Mediamix: Polaris; Smoking Gun; TMC Strategic Media

BIRKENHEAD-based PR firm Polaris, which is run by former journalist brothers Sam and Ben Pinnington, has reported a significant increase in revenue.

The business said turnover has grown by a third to £250,000 in its second year of trading.

New clients include Birkenhead based manufacturer and outfitter MPE Interiors and Bootle-based FE college Hugh Baird College.

Ben Pinnington said: “We are delighted to see the business grow, based on our strategy of offering a quality service at a good price. We would like to thank our clients for their continued support and it is especially pleasing to see maritime grow into our biggest single sector.

“We see plenty of room for further expansion in the next year. Our plan is to target four core areas for growth in 2013/14 – maritime, engineering, manufacturing and exports. The last six months has seen us develop an extensive pipeline of leads across these industries regionally, nationally and internationally.”

Polaris operates from bases in Liverpool, Manchester and Ellesmere Port. Its client list also includes the Confederation of British Industry and the Cammell Laird shipyard.

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BED manufacturer Silentnight has appointed Manchester PR agency Smoking Gun following a competitive pitch process.

The brief covers the Rest Assured and Layezee brands as well as the flagship Silentnight brand with a focus on brand positioning and promoting new products.

Smoking Gun’s managing director Rick Guttridge said: “Homes and interiors remains a strong area for the business and our specialist team is focused on providing a top notch consultancy service and achieving great results for Silentnight. The bed market has undergone massive changes in recent years with much consolidation in both manufacturing and retail.  We’re proud to add another British heritage brand to our roster.”  

Nick Booth, marketing director for Silentnight brands, said: “We ran a competitive pitch process to find a new PR partner to help manage our reputation across all channels. Smoking Gun demonstrated a deep understanding of the sector and our needs, as well as providing clear evidence of relevant past successes and highly creative thinking.”

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BLUE Bell BMW and MINI has appointed Congleton-based marketing company TMC Strategic Communications to handle its on and offline marketing activity across the group.

The dealerships are based in Crewe and Wilmslow.

TMC’s managing director Tim McCloud said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to work closely with such a prestigious brand. This new business opportunity represents a significant development for the agency.”

Barry Holt, dealer principal at Crewe said: “We received some very strong proposals from the agencies invited to tender, however, TMC demonstrated a robust understanding of what we do, strong media knowledge as well as the presentation of a strategy which we felt best suited our brand direction. TMC has a reputation for innovative, fresh ideas and their passion for the industry made them the ideal choice.”