UK’s Young PR Lions winners named

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Hotwire London’s Matt Watson and Paul Stollery have won the 2016 UK Young Lions PR competition.

CannesLions

Six teams, including two from Hotwire, were shortlisted from 41 entries to win the accolade this year, in a competition which aims to find the best young PR professionals in the country.

Each team, made up of individuals under 30, were given 24 hours to deliver a five minute presentation explaining their PR campaign for the NSPCC, which acted as the ‘client’, on 22 March at H+K Strategies in London.

Hotwire’s Matt Watson and Paul Stollery wowed the judges with their ‘ChildLine Takeover’ campaign idea, which outlined a partnership with TFL to conduct a one day tube line takeover, rebranding the Victoria line to the Child line.

The PRCA handled the Young PR Lions competition, which was supported by the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO).

Watson and Stollery will go on to represent Hotwire at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June to compete against representatives from more than 30 countries. For the first time, the UK team will be joined by silver winners, Cohn & Wolfe’s Emma Naomi Van Braningen and Felicity Haslehurst, to act as a support team.

Francis Ingham, DG at the PRCA, said: “Looking at the calibre of campaign entries this year, all shortlisted teams should be extremely proud of their work. The winning Hotwire entry demonstrated what a knowledgeable and creative team Watson and Stollery make and they are immensely deserving of their win. We all wish them the best of luck in Cannes.”

CNC makes brace of London promotions

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International strategic communications firm CNC has promoted former Independent on Sunday deputy business editor Simon Evans to director and Callum Laidlaw to senior consultant, respectively.

CNC

Simon Evans

Evans joined CNC in 2012 and has worked on a number of high profile transactions and comms mandates in the banking, private equity, investment management and broking sectors. A former journalist for both the Independent on Sunday and City AM, he joins CNC’s management team in London.

Laidlaw started working with CNC in 2014 to support the development of its ‘digital IQ offering’ across Europe – which now incorporates CNC’s newly-launched cyber crime offering.

MD Oliver Mann said: “Today’s promotions are thoroughly deserved and reflect the valuable and significant contributions both Simon and Callum have made supporting the growth of the London business.

“We have enjoyed a very strong start to 2016 and we look forward to building upon this with our existing and new clients throughout the year and beyond.”

Cohn & Wolfe appoints UK consumer marketing lead

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Global comms agency Cohn & Wolfe has named Diffusion’s Tom Malcolm as its new MD of consumer marketing for the UK.

Cohn and Wolfe

Malcolm has been briefed to enhance the growth of the agency’s consumer business in London. He will join Cohn & Wolfe’s UK management board following the recent promotion of UK consumer marketing MD Rebecca Grant to UK MD last month.

As well as Grant, he will report to Scott Wilson, UK CEO and EMEA MD at Cohn & Wolfe.

Grant said: “Tom arrives at a time when our consumer business is thriving with revenue tripling over the last four years thanks to the quality of work we have delivered for a range of globally recognised brands.

“Tom brings an excellent track record in working with clients internationally to develop creative campaigns that deliver business impact, and I’m looking forward to working with him as he continues to lead the team as it continues to exhibit strength in the UK.”

Malcolm was previously director and head of consumer at Diffusion, where he oversaw the agency’s UK consumer, travel and leisure portfolio.

At Diffusion, he delivered consumer campaigns for brands including Air New Zealand, Secret Escapes, Dixons Carphone and Mothercare.

In 2011, Malcolm was named one of the best PR consultants in the UK as part of PRWeek’s ‘Top 29 under 29’. In 2008, he co-founded Twestival, a global ‘tweetup’ that took place in more than 200 cities worldwide and raised funds for Charity: Water, a charity that provides clean drinking water to developing nations.

Malcolm said: “Cohn & Wolfe has an established reputation as an agency that can deliver bold creativity and digital innovation for clients, with a truly integrated offering that operates internationally. It was the team’s unique ability to fuse digital, market and consumer insights to create integrated campaigns that deliver impact at scale that drew me to the role. I’m excited about the prospect of using my own experience to harness this creativity as the consumer business continues to grow in the UK.”

