White Paper: Business issues fuel PR

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Business news is no longer confined to the City pages or niche publications. In recent years, it has become a ‘mainstream’ concern and is increasingly popular. A new Gorkana White Paper explores how this trend affects communicators and PRs and what it means for corporate and financial specialists, in particular, as their work feeds into the mainstream and a more integrated news cycle.

Speaking to senior PR practitioners from the likes of Ketchum, Buchanan, MHP, CNC, Instinctif and Citigate, as well as prominent journalists, this study looks into the comms opportunities offered by this evolving media environment and explains three key trends that PRs and comms professionals can take advantage of as a consequence.

Download the White Paper here.

Tali Robinson joins Farrer Kane

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Communications agency Farrer Kane has appointed Tali Robinson, formerly of Spada, as associate director.

Robinson has more than 15 years’ experience advising clients across a range of sectors, on disciplines including comms planning, cross-border media campaigns and wider reputation management issues.

She joins Farrer Kane after eight years at professional services firm Spada, where she ran campaigns ranging from global law firms to real estate consultancies.  Previously, Robinson worked in-house within the tech sector.

Alex Kane, Farrer Kane director, said: “We’re really pleased to kick-start the year by welcoming Tali to our team. She is a great media operator and her specialist sector knowledge means she is a good fit for Farrer Kane. She joins at an exciting time: in the last year we have doubled our turnover, won major new mandates in the property and professional services sector and grown the team.”

Robinson added: “Farrer Kane has quickly gained a reputation for high quality, communications work and has built up an excellent client base, comprising some major household names.

“It’s very exciting to get the opportunity to join such a fast growing agency and help contribute to its future success and growth.”

Farrer Kane was setup in June 2013 by two ex-Spada directors, Alex Kane and Beth Farrer. As well as “traditional” media services, it also offers branding, marketing and crisis comms advice.

Taylor Herring briefed to celebrate Beatrix Potter

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Penguin Random House has hired creative brand comms agency Taylor Herring to help celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter, British author, illustrator and creator of children’s characters such as Peter Rabbit.

The agency, which won the account following a competitive pitch, has been briefed to develop a campaign that will bring a series of key characters from the world-famous Tales of Beatrix Potter into the 21st Century.

Taylor Herring will be part of a wider agency, in-house, licensed partners and charitable organisations team running multiple campaigns and events across 2016.

Susan Bolsover, head of licensing and consumer products at Penguin Random House, said: “Taylor Herring’s ideas really stood out for us – its understanding of what will create a “wow” media moment was exactly what we were looking for. We can’t wait to share it with the public later this year.”

James Herring, Taylor Herring’s managing partner, added: “The word iconic is often used without the subject being truly worthy – but the Beatrix Potter brand is fully deserving of such a plaudit. We’re beyond delighted to be working with Penguin Random House during such an exciting year and revealing a campaign that will be sure to please old and new Potter fans alike.”

Last week, Penguin Random House Children announced that a rediscovered Potter tale about a cross-dressing, gun-toting cat, Kitty in Boots, will be released in September with illustrations by Quentin Blake.

Mike Love steps down as chairman of Burson-Marsteller

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Burson-Marsteller has announced today that its chairman, Mike Love, is to step down with immediate effect.

It is understood that Love is stepping down from his rBurson Marstellerole as chairman for personal reasons. He will remain an employee of Burson-Marsteller, providing senior advice to clients and colleagues.

Amanda Pierce, UK CEO, said: “Mike Love has been a great chairman for Burson-Marsteller UK and a trusted advisor to me in my role as CEO.

“I am delighted that he will remain on the staff and that his senior counsel will continue to be available to clients and colleagues alike. Whilst we will miss seeing him in the office every day, we understand why this has been the right choice for him and his family.”

Love joined Burson-Marsteller as chairman in September 2012. With more than 30 years’ experience in corporate comms and political campaigning, he previously led comms for the likes of McDonald’s Europe, Microsoft EMEA, BT Global Services and G4S Cash Solutions. This followed a first career in political campaign management, which included five years as the political party agent to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

How #charitytuesday boosts PR

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Every week large charities such as Dementia UK, the Big Lottery Fund, Heritage UK and WaterAid, use #charitytuesday to promote their causes via Twitter. As a hashtag, it regularly trends and it inspires others such as #givingtuesday, which launched in 2014.

As a concept, #charitytuesday began back in 2009, when the founders of the former organisation Lovebox, decided Tuesday would be the perfect day to raise awareness of various causes.

Darshan Sanghrajka, the co-founder of Lovebox and now the CEO at the social innovation start-up, Super Being Labs, told Gorkana the venture began when he and his co-founders decided to get the hashtag trending on Twitter, while they also promoted campaigns within their own organisation.

Lovebox may not have continued, but Sanghrajka says the hashtag is a ‘momentum builder’ and a great way to create exposure and awareness for charities.

