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Here’s a round-up of the essential PR news stories, people news and account wins that have been announced over the past week.
Account wins
The Lifestyle Agency has been appointed to re-launch Chelsea-based club Tonteria, with a focus on communicating its complete refurbishment.
Fujairah National Shipping, a UAE-based shipping company, has enlisted Tala to run a PR and marketing campaign that challenges its business rivals in the Gulf region.
Brand transformation company Wolff Olins has hired Propeller PR, the specialist media, advertising and technology PR agency, to support its communications strategy in the UK.
Iceland Foods has made Keith Hann its director of corporate affairs. Hann joined Iceland in 1984, when he handled the financial PR for its stock market flotation, and has been based in Deeside as its its PR advisor since 2009.
Allison+Partners has appointed Tony Katsulos to lead its Dallas office. Katsulos previously owned and operated healthcare and tech PR firm Jetstream Communications, and has served as a senior vice president and partner at Fleishman-Hillard in Dallas.
Global investment manager Allianz Global Investors has appointed Sarah Einig as communications manager. She will help drive the firm’s external communications, with a focus on media relations.
Burson-Marsteller has welcomed Mark Sands, a former City A.M. parliamentary lobby reporter, as a manager on its London team.
Comms consultancy Hume Brophy has appointed James Wharton, a former northern powerhouse and international development minister, as a senior adviser in its Brexit unit.
Wharton will provide strategic advice to Hume Brophy clients and will contribute to the development of public affairs strategies on Brexit and trade issues, alongside WTO expert and ambassador Stuart Harbinson.
Wharton joined the government in 2015 as the first minister for local growth and the northern powerhouse at the Department for Communities and Local Government. His responsibilities included local enterprise partnership policy, devolution deals, inward investment and infrastructure.
During the coalition government, Wharton used his private member’s bill to attempt to enshrine the Conservative Party‘s support for an EU referendum into law.
While the bill was ultimately defeated in the Lords, Downing Street ordered a three-line whip in support of it, paving the way for Brexit.
Ahead of the 2015 general election, Wharton sat on the Conservative Party’s board. He was also chairman of the United and Cecil Club, a business organisation that raises funds for Conservative Party candidates and campaigns.
A solicitor by profession, Wharton was MP for the pro-Brexit constituency of Stockton South from 2010-2017. He was not returned in 2017.
“James is acknowledged as one of the best and brightest in the Tory firmament and we’re delighted he chose to join us,” said Robert Condon, managing director at Hume Brophy. “James is a core part of our international Brexit team. His insight is acute and he is already a valued strategic adviser to clients.”
James Wharton added: “With Brexit underway the importance of good advice and insight has never been more obvious.
“Hume Brophy has built an incredible reputation and I am confident they are well placed to do even more in the years ahead. I know from my time in parliament how respected and effective they are and I am delighted to be joining the team.”
The appointment follows former Hume Brophy senior adviser Esther McVey’s return to the House of Commons as MP for Tatton in June.
The Register‘s editor-in-chief Drew Cullen will brief PRs on the best ways to pitch the publication stories in London’s Blue Fin Building on Wednesday 4 October.
Joined by senior reporter Kathleen Hall, he will discuss who the typical El Reg reader is, the best ways to reach the team and what stories they love to hear about.
Founded in 1994, this online IT publication has earned cult status for its dry, irreverent take on the latest tech news. Today, it has headquarters in London, San Francisco and Sydney and receives more than 9 million unique monthly browsers worldwide.
With a readership consisting primarily of British and American IT professionals, it’s the perfect destination for all your software, hardware, networking and IT security news.
Philip Smith, Cision’s head of content marketing and comms, said: “Meeting a journalist face-to-face is undoubtedly the best way to start a relationship with them, and I can’t wait to hear what Drew and Kathleen have to say during the live Q&A session.
“Cision’s media briefing events are a rite of passage for PR professionals, and this event in particular is essential viewing for anyone working in the tech, software, security or IT sectors.”
