PR Week (UK) articles from August 2006

PR Week (UK) archives from August 2006

Red links up with blogging outfit.
August 4, 2006... The Red Consultancy has teamed up with blogging powerhouse Shiny Media to form a new-media consultancy to be branded Shiny Red. The joint venture is believed to be the first of its kind between an agency and a blogging outfit, and will see...

BBC feeling 'fat-cat' backlash, reveals survey.(British Broadcasting Corp.)(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... 'Fat-cat' salaries have tarnished the BBC's reputation, according to a poll by PRWeek, with almost two-thirds of consumers wanting the licence-fee scrapped. 76 per cent of those questioned said high salaries for BBC bosses were a waste of...

Mayled exits Boots as Alliance merger bites.(Jayne Mayled)(Pharmaceutical industry)
August 4, 2006... Boots director of comms Jayne Mayled is to leave after almost two decades with the high-street chemist. The news follows the completion this Monday of its merger with Alliance UniChem, and comes amid uncertainty over the roles other top...

Villa FC suitor set to call in Holborn.(Football Club)(Randy Lerner)(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... Aston Villa Football Club's potential new owner US billionaire, Randy Lerner, was this week on the verge of signing a contract with London agency Holborn PR to advise on strategy. Lerner, 44-year-old owner of American football outfit...

Britvic axes trade agency after comms overhaul.
August 4, 2006... Britvic, the distributor of drinks brands including Pepsi, Robinsons and Tango, is to part company with its trade agency Touch PR after seven years. The company's pounds 494m-flotation at the end of last year triggered a review of its...

PRCA reports slump in new-client business.(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... PR agencies are suffering from a downturn in new-business opportunities, according to a survey from the PRCA. Its quarterly Trends Barometer, unveiled this week, reports that the new-business climate has become increasingly quiet, while...

PR revenues continue to drive Omnicom growth.
August 4, 2006... NEW YORK: Revenues from PR continue to drive Omnicom's growth, with the holding firm reporting that its PR agencies generated pounds 153.87m during Q2 - a near nine per cent rise from the same quarter in 2005. Omnicom's forecast-busting...

Trinity Mirror cuts ties with Finsbury.
August 4, 2006... Trinity Mirror Group has ended its relationship with Finsbury and handed its financial comms account to Maitland instead. As revealed on PRWeek.com this Monday, Maitland triumphed in a three-way pitch against Brunswick and the incumbent...

Murray Harkin to counsel celebs.
August 4, 2006... The Countess of Wessex's former business partner Murray Harkin has re-opened 1980s entertainment PR outfit EP. Harkin, who was embroiled in the infamous 2001 'fake sheikh' fiasco, intends to offer a celebrity 'caretaking' service for...

Get involved with PRWeek webcast.
August 4, 2006... PRWeek's first webcast is an interview with VisitBritain CEO Tom Wright for a forthcoming 'View from the Top'. The webcast offers readers the chance to question Wright, a top personality in the tourism sector - and PRWeek wants you to...

Revolver ends London presence.(Revolver Communications closes London office)
August 4, 2006... Consumer agency Revolver Communications has abandoned its London office following the resignations of CEO Penny Brignell and PR director Matt Owen. Mike Phillipson, MD at the agency's Leeds-based parent company Propaganda, denied the...

Nuclear waste body NDA in comms review.(Nuclear Decommissioning Authority )
August 4, 2006... The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has placed its entire PR business up for grabs. The brief includes incumbent Bell Pottinger Communications' remit of strategic counsel, PA and stakeholder engagement. It also covers promotion of...

No quick fix for corporate crises.(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... Companies tend to need three years to recover from a major crisis, according to Burson-Marsteller research. The agency asked 685 influential business figures in 65 countries how long it would take their firm to rebuild its reputation. ...

News Brief: Haymarket appointment.
August 4, 2006... PUBLISHING: PRWeek publisher Haymarket has hired Karrie Orth as corporate comms director. She joins from plasterboard manufacturer BPB.

