Behind the Headlines with Storm MD Amanda Williams

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Amanda Williams, MD of Storm Communications, on starting off working for PR guru Quentin Bell, the buzz of making the day’s news agenda and ridiculous requests from journalists.

Before I reach the office in the morning, I’ve already…
Walked my new puppy (Storm’s latest pin-up, Louis the miniature dachshund), had a much needed caffeine kick at the station, caught up on emails and the newspaper on the way in and battled the madness of South West Trains (all hopefully from a seat rather than standing all the way in).

You’ll mostly find emails about…in my inbox.
Great work that the team have secured. I like to be kept informed about great coverage and successes for all our clients as they appear.

I know I’ve had a good day if…
The phone rings with a client saying they are really happy, or a ‘you’re hired’ call from a new business pitch.

My first job was…
As a receptionist at Quentin Bell Organisation, running around collecting champagne, booking lunch dates for Quentin, mastering a manual typewriter with carbon paper, cutting people off on the phone and always managing to take clients into the wrong meetings! I wasn’t particularly good at it, but he saw a PR girl in me and gave me a break when PR was still in its infancy in the UK.

I can tell a campaign is succeeding when…
The media gets in touch with you having seen or read about it in other media. It is always a great feeling when you have made the news agenda for the day.

I eat….when nobody is watching.
Any fast food really – it is a guilty pleasure that I became addicted to when we worked with KFC.

The first time I pitched to a journalist…
I was shouted at. In fact in my early days I was shouted at by journalists a lot, with the best one calling me from a press trip in Canada to tell me his scrambled eggs weren’t big enough. But as they say ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’.

The worst thing anyone has said to me is…
“You didn’t get the job because there was a typo in one of your example releases”. This was for my second job as an AE when I was just 20-years-old and it has stuck with me ever since. I really wanted the role and was devastated, but it taught me an invaluable lesson that you have to have an impeccable eye for detail in this job and every word really does count – especially when it comes to job applications, where I have deleted a number simply because of spelling or grammar issues on the person’s CV or in their covering email.

The last book I read was…
Nothing outstanding, just some chick-lit. I love trashy TV and easy to read novels, my brain gets enough of a work out during the day.

I’ve never really understood why…
People do a job that they don’t love. I have always got a buzz from PR and can’t understand when friends say that they are bored at work. Chance would be a fine thing!

If I could go back and talk to my ten-year-old self, I’d say…
Don’t worry about fractions – you’ll never need to learn about pieces of pie and how many make a whole when you are drafting releases or selling in to the media. Many tears were shed in my maths classes back then.

This time next year, I’ll be…
Hopefully celebrating another great year of growth at Storm, having beaten our targets again and toasting our success with my great team somewhere snowy on our annual ski trip.

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

 

PRCA Young Communicator of the Year Andrew Barratt on the three ways you can build your profile in the comms world when starting out

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Andrew Barratt, head of Ogilvy Pride UK, is the PRCA’s Young Communicator of the Year, it was announced this week. We asked Andrew for his three top tips on what you need to do to build your profile in the industry when starting out and how awards can help raise awareness of the big issues the industry needs to address.

Be yourself

Our industry is changing as society has changed. We are living in a moment where information is everywhere and transparency is key. As the reputation of a brand or company is moving to an outcome of who you really are, it is more difficult for reputation to be a managed construct.

What big businesses and brands portray to the rest of society, is now, more often, simply an outcome of who they are. And this means they have to be themselves.

The same should be true on how people approach work and their professional life every day. Be yourself. Through embracing who you are, you will have the power of authenticity. And authenticity is one of the most important things in life to uphold, bringing happiness, success and, most importantly, friendships.

Have a story to tell

We work in an industry where storytelling is critical. We engage people around a story, a cause or an ideal to draw them in. This is a lesson that can be applied to yourself as much as the work we do for our clients. Have something authentic to say, which at its core relates to who you are. I’m a champion of diversity and inclusion in our industry. This is important for two reasons – for the culture of an agency and for the work that we do for our clients.

For the culture of an agency, if you are committed to building a creative organisation one of the first things you need to do is embrace ideas and ways of thinking that are different to your own. This means celebrating difference. Diversity and inclusion are just as important for the next phase of creativity within the industry, and to ensure effective marketing, as they are for good working relationships within a company.

