The Gorkana Weekly Industry News Brief: 16 to 22 April 2016

Missed out on this week’s PR News? Get your handy round-up of the essential highlights of PR and media stories, features and events content over the last seven days on Gorkana News.

Pitch Wins


Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts has chosen HSE Cake as its retained global PR agency, following a four-way competitive pitch.

Credit comparison site TotallyMoney.com has brought in Citypress as its retained PR agency, with a brief to raise the profile of the brand among consumers.

Global digital marketing company Criteo has appointed Nelson Bostock Unlimited as its UK PR agency, following a competitive pitch.

Global property consultancy JLL has hired Farrer Kane to help build the profile of its corporate solutions team across a range of targeted sectors.

Manchester-based PR agency Carousel has been handed a PR and social media brief to launch the first Digital Kids Show, which takes place in October.

The BIG Partnership has been briefed by Glasgow Science Centre to help promote the scientific institution and the benefits of science to a range of audiences over the coming year.

People News


Noreena Hertz BC

Noreena Hertz

Weber Shandwick has partnered with economist, author and honorary professor at UCL Noreena Hertz to explore how brands engage with ‘Generation K’.

Caroline Blainey, advertising industry veteran and former senior art director at the Guardian, has joined Unity as creative director.

Red deputy editor Saska Graville has been named director of consumer lifestyle at Ketchum London.

Racepoint Global has enhanced its tech practice team with the appointment of Nelson Bostock Unlimited’s Jenna Keighley as vice president.

CNC Communications & Network Consulting, a member of MSLGROUP, has made two strategic hires in its London office with the appointment of Richard Rigby and Riku Heikkila, who join as consultant and senior associate, respectively.

FleishmanHillard Fishburn has appointed MHP’s former MD and head of global health, John Gisborne, as MD of its healthcare team.

Agency News


The Effect PR team

Burson-Marsteller has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Turkish comms agency Effect PR.

A management team at global comms consultancy Infinite Spada, led by co-founder Jamie Diaferia, has acquired co-founder Gavin Ingham Brooke’s majority shareholding for an undisclosed sum.

WPP-owned financial PR groups Finsbury and Hering Schuppener have formed a strategic partnership.

News Analysis


News coverage drives charity campaigns finds Gorkana survey
Gorkana’s first Charity Attitudes Benchmarking Survey shows how positive and negative media coverage can affect charity campaign success and, in particular, how positive media coverage can influence people to make donations.

White Paper


Crisis comms in the evolving media landscape
Crisis comms is facing more challenges than ever as the media landscape continues to fragment and
CC image 2 BCtransform. PRs are expected to respond at a fraction of the time they have had to in the past and be up-to-date with the all the latest digital platforms to ensure messages get to the right audiences at the right time.

In this White Paper, we hear from crisis experts at a range of businesses and agencies, including TUI Group, Burson-Marsteller, Weber Shandwick and Launch PR, on how to plan and prepare. In addition, we hear exclusively from Moonpig on what it is like to be in eye of the storm as the e-tailer reacted to its recent crisis challenge on Mother’s Day and shares the lessons it has learnt.

Journalist News


Miles Johnson has been appointed global investment editor at the Financial Times. He was previously hedge funds correspondent at the national title.

Metro UK
 has today launched a new Eat & Drink section celebrating London’s bar and restaurant scene. It will feature news, updates, reviews, interviews with chefs, new drink trends, dates for the diary and more.

BBC Radio 5 live’s chief political correspondent, John Pienaar, has been appointed deputy political editor of BBC News. He will continue to contribute to the radio station and present his weekly show, Pienaar’s Politics, at 10am on Sundays.

The Sunday Times’ Style magazine’s deputy beauty editor, Sarah Jossel, has been promoted to beauty editor.

Kiss 100 producer Adam K has been appointed as a producer for Capital London.

Features


PR Case Study: #directfix
When car and household insurance company Direct Line wanted to enhance its “fixing” proposition, Unity took on the challenge to see just what the company could fix. With Longford AFC labelled the “worst football team in Britain”, the agency launched a #directfix campaign with the help of England football legend Stuart Pearce to see what could be done for the ailing team.

Gorkana meets… Metro Features Desk
With the launch of a new daily Eat & Drink section in today’s (21 April) Metro UK, commissioning editor (features) Jenny Stallard talks to Gorkana’s Caleb Greenland about the free paper’s newest content, the growth of dating features and why there’s sure to be a raccoon café in Shoreditch some day soon.

60 seconds with EM CEO Tom Blackwell
Tom Blackwell, CEO at EM, on why there is no such thing as a ‘dull mandate’ in Russia, his admiration for Alibaba’s Jack Ma and the challenge of finding the right cheese.

Gorkana meets… Risk.net
Duncan Wood
, editor-in-chief of Risk.net, talks to Gorkana’s Niall Davies about structural changes within the title, his new role and how PRs can pitch to him and the Risk.net “desks”.

Riot Communications 2

Preena Gadher

Behind the Headlines with Riot co-founder Preena Gadher
Preena Gadher
, co-founder and co-MD of arts and culture specialist agency Riot Communications, on her days of being like Charlie Bucket, what got her “hooked on” the publicity game and why you should never use age as a guide to ability.

60 seconds with Steffan Williams, group MD of Newgate Communications
Steffan Williams
, group MD at Newgate, on why corporate PRs need to be decisive, the similarities between investment banking and comms and the importance of teamwork.