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Pitch PR will deliver an overarching brand campaign and narrative, from the big idea through to ambassadors, content distribution and media/influencer engagement.
Meanwhile, Pitch Productions will create a new brand identity for Great British Horseracing, along with visual assets including logo and website design.
Pitch Productions will also conceptualise and produce an engaging video content series to amplify the campaign online.
“We’re really excited about this opportunity,” said Adam Raincock, managing partner of Pitch Marketing Group. “The integrated through-the-line campaign will change the way that younger generations perceive a day at the races and drive increased attendances at race courses.”
Toby Shaw, director of communications and marketing at Great British Racing, added: “From the get-go, Pitch seemed to really understand our objectives for this campaign and responded with some brilliant creative thinking that could be transformational for Under 18s Race Free. We are truly excited about what is to come from the campaign this year.”
Lynda Redington, co-founder of Another Word with Nichola Mughal, explains why the pair started their own agency, their successes and challenges so far and ways in which communicators can be better at phone pitching to journalists.
What made you and Nichola want to start your own agency?
We’d both spent our entire careers in big agencies and learned lots in that time but ultimately we wanted to be masters of our own destiny, to define how we worked and who for.
Is there a reason you went into partnership rather than striking out on your own?
Nichola and I work really well together and share the same values and work ethic. I enjoy working as part of a team so a partnership with someone I already loved working with and respected made total sense.
Why the name Another Word?
Audiences are very diverse and disparate. Our name reflects our approach: identify what audiences are doing, sharing and reading and then engage them by talking their language.
What was it like getting Another Word off the ground? Were there any teething problems?
Starting out we had very little to lose. Blind optimism, ambition and the confidence of some progressive brands helped us win big in the very early stages. Of course there were challenges but the benefits far outweigh any issues.
What are the advantages in having your own agency instead of working as part of a larger organisation? What are the disadvantages?
The freedom, the focus on the client work without distraction and the ability to shape a progressive and genuinely flexible culture are massive benefits and something we absolutely set out to deliver.
In the early stages of the business it’s difficult to be jack-of-all trades, especially when it comes to business administration.
Ultimately it’s strategically sound creative thinking. But also brands are recognising there’s a lot of wastage in the traditional agency hierarchy so even big brands are happy to work with a smaller agency in the knowledge we’ll deliver a dynamic service and have a vested interest in doing so.
What is the most memorable moment you’ve had so far?
What’s the one piece of advice you’d have for someone thinking of starting their own agency?
Keep your nerve, hire well and early, focus on exceptional delivery and the rest will fall in to place.
Finally, you’ve said that younger communicators can struggle when delivering phone pitches to journalists. What advice can you provide to them about making a successful phone pitch?
Preparation is the key. Plan what you are going to say before you pick up the phone to avoid getting flustered. Make sure you have all the information you need to hand and be prepared to think on your feet and answer lots of questions.
Make sure you’re familiar with the both the outlet and journalist you’re pitching to and find the right time to pitch to them. Also, be friendly, upbeat and personal – and avoid sounding like a robot!
To discover more of Lynda’s phone pitching tips – and get phone pitching advice from journalists themselves – download our latest white paper: How to master modern media relations and deliver the right results.
Farrer Kane has been appointed to lead media relations activity for Econic Technologies, a British catalyst technology company.
The agency has been briefed to raise the media profile of its technologies, which help plastic manufacturers recycle waste CO2 to create more plastic.
“Working with Farrer Kane is part of our ambitious growth plans as a company,” said Rowena Sellens, CEO at Econic Technologies. “With Farrer Kane’s media expertise and contacts at both the national and trade media levels, we know we have the right partner to help raise our profile.”
She added: “Knowing we can trust the agency to understand our core business messages and navigate the media landscape on our behalf by translating technical subjects into newsworthy campaigns is a key reason for our partnership.”
Alex Kane, director at Farrer Kane, continued: “Econic Technologies’ catalyst technologies enable significant environmental benefit as their use can help manufacturers to lower CO2 emissions.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to be involved with a company that is helping other businesses create value from waste.”