And for the work that we do for our clients, today we are embracing difference – seeing the value of not everyone being and doing and looking the same – as never before. This helps to enrich society in so many ways. And for marketing organisations, this provides a huge opportunity. A challenge? To seek to understand and engage groups of consumers that have previously gone unrecognised.

Do good

It’s not good enough to simply talk – you have to make who you are and what you say into action. Be a do-er. And if this is for a higher purpose, or a force for good, then this is a powerful asset. A person who acts, rather than merely talks and thinks, can gain admiration for their toughness and courage.

Andrew graduated from Durham University in 2012 having read Anthropology and Geography. He started his marketing career at PepsiCo working in brand management on the Walkers brand. Since 2013, he has worked in PR for WPP at Hill+Knowlton and now Ogilvy as head of Ogilvy Pride UK. Ogilvy Pride, which launched earlier this year, aims to harness the consumer spending power of LGBT individuals in brand marketing and comms.
This year he joined the CIPR’s Diversity Council and was recognised by the Financial Times at number five as a future business leader.

Case Study: End Marmite Neglect

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With the nation facing imminent “Marmageddon”, W reignited Marmite’s 2013 Marmite Neglect campaign with a Marmite Neglect Helpline, a partnership with dating site MySingleFriend and a “career resurrection mission” for former Eastenders actor Dean Gaffney.

Campaign: End Marmite Neglect
Client: Unilever
PR Team: W
Timing: January – April 2015

Objectives

Less than 12 months after a hard-hitting TV campaign exposed the secret world of Marmite Neglect, it was clear that the UK was sliding back towards large-scale delinquency with regards to the polarising yeast extract-based spread.

With the scandal threatening to plunge the nation into “Marmageddon”, W’s mission was to show every man, woman and child the threat Marmite Neglect posed to the very fabric of society, encouraging Britons to reach into their cupboards and give Marmite renewed pride of place on the breakfast table.

Strategy

The ‘Marmite Neglect’ idea was born out of Unilever’s insight that while awareness of the product couldn’t be higher, frequency of use was slipping.

Britain had already been introduced to the scourge of Marmite Neglect through the hard-hitting TV campaign that made headlines (and sparked controversy) when it was first screened in 2013. Yet with a second on-screen run planned for January 2015, there was a danger that although the brand would be highly visible, the original impact would be impossible to replicate.

W grasped the potential for extending the Marmite Neglect idea, building an immersive, fictitious world around the concept and generating new socially fuelled content.

W re-imagined Marmite Neglect as an unfolding real-life scandal – apeing the ways in which the “shocking” news would break and play out in media.

An online “trailer” – conceived, scripted and filmed in just 19 days – was timed to create maximum anticipation and drama in the week prior to the TV campaign being re-aired. The trailer’s premiere on Facebook in January 2015 created an instant social media sensation.

As the TV campaign went live, W immediately responded by launching its Marmite Neglect Helpline – an 0800 number that made headlines across the national media.

Meanwhile, W ensured the brand had pride of place on the nation’s most influential tables, by producing customised labels for top restaurants and breakfast spots, including The Ivy Market Grill, Quo Vadis, and the Riding House Café – creating instant Instagram opportunities for influential brunch fanatics across the capital.

It negotiated a partnership with social dating platform MySingleFriend that encouraged singletons to state their Marmite preference in their profiles – enabling all parties to enter into relationships with their eyes open, and reduce the risk of any future Neglect. “Marmite Lover” and “Marmite Hater” immediately became as essential as “GSOH” for thousands of daters.

W then widened the Marmite Neglect Squad’s remit to end “Celebrity Neglect”. Resulting in an even more ambitious piece of content… the rescue and subsequent career resurrection of neglected Eastenders actor Dean Gaffney.

The film became the springboard for a media blitz in which Gaffney became the “face” of Marmite generating further social buzz through content such as personalised Vines to his showbiz chums.

Meanwhile, daily Marmite editorial conferences identified opportunities for rapid-fire social interaction, casting the Marmite jar (and toast) as a participant in news events from Madonna’s tumble at the Brit Awards to the Queen’s Birthday and General Election – creating an ongoing dialogue with brand fans and media and recognition from consumer and trade press, as well as Twitter’s senior management itself.

