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Tech comms agency Red Lorry Yellow Lorry has been chosen by TV content delivery specialist Edgeware to handle its global PR activity.
Richard Brandon
Edgeware provides operators and content owners with the tools to deliver their TV services at “huge scale and low cost”.
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry has been briefed by Edgeware to build its profile and enhance its position as a leader in TV over IP across EMEA and the Americas.
The campaign will be led from the agency’s London headquarters, and will be supported by its Los Angeles office and Convoy partner agency network.
Richard Brandon, chief marketing officer at Edgeware, said: “By 2018 over 90% of internet traffic will be video content. With some 23,000 TV stations around the world vying for viewers’ attention, broadcasters and content owners face a huge collective challenge in getting their content to audiences, at the speed and quality viewers demand.
“We needed to find a communications agency that understood these challenges, and our unique story. With its strong media and broadcast heritage and insights, we’re very confident we’ve found the right partner in the Lorries.”
Rob Ettridge, partner at Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, added: “The media industry is rapidly changing. Broadcasters and content owners need to find the most efficient way to make their valuable content accessible to viewers, whenever and wherever they want it.
“Content owners are relying on companies like Edgeware not just to help them reach today’s dispersed TV audience, but also gain greater insights into viewer analytics to inform advertisers and future programming. Starting this summer, in the build-up to September’s IBC broadcast show, we’re looking forward to helping Edgeware tell its exciting story.”
Manchester PR agency, Viva, has hired Alan Simpson, the former deputy editor of the Lancashire Telegraph.
Simpson, who has taken up the role of business development executive at Viva, was at the Lancashire Telegraph for more than 35 years. His role at Viva includes the creation of media relations strategies and developing business opportunities.
Simpson said: “This is an exciting time to be joining Viva. Tony has outlined big plans for the business and the chance to help turn those into a reality was a major attraction. Viva is an award-winning agency, that’s bursting with great creative ideas, and one that has always had a good reputation among journalists.”
Viva’s clients include aircraft company Eurofighter GmbH, defence, security and aerospace company BAE Systems, children’s charity CANW and hearing care provider Amplifon.
Tony Garner, managing director of Viva, added: “Alan and I worked together at the Lancashire Telegraph and I know at first hand that he is extremely professional, knowledgeable and well-connected. I am genuinely excited to have someone of his calibre on board. There’s no doubt he will be a very valuable asset for Viva.
“He will be working with existing clients and helping to attract new ones as we look to grow the business over the coming 12 months.”
One of Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ paintings is owned by Sompo
Newgate will provide media relations, stakeholder and political outreach and financial comms support to raise Sompo’s profile in the UK. It will also support the international growth of the business.
The Newgate team will be led by Steffan Williams, group managing director, and will be supported by associate partner Clotilde Gros and consultant Lydia Thompson.
Sompo is listed and headquartered in Japan, but operates in 32 countries worldwide. As part of its European expansion plans, the business acquired insurance company, Canopius – now Sompo Canopius – in 2014.
Nigel Frudd, executive officer at Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Holdings, said: “We were impressed by Newgate’s expertise, broad experience and integrated approach. With this and the firm’s deep understanding of our managerial objectives, I am confident Newgate will offer critical support to Sompo’s continuous expansion programme.”
Williams added: “We are delighted to have been appointed by Sompo, a significant global player within its industry, at this important stage in the company’s growth plan.”
Citigate Dewe Rogerson has appointed Louise Mason as a director in its financial team, where she will be responsible for growing the existing client base and expanding upon its natural resources expertise.
Louise Mason
Patrick Donovan, managing director at Citigate Dewe Rogerson, said: “We are very excited to have Louise join our growing team. With her strong experience in the natural resources sector, as well as her knowledge of broader integrated communications, Louise is an excellent addition to our team and a further step in our continuing growth strategy of both team and services.”
Mason’s previous experience includes roles at Portland, Buchanan, Walbrook PR and Bankside Consultants, totalling over 10 years of experience in City agency roles. She has advised FTSE, AIM, private and international companies, and specialises in industrials, natural resources and technology.