Lisa Smosarski, Stylist’s editor-in-chief, detailed how the brand is using its voice to highlight issues affecting its readership at an exclusive Cision media briefing on Thursday.
Appearing alongside Anita Bhagwandas and Arabella Greenhill, the title’s beauty director and fashion director respectively, Smosarski outlined how Stylist produces content to satisfy its “time-poor, thought-rich” female audience at Weber Shandwick’s offices in Holborn.
The trio discussed the launch of the publication’s fashion and beauty hubs, which have enabled Greenhill and Bhagwandas to oversee content across print, online and video channels. This is designed to ensure all Stylist’s fashion and beauty content is complementary and maintains a consistent tone of voice.
They also discussed the annual Stylist Live event, the brand’s social media activity and how PRs can work effectively with its various platforms.
PR and the Visible Women campaign
Smosarski said Stylist shows it shares its readers’ values by developing content that reflects the everyday issues professional women encounter.
“Throughout the year we will be working on different initiatives which will be split into different chapters,” she said. “The first was our suffragette issue. Now, we will be looking at what individuals can do in their own world and towards the end of the year we will be moving onto politics.”
With 2018 marking 100 years since the first women were given the right to vote, Stylist used the centenary to launch its Visible Women initiative to both celebrate women and raise awareness of the challenges they face.
The campaign runs across all the outlet’s platforms and celebrates inspirational women, examining how to promote female role-models to children in education and improving representation of women in the political arena.
Smosarski continued: “I suspect we will continue this conversation beyond the end of the year as it has really gained traction. Our audience is really excited about it, the industry seems really excited about it and of course we’re living in a huge time of change. Activism is at the forefront of our audience’s mind.”
She concluded that there will be plenty of opportunities for communicators to contribute to the campaign, including profile pieces and helping the brand with the initiative’s educational aspect.
How to get on the Style List
One of the magazine’s most popular – and PR-able – regular features is the Style List, which recommends 30 items to readers every week.
Smosarski revealed that Bhagwandas and Greenhill’s beauty and fashion teams always contribute five pieces each, with the rest compiled by Stylist’s Fran Brown.
“It’s all about the balance,” Smosarski explained. “Fran will look to balance out every type of product. For example, there won’t be more than two food items on any given Style List – one book, one DVD. If you want to get on the Style List, she is the woman to court.”
Greenhill added: “For fashion, we don’t do anything really in black or white as it doesn’t look that great.”
Make sure you target the right person
The team said one of their main bugbears when working with PRs is receiving emails not properly targeted at both the publication and the right team member.
Smosarski noted that Stylist aims to look through life with a feminist lens. As such, it will cover most aspects of female life. However, the team will not produce any stories involving diets or cosmetic surgery and features on babies or children.
Greenhill said: “[I get lots of] blanket emails which are not going to be relevant to me, such as something obsessively celebrity-based or something about a shopping page. I don’t personally work on shopping pages, so think about which person on the team you’re emailing.”
Bhagwandas added: “I do get sent a lot of stuff about cosmetic surgery and other things that we won’t cover.”
Provide great imagery and consider sending samples
Greenhill stressed how important quality, high resolution imagery is for the magazine’s fashion and shopping pages.
“Imagery is key,” she said. “We don’t shoot for our shopping pages so a very clear cut out is really helpful. Don’t send images in Dropbox or WeTransfer. We often don’t have time to download them. Something embedded is much easier for us to use.”
Smosarski joked that it was a popular myth that the only way to get something into Stylist was by sending samples. There are, however, two exceptions to this rule – beauty products and food.
“We try everything that goes in the magazine,” Bhagwandas explained. “We really make a point to ensure that what we’re putting in is brilliant and that we would want to use it. That’s a big part of what we do at Stylist.”
Smosarski added that this was the same with food, as the team would not want to recommend something which tasted awful!
High street pawnbroker Cash Converters UK has awarded Social Sugar its largest PR account to date, following a competitive pitch.