And finally, W’s in-house tech team developed the world’s first piece of “spreadable technology” – an app designed to bring Marmite Neglect to life for the smart- phone generation, tracking consumption to count down to a new purchase.

Results

Within 48 hours, the initial ‘End Neglect’ trailer smashed expectations, acquiring an extraordinary virality, achieving 1.5 million views within the first week, and clocking up the highest Twitter engagement rate of any Unilever video – ever.

The ‘Celebrity Neglect’ film with Dean Gaffney went on to achieve 90,000 organic views in the first 48 hours alone, while further personalised Marmite-themed Vine messages prompted huge spikes of consumer engagement on both brand- and media-owned channels.

Meanwhile, W’s highly responsive and agile content programme grew the Marmite community to 1.2 million, generated an average 8 million impressions per month and achieved recognition in both consumer and marketing press, including topping The Drum post-Brit Awards list of ‘brands that rose to the occasion’. Marmite is now regularly highlighted as an example of social and content best practice by both Twitter and Unilever.

The campaign delivered more than 150 pieces of premium coverage and helped drive an impressive 9% sales increase during the launch period.

The spectre of Neglect may still be with us – but for now, at least, the nation can sleep easy once more – with Marmite jars back on the breakfast table where they belong.

Got a cracking campaign – with impressive results – that you’d like to showcase? Email [email protected].

From Adpocalypse to Advertainment: the Mediatel Media Playground write-up

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Madison GiddingsI always know a Mediatel event is going to be a cracker, and the one I attended yesterday did not disappoint. The annual Media Playground conference consisted of thoroughly interesting guest speakers, a friendly audience of media industry types, intriguing questions and a bit of laughter along the way. Oh, and let’s not forget those bright green Martinis…

Cross-media Case Study

Mark Field, the Director of Invention at Trinity Mirror, took us through a case study of marketing he created for the Sky TV programme “You, me and the Apocalypse”. He told us how his role is to editorialise brands, creating content that matters to and inspires their audience. They serve “Modal Britain” – which is the middle 50%, and focus on the “3 B’s”:

Belief (inherited values) + Betterment (achievable aspirations) + Belonging (tight networks)

MF confirmed that content briefs are getting bigger, so they need to show the value of its worth.

For “You, me and the Apocalypse” he used a form of advertising he called “disruptive content.” He showed examples of asteroids blasting through newspaper mastheads, and TV listings which stopped after 9pm – because the “Apocalypse” would have happened by then. Even editorial spreads inspired by the programme were put alongside usual news stories in the papers.

Torin Douglas, a Media commentator, enquired about journalism: a lot of journalists think editorial and advertising should be separate, that writing is sacrosanct.

MF confirmed he works closely with editors and strives to strike a balance; figuring out what works for the reader.

Understanding and leveraging your audience data

Dominic Mills, a Mediatel columnist, kicked off the next section by turning the focus to data. He spoke of the need to use data intelligently, rather than through volume.

Steve Sydee, the Business Development Executive of IMGROUP, somehow managed to make his presentation on data – let’s all admit a pretty dry subject – rather interesting. He said the first thing you need to think about when it comes to data is what you actually want out of it: business intelligence – correct, consistent and connected.

“We are to traditional data what Netflix is to traditional broadcasting.”

He uses four steps for data collection: identify, connect, clean and master. A couple of examples of how to obtain information on customers to better their experience: wifi registration, Disney’s “magic bands” and membership cards. And from these, he said, you can create apps, discounts, online tour guides, and even a “Marauder’s Map” e.g. to track family members in a shopping outlet. SS’s two main tips:

  1. Don’t bombard customers.
  2. There has got to be some level of intimacy when tracking data – it has to be personalised.

Mediatel Conference

 

Visual DNA

 Jim Hodgkins, the Managing Director of VisualDNA, was  all about knowing the psychology of customers.

He implored that digital advertising needs to improve user  experience – “we believe people’s personalities are key to  this”. Creative programmatic is a major opportunity, with a  proven 50% increase on ROI. The big 5 personality types  VisualDNA focuses on are:

Openess – Conscientiousness – Neuroticism – Agreeableness  – Extraversion

They combine this with demographics, interests, intentions and personalities. He predicted that understanding and using personality drivers such as the above is the next big thing in advertising which has not been used yet…

Is this the future for social media?

