Taylor Herring kicks off Kellogg’s Team GB sponsorship with #GreatStarts

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Taylor Herring has been appointed by Kellogg’s to promote its role as official sponsor of Team GB and its #GreatStarts campaign 100 days ahead of the Rio Olympics.

Taylor Herring

 

Olympic stars, including Sir Steve Redgrave, Louis Smith and Rebecca Adlington, are featured in #GreatStarts recreating iconic Hollywood morning scenes.

The campaign will roll out over the coming months and will include a UGC competition where the public will be encouraged to share their #GreatStarts for a chance to win a trip to Rio to see the games live.

Taylor Herring, which won the account following a competitive pitch, is providing creative, PR and digital activity for the eight month campaign.

Activity will span the pre/during/after Olympic periods. Taylor Herring worked closely with Kellogg’s retained media agencies.

Louise Thompson-Davies, brand PR manager at Kellogg’s, said: “Taylor Herring’s ideas and ability to create newsworthy content across all our platforms really stood out for us. Its experience in creating ‘Wow’ media moments and working with talent was also a big bonus and we are looking forward to a record breaking year in 2016 for both team GB and Kellogg’s.”

Peter Mountstevens, Taylor Herring’s managing partner, said: “We are delighted to be working with Kellogg’s on such an exciting campaign.We all remember the buzz and goodwill around the 2012 Olympics and we plan to build upon those memories with a dedicated, content led campaign that truly engages with the British public.”

Shooting Star lands procurement brief

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PR and marketing agency Shooting Star has secured a contract with AJ Purchasing, a procurement and supply chain business which specialises in the care sector.

AJ Purchasing has appointed Shooting Star, which has offices in Lincoln and Bristol, to assist with the delivery of its new branding with a view to delivering PR in the longer term and helping to position it as the “go-to procurement specialist through increased client communication, social media and media coverage.”

Steve Gibson, director of AJ Purchasing, said: “I’ve worked with Shooting Star for a number of years on a variety of projects, but decided that using their experience and expertise was imperative this year in the delivery of the ambitious growth plans I have for the business.

“I’m delighted to have appointed the team at Shooting Star and very much look forward to working with them in the months ahead.”

Mercieca wins CocoPro launch brief

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Mercieca has been briefed to raise awareness of the launch of CocoPro, which claims to be the “world’s first high protein pure coconut water”, in the UK.

The integrated agency will lead both the brand’s trade and consumer PR.

Rory Lawson, founding partner at CocoPro, said: “We hired Mercieca because it has strong credentials in both FMCG and sport and fitness, so has been able to create a smart PR approach that communicates the right messaging to the right people, at the right time. Their enthusiasm really resonated with our team.”

CocoPro is sweetened with Stevia to reduce its sugar content to almost half that of regular coconut water, is fat and cholesterol free, and contains 20g of protein per 330ml serving.

Gemma Oakes, Mercieca PR director, said: “Coconut water has become a phenomenon in the soft drinks category in the last year, so we’re really excited to be working with CocoPro to engage its core target audience of fitness enthusiasts.”

Tin Man to launch What A Melon

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New watermelon water brand What A Melon has called in creative comms agency Tin Man to handle its UK launch next month. 

Tin Man will be responsible for the creative launch campaign for What A Melon, described by the brand Tin Man11as ‘the new Coconut Water’, as well as provide ongoing consumer and trade press office activity.

The agency aims to position the fruit water as the “ultimate summer thirst quencher” and a healthier alternative to Coconut Water. The campaign will also promote the brand’s post work-out rehydration benefits.

Oliver Bolton, founder of What A Melon, said: “Tin Man has an impressive track record for delivering clever and creative campaigns. I wanted a team that could do this, but who were also very results driven. Tin Man fitted the bill.”

Tin Man founder Mandy Sharp said: “Nothing gives us greater pleasure than seeing a challenger brand spring into life once PR is added to the equation, and that’s exactly what we intend to happen with What A Melon.

“This is a fun and ambitious brand that we can be a bit cheeky with, plus the product quality is exceptional – the drink tastes fantastic so it’s a win, win from a comms perspective.”

Way to Blue wins consumer PR brief for WaterWipes

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Global comms agency Way to Blue has been handed a retained consumer PR brief for baby wipe brand WaterWipes, following a competitive pitch.

way to blue

 

Way to Blue has been briefed to launch a series of brand campaigns to support and extend the reach of a national UK TV, print and digital advertising programme, which includes a new 30-second TV commercial, created by DDFH&B, going live at the end of the month.