News Brief: Penrose Financial appointed.
August 4, 2006... CORPORATE: Kleinwort Benson Private Bank has brought in Penrose Financial as its first retained agency. Penrose deputy MD Andrew Nicolls heads the account alongside account director Clare Rowsell. Penrose Financial MD Gay Collins profile, p17.

News Brief: Waterstone shortlist.
August 4, 2006... CONSUMER: Waterstone's has shortlisted four agencies ahead of the autumn launch of its revamped website. It currently uses Amazon but wants an online presence of its own.

News Brief: Mamas & Papas show.
August 4, 2006... CONSUMER: Kids' accessories store Mamas & Papas is to hire an agency to promote its first fashion show, which takes place in November. Undisclosed shortlisted firms will pitch to head of PR Gill Kingston-Warren, who joined from M&P's broadcast...

News Brief: Thorpe quits.
August 4, 2006... AGENCY: Burson-Marsteller director Catherine Thorpe has quit. She is working freelance for former boss Mark Rollinson, who left B-M to set up agency Brand Faith in January.

News Brief: Rain PR promotes.
August 4, 2006... CONSUMER: Rain PR has seen off Fleishman-Hillard, Grappa PR and The Outside Organisation to promote what it has dubbed 'apres-shopping' in London's West End. It is working for The New West End Company, which represents retailers, and is...

News Brief: Bacon profile.
August 4, 2006... CONSUMER: Capital Radio presenter Richard Bacon has taken on Liz Matthews PR to raise his profile ahead of his move to Xfm later this month.

News Brief: Babel PR agency.
August 4, 2006... TECHNOLOGY: Hotwire PR director Narelle Morrison has set up an agency with fellow ex-Hotwire colleagues Ian Hood and Alexia Sciplino. Babel PR launched on 1 August.

News Brief: Coors uses Cake.
August 4, 2006... CONSUMER: Coors Brewers is using Cake to promote lager brand Sol. The agency is targeting revellers in Ibiza with a campaign called 'Love Summer'.

Cookie producer brings in Brazen.
August 4, 2006... Millie's Cookies has taken on its first PR agency - Manchester-based Brazen - to create a fanfare around its 21st birthday celebrations next month. The forthcoming campaign will highlight the brand's heritage while also striving to boost...

Forum to discuss recruitment code.
August 4, 2006... PR recruitment firms are invited to a forum next month to be chaired by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation. The staging of the 29 September event in London follows Xchangeteam CEO Emma Brierley's call, made in PRWeek in March, to...

California Tourism rejigs strategy to lure UK youth.
August 4, 2006... The tourist body of California has replaced five-year incumbent McCluskey International with Black Diamond Trade to promote the state in the UK. Black Diamond Trade - a London agency known for working in the film and extreme sports sectors...

Ex-Prescott aide in agency move.
August 4, 2006... Former John Prescott adviser Derek Plews is to join Northamptonshire-based public sector comms agency Media Outcomes. Plews starts on 14 August, having spent the past nine weeks serving as an officer in the Territorial Army in Afghanistan....

Luchford scoops luxury hotel brief.
August 4, 2006... Luxury London hotel The Lanesborough has appointed Luchford APM to regain its iconic status. The agency replaces RJH PR, which was wound up this year after filing for bankruptcy (PRWeek, 16 June). The Hyde Park Corner hotel is one of...

Rupert gets a makeover.(Rupert Bear)(Taylor Herring Communications Ltd)(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... Taylor Herring Brand Communications has been charged with introducing a new-look Rupert Bear to pre-schoolers, ahead of his return to TV after a 14-year absence. 'Rupert Bear, Follow the Magic' will launch this November on Five, with...

