Media mix: MC2: PR Agency One; Carousel PR; & more

COMMUNICATIONS consultancy MC2, based in Manchester is to handle a major new social and digital project for Typhoo, one of the UK’s favourite tea brands, following a competitive tendering process.

MC2’s digital and consumer brands teams have been responsible for delivering a new website for Typhoo focusing on quality and taste, as well as managing the core social channels.

The work runs alongside a high-profile through-the-line campaign launched with Nigella Lawson last month.

Typhoo has a long and proud heritage in the UK, dating back to the early 1900s and is the first ever tea brand to be sold pre-packaged rather than over the counter. The brand is now looking to attract more younger consumers.

The win for MC2 comes on the back of a hugely successful 2015 for the agency’s consumer brands team, with new clients including San Carlo, DeKuyper and Kitbag.

Martha Goodfellow, associate director at MC2, said: “It’s fantastic to be working with Typhoo. It’s such a strong brand, and this campaign is bringing it into a new era without losing sight of the great heritage and reputation it’s built up over more than a century.

“The through-the-line campaign is really going to stand out from its competitors and we’ll be driving that through digital and social channels.”

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MANCHESTER-based PR Agency One, an integrated consumer and business-to-business consultancy, has been appointed by Echo Managed Services, one of the UK’s leading customer contact outsourcers, to bolster its brand awareness, explore and penetrate new markets, and increase its overall online visibility.
 
Offering outsourced multi-channel contact centre services, end-to-end debt recovery and revenue management solutions, and the UK water market billing and customer information software, Echo works with businesses in both regulated and non regulated industries.

Employing more than 650 people, and with a turnover of over £30m last year, Echo has grown from strength to strength and is now seeking to expand and penetrate new markets.
 
PR Agency One will assist Echo to help grow its market share by increasing awareness of its core products and services, presenting Echo as a thought leader on industry issues, and utilising digital PR to increase sales enquiries via its website.

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CAROUSEL PR has been asked by Martin Commercial Properties to manage the public relations for The Brewery, a retail and leisure development in Cheltenham.

With phase one of The Brewery open and trading and works for phase two well underway, Carousel’s remit will be to manage both trade and consumer public relations for the site.

Carousel has been briefed to create a PR strategy, which feeds into the overall marketing strategy building up to a consumer launch in 2017 when the development is complete.
 
Carousel will also profile the £30m development to trade media encouraging potential businesses to consider The Brewery as an investment opportunity.

The Brewery is currently home to a mix of brands including Cineworld, Franky & Bennie’s, Prezzo, The Screening Room, Chiquito, Fitness First, Hollywood Bowl, Nando’s and Wilko’s.

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PEPPERMINT Soda, the Hale, Greater Manchester based marketing communications agency, has launched the Peppermint Soda Academy in partnership with two industry trade bodies – the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) and the Global Association for Creative Advertising and Design (D&AD).
 
The company says the move will provide each member of Peppermint’s 25-strong team with the very best professional training, tailored to their particular level and skill set.
 
All staff will be allocated an annual training budget and bespoke progression plan, giving them access to a variety of leading-edge courses, webinars and training sessions each year.

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START-Up Loans, the Government-backed scheme which provides loans, mentoring and support for new and early stage businesses, has appointed Citypress in Manchester as its retained PR agency following a competitive pitch.
 
The scheme, founded in 2012, provides low interest rate personal loans of up to £25,000 to help people start up or grow their business, alongside a range of free mentoring and support services.

To date, it has backed more than 35,000 individuals with upwards of £192m of funding, with more than half of all loans made to people who were formerly unemployed or economically inactive.

Citypress will be providing a 24/7 newsroom service for Start Up Loans, alongside a series of campaigns designed to inspire a new generation of microbusiness owners and position the organisation as the first choice for start ups.
 
As well as targeting national business media, Citypress said its programme would reach out to a much broader demographic through a mix of broadcast, lifestyle, online and social media, reflecting the diverse media consumption of its target audience.
 
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A PANEL of internet marketing experts will attend the E3 Business Expo on March 3 to deliver a free, half-hour question-and-answer session for delegates.

Chaired by Jean Atkinson, director of Eden Marketing, it will give visitors the chance to pose questions on topics ranging from search engine optimisation to social media and blogging.
 
Starting at 3pm, the Q&A will be the last in a day-long programme of free seminars running alongside the E3 Business Expo itself. Aimed at the North West business community, the Expo will be held at the Premier Suite of the Macron Stadium in Bolton.

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THE Manchester office of brand and creative agency DS.Emotion will develop a new brand identity and website for iconic motorsport venue Silverstone.
 
Home to the British Grand Prix, Moto GP, British Superbike and Touring Car Championship, Silverstone hosts the UK’s most high profile motorsport events, attracting broadcasts and audiences from around the world.

Following the appointment of Patrick Allen as managing director last year, Silverstone has undergone major transformation, attracting record crowds to its headline events and broadening the range and type of entertainment it hosts.

Allen said: “With the foundations for the future in place, we are now focusing on realigning our brand and web site to reflect our vision.  DS.Emotion has consistently demonstrated a clear understanding of what we want to achieve through innovation and it became obvious that they are the right creative partner to drive our brand forward.”
 
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CHORLEY-based marketing communications agency The Write Angle has been shortlisted in the PRmoment Awards 2016.

Celebrating excellence and rewarding outstanding campaigns in the PR and communications sector, the PRmoment Awards take place in London and Manchester and attract hundreds of entries from across the UK.

A finalist in the Not for Profit Campaign of the Year category, The Write Angle has been recognised for its achievements on the St George’s Day Charity Festival, held in Lytham in April 2014.

The campaign reached 42 million people, secured a 55% increase in traffic to the festival website and a 102% increase in social followers. Donations also increased by 342%.

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MANCHESTER entrepreneur Neil McKay, who has been behind three successful digital marketing companies in the city, the most recent being Lakestar Media which he sold to McCann Worldgroup in 2012, has launched his next venture.
 
Endless Gain is a digital agency focusing on conversion optimisation, and will help ecommerce businesses improve sales by converting more of their online visitors into customers.

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LIVERPOOL PR agency Boxed Off Communications is ‘knocked out’ after being appointed by world champion boxer Liam Smith.

Scouser Smith, 27, is unbeaten and the current WBO light middleweight champion and one of four title-winning boxing brothers.

He won the championship belt in October 2015, becoming the first boxer from the city to hold a world title outright in more than 20 years.
Smith successfully defended his belt last month and Boxed Off arranged a Boxing Day appearance and interview on the Anfield pitch prior to the clash with Leicester City.