FCO’s Alicia Kearns joins Global Influence

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Global Influence has brought in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Alicia Kearns as client services director. She joins after two years at the FCO, where she led the UK Government’s comms campaigns on Syria and Iraq, as well as advising more than 70 international Governments on counter-terrorism.

Global Influence Alicia Kearns

Alicia Kearns

Global Influence is focused specifically on government and defence influence solutions, with a particular focus on counter-terrorism, counter violent extremism, stabilisation and political campaigning.

It was officially launched last month by brand strategy and behaviour change agency Verbalisation, which has clients including The Sun, The Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Nuon Energy.

In her new role, Kearns will lead strategic comms campaigns and influence solutions for several international clients, with activity including initial target audience analysis, through strategy, cross-platform activation and effects-based measurement.

Before the FCO, she held comms roles at the Ministry of Defence, where she led the department’s contribution to the Scottish Referendum campaign. She also spent time at the Ministry of Justice, where she was press secretary to the Victims’ Minister.

Sven Hughes, founder of Global Influence, said: “Alicia has worked at the heart of some of the most important government departments and campaigns in recent years. Her track record and reputation are exceptional and her professionalism and energy perfectly match our culture and ambitions.

“I have every confidence that Global Influence’s clients on both sides of the pond will benefit significantly from Alicia’s considerable knowledge and talents.”

Kearns added: “Global Influence uses ground-breaking applied psychology to decode target audiences.  Their rigorous methodology is also underpinned by a genuine desire to deliver meaningful behaviour change to support and protect communities at home and abroad.  I’m proud to be part of a company driven by the need to make a difference.”

Behind the Headlines with Time Inc. UK’s Holly McNally

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Holly McNally, PR manager at Time Inc. UK, on breaking the habit of checking emails before getting out of bed, what marks out campaign success, why there needs to be a shift in PR value and her secret penchant for Pot Noodles.

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Holly McNally

Before I reach the office in the morning, I’ve already…
Had my caffeine fix, watched a vlog, read a blog, listened to a podcast, checked my emails, obsessively searched for press coverage, read the headlines, scanned social and not necessarily all in that order – I’ve just managed to break the habit of checking emails before I’m out of bed.

I work across both trade and consumer PR, so I make sure I consume a breadth of news across different platforms. I basically use my commute to get a head start on the day, consider any problems that need solving and to come up with ideas for projects.

You’ll mostly find emails about…in my inbox.
Current or upcoming campaigns, feedback on press releases or feature ideas, along with a healthy volume of industry newsletters covering off the latest in media, advertising, marketing, publishing and music.

Time Inc. UK has over 50 brands, including events and e-commerce businesses, so I could be reading about anything from cycling and equestrianism through to celebrity, music or politics and on a trade perspective, commercial deals, new launches and industry trends.

I know I’ve had a good day if…
I’ve done something new. I like to push myself outside of my comfort zone – even if it feels nerve-wracking at the time – because that means I’m stretching my knowledge, building my expertise and, in turn, becoming more dynamic in my work.

Working at a media company that is growing its portfolio of events and e-commerce businesses and has a broad range of brands has certainly offered up plenty of opportunities for me to do this. Last year, one week I was announcing Time Inc. UK’s acquisition of UKCE – the UK’s leading provider of premium cycling events – and within two weeks I was on the red carpet at the annual NME Awards. I was also lucky enough to be handling the PR for NME’s brand transformation last year, where the magazine relaunched as a free print product and it has been the greatest privilege of my career so far.

My first job was…
A newspaper-round when I was 14. I couldn’t wait to start earning my own money so took on two rounds and earned about £5 for each one.

I can tell a campaign is succeeding when…
Journalists start approaching me for the story and the coverage has all the key messaging. It can be really exciting when you know a story is getting pick-up, especially when requests come in and the day becomes fast-paced.

I eat….when nobody is watching.
Pot Noodles. The Sweet and Sour variety. It’s a rare occurrence, but there is something comforting about it.