LEWIS’ Dean Russell launches epifny consulting

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Dean Russell, former EMEA creative strategy director at LEWIS PR, has launched epifny consulting, with Bite and the Direct Marketing Association as founding clients.

epifnyconsulting

The new consultancy offers data insights, creative comms and business strategy. It will also offer services including audits, strategy development, data analytics and mentoring and training.

epifny is also working with Precedent Communications, as well as the Ashridge Business School on a digital transformation MBA course and the NHS on social media training.

With more than 15 years’ experience, Russell was previously EMEA creative strategy director at LEWIS PR, and before that, head of the UK digital practice for Fleishman-Hillard.

He has worked with worked with several B2C and B2B brands, as well as Government and political bodies, advising on insights, digital and creative strategies.

Russell is a regular columnist and speaker, a judge for the British Video Association awards, an advisory board member of Brand2Global and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts.

Russell said: “During a career working in major global agencies, with many household name brands, I witnessed smart and ambitious firms struggle to adjust. More often than not, this was simply due to a lack of time, because they were too busy running the day-to-day business to adapt. As we all know, the comms world is rapidly changing and I want to help brands and agencies take advantage of it – the mission of epifny consulting is clear – we empower ambitious brands and agencies to grow.

“At epifny consulting, personal experience means everything. That’s why we don’t test theories on our clients. We apply proven real-world techniques to help you achieve your vision. Our approach is straightforward – we combine hands-on expertise in data insights, creative comms and business strategy to create a competitive edge and add business value for our clients.”

Pitch launches sponsorship division

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Sports PR agency Pitch has launched a specialist sponsorship division, Pitch Partnerships, and brought Havas Sport & Entertainment Cake’s Gavin Peters to head up the new offer, which includes Swissquote and Yokohama as clients.

Peters was previously chief strategy officer at Havas Sports & Entertainment Cake. He has more than 15 years of experience in delivering campaigns, commercial strategy and insight for both sponsors and rights holders, including Barclays, Coca-Cola, O2, the FA and FIFA.

He take up the new position of head of partnerships at Pitch.

Henry Chappell, chief executive of Pitch, said: “Over the last ten years Pitch has led the way in sports communications, working with some of the world’s best brands and sports properties to deliver industry leading campaigns, such as Betfair’s acclaimed Switching Saddles campaign with Victoria Pendleton. Now is the perfect time to expand our offering into sponsorship strategy and activation.

“We will have an integrated, campaign-led approach to sponsorship, with the aim of bringing brands and rights holders together to form unique partnerships across sport and entertainment. We’re delighted to welcome Gavin Peters to head up the team, and we are actively recruiting further new signings.”

Peters said: “Pitch has an impressive client roster, a talented team, and proven expertise in creating award-winning campaigns that truly resonate with audiences. The introduction of a dedicated partnership division will enable us to be as focused and nimble as a new start-up, but with the benefits of the scale, expertise and experience of Pitch’s many years of great work. We’ll be developing both strategy and activation capabilities, and our aim is to offer clients a different approach to sponsorship.”

Innis & Gunn hands global comms brief to Manifest

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Innis & Gunn has appointed Manifest as its global comms agency following a competitive pitch, as the Edinburgh-based craft brewer embarks on expansion plans in both the UK and Canada.

The agency has been briefed to develop a brand strategy and comms plan to be delivered aManifestcross the company’s key markets; US, Sweden, Canada and the UK.

Over the next 12 months, Manifest will also develop a new brand manifesto for Innis & Gunn. The agency will work alongside Canadian agency, Your Brand.

Dougal Gunn Sharp, Innis & Gunn founder, said: “We are thrilled to be working with Manifest. They immediately impressed us not just with their unmatched knowledge and creativity, but also their radical candour and bold plans to unlock the potential of the Innis & Gunn brand globally. They have more than harnessed the passion for beer within the Innis & Gunn team; they have amplified it through their insight and ideas.

“We recognised the need to move the brand forward at home and abroad, and Manifest is the right partner to start telling our story – thus far kept largely within the walls of the business – in a compelling way.”

