UK Coffee Week appoints Diffusion

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Diffusion has been appointed by Allegra-owned UK Coffee Week and The London Coffee Festival to boost their brand awareness this year.

UK Coffee Week, which takes place from 11 to 17 April 2016, is a nationwide celebration of coffee that brings together thousands of coffee shops, including Starbucks, Costa and Debenhams, as well as independents across the UK, to raise funds for projects in coffee growing countries.

Various activities carried out by coffee shops across the UK raise funds for the UK Coffee Week charity, Project Waterfall, which provides clean drinking water and sanitation to those that make coffee across the world. To date, five years since its launch, Project Waterfall has raised over £325,000 for communities in Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia.

Diffusion has been briefed to promote UK Coffee Week, managing media relations, brand profiling and positioning the event as a leading celebration for coffee lovers and retailers.

Launched in 2010, London Coffee Festival (taking place from 7 to 10 April this year) has increased in size by more than 30% and Diffusion has been brought in to increase awareness across a variety of food, beverage, lifestyle and trade media, as well as highlight the festival’s positioning as a key event in the food calendar.

Remy Le Fevre, head of consumer at Diffusion, said: “Coffee is one of the most exciting cultural trends of 2016 and is becoming an important lifestyle driver. The team at Allegra have been at the forefront of driving this phenomena, with a mission to broaden the reach of coffee quality and innovation to an even wider audience.

“There is a great opportunity for Diffusion to work with influencers to help accelerate and shape this trend to ensure The London Coffee Festival and UK Coffee Week both have their most successful year to date.”

William Grant & Sons hires Splendid to promote Hendrick’s gin

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Independent family-owned distiller William Grant & Sons has appointed Splendid Communications as the global consumer PR agency for its Hendrick’s gin and The Balvenie whisky brands, following a competitive pitch.

Splendid has been briefed to develop a global comms campaign for Hendrick’s and run a creative press office to raise the profile of the brand across the world.

The team will also develop a global comms strategy to promote The Balvenie as one of the best handcrafted single malt Scotch whiskys.

David North, global brand comms manager at William Grant & Sons, said: “These are dream briefs for an agency and the Splendid Communications team demonstrated an affinity and impressive combination of creative ideas, strategic insight and smart thinking.

“We look forward to working with the team to develop outstanding campaigns to build on the success of two incredible brands.”

Alec Samways, CEO of Splendid Communications, added: “Working with William Grant & Sons gives us the opportunity to work with two exceptional brands. The briefs were made for us by client teams with whom we share a genuine passion and ambition.

“Both brands have such unique personalities – we’re as excited to explore the most unusual world of Hendrick’s as we are to learn and share the history and depth of The Balvenie.”

William Grant & Sons brands also include Glenfiddich, Grant’s, Sailor Jerry, Tullamore D.E.W., Monkey Shoulder, and Drambuie.

Behind the Headlines with Alfred’s Gemma Pears

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Gemma Pears, co-founder of PR firm Alfred, on the infectious buzz that only people who work in PR will understand, the fear of her first pitch to a journalist and where she likes to get consumer insight on brands.

Before I reach the office in the morning, I’ve already…
Been up a good four hours, fed, watered, dressed, and played a lot of games with my children. Walked a few miles to the station, read the news, caught up on social media and checked out my emails. I’m definitely a morning person!

You’ll mostly find emails about…in my inbox.
Work, work and more work. I did a huge clear out of subscriptions and junk mail before Christmas, and it’s so nice to actually have an inbox full of relevant and interesting emails.

I know I’ve had a good day if…
I get everything done and don’t have to run full pelt to the station to make it home on time. With two small children I know the meaning of ‘time management’ more than ever.

My first job was…
Washing hair in my mam’s hairdressing salon every Thursday and Friday after school and all day Saturday. I still help out when I go home sometimes, as I genuinely find it one of the most interesting insights into the consumer of today.

I’ve heard PR campaigns talked about, shared and wholeheartedly debated like they were gospel. It really hits home how what we do directly influences and reaches the audience in their space. We’ve been known to do a focus group or two in the salon on the outskirts of Newcastle and the takeouts are fascinating.

I can tell a campaign is succeeding when…
There is that buzz in the office. Everyone is energised and excited, there’s constant chatter on the phone and the sound of new emails landing. Whether it’s a celebrity driven stunt or a serious business story, when it’s going well there is an unmistakable infectious buzz that anyone that has worked in PR will understand.

