are so many more interesting topics to come. We also have a ‘grown ups gone mad’ section featuring funny stories in the news that make us laugh.

Lauren, how does your freelance work help you in thinking of topics and guests for the podcast?

I’m always scouring the papers and everything online for ideas anyway and have lots of contacts through the stories I write for the nationals – the problem is I have too many ideas and too many guest possibilities!

Samantha, how different is hosting the podcast compared with your “more traditional” broadcasting role at the BBC?

Obviously reading the news is a totally different beast. When I go into work I’m telling the audience and reacting to the big events of the day – interviewing high profile politicians and experts on usually pretty serious issues and obviously remaining impartial at all times.

Doing this podcast gives me the freedom to bring in my own thoughts, views, interests and passions and also more of my own personality. What people are telling us they love about our podcast is listening to two genuinely good friends have a chat about our lives and what’s going on in the world that’s relevant to us and other midlife women.

What is your relationship like with PRs? How can they best work with you?

Lauren: I have a great relationship with PRs and have always worked well with them in order to get their clients’ stories out there in a way that services them and the paper or magazine I am writing for.

But you can’t beat a PR who understands exactly what you’re doing and targets your audience accurately – in this case, by listening to our podcast and knowing the types of guests/features that could really fit well and enhance the content.

Finally, what is the best thing about midlife?

Lauren: It has to be knowing myself better, being more confident and not being afraid to try something new! Life is so short and I don’t want to have any regrets.

  • Pictured: Lauren Libbert (left) and Samantha Simmonds
PR Case Study: Red Consultancy - The Rubbish Café

PR Case Study: Red Consultancy – The Rubbish Café

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Emily Morgan, managing director – consumer at Red Consultancy, discusses how the agency helped Ecover to launch the Rubbish Café.

Campaign: The Rubbish Café
Client: Ecover
PR team: Red Consultancy

Summary

In 2016, less than half of all plastic bottles were collected for recycling and only 7% of those were turned into new bottles. The resulting impact is approximately 12.7 million tonnes ending up in oceans every year.

As a manufacturer, Ecover is tackling the issue with new 100% recycled and 100% recyclable washing up bottles, and this campaign is aimed to motivate the nation to join them in the war on plastic pollution.

‘Flashing the plastic’ took on a totally new meaning at this world first café experience where punters could only enter if they paid with recyclable plastic rubbish.

By cleverly showcasing the value of putting plastic back into the recycling system, the Rubbish Café generated far-reaching social engagement on the subject, hundreds of thousands of organic video views and blanket editorial coverage.

Objectives

  • Help make the world a better place by encouraging the nation to join the debate on plastic pollution
  • Drive widespread editorial coverage of Ecover’s new recycled/recyclable bottles to showcase its leadership in sustainability
  • Land key retailer support

We agreed SMART KPIs with the client, including coverage quantity and quality, attendees, social engagement and video views.

Strategy

Ecover didn’t join the current conversation on plastic pollution as an afterthought; the brand’s existence is founded on the ambition to minimise impact on the environment. However, it had struggled to generate mass impact and in recent years comms lost its way with more generic cleaning messaging.

Ecover’s new 2018 brand positioning “Let’s Live Clean” was designed to encourage consumers to join a movement that isn’t just about cleaning homes, but about cleaning the world. To shape our PR strategy, firstly we gauged public understanding around plastics and recycling via new research conducted in partnership with Friends of the Earth.

Our target was the mainstream ‘conscious consumer’: early adopters of trends with a desire to share the positive choices they make and who feel they’re part of a movement. So we set out to create a unique educational experience which would give them social bragging rights and which they would literally be queuing up to engage with.

The answer: The Rubbish Café. A pop-up with a zero waste menu. Serving up inspiration and ideas for simple swaps we can all make to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic. All paid for with rubbish.

