W acquires House PR amid expansion plans

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Warren Johnson main

Warren Johnson

W has acquired House PR as part of an ambitious expansion strategy that has already seen the company open offices in Singapore and Amsterdam.

The deal will add scale to W in the UK, while it also grows internationally. House PR will keep its name and continue to trade as a standalone business within the wider group.

House PR will bring in expertise in entertainment and hospitality brands as well as a strong reputation for delivering culturally relevant creative campaigns, according to W. This will provide W with increased ability to ‘manage conflict effectively’.

The acquisition will allow House to operate internationally through W’s expanding hubs in Singapore and Amsterdam, where it opened its new office last month. House PR’s management and staff are to be housed at W’s new global HQ in Great Titchfield St, London W1, which was completed last month. The two agencies will be based on separate floors to maintain their distinct identities as well as operational independence.

Ginny Paton will continue to lead the House PR business as managing director, with Charlotte Brooks as board director. W founder & CEO Warren Johnson joins the board as chairman.

Johnson said: “Having already proven our mettle internationally, we felt the time was right to supercharge W’s growth in the UK through strategic acquisition. From our first meetings with Ginny and her team, it was clear that there was an unbeatable synergy between W and House, both in terms of clients and culture, which made the agency a clear choice for us. We foresee genuinely exciting times ahead and envisage dramatic growth together.”

Paton said: “We’d reached a natural point to take stock and assess how to take House to the next level. It made total sense to partner with a bigger agency that will allow us to take a step up in scale. W has got both a fantastic track record and proven appetite for growth – both of which were factors that were very important to us. Having access to W’s senior team will be invaluable as we enter an exhilarating new era for House PR. We’re delighted to become part of the W family.”

FTI Consulting wins Mediclinic International plc

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Mediclinic, the FTSE 100 international private healthcare group, has appointed FTI Consulting as its retained financial communications adviser.

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Deborah Scott

Deborah Scott, deputy head of FTI’s strategic comms practice, and Ben Atwell, senior managing director, will lead the FTI account team out of the UK. It will be supported in South Africa with a team led by managing director Frank Ford.

The FTI team will work with Mediclinic’s head of investor relations James Arnold, chief executive Danie Meintjes and chief financial officer Jurgens Myburgh.

Arnold said: “Mediclinic’s core purpose is to enhance the quality of life of patients by providing cost-effective acute care specialised hospital and related healthcare services. We are looking forward to working with FTI who will support our financial communication requirements in the UK, South Africa and across our other platforms.”

Mediclinic has three operating platforms in Southern Africa (South Africa and Namibia), Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.

Speed Communications gains DS Smith Euro brief

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European packaging company DS Smith has appointed Speed Communications to deliver a pan-European PR programme.

Speed’s activities will support DS Smith’s overarching sales and marketing strategy and aim to unify messaging across key European markets.

The agency will deliver a multi-channel, European-focused, PR programme aimed at increasing brand awareness and demonstrating thought leadership. It will work in close collaboration with existing PR teams in each market and will develop content which can be used effectively.

Speed’s win arrives after four years as the retained PR agency for DS Smith’s UK packaging division.

Vanessa van Dongen, DS Smith’s European marketing & communication director of packaging, said: “We were really impressed by Speed’s passion towards, and knowledge of, our international business. This extension to their original brief is a huge compliment to the team and is in recognition of all they have achieved for us over the last four years in the UK.

“We know that we can trust them with our reputation and that they will work in close partnership with our colleagues in Europe to further reinforce the brand there.”

Kelly Pepworth, B2B managing partner at Speed Communications, said: “We are so thrilled that DS Smith has entrusted us with its European brief. This is a reflection of the strong working relationship we have established over the last few years, and the tangible results we have delivered for them. We are looking forward to supporting their European teams and creating an integrated approach, founded on real insight and intelligence, that really puts DS Smith on the map and helps them to enhance their reputation.”

DS Smith operates across 36 countries and employs more than 26,000 people.