Next Anthony Rose, co-founder and CEO of 6Tribes, gave a humour-filled presentation on social media (including using a list of “top pet peeves on social media” with one of the answers being “lists”).

His research had found that in advertising, no one was talking to individuals. This meant:

  • Advertising on social media is essentially spam – “brand spam”
  • Which means less relevant content
  • Millenials are actually deserting social media in the quest for authenticity (although they see Instagram as the most relevant).

This is where his new app 6Tribes comes in – instead of having a full feed of everything from anyone you follow, 6Tribes allows you to search and follow by topic.

The Internet of three things

I fully admit that after this conference I totally showed off about meeting a “Futurologist”. Tracey Follows (an apt name if I ever heard one) presented to us her prediction of the future of technology (not Mystic Meg style though – more data, charts, scientific research etc).

“Nothing is as transformative as the Internet of Things. The potential to change our everyday life is vast. It has been likened to the Industrial Revolution”.

She predicts that in the future there will be a platform for all things, and this perhaps is the cornerstone of Facebook’s strategy.

And now for the scary part (or exciting, depending on how you view things): The Internet of Thoughts – where technology will be embedded into humans. She used an example of thinking of a question and the technology inside you answering it immediately. This is genuinely plausible, but the timescale of this happening is what is debatable.

She thinks data will evolve:

Products as data -> relationships as data -> biology as data

This will mean “brands in the brain” – marketing will move from technology to biology. Capitalism will only get stronger, there will be more part-time work, although the concept of “weekends” would no longer exist.

But let’s think about the next five years: The Internet of Trusted Things. The more connected we are, the more vulnerable we are, and the cost of data mismanagement could be detrimental. The question she left us with:

“Can consumers trust the Internet of Things?”

Agency Panel

So, what do our industry experts think of all this?

Nicky Bullard, the Executive Creative Director of LIDA said the IOT is useful, if it makes our lives easier.

Paul Rowlinson, COO of Mindshare UK, thinks it is exciting although he resents how dependant he is on technology.

Nick Baughan, the CEO of Maxus, said brands need to get on top, with automatic replenishment. They need to focus on preference.

PR stated that agencies will need help. Wearable technology can now process emotions – but it’s what we do with that data that is important.

Nicky Bullard said there’s too much data. It’s all about relevancy. But it is exciting – creative agencies are becoming inventors.

Tracey Follows sees that start-ups are becoming all about the experience, with consumers having a say in creation. Bigger companies, however, are finding it harder to innovate whilst keeping the status quo.

TF continues by saying that more people (especially the young who are growing up with screens) are seeing technology as the truth and advertising as the liar. Whereas it’s probably the other way around – ads are public whereas technology is behind the scenes. Generation Z believes everything they see on screens.

Nicky Bullard agreed, saying that brutal and clumsy advertising is why people aren’t trusting brands.

Buzzfeed

After some 5 minute pitches from 4 different start-ups and a break for lunch, the conference continued with Kate Burns, the General Manager of Europe at BuzzFeed, interviewed by Torin Douglas.

Yes, some obligatory cat chat was mentioned (who doesn’t like a listicle of cute cats? Well me, I’m allergic, but I seem to be in the minority). Kate spoke about the vast different topics the site covers – yes, adorable animals, but also serious journalism.

“We are a content company – we serve the masses”.

The figures prove this: they get 2.5 billion views a month worldwide. She thinks the success is partly down to the fact they have perfected the production for mobile devices. Before joining the company, KB was drawn to the way that Buzzfeed isn’t obsessed with driving you to their site. They’ll serve the content you want to see.

TD stated that nobody is investing in journalism anymore… except Buzzfeed is. KB thinks news sites which are protected by paywalls “inhibit experience and in a lot of ways growth.” Buzzfeed uses native advertising only.

Mobile Fix Live

Simon Andrews, the founder of Addictive!, started his presentation by saying that mobile is mass market and mainstream – everyone has one! He did implore that mobile is not selling its virtues. We should get creative people involved; and video is the way forward.

The screen sessions – Virool

After a short presentation by Anne Tucker, the head of research at Mediatel, where she spoke of their new product Connected Screens (media neutral, consumer centric and it includes every screen), Brian Danzis, Global Chief Revenue Officer of Virool started his presentation with a strong statement:

“I HATE COMMERICALS”.