Implementation

We created a one-of-a kind experience that was:

  • Authentic to the product i.e. where washing-up takes place and linked to bottles being made from ‘rubbish’
  • Credible within the eco world and helpful in driving positive behavioural change
  • Collaborative – by working with other like-minded organisations (fellow B-corps)
  • Integrated – without big brand budgets the café needed to work across multiple channels

Everything was designed with sustainability and shareability in mind. We enlisted eco-chef Tom Hunt to create zero waste veggie and vegan bowls whilst upcycling designer Max McMurdo ensured the Rubbish Café backdrop was Instagram-worthy from every angle.

Recycling bins at the entrance showcased the value of putting plastics back into the recycling system – one labelled the ‘reincarnation station’ and the other ‘doomed for landfill’.

Ecover’s vision for the future was also displayed – the ability to re-fill bottles wherever possible. Attendees were encouraged to pledge to do their bit, as well as spread the word with #LetsLiveClean as a call to action.

A carefully coordinated amplification strategy ensured maximum impact beyond those who walked through the door including:

Research: News release and broadcast outreach on Earth Day with Ecover’s innovation lead in the hot seat alongside Friends of the Earth.

Listings: Targeting on/offline and social feeds to create buzz in the run-up. A strategy so successful we had queues round the corner.

Lifestyle and showbiz: Eco-conscious celebrities attended launch night including Lucy Watson, Camilla Thurlow, Julia Bradbury and Professor Green for widespread national pick up.

Social and digital:

  • Digital assets (film/photography) created and shared live from the café as well as engaging with attendee social content
  • Selected high-profile digital influencers were engaged to motivate their communities e.g. Madeleine Shaw, Zanna Van Dijk
  • Rubbish Café microsite acted as a hub for all digital content

Product placement: Maximised product on page opportunities across lifestyle consumer press

Stakeholders and environmental press:

  • Hosted a stakeholder roundtable event including Greenpeace, Wrap and Waitrose which invited opinion on Ecover’s future sustainability plans
  • Bespoke outreach and angles for environmental and trade media

Results

This was the world’s first café where you ‘paid’ with rubbish. It was a unique and memorable way to showcase the value of putting plastics back into the recycling system whilst landing a brand message, and the campaign exceeded all of its KPIs:

Help make the world a better place by encouraging the nation to join the conversation on plastic pollution:

  • 87,000+ social engagements (positive likes, shares, comments) on plastic pollution
  • Almost 1,000 visitors to the café experienced plastic education face-to-face and 240 pledged to reduce their plastic usage
  • #LetsLiveClean used over 300 times
  • 11,400 visits to microsite page containing education on plastics/recycling
  • 25 stakeholder attendees
  • 50 bags of plastic collected and recycled
  • 620,000+ organic video views (AJ+, Balance)
  • Doubled Ecover’s Instagram followers and 400% increase in Facebook page likes

Drive widespread editorial and social coverage landing Ecover’s new recycled/recyclable bottles to showcase their leadership in sustainability:

  • 130+ pieces of positive coverage reaching 66% of ‘Conscious Consumers’ in the UK three times,including nationals (Daily Mail, MailOnline, BBC News, Daily Express, Metro and The Sun), broadcast features across 27 stations (including Sky News Sunrise, BBC News and the Today Programme) and product placement in high-circulation magazines (Women & Home, Fabulous and Ideal Home)
  • 95% of coverage included two key messages (sustainability and new bottle)
  • 54% of coverage included an image
  • Over 24 million social impressions

Land retailer support:

Crucially it also led to commercial success, with valuable conversations and progress being made with grocery retailers off the back of the café (while it is too early to assess full sales impact although initial data is promising).

How to map data to storytelling

How to map data to storytelling

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Just because the amount of data available to communicators is growing, it does not guarantee that all PR professionals automatically glean actionable insights from using it.

A joint survey of 400 global communicators by Cision and PRWeek found that nearly 70% believe that they do not have enough data or analytics to properly attribute how their earned media programmes impacted key financial and business results.

It also found that 72% of those asked felt that they needed to improve their understanding of the demographic, sociographic and psychographic profiles of their audiences, while 75% said that they needed to do better at measuring and proving their impact on business objectives.