Double blow for WS as Yelland and Ward resign.
August 4, 2006... Weber Shandwick vice-chairman for Europe Sally Ward and senior vice chairman David Yelland have both quit the agency. As first revealed on PRWeek.com last week, Ward is leaving to spend more time with her family. She is negotiating her...

Quinn quits B&B for Lottery role.
August 4, 2006... Band & Brown Communications board director Lisa Quinn is leaving at the end of August to join the National Lottery Promotions Unit. Quinn - who has been with B&B for seven years - will join as a director in mid-September with a brief to...

MoD enlists ex-soldier MacDowall to top post.
August 4, 2006... The Ministry of Defence has handed its high-pressure top comms job to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) director of comms Simon MacDowall. MacDowall, a former soldier, takes over as director-general of media and communications on 14...

Stag weekends firm ushers in agency support.(Stag Republic and Hen Nation)(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... BUDAPEST/LONDON: A firm that organises stag and hen weekends across central and eastern Europe has hired its first PR agency amid growing concern over the antics of revellers abroad. Stag Republic and Hen Nation, which is based in the...

Bath spa project seeks media aid.
August 4, 2006... Bath & North East Somerset Council is poised to review its PR agency support for the controversial Thermae Bath Spa project. The spa - which incorporates ancient thermal springs used by the Romans - is due to open next week, more than three...

Brit film awards signs up Mission.
August 4, 2006... The British Independent Film Awards has brought in Mission Media to promote this year's awards and the run-up to its tenth ceremony in 2007. Mission will seek to promote the awards to a wider audience and cash in on their association with...

Public Sector: NUJ urges public Finnegan hearing.
August 4, 2006... The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has called for the forthcoming hearing into the suspension of Liverpool Council comms chief Matt Finnegan to be carried out in public. The move came as the city council chose September for the...

Public Sector: COI to rejig media evaluation roster.
August 4, 2006... The Central Office of Information is reviewing its media evaluation roster, worth some pounds 500,000 a year in fees. Currently boasting six agencies, the new roster will be in place for four years. 'COI encourages the use of formal...

Public Sector: Tyne and Wear fire service creates comms team.
August 4, 2006... The Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service has set up its first PR team in an effort to beef up its campaigning. Corporate comms manager Michelle Atkinson and comms officers Lucy Dixon and Nicola Westgarth take over the PR reins from the...

Public Sector: Health watchdog snares ex-Pfizer comms chief.
August 4, 2006... Flagship government watchdog the Healthcare Commission has brought in ex-Pfizer UK comms chief Miranda Kavanagh to lead its PR, as it prepares to merge with two other arm's-length bodies. The commission, responsible for safeguarding the...

Public Sector: DCLG promotes 'Digital Challenge' competition.
August 4, 2006... The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is to publicise its digital inclusion programme, 'Digital Challenge' with a seven-month media relations campaign. The programme, designed to encourage internet take-up in local...

Public Sector: Oxford Brookes brief for SPA Way.
August 4, 2006... Oxford Brookes University has enlisted The SPA Way to promote the benefits of its specialist research projects. The SPA Way plans to use a media relations campaign to raise the profile of the university and show how its research is...

Public Sector: ONS names comms chief as independence looms.
August 4, 2006... The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has poached UK Transplant director of comms and PR Penny Hallett as it prepares for greater independence from Whitehall. Hallett joins the high-profile body as director of comms on 12 October after...

Public Sector: S. Oxfordshire in launch of e-zine.
August 4, 2006... South Oxfordshire District Council has produced an online magazine for residents, complete with video clips, which it hopes will help engage a young audience. 'Outburst' features news and views from the council and a selection of...

Public Sector: Wales in anti-smoking drive.
August 4, 2006... The Welsh Assembly has brought in Consolidated Communications and Cardiff-based Cambrensis to advise on comms with the nation readying a ban on smoking in public. The assembly has banned smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces...

