Way to Blue promotes “world’s best-selling Portuguese beer”

Way to Blue has been appointed to handle the UK consumer and trade PR launch for Super Bock, which claims to be the world’s best-selling Portuguese beer.

Way to Blue beer
Owned by Unicer, the largest beverage company in Portugal, Super Bock, which was first brewed in 1927, sold over 3.4 million hectolitres across 50 countries in 2014.

The agency’s consumer brand team has been briefed to work with Unicer and Super Bock’s UK distributor, Brookfield Drinks, to promote the roll out of the drink across the UK.

Super Bock has already won listings in grocery outlets including Tesco. Way to Blue’s on-trade distribution strategy will see it targeted at premium independents and gastro bars and will roll out through the summer months.

A collaboration has already been agreed with London restaurant Taberna Do Mercado, which is owned by Portuguese chef Nuno Mendes.

Alan Twigg, head of consumer at Way to Blue will lead the account and report to Brookfield Drinks MD Nigel McNally.

McNally said: “Alan and his team understand the market and came to us with great experience across beers, wines and spirits. We delight in the fact that they love the beer, but also know the genuine power this brand has to break into the heart of the world beers category which is currently booming.”

Twigg added: “This is a brand that is all about conviviality, friendship and the Portuguese way of enjoying life. I have been drinking it for a long time in numerous sojourns to this great country. We now aim to open up a window on the modern, young and dynamic culture of the increasingly cosmopolitan cities of Lisbon and Porto and create real buzz around its full scale roll out.”

Gant UK’s PR lead joins QVC

Britain’s largest TV shopping channel, QVC UK, has appointed Gant UK’s Jayne Bristow as brand and comms director, with a brief to focus on PR and internal comms.

Jayne Bristow

Bristow will serve on QVC’s global comms and community affairs leadership team, working closely with Colleen Rooney, VP global comms and community affairs at QVC.

Previously, Bristow was head of marketing and PR at Gant UK, a role she held for nine years. She has also worked at House of Fraser, Marks & Spencer and Selfridges.

In her new role, Bristow will report to Dermot Boyd, CEO of QVC UK.

Boyd said: “Jayne’s wealth of communications experience in the retail sector will reinforce the work of our very effective UK Brand and Communications team in driving forward our communications programme. We are delighted that she is joining QVC.”

Bristow added: “I am very pleased to be joining QVC UK, a successful global retailer, which I have admired for many years now.  I look forward to developing the UK brand and communications strategy, and leading the team to drive business growth.”

QVC UK has the largest TV shopping channel in Britain, three further standalone TV channels and an interactive website which incorporates live streaming of the TV channels.

The main TV channel broadcasts 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with 16 hours of live programming from 9am to 1am.

Citigate Dewe Rogerson hires Christen Thomson

Christen Thomson, former deputy CEO of the Alternative Investment Management Association and head of communications for private equity firm Terra Firma, has joined Citigate Dewe Rogerson’s financial team as a senior director.

Thomson is also a former journalist who spent 12 years at the BBC but is best-known for his six-year spell at AIMA, the global trade body for the hedge fund industry, where he was also head of external affairs and in charge of opening its New York office.

He was responsible for co-ordinating strategic communications for the industry and worked closely with many of the world’s biggest hedge funds and many of their biggest investors as well as with the leading journalists covering the industry.

After leaving AIMA in 2014 he was head of communications for Terra Firma, the leading European private equity firm.

Patrick Donovan, MD of Citigate Dewe Rogerson, said: “Christen brings huge knowledge of hedge funds and private equity to Citigate Dewe Rogerson, as well as extensive thought leadership and reputation management experience. I am looking forward to working with him.”

Thomson said: “I am very glad to be joining Citigate Dewe Rogerson, which has a strong reputation for innovative, strategic thinking. The alternatives industry has become truly global and Citigate Dewe Rogerson has tremendous international reach, with offices around the world. I am very much looking forward to working with our teams and with Citigate Dewe Rogerson’s excellent clients.”

Brandnation appoints deputy MD

Brandnation has promoted its head of health and beauty, Eva Frankel, to deputy MD, eight years after she joined the London-based agency as an account manager.