Mason added: “In these high-octane informational times, companies need a strong over-arching and tested integrated communications strategy. It must be understood by the entire business and shape everything a company says, not only ensuring the correct distribution of company information when required by regulators, but also the transparent communication of its actions to all its audiences.
“Citigate Dewe Rogerson, with its strong reputation for innovative, strategic thinking and true international reach, has the right mixture of experience and talent to ensure our clients achieve this and I look forward to being part of this excellent team.”
In light of Brexit, Kitty Parry, CEO at financial PR consultancy Templars Communications, advises communications professionals around how they can create confidence in the wake of a shock.
Kitty Parry
With the UK’s shock decision to leave the EU, England’s spectacular loss to Iceland in the European Championship and the lamentable resignation of a certain Top Gear presenter, the country has had a hard time of it of late, experiencing a series of shocks akin to a sudden divorce or the loss of a job.
Under normal circumstances, a series of exits within a business or sector may create panic and inspire impulsive behaviour that could be damaging in the long term. Recent events (Brexit, specifically), have seen more guarded behaviour from companies and clients alike.
I offer three tips to inspire confidence in the wake of Brexit:
Align messaging so that it is consistent
There is nothing worse than sending mixed messages to clients, investors and the media. Ultimately, this will cause confusion and a lack of trust, especially as trust levels in the financial services sector are fairly low at present. When it comes to events like Brexit, it’s important to make sure your messaging doesn’t alienate any stakeholders. It needs to be understood universally.
Manage external communications
Rogue ‘off the record’ comments to reporters can be damaging to your reputation, particularly when they are seen to reflect the views of the entire company. A good PR agency will help to create a series of voice pieces and can be a point of contact for any enquiries, managing exactly what is on the record.
Remember that internal communication is equally important
Maintaining morale while ensuring that your team feels safe, and confident of the direction in which the business is going amidst a seemingly endless ocean of confusion, is essential. This will position you above others, and will translate well externally to other stakeholders. Most importantly, reminding your team that anything posted online is most definitely not off the record, even if it’s just a retweet, is also part of maintaining good internal communications.
Communications is key. Your stakeholders (internal and external) need to know your standpoint and what the company plans to do to protect its interests. For now, companies are biding their time and waiting for what comes next, believing that they are unable to make key decisions until this time.
There is, however, no harm in being prepared for any eventuality. Few people will see this as an opportunity, which gives you the chance to get ahead of the pack.
BBC veteran Adam Batstone on the best aspects of his new role as director of digital at MHP, what leads to a successful digital strategy and journalists behaving badly.
You spent 20 years as a journalist for the BBC, what has the jump to PR been like?
An interesting and occasionally traumatic experience – The BBC gets into your bones and it’s hard to de-compress and get used to a completely new way of working.
What’s the biggest shock?
The candour with which clients describe their business still feels odd. Having spent more than 20 years on the receiving end of corporate messages, it feels strange to be engaged in helping to devise them. It has also been a shock to see that some journalists behave quite badly – I like to think I was courteous and polite even if a PR person was being annoying.
Is ‘moving to the darkside’ as dramatic as it sounds?
I’m not sure whether the “darkside” epithet comes from journalists as a “put down”, or from PRs seeking to foster an esprit de corps. The boring reality is I have not experienced any peculiar initiation ceremonies, even the mysterious “tissue session” turned out to be considerably less racy than its name might suggest.
What do you most enjoy about your current role as director of digital at MHP?
There are two aspects I thoroughly enjoy: Working closely with clients to come up with ideas and strategies which will make a really positive impact to their business without costing them a fortune – and working with colleagues to de-mystify the rather off-putting jargon that some “digital natives” insist on using. Digital isn’t really a thing at all – it just gives new opportunities to communicate with people. The most important thing is what you are saying. The message is still far more important than the medium.
Are there any aspects of journalism that you miss?
Whenever there is a big breaking news story I feel pangs – I keep half an eye on who’s sitting at my old desk, visible somewhere behind Huw Edwards’ right shoulder during the 10 O’Clock News. I don’t miss the BBC’s byzantine internal politics or having to organise a 24/7 rota – that was hellish!
What media do you most commonly consume?
