Blackpool Pleasure Beach hires Rule 5

/in /by

Blackpool Pleasure Beach has appointed comms agency Rule 5 to deliver a retained brief for the amusement park’s new £16.25m rollercoaster Construction MMXVIII which is due to open next year.

rule 5

Blackpool Pleasure Beach

Work is already underway as the agency has been collaborating with Blackpool Pleasure Beach to announce news of what it says will be the “UK’s first ever double-launch rollercoaster*”.

Journalists were given a tour of Mack Rides in Waldkirch, Germany, where the Construction MMXVIII rollercoaster is being manufactured.

Rule 5 will also work with Blackpool Pleasure Beach to develop its national and creative comms strategy, with a focus on key seasonal events.

Activity started over the weekend (29 – 30 October), with the amusement park introducing its first ever Snapchat geofilter for Halloween.

Robert Owen, director of marketing at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, said: “Over the last five years we’ve been working quietly on the development of Construction MMXVIII. With the announcement we wanted to create maximum noise. Following weeks of dedicated planning, Rule 5 helped us do that.

“Plans for the next phase of construction are already in development and we’re looking forward to working with the team to promote these here at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.”

Julie Wilson, Rule 5 director, added: “Opportunities to be involved with a development such as Construction MMXVIII do not come along very often, it’s an incredible brief. We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to play a part in what will be the most exciting roller coaster launch in recent years.”

Petcurean hands six-figure European brief to Unity

/in /by

Petcurean has handed Unity a six-figure Western European PR brief to drive awareness and sales of the Canadian pet food brand and its product ranges GO! and NOW FRESH. 

unity

The Unity team

Unity has been briefed to drive awareness and sales of the nutrient-rich cat and dog food in France, Italy and Spain, initially, with a view to expand into the rest of Europe.

The London-based agency will devise a toolkit to support local distributors in engaging with key opinion leaders across various markets.

The competitive RFI process was led by Jaimie Turkington, Petcurean’s director of marketing, and digital marketing manager, Tim Thatcher, who are both leading the plans for Petcurean’s global expansion.

Turkington said: “We’re very excited to be partnering with Unity and look forward to seeing their brilliant work come to life in the EU in support of Petcurean and our family of products.

“We believe whole-heartedly in collaboration and love working with an agency team that is willing to be brave with the work. We sense the beginning of a very exciting partnership.”

Building Relations PR hires new director

/in /by

Kathryn Reucroft has joined Building Relations PR as a director, working alongside former colleague Rachel Colgan.

Building Relations 1

Kathryn Reucroft and Rachel Colgan

Reucroft and Colgan, who worked together in their first agency jobs 10 years ago, will drive growth at the agency which has a focus on property PR.

Reucroft joins BR from a director of media and communications role at The Oracle Group. Prior to that, she worked as an associate director at Four Communications.

Rachel Colgan, managing director for Building Relations PR, said: “Kathryn joining the company is great news for Building Relations and our clients. She has a vast range of excellent property experience which will not only benefit the company, but will add value to our expanding property portfolio of clients. Understanding the needs of an ever-changing property market, combined with excellent knowledge of relevant target media, together we are aiming to keep quality at the heart of everything we do.”

Building Relations has moved to a new office in Egham, Surrey.

Capture media agency appoints W

/in /by

Retail media agency Capture has appointed W as its first PR agency.

Becky 1

Becky Charles

Capture was co-founded eight years ago by senior ex-dunnhumby and Procter & Gamble marketers. Its clients include Kellogg’s, Kerry Foods, Warburtons and McCain.

W has been briefed to boost Capture’s profile among its target audience of FMCG brands, retailers and media owners. The agency will use thought-leadership and a journalist engagement programme to position Capture as the “go-to expert” in shopper marketing, co-marketing partnerships and the wider retail sector.

Capture will sit within W’s growing media and corporate division, joining brands such as media agency Carat, customer science company dunnhumby and Lidl.

Becky Charles, head of media and corporate at W, said: “It was clear from the start that Capture knows more about shopper media than anyone else in the industry, so we are very excited to begin educating the media about Capture’s unique proposition, as the company seeks to make shopper media more reliable, transparent and effective. We see something of our own agency spirit reflected in Capture’s approach to business and are very excited to be working with the talented team to help grow Capture’s profile.”

Matt Lee, co-founder and director at Capture, added: “The W team impressed us with their in-depth knowledge of the shopper media space, and their integral understanding of the message we wanted to communicate.”

