Agency round-up: Contract win with snack food brand; Campaign to promote healthy lifestyle; Creative partnership with retailer; and more

Snacking business Kettle Foods, home to hand-cooked crisp brand Kettle Chips and Popcorn brand Metcalfe’s, has appointed Leeds-based The Lucre Group to be its UK agency.

The six-figure appointment follows an extensive pitch process, The Lucre Group, encompassing Lucre ‘Search Savvy PR’ and RICH ‘Content that moves you’, will handle PR across the entire brand portfolio.

Strengthening the agency’s food and drink credentials further, Lucre’s remit will span both digital and traditional media with content creation and seeding via its in-house RICH division in support.

Kizzy Beckett, Senior Brand Manager, Kettle Brand, said: “Lucre’s love of food oozed from the first meeting and their ethos mirrors our own to make for a perfect partnership.

“That combined with their Search Savvy approach, which is audience-led but Google-aligned, fits perfectly with our strategy.

It is an exciting time right now for Kettle Foods with huge investment taking place in our products, factory and people, so The Lucre Group will be a vital partner in helping us to effectively share that via both traditional press and digitally.”

Tamarind Wilson, Lucre co-founder and Director, added: “With a wealth of experience in snacking, this latest win is the perfect complement to our existing portfolio of Food and Drink clients.

“Kettle Chips is a household name and being part of the team, which helps spread the word even further will be a real pleasure.

“Similarly, being able to work with Metcalfe’s which leads in the fast-growing formats of popcorn, ricecakes and corn chips, will be a true joy for the team.”

:::

Yorkshire-based marketing agency Diva Creative has won a contract worth £250,000 from Greater Manchester Moving.

Diva will develop a two-year campaign to inspire people across the 10 Greater Manchester boroughs to walk more frequently.

The company, which specialises in behaviour change, won a competitive creative pitch and will now work to get the public’s feedback on messaging, visuals and advertising channels prior to delivering the project.

GM Moving is the comprehensive plan to reduce inactivity and increase participation in physical activity and sport – involving the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the NHS in Greater Manchester and Sport England. It aims to inspire 2 million of Greater Manchester’s residents to become active by 2021.

Amanda Pearce, Director at Diva Creative, said: “This a tremendous project for us to work on and the opportunity to develop such a large-scale behaviour change campaign means there is great potential for long-term results.

“Our approach has been to celebrate how walking has always been a proud part of Greater Manchester’s heritage and remind people just how liberating, rewarding and normal it can be to take a quick stroll.

“Getting the public involved is crucial in a campaign like this, so we are looking forward to conducting some research with our target audiences to understand all the ways walking could improve their day-to-day lives.”

The agency is no stranger to physical activity projects, having created the multi-award-winning Big Bike Revival with Cycling UK and delivered a swimming campaign that increased participation at two Leicester pools by as much as 220%.

Pearce added: “We have earned a strong reputation for behaviour change marketing in the public health and sustainable transport sectors.

“This commission reflects our passion for achieving social good by working closely with our clients to produce meaningful campaigns that shift perceptions and motivate people.”

:::

Leeds-based Punch Creative has been appointed as a creative partner for retail company, PerfectHome.

PerfectHome is a UK rent-to-own retailer, which enables customers to pay weekly for household and electrical goods.

Punch Creative has been enlisted as the company’s creative partner to assist with all design work and help better promote their services to target audiences.

The marketing agency aims to deliver a new creative direction, which is both refreshed and strategic and will be implemented in the retail giant’s campaigns in future. This revived approach aligns with PerfectHome’s objectives well and led the agency to win the account.

Lindsey Lindsay, Marketing & Communications Director at PerfectHome, said: “Punch’s creative approach was really refreshing and aligns well with our brand voice and business strategy.

“The agency will be a vital partner in our visual and creative marketing activities. It’s always been our aim to keep it local, working alongside other Northern companies to deliver successful campaigns.”

Louise Wright, Commercial Director at Punch, said: “We’re delighted to be appointed as a marketing partner to PerfectHome, and look forward to growing our relationship with the team.

“Our approach fits really well with the company’s business objectives, and we can’t wait to get stuck in and begin achieving fantastic results.”

:::

Hortor, the global strategic resourcing consultancy with UK offices in Leeds and London, has chosen Open Communications PR agency, to manage the brand’s content strategy across traditional and social media channels.

Having worked on an initial project to update the company website and provide recommendations regarding social media and content marketing, Hortor has agreed a year-round programme of activity that will be delivered by the agency.

Reporting consistent growth since its launch in 2014 and with ambitious targets for the next 12 months and beyond, Open Comms will focus on raising the profile of Hortor, its specialist divisions and the world-class clients it works with.

Joint CEO of Hortor, Andy Roe, said: “In the first instance Open Communications were recommended to us by a business associate that has worked with the agency for years.

“We needed support with the copy writing on our website and a few other projects, so felt it was the right time to engage a team that could give us some specialist support.

“Open quickly became an extension of our team and we are very much looking forward to working with them as we roll-out our year-round programme of activity.”

Director at Open Communications, Lindsey Davies, said: “Hortor are a great fit for us. As well as being ambitious, the business has a great culture and is not afraid of doing things differently. We are looking forward to taking insight from the team and using this to create compelling content that we can share.

“As experts within their industry, we want to make sure we reiterate the knowledge from the team and position them as the growing and global organisation that they are.”

Hortor has made a number of appointments in recent months with colleagues joining both the Leeds and London offices. Further plans to expand internationally to support its global network are also underway, with no fewer than four launches scheduled in the next year.

Open Communications is celebrating ten years in business throughout 2019, with plans to move to a new office in Wakefield city centre.

The agency is preferred PR partner for a range of brands including Opus Trust Communications, Ring, The Coalfields Regeneration Trust, Martin Walsh Architecture and Bellingham IT.