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Alma PR is providing comms support to UK utilities supplier Yü Group following a successful float on London’s AIM market.
Yü Group is an independent supplier of gas and electricity which focuses on UK SMEs.
It raised £10m in what the company describes as a “heavily over-subscribed placing”. The company intends to use the raised funds to accelerate its growth in the UK SME market.
Josh Royston, Hilary Buchanan and John Coles make up the Alma PR team working on the brief.
Coles said: “Yü Group is an excellent company with a great story to tell. A very entrepreneurial management team who have overcome incredible bureaucratic hurdles to take on the big six and challenge the status quo.
“We’re delighted that the fund raising was so well supported and we look forward to working with the team.”
Travel tech specialist Amadeus has hired Speyside to provide PR support across South America following a review of its comms support in the region.
Amadeus is a B2B global technology company that works with clients across the tourism industry. It develops tech in areas such as booking, pricing, ticketing and managing reservations.
Speyside will work with Amadeus’ teams in its key markets of Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay. It has been tasked with building media relations and increasing Amadeus’ share of voice across the region.
Ian Herbison, Speyside CEO, said: “We are delighted to be working with Amadeus across the region and are excited to be representing such a dynamic and innovative company.”
Andre Shirai, director of marketing, LATAM for Amadeus, added: “Amadeus is pleased to be working with Speyside in the region; their experience, regional footprint and broad expertise in the IT/tech and travel sectors make them ideal partners. We look forward to a long and productive relationship.”
Edgar Stewart Selection (ESS), a professional services recruitment firm, has appointed Scottish consultancy Lynda Hamilton Communications to manage PR and marketing activity for its three Edinburgh-based recruitment brands.
The five-figure contract will see Lynda Hamilton Comms overseeing external communications for Edgar Stewart and its spin-out brands, Talented and Focus, which target the SME community. The brands were both launched in the last six months and are benefiting from ESS’ pledged £120k investment in Scottish start-ups.
Lynda Hamilton, a former magazine journalist and internal comms specialist at The BIG Partnership, said: “The ESS guys are real innovators in the world of recruitment so there’s no shortage of stories to tell.”
Bruce Hydes (pictured), one of three directors at ESS, added: “We’re delighted to have Lynda on board and know she will make a big difference to our PR and marketing activity. In fact, she already has – having achieved coverage for us in the likes of the Daily Record, Scotsman, Recruiter Magazine and Scotland B2B.”
ESS brought in the agency following 35% operational growth in the last year.
British luxury lifestyle brand Belstaff has hired W as its retained global social media agency.
W has been appointed to deliver content and engagement for Belstaff, with a commercially driven social strategy.
The agency plans to “apply an integrated approach to social storytelling” and drive interactivity across the brand’s social communities, providing support around seasonal campaigns, collaborations and product launches.
The brief will see W’s brand division manage all existing social channels in the UK, Europe and US, with an e”ditorial-style programme to create “unique social moments”.
Melanie Hutcheon, global marketing director at Belstaff, said: “We were really impressed by W’s social media expertise. Its creativity, digital know-how and passion for the brand assures us that they are the right partner to engage and grow our global community.”
Warren Johnson, founder and CEO of W, said: “Belstaff is an exceptional brand that embodies the spirit of adventure. The brand has an incredibly rich heritage that we are delighted to be able to bring to life on Belstaff social channels, whilst we help to grow its online audience around the world.”
The Hub, a specialist foodservice and retail PR and trade marketing agency, has been appointed to handle the UK retail trade PR and comms for global food business The Kraft Heinz Company, following a competitive pitch.
The agency has been briefed to enhance the brand’s position as a leading grocery business in the UK through a comprehensive comms campaign to place Kraft Heinz brands, including Heinz, Philadelphia, and Capri Sun, at the forefront of retailers’ minds for their family dining offer.
Nigel Dickie, director for corporate and government affairs, Europe, at The Kraft Heinz Company, said: “We are delighted to be working with The Hub given its deep, and broad, experience in the grocery and convenience sector. We are sure that they will add significantly to our business, and help build compelling trade PR campaigns for some of the nation’s most loved brands.”
