Media Buzz: Big Cat Group; Blue Moon Creative; MediaCom

Big Cat on the prowl as it lands Grand Central contract

BIRMINGHAM’S Big Cat Group has been appointed as the national agency for Grand Central, Birmingham’s new £150m premium shopping and dining destination at the revamped New Street Station.

The account win will see Big Cat Group, which forms Big Cat, The Fair and House of Experience, create and execute the launch campaign event as well as facilitate an ongoing press office for the city’s major new showpiece development.

Anthony Tattum, Big Cat Group Managing Director said the appointment was testament to the firm’s expertise and provided an opportunity to demonstrate the agencies integrated approach to delivering creative and innovative solutions to drive real business impact.

“The Grand Central development will be one of the major destinations for shoppers and diners in Birmingham. We are thrilled to be working with such a high profile development at such an exciting time for the city. We couldn’t be happier and are very proud to be part of Birmingham’s transformation,” said Tattum.

Grand Central Birmingham is part of a £750m project for the city. It will be anchored by the new John Lewis department store and will feature more than 40 shops and 20 new cafes and restaurants.

Richard Brown, Development Director at Grand Central said: “We are delighted to have Big Cat Group on board to deliver the launch and ongoing press office and communications for the development.

“With Grand Central being fully integrated with one of the busiest train stations outside of London, it’s imperative that the launch is a national success and we are keen to leverage Big Cat Group’s expertise to help us to do this.”

The launch of Grand Central is scheduled for September.

Blue Moon not alone in helping to promote apprentices

WORCESTERSHIRE-based Blue Moon Creative has been named as the DHL Express Small Employer of the Year in the National Apprenticeship Awards.

The awards, now in their eleventh year, are run by the National Apprenticeship Service and recognise excellence in two areas: businesses that grow their own talent with apprentices and apprentices who have made a significant contribution to their workplaces.

The Pershore company was chosen as the winner in recognition of its commitment to developing young people through apprenticeships.  After coming under new ownership in 2012, the branding and design agency was keen to increase the strength of its team and decided to adopt a “grow your own” approach by taking on three apprentices.

Working closely with Creative Alliance, Blue Moon has taken an active role in developing and supporting its apprentices, and as half the workforce, the apprentices have become an integral part of the firm and have helped grow the business. All three original apprentices were retained, another one has since been hired and another one is soon to be hired.

MediaCom set to gain pounds with Slimming World contract

MEDIACOM Birmingham has been appointed by Slimming World to handle all its media planning and buying activity.

The appointment, which follows a competitive pitch, will see MediaCom focus on planning and delivering activity for the peak January weight loss season with the main aim to increase registration for Slimming World group and online membership.

MediaCom will work with Slimming World’s in-house team to provide a specialist understanding of the modern connected media landscape. Building on a solid foundation of past media activity focussed on the women’s magazine sector, MediaCom will be looking to help Slimming World encompass a wider range of media channels and tactics to include a full suite of digital opportunities.

Paul Bramwell, managing director, MediaCom Birmingham, said: “Slimming World is not only an incredibly strong brand, it provides a life-changing service for the thousands of people that benefit from its lifestyle behaviour change support every week. Reaching audiences has changed beyond all recognition in today’s modern media landscape, particularly for a company with roots going back almost half a century, which is where we’ll be looking to add real value, by applying our expert approach to connected planning and delivery.”

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