For the next 12 months, the agency will deliver the brand’s PR campaigns, manage its UK press office and promote its new store launches.
Social Sugar MD Lara Besbrode said: “Cash Converters identified our passion for delivering great results. And our boutique agency can offer all the services that a big agency offers with a real personal touch.
“The account team comprises of dedicated, creative individuals who are not only PR savvy but have their fingers on the digital pulse, too.”
Michelle Holmes, head of marketing for Cash Converters UK, added: “The PR campaigns Social Sugar presented to us were really fitting to what we wanted to achieve in 2018 and beyond and I am in no doubt we will achieve the strategy we set out for this financial year.
“Our aim is to be the most trusted provider of finance and lifestyle needs to a broad base of value conscious, environmentally aware and socially responsible customers.”
Pictured: Lara Besbrode (right) and the Cash Converters marketing team
Frank will deliver a PR strategy designed to raise awareness and drive ticket sales for the two-day event. It won the London Sevens brief for a second consecutive year following a competitive pitch.
The agency will help promote this year’s event theme – “London’s Calling” – which will combine world-class rugby with the best of London cuisine, music and entertainment to transform Twickenham for the weekend.
Joanna Manning-Cooper, digital, marketing and communications director at England Rugby, said: “PR has always been integral to our integrated approach to the HSBC London Sevens.
“With a new year and new theme we’re excited to work alongside Frank again to help increase brand awareness and promote the upcoming weekend event.”
Alex Grier, managing director at Frank, added: “We’re thrilled to be supporting the RFU again this year. The HSBC London Sevens is one of the most prestigious rugby events in the UK sporting calendar, so we’re looking forward to the challenge!”
Unless you’ve been on a digital detox over the past week, you’ll have probably seen the incredible Project 84 campaign launched by the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) on Monday.
Adam Mack
84 sculptures of real men who have taken their own lives now loom over the Southbank as a hard-hitting and pertinent reminder of the fact that 84 men are lost to loved ones every week, through suicide.
The campaign has become a national talking point, with people in the public eye showing their support – from Sam Smith taking to Twitter to Jeremy Corbyn talking about it in today’s PMQs. And that’s what Project 84 is all about – removing the stigma attached to male suicide and normalising the idea that it’s OK for men to seek support.
CALM’s work is absolutely vital, and as an agency, that’s why W is so committed to supporting what it stands for. Our goal was to amplify the installation and deliver CALM’s message with far-reaching national (and now global!) coverage so we could actually initiate this much-need conversation. And that’s where the appeal of these campaigns comes in.
It’s all about placing the issue of male suicide – which most people actively avoid talking about – in mainstream press so they can no longer ignore it. Our global CEO Warren Johnson is personally invested and passionate about our work with CALM for that reason – it’s all too clear to us that men don’t feel as though they can express themselves as well or as openly as women often do.
#DontBottleItUp – which we launched with CALM last October with Love Island’s Chris Hughes – was all about how ludicrous the idea is that men continue to keep their struggles to themselves. Just as ludicrous (l’eau de Chris, get it?!) as the notion that Chris would launch a premium bottled water brand infused with his own tears. And it worked – the nation got behind it, delivering a 495% uplift in visits to the CALM website in the first 48 hours – 95% of which were first-time visitors.
Even in our work with Lynx and Anthony Joshua last year, we turned the sport of boxing on its head to achieve a similar goal. We wanted to deliver an emotional reaction that would resonate with a mass market, so we decided to present AJ in a previously unseen way – focusing on his mental strength rather than physical.
At a time when the (rightly) celebrated #metoo movement is making global waves for female empowerment, it’s easy to forget that men face issues too as they seek to redefine their gender role. So we’re committed to making a difference, and changing the ways people view masculinity is just a start.
Humanising the idea of male suicide via Project 84 is another vital step forward in reminding people that male suicide is about real lives and not just a statistic. It’s about drastic action and everyone should be taking a stand to join this movement, helping to prevent male suicide.
