PR Week (UK) articles from November 2005

PR Week (UK) archives from November 2005

NZ urges expats to leave Britain.
November 11, 2005... The New Zealand government has resorted to a campaign to lure homesick Kiwis back from Britain to combat labour shortages at home. More than 55,000 Kiwis live in the UK, and unemployment in NZ is the lowest in the developed world at 3.7 per...

CIPR study: PR industry is worth pounds 6.5bn.
November 11, 2005... The UK PR sector now employs 48,000 people and turns over more money than the entire UK dairy industry. The findings are part of a CIPR survey into the size and value of PR - the industry is worth pounds 6.5bn (the dairy industry is worth...

Sony BMG rethinks PR for 'X-Factor' winner.
November 11, 2005... Sony BMG is to use Neil Reading PR to promote the winner of ITV pop talent blockbuster The X-Factor. Organisers are eager to avoid a repeat of the aftermath of last year's contest, whose winner Steve Brookstein quickly flopped and has...

APPC to toughen code of practice.(Association of Professional Political Consultants)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2005... The lobbying industry's regulatory body is reviewing its code of conduct after revelations that fallen cabinet minister David Blunkett was paid by Weber Shandwick to speak at a dinner convened by the agency. The Association of Professional...

Norwich Union selects Lexis for consumer salvo.
November 11, 2005... Lexis PR has emerged triumphant from the fiercely contested pitch to become Norwich Union's retained consumer brand agency. The decision is a blow for QBO Bell Pottinger, which has been retained by the general insurer for 15 years. ...

Regus calls financial pitch in wake of profits recovery.
November 11, 2005... Office space company Regus is reviewing its financial PR account as it returns to profit and tries to draw a line under its past financial troubles. The move puts in jeopardy Regus's seven-year relationship with incumbent Financial...

Red opens office in San Francisco.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2005... The Red Consultancy is opening an office in San Francisco following its appointment as the global strategic agency for computer security firm McAfee. The operation, sharing premises with sister Incepta agency Citigate Cunningham, will be...

Henry's House leads C4 youth and music charge.(Channel 4 Television Co.)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2005... Channel Four has hired Henry's House to promote youth and music output on the terrestrial channel and its digital service E4. Publicity for T4 - which airs on C4 at weekends, and on weekdays during school holidays - was previously handled...

Disney prepares overhaul for Pooh.(Walt Disney Co.)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2005... Winnie-the-Pooh is set for a PR makeover, with The Walt Disney Company having shortlisted agencies to make the honey-loving bear relevant to today's British kids. 'We will be looking at a campaign in 2006 to celebrate the heritage and...

Former GSK man in City PR switch.
November 11, 2005... Former GlaxoSmithKline UK corporate media relations V-P Mark Sutton has left City PR shop Corfin Communications. Sutton, who joined Corfin as director last year (PRWeek, 1 October 2004), has joined financial comms specialist Abchurch...

BBC hires for Arabic news launch.
November 11, 2005... The BBC has picked a Dubai-based agency to launch its first Arabic TV channel in the Middle East. Asda'a Public Relations is charged with convincing Middle-Eastern viewers and opinion formers that the BBC can rival Qatar-based broadcaster...

Briton takes over top comms role for Nike.
November 11, 2005... Beaverton, Oregon: US sportswear giant Nike has installed Nigel Powell, a Brit, in its top global PR job. Powell becomes global comms director, a role based at Nike's global HQ in Beaverton, Oregon. He has moved from a job as Nike's US...

Brunswick aids Russian oil listing.
November 11, 2005... Rosneft, Russia's state-owned oil and gas behemoth, has drafted in Brunswick amid reports that it is set to raise pounds 3.4bn on the London market. Brunswick will handle financial comms around the listing of global depository receipts...

News Brief: Doyle quits Whitehall.
November 11, 2005... The Labour Party's former head of press and broadcasting Matthew Doyle has quit Whitehall without a job to go to as a result of David Blunkett's resignation as Work and Pensions Secretary last week. Doyle had been Blunkett's special adviser on...

