Vp turns to Buchanan for financial PR

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Listed industrial equipment rental specialist Vp has appointed Buchanan as its financial PR and investor relations adviser.

Vp was founded in 1954 and trades on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. It comprises six main operating divisions: UK Forks, Groundforce, Airpac Bukom Oilfield Services, Hire Station, Torrent Trackside and TPA.

These businesses offer the rental and sale of specialist products and associated services to a diverse range of “end markets”, including construction, civil engineering, rail, water, oil and gas, outdoor events and housebuilding.

Henry Harrison-Topham, partner at Buchanan, said: “The Buchanan team is really pleased to have been appointed by Vp.  With strong earnings and a robust balance sheet, Vp is well placed for future growth and we look forward to assisting the management team in enhancing their message to their current and future investment audiences.”

The account will be led by Harrison-Topham, supported by partner Richard Darby, associate director Helen Chan, senior account executive Jane Glover and account executive Gemma Mostyn-Owen.  The team will be working closely with Vp’s group managing director Neil Stothard and group finance director Allison Bainbridge.

60 seconds with David Shriver, Tulchan

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David Shriver, managing partner of Tulchan, on challenges for the PR industry, changes in investor communications and what he looks for in employees. 

What are you reading on the way in to the office?David Shriver 242 by 300

I seem to be one of the few people reading paid-for newspapers these days but I love them. So it’s the Financial Times and The Times on the tube coming into work and then the others when I get to the office.

How is your day broken up?

As managing partner of Tulchan, about two thirds of my time is spent running the business and the other third on client work. Winning new clients is an important part of what we’re doing. However, the most important thing is making sure our existing clients are happy.

What is the most important attribute you look for in a Tulchan employee?

It’s a combination of being very smart – I am privileged to be working with some of the smartest people I have met in business – and having empathy with the client. To do good, consistent work, you need to be emotionally engaged with the client.

Having worked in-house at Carrefour, how has moving agency-side differed?

One big aspect of agency-life is working on a whole range of really interesting situations. When you work in-house, you will probably see a variety of situations but it’s a different level of variety compared to what you see in an agency. If an adviser has had experience across a very wide range of different situations this will be of great advantage to the client.

If you could change one thing about the industry what would that be?

In a world of digitalised media, companies need a common narrative that resonates with all stakeholder groups. Joined-up communication is critical. The challenge for our industry is making sure we give joined-up advice.

How have you seen the client-stakeholder relationship change?

The importance of the feedback loop between the media and the capital markets continues to grow. The media takes its cue from the conversation taking place in the markets and this conversation is in turn influenced by the mood music in the media. As a company, making sure that this feedback loop works in your favour is critical.

Has the rise of retail investing platforms, which have opened up trading to everyone with a computer, changed the stakeholder environment?

Communication with investors is now transparent and takes place on mobile devices. This is very different to 15 years ago when I first went to Carrefour to run financial communications. Then, results meetings were held in the basement of a Paris hotel, in French, without a webcast. You had to be there to know what was being said. Those days are over. You can follow what a company is saying from your desktop or your iPhone and investors can participate in ways they couldn’t before. Transparency and access has completely changed the stakeholder environment.

Does that mean the language companies are using needs to change?

Language should be used as a means of opening up a connection with someone. It should be inclusive rather than exclusive. It should never alienate. Unfortunately, not all companies put this into practice.

Who’s your favourite commentator in the media?

One of the things I value most in the media is perceptive, clever, smart commentary about the key issues and events of the day. Although I am reluctant to single out individuals, people like Jonathan Guthrie or Martin Wolf at the FT make for indispensable reading. I am happy to pay my subscription fee just to read what they, and their colleagues, write. This is why we have to pay for our newspapers! You can’t expect to get to read the best writers for free. Or you won’t have a newspaper industry left.

What are your interests outside of PR?

I love reading, especially contemporary fiction. I read between 50 and 60 books a year. I am also a season ticket holder at Millwall Football Club and in my fourth decade as a supporter of the club. One of the other great things about living in this great city of London is that you’re at the centre of the arts world; theatre, dance, opera, all of which I love.

What’s your perfect weekend?

Spending time with my family.

  • If you have interesting insights to share on life in corporate and financial PR and are prepared to undertake the 60 Seconds questionnaire, please email [email protected].

Forterra engages FTI to advise on IPO

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Forterra, the second-largest manufacturer of bricks in the UK, is being advised by FTI Consulting as it progresses towards an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange later this month.

FTI was brought in a few months ago for the IPO communications brief after a competitive pitch.

Forterra announced its intention to float last week and is expecting to have at least 25% of its issued share capital on the market. The float could give Forterra a market capitalisation of around £450m, according to reports.

FTI’s team is led by senior MD Richard Mountain and MD Nick Hasell, who are supported by senior consultant Frances Elworthy and consultant Alexandra Scott. They report to Forterra CEO Stephen Harrison and CFO Shatish Dasani.

