Dixons Carphone PR manager Alice Caldwell moves to PrettyGreen

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Alice Caldwell, former PR manager for Dixons Carphone, has joined PrettyGreen as client service director.

Alice Caldwell

Caldwell worked in-house at Dixons Carphone across integrated campaigns and stakeholder management.

She has 11 years’ agency experience, having worked for M&C Saatchi PR and Mischief before joining Dixons Carphone.

In her new role, Caldwell will lead PrettyGreen’s brand comms team, with responsibility for ensuring effective service delivery.

She will work across clients including Ninetendo, Virgin Media and MaxiMuscle, and report to PrettyGreen’s joint MD, Emma Grace, and comms director, Sarah Henderson.

Mark Stringer, founder of PrettyGreen, said: “Alice has the prized experience of being both client and agency side which means she has a invaluable understanding of the pressures on both sides of the fence and is strategic, commercially and creatively driven. The fact that she has chosen come back to her roots at PrettyGreen is a great compliment.”

Caldwell said: “I have always had my sights set on joining the PrettyGreen team. They do great work with great people and you never hear a bad word said about them – a rarity in the fickle world of comms. I’m really looking forward to leading the comms team and helping ensure that everything we do makes our clients both happy and famous.”

F&F Tesco hires Publicasity

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Tesco’s fashion brand, F&F, has brought in Publicasity to handle its UK PR and manage a network of agencies across central Europe, including Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia.

F&F Tesco

Publicasity’s fashion team, which won the account following a competitive pitch, will work with F&F Tesco’s UK partner agencies, including creative agency ODD LONDON and media agency MediaCom, to promote its seasonal offerings through media engagement, press events and influencer seeding, as well as brand partnerships.

Other agencies in each of the central European countries mentioned will execute PR campaigns within their own markets, reporting into Publicasity.

Paul McCaffrey, Publicasity director, will head up the account alongside associate director Julie Malamute.

The team will report to Chris Other, global brand and marketing director for F&F Tesco.

Other said: “It is an exciting time for F&F, with a new look and feel for the brand. Publicasity successfully demonstrated not only their passion and creativity, but also their understanding of the brand and where we want to go, and how to get cut-through in this highly competitive market.”

McCaffrey added: “We are thrilled to be appointed by such a well-known and credible brand as F&F. We are looking forward to showcasing the incredible range, quality and of course value, to both media and consumers in the UK and the CE markets, something we have much experience of as an agency.”

PR Case Study: The British Parking Association

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The British Parking Association (BPA) wanted to create a mini PR campaign to shine a light on motorists’ attitudes to parking and using parking technology. The PR Office took on the challenge to reveal just how much time UK motorists spend looking for a parking space over the course of a year…

UK drivers apparently spend four days a year looking for a parking space.

Campaign: The British Parking Association
Client: The British Parking Association
PR Team: The PR Office
Timing: January – February 2017

Objectives

The objectives of the campaign were two-fold:

  • Create a fun and conversational story that allowed BPA to discuss parking issues, including technology and motorist’s biggest gripes, generating quality news coverage across broadcast, national and local media
  • Use the story as a mechanism to drive people to the BPA’s website

Strategy

Having worked with the BPA for a number of years, The PR Office was aware that research-led stories can be a good way to liven up a debate around parking, as well as bring a story to the front of the paper.

Therefore, the campaign involved commissioning research around motorists’ use of technology in parking, what they find most frustrating and the amount of time it takes for them to find somewhere to park.

The PR Office analysed the results and advised on the most newsworthy angle. In this case it was the amount of time motorists spend looking for a parking space. Using government figures, the team was able to calculate how much time this takes over the course of a year – according to the research we spend, on average, four days a year.

While briefing the media, the team discussed the wider issues associated with parking and the lack of accessible spaces to try and secure more in-depth interviews.

Tweets and Facebook posts were also created to generate further buzz and conversations around the story.

Results

  • Some 152 pieces of coverage were achieved across broadcast, national and local press.
  • Coverage included broadcast slots on BBC and Sky News – which ran short clips of the interview with our key spokesperson throughout the day, as well as coverage in The Telegraph, The Daily Mail and The Mirror.
  • Coverage included key quotes and generated a wider conversation with other key players in the industry drawn into the debate.
  • The BPA saw a 27% increase in visitors to its website compared to the week before.

Got a cracking campaign with impressive results that you’d like to showcase? If so, please email [email protected]

Portland expands health team with Dean Sowman

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Portland has appointed Dean Sowman as account director, adding to its health team.

Dean Sowman

Sowman will join the agency from MHP Communications and has a history in healthcare policy, public affairs and experience working with patient groups, medical organisations and the pharmaceutical industry.

Dr. Jane Brearly, partner and head of health at Portland, said: “We are delighted to welcome Dean, who has the skills and charisma to complement Portland’s growing Health team. His wealth of experience in public affairs and healthcare communications will support and further develop the work we do for our clients.”

Sowman said: “I am delighted to be joining Portland’s excellent and growing health team, and am really excited about helping our clients navigate this rapidly and substantially changing health landscape.”

This is the fifth senior hire in the Portland Health team since the beginning of 2016, with the whole team growing by 30% last year.

Playmobil chooses Cogent

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Playmobil has appointed Cogent as its consumer and trade PR agency in the UK following a four-way pitch.

Cogent will also lead on PR for the company’s rapidly-growing Lechuza brand of premium gardening planter products.

Reporting to Jamie Dickinson, UK marketing manager at Playmobil® and Lechuza, Cogent will work closely with the brands’ in-house team to launch new products and promote existing ranges.