News Brief: Des Kelly to advise Hill & Knowlton staff.
November 11, 2005... Hill & Knowlton is to use Daily Mail columnist Des Kelly to advise its staff on media relations. Kelly, who has formerly worked at the Daily Mirror, has previously undertaken similar work for Ketchum.

News Brief: Shell Ferrari F1 rehires Prism.
November 11, 2005... Shell Ferrari F1 has rehired Prism following a competitive pitch (PRWeek, 3 June) for a three-year contract. Prism will undertake global media relations to publicise Shell's sponsorship.

News Brief: Appointment at Phil Hall Associates.
November 11, 2005... Former Pride magazine fashion and beauty editor Ruki Garuba has joined Phil Hall Associates to advise clients such as Maxi-Muscle and Heather Bird Health, while also helping the start-up with new business.

News Brief: Discoo brings in Frank & Earnest Communications.
November 11, 2005... Frank & Earnest Communications has been brought in by online fashion retailer Discoo. The hire follows an agency review (PRWeek, 12 August) and sees the agency handling a media relations campaign, kicking off with a brand relaunch event at...

News Brief: Google uses Citypress PR.
November 11, 2005... Google is using Citypress PR to promote the opening of its first regional British office, in Manchester. Google UK head Kate Burns will speak at a 15 November ceremony. The company this Wednesday denied media reports that Michael Howard's...

News Brief: Interface Europe hires Golley Slater.
November 11, 2005... Modular flooring firm Interface Europe has hired Golley Slater to advise on corporate comms. The agency will work with mainland Europe-based agencies on a European programme.

News Brief: Screenselect.co.uk hires Sputnik Communications.
November 11, 2005... Online subscription DVD rental company Screenselect.co.uk has taken on Sputnik Communications to handle all consumer PR and media relations. Incumbent Rare Communications worked with Screenselect.co.uk for a year.

AirMiles prepares pitch for agencies.
November 11, 2005... The AirMiles Travel Company, the wholly owned BA subsidiary best known for its loyalty scheme, is reviewing its PR arrangements. The company is yet to decide whether to replace ex-comms head Claire Keane, who quit earlier this year (PRWeek,...

Forum snaps up ukbetting brief.
November 11, 2005... Ukbetting.com has taken on Forum Communications to handle consumer PR for its 17 brands, which include totalbet.com, football365.com and sportinglife.com. One of Forum's tasks will be raising awareness of the content of the sites to drive...

Deloitte dives as telcos occupy top three spots.
November 11, 2005... Deloitte & Touche finally dropped its pounds 850m, 12-year legal case against the Bank of England last week. The development put Deloitte and the Bank of Credit & Commerce International (BCCI) at the foot of this week's Reputation Monitor. ...

Underground Ernie in hire.(Ian Monk Associates promotes computer-animated series)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2005... Ian Monk Associates is promoting Underground Ernie, a computer-animated series featuring the voice of ex- England striker Gary Lineker, to be broadcast on BBC channel CBeebies next year. Lineker is to provide the voice of the main...

Plum set to ease burden of admin.( Plum Network run by Nick Fulford)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2005... An umbrella group that frees PR firms from the burden of admin and financial management has been set up. The Plum Network, run by Cancan Communications founder and former Hill & Knowlton associate director Nick Fulford, has three companies...

BPC&F wins Qatar investment task.
November 11, 2005... The Qatar Financial Center (QFC) has hired Bell Pottinger Corporate and Financial to lure investors to the Middle-Eastern state. BPC&F will target investment banks, insurance companies and law firms. The global account is being run from...

Carluccio calls in Hogarth for float.
November 11, 2005... Carluccio, the food shop and restaurant chain, has drafted in financial PR specialist The Hogarth Partnership to whet investors' appetites ahead of its planned listing on London's Alternative Investment Market. The chain, whose president...

Pringle nets fashion PRO amid global growth plans.(appointmentm of Charlotte Thomas at Warnaco Inc. Pringle of Scotland)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2005... Luxury clothing brand Pringle of Scotland has appointed former Aurelia board director Charlotte Thomas to communicate its plans for global growth. She has joined in the new role of head of international marketing and PR. In May,...

