Colliers International appoints new PR exec

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Sakyi Otis main

Otis Sakyi

Commercial real estate adviser Colliers International has hired Otis Sakyi as PR executive.

Sakyi is returning to Colliers after completing a year’s internship within the PR and digital marketing team in 2014/15. He will focus on media engagement and news management and work with the wider team in implementing PR plans and creative campaigns to emphasise Colliers’ corporate positioning.

The new hire joins Charlotte Williams, director of PR and communications for UK/EMEA, Suzy Simpson, associate director of UK regional PR and Lauren Joselyn, PR manager.

Williams said: “Having previously worked within the Colliers International PR team, Otis makes a welcome return to help increase our share of voice within the property sector and really help to demonstrate our capabilities and service offering in the media.

“We were impressed with Otis’ hard work whilst interning for us, and we strongly believe in investing in individuals and nurturing talent at a grassroots level.”

Facets PR appoints junior account manager

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Jewellery PR agency, Facets PR has appointed Ariane Kahn as junior account manager.

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Ariane Kahn

Kahn will working under Facets’ account director of fashion brands, Becky Güth, on clients such as Sif Jakobs Jewellery, Clogau, Nikki Lissoni, Trollbeads, Dollie Jewellery, Diamonfire and Alexis Dove.

Previously at Profile Public Relations, Kahn has worked with brands including Lola Rose, Daniel Wellington and Simon Carter.

Sarah Carpin, director of Facets PR said: “Ariane joins us at a time of growth for the agency, having achieved a 53% year-on-year increase in business over the past financial year.

“Facets PR’s USP as an agency is our specialist knowledge of the jewellery and watch industry. We are also investing heavily in digital, providing a range of services from digital marketing to social media strategies and training, to continue to drive the same level of growth this financial year.”

Positive social media coverage increasingly drives charity donations, shows Gorkana survey

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For the second business quarter (April-June 2016) Gorkana’s Charity Attitudes Benchmarking Survey shows that positive social media coverage is increasingly influential in driving donations to charities.

The percentage of people, out of 1000 respondents, who said they had donated to charity in this period remained the same as the first quarter of the year at 23%. However, the reasons people cited for donating to a charity have changed.

Although positive press coverage is still the dominant reason behind donations, the number of people citing it decreased quarter-by-quarter by 10 percentage points to 29%. Meanwhile, the impact of positive social media content on their contribution increased as the percentage of people driven by this factor rose from 18% to 25%.

However, there are still differences between audiences. For example, mainstream media content had the biggest impact on people earning between £20-40k pa. As factor, social media had the biggest influence on younger respondents.

In addition, for the second quarter, the proportion of people who recall having seen negative coverage about charities fell by 18 percentage points to 24%. Those who said negative coverage would ‘definitely’ affect their decision to donate was also down by five percentage points to 46%.

Popular social media content  shared across this period related to events including Mental Health Awareness Week, the London Marathon and the UNICEF  Soccer Aid match at Old Trafford.

Orla Graham, senior client insight manager at Gorkana, said: “The proportion of respondents who recall having seen negative coverage about charities during April-June fell by 18 percentage points. However, this did not correspond to a change in donations, suggesting negative coverage does not necessarily lead to a fall in donations.

“Unsurprisingly, social media had the biggest influence over younger respondents,” she added. “This is perhaps due to several high profile charity events during the period, such as UNICEF’s Soccer Aid match. Content around the match was shared widely by younger celebrities like One Direction’s Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson.”

  • With access to 4.5 million potential respondents, Gorkana gives you the ability to shape your communications strategy quickly and accurately by conducting instant, cost-effective surveys and poll a representative sample of the UK population.
  • To find out more about surveys, Gorkana’s Charity Attitudes Benchmarking Survey and the monthly Gorkana Charity Barometer, which helps charities and agencies benchmark media activity in the sector, please contact Gorkana.

Outdoor clothing brand Regatta selects Manc Frank

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Manc Frank has been appointed as retained consumer agency for outdoor clothing and accessories brand Regatta.

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Regatta at Kendall Calling music festival

Manc Frank, Frank’s Manchester office, will drive awareness and engagement for Regatta.

Operating as an extension to the in-house PR team, Manc Frank will deliver a year round comms programme. This will involve amplifying various seasonal bursts of activity while maintaining an ongoing “media fashion room”.

Jo Hawkins, marketing director at Regatta, said: “It’s an exciting time for Regatta as we roll out multiple campaigns involving our latest ambassadors, Gemma Cairney and Vogue Williams. This is Regatta as you’ve never seen it before, 2017 will be a pinnacle year for the business and we wanted an agency who could match our own ambition for growth and development.”

The agency will target the media, influencers and consumers to highlight the product benefits and core USPs of Regatta, and will launch the S/S and A/W collections and product ranges.

Graeme Anthony, GM of Manc Frank, added: “Regatta is a real jewel in Manchester’s business crown, a company forged in the North West that has gone on to conquer the world, and we’re extremely proud to be working alongside them. The partnership further cements our credentials within the fashion and retail world as we aim to apply our award-winning creativity to this fantastic brand.”

 

Instinctif Partners collaborates with SHS

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Instinctif Partners has established a partnership with School-Home Support (SHS), a UK-based charity that improves the lives of disadvantaged children by removing barriers to their education.

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SHS Aspiration Day

Instinctif Partners’ employees now have the opportunity to work directly with the children and parents that SHS supports. On a more corporate level, the agency will also help to create a communications campaign that will target schools across the UK.

Richard Nichols, CEO at Instinctif Partners said: “SHS is a fantastic charity that has changed the lives of so many, yet its story is largely untold. We’re excited about the opportunity to raise awareness of this charity and help it achieve the next stage of growth. At Instinctif we are passionate about improving the lives of children and SHS does exactly that.”