Demand is always high at these exclusive breakfast media briefings – so reserve your place now using the form below.
Please note, this event is exclusive to clients of Cision, Gorkana and PR Newswire. If you have any questions, email [email protected] and we’ll be happy to help.
Piing, a self-proclaimed “ethical alternative” to Uber, has appointed Milk & Honey PR to handle its launch into the London market.
Set up by British entrepreneurs Simeon Miighty and George Lee, Piing says it will take half the commission Uber does from its drivers, while charging customers the same.
“I was looking for an ambitious, energetic communications team to join me in building brand recognition for Piing and create a broader voice allowing us to reach our goals,” said Miighty. “Milk & Honey really stood out from the people I met and I am really excited about working with them as we launch Piing.”
Kirsty Leighton, managing partner of Milk & Honey PR, added: “We are so excited about working with the team to launch Piing. The timing couldn’t be better with London crying out for a safer, more ethical British alternative to Uber right now.”
Specialist food, drink and hospitality agency William Murray Communications has appointed John Moss and Chris Dines as chairman and financial director respectively.
Moss joins the company from JA Consulting, replacing Karen Browne. Over the course of a 30-year career, he has also been an executive director at Ernst & Young and was managing director at the UK subsidiary of US biotech company Sanofi Genzyme.
Dines is a chartered accountant who has held various financial director and CEO roles, including at consulting business Ovum, where he oversaw the company’s IPO in 2006.
Anita Murray, CEO of William Murray Communications, said: “I couldn’t be more pleased to have John and Chris join our board at this exciting time for the agency. Both have an impressive and proven track record of helping companies capitalise on new opportunities.
“We have tremendous talent at William Murray Communications and their skills and experience will help us strengthen the team as we move the agency on to the next level.”
With help from Paul Hender, Cision’s head of insight for EMEA, she outlined a simple measurement framework with the potential to enhance the performance of any earned media initiative.
In just six weeks, Slimming World used it to increase its audience reach by 25%, generate 11,000 web sessions – and prove that its earned media coverage was directly driving new signups.
“Coverage reached 66% of the UK adult population,” she said. “So we don’t know where you were if you weren’t hearing about Slimming World in January!”
“The framework was a really fantastic resource for us,” she continued. “And [so was] working with Cision to use all of that media monitoring – all the coverage that we were generating – and really understand what impact it was making.”
As part of AMEC measurement month 2017, this webinar is essential viewing for anyone interested in running world-class earned media programmes.
Why measurement is an essential part of modern PR
Hender quipped: “Money follows measurability. If you can use data to prove efficiency, you can make the business case for more investment [in earned media].”
In an increasingly fragmented media environment, he said it’s more important than ever to ensure your message is reaching the right audiences. What’s more, company execs have never been more aware of the importance of reputation management.
“The fragmentation of media has resulted in fragmented audiences,” Hender continued. “It’s harder to reach key audiences without understanding the specific channels these audiences use. These fragmented audiences can have very different views of the world.”
He added: “With so much of a company’s value linked to its reputation, it’s no wonder that there’s a big risk of reputational damage causing actual damage to company values.”
All this means it’s never been more important to incorporate measurement into your PR programmes – and that’s where this simple measurement framework comes in.
Start by defining what success looks like
In order to measure the success of any campaign, you must first outline exactly what you are trying to achieve. So, goal setting is a fundamental part of any PR programme.
For its ‘Dream Weight’ campaign, Slimming World wanted to inspire people to actually lose the weight they’ve also wanted to. In the process, it aimed to establish recognition of the brand as a leading weight loss organisation and inspire confidence in Slimming World’s effectiveness.
“We’re lucky in that our organisation is very clear on what its objectives are,” Caven explained. “It’s not easy. It did take us some time, but it’s absolutely worth doing – because I promise you we wouldn’t have got to where we were without them.”
Measure the quality and impact of your coverage
When measuring the outputs of your campaigns, Hender recommended using a combination of quantitative, qualitative and targeting metrics.