Alex Myers, group CEO at Manifest, added: “The more we learned about Innis & Gunn, the more we realised the potential of the brand – driven largely by their passionate team and amazing beer. The company is at a pivotal point of growth in the UK and abroad, and we’ve been given the responsibility to help shape the direction of the brand as it further establishes itself in a craft beer market it helped pioneer.

“At Manifest, we insist on working in partnership and collaboration with our clients and this has been welcomed by an incredible Innis & Gunn team open to new ideas and approaches. The brand was born as a result of Dougal Sharp’s curiosity, openness and experimentation – personality traits that are cornerstones of the craft beer movement and elements of the brand that haven’t before been given the limelight they deserve.”

Citigate Manchester hires SkyParlour’s Pears

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Citigate Dewe Rogerson‘s Manchester office has brought in Matthew Pears, formerly of marketing and PR firm SkyParlour, as an associate director.

Pears will work on a range of Citigate’s corporate and B2B FullSizeRender (1)accounts with a view to growing its client base in the North West.

At Manchester-based SkyParlour he focused on clients in the fraud, eCommerce, mCommerce and payment technology sectors. Pears is also a Chartered Marketer from the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

He said: “Citigate is one of the best-known and longest-established corporate and financial PR consultancies in the world with a truly impressive client portfolio. I am looking forward to working with some great clients and PR professionals and contributing to the growth of the Manchester office.”

Ian Morris, a director in Citigate’s Manchester office, added: “As well as home-grown businesses, we’re seeing an increasing number of companies from outside the region and overseas who are more interested in the North than ever. I’m sure Matt will be invaluable in helping us continue to grow our client base in the region as well as servicing our existing client base and I’m delighted to welcome him aboard.”

Morrisons hires Shine @ The Academy

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Morrisons, the UK’s fourth largest supermarket chain, has named Shine @ The Academy as its retained brand PR agency, following a competitive pitch.

Shine @ The Academy is the second PR agency to be appointed by Morrisons this month after it brought in Cirkle as its product PR agency, as part of a planned review of its marketing agencies.

It is the first time Morrisons has brought in an agency specifically to communicate its brand purpose and positioning.

Mitchell Kaye, Shine @ The Academy’s CEO, and creative director, Daniel Glover, will lead the account.

They will report to Andy Atkinson, Morrisons’ group marketing and customer director and Julian Bailey, PR director.

Atkinson said: “After listening hard to customers Morrisons has a clearly defined brand – we are foodmakers and shopkeepers which makes us unique. Shine @ The Academy has shown it really understood what this means for our customers and we were impressed by the meaningful ideas it had to bring this alive for our customers and staff.”

Kaye said: “Morrisons has kicked off a new era, as have we, and we’re excited to play our part in connecting its work to the public, and underlining its food-maker and shop-keeper credentials.”

Tlou Energy hands PR brief to St Brides

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AIM-listed energy company Tlou Energy has brought in St Brides as its retained financial PR.

Tlou Energy delivers power in Botswana and South Africa through the development of coal bed methane (CBM) projects.

Elisabeth Cowell, Lottie Brocklehurst and Megan Dennison are managing the brief.

Cowell, partner at St Brides, said: “Tlou provides investors with access to compelling and scalable opportunities to deliver power via CBM in Botswana in order to displace the expensive diesel and import market both in-country and beyond.

“Tlou will be highly active in 2016 and we look forward to utilising our 14 years of experience in implementing effective financial PR campaigns for growth companies to communicate their achievements effectively to the London market.”

Gorkana meets… passportstamps.uk

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Freelance travel writer Helen Wright talks to Gorkana‘s Richard Caldecourt about launching consumer travel site passportstamps.uk, why she’s keen to showcase less well known destinations, what PRs should consider when pitching in content ideas, and the best destination she’s ever visited.

Tell us what passportstamps.uk is all about.Helen Wright

passportstamps.uk features aspirational travel ideas that are achievable for the everyday person. My aim is to provide content that will give people ideas and show them what you can do in different places. Rather than just tick off lots of famous countries and cities, (New York, Paris, London, etc), I also showcase less known destinations as well.

How did passportstamps.uk come about?

