As reported by PR Week today, Wimdu has appointed Diffusion as its retained consumer PR agency. Following a competitive pitch, Diffusion has been selected to develop and implement a communications strategy raising awareness of Wimdu UK among consumers in the UK through a sustained national and regional media campaign.

Founded in March 2011, Wimdu is one of a growing group of companies offering a marketplace for homeowners to rent out their spare rooms and homes to tourists and visitors. The company set up UK offices in May 2011 and already lists almost 2,000 properties in the UK. Helped by an £80million investment injection by the Samwer Brothers, Wimdu has expanded globally and now has over 35,000 properties in 2,000 cities across 100 countries. Our campaign will focus on building brand awareness of Wimdu’s social accommodation search which unites travellers and hosts from around the world.

Michael Riegel, CEO of Wimdu UK commented, “Social accommodation is one of the fastest growing sectors within the travel industry, but has yet to gain substantial media coverage across media channels. We want to raise awareness of this trend, and Diffusion’s experience in the travel industry combined with their integrated approach, made the agency a natural choice.”

Today we launched our annual Social TV Trends Report 2011 which finds that the way Brits watch, share, discuss and interact with their TVs is fundamentally changing as a result of social media – as reported by BBC News, PaidContent, and The Next Web. More than three quarters (76 per cent) of TV viewers surf the internet, use our mobile phones, use our iPads or instant message while watching our favourite programmes. Surveying the habits of 2,025 British online consumers with YouGov, our report has found that ‘media stacking’ continues to grow in popularity and has now become mainstream.

Among ‘Media Stacking’ activities, Internet browsing is the most popular activity with 62 per cent of us surfing while watching TV followed by using a mobile phone (46 per cent) and using Facebook (38 per cent). One in five (20 per cent) 18-24 year old TV viewers are on Twitter while watching their favourite TV shows while 28 per cent are using instant messaging such as BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). While 96 per cent of 18-24 year old TV viewers admit to ‘media stacking’, it’s not just an activity for the younger generation as almost two thirds (63 per cent) of TV viewing Brits aged over 55 do it too.

According to the report, 43 per cent of British adults have commented or discussed it with other people not in the same room as them. Women are more likely to be doing so – one in two (50 per cent) compared to 37 per cent of men, while 18-34 year olds are the most prolific commentators (68 per cent).

Social media continues to revive TV as a truly social experience allowing a deeper, shared viewing experience with one big difference: instead of rushing home with our friends and family to huddle around the box on a Saturday night, we are flocking to our laptops, iPads and mobile phones to share the experience virtually. British consumers are information hungry and it appears that not even the most compelling new TV shows can glue our eyes solely on the box as Brits of all ages are combining their viewing with at least one other digital channel. This trend is good news for TV manufacturers who can integrate social TV capabilities into their products, and an opportunity for broadcasters who can truly still create national TV moments that aren’t just major sporting events and see off the naysayers who predicted that the internet and catch-up TV would be the death knell of linear TV programming.

As reported by PR Week, Diffusion has been appointed by Dunelm Mill, the UK’s largest provider of homewares, to develop and implement the brand’s social media and blogger engagement strategy across the UK. The campaign will use social media including Facebook and Twitter to emphasise Dunelm Mill’s expertise for interior design as well as reinforcing the brand’s commitment to quality products at everyday low prices. The campaign will do this through the central theme of inspiring consumers to make small changes that make a big difference to the look and feel of their home.

We will be creating online communities focused on inspiring consumers to share their home design tips. Through Dunelm Mill’s ‘Love it, Like it’ inspiration look book on the Dunelm Mill Facebook page, fans will be also be able to browse the best user generated design tips.

Diffusion will also develop and implement Dunelm Mill’s blogger relations strategy, developing relationships for Dunelm Mill with key homeware and interior design influencers. The campaign will also help to support Dunelm Mill’s expansion across the UK with a series of blogger inspiration events to be held at store openings in addition to the business’ 113 stores across the UK.

As reported by PR Week, Diffusion PR has been appointed by Caxton FX, Europe’s leading foreign exchange company to raise awareness of foreign currency cards amongst young couples, business professionals, travellers and families. The campaign will focus on educating consumers on how to achieve the best value for money when exchanging their money for a trip abroad, or trying to access additional funds while in another country.

The campaign will focus on promoting Caxton FX’s three foreign currency cards: Europe Traveller, Dollar Traveller, and Global Traveller. It will highlight Caxton FX’s pioneering position in the market, offering no ATM fees for card use abroad, significantly better exchange rates and high level of customer service for which Caxton FX was voted number one choice in Which? magazine’s Travel Report this July, ahead of Travelex, M&S Money and the Post Office.