Que humorous Gif to reflect this. Don’t worry – he followed up with “but I love ads”. He said if we don’t change something soon the subscription model will usurp normal advertising.

He coined the word “Advertainment”. Advertisers need to connect with human emotions – it drives 90% of our thought activity and decision making. Authenticity matters and emotionally connecting is important.

Sky AdVance
Jamie West, Deputy Managing Director at Sky Media, says most channels see their audiences as customers and not viewers – which is where Sky differs.
Targeted and contextual advertising returns good investment and ethicacy.

To finish the day, Graham Lovelace, Director of Lovelace Consulting, said there seems to be a Silicon Valley view of TV. Netflix is television – we’re just having an existential crisis of definition. He continued by saying with the introduction of ad blockers we almost came close to Adpocalypse. When really, if you think of the John Lewis advert, the production can be similar to a beautiful little film.

Summary
From a close-call Adpocalypse to the surge of Advertainment, I learnt a lot at yesterday’s conference. Many interesting thoughts from our industry experts; it seems to succeed with advertising and technology in the future companies have to advance and adapt. And let’s not forget human-imbedded technology. “Brands in the brain” is a very real concept, although I think you’ll agree a little bit scary…

By Madison Giddings, Senior Content & Licensing Executive, Gorkana

 

Alistair Campbell says: stop celebrating (if you want to win)

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Last time you won a pitch or smashed a campaign, did you celebrate? Of course you did. But if you ask Alistair Campbell, you shouldn’t have.

I saw Campbell recently at my alma mater, giving a talk about the world’s most successful individuals – more specifically, people he interviewed for his book: Winners: And How They Succeed.

Campbell took us through what he believed to be the characteristics of people who accomplish incredible things – whether in politics, business, academia, etc. Indeed, the wide range of interviewees from Bill Clinton to Anna Wintour actually had a few things in common.

One of these commonalities was particularly interesting from a PR perspective – from the perspective of a viciously competitive industry where professionals have to prove their worth with every pitch, every meeting and every new idea. Campbell pointed out that most of his ‘winners’ never celebrated their successes. For them, it was more rewarding to readjust their goalposts than to pop a cork.

That said, I’m not suggesting we cut budgets for team nights out and work anniversary dinners. If you did that, well, good luck with that staff turnover. But Campbell makes a slightly jarring point – winners don’t rest on their laurels – they simply set their sights higher.

It’s worth keeping in mind when we look at where we’re putting our energies as competitors in such a fierce market. We relish the clinking and the bubbles and the promotions – but do we relish a new challenge in quite the same way? If not, the agency who wins at your next pitch probably does.

By Alison Williams, Associate Account Director, Gorkana

Case Study: Grolsch’s 400th Anniversary

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To celebrate Grolsch’s 400th anniversary this year, Eulogy, with the help of street art collective Graffiti Life, decided to grab the attention of 25 to 34-year-old drinkers by creating a “living billboard” featuring a giant swing top bottle made from 400 of its distinctive swing tops in just 400 minutes.

Campaign: Grolsch’s 400th Anniversary
Client: Molson Coors – Grolsch
PR Team: Eulogy
Timing: March 2015

Overview

There aren’t many brands that have stood the test of time like Grolsch. Its success over the past 400 years is due to the brand continuing to deliver a premium product that is true to its original roots. The essence of this is captured beautifully with the Grolsch swing top bottle; a bottle which has been used from the very beginning and is still synonymous with it today.

Molson Coors, which also owns Coors Light and Singha, as well as Grolsch, brought in Eulogy earlier this year to mark its 400th anniversary with a campaign that would put the Grolsch swing top bottle centre stage.

Objectives

The objectives were to make the global Grolsch 400th anniversary campaign famous in the UK, ensuring art, originality and the swing top bottle were key themes in the UK activation. Grolsch wanted to reignite consumers love for the brand, specifically targeting 25 to 34-year-old drinkers.

Strategy

Our inspiration was to create a one-of-a-kind stunt that communicated the originality of the Grolsch brand.

With art as an existing global platform for Grolsch, it made sense for this to be the springboard for the activity. As thoughts around the swing top bottle, art and the need for a celebration collided, we decided on a stunt that built excitement, was a truly unique and showcased everything Grolsch stands for.

