Shooting Star wins five clients

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Lincoln-based Shooting Star has been appointed by five clients in the healthcare, recruitment and software development industry.

Shooting Star team

The agency is now working with HMT St Hugh’s Hospital in Grimsby, Lincoln-based pre-employment screening specialist Sanctis, Hampshire-based software developer and distributor Selectec, EVO Recruitment and mint, a new “unique” supermarket in Boston, Lincolnshire.

Selectec called on the agency for support as it embarks on an ambitious five-year growth plan and expands its activities in EMEA.

The organisation has also secured a contract with Boston-based EVO Recruitment to target specific niche and trade media and assist with a range of online marketing activity.

Meanwhile, HMT St Hugh’s Hospital has called on the agency to raise its profile locally and assist with its current recruitment drive and health promotion activities.

Kate Strawson, fellow director at Shooting Star, said: “We’ve got a great team of people in Lincoln and Bristol and we’re pleased that all of our efforts to bring new clients on board, as well as look after the ones we’ve already got, are paying off.

“And despite fears about the impact of Brexit, the businesses we work with still want to push forward and are feeling confident about the future.”

Good Relations appoints ex-Shine MD Lawrence Collis as executive consumer director

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Good Relations has appointed Lawrence Collis as executive consumer director to head up its consumer practice alongside David Wiles.

Pictured LtoR: Good Relations’ exec consumer director, David Wiles, and CEO, Richard Moss, with exec consumer director Lawrence Collis

Collis’ role will encompass team and creative development and senior counsel across the agency’s clients, as well as continuing the growth of integrated clients within the VCCP Partnership.

He joins the agency from Shine @ The Academy  – previously Shine Communications – where he was MD for five years diversifying the agency’s capabilities as well as leading major accounts such as Amazon, AB Inbev, WWE, Sony Computer Entertainment and Casio.

Richard Moss, CEO at Good Relations, said: “We’re always looking to bring high-calibre new people to Good Relations and Lawrence fits that brief perfectly. He brings a wealth of experience, in terms of both the brands he was worked with and the type of work he has delivered. We’re delighted to welcome him on board.”

Collis added: “I’m really pleased to be joining the team here, it’s a very exciting time for Good Relations with the breadth of capabilities we have to make significant impact to clients’ businesses, whatever the challenge and I’m looking forward to help continue to build on GR’s success.”

David Cameron’s former press chief launches Trafalgar Strategy

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Giles Kenningham, former head of political press for David Cameron has launched Trafalgar Strategy, a strategic communications consultancy.

Giles Kenningham

The consultancy is based in Covent Garden, central London. It provides strategic advice on reputation management, campaigns, public affairs and complex communication challenges.

Trafalgar works across the corporate affairs, public affairs, sports, arts and entertainment and charity sectors and has secured clients across these sectors.

Kenningham is joined by Elliott Burton, former special adviser to the Business Minister Anna Soubry. He worked with Kenningham in the Conservative Party press office on the 2015 General Election campaign.

Kenningham said: “Having dealt day in, day out with the scandals, crises and issues that have led TV bulletins and dominated the front pages, we specialise in guiding clients through high stakes communications and business challenges.

“Too many comms agencies roll out directors on business pitches who then don’t do the actual work for clients. We are different. Having advised Prime Ministers and Cabinet Ministers, we are not afraid to tell it how it is and have the frank conversations needed to devise the strategies that work.”

Burton said: “From my time in the Business department I know businesses operate best in an environment of certainty. With Brexit bringing one of the most uncertain business environments in recent times, no nonsense informed advice becomes even more important.  And the role for business in shaping the course of Brexit negotiations will become even greater in coming years.”

CDR advises Irish government on AIB privatisation

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Citigate Dewe Rogerson is providing Ireland’s Department of Finance with strategic communications advice on the planned privatisation of Allied Irish Banks (AIB), announced last night (May 30).

The company will work with Dublin-based communications agency Gordon MRM to develop and implement the department’s media strategy ahead of Allied Irish Banks’ stock market flotation and the sale of 25% of its shares to the public.

CDR’s executive director Andrew Hey and senior director Grant Ringshaw lead the project team in London, with support from Toby Moore, David Westover and Nick Hayns.

White Paper: Analysis best practice and measurement in a changing world

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Following a successful awards at this month’s AMEC summit in Bangkok, Cision has published a new UK white paper – Analysis best practice and measurement in a changing world.

It shows how to measure the success of your PR campaigns with the latest analysis tools, and why doing so is a vital part of communications in 2017.

Download Analysis best practice and measurement in a changing world here.

Inside, you’ll discover the key benefits of analysing your PR campaigns, as well as why proper analysis is essential if you want to optimise your communications for maximum impact.

The paper also outlines AMEC’s seven core principles for effective PR measurement and provides a simple framework to help you demonstrate the performance of your campaigns. Finally, you’ll see how Cision helped Slimming World integrate a variety of measurement techniques into its 2016 ‘New Year‘ campaign.

With communicators under increasing pressure to demonstrate the impact of their earned media programmes, it’s never been more important to measure the performance of your PR campaigns. So click the link below and download this new white paper now.

Download Analysis best practice and measurement in a changing world now.

AXON makes seven hires across medcomms and finance teams

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AXON has made seven new hires across the agency’s medical communications, public relations and finance teams.

