PR Week (UK) articles from September 2006

PR Week (UK) archives from September 2006

SABMiller in City comms overhaul.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... SABMiller, the world's second-largest brewer, is calling in agencies as part of a shake-up of its UK financial and corporate support. The move has put incumbent The Maitland Consultancy, which has worked with SABMiller for three years...

Reed Elsevier comms chief defects to Centrica.
September 1, 2006... Reed Elsevier group director of corporate relations Catherine May is to join Centrica as director of corporate affairs. May, who has been at Reed for six years, will join the British Gas parent on 11 September. She will be responsible...

Multiplex hires in bid to shed Wembley stigma.(Dan Bridgett is appointed)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Australian construction firm Multiplex has appointed a UK head of corporate affairs to help salvage its reputation in the wake of the Wembley Stadium fiasco. Dan Bridgett takes up the new post on 11 September, reporting to UK chairman...

Heathrow airport loses media chief.
September 1, 2006... BAA, under fire over its response to the post-10 August security hike, is seeking a top media handler for Heathrow after Jo Bird's defection to the British Transport Police (BTP). Bird - who, as Heathrow's head of media relations, reported...

Consolidated director to run Red corporate team.(Paul Davies )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The Red Consultancy is to launch a dedicated corporate practice badged Red Inc, and has poached Consolidated Communications director Paul Davies to run the division. Davies joins next week as corporate board director, reporting to agency...

Biss Lancaster in consumer hire.
September 1, 2006... Euro RSCG Biss Lancaster has lured Jo Grierson from an associate director role at Starfish Communications to head its consumer practice. Grierson fills the role vacated by Holly Ward, who was promoted to joint MD when Jonathan Sanchez moved...

Frank and Sneeze to aid thelondonpaper launch.
September 1, 2006... News International is using Frank PR and its sister experiential marketing agency Sneeze to promote thelondonpaper, the hotly anticipated freesheet launching next week. The paper is set to rival Associated Newspapers' The Evening Standard,...

DoH beefs up roster for social marketing project.(Department of Health )
September 1, 2006... The Department of Health (DoH) has completed the six-month review of its PR agency roster, adding eight consultancies and revealing plans to invest more heavily in 'social marketing'. Agencies on the list for social marketing - effectively...

Pitch to promote Brazil friendlies.
September 1, 2006... European sports rights outfit Kentaro is using London agency Pitch PR to handle press and publicity for the Brazilian football team's forthcoming friendly fixtures in the capital. Brazil play Argentina at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium on 3...

Energy helpline in agency hunt.
September 1, 2006... The trade body for Britain's energy suppliers, the Energy Retail Association (ERA), is to enter talks with agencies over a contract to promote its Home Heat Helpline. Its search comes amid spiralling domestic energy bills. The helpline...

TUI plans green travel campaign.
September 1, 2006... Europe's largest travel firm, TUI, is to launch a sustainable tourism drive as the industry comes under increasing pressure to reduce its environmental impact. The Germany-based group, which owns Thomson Holidays, will launch a dedicated...

Poll: Muslim body not tackling extremism.
September 1, 2006... The UK's biggest Muslim body is failing to convince the public that it is doing all it can to root out anti-Western extremism among young British Muslims. In a PRWeek study, more than 78 per cent of Britons said the Muslim Council of...

EMG unveils brand 'music tester'.
September 1, 2006... A new service that claims to identify which pieces of music and musicians will work best for campaigns promoting brands is targeting PR professionals ahead of its launch next week. Entertainment Media Research (EMG) is to launch a 'Brand &...

News Brief: Natascha enlists Ecker.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... MEDIA: The Austrian girl held captive for eight years before escaping last week has enlisted Dietmar Ecker, former spokesman for the Austrian finance secretary, to negotiate a deal with European newspapers for her story. Natascha Kampusch is...

News Brief: Lang agency hunt.
September 1, 2006... FASHION: Clothes designer Jennifer Lang is hunting for PR agency support. It previously used six-strong fashion agency Judy Bennett PR.

News Brief: Wheatcroft appointed.
September 1, 2006... ENTERTAINMENT: Racing and motorsport venue Goodwood has appointed Gillian Wheatcroft as head of marketing and PR. A former head of fashion PR at Marks & Spencer, she joins from fashion and retail agency Mary Lally Associates, where she was an...

News Brief: Phil Hall appointed.
September 1, 2006... CONSUMER: ROL Cruise has taken on Phil Hall Associates as its first agency to boost its popularity among its target 40 to 60-year-old audience. The brief is the agency's first in the travel sector.