Ilva hires JCPR for battle with Ikea.
November 11, 2005... Danish homeware and furnishings company Ilva is using Jackie Cooper PR as it goes head-to-head with Sweden's Ikea. Ilva will unveil its first UK store in Thurrock, Essex, in April 2006. Openings will follow in Manchester and Gateshead. ...

Public Sector: Councils slammed over cohesion.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2005... Councils have been criticised for not doing enough to promote community cohesion, a month after unrest ripped through Birmingham and as rioting continues around cities in France. Few councils realise their obligation to promote community...

Public Sector: Newcastle nabs Holt for controversial post.
November 11, 2005... Newcastle City Council has hired Northern Ireland Policing Board director of comms Peter Holt. He joins the Liberal Democrat council in the beefed-up position of director of communications and marketing following a review of the PR team....

Public Sector: PCTs use toys to warn kids of flu.
November 11, 2005... South East and South West Oxfordshire Primary Care Trusts are using fluffy toys to raise awareness of the dangers of flu for children. The cuddly microbes are being given away via the local press and distributed through GPs' surgeries and...

Public Sector: PR Office picks up Euston regen job.
November 11, 2005... The PR Office is consulting Camden Council and representatives of those who live near Euston station on a major regeneration project planned for 2006. It is working on behalf of Cardiff-based firm Sydney and London Properties, which owns...

Public Sector: Manchester goes green.
November 11, 2005... Public-private partnership Manchester Knowledge Capital is calling on residents and businesses to be more energy efficient in a campaign positioning the city as 'clean, green and cool'. Campaign supporters are also being asked to sign the...

Public Sector Brief: Appointment at the BBC.
November 11, 2005... BBC Janie Ironside Wood, the BBC News head of comms, has been confirmed in her post under a revised staff structure. The broadcaster is axing one in four jobs in its communications, audience and marketing division as part of a wider reform...

Public Sector Brief: Councils lack clarity in communicating.
November 11, 2005... More than 50 per cent of delegates at this week's Good Communication Awards believed councils lacked clarity in communicating what they stood for. Attendees were asked why a quarter of the population rated councils as the worst bodies at...

Public Sector Brief: CIPR meeting in Canary Wharf.
November 11, 2005... The next CIPR Local Government Group meeting will take place on 3 February 2006 in Canary Wharf. Topics for discussion will include the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with talks featuring representatives from the five host boroughs. The...

Public Sector Brief: VisitBritian requests images on coins.(Royal Mint to put images )(Brief Article)
November 11, 2005... VisitBritain has asked the Royal Mint to put images of tourist attractions, including the London Eye and Stonehenge, on coins. The mint is managing a competition in which the public and businesses have been invited to submit designs for all...

Public Sector Brief: Torbay Council launches campaign.(addresses abuse of the elderly)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2005... Torbay Council has launched a campaign to address abuse of the elderly, raising awareness of the issue through local media, with the strapline 'abuse doesn't just happen to children'. In the towns Torbay, Brixham and Paignton, 22 per cent of...

Public Sector Brief: Appointment at Norfolk County Council.
November 11, 2005... Norfolk County Council has appointed Steve Downes as communications officer for planning, transport and the environment, and Caroline Mackinson as communications officer for waste and recycling. Downes was previously a journalist on the Eastern...

Public Affairs: MMD hires ex-Yukos comms chief for Moscow role.
November 11, 2005... Moscow: MMD, the largest PR consultancy in central and eastern Europe, has snapped up the former international PR chief at Russian oil giant Yukos. Hugo Erikssen has joined MMD as senior vice-president with a brief to provide corporate and...

Public Affairs: Google fills top PA and comms role.
November 11, 2005... Mountain View, CA: Google has appointed Elliot Schrage as its top lobbyist in the role of V-P of global communications and PA. His appointment comes just weeks after Google opened a lobbying office in Washington DC. Schrage was...