Henry Engleka joins Burson-Marsteller as US chair of healthcare practice

/in /by

Henry Engleka has joined comms and PR firm Burson-Marsteller as chair of its US healthcare practice, which is based in Washington DC.

HenryEngleka 1

Henry Engleka

Engleka, who joins with more than 20 years of experience in healthcare communications, will be responsible for leading and growing Burson-Marsteller’s healthcare practice in the US.

Michael Law, US CEO at Burson-Marsteller, said: “Henry has an extensive background in healthcare, as a policy expert, hospital administrator and communicator across multiple industry segments. He knows how to engage stakeholders across the healthcare system and, as such, will provide enormous value to our clients. He also is dedicated to mentoring talent and developing the next generation of healthcare communicators. I am thrilled to have Henry as a colleague and partner on our US Leadership Team.”

Prior to joining Burson-Marsteller, Engleka was senior consultant and marketing steering committee member at the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center. Before that he was executive vice president leading the New York health and wellness practice at Porter Novelli.

Engleka added: “I’m delighted to join Burson-Marsteller and contribute to its tremendous culture of ideas-driven, evidence-based communications that drive business results for clients. I look forward to growing the practice and building the firm’s expertise across the pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, provider and policy sectors.”

Well Hello promotes Usain Bolt-backed Enertor

/in /by

Enertor, the Usain Bolt-endorsed orthotics brand, has hired Well Hello to enhance its position within the sports and fitness sectors.

Nick Woods

Usain Bolt

Enertor launched in the UK earlier this year with an integrated comms programme, which featured Usain Bolt (pictured) wearing the orthotics when competing. The Olympic champion sprinter, described as the “fastest human ever timed”, has also invested in the company.

Well Hello has been briefed to deliver editorial and social content, and will handle influencer relations, as well as develop brand partnerships.

Its team will also target people for whom various forms of foot pain is a regular problem.

The account will be led by Well Hello’s co-founder, Nick Woods.

Nick Beresford, co-founder and CEO of Enertor, said: “Nick and his team showed great understanding of our brand, audience, challenges and opportunities from the outset. We feel very confident that together we change the perception of insoles and lead a revolution in injury prevention and pain relief.”

Woods added: “Well Hello was born to work with brands who do good in the world and what could be better than helping millions end the tyranny of tendonitis and shin splints through the joy of insoles.”

Portland hires former junior equalities minister Jo Swinson

/in /by

Former junior equalities minister and Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson is working with Portland Communications to help the agency improve upon its workplace diversity.

Jo Swinson 1

Jo Swinson

Swinson’s request to work with Portland was approved by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments on 7 October, and was published yesterday (1 November). The letter states that the paid project will involve ‘several days’ work’.

Alexandra Farley, Portland’s chief operating officer, said: “Attracting and nurturing top talent is at the core of our business. As part of that, we want Portland to set the standard when it comes to diversity. We are delighted to be working with Jo Swinson, an acknowledged expert in the area, to gain an outside perspective and fresh ideas on how we can make Portland the best possible workplace”.

Swinson was formerly a Member of Parliament for the East Dunbartonshire constituency. From 2007 to 2008 she was the Liberal Democrats’ spokeswoman (junior shadow minister) for women and equality. She also chaired the Liberal Democrats’ campaign for gender balance since 2004.

Since losing her seat in 2015, Swinson founded her own consultancy, Equal Power Consulting, to ‘help businesses identify and deliver organisational change to enable their people to thrive, whether they are women or men.’

PR Case Study: Fiat Professional Tradesman Trials

/in /by

Fiat Professional and Performance Communications launched a campaign that reflected the affinity between football and the trades by providing one tradesman with the chance to secure a professional football contract.

Fiat Professional Tradesman Trials 1

Left to right: Dean Windass, Stuart Pearce, Geoff Horsfield

Campaign name: Fiat Professional Tradesman Trials
Client: Fiat Professional
PR Team: Performance Communications
Timing: April–June 2016

Objectives
Performance Communications was tasked with finding ways of leveraging Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA’s) sponsorship of the English Football League (EFL) to drive product and brand awareness, and to generate sales leads.

