Cision’s Tom Ritchie delivers workshop at PR360 conference

Cision’s Tom Ritchie delivers workshop at PR360 conference

/in /by

Tom Ritchie, Cision’s EMIA VP GTM and product, discussed the importance of proving the value of earned media at PR Week’s PR360 conference yesterday.

Speaking to a packed room of PR professionals for a workshop on earned media measurement, Ritchie argued that new cloud technology will allow PR and comms professionals to measure their output like never before, proving their value to a company’s senior management.

In future, he said, connected technology stacks – such as the Cision Communications Cloud – will enable communicators to prove the value of their work in one place, linking all aspects of the campaign cycle.

He detailed how Cision’s analysis and insights had helped both Slimming World and Microsoft to measure their campaigns and prove the value they had added to their respective businesses.

Cision is the official partner of the PR360 conference and has a stand at the event, so if you’re there leave your business card with our team and you could win a bottle of champagne!

Big Cat Anthony Tattum How to grow a PR agency

Opinion: How to grow a PR agency in today’s challenging business environment

/in /by

Big Cat managing director Anthony Tattum celebrates the agency’s most successful year to date by revealing the secret to its rapid growth.

Creating a PR agency is the easy bit, maintaining it and then growing it – that’s when the hard work starts! At Big Cat, we have recently celebrated our most successful year to date with a 25% sales growth in 2017 and here’s how we did it:

Invest in the right people

It’s really important to get the right mix of skills and experience and the right structure. Over the last few years we have seen a higher demand for an agency which can offer an integrated approach. That means it is crucial to have a strong team which is spread across all disciplines.

We have invested heavily in attracting an amazing team of like-minded creative and strategic talent. They are ambitious, realistic and give a damn. They live and breathe our core values and their skills span across not just PR and social – but digital, marketing and even branding and design.

Which leads me onto my next point….

Offer more than just PR

Modern PR agencies need to be able to think more broadly than traditional PR.

As a full service agency, Big Cat offers PR as an excellent standalone service and also as one which works seamlessly with marketing, digital and creative, design and branding.

However, it is easier said than done to offer wider services when you don’t have the resources to deliver on them. So, it is worth considering partnerships. Be an agency that plays well with other agencies and find agencies which are willing to do the same – but which offers different areas of expertise to yours.

You need to be your client’s central resource for meeting their needs. If you can’t do it alone, find the right partners to provide a collaborative approach.

Invest in the right tools

To work with medium and large clients well, you need to plan, create, deliver and measure.

Having the processes in place to manage complex campaigns can be quite technical. They will definitely be multi-channel and will consider a broad range of KPIs.

Investing in the best social media management platforms, media monitoring technologies and media intelligence platforms will save you time, make you money and definitely help you manage scale more effectively.

Plan and forecast for success

Give yourself a realistic annual target that gives you ambitious growth objectives, then stay focused on your sectors and finding your specialisms.

Find those clients you want to work with and who will benefit from your services and your agency values. You can’t be everything to everyone. It’s about finding the most effective partnerships and clients for your business.

Be different

Competition is very high and every agency needs a niche. At Big Cat, we believe in a thing called “creative clarity”. Whether it’s advertising, brand and design, PR services or digital, we think the most effective communications are the most simple.

Today, the message is more important than the medium. So, we simplify messages down to their most communicative forms, constantly evaluating how we’ve achieved single mindedness through our communications.

Be aware of the challenges

We’ve entered a time where the power of communication has transferred from communicator to those with whom we’re communicating with.

It’s more important than ever to control your brand when it’s in the hands of the many, across myriad delivery platforms. The people you’re communicating with will essentially own your brand. So, the messages need to be clear and strong and you need to be good at managing all those mediums where you aren’t in control.

That is a challenge for brands and businesses. So, therefore it’s a challenge for agencies to be able to deal with.

Keep learning

My final piece of advice would be to continue learning.  Sign up to industry newsletters, attend conferences and stay up to date with what’s happening in your key industry sectors.