Public Affairs: BAA lures McGuinness to lobby for Stansted growth.
November 11, 2005... British Airports Authority has hired Justine McGuinness as head of public affairs for Stansted Airport amid the Essex hub's controversial plans for a second runway. McGuinness stood unsuccessfully for the Liberal Democrats at the 2005...

Public Affairs: Drug minnows use Lexington for OFT campaign.
November 11, 2005... Smaller drugs suppliers to the NHS are lobbying the Office of Fair Trading in a bid to boost the payments they receive for their prescription medicines. The Ethical Medicines Industry Group (EMIG) has called in Lexington Communications....

Public Affairs: Addaction calls in ex-Red Cross PRO.(public relation officers)(Clare McNeil )(Brief Article)
November 11, 2005... Addaction, the UK drug and alcohol treatment charity, has brought in Clare McNeil to the new post of press and policy officer as it seeks to boost government funding and raise concerns about the impact of new licensing laws. McNeil's hire...

Public Affairs: McGahey takes PI public service job.(David McGahey)(Politics International)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2005... Politics International has hired David McGahey as director of public services. He was previously MD of VT Education and Skills, which provides careers advice, training and apprenticeships, and is a PI client. The hire follows the...

City & Corporate: Telefonica's O2 bid sends Maitland and Hudson top.
November 11, 2005... Telefonica's pounds 17.7bn bid for O2 dominated October's Deal Watch table with agencies for both sides taking the top spots. O2 incumbent The Maitland Consultancy remained first while Hudson Sandler, drafted in to lead Telefonica's PR,...

City & Corporate: New Star aims at institutions.(New Star Asset Management Ltd.)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2005... Fund management group New Star Asset Management is preparing to launch a PR assault on the UK institutional market. The company has handed Vanbrugh Financial a new brief to target City intermediaries such as Watson Wyatt and potential...

City & Corporate: FD brings Morgan Stanley V-P to UK.
November 11, 2005... Financial Dynamics has poached Morgan Stanley's V-P of global investment banking communications Andrew Walton. Walton, who also worked for three and a half years at Morgan Stanley's investment banking comms division in London, joined FD...

City & Corporate: Duffield nous keeps New Star buoyant.(John Duffield)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2005... The Financial Times delivered quite a surprise earlier this week, as it published a table of the worst performing UK equity income funds. Who should be nestling at the bottom but New Star UK Strategic Income? The reason this jars is...

Healthcare: At a glance - PROs embrace NICE fast-tracking process.
November 11, 2005... Please enlighten us. NICE has introduced a Single Technology Appraisal process to produce faster guidance on life-saving drugs that have already been licensed, and on new medicines at the time they become available. Which drugs are on the...

Healthcare: Actelion promotes brain haemorrhage drug.
November 11, 2005... Swiss biotech firm Actelion is using Packer Forbes Communications to handle global work for a pre-launch product that prevents a tightening of the arteries in the brain following a haemorrhage. Clazosentan, currently in late-stage trials,...

Healthcare: S-P puts Remicade account up for grabs.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2005... Schering-Plough (S-P) is plotting to bring in fresh agency support to promote Remicade in the UK. Four agencies are believed to have held talks with S-P about 2006 product comms strategy for Remicade, which can be used to treat patients...

Healthcare: MMD takes over Hungarian shop.
November 11, 2005... Budapest: MMD PR, an agency with offices across central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, has signalled its faith in the pharmaceutical sector by snapping up Hungarian healthcare minnow StratComm. Dezso Krisztics, who founded...

Healthcare: Axon snares former B-M health chief Filshie.
November 11, 2005... Jo Filshie, formerly healthcare head of Burson-Marsteller in Australia, has returned to the UK to take a director position at healthcare specialist Axon Communications. Filshie will join Axon on 14 November, the move reuniting her with her...

Healthcare: Wake takes wider Lilly comms role.
November 11, 2005... Lilly UK has installed Dominic Wake as comms manager in a restructure that sees corporate, product and internal PR fall under his aegis. Wake has moved from a role as NHS/government relations adviser at Lilly, the firm behind Prozac,...