News Brief: Poulters acquired.
September 1, 2006... AGENCY: In-store marketing firm Bezier has acquired Leeds-based marketing and PR agency Poulters for an undisclosed sum. Forty-seven-year-old Poulters has an annual turnover of pounds 8m and will continue to operate as a standalone business.

News Brief: Ballard appointed.
September 1, 2006... CITY & CORPORATE: Wienerberger, the world's largest brick-maker, has brought in financial agency Ballard Associates to handle UK corporate and financial PR and attract UK investors. The Austrian-based company uses Bell Pottinger North for...

News Brief: Correction.(Correction notice)
September 1, 2006... MEDIA: Following our '2 Minutes With... ' column (18 August), ITPro.co.uk editor Chris Green has asked PRWeek to clarify that the site does not run personal profiles of IT executives, but is interested in their views on industry issues.

Colman Getty to laud 007 author.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Colman Getty is planning a major campaign to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of James Bond author Ian Fleming. The centenary falls on 28 May 2008 but the literary specialist is planning events throughout the year. Ian...

Radio promoter names PR chief.
September 1, 2006... New commercial radio body RadioCentre has appointed its first head of PR. Darren Kalynuk will take charge of promoting radio's effectiveness as an advertising medium when he joins on 4 September. The body takes over the work previously...

Brunswick loses partner to developer Westfield.
September 1, 2006... Westfield, the Australian company building West London's White City shopping development, has poached Brunswick partner Simon Holberton to become its first director of corporate affairs. Holberton is charged with handling UK and European...

Tories gain most media mentions.
September 1, 2006... The Conservative Party - riding high in the polls under the leadership of David Cameron - is currently enjoying a far higher media profile than Labour, according to research by LexisNexis. The research - measuring UK media mentions from May...

College Hill chief to join B-P Group.(Geoff Smith joins Bell Pottinger )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... College Hill CEO Geoff Smith has quit to join the Bell Pottinger Group as operations director. Smith, who has spent the past few months working alongside fellow CEO Richard Nichols, will report to Bell Pottinger chairman Kevin Murray. He...

Hugo in music talent bid.
September 1, 2006... Procter & Gamble is the latest company seeking to gain youth credibility from links with unsigned musical talent. A year-long talent search - Hugo Urban Rules, on behalf of Hugo Fragrances - is being promoted by Islington-based Spring PR....

Golin Harris nets NEC's UK account.
September 1, 2006... Japanese technology firm NEC has handed its entire UK comms account to Golin Harris, ending four years with Nelson Bostock Communications. GH will also pick up project work in Europe for the account, worth more than pounds 200,000 annually....

Digital UK hires regional support ahead of switch.
September 1, 2006... Digital UK has created a regional PR roster as it seeks to ensure every British household is digital-enabled before the analogue TV switch-off in 2012. Weber Shandwick Manchester, Good Relations Wales and Cornwall-based Deborah Clark &...

Aquascutum role for Pringle chief.(Charlotte Thomas )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Pringle of Scotland head of international marketing and PR Charlotte Thomas has defected after less than a year to fellow luxury brand Aquascutum. Thomas takes up the role of global comms director. In April, Kim Winser left the Scottish...

Public Sector: VisitBritain uses 'book map' of UK.
September 1, 2006... VisitBritain has adopted the themes of popular children's storybooks in a campaign targeting youngsters and their families. The six-month drive called 'Storybook England' centres around an A1-sized map featuring authors, books and...

Public Sector: Dr Foster's Tee to remain in DoH job.
September 1, 2006... Department of Health acting director of comms Matt Tee has resigned from his employer Dr Foster to take a permanent contract at the government department. Tee has been on secondment from the health information provider since last December,...

Public Sector: Francis exits Bentley for Forensic Science Service.
September 1, 2006... The Forensic Science Service (FSS) has strengthened its comms team by poaching automotive PR stalwart Kay Francis. The Bentley head of corporate comms has taken up the newly created director of communications role at FSS, which was...

Public Sector: LGA seeks replacement for Muirhead.
September 1, 2006... The Local Government Association (LGA) is looking to fill a rebadged top PR role, following the announcement that director of strategy Oona Muirhead is to leave. The trade body for councils is now recruiting for a director of corporate...

Public Sector: Warrington set to bolster comms.
September 1, 2006... Warrington Borough Council is on the hunt for a head of strategic communications. The post has been created following a restructure of the council's corporate communications team, as recommended in an audit by local government specialist...

Public Sector: Forster nets govt drink-wise brief.
September 1, 2006... The Forster Company has scooped a pounds 120,000 brief to handle stakeholder relations around the Government's responsible drinking drive. The joint Department of Health and Home Office campaign is a major government campaign to raise...