Strategy and implementation
Performance Communication’s research showed that football was the most talked about subject among tradesmen, and that 52% of EFL viewers came from some sort of trade background.
With those insights in mind, the agency developed ‘The Fiat Professional Tradesman Trials’; a campaign that reflected the affinity between football and the trades by providing one tradesman with the chance to secure a professional football contract.
Participants had to submit video evidence of their own footballing skills for the chance to win a one-month trial at a Football League club, as well as £2,000. For tradesmen who didn’t play football, Performance Communications ran a separate competition where a Fiat Professional van could be won.
The agency signed-up three former footballers who had been tradesmen – Stuart Pearce (electrician), Dean Windass (hod carrier) and Geoff Horsfield (brick layer) – to be ambassadors for the campaign activity.
The three-part campaign kicked off at the end of April 2016 to tap into the media build-up to Euro 2016.

Performance Communications developed a Tradesmen Challenge video where its ambassadors took on a series of challenges to see if they still had their tradesmen skills. The aim of the video was to encourage tradesmen to submit their own videos of their footballing expertise to a specially-built website.
The agency invited a range of sports and trade media to attend the challenge, and interview the ambassadors. Soccer AM attended and filmed its own content, which it then pushed out on all of its social media channels.
Performance Communications whittled-down the competition entries to a shortlist of 20 (which were promoted to relevant regional media) and invited them to attend the ‘Tradesmen Trials Day’ at Bisham Abbey.
It also developed a summary video of the day which all partners published on their channels.

The winner, St Helens plasterer, River Humphreys, was promoted to his local media and to the local media of the club he chose, Rochdale. After his trial finished, he then moved to Bangor City in the Welsh Premier League where he continues to play.

Results

Outputs:
• Pieces of coverage: 415 (70 pieces in van/trade media). Highlights include Sky Sports and a DPS in The Sun
• Video views: 848,000
• Reach: 854m
• All coverage referred to Fiat Professional and its sponsorship of the EFL

Outcomes:
• Three van sales directly linked to the campaign (x2 Ducato Maxis & x1 Scudo van) so far
• 31,000 visits to Tradesman Trials website, 5% of those then clicked-through to fiatprofessional.com

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

National Concert Hall calls in elephant communications

/in /by

Town Hall Symphony Hall, Birmingham (THSH) has appointed elephant communications as its national adviser on thought leadership and strategic comms.

elephant jim

Jim Follett

The Birmingham venues deliver more than 600 concerts a year, spanning classical, rock, blues, comedy and the arts, and also has an education and community engagement programme for Birmingham and the surrounding area.

elephant will focus on developing the UK and international profile of Symphony Hall as a leading national destination for performance music and the arts.

Guy Bellamy, elephant MD,  and director Jim Follett (pictured) will lead the account.

Follett said: “While there has been extensive discussion as to whether London needs a new world-class concert hall, The Symphony Hall in Birmingham is widely regarded as having some of the finest acoustics in the country.

“Its geographical location in the middle of the UK places it well to broaden its appeal to new audiences and, in doing so, to re-establish Birmingham as a chosen destination for enjoying concerts by some of the world’s finest performers.”

The appointment follows elephant’s formal move into music and the arts as a practice sector. For the last five years, the consultancy has been the international adviser of record for Elephant Parade, the public art exposition, which has appeared in the UK, Brazil, Hong Kong and France.

elephant also advises the Philharmonia Orchestra, resident at the Southbank Centre, and has started work in the rock genre, something that the agency says will grow into 2017.

Down At The Social to launch first Shoryu Ramen outside of London

/in /by

Manchester-based PR and comms agency Down At The Social has been appointed by Japanese restaurant Shoryu Ramen to launch its first UK-based restaurant outside of London. 

Down at the Social

Shoryu Ramen

Shoryu Ramen launched in November 2012 and has been recommended in the Michelin Guide 2014, 2015 and 2016. It currently has seven venues in London, including Soho and Liverpool Street.

Its newest restaurant will be based in Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens.

Down At The Social will work with Shoryu Ramen’s in-house PR team on a three month launch project, with activity including media relations, experiential activity and corporate engagement.

Peter Cowie, marketing manager of Shoryu Ramen, said: “With the experience Down At The Social has and the knowledge of the area, and sector, we knew they would make a great partner. Manchester has a thriving dining scene already so it made perfect sense for it to be the location of our first restaurant outside of London. We can’t wait to open the doors meet our new customers.”

Daisy Whitehouse, Down At The Social’s MD, added: ”Having launched many businesses into the Manchester food scene, we know what it takes to make a big bang. We already love the food, having visited when on various trips to London, and believe everyone else in Manchester will too! We can’t wait to work with the team and for us to show Manchester exactly what this brilliant brand has to offer.”