Healthcare: Roche rejigs UK comms for cancer drug portfolio.
November 11, 2005... Roche is to shake up UK product comms within its weighty cancer drug portfolio. An agency pitch for MabThera is on the cards and the firm has brought in fresh backing for Avastin. Roche wants to create 'synergies' in product comms by...

Healthcare: Toshiba Medical in product drive.
November 11, 2005... Toshiba Medical Systems, a maker of hospital equipment such as X-ray machines and ultrasound systems, is using De Facto Communications to boost its profile within the UK healthcare market. Toshiba wants to increase sales of products such as...

Healthcare: Awareness Campaign - Close-up - Lung group plans global COPD day.
November 11, 2005... Organisation: British Lung Foundation Campaign: COPD Day PR team: In-house Date: 16 November Budget: pounds 50,000 COPD affects around three million Brits - but two thirds are unaware they have it. Symptoms include coughing,...

Voluntary Sector: Amnesty targets over-50s via web.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2005... Amnesty International has made its first attempt to attract an older audience by teaming up with over-50s internet portal Silver-Surfers.net. The two groups aim to highlight the plight of 50-year-old 'prisoner of conscience' Nguyen Khac...

Voluntary Sector: Pakistan quake puts aid agencies in the limelight.
November 11, 2005... The earthquake in Pakistan cast a shadow over last month's NGO Watch. Oxfam and the Red Cross dominated October coverage as the clean-up took place. Oxfam's claim that the world's richest countries were not doing enough to help the region...

Voluntary Sector: WS offers gratis comms support.
November 11, 2005... Weber Shandwick is to give three charities 14 days of free support for the campaigns of their choice next year. The charities, which will be chosen by a panel of judges, will benefit from WS's contacts, experience and manpower as part of the...

Voluntary Sector: Edge unveils marcoms chief to oversee review.(Vanessa Miner )(Brief Article)
November 11, 2005... Education charity Edge is reviewing its PR after appointing Vanessa Miner as marketing and communications director. Miner, who was previously commercial partnerships director at TV producer Endemol, will review PR strategy before overseeing...

Voluntary Sector: Parentline tackles support stigma.(Parentline Plus)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2005... Parentline Plus is to target families with teenagers as part of a campaign to remove the stigma behind parent support. The charity believes not enough people seek help from the state because they are afraid they will be labelled 'bad...

Voluntary Sector: Liberty CEO praised.(Shami Chakrabarti)(Liberty Wireless)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2005... Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, was voted Britain's most admired chief executive at last week's Britain's Most Admired Charity awards, hosted by BBC presenter Jeremy Vine and run by PRWeek sister title Third Sector. Voted for by 500...

Media Relations: What the papers say - FT ed's walk-out sparks rumours - Pity the Financial Times.(Financial Times Business Information Ltd.)(Andrew Gowers)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2005... Already struggling with declining sales and advertising revenues, a perceived loss of authority in the City and a lack of focus on UK issues, the former 'City bible' (The Independent on Sunday, 6 November) last week lost editor Andrew Gowers....

Media Relations: Contact book update.
November 11, 2005... PRESS Alistair Osborne, associate City editor of The Daily Telegraph, has been appointed business editor. Meanwhile Edmund Conway is to replace George Trefgarne as the paper's economics editor. Conway is currently economics correspondent...

Media Relations: 2 minutes with Anna Murphy Editor, Stella.
November 11, 2005... As part of its relaunch last weekend, The Sunday Telegraph replaced its long-running magazine with fashion supplement Stella. Why? When Sarah Sands took over as editor four months ago, the first conversation we had was about the magazine....

Media Analysis: The Archers: a rural comms channel.
November 11, 2005... Radio 4's soap opera is enjoying a purple patch, with nearly five million listeners. Alex Black examines the show's roots as a public information provider and how it continues to cover the rural issues of the day. Neighbours, Home & Away,...

News Analysis: How Primark put brand in fashion.
November 11, 2005... Primark has defied high-street gloom with strong sales and media acclaim. Hannah Marriott finds a low-cost PR operation driving the budget retailer. As a high-street retailer that buys in bulk and sells jeans for pounds 4, Primark does not...