Twitter is a fantastic source of breaking news, scurrilous gossip and really great content. I am of the generation for whom life without newspapers and magazines seems unthinkable – I am particularly fond of local weekly papers, the world would be poorer without them.
As one of the people who helped raise the BBC website to one of the most popular news sources in the world, what’s next for news?
In a rapidly changing world – paradoxically – I believe news remains constant. People the world over are still interested in great stories, writing, pictures and video. The challenge is how best to distribute that material in a way which is economically viable and fits with people’s changing habits. Facebook will have a massive influence because of its scale – but any algorithm-based editorial process is ultimately doomed, there is a reason why the best news providers employ a lot of people.
What’s the key to digital success?
Probably trying to ignore the word digital and focus your efforts on making content which is as interesting as possible. Think about your own habits and preferences – we all pretty much want the same thing.
What’s your fondest memory of your journalism career?
Working at the time of Princess Diana’s death and the 9/11 attacks was memorable – two massive stories which millions of people genuinely remember what they were doing when they heard the news. That is the true test of a big story.
Bryan Glick, editor in chief at Computer Weekly, an online B2B publisher of IT-related news and jobs, and a TechTarget publication, talks about the publication’s shift from print to digital and describes the ideal working relationship with PRs.
Bryan Glick
Can you summarise Computer Weekly‘s readership in one sentence?
We write for anyone involved in making technology decisions in businesses, government and other public sector bodies, charities and SMEs. Mostly, that means IT professionals and IT managers, but as digital and technology becomes more pervasive in organisations then increasingly we are read by business executives interested in what IT can do for them.
What are your ambitions for both Computer Weekly and TechTarget?
We are growing Computer Weekly to be TechTarget’s flagship publication for English-speaking audiences in all our core markets outside of the Americas. For example, in the past 18 months, we have launched new digital magazines for readers in the Nordic countries, Benelux, Middle East, South-east Asia and Australia/New Zealand. We aim to complement the 90 plus highly niche websites run by TechTarget out of the US by adding a layer of locally-focused regional content. And of course we want to continue our 50-year history of being the leading business technology publication in the UK.
Computer Weekly has made the move from print to digital. What was the transition like?
Challenging! We dropped our print magazine in 2011 – we’ve grown our business by 20-25% on average every year since then and our audience reach has more than doubled.
The core of what we do hasn’t changed – we still aim to produce quality, in-depth journalism for our target audience – but the way we do that has changed dramatically.
Our workflows and process were adapted to publishing on multiple platforms, using new forms of content and engaging with our readers in new ways. The way my editorial team is organised and run is completely different now, and the roles and responsibilities of journalists have changed – it’s extremely liberating when you are no longer driven by the artificial deadlines imposed by the needs of a printing press.
But the core of the transition has also been a change of business model, and focusing our journalism in support of that. We used to be a traditional, advertising-driven publication, but ads are now a much smaller part of our revenue – commercially, we are a data analytics business, using insights derived from what content our audience is reading to provide market intelligence on IT buyers’ spending priorities and projects to our IT supplier clients. From an editorial perspective, that means a strong focus on long-form, in-depth, analytical articles to attract a quality audience – and our journalists enjoy that. It’s a refreshing change from chasing ad impressions by churning out quick-fire 250-word news stories all day.
How do you ensure that you keep to a digital-first mindset?
All our workflows and processes are oriented to digital-first journalism – it is now just a part of our editorial DNA. You can’t impose a digital mindset onto an operation that still thinks, works, and is organised around a print platform. You need to operate like a digital business – for us, that means we give journalists a lot of autonomy and freedom to determine their own priorities, but with the clear knowledge of editorial strategy and objectives.
For example, one of my team targets a very news-oriented audience and as a result produces a lot of highly topical articles. By contrast, another writer targets a very technical audience, and produces a much smaller volume of extremely technical, very in-depth articles. Those two contrasting topics are our two most-read subjects, but the editorial approach to each is very different.
When are PRs most useful?
When they focus on the needs of our audience. My biggest criticism of PRs has always come when they fail to understand that journalists are focused on the needs of our audience and not their clients. When a PR offers us something that is relevant for our readership and fits with the way we engage those readers, I’d like to think they find us very easy to work with.