Work will be will be supported by consumer and health care professional press office, sampling and experiential activity, as well as an influencer and advocate campaign.

The account will be led by Way to Blue’s consumer team lead, Jo Marino, who will report to WaterWipes’ brand and digital marketing manager, Grainne Gallagher.

Marino said: “WaterWipes is one of those rare products that not only has a strong ‘chemical free’ unique selling point, but actually does the job for which it is intended and generates a strong brand connection once the product is tried.

“A key part of our focus is stimulating  discoverability for consumers and healthcare professionals at key ages and stages where parents are concerned about products that may irritate baby’s skin – such as the first four months  – and where skin sensitivity exists due to allergies and eczema.”

British Cycling hires Cogent Elliott

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Cogent Elliott has been chosen by British Cycling, the governing body of cycle sport in the UK, to handle film and online digital activity for two of its national programmes, ‘Breeze’ and ‘Ride Social’.

Cogent Elliott

 

‘Breeze’ is British Cycling’s biggest programme to get more women into riding bikes for fun, and aims to help women feel confident about going on a bike ride.

‘Ride Social’ is Britain’s biggest social cycling community, which aims to help like minded cyclists to organise their own bike rides using favourite local routes.

Cogent’s specialist film division has been briefed to produce a range of new films to promote awareness, drive registrations and increase female participation through British Cycling’s ‘Breeze’ campaign.

The agency will also create a new campaign launch video and several short case study films of several ‘Breeze’ brand ambassador champions; women who have inspired and overcome challenges to get on their bikes and spreading the word across their local communities.

Joe Barnes joins W as head of digital

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W has enhanced its digital division with the appointment of Deep Focus London’s Joe Barnes as head of digital.

Barnes will work alongside W’s senior leadership team, which iWncludes CEO Warren Johnson, MD Richard Tompkins and strategy director Adam Leigh, with a brief to oversee multimedia output for clients including Unilever, Gruppo Campari, Levi’s and UK Broadband.

He was previously a digital account director at global creative agency Deep Focus London, which is part of The Engine Group. Before that, he worked at SapientNitro, and has worked with clients including Renault, Amazon, and Sky.

He also co-founded Social Secret, a Bournemouth-based social agency.

Johnson said: “Joe has a formidable track record and brings great strength and maturity to our digital division as we take it to the next level. Clients are increasingly attracted to W for the gold-standard digital and social campaigns that have become our trademark. We’re hugely excited by the growth we’re seeing in this area of our business and the potential it offers.”

Barnes added: “The team at W is amazing and inspiring. They are pioneering in approach and passionate about creating compelling brand experiences – both of which play perfectly into opportunities opened up by the rise of digitally enabled and socially intuitive audiences. I’m looking forward to playing a part in the next phase of the W journey.”

Behind the Headlines with Fever’s Jo Chappel

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Jo Chappel, creative director at Fever, on finding those eureka ideas during the most menial of tasks, launching a “Culture Vulture” programme to enhance creativity at the agency, and growing to love pitching to the press.

Fever PR

 

Before I reach the office in the morning, I’ve already…
Had a cup of builders tea and fed my cats. We’re lucky enough to work flexi-hours at Fever so some mornings I run up to Primrose Hill (the bottom), do some yoga or switch off my phone and do something calm like tidy my flat or cook. Giving myself time to let my mind wander away from work is an essential part of the creative process; I’ve had some of my best ideas mid hoover.

You’ll mostly find emails about…in my inbox.
Our new creative toolkit Imagine, which we launched across Fever earlier this year. I’m on a mission to empower everyone in the agency with the right tools and confidence to be creative so I’ve invited everyone to respond anonymously to tell me what they really think of the toolkit. Happily, they love it so far.

I know I’ve had a good day if…
The energy in the agency is buzzing. A big part of my role is to foster a creative culture so we recently launched the Culture Vulture programme – a bursary to fund everyone to go and experience everything from the latest bit of immersive theatre to an adult only bouncy castle. The premise is they bring their experiences back into the agency to use as stimuli to come up with ideas that tap into interesting cultural trends.

My first job was…
A paper-round which my lovely dad accompanied me on every morning at 6.30am – my first foray into media relations.

I can tell a campaign is succeeding when…
After we have set it free it starts spreading socially under its own steam. It means it’s got that all important ‘contagiousness’, which we believe isn’t accidental but comes from ideas built on genuine insights.