The first time I pitched to a journalist…
I was really nervous and was conscious that my new manager and team were sat next to me, probably listening to how I was doing. I was keen to impress though so I pretty much just went for it and my Drama A-level came in handy to conceal my nerves. I was sat with my press release, a script I’d written so I didn’t forget key points and a spreadsheet to keep track of who I’d spoken to and what actions came out of the phone call. I think the first call went to voicemail which was a massive anti-climax when you have just built up the courage to pick up the phone.  I heard ‘send me the press release’ quite a few times – which for the most part was code for ‘not interested’ – and ‘no’, but that meant I learnt to just keep on picking up the phone, taking on board feedback and changing tack.

The worst thing anyone has said to me is…
I shouldn’t take the 11-plus. It made me feel stupid and affected my confidence, but it equally motivated me to prove to myself that my teacher was wrong. I went on to get three As at A-Level and study science at a Russel Group university. To this day I have a fierce determination to work hard and do the very best I can, so in hindsight, maybe it was the best thing someone ever said to me.

The last book I read was…
The Secret History by Donna Tartt, which I highly recommend. The plot moves more quickly than the author’s Pulitzer prize-winning The Goldfinch, but I would still say the latter is better, even if it is a slow read.

I’ve never really understood why…
PR value is so often weighted with more importance over other factors such as whether the coverage appeared in outlets reaching the target audience, level of branding, quality, key messaging and OTS. It’s a problem we need to solve as an industry as AVE just isn’t an accurate measurement of how successful a PR campaign is. Coverage in trade outlets is so targeted that a PR value often isn’t calculated as it isn’t representative of the value of the coverage, and a similar shift needs to happen with consumer PR.

If I could go back and talk to my 10-year-old self, I’d say…
Stop worrying, you are 10!

This time next year, I’ll be…
Looking back at how much I have learnt in the last 12 months and working out what skills I want to crack in the next.

Fancy being featured on Gorkana News? Please email [email protected]

60 Seconds with Gemma Oakes, Mercieca

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Gemma Oakes, director at Mercieca, talks about sport and lifestyle PR and its closeness to FMCG. In the aftermath of the Olympics, she shares her own favourite sports to watch and play.

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Gemma Oakes

How did you end up specialising in sport and lifestyle PR?
I actually started my career in music and entertainment after a very brief stint as a freelance music journalist. It led me to a sports sponsorship agency, and from there to Mercieca where I started introducing sport to what was predominantly a food and drink portfolio.

There’s a clear link between FMCG brands and sport, and I was able to introduce grassroots and sports partnerships to a number of our clients. I’m passionate about getting kids into sport, and utilising elite athletes to help get kids active.

What’s unique about the sector?
I think it’s becoming less unique. More sporting bodies are starting to employ people with an FMCG background, utilising their insights and approach to sales and the retail landscape on and offline. Probably the most unique thing is the fact that it’s not in every job that you get to occasionally meet one of your heroes!

What’s your ideal client/brief?
The ideal client brief is one that has a clear problem, but is open to what the solution might be. Our team are problem solvers, so as long as the client knows what it is they’re looking to fix, we can help them identify audience, channels and creative ideas – all executed brilliantly. Saying that though, we like to work as part of our client’s team, so are frequently helping them to identify the problem and craft the brief together.

What changes do you see taking place in the PR industry?
Clients want things faster, and they want to see an integrated approach. It’s not just about books of coverage, it’s about genuine results that make a difference to a brand.

Social is now a firm part of the PR mix, so demands on PR agencies have broadened. Integrated thinking and the ability to create brilliant content is key. It means PR agencies have to be even more creative and have the ability to produce the content quickly. It’s good for the industry, as PR now has to be fully integrated with the rest of the marketing mix (and vice-versa), as opposed to working in isolation (which it has had a tendency to do in the past).

For me, it’s exciting that PR is evolving, and it’s even more challenging because it requires us as PR professionals to have a broader set of  skills.