I eat….when nobody is watching.
Hmm, I eat pretty much anything regardless of who is watching.

The first time I pitched to a journalist…
I put the phone down after he screamed ‘YES’ louder and more aggressively than any-person-that-has-ever-answered-a-phone. I then pretended there was no answer to my director and sat for a clear five minutes thinking ‘what the hell am I doing here’. The fear didn’t last long. I just learnt the art of a highly targeted approach and getting your pitch correct very quickly.

I then quite enjoyed pitching to the ‘YES’ journalist and hearing their change of tone when they realised they wanted to listen to what I had to say.

The worst thing anyone has said to me is…
You have far too much energy and enthusiasm as a team. I think that one will go down in career history. Someone so bored by their own brand is really not good, either to be them or to work with them.

The last book I read was…
Err, Peppa Pig? The Gruffalo? Goodnight Tractor? All three multiple times a day for about three months straight.

I’ve never really understood why…
People fail to walk in anyone else’s shoes. As sanctimonious as it sounds, it’s true. We all need to be a bit kinder and accommodating of others and realise clients and journalists also have bosses and deadlines and targets. Don’t take it personally.


If I could go back and talk to my 10-year-old self, I’d say…
Enjoy being 10! I’m not really one for ‘if only I’d known/done it…back then’.


This time next year, I’ll be…
Continuing to be incredibly proud of the amazing work we’re doing for our ever-growing list of amazing clients.

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

Clear Channel International

Clear Channel International reappoints FleishmanHillard

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Clear Channel International (CCI), an outdoor advertising company and media owner, has reappointed FleishmanHillard Fishburn as its retained comms agency following a five-way pitch process.

Clear Channel, which has worked with the agency since 2010, reviewed its comms requirements at the end of last year. The new brief focuses on raising the profile of the outdoor medium to more directly support the business’ sales and marketing efforts across Europe, Asia and Australasia. The agency will target international advertising and marketing audiences.

Stefan Lameire, CCI’s chief customer and revenue officer, said: “During a closely fought pitch process, FleishmanHillard Fishburn demonstrated sharp customer insight, had strong strategic thinking, huge energy and some creative, highly actionable campaign ideas.

“These ideas will help us demonstrate the scale of our ambition for outdoor as digital innovation continues to drive the transformation of the world’s oldest advertising medium, reinforcing its ability to allow brands to reach and engage today’s connected consumer in a more impactful way.”

Ali Gee, Fleishman’s deputy CEO, and director Judith Moore will deliver a campaign highlighting the medium’s creativity and effectiveness. It will also emphasise CCI’s innovation advancements, including the global expansion of its digital out-of-home network.

Gee said: “Winning a competitive pitch as the incumbent is notoriously difficult and so we are doubly delighted with the result. Clear Channel International has been a long standing client and we have enjoyed a very successful partnership over this time.

“The new brief enables us to build on this and we look forward to working with the team to deliver an exciting campaign built on some truly ground-breaking creative.”

Cohn & Wolfe names Rebecca Grant UK MD

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Cohn & Wolfe has promoted its UK consumer marketing MD, Rebecca Grant, to head up the London-based WPP-owned agency as UK MD.

Grant, who joined Cohn & Wolfe in 2011, will retain her role as head of Cohn & Wolfe Consumer Marketing EMEA, and will continue to report to Scott Wilson, UK CEO and EMEA MD.

She will also continue to serve a number of clients, including Pfizer, Twinings, Danone and Treasury Wine Estates.

Wilson said: “Our UK Consumer Marketing business has been on fire, with revenue tripling over the last four years.  It has won a host of new globally-recognised brands and received industry award recognition both as a team and for the quality of their work.

“During this period, Rebecca has been at the forefront of driving our wider agency transformation, and much of our success has been founded on a commitment to placing collaboration, creativity and digital at the heart of everything we do. Rebecca’s appointment is richly deserved and I look forward to working closely with her as Cohn & Wolfe continues its success in the coming years.”

Grant said: “Cohn & Wolfe’s reputation in the UK is growing exponentially and I am delighted to have played my part in the agency’s wider success. What is particularly gratifying is the growing number of clients – from consumer healthcare to food and drink to consumer technology to financial services – who have bought into our philosophy and are increasingly looking to Cohn & Wolfe to be a true custodian of their brands, from promotion to protection.”