Eva Frankel

Working alongside Brandnation co-founder and MD Mary Killingworth, Frankfel will continue to oversee the agency’s Health and Beauty division, as well as undertake new management responsibilities, including PR operations and special projects.

Killingworth said: “Eva is a huge asset to our agency, and this promotion is well deserved. She will be integral to our PR growth ensuring quality and excellence with all our campaign activation in addition to spearheading new business initiatives.”

Frankfel has risen through the ranks at Brandnation since starting as an account manager in 2008, and worked on UK and international campaigns for clients including Mitchum, Sleek MakeUp, Charles Worthington and Sunkissed.

Behind the Headlines with W’s Adam Leigh

Adam Leigh, former deputy editor of The Independent and now strategy director at W, on the most efficient way to get up to speed on the latest news stories, cutting his teeth at the Burton Herald & Post and the tragic demise of his Lego collection.

Adam Leigh

Before I reach the office in the morning, I’ve already…
Listened to the Today programme on Radio 4 – a habit from my years in journalism (I was deputy editor of The Independent). It’s still the best news programme in the world, and the most efficient way to get up to speed on the stories that matter.

You’ll mostly find emails about…in my inbox.
News and opinion. So much email is just white noise and bad marketing, but subscribing to a handful of quality media digests can give you the edge. I’d recommend CapX, Quartz, the New Yorker, and Fast Company.

I know I’ve had a good day if…
I’ve learnt something new that’s got me excited.

My first job was…
As a trainee reporter on the Burton Herald & Post, a free newspaper in the Midlands. It was exactly as glamorous as it sounds. Summer of 1989. 100 quid a week. And I absolutely loved it.

I can tell a campaign is succeeding when…
The noise/laughter/alcohol level increases in the office.

I eat…when nobody is watching.
Heinz tomato soup with Carr’s water biscuits crumbled into it.

The first time I pitched to a journalist…
Was an op-ed to a former colleague at The Independent on behalf of a very difficult-to-impress client. The whole process was excruciating. But the piece ran and the client was duly impressed.

The worst thing anyone has said to me is…
On his conscience forever.

The last book I read was…
The Operator by Tom King. It’s an enormous (and hugely entertaining) biography of the American entertainment mogul David Geffen – a very thoughtful gift from W’s CEO, Warren Johnson. It was a bit of an excursion for me; my usual literary diet is fiction. I adore classic thriller writers like John Le Carré, Eric Ambler and Alan Furst.

I’ve never really understood why…
London minicab drivers are so devoted to TalkSport.

If I could go back and talk to my 10-year-old self, I’d say…
“Make sure you lock all your Lego in a cupboard when you go away to university – otherwise you’ll come home for Christmas and discover that your mother has taken it to the charity shop (sigh).”

This time next year, I’ll be…
Grafting. Maybe skiing. On some fad diet. Dreaming.

Fancy featuring in a Behind the Headlines interview? Please email [email protected]

W sails PG tips’ Monkey down the River Thames

W is behind today’s latest Thames-related PR stunt, which has seen a six-metre statue – made from artificial leaves – of PG tips’ Monkey mascot sailing down the river drinking a cup of Green Tea.

PG TIPS GREEN TEA ENERGISES LONDON WITH A GIANT FLOATING GREEN MONKEY 4

The two-storey topiary, which is crafted from 110,486 fabricated green tea leaves, sailed past London structures including The Shard, Houses of Parliament and Tower Bridge.

In order to highlight a forthcoming ‘Green Paper’ report to be published by PG tips Green Tea, W’s stunt is intended to highlight the impact the colour green has on boosting positivity and productivity due to the “primal association to nature and open spaces”.

W has had an ongoing relationship with PR tips owner Unilever since winning the Marmite business in December 2014. The relationship has led to W working on a number of other Unilever brands, including PG tips, on both a retained and project basis.

Grifco PR wins G&V Royal Mile Hotel Edinburgh

Grifco PR has won a deal to manage the public relations for the G&V Royal Mile Hotel Edinburgh, a five-star, 136-room hotel in Edinburgh’s Old Town.

Grifco
The London-based agency, which works in the boutique luxury travel, spa and beauty sectors, has been tasked with raising the hotel’s profile, particularly outside of Scotland, to make it a household name throughout the UK.