What type of story grabs your attention?
The most important source of information for our professional audience is their own peers – they like to know what people like them, and organisations like theirs, are doing with technology and why. So we are very focused on providing that sort of information – acting as a bridge between busy IT professionals and their peers in other organisations. But we love a good government IT cock-up story too!
What made you transition to journalism? What do you like best about the job?
I worked in the IT industry before becoming a journalist, and it is much more fun on this side of the fence. My sister used to be a top music journalist in the 1980s and 1990s, and I always had a desire to give journalism a go myself. When an opportunity arose, I grabbed it. I am very happy to tell anyone who will listen that journalism is the best job in the world. When I was working for a business, I was paid to have their opinion. As a journalist, I’m paid to have my own opinion, and that’s a real privilege.
Glick has been editor in chief at Computer Weekly for more than six years. Previously, he worked for Incisive Media as editor of Computing, a business tech publication, and had a 10-year career in the IT industry.
Autocar has identified the top 100 British women working in the automotive sector, with Fiona Pargeter, head of global PR comms for Jaguar Land Rover, taking the comms category.
Fiona Pargeter
The initiative, Great British Women in the Car Industry, was created to celebrate the role of women in the automotive industry at a judging day held jointly with the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) last week.
It lists Autocar‘s top 100 women overall with individual category winners in Design, Product Development, Manufacturing, Purchasing, Sales, Marketing, Motorsport, HR, and a number of Rising Stars, as well as Communications.
Pargeter joined Jaguar Land Rover in 2009, and was promoted to head of global PR comms in 2012. Before that, she headed up UK product PR for Ford.
Lisa Brankin, marketing director for Ford of Britain, was also named for marketing, while Citroën’s Global CEO, Linda Jackson, topped the executive category and was named the most influential British woman in the car industry overall.
Jim Holder, Autocar’s editorial director, said: “The achievements on our list of 100 outstanding British women in the global car industry are breathtaking and a testimony to the breadth of skills and capability in the sector.
“We recognise that challenges exist in the industry we love, which may deter women from pursuing an automotive career, as well as the implications that the under-representation of women could pose for the future of the industry. This is something that needs to be rectified.”
Holder recently spoke exclusively to a Gorkana audience about the future of automotive publishing, the industry itself and his role on Autocar’s sister title, What Car?
A full list of the Great British Women in the Car Industry winners can be found here.
Instinctif Partners has hired Ian Allison to head up the International Engagement design team as strategic creative director.
Ian Allison
Allison, who joins from Bell Integrated Communications, will work closely with global creative director, Richard Pemberton.
Instinctif has made four senior hires to its International Engagement practice this year, including Allison. It has recently expanded its presence in New York and San Francisco, and works with clients from a variety of sectors.
Allison said: “I was attracted to Instinctif Partners as they create elegant solutions to international and domestic challenges for entrepreneurial and global businesses, with a hugely talented and truly multidisciplinary team. I’m excited by the possibilities here.”
Nic Pearce, global head of engagement at Instinctif, added: “We are delighted to welcome Ian to Instinctif Partners, his experience is going to be a huge asset as we continue to build the Engagement practice. Ian’s expertise is rare in the creative world as he understands the need to link creativity to business success.”
Allison’s previous experience also includes a stint at the Central Office of Information, where he advised the UK Government. He has recently served as a DBA (design business association) board director, is a fellow of the RSA (Royal Society of Arts), has worked with The Sorrell Foundation as a creative mentor and at the Design Council, developing National Occupational Standards for the design industry.
Missed out on this week’s PR News? Get your handy round-up of the essential highlights of PR and media stories, features and events content over the last seven days on Gorkana News.
Kindred used Instagram to help find new creative talent
People News
TalkTalk enhanced its external comms team with the appointments of Sky’s Coralie Frost as media relations manager, Nickelodeon UK’s Maxine Sackey as consumer PR manager and Bupa’s Lauren Young as CSR lead.
MGT Capital Investments appointed Tiffany Madison as director of corporate communications.