Before joining Cohn & Wolfe in 2011, Grant worked at Weber Shandwick and the Red Consultancy.

Apparently, a new MD for Cohn & Wolfe UK Consumer Marketing has already been appointed and will join the agency in March.

Quill

Quill wins fund administrator Heritage

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Heritage Financial Services Group (Heritage), a professional fund administrator and fiduciary, has appointed Quill following a competitive pitch.

Quill will drive a media relations campaign raising Heritage’s corporate profile and supporting its growth in the UK primarily, with additional activity in Guernsey and Malta.

Hugo Mortimer-Harvey, Quill’s MD, will lead the account with the support of account director Marina Fraser-Harris and account manager Pamela Morris.

The team will work closely with Mariana Enevoldsen (pictured), director of Heritage International Fund Managers. She said: “Public relations is an important area of focus for Heritage as we seek to raise awareness of our areas of expertise through good quality press coverage.  We are confident that in Quill we have found a senior team that will partner with us to offer strategic communications guidance and pragmatic implementation.”

Mortimer-Harvey added: “We’re very much looking forward to working closely with Heritage to promote its services. It is a highly-regarded business whose experienced team is able to offer informed market intelligence and insight which will be invaluable as we roll-out a PR campaign across all appropriate media channels.”

Good Relations launches broadcast offer

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Good Relations has launched a new broadcast consultancy, Good Broadcast, and brought in Sound Creative’s Phil Caplin to lead the new offer.

Good Broadcast, which will sit within Chime-owned Good Relations, will allow the agency to work on standalone broadcast projects for its clients across a range of platforms including broadcast interviews, podcasts, video news releases, live streamed content and competitions.

The new offer will be led by Caplin, who has more than 15 years’ experience running broadcast agencies in the UK, He joins from Sound Creative, part of the Markettiers Group, where he was MD, and has worked with brands including GSK, Nationwide and Michelin.

Caplin said: “Good Broadcast is a unique hybrid model of broadcast consultancy combining the expertise and agility of a specialist agency with the strategic and creative resource of one of the leading marketing services groups in the UK. We have the energy, flexibility and 360 degree offering to change the broadcast game in the UK.”

Richard Moss, CEO at Good Relations, said: “Good Broadcast aims to put the ‘Scary Good’ into broadcast by providing clients with strong consultancy, creativity and content plans that work with broadcast in mind.

“Traditional agencies tend to see broadcast as an afterthought in their ideas generation; with Good Broadcast we aim to integrate broadcast from the start by delivering strong TV, Radio and online coverage, which remains one of the most powerful parts of the communication mix.”

Bottle wins LeasePlan UK brief

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Car leasing company LeasePlan UK has brought in Bottle to handle its PR.

LeasePlan UK, launched in 1979, operates a UK serviced fleet with more than 164,900 vehicles and it provides services to specific market segments via four brands: LeasePlan (corporations), LeasePlan Go (SME), Network (Franchisees) and Automotive Leasing (public sector).

Bottle has been briefed to enhance brand awareness and increase opportunities for thought leadership in the UK media.

The agency also plans to help LeasePlan increase awareness across topics including safe driving, driverless cars and telematics, by using its active newsroom to identify relevant conversations for LeasePlan to interact with.

The account will be led by Holly Tyzack, head of editorial at Bottle.

Rachel Hawthorne, head of marketing at LeasePlan, said: “We have chosen to work with Bottle, not only because of its proven experience and success in the SME, corporate trade and national media, but also to help us integrate our communications across the brand and to get involved with conversations that are more engaging and relevant to our customers.

“We are very excited to start working with Bottle and seeing how its unique newsroom approach will help to identify relevant stories in action. We are looking forward to being able to contribute to the conversations that matter the most and hope to develop further as thought leaders in our field.”

Tyzack added: “We are delighted to be working with LeasePlan to help it drive engaging conversations in its market. There will be a number of campaigns happening in the next year, the first is directly talking to a key market – the SME audience.”

Tulchan expands partnership with six appointments

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Tulchan Communications has named six partners, including Morgan Stanley’s Doug Campbell and Severn Trent’s David Lloyd-Seed, as it makes a number of appointments across the business.

Campbell was most recently a director in Morgan Stanley’s corporate broking division and has a particular focus on the financial services and pharma sectors.