It will also be overseeing the refurbishments planned for the next six to 12 months, including a new bar launch, and will be inviting various local, national and specialist travel press to the hotel, as well as targeting digital influencers.

Claire Griffin, MD of Grifco PR, and account manager Flora Beaumont will lead the campaign. They will report to Martin Scott, general manager of the G&V.

Hudson Sandler promotes Alex Brennan to its board

AlexBrennan-240sqHudson Sandler, a financial and business comms consultancy, has announced the promotion of director Alex Brennan (pictured) to its board.

Brennan has spent seven years at Hudson Sandler, advising retail, leisure and consumer clients on capital market activity. At 30, Brennan will be the youngest member of the board.

“Alex is a great strategic senior consultant and I am delighted to invite him to join the board,” said Andrew Hayes, Hudson Sandler CEO. “Alex’s expertise across retail and consumer in particular, along with his deep understanding of financial markets and campaign planning will enable him to continue to grow our business as we support our clients in a rapidly changing communications environment.”

Hudson Sandler’s offering has grown since its founding, expanding from financial communications to broader business communications.

Today the firm specialises in thought leadership, brand marketing crisis comms, content marketing and narrative storytelling across capital and debt markets, financial services, real estate, TMT, and consumer-facing industries.

Eulogy launches Kate Thornton’s TBSeen.com

TBSeen.com, a new shopping and lifestyle content platform founded earlier this year by TV and radio presenter Kate Thornton, has chosen Eulogy to handle its PR as it launches to both brands and shoppers.

Eulogy

 

With a focus on “savvy shopping”, Thornton, who is also editor-in-chief of TBSeen.com, curates a mix of shopping deals and content on the web site with brands and personalities, including her celebrity friends Nicole Appleton, Myleene Klass, Tamzin Outhwaite, Lisa Faulkner, Denise Van Outen and Heidi Range.

KT

Kate Thornton

Eulogy has been briefed to deliver a consumer and business-to-business strategic PR campaign to position the site as a premium shopping and lifestyle destination for women, with a particular focus on promoting its “unique features”. It won the account following a competitive pitch.

Thornton said: “Eulogy demonstrated knowledge, understanding and, most importantly, passion for the sector we’re targeting. Our aim is to reach like-minded women who have an appetite for shopping smarter, never missing a deal. Why pay more when you don’t have to? We are confident Eulogy will help us tell our story to both the consumer and business audiences we want to reach…and have a little fun while doing it.”

Elisabeth Field, MD of Eulogy, added: “It is always exciting to work with a company that is a true innovator and disruptor within their sector, and that’s precisely what TBSeen.com is. Harnessing the power of content, TBSeen.com has developed a premium platform which will reinvigorate and expand the money-saving market and attract a new range of shoppers. We are really excited to be working with TBSeen.com to revolutionise the sector.”

Neilson Holidays awards brief to Henman Communications

Neilson Holidays, a provider of activity holidays, has appointed Henman Communications to boost the profile of its tennis holiday programmes.

Henman
Henman will work alongside Neilson’s existing comms agencies, travel specialist Brighter PR, and digital agency Propellernet, to promote its tennis holiday offerings at beach clubs in Greece and Turkey.

Together the agencies will raise Neilson’s profile in national tennis, sport, health and fitness media, while engaging wider tennis industry knowledge and contacts.

Neilson has also appointed Mark Petchey, former Wimbledon and Davis Cup tennis player and coach to Andy Murray, as an ambassador and consultant. Henman will work closely with Petchey to position him among key media stakeholders.

Richard Boyden-Doyle, Neilson Holidays CEO,  said: “At Neilson we pride ourselves in going above and beyond to offer our guests the very best in active holidays and tennis is no exception. Henman Communications will help us increase our profile and build our reputation as a holiday operator offering quality tennis holidays for players and families no matter what their tennis level.”

Richard Henman, CEO of Henman Communciations, commented: “We are thrilled to be working with Neilson this year. Neilson has nearly 40 years’ experience in the holiday market and is committed to providing the best choice of Beachclubs and the highest quality service for its guests. The team is very excited to be working closely with Mark Petchey on campaigns over the summer that will build the profile of Neilson’s tennis holidays in the key national consumer tennis, sport and lifestyle media.”