White goods manufacturer Miele has appointed Skout to handle its UK B2B integrated comms brief, which will feature a series of PR, digital marketing and social media campaigns.
The agency will use a “natural storytelling” approach to offer the media stories promoting the benefits of Miele’s products, as well as reinforcing the company’s quality standards.
Skout is also tasked with promoting the quality and experience of the brand’s accredited partner network, a vital aspect of its business success in the UK.
Rob Skinner, MD of Skout, said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome such an established, international brand to our client list.
“Alongside gaining affiliation to a brand synonymous with quality we are equally excited to be working with the marketing team and in alliance with its other B2B agencies in other disciplines including media buying, telemarketing, brand, video and direct marketing.”
Lansons has appointed Michael Stott, a director of public affairs at Hill+Knowlton Strategies, as its head of public affairs and board director.
Stott will join the agency from Hill+Knowlton’s energy and industrials team. He was previously an associate director at Luther Pendragon and spent three years managing EDF Energy’s public affairs.
A former Conservative Party press officer, Stott also advised the minister of state for energy between 2006 and 2010, both in opposition and government.
He has deep experience in the energy, industrials and transport arenas, as well as in defence, manufacturing and financial services.
Stott said: “I have watched as Lansons has gone from strength to strength and I am thrilled to be joining at this exciting period of growth for the company.
“The public affairs team is doing impressive work as part of the wider agency’s insights-driven integrated campaigns and I see enormous potential for further success.
“More than ever, clients expect greater in-depth understanding of the issues their sectors face and I can’t wait to bring my experiences to bear in the months and years ahead.”
Here’s a round-up of the week’s essential PR news and features, including an interview with Forbes Europe’s Alex Wood, Cision’s EMIA present Abe Smith’s involvement in a keynote AMEC debate and the new communications director at Conde Nast.
Hostel booking platform Hostelworld has appointed Hotwire as its retained global agency following a three-way pitch. The agency will develop and launch integrated creative to raise awareness of the company with consumers.
Visit Baltimore has appointed Hills Balfour to manage its UK trade relations, consumer marketing and PR strategy.
The Youth Sport Trust has appointed Stand Agency to create a social and content focused comms campaign for its School Games programme.
Independent wrestling company PROGRESS Wrestling has appointed Calacus to help promote its events, including a show at the SSE Arena in Wembley in September which will be the biggest independent wrestling event in the UK for more than 30 years.
Mortons Dairies has selected Sugar PR to oversee its #PintsForThePlanet campaign, which aims to encourage people in Liverpool, Chester and the Wirral to sign up to its milk deliveries.
Agency news
Former journalists Gordon Smith and Krystin Arneson have launched KOG, a specialist agency aimed at building relationships between the LGBTQ+ community and tourism destinations and organisations.
Superdream has acquired Midlands-based film production company HIPSTER in order to bring film production in-house to better respond to client demands for film and video content.
People news
Conde Nast Britain has appointed Emily Hallie as communications director. Emma Kelleher has also joined the magazine giant’s press office as acting deputy publicity director.
Weber Shandwick has hired Patricia McDonald, Isobar’s former chief strategy officer, as its UK MD of strategy and insights.
Missive has hired Louisa Merrett as director. She will oversee client relationships for the agency’s growing roster of fintech accounts.
Specialist infrastructure, property and built environment specialist Copper has appointed Ben Heatley as director to support the company’s continued growth.
Piers Eady, a former Daily Mirror deputy news editor, has joined 4media Group as head of news to lead its print and online offering.
Global entertainment agency PMK•BNC has appointed Naomi Ticehurst as head of influencer marketing in the UK.
PR and events agency The Tonic Communications has made a number of hires and promotions. The agency has appointed Lucy Budge as PR account manager, Harley Young as events manager and Helen Cummings as PR account executive. Emily Kirk has been promoted from to trainee PR account executive after working as an intern at the agency.
Social enterprise comms firm Campaign Collective has hired Charles Heymann, Louise Akers and Laura Jane Hicks as new team members.