How is Mercieca responding to those changes?
We’ve geared up our business to be even more flexible. Brands aren’t always looking for one creative solution, so as an integrated agency we’re able to find the right solution to suit their need – whether it’s PR, social, experiential, an advertising or in-store campaign, or even a new website.

We don’t see ourselves as just a “PR agency” because we now run a fully integrated agency. We’ve always had an extensive creative services team in-house, but in truth, in the past we were structured as, effectively, two different departments – a PR agency and a creative services agency. Over recent months we’ve fully integrated the teams and adapted to a much more collaborative way of working, and won some big new clients because of it. It’s this approach that has made it easier for us to work quicker, and be geared up to be more flexible.

How can the industry raise its standards/improve?
The PR industry is in a good place. There’s always room to improve and there are always going to be some really strong PR shops – some more famous than others. There’s definitely room for us all, but there’s still a little too much fluff for my liking at times. We’re consultants, so we should be straight talking, we should demonstrate business acumen and we should be smart enough to ensure we’re delivering for brands.

Too frequently we have companies approaching us who have had their fingers burnt by an agency who didn’t deliver. We ensure that if for any reason an idea, or approach isn’t working, we’re open with our clients to ensure that we can review it, fix it and then deliver. We talk honestly about budgets, media expectation and where in its journey a brand might be, free of jargon and waffle!

What sports do you enjoy outside of work – to watch or play?
Off the back of an amazing Olympics I think I can watch almost any sport. I’m a huge rugby and football fan, but also really enjoy watching cycling and swimming. The gymnastics in Rio was amazing! Personally though, outside of just watching it, I enjoy going swimming and have done since I was very young. I find it incredible that over 50% of kids in the UK today can’t swim – hence the drive to get more brands involved in grassroots sports.

  • Are you working in an interesting or unusual PR role? Do you have strong views on the industry that you want to share with the Gorkana community? If so, please contact Emily Andrews.

BookTrust names head of comms

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Children’s reading charity BookTrust has appointed Dogs Trust’s former deputy comms lead, Sinead Scott-Lennon, as its head of comms and campaigns.

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Sinead Scott-Lennon

At BookTrust, Scott-Lennon will develop comms and campaigns strategy for the charity, with a focus on its mission to transform lives by getting children and families reading.

She joins BookTrust as it prepares to launch a campaign called Time to Read, which will look to ensure that parents, teachers, schools and policymakers understand the value of making time for shared reading and its role in developing reading enjoyment and the impact of both on children’s life chances.

Scott-Lennon has led several high-profile campaigns during her ten years at Dogs Trust, including compulsory microchipping of all dogs and puppy farming.

Gemma Malley, director of comms and engagement at BookTrust, said: “Sinead brings great communications and management experience having created and led huge campaigns at Dogs Trust. We recognised her ability to help build on our strengths, and are confident she will make our next campaign a huge success.

“BookTrust exists to transform lives by inspiring a love of reading and we now have an even stronger, talented and inspirational team to get our message across and get even more children reading.”

Scott-Lennon added: “I am incredibly excited about leading communications and campaigns team at BookTrust. This is a wonderful charity that does amazing things for the imagination of children and it’s an honour to be a part of that. It’s a very exciting time to be joining this talented team.”

Tullett Prebon appoints Shelley as corporate affairs chief

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Interdealer broker Tullett Prebon has appointed Rebecca Shelley as global head of corporate affairs.

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Rebecca Shelley

Shelley, who joins the firm on September 1, will report directly to CEO John Phizackerley, and will become a member of the firm’s Global Executive Committee.

Shelley’s previous roles include corporate affairs director at Tesco, partner at Brunswick and group communications director at Prudential.

She said: “This is a excellent time to be joining John Phizackerley and his team. With the creation of TP ICAP on the horizon, I will be looking to build a strong, multi-faceted, communications function, as befits a company of its ambition, and to grow and develop the corporate profile.”

The appointment comes ahead of the completion of Tullett Prebon’s acquisition of ICAP later this year. Shelley will be responsible for the integration of the businesses’ comms and marketing teams.