We asked comms teams across leading charities what they thought of the trend and the value of hashtags. Here is what they said:

The concept allows organisations to target key audiences

Natalie Finnerty, social media officer at Big Lottery Fund, said: “Hashtags are great tools that can be used by all of us to engage specific audiences. They can be a great way of measuring use and impact. And they’re a really great way for us to shine a spotlight on the work done by the smaller projects we fund.

“We know that [#charitytuesday] is a reliably effective hashtag that we can build into our planning. It is also our sectors’ main hashtag, so we know we are reaching our target audience when we have useful content to share.”

Fundraising opportunities are opened up

“We take part to push fundraising content, our charity like to offer advice and support via our social media channels and to lighten up the feeds we offer fundraising events and prompts. We also take the opportunity to thank supporters,” says Katrina Cimetta, communications assistant at Dementia UK.

“It’s light-hearted content, it gives the charity a personal touch. It also attracts new supporters when we take the opportunity to advertise new fundraising events,” she added.

Erin O’Connor, communications officer at Bowel Cancer UK, said: “As it trends every week, taking part in #charitytuesday helps put our content in front of those who are interested in the work of charities but may not be engaged with us yet.”

It provides opportunity for smaller charities

BRACE is a small charity with a team of five that works to fund research into alzheimer’s. Mark Poarch, chief executive of BRACE, said: “Twitter gives us a chance to be seen by a wider public without having the advantage of the huge marketing budgets that some really big charities have. By using a hashtag like this, we might come to the attention of people who are not looking specifically for dementia-related tweets but who are interested in charities generally.”

Poarch added: “We try to tweet something within the #charitytuesday trend every week. There are a lot of very worthwhile causes clamouring for attention out there, but dementia research needs to be among them.”

Content needs to be relevant and synchronised

“We feel that hashtags tied to specific days of the week tend to become part of the Twitter infrastructure in a positive way. Having said that it is about ensuring the content is appropriate rather than just using it for the sake of it,” said Finnerty.

“We use it when it is appropriate for the content we want to share, each week we consider if we have content that would best be suited for Charity Tuesday tagging. We always want to make sure the content we’re sharing is relevant,” she added.

Richmond Towers promotes New York Bakery Co

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The UK’s biggest bagel brand, New York Bakery Co, has brought in Richmond Towers to raise awareness and educate consumers on the benefits of its baked goods.

Designed to inspire consumers to view bagels as a “tasty addition” to a healthy balanced diet, activity will play out across the national media, as well as through social channels including Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Activity for the PR and social campaign has started. The brand has linked up with online health and fitness influencer Joe Wicks.

Karen Revel-Chion, head of marketing at New York Bakery Co, said: “Our brief was to shake up our approach to PR and social with a focus on health in the New Year. Richmond Towers’ creative approach and strategic thinking was exceptional and so far the campaign results have been incredible.

“The great thing about the team at Richmond Towers is that they are highly creative and passionate about what they do, but their approach is rooted in a clear understanding of our commercial goals.”

Nikki Thomson, MD at Richmond Towers, added: “Health can be a bit of a minefield, especially in the New Year – there is so much messaging out there that it can all become like wallpaper to consumers. Our approach is to root our health messaging in a fun and compelling presentation that will inspire the media and consumers.”

Kitman Labs hands European brief to Macesport

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Sports PR and sponsorship agency Macesport has been handed a European PR brief by Silicon Valley-based sports tech company Kitman Labs, which includes partnerships with UK Premier League football clubs Everton and Norwich City.

Founded in 2012 in Dublin by Stephen Smith, a former head of Athletic training at Leinster Rugby, Kitman Labs, which specialises in injury prevention, opened its first US office in 2014. The tech company works with organisations including the Irish Rugby Union, Bath Rugby, NFL’s Miami Dolphins and NBA’s Detroit Pistons.

Smith said: “Macesport has a fantastic reputation in the sports industry and we are looking forward to our new partnership. Despite being a relatively new company, we have made significant progress in Europe and the US and working with Macesport has helped us share Kitman Labs news.”

Paul Mace, Macesport MD, added: “We are delighted to welcome Kitman Labs into our family of

Leicester Director of Football, Paul Mace, shows his relief at a press conference in Leicester as the three imprisoned Leicester City players at the centre of sex assault allegations prepare to fly home from Spain, Friday March 12 2004. Manager Micky Adams confirmed that the three players will not be considered for selection for the Premiership trip to Birmingham tomorrow. See PA story COURTS Leicester. PA Photo: Rui Vieira.

Paul Mace

opean market and we are very pleased to have been chosen to help it achieve its objectives.

“Injury prevention technology is one of the hottest topics in 2016. The cost of injuries in sport is becoming more and more prevalent and with Kitman Labs at the heart of injury prevention they have come to market when the media interest is at its highest.”

TenderSpace brings in Yellow Jersey

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TenderSpace, a website that allows anyone involved in the construction industry to find resources for projects, has retained Yellow Jersey to manage a media relations brief following its recent launch.