TelcoSwitch hires Spreckley for launch brief

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TelcoSwitch, a UK telecoms start-up, has appointed Spreckley to launch its open standards hosted telephony platform with an integrated PR and marketing campaign.

The start-up, which has added up to three new partners to its roster each week since beginning trading in late 2015, is embarking on an aggressive recruitment campaign, supported by Spreckley’s extensive experience working with B2B technology, cloud and telecoms companies.

A three-strong Spreckley team, led by account director Nick Bird, will target resellers with a content marketing programme across digital, social media, events and traditional trade media relations.

Russell Lux, CEO at TelcoSwitch, said: “Commercial telecoms as a market in the UK is growing, and we are seeing this first hand with the huge interest from resellers looking to take on cloud-based telephony for their customers.

“Having previously worked with Spreckley, I have complete confidence in its ability to deliver, particularly in creating engaging content that will attract new partners to our business and be a part of our rapid growth.”

Richard Merrin (pictured), MD of Spreckley, said: “Working with a brand new company certainly has its challenges but the returns are far greater; being able to say you were there and a significant cog in the wheel during rapid growth is extremely rewarding.”

See.Saw promotes new beer trade show at NEC

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See.Saw has been appointed by Quartz Business Media to handle the PR for Brewing Equipment & Technology, the UK’s first trade exhibition for the beer industry.

The show, which takes place at NEC Birmingham from 18 to 19 May, is aimed at brewers, micro-brewers seesaw144and craft brewers looking for practical advice and the latest trends, challenges and opportunities in brewing.

It is being curated by Larry Nelson, publisher of The Brewery Manual.

Megan Greenwood, founder of See.Saw, said: “We are looking forward to completely immersing ourselves in the world of beer. Brewing has become a highly lucrative and forward-thinking industry that continues to grow, with three new breweries currently opening in the UK each week.”

Colliers International enhances EMEA comms team

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Global commercial real estate service Colliers International has appointed Helen O’Reilly to the newly-created role of comms and marketing manager in its Dublin office.

O’Reilly has been briefed to handle corporate branding and create a marketing and comms straColliers Internationalegy for the Colliers business in the Republic of Ireland.

She has worked in marketing and PR across various industries including motoring and the Arts, and previously headed up PR and marketing at the Gate Theatre Dublin.

Before that, she was marketing manager for car dealership Bolands Waterford, where she looked after brands BMW, MINI, Citroen, Hyundai and Opel. She also worked in TV production, which included producing digital content for online channels.

In her new role, O’Reilly will work closely with Colliers International’s EMEA HQ, which is based in London, where Charlotte Willaims, director of PR and comms, UK and EMEA, is based.

Bloembureau Holland hands European brief to Weber Shandwick

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Dutch flower promoter Bloembureau Holland has handed a three-year pan-European PR brief to Weber Shandwick, following a five-way pitch.

Bloembureau Holland is an independent foundation set up to promote to consumers in Europe the buying and giving of plants and flowers. It is co-funded by the European Commission.

Weber Shandwick’s Manchester Office won the three-year contract to promote orchids in the UK alongside the agency’s network offices in the Netherlands, France and Germany.

The agency will deliver integrated campaigns aiming to build on “emotional connections to Orchids” from an account hub in the Netherlands.

Mark Eijsackers, general manager of Bloemenbureau Holland, said: “Weber Shandwick presented a creative and solid marketing campaign for a competitive European market. We are looking forward to delivering three years of impactful campaigns across Europe, with the UK being one of our most important markets.”

Jo Leah, Weber Shandwick MD and chair English regions and Wales, added: “Orchids are known for their extreme beauty and symbolism and our European network is mobilised to build on that emotion and history through a multichannel consumer campaign.”

The Gorkana Weekly Industry News Brief: 26 March to 1 April 2016

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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.

TeamGB 4

Team GB

Pitch Wins

The British Olympic Association has appointed Hill+Knowlton Strategies to help unite the nation in support of Team GB, as Olympians prepare for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in August.

Siemens has chosen Publicasity to handle the UK PR for its range of cooking, cooling and washing appliances, following a four-way pitch.

Manulife Asset Management, a fund manager with some £211bn in AUM (assets under management), has chosen FWD as its PR representative for Europe and the UK.

4mediagroup44

The London Motor Show

Vivino, which claims to be the world’s most downloaded wine app, has brought in Manifest London to handle its UK PR.

The London Motor Show has appointed 4media Group agencies Stature PR and 4mediarelations to handle the PR around its May event, following a competitive pitch.

Consumer PR agency Rich Leigh & Company is providing pro bono PR support for new social enterprise Foodinate, which provides free meals to the homeless by working with local restaurants.

People News

Merlin Entertainments, which includes visitor attractions Alton Towers, LEGOLAND and Madame Tussauds, has hired Diageo’s James Crampton to the newly created position of corporate affairs director.

Bell Pottinger has made a number of senior appointments across its global network, including the promotion of Philip Pank and Paul de Bendern, as well as the appointment of Hotwire’s Claudia Bate, to partners in its London office.