I eat…when nobody is watching.
Cheap crisps. Tangy Toms and Petrified Prawns are a favourite. The rest of the time I’m pretty healthy, but it’s a reaction against being brought up on Hedgehog organic crisps and a fig roll as a treat.

The first time I pitched to a journalist…
I had a word-for-word script including ‘Hello I’m Jo’. I think the journo was kind enough to give me eight seconds to waffle before he cut me off. Once I got my confidence, made some good contacts (some of which I’m still friends with today) and got the knack of pitching a story in a sentence I grew to love it.

The worst thing anyone has said to me is…
“You’re just a dreamer.” My biology teacher at school meant it as a put down but it’s ended up serving me well. The ability to dream, wonder and be constantly curious is essential to creativity. But the reality is that we’re usually coming up with ideas that have to work within set parameters – such as a tight budget – so we do also need to be practical.

The last book I read was…
I’ve just finished two, pretty much simultaneously – Ty Montague’s brilliant True Story on the need to move brands and businesses from ‘storytelling’ to ‘storydoing’, and Man in Love by Karl Ove Knausgaard, who I went to see talking about his writing last week and have a bit of a crush on (his books are gripping as well).

I’ve never really understood why…
In the past we had to bribe people to come to brainstorms with the promise of ‘free sandwiches’ or ‘chocolate’. Surely coming up with ideas is one of the best parts of this job.

If I could go back and talk to my 10-year-old self, I’d say…
Don’t get that perm! I actually think my ten-year-old self could tell me a lot now. We need to be silly, have fun and explore our imaginations in order to free us up to be creative. We play games like Bananagram and charades at the start of creative sessions to get us out of grown-up work mode and into that gloriously uninhibited ten-year old open state.

This time next year, I’ll be…
Hopefully celebrating a raft of award nominations off the back of all the great creative work delivered as a result of our new toolkit.

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

Spreckley to promote copper-embedded clothing

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PR agency Spreckley has been engaged to launch Copper 88, a range of copper-embedded compression garments, in the UK through trade and consumer media relations.

The client is VSL, a Hong Kong-based trading company, which is offering Copper 88 products to retailers in the UK.

VSL director Peter Eldon said he believed consumer demand for the products could be increased by raising their profile in key sports media.

The product range includes joint supports, gloves, shirts, socks and undergarments made of a fabric embedded with 88 per cent copper. VSL claims this is scientifically proven to help relieve joint and muscle pain by transporting oxygen through the bloodstream to affected areas.

Spreckley plans to target running, cycling and triathlon publications with review samples.

Peter Eldon, director at VSL UK, said: “I had previously worked with Spreckley in another role and knew that the team would be a good fit for the way I like to work. As well as this, Spreckley’s dedicated healthcare arm has focused, specialist knowledge of sports health and injuries, and strong media contacts in the space we need to target.”

Richard Merrin, MD of Spreckley, said: “Despite overseas success, Copper 88 is largely unknown in the UK and Ireland so it needs a tailored mixture of traditional and digital PR techniques under a brand awareness strategy.

“We’re not only raising the profile of Copper 88 and therefore demand among consumers who want to buy the products, but we’re also lobbying the retail trade media to showcase its value to potential stockists. This is about using PR to close the supply chain and generate demand.”

Cancer detection specialist Oncimmune appoints Consilium

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Cancer detection specialist Oncimmune has retained Consilium Strategic Communications to handle its corporate and financial communications.

Last week Oncimmune filed an ‘intention to float’ document with plans to list its shares on AIM in the middle of next month. It hopes to raise approximately £11m in a placing which could value the whole company at £66m.

Oncimmune claims to have pioneered the development of autoantibody tests with the potential to detect cancer up to four years earlier than other methods.

Geoffrey Hamilton-Fairley, CEO of Oncimmune, said: “The early detection of cancer is a critical issue for cancer. Five-year survival for lung cancer, the biggest cancer killer, averages around 17% for all stages, but for patients diagnosed early the five year survival rate is as high as 90%. Our EarlyCDT platform technology is proven and we believe Oncimmune is now at an inflexion point and poised for significant growth. This IPO will enable Oncimmune to invest in the further development and commercialisation of our platform.”

Consilium was first appointed by Consilium in the third quarter of 2015. Its team consists of managing partner Mary-Jane Elliott, partner Chris Gardner, consultant Matthew Neal and executive Lindsey Neville.