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Jabra, which develops headsets and audio devices for use by businesses and consumers, has brought in LEWIS as lead communications agency to deliver PR services in the UK, US, France and the APAC region.
The agency will tell the Jabra story and draw attention to its range of audio products, which includes headsets and speakers.
LEWIS’ international division will manage this global account, which will target both consumer and trade audiences. The brief will include thought leadership campaigns, company profiles, event support, product launches, and news and reviews programmes.
Claus Fonnesbech, head of PR and earned media at Jabra, said: “We chose the agency because of its global reach and global hub team. This allows us to use our resources efficiently, share ideas and content across markets, and deliver a consistent message.
“An agency with equally strong competences in B2B and B2C, as well as an integrated services offering, was an obvious choice to help promote our innovation in the audio sector and achieve brand recognition in a competitive market.”
The company hired LEWISon a retainer basis after it carried out an initial communications project in 2015.
Sally O’Neill, VP International at LEWIS, added: “With significant experience and investment in sound solutions, and growing demand for high-quality audio performance amongst individuals and businesses, Jabra has an exciting story to tell. This creates the perfect platform for us to raise its profile as a thought and market leader in the ‘hearables’ category.”
Osirium Limited, a cyber security solutions provider, has called upon Hollins Communications to provide support around its IPO having today announced its intention to float.
The company, which combines automation and cyber security technologies in its services, is seeking admission to AIM, London’s alternative market, and intends to raise at least £4 million to support its sales and market strategy. It expects to start trading on AIM next month.
Hollins Communications will continue to provide financial and communications advice to Osirium following the listing.
Sarah Hollins, a consultant at Yellow Jersey and former MD of Abchurch Communications, founded Hollins Communications in 2014. She has worked at agencies including Weber Shandwick, Valin Pollen and Alex McCallum & Associates in New York.
Unity has been appointed by Secret Cinema to handle the launch of its nationwide show, post-apocalyptic horror film 28 Days Later.
It will deliver a wide-ranging brief, which covers strategic and creative direction for both pre-production activity and the launch itself.
The appointment comes as Secret Cinema launches its first-ever nationwide show. The showing of Danny Boyle’s 2002 British cult classic 28 Days Later also marks a new territory for the company, with its first take on the horror genre.
In London, the 28 Days Later event will run from 14 April to 29 May 2016, with a second secret city to be revealed soon.
Katy Stolliday, Unity director, said: “Secret Cinema is an exciting venture that has grown tremendously in popularity over the last few years – it continues to excel in creativity and storytelling, an attribute we put great emphasis on at Unity. We can’t wait to get our teeth stuck into getting the news of 28 Days Later out there, whilst also helping with the pre-show creative.”
Gough Bailey Wright has been appointed by North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) to handle its PR and marketing strategy, as it welcomes the Flying Scotsman to its tracks.
The NYMR is a heritage railway, running between Pickering and Whitby. It attracts nearly 350,000 visitors each year, making it one of the world’s most popular steam railways.
Gough Bailey Wright kicked off the campaign by welcoming Flying Scotsman to the NYMR tracks, gaining regional and national coverage.
The agency will provide the heritage railway with targeted campaigns across regional and national media, highlighting the various events that will take place this year, including spring and autumn steam galas, 60s and 70s themed weekends and classic car shows.
Laura Strangeway, head of marketing for NYMR, said: “With Flying Scotsman visiting our railway this spring, this year has all the hallmarks of being our best year so far! That’s why I’m very happy to have such an experienced agency as Gough Bailey Wright on board to support us with our ongoing PR and marketing strategy.”
Sue Bailey, MD at Gough Bailey Wright, said: “It’s brilliant to see yet another high-class attraction on our books. The North Yorkshire Moors Railway is a truly spectacular attraction in the most beautiful setting, and I couldn’t be more proud to announce it as our new client.”
If you are interested in the latest thinking on the media industry, upcoming campaigns, media analysis, social media and PR planning these are the must-read stories.
Twitter moments Twitter, micro-blogging site and home to some of the most creative brand campaigns and biggest PR fails over the past decade turns 10 today. It might be hard to imagine a life without hashtags, but only a decade ago Twitter’s co-founder Jack Dorsey posted the first ever tweet.
Many publications have featured articles looking back at some of the social media’s mostmemorable moments such as the infamous Oscar 2014 selfie and Caitlyn Jenner‘s Twitter inauguration that broke records by gaining 1 million followers in just under four hours.
Top PR campaigns
Food retailer Greggs has set up giant nap pods in London to celebrate the launch of its newest coffee range in aid of scientific research. The Nappuccino pods were created following research that napping for 20 minutes straight after drinking coffee increases productivity and alertness.
And what is the point of a power nap if you can’t brag about it on Instagram? The Facebook-owned company announced that to improve users’ experience, their feed will soon be ordered to show the moments they care about the most by arranging posts based on what people are interacting with most.
Meanwhile, Schweppes teamed up with advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi Buenos Aires for its new Argentinean campaign showing a group of 40-somethings explaining to the younger generation how things used to work in the ‘old days’.