Public Sector: DfES picks Consolidated for school exam reforms.
September 1, 2006... The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has brought in agency support to help it communicate with businesses, students, parents and teachers over plans to radically reform secondary education. Consolidated Communications is handling...

Public Sector: Govt's YouTube debut draws ire.
September 1, 2006... The Government's attempt to harness social media via video clip website YouTube has met with a sceptical response from site users. The Cabinet Office has put two short films, Transformational Government and Sharing - the Leadership...

Public Sector: London SHA fills top position.
September 1, 2006... The newly formed London Strategic Health Authority has drafted in St George's NHS Trust director of comms Tim Jones to lead PR on an interim basis. Jones will help the authority - temporarily stationed near Green Park - design a pan-London...

Public Sector: Ken has the power in freesheet battle.
September 1, 2006... London is facing its biggest newspaper battle since the Evening Standard defeated Robert Maxwell's upstart London Daily News in 1987. So what? Media wars are nothing new. Swap Maxwell for Rupert Murdoch and even the battle lines are the same....

Voluntary Sector: Group prepares for Primate Day.
September 1, 2006... Animal Defenders International (ADI) is using its second International Primate Day (1 September) to call for a ban on the use of primates in research. The charity has welcomed the current review of EU regulations on experiments on animals,...

Voluntary Sector: Crocker nets top comms role at Hope & Homes.
September 1, 2006... Child welfare charity Hope & Homes for Children (HHC) has finally found a permanent director of comms and fundraising after a 12-month search. Stuart Crocker joined last week from The Soil Association, where he had spent a year as...

Voluntary Sector: Kids' safety charity uses Koan to oversee comms.
September 1, 2006... The Children's Safety Education is overhauling its comms, two years after the then commercial education services firm became a charitable foundation. Chief executive John McNamee said in comms terms, the charity was 'starting from...

Voluntary Sector: Depaul brings in Media Foundry.
September 1, 2006... Homelessness charity Depaul Trust has called in PR support in a bid to put its profile on a par with Shelter and Crisis. The Media Foundry is planning a campaign that will position the charity as a commentator on issues surrounding 'young...

Voluntary Sector: Unity promotes Scope trekkers.
September 1, 2006... Disability charity Scope has briefed Unity PR to publicise ten years of its sponsored trek programme. From 12 to 17 September the charity will have a 'living window display' in book-seller Waterstone's branch at London's Oxford Circus. ...

Voluntary Sector: RNID 'squads' tackle loud music.
September 1, 2006... Deafness charity RNID is to use 'Don't Lose the Music Squads' to tell young people about the danger of loud music. The squads will visit venues ahead of the first Don't Lose The Music week (4-10 September). The campaign has a MySpace page with...

Public Affairs: Hatcher joins Bar Council as legal reforms loom.(Mark Hatcher )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The Bar Council has recruited former PricewaterhouseCoopers head of global public affairs Mark Hatcher to the new role of director of representation and policy. He joins the organisation, which represents the interests of barristers, on 11...

Public Affairs: LLM grabs Amey public service job.(LLM Communications )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Support services group Amey has enlisted LLM Communications as its retained PA adviser to boost its public services credentials. Originally a construction company, Amey now provides infrastructure, IT, property and other support services...

Public Affairs: Citigate veteran Smith to quit a year after GCG deal.(Warwick Smith)(Global Consulting Group)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Citigate Public Affairs' supremo Warwick Smith is quitting after 17 years and just over one year after the agency's merger with fellow Huntsworth firm The Global Consulting Group. Smith, who serves as UK senior MD and head of public affairs...

Public Affairs: AS Biss lands Eversheds and sets up corporate arm.
September 1, 2006... International law firm Eversheds has appointed AS Biss & Co to manage its public affairs. Eversheds senior marketing manager Imogen Lee said the consultancy would also 'advise on corporate and stakeholder relationship development'. AS Biss...

Public Affairs: BPPA's White in new Chime role.
September 1, 2006... Stewart White has relinquished his position as chairman of Bell Pottinger Public Affairs after less than a year. He is now acting instead as an adviser across Bell Pottinger's PR consultancies. Chime Communications chairman Lord Bell said...

Public Affairs: Chelgate readies net planning tool.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Corporate and PA consultancy Chelgate is turning to technology in an effort to boost its community relations service to clients. It is launching what it claims to be a groundbreaking piece of software allowing the public and all...

Healthcare: Kids' hospice plea in two-pronged charge.
September 1, 2006... Virgo Health PR and The Policy Partnership are backing a major campaign aiming to crank up the pressure on the Government to provide more funding for children's hospices. The campaign - which has the slogan 'Fair Play for Children's...