Phizackerley added: “I am delighted to welcome Rebecca to Tullett Prebon and, in due course, to TP ICAP. We will be working extremely closely together as I further develop the TP ICAP corporate profile and engage with all of our stakeholders in the UK and around the world. Rebecca’s PR, IR and public affairs experience is very broad and deep and she will be a most valuable addition to my team.”

Aduro to launch “clean meal” subscription service

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Everdine, a “clean meal” subscription service, has hired Aduro Communications to deliver its launch campaign in the UK market.

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Everdine’s Falafel Shawarma offer

Everdine, which is based in London, claims to offer “wholesome and clean meal” subscription plans, with recipes developed by chefs trained in Michelin starred restaurants.

Meals are prepared and delivered frozen, in boxes containing eight or 12 meals, every fortnight.

Aduro has developed a launch campaign, working with a celebrity ambassador to deliver the brand’s key messages, which will also include influencer and product press office activity.

Andreas Jaegle, founder and MD of Everdine, said: “We have a clear brand identity and wanted an agency that could deliver that for us. Aduro impressed us with its insight and strategic approach, giving us a multi-layered campaign to create real cut-through at launch, while crucially delivering our key messages seamlessly.”

Natalie Luke, Aduro founder, said: “Working with new start-ups to launch them to market is incredibly exciting, and Everdine is the perfect example of this, as it’s set to freshen up the market with its approach to convenient, clean eating.

“We know it’s a growing market so we developed a strategic launch plan to take the brand to media and influencers simultaneously, using an ambassador at the heart to deliver the brand’s messages in a credible way that will really cut through.”

Alma PR hires McConnachie as consultant

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Financial communications consultancy Alma PR has hired Robyn McConnachie as a consultant.

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Robyn McConnachie

McConnachie joins from Newgate Communications, where she worked for seven years specialising in AIM-listed growth companies.

Hilary Buchanan, Alma partner,  said: “Since Alma launched in the spring of last year, we have grown our retained client base ahead of plans. We are proud of our reputation for the quality of the service we provide to our clients and hiring people like Robyn will ensure we are able to do so as we grow. We have worked with Robyn before and have always admired her commitment to her clients and attention to detail. We are delighted she has agreed to join us at this exciting time in our development.”

McConnachie added: “I’m thrilled to be at Alma, working for a consultancy that has a clear focus on the AIM market, a growing client base and a commitment to quality of service. Given the current uncertainties in the market, it is more important than ever that management teams are working with people who understand their businesses and their investor audience and this is Alma’s forte. I’m excited to be a part of their growth.”

CubanEight makes senior hires and wins Selligent

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Heather Power and Jonathan Lenz

Oxfordshire-based PR agency, CubanEight has been appointed by Selligent, a relationship marketing platform. In addition, the agency has made two new hires: associate director Heather Power and account director Jonathan Lenz.

Power joins CubanEight from senior roles at Kapler Communications and, prior to that, Grayling. Lenz joins from a senior account manager role at Beattie Communications.

Sian Gaskell, managing director of CubanEight, said: “It has been a strong year so far for CubanEight, adding new clients to our roster and expanding the team. We are really pleased that this month we are welcoming two additions to the senior team, and adding market-leading Selligent to our client base.”

Selligent works with 700 brands in 30 countries, enabling them to engage customers with contextually relevant messages at key moments across a range of channels. CubanEight will help to improve the company’s trust and credibility, raise brand awareness and support sales leads. The Selligent team will be led by CubanEight account director Annabel Parkinson-Lee.

Christopher Baldwin, head of UK marketing at Selligent, added: “The UK is a key market for us and CubanEight’s understanding and knowledge of the marketing technology and business audience was a big driver in our decision to work with them. We were looking for a partner who would give us the right level of support to get the Selligent brand out there and understood across the market – and we found that in CubanEight”.

Mountain Warehouse brings PR in-house

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Mountain Warehouse has brought its consumer PR in-house and hired Radley’s Harriet Sweet as PR manager. She will handle PR activity for the British outdoor retailer and its sister brand Zakti.