The campaign was praised for being a prime example of beautiful video production, smart creativity and emotional connection through nostalgic memories as it connects with an older generation of drinkers who want to buy mixers.
Shutterstock, a global picture and music provider and licensing agency, has brought in MWW PR to provide UK corporate PR support raise awareness for its new products among creative professionals and small business owners.
MWW’s campaign will provide media relations support to the company, raising the profile of its computer vision technology which uses algorithms of pixel data to identify similar imageswhich improves the experience of searching its library. It will also support the growth of Shutterstock’s editorial business following its acquisition of Rex Features in January.
Siobhan Aalders (pictured), VP of global communications at Shutterstock, said: “We were impressed with the MWW PR team’s understanding of our business and target audiences as well as the strength of their media contacts with the publications that are relevant to our business.
“We will be working closely with the MWW PR team to target a new generation of customers – social media professionals – who have a high demand for images to fill their sites as well as our core audience of creative professionals.”
Rebecca Blinston-Jones, MWW deputy MD, added: “We are delighted to have been chosen by Shutterstock at such an exciting time for the business. Refocusing the core of its story on the strength of its technology, coupled with the brief to target a growing new audience of social media professionals, will give us plenty of opportunities to get their opinions out into the marketing, media, technology and wider business community.”
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.
Pitch Wins
Lansons advised Metro Bank on its successful £400m listing on the London Stock Exchange last week.
New challenger bank Tandem has handed Eulogy a six-figure retained comms brief ahead of its launch later this year.
The London Stock Exchange has brought in Cardew Group to provide comms support around its proposed £21bn merger with German stock exchange Deutsche Börse.
The Hub, a specialist foodservice and retail PR and trade marketing agency, has been appointed to handle the UK retail trade PR and comms for global food business The Kraft Heinz Company, following a competitive pitch.
Retail chain Poundland has hired FleishmanHillard Fishburn to handle its consumer PR and social media following a competitive pitch.
British luxury lifestyle brand Belstaff has hired W as its retained global social media agency.
People News
AstraZeneca has appointed FTI Consulting’s Jennie Younger as vice president global corporate affairs to lead the pharma giant’s international corporate affairs function from its headquarters in Cambridge.
Independent financial PR agency Yellow Jersey has appointed Felicity Winkles, formerly of St Brides, as board director.
JPES Partners has hired Miles Donohoe to join its expanding London team as director. He takes responsibility for growing the company’s client base within the wider financial services market.
Headland has appointed Tulchan’s senior communications adviser, Lucy Legh, as director.
The Economist Group has launched its new magazine, 1843. The magazine will have expanded content and sections on culture, technology, style and design, food and drink, travel, and body and mind.
James Landale has been appointed diplomatic correspondent at BBC News, taking over from Bridget Kendall. He’ll take up his new role later in the year.
Damien McElroy, a former foreign correspondent at The Daily Telegraph, is now deputy foreign editor at The Sunday Times.
Ben Isaacs, previously sports editor at ShortList, has been appointed features editor at Coach.
Lina Saigol has been appointed company news editor, EMEA at Reuters. She was previously UK companies editor at the Financial Times.
Features
Case Study: Pulling Power – Giving Advanced Driving Courses “Sex Appeal”
When the Institute of Advanced Motorists wanted to enhance the appeal of its advanced driving courses among younger people, Tin Man came up with “Pulling Power”, a campaign to prove that good driving increases sex appeal. Some 1,500 sign-ups later, the agency smashed its KPI 15 times over, delivered £62,500 in revenue for the charity and secured two industry awards for its work.
Gorkana meets…The British Journal of Photography Simon Bainbridge, editorial director of The British Journal of Photography, on the 162-year-old magazine’s recent redesign, writing about the ideas behind images and his healthy relationship with PRs.
Behind the Headlines with LEWIS’ Ranj George Ranj George, head of consumer at LEWIS UK, on why agencies need to get better at valuing their staff, the need to love, live and breathe PR to succeed, and how he dreams of running a pick’n’mix shop in Shoreditch.
Henry Playfoot, strategy director at Claremont, is this year’s winner of the Suzy Ferguson Spirit Award, having been praised for his ‘strong integrity, principles and ethics’ at the awards ceremony today.
2016 Suzy Spirit Award winner Henry Playfoot
In its third year, the Suzy Ferguson Spirit Award recognises those unsung heroes who have made a difference in the industry and bring out the best in other people, without expecting anything in return.
Launched by Gorkana in partnership with LEWIS, the award is run in memory of the PR agency’s former employee, Suzy Ferguson, who passed away from bowel cancer in 2012, aged 31.
Suzy Ferguson
Playfoot was chosen from a shortlist of five, following a record number of nominations, by a panel of judges. These include Suzy’s father, Canon John Carter, a former BBC producer and journalist; Suzy’s husband, Alex Ferguson; Sally O’Neill, VP International at LEWIS; Stephen Waddington, director of Ketchum Europe and former CIPR President; and Jeremy Thompson, EMEA MD at Cision (owner of Gorkana).