Cision launches new Cision Communications Cloud™ for the next era of media and communication

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Cision has announced the launch of its new integrated platform, the Cision Communications Cloud™ Platform, to give marketers and communicators the power to make intelligent, real-time decisions in a unified way across earned, paid and owned channels.

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Jeremy Thompson

This new offering is the first of its kind in the UK and European communications industry to bring the power of the cloud to earned media and incorporates many of Cision’s award-winning technologies, including Gorkana and PR Newswire products and services, into a single integrated platform, providing an effective way to connect, scale and accurately measure the impact of earned media communications.

Jeremy Thompson, CEO (EMEA & India), Cision/PR Newswire, said: “At Cision, we appreciate that PRs and communicators are busier than ever before, as the power and importance of reputation grows. We have set out to help our users assert control by integrating the essential communications data sets and tools they need at their fingertips in one place.

“Cloud technology enables us to do that and, just as cloud platforms have transformed sales, marketing and other functions, Cision is now bringing the power of the cloud to communications and earned media.”

The Cision Communications Cloud includes harmonised features to connect clients with an ecosystem of partners, data, content, measurement and strategic services, including the ability to:

● Listen to media channels for brand mentions, competitive activity and trending topics that will inspire compelling content with insights covering over two million daily news stories internationally across online, print, broadcast and social channels.

● Target and build relationships with media and influencers that fuel stories and inspire targeted audiences to take action in real-time. New technology and data science combine to create an advanced source of over 1.6 million media contacts, outlets and editorial opportunities.

● Create an effective earned media and content strategy by combining your talent with Cision’s team of industry experts who will deliver insights, strategy, best practices and hands-on help in delivering high-impact communications.

● Engage the right audiences by sharing your stories and earned media across channels to achieve better results. Amplify the impact of your paid and owned media channels with earned media as part of a holistic customer relationship strategy via the world’s largest and #1 most trusted content distribution network.

● Analyse the data that will guide strategy with customisable charts and a 360-degree view that connects the dots between traditional and digital media channels, and attributes the revenue impact of your programs.

Thompson added: “Cision – with its acquisitions of Gorkana and PR Newswire – is the one business with the investment, scale and expertise to bring a product like this to market in the earned media space.”

He continued: “A lot of different products exist to do different parts of the job that marketers and communicators need – from data, distribution, monitoring, analysis and message delivery. But, at Cision, we can do the whole job and do it better than anyone else.”

The capabilities of the Cision Communications Cloud are intended to allow communicators to build rewarding relationships with the audiences that matter the most, understand trends in conversation and leverage buyer and influencer communities to drive customer behaviour.

Kevin Akeroyd, Cision global CEO, said: “The heroes of the communication department are using intelligence and real-time decisions to orchestrate their strategies. Through the Cision Communication Cloud, we will enable communication and marketing executives to align with their peers to more effectively manage this complex challenge and enable organisations to drive growth.”

Akeroyd added: “This is the new era of communications, where earned media becomes more scalable and effective through an automated and data-driven approach. Integrating earned with paid and owned channels in one platform is what makes this so different than what has been done before.”

  • To learn more about the Cision Communication Cloud™, click here.

Birmingham City Council property team appoints Gough Bailey Wright

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Gough Bailey Wright will support Birmingham City Council as it promotes a new development in the city centre.

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Left to right: GBW creative director Darren Foxall, PR account director Tess Randles, company director Michelle Wright and creative services director Rhodri Burridge

The Midlands-based communications agency has been briefed to capture the attention of global developers by drawing their attention to the centrepiece of the campaign; a new website featuring video elements and aerial shots captured by drones.

Gough Bailey Wright was asked to devise an innovative way to highlight the development potential of 55 Holloway Head, an area currently occupied by Lee Bank business centre.

Sue Bailey, managing director at Gough Bailey Wright, said: “Birmingham is absolutely bustling with building activity at the moment, and this site represents a fantastic new opportunity for developers, so it was exciting to work with Birmingham City Council’s Property team to create something innovative. I’m very proud of what we have created and congratulate our team. I’m confident that 55 Holloway Head won’t be on the market for long!”