The challenge for communicators is to transition from traditional metrics, such as reach, impressions and content performance, to metrics used to measure business performance, including revenue growth, leads generated and shopping cart conversions.

So what is the best way to leverage data to produce insights which can help to improve your campaigns?

Chris Lynch, CMO at Cision, has developed a system which enables communicators to map data to key creative storytelling techniques. Known as the “three pillars of storytelling”, the system allows PR professionals to understand how to exploit the data now available to them to power their creative campaigns.

Pillar one: Be human

Relevant data: Demographic, behavioural, past purchases, product preference

Despite advances in machine-learning and automated content development, great stories that have major economic or social impact are still consumed by real people.

As a result, it’s important to work with specific audience data that helps you understand who they are. This data isn’t about what they say; it’s about what they do.

Pillar two: Be emotive

Relevant data: Sentiment, affinity, psychographic

People are emotive. Social media has created a scenario where humans have started publishing those emotions with fewer barriers to entry than the old days of print publishing. When crafting a story leveraging this pillar, we’re talking less about what people do and more about what they say.

The social networks can be helpful for this. For consumer B2C brands and retailers, Instagram and Facebook reign supreme. B2B marketers are starting to glean a lot of insights of this kind from LinkedIn and Twitter.

Pillar three: Be original

Relevant data: Competitive data, industry vertical data, trending topics.

Originality represents the biggest challenge in 21st century storytelling. That’s because, well, so many stories have been told at this point in human history. Proof of this has permeated the dramatic arts. Hollywood is doing constant remakes from movies 20, 30 and 40 years old. Theatre is copying movies now (didn’t it used to be other way around?).

To be original, you need to look at data even more intuitively. These data points are as much about what people are not saying. Start with your competitors, but timeliness is also vitally important here. Often, the originality or freshness of a story will very much depend on the timeliness.

You can find out more about how to use data to power your storytelling in out latest white paper Combining art and science in effective communications. Fill out the form below to download your copy.

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60 Seconds with Campaign Collective's Simon Francis

60 Seconds with Campaign Collective’s Simon Francis

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Simon Francis, a founder member at Campaign Collective, discusses why he created a PR agency as a social enterprise, recent award wins and why it eschews job titles.

You’ve recently won the Consultancy of the Year award at the Better Society Awards, congratulations! What did winning the award mean to you?

We weren’t just up against other comms firms, but fundraisers, accountants and the like, so winning was a huge achievement.

It shows just for what a social enterprise can do against rivals who work in a more traditional commercial model, but also shows just how important communications is to charities and those trying to create a better society.

Why did you decide to create an agency which is a social enterprise?

Based on our collective ethics it seemed like a natural idea to us! We’d seen what social enterprises have been able to do in other sectors and thought; why not in communications? Although, it’s also fair to say it’s a reaction to everywhere all of our members have worked before. We were all frustrated and tired at how traditional marketing firms put profit before almost everything else.

This is endemic in our industry, from awards that insist on knowing an agency´s gross profit as part of the entry criteria, to the obsession with over-service, timesheets and day rates. By removing that key profit driver, we’re free to focus only on ethical business practices and best-in-class campaigns for our charity, public service and campaigning clients.

We’re free to halve day rates compared to the industry average. We’re free to run our 19-person Collective through an entirely remote working culture which supports a better work/life balance. And we’re free to use profits to support our own social purpose.

What is Campaign Collective’s social purpose?

It’s what makes us unique! In addition to working on campaigns that have a positive social impact, we were also able to invest £7,000 into what we call our social purpose fund. This has enabled us to produce a Freedom To Campaign Guide to help campaigners understand what they can do under the Lobbying Act, while also supporting the development of the PR & communications assistant apprenticeship which launched in March.

We hope to double our investment next year and our members have loads of really exciting ideas about how we can help small organisations campaign more effectively and inspire the next generation of campaigners.

Given the consultancy’s status as a social enterprise, are there specific types of clients you look to represent?

We specialise in working with charities, NGOs and the public sector, but we also work with other social enterprises and firms on a real mission to deliver a public benefit. We’ve also just agreed a comprehensive ethical policy to put into words what we won’t do – it’s something we’re also looking to roll out across our associates network.

