The World of Hi-Tech PR

Goodbye

2006-04-14T17:01:00.000+00:00

The end is nigh for The World of Hi-Tech PR.

Over recent months, work and personal lives have got busier. The result is that I have less time than before to keep this site updated.

Writing it started as a joy. Now, because of other commitments, it has now become a chore. Rather than posting intermittantly, it seems more honest to just stop.

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to read The World of Hi-Tech PR. Perhaps I will venture back someday. Perhaps not.

Goodbye.

Vodafone hires Shine for new live music project

2006-03-05T11:40:00.000+00:00

Vodafone has hired Shine Communications to support a new live music venture.

Shine has been tasked with building up excitement around a new set of "secret location" gigs as well a new music awards ceremony that Vodafone is organising.

Shine beat off competition in a three-way pitch to win the account.

Borkowski, Vodafone's currrent consumer agency, is unaffected.

From PR Week

Dell looks for new EMEA comms director

2006-03-05T11:37:00.000+00:00

Dell is looking for a new EMEA communications director to replace Roger Wilson who is set to retire. Wilson will leave the company when a replacement is found.

PR Week reports that Spencer Stuart has been hired to fill search for potential successors.

Wheeler joins Firefly

2006-03-05T11:36:00.000+00:00

Adrian Wheeler has joined Firefly as an non-executive director.

Previously, Wheeler was chairman of GCI Europe.

From PR Week

PR Week gets it wrong about Bite again

2006-03-05T11:07:00.000+00:00

What is it with PR Week and Bite?

It's already had to correct last week's story about James Warren.

And then, on the very same page, it gets it wrong again. David Hargreaves, who is now MD of Bite UK, didn't leave Firefly earlier this year. He left in 2002.

It's disapointing that PR Week didn't know this.

After all, it was only two months ago that it ran the story about Hargreaves' appointment as UK MD following Bite's acquisition of Credo (January 6, 2006).

Go back further to 2002, and it was PR Week that broke the story of Hargeaves' departure from Firefly. It appeared online on August 28, 2002 and made the front page in the print edition on September 6, 2002.

Bite appoints new head of consumer

2006-03-05T10:56:00.000+00:00

Robin Wilson has been hired by Bite as head of consumer.

He was previously an associate director at Firefly.

Sherly Seitz, the former head of consumer, left Bite last year to join Apple. Rachel Bachman, Bite's head of strategic services, had been overseeing the team since.

From PR Week

O2 hires new lobbyist

2006-03-05T10:51:00.000+00:00

O2 is believed to have hired a new group director of public affairs.

Roger Sharp, who is currently special advisor to culture secretary Tessa Jowell, is expected to join the firm after the local elections in May.

Reading today's headlines, you have to wonder which of the two will be leaving government first.

From PR Week

PR Week rival to launch

2006-02-25T12:06:00.000+00:00

A challenger to PR Week is being launched in the UK.

Called PR Business, it is the brainchild of Geoff Lace, who founded PR Week. He is editor in chief. The editor is Eirwen Oxley Green, a former Radio Times sub.

Lord Chadlington, founder of Shandwick and more recently Huntsworth, is also involved.

PR Business will launch in mid-March.

From Media Guardian (free registration required) via Antony Mayfield's Open

Tech boss becomes CEO of H&K UK

2006-02-25T11:53:00.000+00:00

Sally Costerton has been appointed as UK chief executive at Hill & Knowlton.

She was previously head of technology in EMEA.

From PR Week

Tiscali puts PR up for grabs

2006-02-25T11:48:00.000+00:00

Tiscali's UK PR account is for for pitch.

Judy Haskayne, PR and comms director, said to PR Week that: "We will reviewing everything: our consumer, trade, corporate and public affairs support."

Borkowski, responsible for the corporate and consumer briefs, is now working on a project basis. Firefly and LD Communications have both also worked for Tiscali over the past year, respectively handling B2B press relations and music projects.

Bite loses creative chief

2006-02-25T11:40:00.000+00:00

James Warren, ~~creative director at Bite PR and head of its interactive business,~~ is ~~leaving~~ to join Weber Shandwick.

He will be leading a new web-relations division.

From PR Week (24 February 2006)

CORRECTION:

James Warren stopped working full-time for Bite in October 2005. Since then he has been working as a freelance for Bite UK in a number of different roles.

