Golin UK introduces unlimited staff holidays

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Golin UK has launched a “Life Time” scheme for its employees, which features unlimited holidays, flexible working and enhanced paternity pay and maternity leave, which it claims will help tackle diversity and the gender pay gap in PR.

From 4 April, all 150 London employees will benefit from the Life Time scheme, which includes unlimited annual leave, six weeks paid leave for new fathers, reduced hours and office time around official maternity leave, work from anywhere flexibility, including a day a week at home, and a wellbeing allowance of £50 a month.

The programme follows last week’s publication of the Women & Equalities Committee’s gender pay gap report, which recommends the Government improves flexible working and equal share of childcare to help mothers stay in the workplace.

A statement from Golin also said that employers who don’t address the gender pay gap and offer more flexibility “stop being attractive to the millennial generation”.

“Millennials expect employers to be flexible, family-friendly and supportive – it influences the companies they choose to work for and stay with.”

Bibi Hilton, MD at Golin London, said: “Making sure our people are happy, healthy and feel supported in balancing their work, personal and family lives is Golin’s number one priority. People want more flexibility and personalisation in the way they work and we are responding to these cultural changes in the workplace.

“We believe the ‘one size fits all’ concept of everyone being in the office nine to five and having the same holiday allowance is outdated and doesn’t enable the best possible work, so we’re changing it.”

Meet the Quartz editorial team

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Gorkana has a few places available at next week’s exclusive media briefing (5 April) with Jason Karaian, senior European correspondent at digital news outlet Quartz.

One of the digital news success stories of the moment, Quartz describes itself as a digitally native news outlet, born in 2012, for business people in the new global economy. It publishes “bracingly creative and intelligent journalism with a broad worldview, built primarily for the devices closest at hand: tablets and mobile phones.”

Jason, who is senior Europe correspondent for Quartz and based in London, will talk to us about how the title reports on the new global economy, the current business environment and the ‘obsessions’ which drive the editorial team.

Having spent ten years at The Economist Group, first at the European edition of CFO Magazine writing about the financial aspects of business and, later, as financial services editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit, Jason has a unique perspective on what Quartz’s readers expect and how the title delivers.

The breakfast briefing will take place at 1 Wimpole Street, Marylebone,  London, W1G 0LZ on Tuesday 5 April at 8:30am (8am arrival).

There are still a few spaces available, so please email [email protected] if you would like to attend.

TechFinancials

TechFinancials brings in Yellow Jersey

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TechFinancials, an AIM-listed software provider to binary options brokers, has hired Yellow Jersey as its retained financial and corporate PR.

The company has brought in Yellow Jersey as it looks to increase its presence in the Asia Pacific region following the announcement of a joint venture with the owners of Hong Kong-based Optionfortune, a binary options trader.

Yellow Jersey director Felicity Winkles will run the account alongside senior consultant Alistair de Kare-Silver.

Yellow Jersey MD, Dominic Barretto, said: “We are delighted to have been appointed by TechFinancials. It is an exciting company operating in a sector with genuine growth potential and we look forward to communicating the Company’s investment strengths to the investor community.”

In January Yellow Jersey won a retained brief for population data analytics firm Trendit.

Siemens Home Appliances briefs Publicasity

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Siemens has chosen Publicasity to handle the UK PR for its range of cooking, cooling and washing appliances, following a four-way pitch.

Publicasity will work with Siemens to promote its cooking, cooling and washing products, which are manufactured by BSH Home Appliances, through consumer show exhibitions, sponsorships and media events.

The agency will also promote the Siemens’ ‘For a life less ordinary’ message across all its categories.

The account will be led by Julie Malamute, associate director at Publicasity, who will report to Heather Butcher, group marketing manager, PR and comms, at BSH Home Appliances.

Butcher said: “From the beginning Publicasity got under the skin of the brand and understood what we needed to achieve this year and how best to do it. We are looking forward to working together on our integrated campaigns for 2016.”

Malamute added: “Siemens is truly an extraordinary brand with incredible innovation and stunning design. We are delighted to represent Siemens’ home appliances in the UK and bring to life our plans to help increase the brand’s perception and desirability.”

Champollion hires Nadler as planning lead

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Jo-Anne Nadler - head shotChampollion, a public policy communications consultancy, has recruited Conservative political commentator Jo-Anne Nadler to head up its planning comms division.

Nadler will sit on the company’s board alongside non-executive directors David Hill, former director of comms for Tony Blair, Craig Morley, founder of Challenge, and Ian Wright, director general of the Food and Drink Federation.

Her experience covers political communications and journalism. She has worked in media and comms for the Conservative Party and as programme maker and reporter with the BBC.

Estelle McCartney, Champollion MD, said: “The arrival of Jo-Anne marks an exciting new chapter for Champollion as we look to grow our planning offer and deepen our public affairs expertise. She is one of the country’s most experienced Conservative political communicators and we are thrilled to welcome her to the business.”

Nadler added: “I am delighted to come on board as a director to head up Champollion’s new planning comms division as well as bringing Conservative perspective, knowledge and contacts to the team’s established expertise.”

