Calacus wins brief to launch ‘spot-the-ball’ competition

/in /by

Sports PR consultancy Calacus has been appointed by SpottoCash to launch its new weekly ‘spot-the-ball’ football competition with former England and Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman.

David Seaman

SpottoCash is a game of skill with a panel of experts deciding live and online where they believe the centre of the ball should be in a photograph of a recent football match. The weekly winner will win a cash prize of £10,000.

Calacus has been briefed to create a consumer-facing campaign to promote brand awareness for SpottoCash’s competitions within lifestyle, consumer and sports sectors when the competition officially launches on 29 May.

Reece Campbell, head of operations at SpottoCash, said: “We’re really excited to be launching SpottoCash at a time when gaming is becoming an integral part of football culture. Calacus has some great contacts in the media and we’ve got some great plans together to build our gaming community.”

Calacus MD David Alexander added: “Spot-the-ball was always a favourite at home when I was a boy and SpottoCash has identified a real gap in the gaming market by bringing it back for the digital age. Let’s be honest, if anyone can spot a ball, it’s David Seaman, one of the greatest goalkeepers of the modern era.”

Audible hands consumer PR brief to PrettyGreen

/in /by

Audible, a retailer, distributor and publisher of audiobooks and spoken word programmes, has brought in PrettyGreen as its retained consumer PR and events consultancy.

Audible

Audible, which is owned by Amazon, includes more than 200,000 audio programmes from audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers, as well as business information providers.

PrettyGreen has been briefed to oversee all of Audible’s consumer PR brand activity, and will work alongside Midas PR, which will continue to handle its trade and literary press.

The agency’s activity has already started with the launch of Alien: River of Pain – “a first of its kind experience” – where Audible beamed the new audio drama into space at a first-listen event at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich’s planetarium ahead of the audio drama’s release last week.

Emma Grace, joint MD at PrettyGreen, said: “We have an incredible opportunity to position Audible as a leading player in the entertainment category, building brand fame around its rich content. Audible have a fresh thinking and curious approach to comms and we are looking forward to working together.”

21-year-old Ben Jeffries launches new influencer marketing platform

/in /by

Influencer, a new web platform that allows brands to collaborate with social media content creators, has been launched by 21-year-old entrepreneur Ben Jeffries.

Ben Jeffries

The platform says it connects brands with the “right content creators” – or ‘micro-influencers’ – who have more than 10,000 followers on social media.

In effect, it takes a brief from a brand and matches it to relevant content creators who suit the brand best, whether they cover fashion, technology or food and drink.

Content creators will “make the brief their own” to keep their content consistent and authentic for their followers.

In exchange for producing and sharing content for the brand through the Influencer platform, a creator will get paid a campaign fee, assessed on a case-by-case basis from an ‘Influence Score.’

Now 21, Jeffries experimented with his first business venture, Breeze, when he was 16. It was at this point he had the idea for Influencer since Breeze attempted to advertise through ‘micro-celebrities’ who came with a loyal fan base but without the “premium” price tag.

In 2015, just as he joined Bath University, Jeffries was shortlisted for the Virgin Media Business “VOOM 2016” competition and became the winner of Young Start Up Talent 2016, where he secured £50,000 worth of prizes.

Shortly after this he made the decision to go onto Crowdcube to secure his first round of funding. Within 24 hours, the £100,000 target was exceeded and within three days he hit £152,000 from 139 different investors.

Jeffries said: “Influencer marketing is buzzword that brands know but often don’t quite understand or use to full effect. A hefty 90% of people trust peer recommendations over only 33% of consumers trusting online ads.

“People are increasingly savvy – being influenced to buy something is different to being told to buy something and 15 million people use adblockers in the UK – and that’s the beauty of social media marketing because the followers actually want to see the products because they trust that they’re relevant to their interests.”

Influencer can engage specifically with students at a certain university by tapping into content creators who study, or have studied, there.

Jeffries added: “It seemed like something no other platform was doing, so we took the opportunity to make sure we could connect with universities skillfully – a really useful feature for brands looking to connect with students.”

To sign up as a content creator or if you’re a brand looking to collaborate, visit https://influencer.uk

WE Communications launches The PLUS Network

/in /by

WE Communications has founded The PLUS Network, a group of six independent specialist agencies looking to “solve modern day marketing, policy and communications challenges”.

The PLUS Network brings together WE, The Garrigan Lyman Group (GLG), Salt Branding, YouGov, Interel and Envy Create.

Working together under one brand they will deliver integrated capabilities that span the entire media ecosystem, including paid, owned, earned, social, experiential and search.

The PLUS Network members say they can answer the brief in any combination of agencies best suited for the opportunity, and are already working with a range of brands, including global blue-chip companies across technology, consumer and health sectors.

Melissa Waggener Zorkin, CEO and founder of WE Communications, said: “To accelerate a brand story today nimbleness is critical, as is the right set of experts who can set ground breaking ideas into motion across an ever expanding media ecosystem. Unlike traditional agency network models, The PLUS Network is a unified proposition that puts client needs first – not leadership, whose main concern is the next quarterly profit target.”

Fredrik Lofthagen, CEO at Interel, added: “Effective marketing today cannot be divorced from the policy environment no matter where a company operate. Joining forces with the five PLUS Network firms creates a powerful value proposition to our clients for engaging their customers smartly with an understanding of the nuances of our issues-driven world.”

Aaron Petras, vice president of WE’s agency and partner strategy and managing director of The PLUS Network, commented: “We are incredibly excited about what we can do together with clients under this new revolutionary model. Our PLUS Network partnerships deliver a new way to problem solve modern day marketing, policy and communications challenges – unencumbered and with the client at the centre.”