Instinctif Partners supports a number of charities focused on improving the lives of young people. It devised a communications strategy for the ASHA Trust, a provider of Early Childhood Development (ECD) and support programmes for home-based crèches in disadvantaged communities in South Africa.

Saul Heselden, head of fundraising at SHS added: “We are absolutely delighted to be in partnership with Instinctif Partners. The work SHS does is extremely impactful and really makes a difference to the children and families we support, with 89% of children displaying improved behaviour.

“However, despite working with hundreds of thousands of children over the past 30 years, many people are not aware of us. Partnering with Instinctif Partners will give our charity the visibility we need in order to continue to grow and help more families across the country.”

Property investment firm Cogress appoints W

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Cogress, the open equity investment firm for property, has appointed W to manage the company’s corporate communications following a competitive pitch.

W has been briefed to communicate Cogress’ investment model which looks to make investment accessible and transparent. The agency will aim to raise the company’s profile across business and consumer media and increase awareness of Cogress.

The account will sit in W’s corporate division which includes Johnston Press, the London Evening Standard, Dentsu Aegis Network, Appnexus and others.

Tal Orly, CEO at Cogress, said: “The past 12 months have been truly remarkable for Cogress, with a growing portfolio of 29 UK projects and more than 2,000 registered qualified investors. We have been thoroughly impressed by W’s comprehensive approach to amplifying Cogress’ profile as a leading property investment firm in London. We are thrilled to work with W to continue to make investment opportunities accessible to a larger, broader range of investors.”

Becky Charles, head of media and corporate at W, added: “We are taking Cogress’ success story beyond the property pages and positioning the company as a trusted leader and expert in the investment sector. Cogress challenges traditional property models by opening up the market to a new community of investors. That’s a great story and we are hugely looking forward to sharing it.”

Lottoland appoints Frank

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Lottoland, the lottery betting business, has appointed Frank as its PR agency for the UK.

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Lottoland chooses Frank for UK PR

Frank will oversee all PR outreach for the lottery betting brand, including content creation and influencer engagement.

Since launching in 2013, Lottoland has grown rapidly to become a world leader in the online lottery betting sector. Innovation, coupled with the freedom to offer players a unique and enhanced lottery playing experience, has been key to the company’s success.

Players are able to bet on the outcomes of the biggest lotteries from around the world, with mega jackpots available seven days a week. Major draws available with Lottoland include the EuroMillions, EuroJackpot and America’s PowerBall and MegaMillions lotteries.

Matt Robinson, CCO of Lottoland, said: “The Lottoland team is excited to appoint Frank as our new partner at a crucial time for the brand in the UK.”

Andrew Bloch, founder and group MD of Frank, added: “Lottoland is a great concept, with a fantastic model that allows customers to bet on some of the biggest lotteries in the world. We’re delighted to have been appointed by such an exciting brand and look forward to helping make Lottoland a household name.”

Garbutt + Elliott appoints Brand8 PR

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Leeds-based Brand8 PR has added accountancy firm Garbutt + Elliott to its client roster.

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Russell Turner

Brand8 PR will provide the Yorkshire accountancy and advisory services firm with PR and content marketing services to boost its regional profile.

It is also tasked with helping Garbutt + Elliott to develop commercial opportunities within its specialist sectors: manufacturing, food, brewing, creative arts, property, construction and horse racing.

Russell Turner, Garbutt + Elliott’s managing partner, said: “Brand8 PR has outstanding professional services expertise coupled with an innovative strategic approach to public relations and content marketing that is entirely commercially focused.

“The agency works across all aspects of our business enabling us to communicate our brand with clarity to a wide range of audiences and sectors. The activity undertaken creates the environment for sales which we are capitalising on by successfully securing new business as we continue to implement our controlled growth plan.”

Rob Smith, managing director of Brand8 PR , added: “Garbutt + Elliott are much more than accountants, and we reflect this distinction in the work we carry out for them. We’re looking forward to continuing to deliver PR and content marketing activity to help generate further growth for the firm.”

HR consultancy appoints Rostrum

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JourneyHR has appointed Rostrum to raise its profile within the creative and marketing industries.

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Aliya Vigor-Robertson

As well as media relations, corporate PR agency, Rostrum, will provide JourneyHR with a creative PR campaign and social media support across LinkedIn and Twitter.

Nick Bolshaw, managing director of Rostrum, said: “JourneyHR is a great addition to our client portfolio and we are confident that our Corporate team is well-equipped to deliver a creative PR and social media campaign to enhance JourneyHR’s profile with its target audience.”

JourneyHR’s suite of services covers HR services, training workshops and employee engagement.

Aliya Vigor-Robertson, co-founder of JourneyHR, added: “We’re incredibly excited to be working with Rostrum, and feel that the team’s creative ideas demonstrated them to be the right partner to help us raise awareness of our organisation within these industries.”

Onfido appoints Threepipe to run UK and US paid search accounts

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Threepipe has been appointed by online identity checking company Onfido to run its UK and US paid search accounts.

The brief will also extend to further international markets later in the year.

Farhad Koodruth, co-founder at Threepipe, said: “There is a rising demand across the UK and international markets for Onfido which provides an instant and remote way for companies to run effective background checks.

“We will be tapping into the demand surge from the next generation of businesses that don’t want to rely on legacy ways of running such critical business processes.”

Kartik Krishan, demand generation lead at Onfido, said: “We were  impressed by Threepipe’s thoughtful approach to paid search. With its test and iterate methodology, we hope to be able to target businesses looking for a fast and scalable way to improve their compliance and identity verification processes, when they are looking for such a solution.”