Public Sector: Take greater pride in your campaigns.
August 4, 2006... Local government needs to win more prizes. There were attempts to demonstrate best practice in the public sector by entrants to this year's PRWeek Awards - the winners of which will be announced in just over 11 weeks' time. But having just...

Voluntary Sector: Blind charity nets DrugScope chief.
August 4, 2006... Action for Blind People has lured DrugScope's media and comms manager Petra Maxwell to a new PR manager role. The charity is in the middle of an expansion programme and has created the new role in a bid to boost its comms function. ...

Voluntary Sector: Phone regulator seeks rebrand.
August 4, 2006... Premium-rate phoneline watchdog ICSTIS is planning to recruit an agency to rename it and run an awareness campaign to promote the new brand. Deputy director Paul Whiteing said research conducted for the charity had found that the ICSTIS...

Voluntary Sector: Donohoe exits women's sport position for NCVO.(Helen Donohoe )(National Council for Voluntary Organisations )(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has signed up the Women's Sports Foundation (WSF) head of policy Helen Donohoe to lead its communications team. Donohoe will take charge of the umbrella body's 13-strong external...

Voluntary Sector: WaterAid comms head Bray takes Oxfam media job.
August 4, 2006... WaterAid's head of comms has returned to Oxfam to head up its emergencies press team. Ian Bray, who spent the past year at WaterAid, left last month to rejoin Oxfam, four years after quitting the international development charity. ...

Voluntary Sector: Vodafone boosts recycling drive.
August 4, 2006... The Forster Company is to run a campaign for Vodafone to encourage people to hand in old mobile phones. The campaign is part of Vodafone's current recycling drive to send phones to developing countries and raise money for the National...

Voluntary Sector: Festival sets up record label.
August 4, 2006... Michael Eavis, owner of the Somerset farm that has hosted the Glastonbury music festival since 1971, has set up a record label that will donate 25 per cent of its profits to charity. Its first release is Music From Glastonbury The Film...

Public affairs: ABTA poaches IOD's Marshall as chief lobbyist.
August 4, 2006... The Association of British Travel Agents has lured David Marshall from the Institute of Directors to be its head of policy and comms - effectively the UK travel industry's principal lobbyist. Marshall, who has been IoD director of public...

Public affairs: WS lands social housing account.
August 4, 2006... Support services group Morrison has appointed Weber Shandwick to boost its credentials in providing repair and maintenance to social housing stock and local authority properties. WS is charged with bolstering Morrison's ties with housing...

Public affairs: Ounsley poised for lead role at World Wildlife Fund.(Margaret Ounsley )(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... World Wildlife Fund has appointed government special adviser Margaret Ounsley as its top lobbyist as it aims to capitalise on the current green agenda. Ounsley joins WWF later this month as head of public affairs, reporting to director of...

Public affairs: Poll shows MPs at ease with influence of APGs.
August 4, 2006... The overwhelming majority of MPs believe that All-Party Groups can influence parliamentary opinions and shape legislation, according to figures provided exclusively to PRWeek by Communicate Research. Moreover, most MPs are comfortable with...

Public affairs: Redfern leaves Connect for FH.(Simon Redfern)(Fishburn Hedges)(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... Fishburn Hedges has poached Connect Public Affairs director Simon Redfern. He will join FH in September as an associate director, reporting to head of PA Graham McMillan. Redfern joined Connect after the 2001 general election and has...

Public affairs: Golden Arrow in Labour aide hire.(Golden Arrow Communications )(Ian Woodcroft)(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... Transport lobbying consultancy Golden Arrow Communications has appointed Ian Woodcroft, for the past three years political researcher to Tony Wright, Labour MP for Great Yarmouth. Woodcroft will provide political monitoring services to...

Healthcare: At a glance - Firms prepare to promote COPD pipeline drugs.
August 4, 2006... WHAT'S HAPPENED? The ABPI published a report last week that suggested a wide range of new treatments for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an inflammatory condition affecting the cardiovascular system, were in development....