Keeping your finger on the pulse will ensure you’re always delivering fresh thinking and adapting to the ever evolving market.

KR Group appoints Lee Blackwell as PR and public affairs director

Lee Blackwell joins KR Group as PR and public affairs director

/in /by

Lee Blackwell has joined Key Retirement Group (KR Group), a provider of financial solutions to the over-55s, as its director of public relations and public affairs.

Reporting to KR Group CMO Chris Bibby, Blackwell will be responsible for developing the group’s strategic approach to group communications, public affairs and media relations. She will focus on educating key audiences as to the benefits of equity release.

Blackwell has 18 years’ experience in financial services communications. She was previously head of PR and media relations at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association and head of PR at Partnership, the FTSE-250 insurer.

“We are delighted to welcome Lee Blackwell,” said Bibby. “She will focus on using her considerable experience in this market to not only build understanding of Key Retirement Group and its companies but also help to engage with key influencers.”

Blackwell added: “I look forward to working with Chris and the rest of the marketing team to build understanding of KR Group and its brands while raising the profile of the sector and encouraging more people to consider how they might use property wealth in retirement.”

Norwegian appoints new UK director of communications

Norwegian appoints new UK director of communications

/in /by

Norwegian has appointed Philip Allport as its director of communications and public affairs in the UK and Ireland.

He will lead the airline’s dedicated UK and Ireland comms team, which comprises Allport and senior PR managers Chase Burns and Natalie Wilson.

Allport brings over a decade of aviation and travel experience to airline, having been part of British Airways’ media relations team and most recently working agency-side with clients such Finnair, Aer Lingus and Qatar Airways.

Lasse Sandaker-Nielsen, vice president corporate communications at Norwegian, said: “We are delighted to have Philip join our global communications team as director for the UK and Ireland. His strong aviation background brings a great deal of experience to Norwegian as we continue to launch new routes and grow our business not only in the UK market but also globally.”

Allport added: “The aviation sector has to continuously reinvent itself and Norwegian has been at the forefront of revolutionising the long-haul sector. By successfully challenging established carriers Norwegian has become a force to be reckoned with throughout the industry.

“I look forward to joining Norwegian’s highly experienced global communications team and leading the UK and Ireland team during this exciting time in the airlines’ history.”

Meet the Journalist: Bauer Media's Jo Parkerson

Meet the Journalist: Bauer Media’s Jo Parkerson

/in /by

Jo Parkerson, entertainment & lifestyle content director at Bauer Media, explains how the Entertainment Hub produces content for its brands, her favourite Bauer event and how PRs can work with her.

Please sum up what you do day to day in a nutshell.

The Entertainment Hub is a team of commercially minded, multi-media content producers and journalists who sit at the heart of Bauer’s brands. The Hub unites the brands by joining up our access to celebrity talent and efficiently sharing entertainment content.

Led by me, we have three goals: To offer our biggest reach with a one-stop shop for talent, to entertain and grow our audiences with exciting engaging celebrity content and finally to present a simple commercial proposition for our customers who want access to this content.

We’re also an internal entertainment news service providing Bauer’s brands with daily audio and digital content.

I lead out big, cross brand multi-platform projects. Recent projects include a session with Ed Sheeran and Katy Perry – creating a cool content experience which we then segmented and distributed across our brands where there was audience appetite for her – e.g. KISS, heat, The Debrief, Grazia and Bauer City.

What’s the best thing about your role?

So many different things – no day is the same! I get to work closely with our amazing legacy brands, exciting dynamic people and on some cool, talent led projects.

What unites the brands in your portfolio?

Our audiences. They’re switched on and curious, they avidly consume content and want to be entertained in a fresh, multi-channel way. They’re connected to what we produce – both in terms of the devices they use, and their shared passions and love of popular culture.

With so many brands, and so little time, how do you prioritise your time and what does a typical week look like?