Healthcare: Pegasus nets hearing-aid brief.
September 1, 2006... Hearing-aid company David Ormerod Hearing Centres (DOHC) has brought in its first retained agency to generate greater brand awareness. DOHC has appointed Pegasus Public Relations to handle a 'six-figure' consumer campaign. The company...

Healthcare: Messer unveils health agency.
September 1, 2006... Interaction Marketing & Public Relations Consultants account director Charlotte Messer has left to launch her own healthcare agency, Aquamarine. Messer, a specialist in women's health issues, is initially running the agency - which is...

Healthcare: Hayburn rises to Medicom dep MD.
September 1, 2006... Medicom Group has created the role of deputy MD and promoted associate director Gaynor Hayburn to fill it. The 32-strong health agency cited ongoing organic growth and new contracts with Merck Pharmaceuticals (international corporate work...

Healthcare: At a Glance - Bowel cancer blow for drugs firms and patients.
September 1, 2006... Is this NICE's bowel cancer recommendation? Yes, NICE last week ruled that NHS patients with advanced bowel cancer should not receive either Roche's Avastin (bevacizumab) or Merck Pharmaceuticals' Erbitux (cetuximab) because they are not...

City & Corporate: Lowcosttravel eyes AIM as package sales slump.
September 1, 2006... Hogarth has been drafted in by an online travel firm taking advantage of the decline of the traditional package holiday. Lowcosttravel is looking at a possible AIM flotation of around pounds 30m, only two years after launching. It will be...

City & Corporate: Asset manager uses Cubitt.(Stonehage)(Cubitt Consulting )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Stonehage, a South African company that handles investments on behalf of 'ultra high net worth' individuals, has brought in Cubitt Consulting to position it as a global player. Cubitt won the brief after a five-way pitch, and will promote...

City & Corporate: GS in City venture with agency MJ2.(Golley Slater )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Regional network agency Golley Slater has struck a deal with City shop MJ2, enabling it to offer clients investor relations advice for the first time. The tie-up will be marketed as Golley Slater Financial, although MJ2 continues to exist...

City & Corporate: BAA reminds us of Railtrack debacles.
September 1, 2006... When Railtrack's management panicked after the third serious rail crash in as many years and introduced what was in effect a 20 mph speed limit over much of the network, the late Sir Alastair Morton famously described the company as suffering...

Technology: Letter-price rules spur Linear brief.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Advertising Synergy is aiming to capitalise on potential confusion surrounding Royal Mail's new letter-pricing rules via a campaign promoting ways digital distribution firms can save money. The Warwickshire-based company, whose specialisms...

Technology: Spreckley bags bill software job.
September 1, 2006... Spreckley Partners has emerged victorious in a competitive pitch for a UK contract to promote Dallas-based business software company Docucorp. The shootout included incumbent agency Marketforce Communications. Nasdaq-listed Docucorp...

Technology: Firefly brings in Ketchum's Caillet as Paris chief.
September 1, 2006... PARIS/LONDON: Firefly Communications has strengthened its ranks in France by appointing Philippe Caillet as the head of its Paris office, following signs of a more buoyant tech market in the country. Caillet joins from Ketchum France after...

Technology: Brands2Life lures duo to bolster consumer arm.
September 1, 2006... Brands2Life has made a brace of hires to bolster its consumer division. It has snapped up Simon Soffe, former head of PR and comms at retailer Game, as associate director. Frank PR account manager Neil Ashurst has joined as an account...

Technology: Hotwire loses IT storage company Brocade to WS.
September 1, 2006... Brocade Communications, the US IT secure storage provider, has dropped Hotwire after three and a half years in favour of Weber Shandwick. The move follows a pitch that excluded Hotwire but is believed to have included agencies Lighthouse...

Technology: WPP boosts web marketing clout.
September 1, 2006... WPP Group has acquired a reported 25 per cent stake in US-based internet marketing firm Visible Technologies. The move is a bid to add online media clout to its collectedPR agencies. Visible, with offices in New York, Seattle, Boston and...

Media Relations: What the papers say - Ryanair's O'Leary tackles the Govt.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Michael O'Leary, Ryanair's 'outspoken' chief executive (The Guardian, 18 August), succeeded in generating attention for his condemnation of the Government's new airport security regime, following the foiled alleged terrorist plot of 10 August....

Media Relations: Contact Book Update.
September 1, 2006... PRESS Andrew Murray-Watson has been appointed business editor at the Independent on Sunday. He replaces Jason Nisse (PRWeek, 24 March) and expects to join later this year from his current role at The Sunday Telegraph. Meanwhile, Julia...