The agency is happy for its members to work remotely. Why is this and how does this work practically?

When we set up, we agreed that everyone could pick where and when they worked. It means those with childcare, disabilities and other lifestyle choices can still deliver amazing campaigns along with having a life outside of London, if they so choose!

It works, in short, with a great deal of trust. But we do also have formal structures, such as a Member Agreement, to back up our remote and flexible working culture. We all know what we expect from each other.

We’re also looking at how we provide more of the softer benefits you get in an office culture – although with our day rates we’re not going to be able to stretch to free breakfasts!

Which campaign have you been involved with which has made the biggest difference to society?

It’s difficult to pick one, so I’d actually like to pick one which hasn’t managed to get fully off the ground, but could make a huge difference. We did some work with an amazing psychologist, Dr Nina Burrowes from Consent Collective, to develop a new comprehensive programme to prevent sexual and domestic abuse.

It had the backing of leading police officers and police and crime commissioners, but so far no-one has been willing to fully fund it. So if any corporates or politicians are reading this and want to take serious action to stop one of the UK´s biggest issues, please get in touch!

Finally, everyone at Campaign Collective is known as a “member”, rather than having traditional job titles. What’s the thinking behind this?

It more accurately reflects the fact that everyone who we work with has as much to bring to a campaign and to the Campaign Collective as anyone else.

We work together to achieve the results we do for our clients. Also, all our day rates are the same and only differentiated by the level of seniority of work we do, from £500 for strategy and consulting to £300 for campaign delivery.

And we all get our hands dirty, no one is above analysing press cuttings data or writing up a status report.

  • Pictured (l-r): Campaign Collective founder members Sarah Colombini, Simon Francis and Heather Rogers
  • Picture credit: Michael Crabtree
Opinion: How integrated comms can drive societal change

Opinion: How integrated comms can drive societal change

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Alexandra Marsh, associate director at Ketchum London, explores how the agency’s Cannes Lions winning #bloodnormal campaign shows that integrated comms can drive societal change.

#bloodnormal is a very special campaign for several reasons; it triumphantly broke perceptions and taboos about periods, it generated worldwide coverage and it demonstrated how integrated communications can drive societal change.

The campaign has been recognised across a number of industry platforms, most recently at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where it won a Titanium Lion and a Glass Lion for Change Grand Prix.

We are lucky to have brave clients in Libresse. They have a strong brand purpose and aren’t afraid to push the boundaries. At every corner, they were willing to keep pushing the needle to truly communicate their brand purpose; breaking the taboos that hold women back.

Driving societal change is a huge task; your insight must ring true, a mission and strategic direction must be established, you must be brave and prepared to weather the storm and you have to be in it together. And that we were, with our Omnicom sister agency AMV BBDO.

Ketchum and AMV BBDO partnered seamlessly on #bloodnormal, the first ever ad campaign to show period blood in popular culture, to overcome the many challenges that are met with driving societal change.

We worked together to commission a worldwide research piece to ensure we had the right insights, collaborated on the strategic direction with other agency partners to ensure we had a common and achievable mission, continuously updated and amended our messaging in response to challenges like being banned from broadcast TV.

We presented a united front both internally, so that our client had complete confidence in their agencies to achieve this common goal, and externally to execute such an impactful campaign.

Nurturing a strong inter-agency relationship is absolutely key; work as one team, show the client that you’re bringing your individual expertise to the table for the good of the campaign, and face challenges together.

I am a firm believer in the power of communicators to drive positive societal change, simply because we are incredibly well-equipped to do so. By drawing upon the right skills and passion points within our teams, we, as communicators, can help purpose-led brands and organisations tell their story to hard to reach audiences and most importantly, get their buy-in.

There is no room for egos when you have a societal change to make. Working in a truly integrated fashion will reward you with trust and confidence from the client and a campaign that will shift the dial.