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Mountain Warehouse

The new PR team for Mountain Warehouse and Zakti will hold a global remit, but specialise in the UK for the next six months as the division is established.

PR, brand and social media will be part of the remit for Jennie Bianco, head of brand marketing. Bianco joined Mountain Warehouse in February from Panache Lingerie, where she spent more than four years as head of marketing.

Sweet, who starts her new role next month, will handle all PR activity for the Mountain Warehouse and Zakti brands, as well as advise on brand strategy and negotiate partnerships with influencers.

She is currently a press officer at Radley, a role she has held since July 2015. Before that, she held agency-side roles at Mission, Boden and Dust PR.

Mountain Warehouse’s in-house team also includes brand marketing executive Eleanor Patterson, who also joined the brand from Panache Lingerie earlier this year. Bianco is also recruiting for two PR and marketing assistants.

Mountain Warehouse was previously represented by House PR for over a year.

Bianco said: “House PR has positioned the brand well in consumer press and created a fantastic platform to build on. We hope to continue working with them on an ad hoc basis.”

The brand will continue to use Bell Pottinger for corporate PR activity and will use agencies and freelancers when required.

PR Case Study: #DontQuitDoIt

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Hannah Cockroft

Inspired by clients who have been through life-changing injuries, Irwin Mitchell and Instinctif Partners launched a campaign to highlight the crucial role that sport can play in a person’s recovery and rehabilitation.

Campaign: #DontQuitDoIt
Client:  Irwin Mitchell
Agency: Instinctif Partners
Timing: 2015 – current

Objectives
The objective of #DontQuitDoIt was to inspire and engage audiences by sharing stories that raise awareness of disability in sports, as well as the Irwin Mitchell brand.

Irwin Mitchell, a UK law firm, works with people who have suffered life-changing injuries; not just in the courts, but by providing support throughout recovery, rehabilitation and the pursuit of the best possible quality of life. Through #DontQuitDoIt, Irwin Mitchell was able to show how important sport can be to the recovery process.

Strategy
The campaign was fully integrated and involved live events, films, social media, PR and advertising. Instinctif Partners produced a series of campaign films with very high production values; reminiscent of sports advertising. The films were filmed on gyroscopic RED cameras at a 5K resolution to capture strong images with lots of movement, and they went through an extensive post-production process including meticulous sound design to create texture, vibrancy and authenticity. Released on YouTube, the films were promoted across multiple social media channels, and still images from them were used as the basis for newspaper advertising.

Content changed throughout the campaign. In 2015, the films focused on the real life stories of individual Irwin Mitchell clients who had got involved in disability sports. Into 2016, the campaign content has evolved to focus on teams and Paralympic athletes, including an amputee football team who went head-to-head with former England footballer John Barnes in a skills contest.

The #DontQuitDoIt campaign also connected with cultural themes and trends, the release of the latest film about Gold medal-winning Paralympic athlete, Hannah Cockroft MBE (see below) was released to coincide with the Olympic and Paralympic games.

Results
#DontQuitDoIt is a high-profile personal injury campaign for Irwin Mitchell, which is having a positive impact both in terms of promoting the work the firm does and in raising the profile of disability sports.

Since campaign launch, the campaign has achieved:

• Organic impressions: 25,000,000
• Organic engagement (likes, shares, comments and re-tweets): 5,172
• YouTube views: 855,991
• Video views directly through social: 7,336
• Twitter views: 43,563

Mike Macfarlane, managing partner at Instinctif Partners, said: “We wanted this campaign to feel authentic. Rather than just talking about what it can do, Irwin Mitchell is inspiring and engaging audiences by sharing compelling stories that have a cinematic look and feel. Not only is that yielding tangible ROI for its business, but in terms of the corporate profile, it also places Irwin Mitchell among the most dynamic in the legal services sector.”

  • Have you recently run a great campaign with results worth shouting about? If so, let Emily Andrews know