News Analysis: Is VoIP the next tech PR goldmine?
November 11, 2005... Voice-over-Internet Protocol is tipped to be the next big thing in technology, provided consumers warm to the concept. David Quainton says PR is the best discipline to explain VoIP - and thus sell it - to the masses. VoIP is forcing its...

Profile: Cook's captain - Alexis Coles-Barrasso, director of corporate communications, Thomas Cook.
November 11, 2005... Alexis Coles-Barrasso, one of the UK's most experienced travel industry communicators, is now back where she belongs - at the helm of our best-known holiday brand. But the past year has been anything but a vacation. Coles-Barrasso returned...

Opinion: Public sector cake needs dividing fairly.
November 11, 2005... If anyone ever doubted the importance of public sector PR, it is worth having a look at the CIPR's study, 'PR Today: the economic significance of public relations' (Feature, p22). The report has a few surprises, not least that the industry...

Opinion: PM's footie stunt won't relieve the blues.
November 11, 2005... So having just faced his worst week in politics since becoming PM, what was Tony Blair's priority for the weekend? Why, to go on BBC's Football Focus, of course. A chance to step away from the pressures of David Blunkett's resignation and the...

Editorial: BBC kudos can soothe Arab anger over Iraq.(Editorial)
November 11, 2005... It emerged this week that the BBC is to add an Arabic-speaking PR agency to its roster (News, p3). Dubai-based Asda'a, will be tasked with launching the BBC's first foreign language TV channel, initially in the Middle East, in 2007. ...

Opinion: My best hire.(Charlotte Ann)(Brief Article)(Biography)
November 11, 2005... Victoria Reynolds, MD of The Ideas Network, on 'human dynamo' Charlotte Ann. 'Charlotte joined as a junior account executive in 2000 when we needed someone who could help run an event one day and mail out press packs at break-neck speed...

Letter: NGOs have it just as tough as corporates.(Letter to the Editor)
November 11, 2005... Kate Nicholas bemoans NGOs' lack of accountability and suggests their claims are often accepted by consumers and media without question ('NGO accountability - who's keeping watch?' 28 October). But this simply isn't true - journalists are...

Letter: Without diversity the industry would fail.(Letter to the Editor)
November 11, 2005... I was surprised by Lionel Zetter's comment (News, 28 October) that people may not be joining the CIPR because it focuses on 'esoteric' issues such as diversity. It was precisely because the CIPR addresses the lack of diversity within the...

Letter: The Scottish media is not so parochial.(Letter to the Editor)
November 11, 2005... Gordon Beattie's comment that it is 'easier to sell in a story (to the Scottish media) if you have a Scottish accent' ('Scottish media demand respect', 28 October) was ridiculous. Is he suggesting that those who work in the Scottish media...

Letter: Pill side effect is no cause for complaint.(Letter to the Editor)
November 11, 2005... Was I alone in being delighted by your article, 'Galliard lands Pfizer UK brief for Revatio launch (Healthcare News, 21 October)? It stated: 'Unwanted erections were not a problem (in the trial) as most patients were female' and 'no male...

Campaigns: Events - Stella builds film cred via cult screenings.(Stella Artois)
November 11, 2005... Campaign: Stella Artois Screen 2005 Client: Stella Artois PR team: Exposure Timescale: March-September 2005 Budget: Undisclosed Exposure, Stella's retained consumer agency since 2003, was handed the lager company's Screen Events...

Campaigns: Consumer - Look-a-like guests lead mall's 'royal wedding'.
November 11, 2005... Campaign: eBay's Royal Wedding Client: Windsor Royal Shopping, Nelson Bakewell PR team: Grappa Timescale: March-April 2005 Budget: Under pounds 5,000 With the wedding of the Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles set for 9 April...

Campaigns: Crisis comms - Toiletry industry body heads off scare stories.
November 11, 2005... Campaign: The value of self-esteem Client: Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association PR team: Blue Rubicon Timescale: Summer 2004-summer 2005 Budget: Under pounds 150,000 Objectives To create a positive environment for...