PR News in Brief

PR news round-up (9-13 July)

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Here’s a round-up of the week’s top PR news – featuring the CommsCon journalist panel, FleishmanHillard Fishburn’s new division and a new senior hire at FTI Consulting.

CommsCon

Cision launches unmissable comms event - CommsCon

Cision is thrilled to confirm its first finalised panel for CommsCon. Leading journalists Francesco Guerrera (Financial News), Eleanor Mills (The Sunday Times), Josh Newis-Smith (Glamour) and Ellen Stewart (PinkNews) will reveal what they want from comms professionals to help them do their jobs, as well as discussing the changes and challenges journalists face.

CommsCon will gather the biggest names in the business at London’s Hawker House on Tuesday 6 November to showcase the revolution sweeping across the comms industry and discuss the unique opportunity PR professionals have to make their mark in a world riven by fake news and falling consumer trust.

Register here

Combining art and science in effective communications

Our latest white paper evaluates to what extent communicators need to combine the traditional strength of the more creative and more data-driven approaches to comms.

Does taking one approach necessarily detract from the other? And is the move towards more scientific working practices something to be welcomed or resisted?

Download Combining art and science in effective communications to discover how to strike the perfect balance between creativity and data by using science to power the art of communications.

Thought leadership

Sean Allen-Moy, senior account director at W, argues that commercial radio in the UK has come of age and offers great brand promotional potential for communicators.

Matt Cross, UK MD of Hotwire Global, shares insight into The Pursuit of GREATNESS report and how brands can go from good to great.

Interviews

60 Seconds with Cision's Orla Graham Communicating Causes

Orla Graham, senior client insights manager at Cision, speaks about her role in contributing to a new book: Communicating Causes – Strategic public relations for the non-profit sector.

Account wins

Silverstone has appointed Davies Tanner on a B2B comms brief designed to promote the circuit to the meetings, events, conferences and incentives sectors.

Chinese restaurant and bar China Tang has selected Anteater Communications to boost awareness of the restaurant. The agency will advising on media relations, develop event and partnership opportunities and managing social media and digital output.

Peppermint Soda has won brand awareness development briefs from property developer Select Property Group and packaging manufacturer Duo UK. It has also expanded its work with the Bear Grylls Survival Academy to include PR.

Jonny Wilkinson’s new food brand No.1 Kombucha has appointed Palm PR to manage the PR and social promotion around its market launch.

PE and school sports provider Little Sports Group has appointed Smoking Gun to deliver a comms campaign across the north of England to raise awareness of the benefits of grassroots sport participation.

Augmented reality technology developer Ncam as appointed Bubble Agency to manage its global PR.

Application support platform NGINX has selected Firefly Communications to run its comms programme across the UK, France and Germany. Firefly will handle all media and analyst relations activity.

Liz Lean PR has won PR contracts with pub operator Hall & Woodhouse, hospitality professional services firm Kingfisher Resorts, property and land company Gervis Meyrick Estate, the Dorset County Show, leisure operator the Waterside Holiday Group, care home Fairmile Grange and Poole BID. The agency has also extended the scope of its work with Nuffield Health.

New Knightsbridge-based Central Asian themed restaurant OSH has appointed JPR Media Group to handle its PR.

Unicorn Cosmetics has appointed Kin Communications to lead its UK print and digital PR campaigns.

Criton, a DIY app builder for the hospitality industry, has selected Finn Partners to raise awareness of its app building technology.

Patchology, a cruelty-free masks, patches and gels skincare brand, has appointed Push PR to handle its UK press and PR.

The Clerkenwell Brothers will launch pizza brand Magioni in the UK. The brand will be stocked in Waitrose and Ocado.

Specialist audio and media buying agency Trisonic has appointed Neon Brand Communications to handle its UK media launch.

TimeZoneOne, PR agency for the Illinois Office of Tourism, has selected Hills Balfour to act as the destination’s representative in the UK and Ireland.

People news

FTI Consulting has appointed Elizabeth Adams as managing director in its Energy and Natural Resources Group.

TVC Group has appointed Wayne Nguyen as director of client services (integrated). He joins the agency’s board and will head up its content marketing team.

