BELFAST, Northern Ireland, March 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Smarts Communicate opens new London office
Belfast-based global PR and content agency Smarts Communicate today announced the expansion of its international communications business with the opening of a new office in London.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160321/346100 )
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160321/346101 )
The agency, which currently works with clients across more than 20 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, has a client portfolio that includes British Airways, BT, Lidl, Johnnie Walker and Guinness, and has been rapidly growing its international work.
Smarts Communicate currently employs 45 people in its Irish base and has seen revenues rise by almost 50% in the past two years as it has grown its global consumer PR division.
Last year the company was appointed as the global agency for Johnnie Walker, for whom it also handles PR and social media activity in Western Europe. It has recently overseen the global PR launch of the 'Joy Will Take You Further' campaign, the biggest in Johnnie Walker's 200-year history.
The London office will be headed up by Managing Partner Helen Rainford, previously Consumer Creative Director at Good Relations and formerly Associate Board Director at Cake. Rainford is a SABRE award winner and has led accounts for clients including B&Q, Sainsbury's, Samsung, IKEA, Coca Cola, Alton Towers Resort and Tourism Australia. She was the brains behind the award winning B&Q Fifty Shades campaign which had a great impact on the retailer's sales.
The announcement also coincides with Smarts' offices in Scotland (Glasgow and Edinburgh) rebranding as Smarts Communicate in a move designed to provide greater opportunities for businesses seeking a UK networked service.
Speaking about the opening of the new office, Pippa Arlow, Joint Managing Director of Smarts Communicate, said: "Our business has been transformed in recent years into a highly competitive international player. With 20 years of in-market experience and a decade of global PR experience behind us, we believe the time is right to extend our operational footprint into London. This is the first in a number of exciting steps for us. We are proud of our record of forging strong, innovative partnerships with key brands - and our hard-earned reputation as an agency that constantly challenges itself to deliver more."
Rainford added: "Smarts Communicate already has a great client portfolio and a reputation for delivering brave campaigns. Everyone in the company firmly believes that PR actually has to 'do something' - shift opinion, change behaviours, drive sales. I'm looking forward to growing a team in London that builds on that conviction and opens new avenues for growth.
"A lot of agencies do a lot of talking - particularly about themselves. We are going to be doing a lot of listening. I want to be asking our potential clients what they actually want from a London agency, then we'll get on with shaping a business around it."
In 2014/15 Smarts Communicate won 21 awards for its global work, including CIPR Excellence and PR Week awards for best global campaign on behalf of Bushmills Irish Whiskey. With more than 70 awards in the past five years alone, Smarts Communicate is one of the UK's most-awarded PR companies.
The agency's campaigns have seen them work with a host of international stars including David Beckham, Jenson Button, Snow Patrol, Jake Bugg and The 1975, among others.
Smarts Communicate is part of MSQ Partners, a group of creative agencies that includes The Gate, Holmes & Marchant and twentysix. The group has 25 regional and national offices around the world in locations including New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and San Francisco.
The new London operation will be based at 90 Tottenham Court Road, W1T 4TJ.
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