Media Mix: De Winter; Groundbreak Productions; 26 Letters; Marketing Manchester; SKV; Moose; MC2; Nothing But Epic; Lifeline Language Services
THE founder of Cheshire’s longest-established PR agency is to step down from the business after 27 years.
De Winter PR CEO Hems de Winter leaves in October, handing over the reins to co-director and current managing director Kate Cox who has spearheaded the growth of the business over the last decade.
She will continue to lead the agency together with its specialist national retail PR offering, The Retail Room.
Founded in 1989, the agency has evolved into a multi award-winning business working with a range of global brands including MBNA, Royal Crown Derby and Flex.
The next phase of the de Winter story will see the agency quadrupling the size of its operation in Liverpool city centre where it opened its first office in 2014.
De Winter founded the company in 1989 following a successful career in journalism and local authority PR.
Next month, he will launch a new venture as business mentor and corporate culture consultant and will continue his public speaking activities and his work with students at various universities across the North West as part of the Young Enterprise programme.
He will continue to support the business in a part-time mentoring and advisory capacity.
“It has been an immense privilege to have been able to create and grow a successful business in this fantastic city and to work alongside so many great clients throughout the UK and abroad,” he said.
“The highlight has been the opportunity work with so many amazing colleagues. It has been their talents, passion and commitment that have enabled the agency to achieve its 27-year milestone.”
He added: “With her experience and vision, Kate and her outstanding team will undoubtedly continue to lead the agency to even greater growth and success. I’m looking forward to continuing being part of the success story in my new role.”
Cox, a former winner of Insider’s North West Young Professional award, said: “Working alongside Hems has been a pleasure and honour. I have never worked with such a wonderful, caring individual. His passion and enthusiasm for people – be it a client, employee or student – is unique. We call it the ‘de Winter Way’ and it is undoubtedly at the heart of much of the agency’s success and growth.”
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NORTH West film and video production company Groundbreak Productions has added Water Babies to its impressive portfolio of clients.
Groundbreak is working with the business on an advert which showcases its underwater photography service, and has recently completed a two-day shoot at a pool in Pensby Primary School on the Wirral.
The shoot saw a 20-man crew film 40 babies underwater to produce the advert which is set to be released in early October.
The production adds to a period of sustained growth for Groundbreak, having secured projects with clients including Morgan Stanley, Flex, Middleton Technology School, Precision Pneumatics, and The National Farmer’s Union in the last few months.
The business can already count Brother, Money Supermarket, National Lottery, NHS, National Crime Agency, Oxfam and NSPCC as clients.
Matt Hunt, head of production at Groundbreak, said: “The project with Water Babies is a brilliant addition to our diverse portfolio. As video ads become more and more prevalent in the overall marketing mix, we’re working on an increasing variety of production projects, which are really exciting for the team to be involved in.”
James Brookes, head of IT and photography at Water Babies, added: “We selected Groundbreak following a competitive pitch process in which the team not only demonstrated a thorough understanding of our brief and its challenges, but also provided us with some deep insights on what format and style would work best for our target audience.”
Groundbreak’s business growth has prompted a move to a bigger, 850sq ft office on Cecil Road in Hale for their Manchester HQ, in addition to its existing offices in London and Wirral.
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SPECIALIST property public relations company, 26 Letters PR, has set up a Manchester office, expanding on its London business.
The agency, founded by David Martin in 2015, already works with a number of property businesses in Manchester, including Malcolm Hollis, Crowd UK and Archon Security. The agency will be based out of an office in Barton Arcade on Deansgate.
The move to establish a base in Manchester is led by growing interest from property businesses in the North West looking for support from a consultancy that understands the national outlook, is connected in to the wider property sector and has strong relationships with the national media.
26 Letters is an independently owned agency specialising in property and places, with an experienced team that has worked with some of the biggest names in property, including a number of FTSE 100 PLCs and specialist independent businesses.
It works across the entire property spectrum, delivering corporate and consumer communications, as well as managing their attendance at events such as MIPIM.
Managing director, David Martin, said: “Manchester is the beating heart of the Northern Powerhouse, but more importantly, it is leading the way nationally as a city that is mixing innovation with property development.”
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MARKETING Manchester, part of the Manchester Growth Company, has successfully secured funding for two projects from VisitEngland’s Discover England Fund which will boost Greater Manchester and the region’s tourism sector.
The first project will improve the bookable services and excursions on offer in Greater Manchester and the wider North of England.
The second will encourage international travellers to include Manchester as part of their visit to England by increasing our profile and developing ‘two-centre’ holiday packages.
The projects are two of a number of successful schemes to receive funding from the £40m Discover England Fund.