Creating a giant swing top bottle from 400 individually customised swing tops as a living billboard, all in the space of 400 minutes, emphasised the anniversary in a fun, creative and engaging way.

Enlisting the talent of street art collective Graffiti Life to bring the concept of a live art installation/billboard build to life, we identified and secured a high footfall location that the target audience sees as trendy, relevant and inspiring for the activity – the Shoreditch Art Wall.

The element of a challenge – the build used 400 uniquely designed Grolsch swing top bottles and took place in 400 minutes – added a news hook for the media and developed a shareable story for passers-by over the course of the build.

We pre-sold the story to key targets to ensure live coverage during the build and to secure coverage of senior brand team members, who were on hand, on site for the duration.

By creating such a visually compelling stunt we also generated brilliant content so the beauty of it could be shared across all channels. It wasn’t just the passers-by, who shared their enjoyment on Instagram and Twitter with images of the build in action, who loved it. The media loved it and, crucially, the trade loved it too.

Results

Make the global Grolsch 400th anniversary campaign famous in the UK, ensuring art, originality and the swing top bottle are part of the UK activation:

  • The campaign saw a social reach of 1.2 million, with 100% positive sentiment.

Reignite consumers love for the brand, specifically targeting 25 to 34-year-old drinkers.

  • During the campaign period, which was aligned with ATL activity, Grolsch increased sales in the On Trade and Multiple Grocers by 3.26% with sales specifically in Multiple Grocers increasing by 38% year-on-year. Grolsch also increased household penetration for the first time in three years during this period and subsequently secured a listing with Morrisons supermarket.

Got a cracking campaign – with impressive results – that you’d like to showcase? Email [email protected].

 

Gorkana meets…Cosmopolitan editor Farrah Storr

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It’s three months since Farrah Storr was named the new editor of Cosmopolitan. In an exclusive interview with Gorkana, Storr talks about her move from startup title Women’s Health to such a long established heritage brand, plans to reinvent Cosmo content for the modern woman and her search for those bold “zeitgeist stories”.

You moved over from Women’s Health to become editor of Cosmopolitan in July. Three months on, how have you found the change?

Invigorating! That’s a fancy word for saying it’s a much bigger project and that I’ve had a few late nights since I started. But it’s amazing. They’re two very different brands obviously. Woman’s Health was a complete startup that began life in a small back room in Hearst with a teeny team and a lot of finger crossing.

Cosmopolitan is a huge, heritage brand with a much bigger team, and a long, rich history of editorial excellence. That’s interesting for me because I’ve had the chance to explore what every other Cosmopolitan editor did – right back to the 60s when Helen Gurley Brown took over. It’s a lot to live up to. With Women’s Health there was no blueprint – it was just: ‘make it work!’

Describe your role.

My role is everything from overseeing the reset of the brand across all platforms, to working closely with the commercial team and everything in between. I’m a features person at heart so I tend to spend far too much time hanging around the features department suggesting ideas that invariably can’t be done.

What makes it on to a Cosmopolitan cover?

Cosmopolitan has always stood out from the crowd. Go back to the 80s and it was the first magazine to put model Gia Carangi on the cover and print my favourite cover line ever: “Why Joan Collins Needs 12 Inches”. It’s a bold, smart and provocative brand, so our covers need to reflect that. So expect to see more interesting dynamics on the cover going forward.

We’ve dialled down the drama of the fashion a bit – so, less sparkles and more cool, casual clothes on our cover girls. This is really to let the cover lines speak even louder. And if they’re going to speak louder then they’ve got to be smart, funny and offer something totally unique. My homage to that Joan Collins cover line on my first issue was: Give Good Head – One Celebrity Shows You How (It was a story about making your hair look great…).

What’s new in the magazine?

Cosmopolitan still covers everything that the modern woman wants, we’ve just reinvented it a little. We’ve gone to the gym, introducing a new Move section. We’ve added a new food and travel section called Play, and given an increased focus on careers and making money.

Our fashion pages have become more instructional, providing readers with vital information such as how the hell you can pull off a furry gilet. Oh, and of course, it wouldn’t be Cosmopolitan without the unflinching relationship features.