Healthcare: WS tempts Ketchum's Morgan to Hong Kong.
August 4, 2006... HONG KONG/LONDON: Weber Shandwick has recruited Ketchum London healthcare associate director Stephen Morgan to its top healthcare job in Hong Kong. Morgan has joined as director, Asia-Pacific healthcare, advising pan-regional clients...

Healthcare: Amgen moots roster to boost UK comms.
August 4, 2006... US biotech firm Amgen, which is behind products such as anaemia-fighter Aranesp, is mulling the creation of its first UK agency roster. Its plans, confirmed by UK head of comms Nigel Thornton, come amid news that it is using...

Healthcare: SHL clinches UK brief for Abilify.
August 4, 2006... Shire Health London has bagged a UK brief for Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka's schizophrenia drug, Abilify. The account had previously been held by Pope Woodhead for more than four years. SHL said it was aiming to 'put Abilify on the...

Healthcare: Lanes hands brands account to Bray Leino.
August 4, 2006... GR Lane Health Products, the branded OTC medicines maker, has switched agency, jettisoning Cheltenham outfit Target Public Relations in favour of West Country rival Bray Leino. Gloucester-based Lanes wants to better integrate its...

City & Corporate: Finsbury bags top slot as Xstrata deal boosts Aura.
August 4, 2006... Finsbury continues to have a fruitful summer in respect of its work on M&A deals, climbing from last month's second place to top spot in this month's Deal Watch. Finsbury's ten deals included working for Boots on its merger with Europe's...

City & Corporate: Peregrine nets new partner.
August 4, 2006... Roddi Vaughan-Thomas has joined City PR agency Peregrine Communications from asset management firm Keydata Investment Services. He joins the City PR agency in a partner role from Keydata, where he had worked as head of group comms since...

City & Corporate: CitySavvy beefs up Dutch IR arm.
August 4, 2006... AMSTERDAM: Netherlands- and UK-based corporate and financial comms firm CitySavvy has brought in Marina Millington-Ward as head of investor relations and PR. Based in the Amsterdam office, Millington-Ward will build the agency's investor...

City & Corporate: How Boots swayed sceptical journos.
August 4, 2006... When Boots announced last October that it was merging with Alliance UniChem, its smaller, more dynamic rival, media response was scathing. The deal was believed to be a disguised takeover, with the Alliance team likely to come out on top....

Technology: Trilogy wins Funai consumer brief.(Trilogy Communications)
August 4, 2006... Trilogy Communications is to handle a UK campaign for Japanese electronics firm Funai. Funai has a heritage as a manufacturer of electrical components, but is aiming to move into the consumer-electronics market under its own brand. ...

Technology: K&R to aid road-toll firm Q-Free.(Kinross and Render)(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... Electronic road-toll payment systems company Q-Free has appointed Kinross & Render to run a UK comms campaign. The company wants to become the leading technology supplier for London's congestion-charge scheme, which is set to expand...

Technology: Mantra venture targets technology start-ups.
August 4, 2006... Mantra PR has launched a spin-off agency badged Fundamental in a bid to bag business from tech start-ups. The move reflects the resurgence of the sector in the UK and the agency's renewed faith in chasing internet-based clients. Mantra...

Technology: Lexis fights off rivals to bag Ask.com account.
August 4, 2006... Lexis PR has seen off three firms to win the retained account for search-engine Ask.com. The agency went up against Nelson Bostock Communications, GCI and Kazoo in a competitive pitch to win the UK-focused account, believed to be worth six...

Technology: E-specialist King joins APCO Online.
August 4, 2006... Online comms specialist David King has joined APCO Worldwide's online arm in London as an associate director. King, a Texan who has lived in London for almost a decade, has an EMEA remit. He reports to both Simon Miller, managing...

Technology: Gadgetshop enlists So...PR.(Brief article)
August 4, 2006... The Gadgetshop, which fell into administration last year, has selected So... PR to promote its reincarnation as an online operator. Now owned by Buckinghamshire-based The Entertainer, it wants to build its brand against sites such as...