The web-based business, which launched two weeks ago, allows property developers to find materials and workers and it enables tradespeople and suppliers to pitch for contracts. It aims to improve communications in the industry, with a view to creating “greater choice, efficiency and transparency” at the point of tendering for work.

Yellow Jersey will drive a corporate media relations campaign for the site. Anne Sampson, Harriet Jackson and Alistair de Kare-Silver are running the brief.

Dominic Barretto, Yellow Jersey MD, said: “We are delighted to have been appointed by TenderSpace, to assist in boosting its profile among the property and construction sectors. This is an extremely intuitive platform which has potential. The Company’s launch has been well received by the press and we look forward to building up its profile across both the business, property and construction media channels.”

Pagefield launches training academy

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Independent comms consultancy Pagefield has launched The Pagefield Academy to offer “bespoke training courses” to its clients across a range of subjects, from negotiation skills to risk management.

It launches on 11 February and offers the courses as open workshops for mixed groups and as tailored sessions for individuals or teams.

Pagefield has also signed up specialists to offer training alongside members of its team and advisory board. This will include Sir Christopher Meyer, Pagefield chair and former British ambassador to the US and Germany; Sir Richard Ottoway, former chairman of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Select Committee and member of the Intelligence and Security Committee, and John Morrison, former editor of BBC Newsnight.

Sara Price, the consultancy’s founding partner, said: “We have offered training to our clients since day one and the feedback has always been exceptionally good.

“What they particularly like is the time we take to understand their business and develop an entirely tailored product which is then delivered by a very senior and experienced team. Launching The Pagefield Academy was the logical next step. Being trained in negotiation by a former ambassador, or finessing your writing skills under the tutelage of a former Newsnight editor, is unique and we are confident that demand will be strong.”

Sir Christopher will chair a panel event to launch the academy on the 11 February.

60 seconds with Tim Snowball, PHA Media

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Tim Snowball, head of political strategy at PHA Media and former Lib Dem director of political comms, tells us about how he hid, with Nick Clegg, from a TV helicopter, his pride at reframing the debate around the Assisted Dying Bill and how a puppy can be the ultimate work distraction.

What media outlet can’t you start your day without?

I enjoy a Guardian / Daily Mail combo on my daily commute. Typical Lib Dem I guess, tiptoeing in the centre ground! I also always look forward to Andrew Rawnsley’s column in the Observer each week. To my mind his perceptive and thoughtful analysis is consistently a must read.

What’s the most valuable thing you learned as director of political comms for the Liberal Democrats?

Focus and discipline of message. The greatest communications challenge we faced was retaining any sense of positive independent identity as a junior coalition partner. Only when we banged on about lowering the tax threshold for low and middle income earners for a whole year, did it even begin to register with any positive impact in the minds of the electorate. In hindsight, it is a shame we didn’t take a more focused approach to communications in coalition from the start, but, in the economic and political context, it didn’t feel like a viable option back in 2010.

What three qualities do you ask from your colleagues?

  • Trust
  • Initiative
  • Willingness to go the extra mile.

What is your favourite thing about working in comms?

Helping individuals who have been incredibly successful in business as they seek to navigate the baffling world of politics. I take great pleasure from the success of our clients as they make progress on their own political journeys.

What in your public affairs career are you most proud of?

I was delighted when the Assisted Dying Bill was resoundingly rejected in parliament last September, as it was a big moment for our client Living and Dying Well. PHA Media won a Public Affairs Award for our integrated “No Need, No Safeguards” campaign, supporting them in reframing the debate on a tricky issue.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve done in the name of PR?

During the 2010 coalition negotiations Nick Clegg and I needed to lose a TV helicopter that was following us from Nick’s home in Putney as we made our way to “top secret” negotiations with Gordon Brown in the Foreign Office. We had to change cars twice on the journey to sucessfully throw them off the scent!

If you could change one thing about the industry, what would that be?

I would break down the institutional divisions between Public Affairs and the rest of PR. At PHA Media our best work is when the two services are delivered in tandem. Politicians are, of course, as influenced as the rest of us by what they read in the papers, online and on social media.

If you weren’t in PR, what would you be doing?

If it weren’t for a quirk of fortune I’d probably be a secondary school teacher. I actually only took my first political job working as a parliamentary researcher for the then newly elected Nick Clegg because I had a year to kill before beginning a deferred place on an oversubscribed TeachFirst. Ten years on I haven’t looked back, but I remain passionate about education. That said, I’d like to be chief executive of a charity one day.

What do you do to take off your business head?

Politics is more a lifestyle than a job so being able to take off my business head is still a novelty! We recently got a flatcoat retriever puppy who demands exercise before and after work. She’s not very tolerant of me trying to do my emails when she wants attention, so that helps!

What book would you take to a desert island?

I’d take the (finished or not) manuscript for George R. R. Martin’s The Winds of Winter. If I’m going to miss series six of Game of Thrones while on the island, I’d have to read the book!

Are there any moments from your comms career that you’re particularly proud of? If so, drop [email protected] an email to take part.