When considering the shortlist, the judges looked for four key qualities; the ability to inspire others, the candidate’s role as a team mentor, leadership and caring qualities, and how they bring their personal values to activities inside and outside of work.
Ben Caspersz, Claremont founder and MD, nominated Playfoot, who described the 2016 Suzy Spirit Award winner as a man who ‘lights up our lives’.
Caspersz said he was inspired to make a nomination after reading about Suzy standing at the door of her church welcoming people in: “Welcoming people, that’s what Henry does every day.”
The judging panel noted his self-effacing manner, his strong integrity, principles and ethics, and his encouragement of clients to ‘do the right thing’ even at the expense of other areas of gain. He was also praised for his mentoring of people at Toastmasters, a not-for-profit organisation that develops public speaking skills.
Thompson said: “The winner of the Suzy Spirit Award is intended to recognise an individual of exceptional character, integrity and determination, in memory of Suzy Ferguson, who inspired so many at LEWIS and the broader PR industry. This year’s winner is no different – he has inspired those around him and has done so with genuine humility. Henry is a worthy winner and epitomises that spirit which we look for.
“Gorkana is proud to sponsor and promote the award – all proceeds of which go to Bowel Cancer UK to promote awareness of the disease through improved research.”
Playfoot met the judges last month at LEWIS’ London offices, where he said: “I believe that treating people well, nurturing their talents and recognising their needs as people is a good and right thing to do, but it’s also a good way to run a business.”
Playfoot started his career in multi-platform campaigns for the Department of Health and the BBC, before he co-founded his own digital comms firm in 2000. He joined Claremont in 2014 as strategy director.
The other four finalists shortlisted for the 2016 Suzy Ferguson Spirit Award 2016 were Chloe Couchman, head of PR at Merlin Entertainments (formerly PR director at Carlson Wagonlit Travel when nominated); Anita Glover, head of corporate comms at mhs homes limited; Chloe Staniforth, account executive at Cream Consultancy; and Louise Thompson, marketing and PR manager for Dalton Park retail outlet.
Last year, the award went to Nicola Green, director of communications and reputation at O2. The first winner of the award in 2014 was Rosie Warin, who worked at Forster Communications at the time, and has since taken over the reins of Global Tolerance.
Previous Suzy Spirit Award winners Rosie Warin and Nicola Green
Wolfstar has been chosen by Portmeirion Group to deliver an integrated comms campaign for the 200th anniversary of its Spode Blue Italian design.
The online and social media PR agency has been briefed to increase brand awareness and raise the profile of Spode and Blue Italian’s history, as well as engage with new and existing audiences.
The 12-month campaign will include social media, media relations, blogger outreach and several creative initiatives.
Marie Lees, director at Wolfstar, said: “With a rich history spanning 200 years, Spode Blue Italian’s story is the perfect hook for reinvigorating the brand and engaging with customers.
“We have a wealth of experience in the lifestyle sector and our social media expertise is second to none. It’s a very exciting campaign to be working on.”
Cohn & Wolfe, FleishmanHillard Fishburn, Hotwire, salt and WE Communications have teams on the shortlist for this year’s Young PR Lions UK competition.
Six teams, including two from Hotwire, have been shortlisted to win the accolade this year, in a competition which aims to find the best young PR professionals in the country. The winning team will head to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity to take part as the UK entrants in the international competition on 19 June 2016.
Each team is made up of two PR agency professionals aged 30 or under, an increase from the previous years’ 28 years old age limit.
The shortlisted agency teams are:
• Cohn & Wolfe – Emma-Naomi Van Braningen and Felicity Haslehurst
• FleishmanHillard Fishburn – Adam Gaworski and Amelie Exton
• Hotwire – Tom Rouse and Matt Noble
• Hotwire – Matt Watson and Paul Stollery
• salt – Kiera Donovan and Joshua Eyre
• WE Communications – Naiema Ashraf MPRCA and Hugh Adams MPRCA
The six agencies have been narrowed down from 40 UK competitors, after responding to a brief set by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), which performed as the ‘client’. Participating agencies had 24 hours to create a campaign.
Each shortlisted team will be asked to deliver a five minute presentation explaining their PR campaign on 22 March at H+K Strategies in London. Following this, there will be a five minute Q&A session.
The judging panel includes Candace Kuss, director of social media at H+K Strategies; Jo-ann Robertson, partner and deputy CEO at Ketchum London; Bo Hellberg, executive creative director at Edelman; Marshall Manson, CEO at Ogilvy PR; Francis Ingham, DG at the PRCA; and Keely Scanlan, comms officer at the NSPCC.
Next Wednesday (23 March) the winners will be announced and they will receive complimentary flights, accommodation and delegate passes to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
The team will then compete against representatives from more than 30 countries, delivering a presentation for a non-profit organisation in 24 hours that will be judged by a selected jury.
The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) is the sponsor of the Young PR Lions; and the PRCA is responsible for running the UK element of that competition to find the country’s brightest and best young PR talent.
raising the profile of its computer vision technology which 