AXON’s “septuplets”

The AXON medcomms team has hired four new starters, including two PhD-qualified medical writers: Saroshi Amirthalingam, PhD, and Vincent Foster, PhD, who both joined as medical writers.
Additionally, Kate Picard made the leap from academic publishing to agency life, as a publication project manager, and Amy Fernandes joined AXON as a senior programme executive.

In the PR team, Sash Rosenberg came onboard as a programme executive, and the AXON Finance team welcomed two new senior account assistants, Daniel Wickings and Scott Hammond.

Miranda Dini, managing partner of AXON London, said: “We’re having a fantastic run of it right now, and the addition of these new colleagues is a testament to our continued growth and the dedication we have to finding and hiring the best people for our business.

“We often talk about how AXON is like a family, so in this context, I think we’ve just welcomed a septuplet of new colleagues!”

TimeZoneOne chooses Cellet as strategic partner for Illinois Office of Tourism

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TimeZoneOne, a global creative comms agency based in Chicago, has selected Oxfordshire-based agency Cellet Marketing & Public Relations as its strategic partner in the UK and Ireland for the Illinois Office of Tourism.

US Route 66

The agencies will focus on elevating the Illinois Tourism brand and Illinois Made campaigns through domestic and international PR activity.

Cellet’s work will also include integrated travel trade programming to expand Illinois tourism’s international reach.

TimeZoneOne and Cellet will also work with Wiechmann Tourism Service in Germany and ConnectWorldwide in Japan.

Yolanda Fletcher, Cellet MD,  said: “We are thrilled to be working with TimeZoneOne on the Illinois account to inspire the next generation of travellers to explore the wonderful state of Illinois.

“Our marketing will include integrated travel trade programmes to introduce new itineraries and expand existing ones in the state, destination training for agents and family trips. We will also be working very closely with our airline partners on route development.”

TimeZoneOne’s CEO, Daniel Thomas, added: “We have compiled one of the best global teams of tourism experts, partners and storytellers to build and evolve the Illinois tourism brand.

“The Illinois Made campaign, which centres on artisan-featured travel itineraries, is a fantastic way to showcase what makes this state so unique. We look forward to building on the Illinois tourism brand and evolving it through unique and inspiring storytelling worldwide.”

Mortgage ‘robo-adviser’ MortgageGym appoints Peregrine Communications

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MortgageGym, a mortgage ‘robo-adviser’, has appointed Peregrine Communications to handle messaging, UK media relations and social media.

Alan O’Sullivan

Peregrine Communications was appointed following a competitive pitch.

John Ingram, CEO and co-founder at MortgageGym, said: “When preparing for the UK launch, it was critical that we partnered with an agency who understands the B2C and B2B financial services media and can identify the best strategy to support our business. Peregrine Communications was the outstanding choice for this brief and they came highly recommended by others in the fintech space.”

Alan O’Sullivan, director at Peregrine Communications, said: “MortgageGym is developing a game-changing product that promises to disrupt the archaic, inaccurate and time-consuming process of applying for a mortgage application. Our expertise in financial services will be an asset when developing MortgageGym’s brand through the UK media. We are very eager to support widespread recognition of MortgageGym as the leading robo-adviser in the UK market.”

 

Freud Communications hires former Sun journalist Ben Jackson

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Freud Communications has appointed Ben Jackson, a media specialist and former journalist for The Sun, as an associate director.

Ben Jackson

Jackson will join as an associate director in Freuds’ corporate division, The Brewery, which accounts for around a third of its 230-strong London staff.

New Zealand-born Jackson was the first environment editor to be appointed at a UK tabloid, holding the role at The Sun for six years before setting up his own environmental media content and consultancy firm in 2015.

Dr Arlo Brady, managing director at The Brewery, said: “More and more of our clients are demanding deep expertise on sustainability and purpose, and there is a strong appetite from our talented staff to work on these issues. We’re thrilled to have Ben join the agency, strengthening our offer in this space and increasing our impact on the issues we care about.”

Sam Otter joins Celebrity Cruises to lead marketing and PR

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Celebrity Cruises has brought in Cheapflights’ former global marketing lead, Sam Otter, as director of marketing and PR for the UK and Ireland.

Sam Otter

Otter has been global marketing director at Cheapflights since 2015. She has also held senior marketing roles with brands including, Virgin Holidays, O2 and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

Her new role at Celebrity Cruises will include all trade and consumer marketing and e-commerce efforts, including overseeing a substantial spend and support in cooperative trade marketing.

The role works hand-in-hand with Celebrity Cruises’ director of guest and trade services, Kathy Barbrooke, and director of sales, Claire Stirrup, to ensure that trade partners have the tools, materials and insight to continue to grow their Celebrity Cruises sales.

Otter’s appointment as director of marketing and PR follows the departure of Toby Shaw in June 2017 after three-and-a-half years in the role.

She will report to Celebrity Cruises’ UK, Ireland and Asia vice president and MD, Jo Rzymowska.

Rzymowska said: “I’m thrilled to welcome Sam to the Celebrity Cruises UK and Ireland team. Her impressive track record in working with household names both within and outside the travel sector brings valuable experience to our business.

“Celebrity Cruises currently enjoys its highest levels of brand awareness and with the new Edge Class ships beginning to join our fleet in 2018, our future couldn’t be more exciting. I have crossed career paths with Sam in the past and her dynamic leadership and commercial acumen promises to continue the sterling work to date in terms of the growth of Celebrity Cruises.

“I wish Toby all the best in his future career at the British Horse Racing Association, and I extend a warm welcome to Sam.”