The Fund, administered by VisitEngland, is designed to ensure England stays competitive in the rapidly growing global tourism industry. It is a central government-funded programme of activity, supported by match funding by partners in the public and private sectors.
As part of Growing Manchester as an International Gateway: Creating New Bookable and Commissionable Visitor Products Marketing Manchester will work with destinations across the North of England to identify gaps in Greater Manchester and the wider region’s bookable excursions and sightseeing tours.
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MANCHESTER’S SKV Communications has been retained by MediaCityUK’s tech and digital enterprise hub The Landing to deliver communications for a third successive year.
SKV’s appointment follows a competitive tendering and pitch process which was overseen by Landing CEO Jon Corner and the recently appointed head of programmes and partnerships, Maya Dibley.
SKV will be tasked with developing and delivering The Landing’s PR for the next 12 months which will include supporting its business engagement strategy, its events programme (including ERDF funded training and workshops), external partner liaison and B2B media relations.
SKV will also be promoting The Landing’s new facilities, labs and workspaces which have been developed to meet the needs of emerging sectors such as health, Virtual Reality, UX and the Internet of Things.
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MOOSE Media Management is to be social media partner for 1 Events Media’s 2017 North West E3 Business Expo.
The E3 Business Expo is a unique regional exhibition of business and industry communities, crafted into a full day which provides an outstanding opportunity for networking amongst some of the most creative and innovative business minds in the north west.
The Expo will provide a unique platform for north west companies, charities and entrepreneurs to make new contacts and to gain dynamic insights from leading business experts.
Moose Media’s director Graham Campbell said: “Moose is delighted to be working as the social media partner for 1 Events Media.
“We were seriously impressed by their previous E3 Business Expo at the Macron Stadium, Bolton held earlier this year.
“And we are determined that with our combined efforts, 2017’s edition will be even more successful for those businesses that exhibit.”
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LONDON-headquartered data centre and colocation provider LDeX Group has named MC2 as its retained communications agency.
Manchester-based MC2’s remit covers the development and execution of a communications strategy comprising media relations, social media and content marketing.
LDeX Group – which has data centres in both Manchester and London – was founded by Rob Garbutt and Patrick Doyle, the entrepreneurs behind UKGrid, a Manchester data centre company that was acquired by Telecity Group in 2011. LDeX has recently doubled the capacity of its Manchester data centre, and is now attacking a range of markets in the UK and beyond.
Rob Garbutt, chief executive of LDeX Group, said: “We’re an ambitious company. We’re one of the top independent data centre providers in London and have already made great strides in Manchester since opening there in 2015.”
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DIGITAL agency Nothing But Epic has been named Manchester’s most innovative business as it takes the £30,000 funding package at this year’s Venturefest.
Founded in 2015, Nothing But Epic is a digital brand agency specialising in social media, website design and SEO.
The company, which is based in Manchester city centre, won the Innovation Showcase competition following a live vote in front of 600 business leaders at the Bridgewater Hall.
Nothing But Epic was one of 10 businesses to pitch their innovative ideas to some of the region’s most prominent entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors. Nothing But Epic Director Mike Anderson used his three-minute pitch to showcase the business’ unique social media platform, Padoq.
Anderson said: “Winning this award could not have come at a better time for Nothing But Epic as we’ve got big ambitions for the business. Our team has been working tirelessly to position Padoq as the next big social media platform and we believe it has the potential to compete on a global scale.”
“Now that we have the access to capital and support from Business Growth Hub, we will be able to focus on introducing our core product to new markets. The Hub has been instrumental throughout the whole process and we’re looking forward to working closely with them and their network of partners as we embark on the next stage of our journey.”
Organised by Business Growth Hub and in partnership with Innovate UK and the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN), the annual conference boasted 50 exhibitors and included keynote speeches from Sir Howard Bernstein, Chief Executive at Manchester City Council, and Juergen Maier, CEO at Siemens.
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PRESON-based Lifeline Language Services has been commissioned by Promosalons to provide French to English translation of all marketing materials, programme, website and press releases for Vinexpo, the world’s number one trade show for wine and spirits professionals.
Promosalons is a France-based global company promoting more than 80 French trade shows in sectors including aerospace, automotive, agriculture, construction, fashion, lingerie, food, interior design and eyewear.
Established 49 years, with 56 offices across five continents and more than 150 employees, Promosalon’s remit is to boost the number of international visitors and exhibitors at French trade shows and in so doing boost the attractiveness of France and Paris as a destination for international events.
Created in 1981, Vinexpo is the world’s number one trade show for wine and spirits professionals.