Jonathan Patterson (pictured), client services director at The Hub, said: “Heinz is a brand which has been a familiar friend to many Mums and families over the years. We are genuinely excited at having an opportunity to help use our experience and understanding of UK trade media to share product, promotional and category knowledge with retailers.”
Golley Slater PR has won two PR briefs from pub operator New World Trading Company and quality assurance scheme Woodsure.
The agency has been briefed to handle the consumer comms for New World Trading Company’s Leeds site, The Botanist.
It will raise the profile of the business and brand regionally, with a brief to enhance footfall and sales. The agency’s leisure and lifestyle team will also provide press office support for the site.
Jenny Fisher, head of brand business development at New World Trading Company, said: “The Botanist is already well established in Leeds and this is a very exciting time for our growing business across the UK. As a result, we wanted to work with a strong PR agency with proven experience in regional and national campaigns.”
“Having previously worked with Golley Slater on a number of campaigns for Trinity Leeds, we were really impressed with the national and regional coverage generated, and they were the clear and obvious choice for us.”
Woodsure has also brought in Golley Slater to promote the use of approved woodfuel to producers, retailers and consumers.
The agency, which won the account following a competitive pitch, has been briefed to encourage producers to adopt Woodsure’s quality assurance standard, as well as make consumers aware of the benefits of using certified woodfuel.
Andrew Harvey, director at Woodsure, said: “We are delighted to have the Golley Slater team on board to help raise awareness of the importance of using quality woodfuel. It’s important for us that Woodsure is seen by installers, manufacturers and consumers as the standard for woodfuel in the UK.”
Diagnostics company Premaitha Health has handed Kindred a consumer PR brief to promote its flagship product, the IONA test, which is the first non-invasive pre-natal test to be made available.
The IONA test is the first non-invasive pre-natal test (NIPT) with the CE quality mark, which, Premaitha Health says, provides peace of mind to new mums when recommended screening for Down’s Syndrome and other serious genetic diseases, such as Edwards Syndrome and Patau’s Syndrome.
The test is already the preferred NIPT of choice for several NHS hospitals and private clinics in the UK.
Kindred’s remit includes educating pregnant women and other stakeholders, including midwives, about NIPT and the IONA test in particular.
Anastasia Scott, managing partner at Kindred, will lead the account.
Joanne Cross, head of marketing at Premaitha Health, said: “The IONA test is an innovative new product that can help mums gain peace of mind at a crucial time in their pregnancy. Kindred really grasped this, and impressed us with their insights about the way new mums think, feel and behave. It was the agency’s insight into the audience and their creative approach that impressed us.”
Scott said: “We’re delighted to be working with Premaitha Health. They are the leader in their field with a fantastic product, the IONA test, which is already proven to give mums much needed peace of mind in their first trimester. This new account joins Kindred’s growing portfolio of brands focused on helping mums, and dads, navigate pregnancy and parenthood.”
Integrated digital comms agency TopLine has won PR briefs to work with investor platform Trendrating, cloud banking business RedCloud and SME financier Nucleus.
TopLine will support the companies with an integrated mix of comms work, including inbound marketing strategies, content production and search marketing and video creation.
According to the agency, it won the briefs thanks to a strong track record in the finance and tech sectors.
Heather Baker (pictured), TopLine CEO, said: “Fintech PR is one of TopLine’s areas of expertise. We’re looking forward to working with these three companies to ensure they rise way above the noise in their respective markets.”
Rocco Pellegrinelli, CEO of Trendrating, added: “I have been impressed by the quality of the team at TopLine. So far, I’ve seen excellent subject matter knowledge, a focus on generating real value and fast reactivity. That’s what I want for my business – people who really care about customers and know how to execute winning strategies.”
When the Institute of Advanced Motorists wanted to enhance the appeal of its advanced driving courses among younger people, Tin Man came up with “Pulling Power”, a campaign to prove that good driving increases sex appeal. Some 1,500 sign-ups later, the agency smashed its KPI 15 times over, delivered £62,500 in revenue for the charity and secured two industry awards for its work.