Liam Davies, business centre manager at Birmingham City Council, added: “Working with GBW has been a real pleasure. They have enabled the council to look at new, exciting and innovative ways of marketing property. This project has created a real buzz and anticipation of the development opportunity within the marketplace, and feedback has been very positive locally, nationally and internationally.”

Gough Bailey Wright clients include: Drayton Manor Park, The National SEA LIFE Centre Birmingham and Legoland Discovery Centre Manchester.

Story Comms adds six clients

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Story Comms has won briefs with The Football Association’s national football centre St.George’s Park, the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP, data specialist Movement Strategies, Anthony Collins Solicitors, Woodbourne Group and Marketing Birmingham.

Picture by www.edwardmoss.co.uk All rights reserved We are Story Comms

From the left: Sophie Drake, Emilie Whelan, Amanda Lowe

For the FA communications team, Story Comms will drive awareness of St. George’s Park’s event hosting potential. It has already begun supporting LEP in announcing its £1 billion Curzon Investment Plan and the 2026 Commonwealth Games bid.

For London-based Movement Strategies, Story has been tasked with boosting the profile of sector experts within the group, which specialises in stadia, festivals and transport hubs.

Anthony Collins Solicitors appointed Story Comms after a three way pitch to help develop its website content and build the profiles of sector experts with commentary on national issues.

Marketing Birmingham also chose the agency to offer support to its business, visitor and corporate campaigns as part of a four-year communications framework roster.

Amanda Lowe, managing director, Story Comms, said: “Our reputation is growing in the Midlands and beyond, due not only to our bright and enthusiastic team, but for our intelligent approach that uses data and insight to truly understand audiences and their communications need.”

Opinion: PR can address lack of insight in B2B

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Richard Fogg, CEO at CCgroup, talks about the lack of insight in B2B PR when compared with its consumer counterpart. PR is a ‘science’, he says, and can provide the insight businesses need.

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Richard Fogg, CEO at CCgroup

I remember it clearly. It happened on a Wednesday morning. The moment when, after 16 years, I lost my temper with ‘PR’.

We were on the up after a difficult year and had received two briefs overnight. One was for our consumer lifestyle practice Escapade, the other was for our tech practice CCgroup.

One was for a confectionery brief, where the average product sells for just under £1, and the other was for a cloud security brief, where the average product sells for just over £100,000. One was nearly 20 pages long, and the other was nearly two pages long. You know what’s coming.

The briefs
After reading both briefs, I can now tell you when consumers buy confectionery, I can tell you why they buy confectionery, I can tell you how they feel about nuts in their confectionery – and a million things in between. I have a rich tapestry of insight and information and scientifically-driven intelligence on which to base creative campaigns to engage these consumers and sell the chocolate bar.

Shall I tell you about the B2B tech brief? It won’t take long.

I’ve read it, so I now know what the product is and what it does. I know the client wants awareness and sales, but I don’t know who the buyer is, where they are, when they buy or how they view the problem this thing solves. If it wasn’t for our own research, I’d have nothing to go on other than guesswork (and it doesn’t matter how informed your guesswork is – it’s still guesswork). How are we supposed to develop creatives that work from this brief and sell a £100k product?

The significance
The B2B tech client doesn’t know its buyer. They might be able to hand you a few job titles on enquiry, some hand-me-down anecdotes from a long-gone sales guy or a flaky customer survey they produced three years ago, but that’s it.

Depressing isn’t it? Multi-million, billion-dollar clients are basing their entire marketing and sales plans based on hearsay, anecdotes, rumours and old surveys. Remember how the interweb and ‘data’ were our saviours in this new world? Not so much.

The challenge with B2B
I devoted my professional life to B2B PR because, to me, consumer PR was the equivalent of choosing to play Snap every day rather than Poker. I was wrong. B2C PR is far more sophisticated than B2B PR. Deal size is irrelevant.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that the CEOs, CMOs, CSOs et al that we report to on the B2B tech side of things are any less sophisticated than on the B2C side of things. I’m saying that the hunt for insight in B2B tech is perilous, expensive and, frankly, difficult.