Media Relations: What the papers say - Payout defeat for illegal downloads.
August 4, 2006... Kazaa's pounds 61m settlement to record companies last week appeared to signal an important victory for the music industry and the continuing demise of illegal downloading services. Headlines and comment were heavily unsympathetic to the...

Media Relations: Contact book update.
August 4, 2006... PRESS Sunday broadsheet The Business is to relaunch as a weekly Thursday international business magazine on 12 October. The new title is to be aimed at young, affluent, metropolitan readers. The editor is Ian Watson. Oliver Duff has...

Media Relations: 2 minutes with... Adam Leyland, editor, Real Business.
August 4, 2006... Real Business is relaunching in a smaller format in September. Why? We've always tried to make business sexy and exciting. Our old size made us look too similar to dull, corporatist business rags. By switching from A4 to National Geographic...

Media Analysis: Regional mags seek lifestyle input.
August 4, 2006... Glossy local magazines are flourishing thanks to heavy investment by publishers such as Archant Life. Hannah Marriott looks at some prominent titles, which allow PROs to add value to regional stories. From Inside Cornwall to Cotswold...

Reputation check: Auntie on back foot over finances.(British Broadcasting Corp.)
August 4, 2006... How is the BBC perceived after job cuts but big executive pay rises, asks Robyn Lewis. George Orwell's tortuous Room 101, according to legend, was based on a real room at the BBC. Indeed, Auntie's bosses could well have thought themselves...

News Analysis: WS plans for life without Yelland.(Weber Shandwick)(David Yelland )
August 4, 2006... Former Sun editor David Yelland is the biggest name among a trio of sudden exits from Weber Shandwick. Ravi Chandiramani asks what's next for the agency. Heavyweight resignations at Weber Shandwick have begun to resemble buses - none for a...

Profile: In the money - Gay Collins, MD, Penrose Financial.
August 4, 2006... Gay Collins's career has spanned both sales and PR, and she has a knack of getting her own way. Understandably unwilling to embark on a ten-minute trek to the park in the searing heat for a photoshoot, it took her no time to convince our...

Opinion: Thames Water ads are just hogwash.
August 4, 2006... I am convinced that one of the things lacking in most boardrooms is a sense of the ludicrous. Too many companies seem to be institutionally incapable of seeing how anyone could possibly take the piss out of them Strangely, two of the most...

Opinion: Blair no longer cares for public opinion.
August 4, 2006... I know this may come as a shock, but I'm reliably informed that Tony Blair has given up listening to focus groups. Could this have been a factor in the Prime Minister's decision to ignore public opinion earlier this week? He failed to call...

Editorial: Military media wars ultimately backfire.(Editorial)
August 4, 2006... To what extent are wars now fought out in the media? When an Israeli 'surgical' strike killed dozens of children last weekend, TV reporters immediately announced that this could be a 'turning point' in the conflict, the premise being it was a...

Opinion: Letter - The NatWest Three learned gradually.(Letter to the editor)
August 4, 2006... I can understand why Anthony Hilton found my World Tonight interview about the PR campaign behind the NatWest Three irritating ('Did NatWest Three need PR help?' 21 July). I know he worked hard to break the story in the early days when the...

Opinion: Letter - PR still losing out to big-spend marketing.
August 4, 2006... It didn't come as a surprise to me to read that research has found PR to be more effective than advertising ('Research 'proves' PR is more effective than ads,' 7 July). PR is third-party endorsement - a neutral saying good things about...

Opinion: Letter - Youth not turned off Army by 'reality'.(Letter to the editor)
August 4, 2006... I would argue that the slowdown in Army recruitment is rarely to do with the realities of war (Kate Nicholas, 21 July). I would contend that we live in a world of qualified moral conviction, where the individual often takes precedence over...