Third City has appointed Chris Blackwood and Suzie Barrett as joint managing directors. The pair will handle day-to-day running of the agency, allowing its managing partners to focus on its growth strategy.

Hotwire has appointed Ludi Garcia as managing director of its Madrid office.

Grayling has promoted Lee Southen to lead its Birmingham office, responsible for Grayling Birmingham’s day-to-day management, while also providing strategic guidance to the office’s flagship clients.

Andrew Whitaker, former political editor at the Sunday Herald, has become head of strategic communications for Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell.

Business campaign group London First has appointed Muniya Barua as its corporate affairs director, where she will bring together the group’s campaigns, comms, public affairs and events teams.

Liz Lean PR has appointed Emma Coakley and Ian Murray as consultants following a number of new business wins.

Agency news

FleishmanHillard Fishburn has launched a new “Purposeful Business” practice, which features a team of dedicated consultants to advise brands and businesses on meeting the expectations of millennials. The practice will be headed by Paul Reza Afshar, partner at the agency.

FleishmanHillard Fishburn’s Purposeful Business team

Next 15 Communications has acquired Technical Associates Group (TAG). TAG will now become part of Next 15 owned Publitek Group, with TAG’s managing director Sylvia Laws taking on the COO role at Publitek.

Laura Dennison, founder of blog Not Plant Based, has launched “anti-diet” agency Sugar Content PR. The new agency will specialise in health, food and lifestyle promotion.

Unity is trialling a partnership with artist Freddie Yauner to combine artistic and commercial creativity. Known as Unity Curates, Yauner will become the agency’s “artist in residence”.

Opinion: Navigating a world of higher expectations demands more focus

Opinion: Navigating a world of higher expectations demands more focus

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Richard Johnson, who recently joined Clarion’s Advisory Board to help relaunch its reputation management service, shares his thoughts on why corporate reputation is more important than ever before.

“Corporate reputation is more important than ever”. It’s a phrase I hear frequently nowadays, especially in the communications business, although it always strikes me as not quite the full story.

Fact is, corporate reputation is just as important as it’s always been. Ask the management of any consumer-facing business and they’ve understood for years how reputation can influence what people buy, who they want to work for, which companies they invest in or want to start a campaign against.

What is becoming imperative, however, is the need to manage corporate reputation more actively and holistically than in the past. Why? Because public expectations of the business community are so much higher than they used to be, leading to closer scrutiny and calls for greater transparency. And navigating this world of higher expectations demands more focus.

Consumers today are just as likely to be interested in whether a company is paying its fair share of tax, overpaying its senior executives, treating its female employees with respect or doing something about plastic, as they are in the quality, value and convenience of the product or service offered. The company behind the brand matters to people and they’re increasingly expecting business to lead change rather than waiting for regulators to impose it.

A wide range of other stakeholders share their concerns. This year’s open letter to CEOs from Larry Fink, chairman & CEO of Blackrock, the world’s largest fund manager, advocating more purpose-driven strategies in which companies explain their contribution to society, is a striking case in point.

With a 24-hour media thirsty for news, any corporate behaviour considered not up to scratch will quickly be exposed and leaders called to account. Social media adds a further sense of immediacy and people power.

When Frank Gardner, the BBC’s security correspondent, recently tweeted in frustration about waiting an hour and a half on a plane after landing for Heathrow Airport to find his wheelchair, it’s unlikely the airport anticipated the resulting Twitter storm about treatment of the disabled. A public apology from Heathrow’s CEO was quickly forthcoming, along with a commitment to improve procedures.

Getting on the front foot is key to building reputational resilience. Investing the time and energy to develop a compelling corporate narrative ahead of time pays off in familiarity and goodwill, helping ride the storm in a crisis as well as strengthening customer appeal in normal times.

Take the recent bid for Unilever by Kraft Heinz. Public support for Unilever’s strong commitment to sustainability and likely significant opposition to a hostile takeover attempt was a key factor in Kraft Heinz deciding to back down.