The website relaunched last year with a new 360 degree approach to content. What’s the current balance between print and online content?

There’s a dedicated digital team that sit alongside the magazine team so we are able to keep the integration of the two channels as fluid and natural as possible. What the Cosmopolitan team is brilliant at is being agile and gauging the amount of time and exploration needed for both platforms. There’s no secret formula to how much time we spend on both – best story for best platform comes first.

Tell us about the Cosmopolitan reader.

She’s ambitious, funny and down to earth. Career and relationships take up a lot of her headspace.

The Cosmopolitan reader’s phone has been described by the editorial team as an extra limb. Is mobile content set to dominate the magazine?

No – but it is another way of reaching out to our audiences as well as reaching new consumers. Take Snapchat Discover, which we launched this year. It’s been a tremendous success with our younger audience, as well as those incredibly busy readers who only have a few minutes in their day to connect with the brand. People are hybrid readers – we know this now.

I tend to rely on Snapchat more at the beginning of the week when I’m running around; the website when I’ve a little more time from Thursday onwards and the magazine for weekends or on my long commute home. No platform is mightier than the other, but together they’re a pretty mighty force.

How best can PRs help with content?

Be specific. Find an angle, don’t just pitch me an idea on ten ways to beat a cold (in fact please don’t pitch that full stop). I’m interested in zeitgeist stories. What is bold and exciting that is happening on the cultural landscape right now. We want to know.

What’s the most common thing you have to tell PRs you don’t cover?

Babies – we don’t do babies. Or anything to do with arthritis. I did have a lovely PR trying to push that for many months. She gave it her best shot. Oh and please remember I don’t work at Women’s Health anymore, but I’d still be delighted to take any amazing health/fitness stories from you.

Finally, you recently wrote an article for the Telegraph speaking out about some of the issues facing women. How important is Cosmopolitan and other modern women’s magazines to female empowerment and challenging inequality?

I wrote an article about choosing not to have children. And I think it was very important that I wrote it to be honest. I was also very open about the fact that personally I’d find it very hard to do this job if I did have children. Many of the other editors I work with have children and manage their jobs beautifully – it’s just my personal choice not to.

I think journalism should be honest and vulnerable and truthful and as an editor you should always lead from the front. That’s why my editor’s letters are always a bit close to the bone – but hopefully they resonate. Glossy magazines get a lot of flack but they are brilliant at addressing issues of inequality and female empowerment – in fact it’s our duty to do so. That’s why campaigning is so important for Cosmopolitan. We are very privileged to have a voice that is heard. What would be the point of doing this job if we didn’t use that voice to make a change?

Farrah was talking to Gorkana’s Niall Davies.

Case Study: EE’s 4GEE Action Cam Launch Stunt

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To launch EE’s world first 4G-enabled camera 4GEE, M&C Saatchi PR was briefed to come up with an unforgettable moment to secure national front page coverage. To demonstrate the power of the 4GEE, the agency set in motion a stunt from UK urban adventurer James Kingston to become the first person in the world to stand on the top of Wembley Stadium’s famous arch.

Campaign: EE’s 4GEE Action Cam Launch Stunt
Client: EE (PR director Mat Sears and senior campaign leads Jessica Turner and Julian Lambert)
PR Agency: M&C Saatchi PR
Timing: June 2015

Overview

The campaign centred on the launch of EE’s 4GEE Action Cam. The device, which is revolutionising the fast-growing action camera market, provides the opportunity to live broadcast “unmissable” events and key moments with family and friends over EE’s 4G network.

Objectives

The objective of the campaign was to produce an unforgettable moment, which is worth capturing on camera, to launch EE’s new 4GEE Action Cam – the world’s first 4G-enabled camera. The stunt had to work in tandem with a press conference and unveiling of the camera, which was being handled by EE’s product agency, Nelson Bostock. M&C Saatchi PR was challenged to secure complementary front-of-paper coverage and support the traditional tech-focused product coverage.

Strategy

Our strategy consisted of several pillars of activity, working with urban adventurer James Kingston to perform a stunt of epic proportions, live-streaming a unique perspective of London from the top of the iconic Wembley arch and creating a breath-taking moment made possible only through the 4GEE Action Cam.

