Media mix: Kaleidoscope; Social Communications; B2B International & more

LIVERPOOL-based creative communications agency Kaleidoscope is celebrating a new team, a new range of services and a new home.
 
The agency has relocated to the city’s Cotton Exchange, undergone a major re-brand, and appointed expert marketer James Kirk to lead a fresh, strategic approach and expand its services.

It has also just completed a new TV commercial for Kilner jars, working in collaboration with the Rayware Group and Limehouse TV and has won two top communications awards for its work with Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.
 
Set up in 1988 by Mike Edwards and John Faulkner on Fenwick Street, Liverpool, the agency has worked for a wide range of clients including the NHS, Hill Dickinson, PSS, Electricity North West and Silversea Cruises.
 
Kirk says the agency is combining more than 25 years of creative heritage with a fresh approach that “shapes experiences”.
 
“Kaleidoscope has developed an excellent reputation in the city and further afield for its quality of creative thinking and fantastic client service,” he said.
 
Managing director Mike Edwards said: “These are exciting times for the company as we draw on the considerable expertise and close working relationships we’ve built up over the years to move forward.”

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SOCIAL Communications, based in Sale, Greater Manchester has been appointed by Coast Hill Farm, part of the Manor Farm Holding in Surrey, to support the planning consultation and PR for a new anaerobic digestion system to recover natural fertiliser and renewable energy for the farm.
 
Anaerobic digestion is the process by which organic matter such as animal manures or food waste is broken down to produce biogas and biofertiliser.

Anaerobic digestion is recognised by the government, Defra, the Welsh Assembly, the Scottish Parliament, Friends of the Earth and the National Farmers Union as one of the best methods for managing farm yard manure and slurry for agricultural AD systems and food waste recycling for municipal AD projects.

The account win comes after managing director John Quinton-Barber recently spoke at the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association annual conference about how to consult effectively with local communities about renewable energy.

He said: “This is a significant win and a first for Social Communications. This account win is part of our ongoing growth into supporting renewable energy technologies. Anaerobic digestion helps tackle climate change and we’re proud to put our name to that.”

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STOCKPORT-headquartered market research agency B2B International has launched a new business-to-business (b2b) advice and consultancy division as the firm looks to accelerate its expansion plans.

B2B Advisory draws on the company’s 17 years’ experience in the market research field to provide consultancy and practical advice across all aspects of marketing to help global firms strengthen their product offerings and grow their businesses.

The launch follows a period of significant growth for B2B International. Annual turnover reached £7.5m in year-end 2014, with the firm named the fifth fastest-growing agency by the Market Research Society in its most recent annual league table.

The new service will see B2B Advisory’s marketing specialists provide expert mentoring and consultancy across all aspects of a client’s marketing strategy, from brand audits, customer journey mapping and ideas workshops to customer service development and marketing intelligence training.

Paul Hague, founder of B2B International and principal consultant of B2B Advisory, said: “Since the company’s foundation, our teams have examined almost every marketing subject there is and have worked closely with the world’s largest b2b businesses to help them understand their customers’ needs and experiences.”

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MERSEYSIDE PR firm Polaris Media is expanding its maritime division with three new client wins.
 
The company, run by journalist brothers Sam and Ben Pinnington, has taken on new clients including Runcorn ship engine specialist James Troop, one of Merseyside and the maritime sector’s most established companies.
 
In addition, Polaris has been appointed by Birkenhead engineering company V & A Hydraulics and Birkenhead ship refrigeration and air conditioning supplier Flynn Refrigeration.
 
Polaris director Ben Pinnington said maritime is now the company’s biggest single division accounting for 60pc of turnover.

“Polaris is one of the few maritime specialist PR firms in the world,” he said. “This gives us a distinct identity and unique selling point. We have worked hard over a number of years to develop this experience building on Merseyside’s maritime links.”
 
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MANCHESTER PR agency Roland Dransfield is collaborating with voluntary organisation Cheshire Connect to encourage closer collaboration between business and charity.
 
Roland Dransfield PR will support Cheshire Connect in raising awareness of the organisation which matches relevant skills and expertise from the business community to resource that is much needed within the charity sector.
 
Meanwhile, the company has also been appointed by INNSIDE Manchester to raise the profile of the German brand hotel which opened at First Street in May this year.
 
The appointment follows a competitive agency pitch to the hotel’s management team and its European sales and marketing team.
 
The campaign delivery will be led by senior account director Clare Coyne and account manager Maria Murphy who have this month visited Dusseldorf to experience the hotel brand on its home soil.
 
Manchester was chosen as the first UK city for the INNSIDE brand following the success of other INNSIDE hotels across Europe. It will be followed in 2017 by other hotel openings in Birmingham and Glasgow and in New York in 2016.

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MANCHESTER urban spa Bali Health Lounge has commissioned production company Resolution Visuals – also based in the city – to create a range of engaging, promotional videos.
 
The promotional videos will be used across multiple platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and YouTube to supplement the spa’s existing marketing campaign and use different storyboards to highlight a message of high-quality, regular massage and facial treatments for a healthier lifestyle.
 
“Bali Health Lounge wanted to explore how video marketing could develop its business so we worked with them on a series of engaging promotional videos with the aim of showing the difference regular massage can make to people’s lives,” said Resolution Visuals director James Taylor.
 

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INTERNATIONAL TV trends consultancy K7 Media has added Novamedia Sweden – the company that operates the Swedish Postcode Lottery – to its growing list of corporate clientele.

Manchester-based K7 will provide trends intelligence to Novamedia Sweden with its full suite of international TV programming and content trends reporting and analysis, working closely with the organisation’s Stockholm office.

Novamedia Sweden has run the Swedish Postcode Lottery since 2005. In 2014 alone, the lottery generated €125 million for 53 beneficiary charities.

K7 managing director, Keri Lewis Brown said: “We’re proud to be working with a respected organisation such as Novamedia Sweden, which owns the charitable postcode lottery format. “Through our global network of trends intelligence, we’re confident we can deliver unique insights to further drive their successes in the Swedish market.”

This latest appointment adds to Manchester-based K7 Media’s extensive client portfolio, which includes NRK (Norway), CBS (USA) and ITV (UK), strengthening its position as a leading international media consultancy.