We will be implementing an integrated campaign focusing on traditional and social media. The traditional media campaign will focus on building awareness and advocacy amongst travel and personal finance sections of national and broadcast media.  The social media campaign will engage personal finance and travel bloggers while also developing and building Caxton FX’s social media communities on Facebook and Twitter in the run up to the Christmas travel period and next year’s summer holiday season.

Rupert Lee-Browne, CEO, Caxton FX commented, “For the past decade we have built our reputation on pioneering market leading products and services to help consumers achieve the best value for money and convenience when taking money abroad. We needed a new agency with a fresh approach that really understood how to reach consumers using both traditional and social media.”

I love my BlackBerry. I’m also a big fan of using BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) to keep in touch with friends and family around the world. There’s no denying that BlackBerry has moved far away from being a smartphone for the suits to a cult consumer device. If you just search ‘BlackBerry user’ on Google images you’ll see the aspirational image that BlackBerry has worked hard to create with a mass of celebrity advocates – a stark contrast to the cheesy lifestyle and product shots you get when searching for ‘Android’ or even ‘iPhone user.’

So as the dust settles and people clean up the streets across the UK, BlackBerry also has some cleaning up to do. The past week has seen BlackBerry, through the mass popularity of BBM, being flung straight into the heart of the media storm, directly linking it to the UK riots. One BBM message shown to The Guardian called for people to target Oxford Street, loot and attack the police. But is RIM, the makers of BlackBerry smartphones, really to blame for this? Of course not. BBM hasn’t caused the riots – it’s just one of the many forms of technology that people have used to communicate. Yes young people use BlackBerry smartphones but they also use Twitter, SMS and other messaging platforms. But early reports are suggesting that the BlackBerry brand image has already taken a hit as people negatively associate it with the riots and gang culture.

BlackBerry is undoubtedly the most secure mobile platform, so the real challenge for RIM will be to reinforce this message and make sure people don’t misconstrued the sensationalist headlines we’ve seen over the past few days with it being insecure or pinned to crime. When the fingers started to point at RIM, the company was right to issue a statement showing cooperation with the police.  The next step for BlackBerry is to work with both traditional and social media influencers to reinforce the security of the BlackBerry platform to mitigate further brand damage, and effectively monitoring social media forums is a key part of this. BlackBerry will also need to continue to tap in to its range of high profile celebrity and business advocates, from Cheryl Cole to Alan Sugar, so when the media storm dies down, only then will it be positioned away from the gangs involved in the riots and back to the aspirational device it has been.

As reported by PR Week today, CNBC has appointed Diffusion to help raise awareness and build engagement for a series of international executive think tanks on the future of global energy policy. From alternative fuels, the future of electric vehicles to green taxes, CNBC’s Energy Opportunities will be bringing together major CEOs, government policy makers, NGOs and academic pioneers to discuss how to create a sustainable future.

Energy Opportunities consists of a series of special think tanks, highlights of which will air across the CNBC network, involving high-level international speakers filmed at events taking place in London, China and Singapore. Energy Opportunities will create a global brainstorm to explore the energy options of the future and will culminate in a 60 minute programme on CNBC.  Diffusion will work with CNBC to encourage debate online at the site EnergyOpportunities.tv and on key social media platforms including Twitter and LinkedIn.

We will be creating opportunities for the online debate to go on air by engaging prominent environment, energy and sustainable development and CSR commentators online. Diffusion’s brief also includes reaching out to consumers concerned about energy and sustainability issues, encouraging them to visit the Energy Opportunities site where they will have a rare opportunity to share their opinions and suggestions with business and government decision makers.

Marina Kissam, marketing director, EMEA for CNBC commented, “Energy Opportunities brings together industry leaders, key political figures and academic pioneers to debate how we can design a more sustainable future.  This year, we will bring our on-the-ground, on-air, and online initiatives together through social media to get an even greater level of engagement.”

As reported by PR Week today, Air New Zealand has appointed Diffusion to  develop an integrated communication campaign across mainstream media and drive social media strategy.  The campaign will focus strongly on articulating and building the airline’s brand both with a focus on quality of service, new in flight features and amplifying Air New Zealand’s  ‘Forget all you know about flying’ marketing campaign.

Diffusion will run a sustained media relations and online influencer campaign to promote Air New Zealand’s two key routes from London Heathrow to Los Angeles and Hong Kong as well as routes to destination New Zealand.

Work will begin with promoting the airline’s acclaimed new Skycouch and Spaceseat products that were introduced to London routes in April.  Skycouch is a new design that is revolutionising ‘economy’ air travel by turning three individual seats on a Boeing 777 into a single “skycouch’’, to give couples and those travelling with children a more flexible space when flying.  The seats are already becoming affectionately known as ‘Cuddle Class’.