We captured the attention of both the media and public with powerful content of the stunt taken from the vantage point of a helicopter circling the stadium. A first of its kind stunt, set against the backdrop of the iconic arch, enabled us to create memorable still images and compelling video content.

To fully demonstrate the capabilities of the 4GEE Action Cam, the stunt was live streamed over EE’s 4G network to a press conference in central London where the product was being unveiled to media.

Building on the excitement and buzz we’d generated via the stunt, we were able to secure national media opportunities for James Kingston. Given he’s amassed nearly 200K YouTube Followers talking about his adventurous exploits, he was a natural at communicating the features of the camera to interviewers.

Mat Sears, director of PR and corporate comms at EE, said: “We constantly try to execute PR campaigns that make a real impact and we wanted James to do something that not only put his skill to the test but also demonstrated the new camera’s unique ability to stream live action via our 4G network where no WiFi is available.

“This was an exceptionally challenging execution, but with great risk comes great reward and thanks to the fantastic team at Wembley – who supported the project at every level – and our advanced connectivity in and around the stadium it was made possible. There can’t be many stadiums in the world where you can stand nearly 400 feet above the ground and still get a 4G signal of high enough quality to stream video content.”

Results

The results of the campaign speak for themselves. Some 336 pieces of coverage were achieved, generating a potential reach of over 82 million.

Stunning imagery from the stunt, expertly captured from a helicopter flying over the arch, was featured in almost every National paper (ten x National print), including the Daily Mirror, The Sun, The Independent and Daily Express.

James Kingston was interviewed by 21 broadcasters, appearing on Sky News, BBC London, BBC2 and The Simon Mayo Show.

To date, we have also seen 500,000 organic views across YouTube video content alone for the campaign. The EE branded stunt video content was also placed on a further 34 online media outlets.

Sales of the camera [undisclosed] exceeded all targets set at launch with no ATL support in the first week.

Got a cracking campaign – with impressive results – that you’d like to showcase? Email [email protected].

A spooktacular spectacle of agency musical bingo

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Last night we hosted an Indeedy Musical Bingo Halloween extravaganza (a game show meets dance party meets actual bingo) for some of our favourite London PR agencies, and it’s safe to say we’ll never be able to look at an inflatable dinosaur the same way again.

The event was held at Foundation Bar in Covent garden where 17 agencies battled it out to win a £250 cheque for a charity of their choice, alongside bragging rights, and a whole host of other very special prizes.

Indeedy Musical Bingo is like normal bingo but with songs instead of numbers. Participants were simply asked to listen out for a tune and mark it off on their sheet.

No one could have guessed the dance-offs, sing-offs, Macarena routines and pumpkin twerking that ensued! Nor could anyone have guessed that a sandwich maker and a hotdog outfit would be so desirable.

Hume Brophy were overall victorious and won £250 for their client Ovarian Cancer Action, but some might say that LEWIS PR with their dance moves and Wild Card, who gained a new team member were also #winning!

Check out the #GorkanaBingo hashtag on Twitter for some highlights, and if you’d like to find out about more Gorkana events, then have a look at our website or email the team at [email protected].

 

W promotes Sophie Raine to head of brand

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W has enhanced its senior leadership team with the promotion of associate director Sophie Raine to head of brand.

Raine, who first joined W in early 2014, will continue to work closely with the accounts teams in W’s brand division. She will also provide support to CEO Warren Johnson and MD Richard Tompkins to help manage the agency’s growth targets and take on the senior lead role in W’s Unilever business.

Raine joined W with more than nine years’ experience, including six years at Frank PR where she worked on a range of consumer and lifestyle brands.

Johnson said: “Sophie’s appointment reflects our talent strategy of promoting brilliant people from within. Since joining us 18 months ago, Sophie has made a huge impact on the agency teams as well as playing an instrumental role in winning and bedding in new business – resulting in the delivery of much of our award–nominated work in 2015.”

Raine said: “I’m incredibly passionate about this agency and believe we are setting the bar for creative work within the industry, so am delighted to step up to run its biggest division. I look forward to working alongside the senior management team to deliver our ambitious growth plans.”

Over the past year, W has reported annual billings rising by 45% to deliver a fee income of £3.4m in 2014.

As well as winning Mid-sized Consultancy of the Year at the PR Week Awards on Wednesday, W has recently opened an outpost in Singapore.