Insight to the rescue
After a year serving on the PRCA’s PR and Communications Council, after being involved in a working group on the ‘science’ of PR and after seeing the unmet demand for insight and planning from agencies and clients alike, I figured we’d have a go at fixing it.

Enter Aperture, a company we started in March. It’s using psychology, data and technology to derive insights into a world previously devoid of insight.

The idea that PR is just an ‘art’ is old and irrelevant. Yes, we’re creative sorts, yes, we love a challenge. But show me the PR that lusts after a comms problem without any audience, market or psychological insight.

It’s time to stop accepting the brief we’re given. It’s time to accept that PR is as much ‘science’ as it is ‘art’. And the outcome is this: ‘science’ wouldn’t take a job without insight, and neither should ‘art’. We’re better than that. We need to stop.

  • Richard Fogg is the CEO of CCgroup, Escapade and Aperture. For more on the role of data and insight in B2B marketing, visit here.

Global Auto Care appoints Prova PR

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Spectrum Brands’ Global Auto Care has appointed Midlands-based Prova PR to promote its car care brands STP and Armor All.

Prova will be providing communications support aimed at increasing brand awareness and driving product sales.

Anthony Sewart, sales and marketing director at Global Auto Care, said: “We chose to partner with Prova because of its unrivalled understanding of the UK automotive industry and in-depth knowledge of our company.

“We have worked closely with Prova for the past seven years with our sister company VARTA Consumer Batteries and have enjoyed strong results. We’re really looking forward to working with the team through a series of exciting projects in order to help speak the word to consumers.”

Aimee Postle, director at Prova, said: “It is a huge privilege to be working on the STP and Armor All brands for Spectrum. The team is a passionate, hard-working one, dedicated to delivering results in the marketplace, which very much reflects the can-do ethos at Prova.”

Instinctif supports Biffa IPO

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Instinctif has provided communications support around the IPO of its retained client UK waste management company Biffa.

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Biffa

In the UK’s biggest IPO since the Brexit vote, Biffa floated on the London Stock Exchange on 20 October with a market capitalisation of £450m (180p per share).

Instinctif has worked with Biffa since June 2015, and provides the company with a full range of services that includes strategic communications advice, analyst and media relations and collateral development.

As well as capital market’s work, the content and creative team at Instinctif provided digital consultancy and designed Biffa’s post-IPO website.

The team will now work alongside Rothschild, Citi and JP Morgan to support Biffa as a listed company.

Fever appointed as retained PR agency for The True Honey Co.

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The True Honey Co. has appointed Fever PR as its retained agency to handle the launch of its Manuka honey range in the UK.

The appointment was made following a competitive pitch. Fever will work with the brand’s in-house team in New Zealand and UK brand marketing and communications manager, Nancy Molyneux. The account will be led by Fever board director, Paul Lucas.

Fever will help to develop a social-led launch strategy to support The True Honey Co.’s entry into the UK’s health and wellbeing market.

It will also lead on influencer and media relations as well as content creation. This will be done through its in-house studio.

Molyneux said: “This is the first overseas market we have launched and it is a hugely important time for the company. It is clear within the pitch process that Fever really understood what The True Honey Co.  represented, so we are thrilled to have them join us as we begin our UK journey.”

Lucas said: “Manuka, and the health and wellbeing market as a whole, is extremely crowded, so our job will be to develop campaigns that not only introduce The True Honey Co to UK consumers, but to educate them through endorsement of the virtues of seeking out and buying genuine Manuka with nothing to hide.

“Our social strategy will see us leveraging influencer advocacy to create content partnerships which will be amplified across paid, earned and owned channels to generate organic search and brand awareness foe what is effectively a start-up in the UK.”

Manuka Honey is produced by bees from the nectar of Manuka – often known as Tea tree – bushes or trees in New Zealand.