Viv-Jemmett

Viv Jemmett

FTI Consulting has hired Hanover’s Viv Jemmett to join its digital team as a senior director, who will report to MD and head of digital Ant Moore.

Public policy comms consultancy Champollion has recruited Conservative political commentator Jo-Anne Nadler to head up its planning comms division.

Agency News

Golin UK has launched a “Life Time” scheme for its employees, which features unlimited holidays, flexible working and enhanced paternity pay and maternity leave, which it claims will help tackle diversity and the gender pay gap in PR.

Weber Shandwick has become the first global PR firm to adopt Facebook’s business platform Facebook at Work, after a successful pilot programme that began late last year.

Manchester-based LJFpr has rebranded, and will now be known as Cubed, as it expands its services to include content creation. The agency has also picked up two briefs to work with recruitment group Rethink and the Institute of Directors (IoD).

News Analysis

Ad-blocking presents PR opportunity
Last week’s Guardian Changing Media Summit highlighted once again that ad-blocking, the practice of using software to remove banner ads from web pages, desktops and mobile phones when viewing content, is a major challenge for the media industry. However, the continued rise of ad-blocking could provide the PR industry with new opportunities, according to comms experts from Edelman and Propeller PR.

Journalist News

The Times and The Sunday Times have merged their websites and relaunched their smartphone apps. One core edition will be published each day on The Times app, which will then be updated at 9am, midday and 5pm. On weekends, the edition updates will be at midday and 6pm.

Sarah Phillips has been promoted to deputy opinion editor at the Guardian. She was previously assistant opinion editor at the national newspaper.

Simon Neville, former retail correspondent at The Indepdendent and the London Evening Standard, has joined BuzzFeed UK as business editor.

Virgin Radio UK has returned to the airwaves this week on digital after previously broadcasting between 1993 and 2008. Part of the Wireless Group portfolio, Virgin Radio UK is now available on DAB, digital and online.

U2 bass guitarist Adam Clayton has joined British GQ as contributing arts editor. His first column will appear in the May issue of the magazine.

Time Out Group has unveiled a new design for its London and New York magazines, with a fresh layout designed to give the publication a cleaner feel and align with Time Out’s digital platforms across mobile, web and social channels.

Natasha Lunn has been promoted to features editor at Red. She was previously deputy features editor at the title. In her new role, she will also take responsibility for Red’s books section, Reads.

Features

Launch PR4


Behind the Headlines with Launch PR’s Johnny Pitt
Johnny Pitt, CEO of Launch PR, on roaring success, a very public penchant for chocolate and the worst thing anyone has said to him.

Belize Tourism Board hands brief to Brighter Group

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The Belize Tourism Board has handed a European PR brief to the Brighter Group, following a competitive pitch.

As Belize looks to grow its presence internationally, the Brighter Group has been brought on board to enhance the country’s brand and presence in Europe with a representation, marketing and PR campaign.

It will highlight Belize’s credentials as a leading sustainable tourism destination, and will promote its range of attractions, which include Mayan Temples, rainforests, rare wildlife and diving opportunities.

The campaign will have an initial focus on the UK, with secondary markets including France and Germany.

Karen Bevans, director of Belize Tourism Board, said: “TheBrighter Group’s passion for Belize, joined by its unrivalled knowledge of the travel business and top connections within the tourism industry, particularly in Europe, made it our preferred partners to work with to promote our very beautiful and unique destination to the European Market. We are extremely excited and look forward to great success, with increasing European arrivals to Belize.”

Debbie Flynn, CEO at Brighter Group, said: “We are thrilled to have won the account for the Belize Tourism Board – what a fantastic destination to promote! We have a strong track record of successfully promoting fantastic countries and I know the whole team is very excited about promoting Belize within Europe and driving bookings.”

Rooster tees off with Topgolf UK brief

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Rooster has been appointed by Topgolf UK, which has entertainment venues in Surrey, Essex and Watford, to raise its profile across the UK.

Topgolf claims to combine the “fun of quick-fire target golf with food, drink and entertainment”. With more than 80% of visitors classing themselves as non-golfers, it says there is no need to have played golf before attending. However, golf lessons and “league nights” and junior school holiday camps are available.

The company had more than eight million annual visitors to its UK and US venues last year. Rooster has been briefed to deliver a strategic PR and social media campaign to build awareness and educate consumers and the media about the brand experience.

Claire Kendrick, head of marketing UK at Topgolf, said: “As Topgolf continues to grow in popularity, with new events and an expansive dining and bar menu, we are delighted to bring Rooster onto the green to help communicate our unique offering. Our venues offer something for everyone, throughout the week, day and night. If you like fun, you’ll love Topgolf.”

James Brooke, MD at Rooster PR, added: “We are pleased to announce our appointment by Topgolf, a truly innovative business enterprise that will change the way we view golf. The unique point-scoring game and entertaining setting is truly addictive and makes for an entertaining day or night out.”