It started more as a hobby than anything else. I was lucky enough to travel to some fantastic places through my work as a freelance journalist, and there were extra things I wanted to write about but couldn’t, due to word counts or the specific briefs set by the publication.

I set up passportstamps.uk mainly so I could have an online platform to rave about the places I’d been to and wanted to tell people about. Since I worked full time when I was setting it up, I was lucky enough to have people in the industry who wanted to be part of the project even though there were no guarantees it would even get off the ground (no pun intended). It’s just grown from there.

How big is the editorial team and who covers what?

I am the editorial team, but I do have some very good contributors which are sourced from across the industry. One of the criteria that I give to freelancers is that they have to be published writers. I think that keeps the site professional and makes the content more engaging. I want the site to have a personal side and be opinion based, but at the same time I want it to be authentic, so that people know they can trust the advice on there.

Who is your target reader?

We get a mixture of ages (usually from 25 and up) both male and female, but we definitely have more female readers. This might be because many readers originally heard about the site through my Twitter and Instagram handles, and they’ll know me as someone who writes for women’s magazines.

A third of our traffic is returning visitors and I’m really happy with that as I must be doing something right! (Unless, of course, it’s my mum from different computers at the library…). It’s not really aimed at teenagers either – we target people earning salaries, who want to spend on travel.

What makes for good content on the site?

I have to like it! I don’t have to like it purely for me – the site wasn’t designed to be a diary of ‘Helen’s life’ – but I need to have a good opinion of a destination or activity and know that it’s relevant for our readers.

Content needs to have credibility and be a little bit different, offering something that you can’t get elsewhere. I was told about this little town in Nevada, USA the other day, where once a year they take bath tubs and race each other down a hill. That would be great for a visitor from the UK to watch. I like to cover things that are fairly unique, but that the everyday person is able to see or participate in.

I’m not really interested in covering your standard beach holiday – but if that beach has a monthly pyjama surfing championship then it makes it so much more interesting.

How would you describe your relationship with PRs?

Hopefully good! I’d hate to be a journalist that has a bad reputation, because we need each other. When I first started I didn’t fully understand the role of PR, but since then there have been so many times when a PR has helped me out of a sticky situation or done me a favour – they are invaluable.

I like to think I’m approachable. I always try to get back to people who tailor an email directly for me or for the site, but to be honest, it is impossible to reply to every email. I receive over 150 emails a day – but I do my best!

Top tips for pitching ideas?

I prefer to be contacted by email because it means I can still respond to something even if I’m travelling. I’m happy to hear from people through social media too, especially to give me a prompt if I’ve forgotten to reply.

One thing that does annoy me is when a PR company will send blanket emails and not research the site before they send a press release. You end up wading through lots of irrelevant stuff and that means next time you get sent something from the same PR you’re less likely to look at it. Equally, I understand that PRs don’t have the time to target specific blogs individually, because obviously that is very time consuming.

A catchy subject line is always a winner, and be clear about what you’re branding, sometimes I get emails and it’s not apparent who they’re working for or who the client is.

Any future plans for passportstamps.uk you can let us in on?

I want to double the amount of content that I’m uploading, so there are constantly fresh stories going on there. I’ve also found that 40% of my visitors come through social shares, so I’m looking to expand our social media channels, too. I’m about to head on an around-the-world trip, covering India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, New Zealand and the USA – which will be a slightly longer trip than I usually take, so I will be blogging about the extended journey as well as the individual destinations.

When it comes to Youtube I had never done vlogging before and it is all very new to me! The 20-year-olds I speak to have taught me everything. I love the way youtube / Vimeo allows you to speak directly to the audience and a video can really bring a destination to life. It’s definitely been a learning curve, but the reception has been great – I’ve had good feedback from brands who want to work with us, as well as a spike in traffic to the site. I’ll be creating a lot more video content this year on travel, tips and reviews, so if any PRs have ideas, definitely get in touch.

Finally, and we have to ask, what’s the best place you’ve visited so far?

Scottsdale in Arizona, USA. Some places you go will just leave an impression on your heart – sometimes you don’t even know why. This is one place I know I will always go back to.