Similarly, Apple’s strong stand on LGBT rights, led by CEO Tim Cook, has been shown through research to have increased the purchasing intent of Apple products by those in favour of same sex marriage without any commensurate decline among those opposed to it.

Of course, corporate reputation will always depend on strong foundations. There’s no getting away from the need for great products or services, authentic values, strong leadership and commitment to social and environmental responsibility.

But taking positive steps to get on the front foot, understand changing public expectations and develop an empathetic corporate narrative are fast becoming a critical piece of the reputation jigsaw. To build on a popular phrase, “actively managing corporate reputation is more important than ever”.

60 Seconds with Cision's Orla Graham Communicating Causes

Interview with Cision’s Orla Graham on Communicating Causes

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Orla Graham, senior client insights manager at Cision, speaks to Christine Kanu about her role in a new book: Communicating Causes – Strategic public relations for the non-profit sector.

Communicating Causes – Strategic public relations for the non-profit sector

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into writing

I’ve been working in the heady world of media evaluation for about 12 years now. I started off in a small media monitoring and evaluation company in Belfast as a media researcher and ended up running the evaluation department.

I moved to London to join Gorkana, as it was at the time, almost five years ago. I fell into media analysis completely by accident, but the combination of research, getting nerdy with data and being able to build relationships with clients is a perfect mix for me.

I’ve always loved writing and steered towards arts-based subjects at university with lots of written assignments and dissertations. I always enjoyed planning out the story I wanted to tell, weaving in the relevant pieces of research, and sitting down to just write and write and write!

That’s probably where I’m most comfortable in life – in front of a keyboard, or with a pen in hand! I also used to write band and gig reviews for BBC Radio Ulster, which was a lot of fun. Recently a friend and I have decided to start up our own website to get us back into the habit of writing regularly again.

How did you get involved with this project?

I started guest lecturing in the University of Greenwich’s PR degree programme a couple of years ago, where I met Dr Nicky Garsten who directs the course.

She also teaches a module on non-profit communications, I’ve worked a lot with government and charity clients over the years, which I find incredibly interesting and rewarding, so I started to present a lecture on evaluation within Dr Garsten’s non-profit comms module.

When Dr Garsten began compiling a book for PR professionals and students in the non-profit sector and asked me to contribute a chapter on evaluation, I jumped at the opportunity immediately.

Not only was it a great opportunity for me to get writing again (and be able to officially call myself a published author, which is a lifelong dream!), but it was a fantastic chance to contribute to evaluation and measurement being put at the heart of communications, when it can so often be overlooked.

Who is the book for and why should they read it?

The book is aimed at any PR practitioners working in the non-profit sector, anywhere in the world. Whether a seasoned professional, a recent graduate or a junior PR exec, the book will provide a lot of fascinating insights into how to create meaningful and impactful campaigns in the third sector – and how to measure them and prove that impact, of course!

Topics range from internal communications to global strategy, from the nuances of international markets like China and Brazil to governance and building trust. Something for everyone!

Tell us a bit about your contribution to the book.

My chapter, PR Measurement in the Non-Profit Sector: Making a difference in the world – and proving it, gives an overview of best practice measurement – the Barcelona Principles, the Integrated Evaluation Framework and how to centre evaluation around organisational and communications objectives – and provides case studies from some of our clients including UNICEF and the Stroke Association.

I give examples of how to build a measurement programme that will demonstrate impact, talk about the challenges faced by non-profits and how to overcome them. It’s a guide into both the theory behind a successful analysis programme and examples of how to implement one in the real world.

What do you see as the biggest challenge not-for-profits face when trying to bring their causes to the attention of prospective donors and/or supporters?

Trust is a massive issue for charities. The last few years have seen scandals on executive salaries, how donated funds are used, and more recently, the use of sex workers on humanitarian missions. All of these have contributed to declining trust in the non-profit sector, which is hard to overcome.

It was recently reported that this year’s Sport Relief raised about a third less than last year, which has been linked to Oxfam’s sexual abuse scandal and fears that that issue has transferred to other charities operating in the same humanitarian and development space.