Air New Zealand has developed a strong reputation for its use of video virals, and Diffusion will drive online seeding and media amplification of video campaigns as well developing concepts for future digital campaigns.  A new in-flight safety video “Fit to Fly” featuring US fitness legend Richard Simmons, released by the airline in March secured over one million views on YouTube in just three days. ‘Fit to Fly’ follows on from the airline’s hugely successful Nothing to Hide and Bare Essentials of Safety inflight video campaigns which have totalled more than 12 million views on YouTube to date.

Sarah Hopkins, communications manager for Air New Zealand Europe commented, “Diffusion impressed us with their ability to quickly get under the skin of the Air New Zealand brand and bring freshness, tenacity and creativity of thinking that matched our own.  We needed an agency which really understood today’s interconnected media landscape and was expert in designing and implementing integrated communication campaigns and at the same time understands traditional media relations well.”

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Motors.co.uk, one of the UK’s leading used car search websites, has appointed Diffusion as its retained consumer PR agency.  Diffusion has been selected to develop and implement an integrated communications strategy using both traditional media and social media channels.  Key objectives of the campaign will include building brand awareness, amplifying a new TV advertising campaign and creating an online community around the Motors.co.uk brand.

Diffusion will be embarking on a sustained issues-based national and local media campaign for Motors.co.uk, aimed at articulating its motoring expertise and appeal to mainstream consumers, rather than just car enthusiasts.  The traditional PR campaign and Motors.co.uk’s wider marketing strategy will be closely integrated with the agency’s digital work.

Diffusion will be using its extensive expertise in community building and management to make Facebook central to Motors.co.uk’s online engagement strategy.  Social media platforms including Twitter, blogs and forums will also be used to build on the site’s goals of empowering mainstream car buyers and sellers and making car buyers feel safer and reassured about purchasing a used vehicle.

Phill Jones, commercial director, Motors.co.uk commented, “We recognised that we needed to take an integrated approach to our communication strategy to make the biggest impact. Diffusion impressed with their ideas and energy for building consumer engagement around our brand, allowing consumers to share their emotions around the car buying process.  They demonstrated that rare quality among agencies of being as strong in traditional media as they are in digital and crucially, expert at bringing those multiple channels together.”

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With a new year ahead of you it’s perfectly natural to be contemplating whether you are in the right job.  Are you working for clients you love, in a culture that is constantly innovating and pushing the boundaries of PR? Is your career where you want to it to be and can you see a clear path to promotion ahead of you? Is your employer investing in you to make sure you have the integrated communication skills which are essential for effective PR today?

If the answer to any of these questions is ‘no’, perhaps now’s the time to see what fresh opportunities are out there? 2010 was another year of great growth for Diffusion, winning new clients including, Metro, Mothercare, the Conservatives and Department for Business, Innovation & Skills.

We are now recruiting at a number of levels across our practices, so if you are looking for a new opportunity or think you have skills which would be a perfect match for our innovative integrated approach at Diffusion, please see our Careers page for more details.

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Diffusion has today launched of a new Film & Entertainment practice to shake up the UK PR market.  The division will be challenging both established PR players and digital agencies specialising in film, by providing entertainment brands with integrated traditional press and social media campaigns under one roof.  At launch, the division has secured Gateway Films as its first retained client and has also won the brief to promote director Reg Traviss’ latest film project, Screwed.

Diffusion has recruited Laura Pettitt, a highly respected senior film publicist from Freud Communications as its new Head of Film and Entertainment.  Laura has worked as the lead publicist on a series of high-profile projects including Bronson, Bruno, Kick-Ass, Adulthood and Made in Dagenham and has also managed ongoing PR campaigns for cinema chain Vue Entertainment and Sky Movies.

Pettitt commented, “Clients are becoming increasingly frustrated by mainstream media and digital campaigns being conducted by the same old agencies in isolation. All too often opportunities to create powerful campaigns integrated across media channels are being missed due to a lack of expertise, coordination or misplaced rivalry between agencies.  Our vision for Diffusion Film & Entertainment is to inject some much needed fresh thinking and competition into the agency space. We have built a team which brings together exceptional relationships with film journalists with Diffusion’s proven expertise in digital and social media campaigns.”

Diffusion Film & Entertainment has been retained by Terry Stone’s Gateway Films, the producers of Shank and Doghouse, to run the offline and digital campaigns for its slate of films in 2011. The first of these will be Weighed In, which starts shooting later this month and stars Bob Hoskins.

The agency has also been selected to work on Screwed, a feature being directed by critically acclaimed director and Reg Traviss (Joy Division, Psychosis).  The film is a semi-biographical story based on the experiences of former prison guard Ronnie Thompson, who spent seven years working in some of the UK’s most dangerous prisons. Based on Thompson’s book of the same name, the project stars James D’Arcy (Master & Commander) and Noel Clarke (Kidulthood).