M&C Saatchi S&E opens LA office and hires Golin’s Corey Langworthy

/in /by

M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment has today opened a new Los Angeles office, and brought in Golin’s Corey Langworthy to lead the new offer as MD.

Corey Langworthy

M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment says the new office follows strong business performance from the agency in 2016, as well as “growing needs in the US market”.

The LA office will provide industry insight and creative solutions across sports and entertainment sponsorship and activation, experiential, PR, content creation and social media.

Consumer PR specialist Corey Langworthy will manage the LA office.

Coming to M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment from global PR agency Golin, Langworthy brings a wealth of consumer, entertainment and sports-related experience from his time leading programmes on behalf of Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Shell Oil, Frito-Lay and Wells Fargo.

Steve Martin, global CEO of M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment, said: “As the media universe becomes more fractured and brands find it increasingly difficult to reach their key audiences, they’ll turn to the thing consumers won’t walk away from – the things they love.

“We’re seeing enormous interest from companies looking to deepen their consumer relationships and express their shared passion and support for the sports and entertainment people care about most. Adding an office in the lifestyle capital of the world is a huge step for us and we can’t wait to help more brands creatively engage the public around their marketing investments.”

Langworthy added: “Growing up in Los Angeles, you naturally associate sports and entertainment with the Southern California lifestyle. Los Angeles is home to a fit, active population and more professional teams, action sports brands and entertainment powerhouses than any place on Earth. We can’t wait to showcase our award-winning creative and deliver amazing experiences to fans and clients alike.”

The agency also has an office in the US in New York. Other office locations include London, Berlin and Sydney.

Shout out for Corporate, Financial and B2B case studies

/in /by

Gorkana PR News is looking for contribution of recent Corporate, Financial and B2B case studies.

If your agency or organisation has recently launched a great campaign with demonstrable results we want to hear from you here at Gorkana.

Over the years we have had a range of excellent contributions from the PR and communications community and we want to hear more of the best out there. Here are a couple of our favourite case studies from the sectors featured on our website today: GenMobile, Fiat Professional Tradesman Trials.

All you have to do is email news manager Kaltrina Bylykbashi at [email protected] and fill in a short form, going through the objectives, strategy and results of your winning campaign.

Grifco PR wins The Dream Lodge Group brief

/in /by

The Dream Lodge Group has selected boutique luxury travel, spa and beauty agency Grifco PR to publicise its range of luxury holiday lodges.

Grifco PR wins The Dream Lodge Group

Grifco PR will help The Dream Lodge Group promote its range of luxury lodges

Grifco will raise awareness of the family-run business and its eight holiday lodge locations through a UK-wide creative and strategic PR campaign.

“I am delighted to bring Grifco PR on board to extend awareness of The Dream Lodge Group and holidays,” said Louise Zoufri, commercial director of The Dream Lodge Group. “This is a fascinating time for us and we look forward to firmly establishing ourselves as the UK’s leading luxury park operator in 2017 and beyond with Grifco’s PR support.”

Montfort hires Bell Pottinger’s Olly Scott as senior consultant

/in /by

Montfort Communications has appointed former Bell Pottinger partner Olly Scott as senior consultant.

Olly Scott

At Bell Pottinger, Scott advised clients on a range of capital markets, corporate, crisis and issues management communications.

Nick Miles, founder at Montfort, said: “Montfort is growing fast and Olly will add to our very strong offering in insurance, banking, broking and fintech.

“We are building an enviable position across the financial services sector, anchored by our pre-eminence in serving asset management clients, where the recent arrival of Mike Foster from Financial News has brought further firepower to our successful team. But Olly also has excellent experience outside FIG and he will add significantly to our generalist skill set.”

Scott said: “Montfort is an outstanding company with great momentum and world class consultants.  I am excited to be joining such a focused and entrepreneurial business.”

Beattie appoints first MD for London and the south

/in /by

Beattie has appointed its veteran London bureau chief Jacquie Boyd-Coleman as managing director of its offices in London, Essex and Cornwall.

From left to right: Jacquie Boyd-Coleman and Laurna Woods

Headquartered in London, Beattie has nine offices in the UK including Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow.

Boyd-Coleman, who joined Beattie’s Glasgow office 15 years ago, has a team of 40 PR, digital and creative specialists in London and the south.

Laurna Woods, Beattie CEO – who has been with the business for 22 years – said: “Jacquie Boyd-Coleman has built one of London’s most dynamic PR, social, digital and creative teams with a strong retail, technology and healthcare focus.

“Going forward, her remit is to develop our operations in the south east and south west so that we become the best-regarded agency in London and the south.”

Boyd-Coleman said: “I’m delighted to become MD of our three business hubs and my focus is to become the creative agency that clients love and rivals respect.

“The London hub is booming, with us adding £1m in new fees over the last eight months. The objective will be to replicate that financial performance across the south east and south west.”

360 Insights briefs Champion Communications

/in /by

Channel incentive platform 360 Insights has appointed Champion Communications with a brief to support and accelerate its growth in the UK market.

Richard Cook

Champion has been hired to build awareness and lead generation as part of its remit. The brief reflects Champion Communications’ focus on developing strategies which integrate earned media with lead generation capabilities of inbound marketing.

Richard Cook, managing director at Champion Communications, said: “360 Insights has developed technologies and processes which unlock the power and simplify the process of managing rewards and incentive programmes. A large part of our activity will be to show the impact that 360 Insights is having for its clients, both in terms of increased sales as well as business efficiency.”

John Bird, general manager UK at 360 Insights, added: “We wanted a consultancy that would do more than just get media coverage. Our story and evidence is strong and Champion’s strength in integrating earned media with inbound marketing will help us convert the interest that our story can generate into sales opportunities.”