Lloyd-Seed held the interim head of IR at Severn Trent after nearly ten years as investor relations and corporate affairs director at Dixons Retail, according to LinkedIn. He continues in his role as deputy chairman of the investor relations society.

Internal promotions include Jonathan Sibun (pictured left), former Telegraph deputy city editor, and Martin Robinson (pictured right). James Macey White and Tom Murray, who’ve developed Tulchan’s offer to mid-market corporates, also join the partnership.

David Shriver, Tulchan managing partner, said: “It is a real pleasure to welcome these six talented individuals to the Partnership and to celebrate the promotions of others within the firm. It is a particular pleasure that, of our 12 London Partners, four have worked their way up the firm since joining as analysts.

“We are coming to the end of another year of strong growth in revenues and clients. In addition, to our core financial communications work last year, we demonstrated our expertise in crisis management, in particular, advising Merlin Entertainments on the managing of the terrible crash at Alton Towers and TalkTalk on its cyber-attack.”

The agency has also promoted Siobhan Weaver to director, and Tom Gatzen and Matt Low to associates. Martha Walsh has seconded to BBA Aviation as head of communications and IR.

Chris Hughes, who joined Tulchan last year from Reuters Breakingviews, has returned to journalism and joins the comment team at Bloomberg.

60 seconds with Richard Griffiths, RGC Partners

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Richard Griffiths, outgoing director of European comms at ebay’s StubHub and founder of RGC Partners, on how his move from journalism into comms felt like “coming home”, the heightened profile of PR, and getting clients to address uncomfortable truths.

What is the most important thing you learned as a businessRichard Griffiths BLOG reporter at the BBC, and how has that impacted your career in PR?

The ability to quickly synthesise an issue and then get the key points across so that everyone can understand them. Being a good listener is a good skill in PR. But it’s also important to have a point of view.

Why did you make the leap from journalism to PR?

One of my personality flaws is that I’m easily bored and need constant challenge. PR seemed a good next step. I was offered a job at KPMG supporting on some of their crisis issues (collapse of Little Chef, sale of a stake in Leeds United to Ken Bates). But a job then came up with Ketchum which involved building a team and a lot of international work. I jumped at it and felt like I’d come home as soon as I arrived. I stayed for six years before setting up my own independent consultancy [RGC Partners] working with clients such as Alcatel Lucent, Airbus, Gusbourne Estate, Kind Consumer and StubHub.

What has been the most drastic change in the PR sector since you moved into the industry?

PR now crosses so much of what a company does but the way we deploy it is different. In larger organisations it crosses paid, owned, earned and social media though successful deployment relies on a clear understanding of what the business needs and working well with different partners, internal and external. It’s a communications mix that we’re all still getting to grips with and that is part of the interesting challenge.

Do you think PR has gathered in significance over the last few years, and if so, what is driving that change?

Yes, and part of that is down to dwindling budgets in news and growing recognition in big companies, in particular, that reputation matters more than ever. The fact that the former Newsnight Editor Peter Barron now runs Google’s EMEA communications team and is invited onto The Andrew Marr Show to talk tax speaks volumes. In my day as a journalist, a head of PR was not considered the kind of serious executive you would bother interviewing. That’s changing.

What piece of work from your career are you most proud of?

Mass global coverage for pandas arriving in Edinburgh for FedEx! More seriously, some of the most satisfying moments are those that have to remain confidential but I get the most satisfaction working with clients who adjust business practices based on your advice. That’s when I’d say working in PR is more fun than being a journalist.

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

That PR is always just spin. It’s more often about persuading clients to address uncomfortable truths.

What is the most common misconception your friends/peers make about your job?

That’s it all about lunch at the Wolseley and drunken evenings at Soho House. If only.

If you weren’t in PR, what would you be doing – bar journalism, of course?

Something involving food and wine … and somewhere warm.

What is a typical weekend for you?

Reading the weekend papers and catching up with family and friends with plenty of red wine combined with walking our fat black Labrador on Clapham Common. Hot yoga features somewhere too. I do that several times a week and it’s good for solving communications challenges!

What book would you take to a desert island?

All the books I have at home I have bought and am yet to read. I’ll read anything but currently love anything by the Portuguese author Eca de Queiroz, whose novels I pick up and can then never put down.

What job or skillset has had the greatest bearing on your work as a PR? Tell all in a ’60 seconds’ feature by emailing [email protected]