Greg Rooney is head of Bite' interactive business.

Again from PR Week (3 March 2006)

Sony Ericsson in hunt for new agency

2006-02-25T11:38:00.000+00:00

Sony Ericsson is searching for an agency to promote its sponsorship of the Women's Tennis Association tour.

From PR Week

Sony Ericsson consolidates global PR

2006-02-25T11:30:00.000+00:00

Brando has picked up more work from Sony Ericcson.

The agency will be strengthening the firm's global brand message and implementing more proactive media relations.

From PR Week

Pleon to be dumped by Infosys?

2006-02-25T11:27:00.000+00:00

India's second largest software company, Infosys, is reviewing its UK PR account.

Incumbent Pleon has been in place for three years. Emma Richards, EMEA PR manager for Infosys, wouldn't say whether Pleon had been asked to re-pitch however she did confirm that it will continue to represent the company in France and Germany.

From PR Week

Live Nation hires agency for O2 festivals

2006-02-25T11:22:00.000+00:00

Amazing Media has won a contract to promote this year's O2 Wireless Festivals in London and Leeds.

Event organiser Live Nation ran a three way pitch for the print and online PR contract. The losers were The Outside Organisation and LD Publicity

Scream Promotions handles broadcast PR. Cohn & Wolfe is looking after brand PR for O2.

From PR Week

Nokia loses community relations specialist

2006-02-25T11:18:00.000+00:00

Veronica Scheubel has left Nokia to join APCO.

Scheubel is an associate manager in the European CSR strategy team.

At Nokia, she was senior management of community involvement.

From PR Week

PR Week feature on Wikipedia

2006-02-25T11:12:00.000+00:00

PR runs a feature this week titled "Wikipedia: friend or foe on the net?"

In it, Adam Hill asks how PROs can use the online encyclopedia to their advantage.

Intel shakes up UK PR

2006-02-18T15:51:00.000+00:00

As part of a global re-shuffle, Intel has handed its European PR to two WPP agencies, Burston-Marsteller and Hill & Knowlton.

B-M affiliate Mmd may also pick up some business in central and Eastern Europe.

The big losers appear to be incumbents Weber Shandwick, Fleishman-Hillard, Catalysis and Red.

From PR Week.

PR Week on press freebies

2006-02-18T15:44:00.000+00:00

Another article in this week's issue sees PR Week asking if "PROs knowingly compromise editorial integrity"?

Among those quoted from the world of hi-tech PR are Ian O'Leary, corporate comms director of Seagate Technology; Stephanie McLeod, associate director at Samsung UK; and Grant Currie of Inferno.

PR Week feature on Google

2006-02-18T15:39:00.000+00:00

Google is the subject of a feature in PR Week this issue. The magazine asks how Google can recapture its cool.

It features opinions from four organisations. H&K and B-M are the chosen PR agencies with The Times and Computing providing the media's perspective.

Portugal Telecom hires UK help

2006-02-18T15:37:00.000+00:00

Portugal Telecom has hired Financial Dynamics to help defend it against a bid from Sonae.

From PR Week.

Northgate hands financial PR over

2006-02-18T15:34:00.000+00:00

Maitland has won the financial PR for Northgate Information Solutions. It won the business after a four-way pitch against incumbent Brunswick as well as Financial Dynamics and Bell Pottinger.

PR Week reports that the account is worth £150,000.

Pleon win Commodore PR

2006-02-18T15:31:00.000+00:00

Pleon has won a global PR contract for Commodore after a competitive pitch.

Commodore is best known for its iconic 1980s home computer, the Commodore 64.

From PR Week

Orange merges internal comms team

2006-02-18T15:27:00.000+00:00

Orange has merged its two internal communications departments into a new group called Employee Communications and Engagement. Overall responsibility for this lies with Steve Aumayer, UK vice-president of business support.

The move happened a couple of months, about the same time that Orange's head of internal comms, Kate Haddon, resigned to go to Vodafone.

From PR Week

Vodafone hires new internal comms chief

2006-02-18T15:22:00.000+00:00

Kate Haddon has joined Vodafone UK to head up its internal communications. She was previously at Orange.

Haddon replaces Annette Ware, who was promoted to head of UK brand entertainment and communications about 12 months ago. In the interim period, Vodafone had been using freelancer Sarah Hale.

From PR Week