Clarion added to its advisory board, with the appointments of wine expert, TV personality and Saturday Kitchen regular Olly Smith, Condiment Junkie co-founder Scott King, and Springwise’s editor-in-chief, Chris Kreinczes. The new additions came as part of the agency’s increased investment in creativity.
MSLGROUP strengthened its UK corporate team through the hiring of Quintin Keanie as associate director.
Lesley McPherson took up the director of communications position at The Co-operative Bank, and is based in its Manchester head office.
Burson-Marsteller appointed Geoff McDonald, Unilever’s former global VP of HR for marketing, comms, sustainability and global talent, as a senior advisor on corporate purpose and organisational change.
Newgate Communications UK appointed Charles Chichester as a new senior partner to lead its financial PR practice.
Enterprise Ireland (EI), the Irish government body charged with the international growth of Irish enterprises, extended its contract with Eulogy for a further two years.
East Anglian PR agency Pier was chosen to raise the profile of independent marina Suffolk Yacht Harbour.
Global management agency Streeters London brought in Alexander PR to raise the profile of artist Gary Card’s inaugural exhibition.
Camden Town Brewery appointed W following a competitive pitch to handle its UK PR as it looks to move from a London brewery into a global brand.
Yellow Jersey was appointed by Canadian Overseas Petroleum (COPL), a junior oil and gas company, to deliver financial PR services, with a focus on driving awareness and investment.
Agency News
This week, W Communications launched a new agency division, W Influencer, as it looked to bring the benefits of “earned advocacy” to a wider range of brands.
Following Havas’ acquisition of London-based Just:: Health Communications in June 2015, the agency rebranded to Havas Just::.
Events
“We wanted to create a world of smart shopping. Gaining money back on the stuff you’re buying is pretty much our mantra”.
At a Gorkana media briefing, the core team from new smart shopping and lifestyle platform TBseen.com, including editor-in-chief Kate Thornton, shared their thoughts on what PRs could do to help “work in a smart way” for its audience, writes Gorkana’s Ben Spencer.
As education conferences kick off for the year – with The Telegraph Festival of Education and the British Education Studies Association (BESA) conference just passed and the British Educational Research Association (BERA) conference to come in September – Mango Marketing’s managing director, Sue Murray, discusses the opportunities for PRs in the education sector.
Facebook Live has benefited a range of Punch Communications’ clients, according to its managing director Pete Goold, but PRs need to make the most of the opportunity before Facebook changes its rules.
Journalist News
Ravi Mattu was appointed editorial director of the Financial Times content marketing suite, FT². Prior to this, he was the newspaper’s TMT news editor.
Bloomberg News announced the creation of its new Legal Enforcement Team to cover the application of financial law worldwide. The team will consist of the following journalists: Alan Katz, Hugo Miller, Liam Vaughan and Franz Wild.
Patrick Holland was appointed BBC Two editor. In his new role, Patrick will be responsible for creative leadership, managing and running the channel, commissioning and scheduling programmes.
Matt Tarr was appointed music editor at Capital FM.
David Bond was appointed media correspondent at the Financial Times. He was previously the BBC’s sports editor.
Paul Brand was appointed political correspondent at ITV News. Paul is currently political correspondent for ITV News, specialising in the north of England and Scotland and will be joining the national news team in August 2016, covering all politics across the UK.
Barbara Speed was appointed comment editor at i. She is currently tech writer at the New Statesman and will start her new role on 25 July.
Following a special advisor role at the Office of the Mayor of London, Joe Mitton has taken up a senior consultant position at political lobbying specialist, PLMR. Mitton divulges the motivation behind his move agency-side, the differences between British and Australian political communications and he reveals his favourite city.
Adam Woodward, digital editor of Little White Lies, the bi-monthly print magazine which champions great movies and the people who make them, talks to Gorkana’s Niall Davies about creating a unique ranking system for the title, looking for new ways to connect with its audience and what PRs can do to help enhance its content.
To mark the re-launch of Virgin Radio this year, Wireless Group’s in-house PR team partnered up with Virgin Trains to transform a Manchester to London train into a live music venue with the help of performances from Matt Richardson, Travis, The Feeling, Mystery Jets, Gavin James and Walking On Cars.
