Walbrook PR wins two life sciences accounts

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Walbrook PR, a financial PR and investor relations firm specialising in small cap and AIM listed companies, has been appointed as financial PR advisor on two separate businesses: Motif Bio and Surgical Innovations Group.

Motif Bio is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing antibiotics to fight serious and life-threatening infections. Surgical Innovations designs and manufactures innovative devices for minimally invasive surgery and industrial markets.

Both firms are AIM listed life sciences companies.

Paul McManus, MD and founder of Walbrook PR (pictured), said: “We are delighted to have won the mandates for both Motif Bio and Surgical Innovations – which reinforces our well-established position as a leading PR and IR adviser to smaller growing life sciences’ businesses.”

McManus will handle both accounts. He founded Walbrook PR in 2009 to assist smaller growing companies in raising their profile among investors, analysts, and the media.

uSwitch briefs Brands2Life

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Brands2Life has been handed an energy PR brief by online price comparison and switching website uSwitch, with a remit to enhance the brand’s position as a “consumer champion”.

The agency will develop campaigns to encourage more people to switch energy suppliers to save money,brands2life with a particular focus on reaching new audiences of energy consumers, with different needs.

uSwitch aims to help consumers get better deals on gas, electricity, home phone, broadband, digital TV, mobile phones and personal finance.

Brands2Life will report to Charlotte Nunes, head of PR at uSwitch.

Nunes said: “We chose to work with Brands2Life because we needed an agency to help with innovative ways to tackle the apathy around switching, help us reach new audiences and build our profile in consumer media. We are a strong consumer champion and want to use this reputation to encourage more people to get a better deal on energy.”

Sarah Scales, co-founder of Brands2Life, said: “uSwitch.com is a market leader and we’re thrilled to have been appointed to start tackling some of the big issues around energy switching. We’re looking forward to working with the uSwitch.com team to build the company’s brand with new audiences.”

VTB Bank appoints Hudson Sandler

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Financial and corporate PR firm Hudson Sandler has been appointed by VTB Bank, Russia’s second largest bank, to support its international communications.

The agency will manage VTB’s strategic communications across EMEA and Asia.

VTB Bank provides financial services across retail, corporate, and investment banking markets globally. Its shares are listed in London, New York and Moscow.

Andrew Hayes, Hudson Sandler Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to be working with VTB Bank, an important player in the global banking sector, and leading Russian financial services group. VTB is a key addition to Hudson Sandler’s portfolio of Russian and financial services clients.”

Hayes will lead the account, along with support from Alex Clelland, head of financial services, and Elena Garside, client director.

Hudson Sandler is based in London and specialises in capital and debt markets, financial services, real estate, and TMT. Its current Russian clients include the Russia Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Gazprom Neft, and Severstal.

Trio join Buchanan to strengthen strategic comms offer

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Buchanan, the WPP-owned financial and business comms consultancy, has hired three new team members to strengthen its strategic communications offer.

Hannah Brandstaetter and Chris Judd join as account directors. Also, Patrick Hanrahan joins as account executive.

Brandstaetter joins Buchanan from Media Zoo; Judd arrives after working at BP and Hanrahan left Tulchan Communications for his new role.

Richard Oldworth, chairman at Buchanan, said: “We are delighted to welcome Hannah, Chris and Patrick to Buchanan. The appointments reflect our strategy to broaden and further strengthen our strategic communications offer. Hannah and Chris bring in-depth knowledge and expertise of corporate and crisis communications and investor relations and sustainability, respectively, skill sets which complement our existing consultants.”

minicabit hires Threepipe

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minicabit, an online minicab comparison and booking site, has appointed Threepipe to run its global paid search campaigns, with a brief to drive UK bookings.

minicabit works with more than 750 fleets of local taxis in over 300 UK towns and cities, and enables threepipeusers to pre-book cabs online and via its mobile apps.

Threepipe will target customers looking to compare prices and features and then pre-book local cabs. Activity will include supporting Chauffeurit.com, minicabit’s premium platform, which recently launched with Heathrow Airport and is aimed at business and corporate travellers.

Amer Hasan, CEO of minicabit, said: “We were really impressed with Threepipe’s approach to our business and the opportunities which they suggested. Its track record in helping other similar innovative companies scale their growth quickly and profitably was a key factor in the appointment.”

Farhad Koodoruth, co-founder of Threepipe, said: “We are delighted to be working with such an innovative business. Maximising the performance of minicabit’s search spend in a highly competitive market is a great challenge and our approach is already delivering improved results.”

Web-building platform Weebly hands UK brief to W

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Weebly, a Silicon Valley-based web-building platform forecast to hit a $1bn valuation in 2016, has appointed W as its UK comms agency, as it looks to enhance its presence in the European market.

weebly

Backed by Sequoia Capital and with more than 25 million users, Weebly has briefed W to increase awareness of the brand in the UK and drive signups to its offering, with a particular focus on start-up businesses.

The W team will also promote a range of success stories among Weebly’s existing two million UK users, and launch a series of ‘entrepreneurship roadshows’, which will feature digital masterclasses and web-building workshops.