That is, it’s best to measure how much coverage you’re generating (e.g. impressions), what type of coverage it is (e.g. sentiment) and whether you’re reaching the right audience (e.g. demographics).
To achieve this, Slimming World partnered with Cision to survey 10,000 people making up the campaign’s target audience to establish how they perceived the brand both before and after the campaign was run.
As a result, the company was able to identify the most effective publications to focus its activities on, attract 18% more customers than it did the previous year and show that this was a direct result of its earned media initiatives.
Healthy food company Pollen + Grace has awarded its consumer PR brief to Bland PR to increase its national presence.
The agency has been tasked with communicating the brand’s journey from London food-on-the-go brand to “national player” after securing increased retail distribution.
“Like us, Pollen + Grace is in a period of growth and we are excited to see where we can take them as we are growing together,” said Alice Bland, director at Bland PR. “We want to work with brands we believe in, and see a huge opportunity for Pollen + Grace to grow within the wellness market.”
She added: “We feel there is a need in the market to give challenger brands like Pollen + Grace as much of a voice in the industry as the giants that dominate it.”
Stephanie Johnson, co-founder Pollen + Grace, concluded: “We wanted to work with an agency that is going to be part of our journey and is investing in our investment.
“Bland PR has the drive and passion for our business to take us where we want to be. The agency demonstrates strategic insight and has the contacts to elevate us to a national player in the food and drink market.”
Tavistock Communications has appointed Mark Foxwell, a former Cubitt Consulting director, as director of its corporate team.
Foxwell spent two years at Cubitt and has also worked as an account director at integrated comms agency Teamspirit.
With 12 years’ experience at titles including the Financial Times and The Mail on Sunday, Foxwell is an award-winning journalist. He is also a qualified investment advisor with a diploma from the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment.
Jos Simson, CEO at Tavistock, said: “We are delighted to welcome Mark to Tavistock. His broad experience in financial services and journalism background will make him a tremendous asset to our expanding team, as we continue to grow the business.”
Foxwell added: “Tavistock is at an exciting stage in its history and I am delighted to be joining the team and be part of the upward trajectory of the firm.”
This year’s Creative Shootout award is now open for entries, with a £30,000 brief for hunger charity FareShare on offer for the winning agency team.
The winner will also receive a £250,000 media prize fund from digital advertising partnership 1XL to help stage the campaign. The organisation represents 800 local news brands and has a unique monthly audience of 23 million people.
Entrants must visit the Creative Shootout website and submit something the judges “can digest in just 60 seconds” before Tuesday 28 November.
Judges including TV personality Jason Gardiner and talent manager Professor Jonathan Shalit will then select eight teams to compete in the live final at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts on Thursday 25 January 2018.
The live final involves a head-to-head creative pitch, with the teams receiving the brief from FareShare at lunchtime and then having four hours to perfect their pitch – before delivering it in front of the judges and a live audience.
Johnny Pitt, founder of Creative Shootout, said: “The Shootout came from a simple place. Namely, that creativity needs to be celebrated and showcased better. It’s ripped up the awards rulebook in the process, nurturing and showcasing the best creative talent out there, in a radical and real time format – and doing some good in the meantime.”
Integrated communications agency One has been appointed to deliver a targeted marketing campaign to raise awareness of Bupa‘s health assessment service.
The campaign launches in October and will encourage people across the Midlands and central London to consider taking a Bupa health assessment via radio advertising, direct mail and digital assets.
“One completely understood the campaign requirements and replied to our brief with an insight-driven and creative approach,” said Suzanne Aspden, head of consumer marketing at Bupa. “We were impressed by the team’s enthusiasm, knowledge and experience and we’re waiting with anticipation to assess the results the activity delivers.”
Will English, client services director at One, added: “Bupa is a nationally-renowned organisation, so we were thrilled to have been appointed to deliver this project.
“Bupa complemented us on the time and effort we’d taken to understand the customer and the consideration we had given to the strategy. This enabled us to develop creative which is emotive and encourages people to take action without scaremongering.”
