Mediamix: Betfred TV, Weber Shandwick, Mma Digital, Banc Media

BOOKMAKER Betfred is launching its own TV Channel ahead of the Cheltenham Festival.

It will be produced from studios at MediaCityUK in Salford and broadcast to the group’s 1,365 betting shops.

Chairman and founder Fred Done said: “Who would have thought that less than a mile from my first ever shop in 1967 I know have my own TV Channel in MediaCity.

“It’s exciting times and the most important part of the channel will be to entertain and inform punters. At the end of the day we are in the entertainment industry and this is a great platform.”

Mr Done will appear every Saturday morning in a programme called the Bonus Hour where he will give the punters special offers and preview the day’s action.

He will be joined on the channel by former Channel 4 Racing Presenter Derek Thompson, Sky’s greyhound expert Gary Wiltshire and talkSPORT’s Alan Brazil and Ronnie Irani.

The channel, which will broadcast every day except Christmas Day from 8am-9.30pm. It will show live horse-racing and greyhounds using feeds from SIS and Turf TV, and will also air preview programmes created in-house.

::

WEBER Shandwick North has appointed two former jounalists to head its new strategic media unit.

Account director Chris Marritt, formerly of the Daily Mail and the Press Association, will lead the unit, supported by Chris Walker who has previously written for the Oxford Mail and Doncaster Free Press.

Managing director Jo Leah said: “While all firms are rightly enhancing and expanding their social media and digital capabilities, it is vital to harness the skills of experienced journalists to keep traditional media at the heart of PR.

“As newsrooms shrink the need for quality content is growing. We have grown rapidly over the last 12 months and by

establishing a strategic media unit to operate across all our client accounts we can strengthen the voice of our client’s

stories to make sure we genuinely are engaging, always.”

::

MANCHESTER digital agency, Mmadigital (MMA) has been appointed by industrial disease law firm Roberts Jackson to produce a series of videos following a competitive pitch.

Wilmslow-based Roberts Jackson Solicitors has asked it to produce nine one-minute videos, offering advice from its solicitors and featuring first-hand experiences from claimants of industrial disease.

Karen Jackson, director of Roberts Jackson said: “Due to the sensitive subject matter we had to find a partner we could trust. We’re often dealing with distressed people, so it was vital that the videos not only demonstrated our human face and knowledge, but also dealt with each claimant as an individual. The end results show that mmadigital really understood what we were trying to achieve, resulting in professional and sensitive output.”

::

BANC Media in Manchester has been hired by Wales-based MCS Test Equipment to handle its search engine visibility.

Conwy-based MCS provides testing services to the electronics, telecommunications, defence and transport sectors.

Marketing manager Michael Gwynne said: “After careful consideration, we chose Banc Media over the competition as we were most impressed with them during the tendering process and knew instantly we would be able to work with them going forward to meet MCS Test Equipment’s business objectives.”