We don’t really have a typical day. We go where content is most wanted by our audiences. Demand for Star Wars The Last Jedi content was immense across all our brands. But for Strictly Come Dancing for example, the audience appetite is more specific, so we concentrated on creating and distributing content to heat and Magic.

How big is your team and what do they all do?

There are currently five of us – me, a senior broadcast journalist, a broadcast journalist, a video manager and our planner and guest booker. We all come from journalism backgrounds but all pivoted to multi-media. I’m thinking of adding another videographer to the team so if anyone’s interested please contact me!

How much content is shared between the brands and how does that work?

It can be a two-way process. For example, Empire will share access to Star Wars content they produce and we then decide which brands would be a good fit for it. Or we produce content ourselves and share it across the brands that are most relevant. We also work with brands to create paid for content; even putting a little bit of budget into it can super-charge results.

How do you like to work with PRs? How should they get in touch?

Some of my good friends are PRs! You can have a great relationship if the PR has the right brands on board and are getting in touch with the right talent, content and angle. Email is the best way to get in touch – I read them all, but short and snappy is best.

What’s the best PR pitch you have ever received and why?

Someone PRing Wagamamas rocked up outside our Golden Square office with a bike full of noodles and cold beers. It was a hot day and so well timed. I emailed the whole building to go down. He got tons of social from our presenters and influencers and loads of coverage off the back of it. It was a lovely day for us and a nice, off the cuff PR move that paid off.

Also, any pitch involving Gemma Collins!

Events is a big part of the Bauer Media Group portfolio. Which brand provides the best night out and why?

KISS – because I love KISSTORY!

What is your entertainment guilty pleasure?

The Kardashians!

Kathryn Bowditch joins Fourtold

Kathryn Bowditch joins Fourtold

/in /by

Corporate comms consultancy Fourtold has appointed Kathryn Bowditch as director.

Bowditch will take a leading role in advising on existing international client briefs and recently-won contracts. She will also support the agency’s growth, focusing on the London professional and financial service sectors.

She joins from FTI Consulting, where for the past two years she led its professional services team. Her 15 years of corporate comms experience has encompassed thought leadership development, crisis management and media relations.

Fourtold managing director Adam Powell said: “I am delighted that Kathryn is joining Fourtold. She is a great addition to our growing team and the fact we have been able to lure her from a great business like FTI Consulting to Fourtold reflects the quality of work and the client base that we have built up.

“I am confident Kathryn will bring new, invaluable perspectives and support to our clients and continue Fourtold’s growth story.”

Bowditch added: “The energy and agility of a young company, combined with the consultancy-led approach to help international organisations address complex reputational challenges was a real attraction to Fourtold.”

She concluded: “The team’s enthusiasm is infectious and has made great progress in a short space of time. I am excited to bring my experience, skills and connections to help the team grow further.”

Blackstock appoints ex-Lib Dem international office head

Blackstock appoints ex-Lib Dem international office head

/in /by

Strategic advisory and comms agency Blackstock Consulting has appointed Harriet Shone as a director.

Shone will expand the agency’s policy and advocacy work, which focuses on the built environment, logistics and technology sectors.

Prior to joining Blackstock, Shone was head of the Liberal Democrats’ international office, where she led projects, worked on campaigns and liaised with top officials across a variety of countries. She also help a number of other roles both in parliament and at the Party’s headquarters.

Andrew Teacher, founder of Blackstock Consulting, said: “As our business has grown, more and more of our work has focused on helping businesses grow and advising them around policy, regulation and strategy.

“We’re committed to being seen as thought leaders in the built environment and across technology-related issues. Harriet’s extensive experience will prove crucial in helping us further expand Blackstock and provide the best possible advice for our growing client base.”

Shone added: “Working through two general elections and a referendum on the front line of British politics has been inspiring and I’m excited to be able to build on my experience in a growing, entrepreneurial consultancy that continuously helps its clients to set the agenda.”