Solar Media partners with Whitehouse for policy support

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Solar Media, which publishes trade titles including Clean Energy News and Solar Power Portal, is working with The Whitehouse Consultancy to raise its profile with industry leaders in the clean energy sector and help it “engage positively” within the policy environment.

The brief asks the agency to  use the development of high-profile discussion events at industry conferences to raise the profile of Solar Media. Whitehouse will also contribute news content to Solar Media’s online news portals and print publications regularly.

It will deliver policy insight for Solar Media’s Clean Energy Summit in April (formerly Large Scale Solar UK) which takes places in Twickenham, the Rooftops UK series in July and September, and the Clean Energy Live event in October in Birmingham’s NEC.

Helen Munro, Whitehouse MD, said: “The solar industry has grown exponentially in recent years and promises an exciting future as we transition towards a low-subsidy environment. Under this new partnership, we will provide real insight into current and future policy opportunities and challenges in the UK and the EU and how they affect business ambitions and investments.”

Tim Mann, MD at Solar Media, added: “We’re delighted to be working with the Whitehouse team. They bring an enormous amount of policy knowledge at a time when we’re likely to see numerous major announcements for the clean energy sector.

“We enjoyed working with Whitehouse during Solar Energy UK last year and look forward to continuing to share their insights with our readers and delegates.“

Cubed

LJFpr rebrands to Cubed

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Manchester-based LJFpr has picked up two briefs to work with recruitment group Rethink and the Institute of Directors (IoD). It has also rebranded to Cubed as it expands its services to include content creation.

The agency will handle a global PR brief for Rethink, advising on the company’s comms across the UK, Ireland and Asia. Cubed’s brief includes internal and external comms and managing corporate announcements, as well as promoting its divisions including Rethink Recruitment and the RTM talent management arm.

Andy Lord, Rethink COO, said: “Our business has grown substantially in recent years and a series of acquisitions and organisational changes mean we need a robust, international communications strategy and that is what Cubed has quickly and adeptly evolved for us in recent weeks.”

Cubed will also manage the PR for the IoD in the North West, promoting the body with a media relations brief which includes regional press.

The rebrand, Cubed MD Leanne Forshaw Jones explains, is a reflection of the business’ three core offerings; consulting with clients, content creation and communication with the relevant media.

Manulife Asset Management briefs FWD PR

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Manulife Asset Management, a fund manager with some $301bn (£211bn) in AUM (assets under management), has brought in FWD as its PR representative for Europe and the UK.

FWD’s Gug Kyriacou, Cat Ommanney and Adam Shaw will manage the Manulife brief. They will work alongside Brian Carmichael, MD of public relations at Manulife Asset Management, who is based in Boston, MA.

Earlier this year FWD directors Kyriacou and Elliot Lane completed a management buyout from the agency’s founder Michael Gaughan.

Three wins for Intelligent Conversation

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PR, social and content agency Intelligent Conversation has won three health and social care sector briefs from charitable trust Life Leisure, the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care devolution project and the NHS Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group.

The agency has been briefed to provide media relations, content marketing and social media support to raise the profile of Life Leisure.

A charitable trust and not-for-profit social enterprise, Life Leisure runs 13 sports and leisure facilities in and around Stockport, delivering activity programmes in neighbourhoods across the area.

Intelligent Conversation will also redesign the website for the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care devolution project, which aims to transfer certain healthcare powers and responsibilities from national government to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

The agency aims to make the new site, which went live in December 2015, more consumer-friendly and easier to navigate.

Also, the team will develop a new website for NHS Stockport Clinical Commissioning Group, which is responsible for local health services from Stockport Primary Care Trust, delivering a user-friendly streamlined portal for both patients and staff.

Kate Jones, head of health and social care at Intelligent Conversation, said: “These are three significant wins which further extend our expertise in the health and social care arena. It’s great to have the opportunity to support projects that can directly benefit people’s lives.”

Well Hello wins Sown & Grown

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Well Hello, an independent PR agency set up by WE Communications’ Nick Woods and Cow PR’s Lisa Taylor in February, has been hired by Great Little Grains to launch its new cereal brand Sown & Grown.

Great Little Grains was founded in 2015 by former Cereal Partners UK marketing controller Phil Toms and former Weetabix sales director David Revell. Sown & Grown is a range of mueslis and granolas packaged in tubes and exclusively available in J. Sainsbury stores.

Well Hello has been briefed to enhance awareness of the brand and gain trials from a mix of influencers through social , digital and traditional media.

Lisa Taylor, Well Hello partner, will lead the account and report to Great Little Grains co-founder Phil Toms.

Toms said: “Well Hello is an agency focused on helping people look, feel and do good, an ethos which many contemporary businesses will find fits with who they are and what they want to say to the world, including us.

“I’ve been impressed by Lisa and her team since the first meeting and really had decided I wanted them to help support our launch from very early on in our discussions.”

Taylor added: “The cereal aisle has lacked innovation for some time and we’re delighted to be working with a British company and brand determined to shake things up a little.

“We have community management, social advertising, blogger events and a whole host of seeding activity lined up in the next few weeks.”