Dickinson said: “Cogent showed it had the best understanding of our brand and the direction we need to take it forward and grow within the UK.”

One of Cogent’s first projects in 2017 will be to support the global PR campaign to promote Playmobil’s new Ghostbusters range. Playmobil has also partnered with DreamWorks Animation to develop a series of ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ play-sets.

Bruce Hutton, Cogent’s group chief executive,added: “Playmobil is an amazing brand! We are really looking forward to helping it grow in the UK and producing exciting work together that engages with its audiences and also retailers.”

Meriden-based Cogent has clients including Arriva, Benson for Beds, BMW, British Cycling, Jeyes, Kwik Fit, Marstons, Thorntons, VW Commercial, WD-40 and Yorkshire Water.

KPPR to publicise Fearne Cotton’s Yoga Babies book

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KPPR has been appointed by children’s publisher Andersen Press to handle the publicity for Fearne Cotton’s new children’s picture book Yoga Babies.

Yoga Babies is written by TV and radio presenter Fearne Cotton and illustrated by Sheena Dempsey. It will be published on Thursday 7 September 2017.

KPPR said: “Yoga Babies aims to promote family relaxation, reading and fun in the hope of encouraging children’s personal growth and development. As children encounter emotional, social, and physical challenges on a daily basis, yoga can play a hugely beneficial role.”

Taylor Herring to launch Strictly Come Dancing: The Spectacular

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From left to right: Strictly Come Dancing judges Darcey Bussell, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli

SME London, in partnership with BBC Worldwide, has hired Taylor Herring to launch a live event called Strictly Come Dancing: The Spectacular.

The event will take place at The ExCel Centre from 22-25 June allowing fans of the original TV series to see more of Strictly Come Dancing’s biggest stars.

The Spectacular will give fans the opportunity to experience a new 90-minute theatre show featuring judges and hosts, choreography classes from the show’s professional dancers, celebrity appearances, a catwalk fashion show and a costume exhibit.

Taylor Herring will handle ongoing press office and creative activations to publicise the event. The agency will also work with SME London and BBC Worldwide news generation programme, talent interviews and influencer activations in the run up to the event, with the prospect of creating stunts and branded content.

Agency Managing Partner James Herring and account director Katie Fox will be working together with David Copeland of SME and Frances Cherry-Becker and Toni Spencer of BBC Worldwide to deliver the campaign.

Stephen Davies, director of Live Events at BBC Worldwide, said: “This is an incredibly exciting project for everyone associated with Strictly Come Dancing; we wanted to bring something fantastic to our fans, so they can experience the glitz and glamour that is Strictly in one day. Partnering with Taylor Herring will allow us to generate so much excitement for this event and do some amazing things in the run up to it.”

Tim Etchells, CEO of SME London, added: “Strictly Come Dancing : The Spectacular is unique in that it offers a whole day of entertainment and will feed fans’ hunger to get closer to the action – and the Strictly stars they love.”

White Paper: Distribution and Media Messaging

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Gorkana‘s latest white paper looks at the tools PR professionals use to distribute content and features insight from industry experts, case studies and other commentary.

As the white paper illustrates, journalists continue to rely on the humble press release, and share their advice for getting it right.

However, digital forms of distribution enable communicators to speak directly to their audience more than ever before and, with the aid of case studies from Barnardo’s and Flora, this white paper also looks at how PRs put these modern tools into practice.

Complete this form to download the white paper for free.

CIPR releases State of the Profession research

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The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) has released the findings of its State of the Profession 2017 research. It reports a greater emphasis on strategic planning in the industry, and the persistence of issues relating to gender equality and minority ethnic representation.

Jason MacKenzie

According to the research, PR professionals in 2017 said they spent 10% more time on strategic planning than they did in 2016, which makes it the third most common task for practitioners behind content creation (81%) and media relations (73%).

Other findings include:

  • The average PR salary rose to just over £50,000, but the gender pay gap persists at a £5,784 gap in favour of men.
  • Less than one in 10 of those surveyed thought that Brexit would have a positive effect on the industry, and 36% of respondents said they would shortly implement a Brexit strategy.
  • Nearly one-third of in-house budgets have purportedly been cut, and 15% of agencies/independent practitioners said they have cut fees over the past 12 months, which is almost double the figure from last year (8%).
  • While more respondents in 2017 believed diverse teams produce better campaigns, 90% of respondents identified as white, and black and Asian professionals accounted for just 4% of those surveyed.

Jason MacKenzie, president at the CIPR, said: “Professional practitioners think beyond tactics and use strategic planning to deliver long-term value to organisations across the UK. The jump in the number of respondents working strategically offers evidence of public relations’ continuing professionalisation.

“However, there are still challenges ahead. The hard truth is that our industry is 90% white. It’s in our business interest to establish inclusive cultures that promote opportunities for professionals from all backgrounds.”

The State of the Profession research reflects the views of more than 1,500 PR professionals. See the full report here.

Yellow Jersey PR appoints CFO

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Alex Gerrard has joined Yellow Jersey PR as chief financial officer. He will advise and build upon the firm’s ‘organic’ and acquisitive expansion plans.

Alex Gerrard

In previous roles, Gerrard worked with plcs and private companies through periods of rapid and sustainable development. He also founded and grew his own full-service accounting practice, which provides ‘high street’ accounting services to both SMEs and larger organisations.

Dominic Barretto, managing director at Yellow Jersey PR, said: “I am pleased to welcome Alex to the agency and delighted to have added such a highly experienced and commercially oriented CFO to our team.”

Yellow Jersey PR has offices in London and Leeds, and advises more than 50 clients across nine sectors including oil & gas and tech.