Dion McKenzie, country manager at Weebly, said “We were really impressed with W’s understanding of the technology and SME landscape in the UK, and its considered proposal to support our ambitious plans. We are looking forward to working together on the exciting activation ideas for bringing Weebly to the UK’s budding entrepreneurs.”

Warren Johnson, founder and CEO of W, said: “Weebly has already revolutionised website building for more than 30 million people across the world, and operates in more than 170 economies. At W, we’re passionate about entrepreneurship, and are extremely excited to support Weebly as it looks to grow its customer base here in the UK – empowering more people to turn their passions into successful businesses.”

Hope&Glory wins Center Parcs brief

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Family short break provider Center Parcs has brought in Hope&Glory as its retained consumer brand agency, with a brief to promote the brand as a “champion” of family time.

Hope&Glory

Center Parcs, which launched in the UK nearly 30 years ago, has five locations across the UK, offering short break holidays in forested locations. It claims an annual occupancy rate of 98%.

Hope&Glory, which won the account following a three-way pitch, has been briefed to position the Center Parcs brand as a “champion” of family time through editorial and social channels.

The PR campaign will build on the brand’s new creative platform around family time, which was unveiled in January as a 60 second TV commercial devised by ad agency Brothers and Sisters.

Jo Carr, Hope&Glory’s managing partner, will lead the account.

Simon Kay, PR manager for Center Parcs, said: “Throughout the pitch process, the team at Hope&Glory demonstrated a real willingness and desire to understand the challenges Center Parcs faces as a brand. This has resulted in some very clear, well-thought through ideas, which I am looking forward to seeing come to life over the next few months.”

Carr added: “Center Parcs is going through a real journey in its communications strategy – from being solely about its amazing product to a focus on the customer experience and the benefits their short breaks have to offer. So it’s a very exciting time to be working with them.

“We all know that modern families struggle to balance work, chores and quality time together and Center Parcs – with its forest locations – feels uniquely placed to help them reconnect. We’re looking forward to challenging some of the misconceptions that exist about the brand and further strengthening its position in the market.”

Yellow Jersey wins Videojug brief

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Felicity Winkles insertYellow Jersey PR has been retained by Videojug, the digital publisher of consumer and corporate videos.

The independent business comms agency will develop and implement B2B and B2C media relations campaigns to raise Videojug’s profile.

Videojug provides branding video services and enables businesses to target tens of millions of viewers through branded content and its own proprietary channels. These include Scoff.TV, Posestyle.com, and Decobliss.com.

Felicity Winkles, director at Yellow Jersey, said: “All of our work revolves around messaging and media relations, helping position clients in a crowded market place to ensure that the right message is heard by key audiences. Our corporate division is excited to be working with Videojug, an energetic and highly innovative player in the media-tech space, on this new PR brief.”

Winkles will run the account, with support from consultant Josh Cole.

Based in London, Yellow Jersey specialises in developing communications campaigns combining media relations and complementary disciplines. Recent account wins this year include TechFinancials, Tender Space, and Gaming Realms.

 

Synergy launches Beko’s new FC Barcelona campaign

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Home appliance brand Beko has hired sports and entertainment marketing specialist Synergy to handle the global launch of its sponsorship of FC Barcelona, following a competitive pitch.

Synergy has developed a PR, digital and experiential campaign, which will be co-ordinated across key Beko markets around the world from Synergy’s London office.

The ‘Official Partner of Play’ campaign, which launched earlier this month, aims to celebrate FC Barcelona as the “most playful team on the planet”, as well as promote Beko’s product range as offering people more time to “play” within their busy lives.

Animations of FC Barcelona stars, including Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Neymar Jr and Gerard Piqué, will appear in advertising, in-store, in-stadia, real-time social media elements of the campaign and on digital channels in coming months.

The campaign will also feature “money-can’t-buy” opportunities for fans, including the chance to play football at Camp Nou, FC Barcelona’s football stadium.

George Mead, International brand manager at Beko, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Synergy to activate our partnership with FC Barcelona, one of the most iconic clubs in world sport. Our sponsorship of Barça has huge potential and we know that Synergy will help unlock and deliver this across key territories.”

Adam Raincock, director of comms at Synergy, added: “Beko is one of the leading home appliance brands in the world and we are very excited to be working with them on maximising the potential of this exciting partnership with FC Barcelona.

“Our purpose at Synergy is to create the world’s most inspiring, innovative and effective sports and entertainment marketing. I’m proud that we can do this with Beko to deliver a disruptive campaign that drives engagement.”

Beko is a Premium Partner of FC Barcelona and is into the second year of a four-year deal with the football team.

Future of the Press – Vikki Cook of Cookie Media on events

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In the second part of our series looking at the future of the press with board members of the London Press Club (LPC), Gorkana‘s Ronan George talks to LPC director Vikki Cook, founder and owner of Cookie Media, about what journalists want from their own events, the changing media landscape and lessons she has learnt from her career highlights, including the launch of London Live.