Media Relations: 2 minutes with... Andy Roberts, Group programming director, Kiss Radio.(Interview)
September 1, 2006... KISS IS HAVING A REVAMP. WHY? Kiss has not really moved anywhere for the past couple of years, so the format needed to evolve. There have already been some gradual changes at Kiss 100 in London, including a revamped music policy and a...

Media Analysis: Inside London's newspaper wars.
September 1, 2006... News International's thelondonpaper will hit the streets of the capital next week. Sarah Robertson asks what PROs can expect from the freesheet. When Rupert Murdoch's News International unveils thelondonpaper on Monday (4 September), the...

Technology: Reputation check - Does MCB have an image problem?
September 1, 2006... How are the media and the British public perceiving the work of the Muslim Council of Britain, asks Alex Black. The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) professes to be the principal voice of the UK's Muslim community. Its profile has surged in...

News Analysis: Should employees be free to blog?
September 1, 2006... Mobile phone firm Orange has suspended its community affairs manager for comments he made on a blog. Hannah Marriott asks whether companies should embrace staff's online musings or nip them in the bud. Nine per cent of bloggers will...

Profile: High definition - Matthew Anderson, group director of comms, BSkyB.
September 1, 2006... Matthew Anderson bounds into Sky's HD display room at its headquarters in Isleworth, west London. 'Have you seen this?' he asks, shaking hands vigorously. 'This is neat, huh?' Sky's San Francisco-born comms director is pointing at a large...

Opinion: The vicious circle of political party spin.
September 1, 2006... Politicians have only been back in their offices a few days yet stories about spin are already dominating the national media. On Wednesday, The Daily Telegraph led with the Tories attacking the Government for 'supporting an army of more...

Opinion: Letter - How can we lure kids back to science?..
September 1, 2006... Your interesting leader on the need to improve the image of science in schools and universities is a welcome kickstart to a debate that educational establishments need to have ('Why science fails to inspire the young,' 18 August). While no...

Opinion: Letter - ...maybe Doctor Who could again inspire.(Letter to the editor)
September 1, 2006... I read with a smile your leader recommending a charismatic figurehead to entice school pupils to science. Twenty-five years ago my husband struggled through A-level physics, followed by a degree in physics and management sciences. His...

Opinion: Letter - China report omitted human rights issue.
September 1, 2006... Your feature about PR in China ('Agencies drawn by China's riches,' 21 July) made no direct mention of human rights - other than blogs being shut down by the government. I was almost inspired to reach for my pen. But when Wahida Ashiq,...

Opinion: My Best Hire - Jo Carr.
September 1, 2006... Trevor Morris, visiting professor of public relations at Westminster University, on the 'dynamic' Jo Carr. 'Jo joined QBO as a campaign manager in 1996, primarily to work on the agency's Norwich Union account. 'She was filling the...

Campaigns Extra: Reputation management - Outside teaches an old rocker new tricks.
September 1, 2006... Campaign: Bon Jovi personal PR Client: Jon Bon Jovi PR team: The Outside Organisation Timescale: October 2005-ongoing Budget: Undisclosed During this time, Bon Jovi the group has notched up 20 top ten UK hits, and in 2004 became...

Careers: What gets you up in the morning?
September 1, 2006... As the nights begin to draw in, Steve Smethurst speaks to ten PR professionals about what motivates them and where they find their inspiration. ADAM HOWORTH, EUROPEAN COMMS DIRECTOR, NAPSTER I have to admit I find it very difficult to...

Financial comms: How financial firms can rebuild trust.
September 1, 2006... PRWeek reveals new findings on public faith in financial product providers. Robert Gray investigates, and asks communicators in the sector about their strategies. You are more likely to trust this article than any you may have read in the...

Thames Water in comms cutback.(cutbacks at RWE Thames Water PLC)(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... Thames Water has axed its public affairs department and is scaling back on comms despite the battering its image has taken over leakage levels and hosepipe bans. The UK's biggest water firm has made head of public affairs Kathryn Oakley...

DCA's Hudson in Foreign Office switch.(Department for Constitutional Affairs )(Lucian Hudson joins United Kingdom. Foreign and Commonwealth Office)(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... Lucian Hudson, the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) director of comms, is to become Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett's top press aide. Hudson, who works closely with Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs Lord Falconer,...

Power firm Drax plans hire to counter uproar.(Drax Power, Imagen Marketing Communications)(Brief article)
September 8, 2006... The biggest coal-fired power station in Europe, Drax, is preparing to bring in PR agency support in the wake of the 'mass day of action' against carbon emissions last week. The sprawling Yorkshire plant has become a focal point for...