It’s also difficult for charities to differentiate themselves and establish a unique voice. It’s a very crowded sector, and unlike more commercial industries, charities are competing against all other charities for donations and volunteering, not just those working within the same area, as people have limited time and funds to give.

Cutting through the noise requires a willingness to take risks and consider unconventional tactics, without sacrificing a clear branding strategy.

It’s vital for charities to ensure they strike a balance between appealing to the rational and emotional aspects of communication and engagement. Hard-hitting facts can help establish a charity’s authority, but emotional appeals are more likely to engage an audience in the subject matter at hand.

It’s been photos of children crying and in cages, for example, that has driven the recent outcry against US immigration policies, rather than statistics or data. Engaging audiences to take action (whether that’s donating money, signing a petition, registering to volunteer, or protesting) requires emotional storytelling and a clear call to action.

Has “fake news” had an effect on the way charities and other not-for-profits need to think about their communication strategies?

Fake news has an impact on all sectors, in my opinion. It’s been around for a long time, we just used to call it propaganda, partisanship or ‘tabloid nonsense’.

What’s changed is the sheer volume of media and content, and the way that it’s consumed – it’s so much easier for a false piece of information (whether it’s deliberately false or simply the result of a misunderstanding) to proliferate and reach a large audience very quickly.

One way in which fake news can be a particular problem for charities is when facts about things like public spending, public services and public safety are distorted. If a charity is campaigning for better end of life care, for instance, incorrect information on NHS spending, government policy and the quality of care services provided, could be very detrimental.

What’s next for you?

I’ve just come back from the AMEC international summit in Barcelona. I’m a member of the AMEC Global Young Leaders Group, which had a really good meeting and planning session at the summit, so I’m looking forward to seeing that group grow its engagement with some great activities over the next year. Keep an eye on the group’s LinkedIn for more details!

Opinion: How brands can achieve greatness

Opinion: How brands can achieve greatness

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Matt Cross, UK MD of Hotwire Global, shares insight into The Pursuit of GREATNESS report and how brands can go from good to great.

Your brand may never achieve greatness. If you were hoping to reach the destination of greatness, you have already missed the point.

This was the overriding message that came out of discussions at an event to launch a new report into The Pursuit of GREATNESS, put together by Hotwire and fellow Enero agency and research gurus The Leading Edge.

Senior marketers and brand specialists from across industries as diverse as fintech, automotive, consumer services and enterprise IT came together to hear about and debate the findings of the report; examining how brands can go from good to great and what the pursuit of greatness really entails.

Working in tech for the last twenty years has shown me time, and time again that innovation without financial success means nothing. You just have to look at cleantech investment to see that the conflict between short term returns and long term gain will severely impact the innovation and adoption of renewable energy.

Make no mistake, the obsession of financial return has a direct knock-on effect on how quickly we can decelerate and then reverse the effects of global warming, yet it continues unabated. To see the conflict between short term returns and long term gain will severely impact the innovation and adoption of renewable energy.

Up until very recently the financial performance of most businesses and the growth of either revenue or profit was valued more highly than the impact that their technology could have on the world or how responsibly the business behaved. Perhaps not by the founders themselves, but often by the key stakeholders funding it, whether private investors or the public markets.

But is this really a bad thing? Well that question is probably a wide-ranging economic, social and political debate for another time, but what is clear from the research is that there has been a significant public shift in the perceptions of what makes a brand good or great. This shift is not within the financially interested parties though; it is within the brands’ core customer audiences.

Social media and internet accessibility have driven a new level of responsibility and accountability on brands (and by proxy, their investors) because they can (and more often than not, should) be called out on their behaviour and actions at any minute by the public at large.

The power which they wield seems to be overtaking the short-term obsession with return on investment (ROI) and shareholder value creation. Whether you agree or not with the rights or validity of “social-mob-think”, the impact that this has on the choice of coffee we drink, the way we vote, the cars we drive and the provenance of our organic root vegetables, is huge; influencing behaviour and actions made by the public at large.