You’re a director of the London Press Club (LPC) and now head up its events committee. What does the role entail and what can we expect from LPC events in 2016?

I’ve been a director on the LPC Board since 2013 and was recently asked to chair a new events Committee.  I have two key areas I want to focus on. First off I want to drive an ambitious new programme of events, so that we create a real buzz around the London Press Club.

We have two fantastic annual pillars in the LPC diary – the Awards lunch and the LPC Ball – so I will concentrate on building on the monthly debates and discussions, which attract good press pick up.  Secondly, I want to increase membership. While we have the word Press in our name, we want to attract journalists from across all platforms and disciplines.

Why should people join the London Press Cub?

London Press Club has some of the best journalism within its DNA and operates out of one of the most vibrant cities in the World. We have just announced a fantastic new partnership with the Corinthia hotel in central London, which gives us an amazing new venue for our monthly social meet ups. This is where journalists and opinion formers, both new and old, can come and meet face to face in a relaxed and informal setting.

LPC is all about providing a strong network for journalists, so a lot of work is also going on behind the scenes on our digital presence. Modern club membership is also a competitive thing, so we’re currently looking at additional benefits associated with becoming a member of LPC, which we’ll announce over the coming months.

From webinars to social media, there are more ways for people to connect than ever. Why are you confident in the future of media and journalism face to face events?

Nothing will ever replace the importance of face-to-face communication within journalism and the media industry.

Whether it’s to gauge opinion, connect with your audience, establish trust with contacts, or merely have fun with your colleagues, you cannot simply replace human interaction with a digital interface. It’s important to strike the  right balance. Webinars and social media provide fantastic and easy ways to hook up, maximising diary time and spanning continents, but all too often people hide behind their computers – a personal approach is so much more effective.

Your career to date has taken in the BBC, Sky News, Five News, and the launch of London Live. What has been the highlight?

Working for a big broadcaster is amazing, but launching London Live has to be the highlight. It’s rare to be asked to launch a brand new channel and it is one of the most exciting things you can do in television. Seeing your creation come to life, from a blank sheet of paper, is an incredible feeling.

Is there anything that in hindsight, you’d like a second shot at?

Yes – presenting on national radio.

You are currently running your own company, Cookie Media. What sort of projects are you currently involved in?

I’m spinning a lot of plates, which won’t surprise anyone that knows me as I’m not very good at sitting still. I’m working with a number of digital companies, which are looking to move into the content arena as that’s definitely where the current focus is. I’m also still passionate about good quality television, so I’m working on a couple of specific TV projects.  I’m also involved in Women in Leadership training, trying to build my website and finish a TV sitcom…though there doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day.

Throughout your career, the way audiences consume news content, and the way it is presented, has changed. What has been the biggest lesson you’ve learned?

Change is good. Of course the way we consume content has changed and it will continue to do so, that’s  progress. Technology now defines much of the way we live our lives and we should embrace that. My one word of caution, however, is never take your eye off of the quality of your product. You can aspire to play your content on the moon if you wish, but you must be producing something that people actually want to watch and share.

How important have PRs been in your career?

Good PRs are always important to journalists as a source of ideas, contacts and story leads. But, they must understand the company or individual they are pitching to and they must understand their own product. If they can’t sell it to me on the ‘phone, how the hell am I going to sell it to an audience? One of my favourite examples was during the 2005 General Election. I was running the political unit in Westminster for Sky News and a PR rang me to see if I’d like to do something about the latest UK Breastfeeding Survey…

We’ve also seen enormous changes in print media, with the rise of digital, paywalls and newspaper closures – with The Independent and Sunday Independent recent casualties.  What do you foresee for the broadcast news industry in the short, medium and long-term?

The eye watering speed with which the digital world is maturing means that it will continue to play an ever more dominant role within broadcast news, but I strongly believe that those who talk of the imminent demise of TV, will have a much longer wait then is often predicted. People have the luxury of choice as to where and how they consume their news now, which is why the quality of the content has to be first class.

Broadcast news must continue to evolve, but it’s not just all about technology – it’s about people too. One of the best things about launching London Live, was recruiting my entire team from scratch.  There’s currently a lot of talk about the need for diversity among the bigger broadcasters, but who is really leading the way?

I am a passionate advocate of strong and inspirational leadership, so we need to start seeing real proof of change – not only to encourage the new and emerging talent, but also create a product that will appeal to – and inspire – a whole new generation of news consumers.

What is the single biggest piece of advice you would offer a prospective broadcast journalist?

Be honest, be yourself and never lose your sense of humour.

Vikki Cook is a director of The London Press Club. The Club provides opportunities for journalists and others interested in the media to meet and learn of new developments, debate the latest issues and explore our collective past as communicators. It runs a range of regular events from networking drinks, sponsored by Gorkana, to discussions on matters of importance not only to journalism, but to the furtherance and protection of free speech throughout the world.

Earlier in the series, Gorkana talked to Squawka’s Amar Singh about the future of sports journalism and content.