Campaign: Pulling Power: Giving Advanced Driving Courses Sex Appeal Client: The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM)
PR Team: Tin Man Timing: September 2015
Overview
Advanced driving courses. They are not newsworthy and are usually the reserve of the grey-anorak brigade. We needed to change this common perception and increase sign-ups to IAM’s courses. To resonate with the target audience we needed to increase the courses’ relevance to a younger generation.
Dating is a big, emotional factor among 20 to 30-year-olds. So Tin Man devised Pulling Power, an impactful, content-driven campaign proving good driving increases sex appeal.
153 pieces of coverage and 1,500 sign-ups later, we smashed the KPI 15 times over, delivered £62,500 in revenue for the charity and the campaign has already won two industry awards.
Objectives
The Institute of Advanced Motorists is the UK’s leading independent road safety charity.
However, they struggle to attract new audiences – in particular 24 to 34-year-olds. The main challenge is that young drivers don’t think they need to improve their driving skills.
We were briefed to increase sign-ups to its free driving assessments and position the traditionally ‘older’ organisation as relevant to a new younger audience.
Strategy
We knew IAM’s traditional messaging about ‘skilling up’ wouldn’t work – 80% of young male drivers think they are already better than average behind the wheel.
We were bold in our approach. And our insight led us to devise Pulling Power, a campaign scientifically proving that bad driving is a ‘three-point turn-off’ when it comes to dating – and that better drivers are more attractive.
Two distinct news generation phases would keep the subject at the top of the media agenda and maintain interest:
Original omnibus research into the top dating no-nos, with a lack of prowess behind the wheel featuring in the top five turn-offs.
A live biological experiment scientifically proving that bad driving is unattractive.
Phase 1 – Anecdotal research
Research revealed that half of the worst offences take place in the car, with road rage firmly established as a top five dating disaster. One in ten cited good driving as more attractive than owning a nice car and great shoes, so encouraging the audience to consider improving their skills to increase their ‘pulling power’.
Phase 2 – The Science
We created humorous films of male and female models driving well and driving badly, and ran a live biological experiment with TV psychologist Jo Hemmings, where body language, pupil dilation and pulse rates of 50 candidates were measured as they watched the videos.
The results were shocking – bad driving reduced attractiveness by 50%. Four in five women were physically repulsed by terrible driving, particularly aggressive manoeuvres. For men, bad parking and selfies at the wheel were the biggest frustrations.
Results
Did we drive consideration among younger drivers?
Yes –
Independent post campaign research showed that as a result of the coverage, 51% of young drivers (18 to 35) would now consider taking an advanced driving course (5% uplift from pre-campaign).
153 pieces of national, regional, online and broadcast press coverage were gained, including 12 nationals and youth-targeted outlets including MailOnline, MaleXtra and Buzzfeed.
We secured 32million opportunities to see the campaign.
All of the coverage included key messaging.
The campaign inspired a ten-minute segment on Nick Grimshaw’s Radio 1 Breakfast Show, which was filmed at IAM and broadcast to two million listeners.
There was a 10% increase in followers on both Twitter and Facebook
35% of young drivers (18 to 35) have seen the coverage from the campaign.
Did we increase sign ups?
Yes –
1,500 sign ups to the Advanced Driving Courses – 15 times more than the target figure.
A 50% conversion rate of sign ups to sales of driving courses delivered £62,500 in revenue and an ROI of five times the PR campaign budget.
Independent financial PR agency Yellow Jersey has appointed Felicity Winkles, formerly of St Brides, as board director.
Winkles has some ten years’ financial PR experience working predominantly across the leisure, natural resources, energy and support services industries and specialising in AIM-listed clients. She previously supported the launch of the St Pancras retail app StP.
At Yellow Jersey she will advise senior management level listed and non-listed companies, as well as driving business development.
Winkles said: “I am delighted to be joining an agency which has grown at unbelievable pace, in just a few short years, to become a leading UK player with 47 clients across nine sectors.”
Dominic Barretto, Yellow Jersey MD, added: “Understanding the media is a key component of any financial and corporate PR strategy and in Felicity we have a heavyweight who can offer senior counsel and strategic advice across a range of sectors.”
predominantly across the leisure, natural resources, energy and support services industries and specialising in AIM-listed clients. She previously supported the launch of the