Gaillard and Mahe launch Consultancy32, trio including ex-MoD PR boss join Bell Pottinger, Confused.com hires Third City and more from PRWeek UK.
Gaillard and Mahe launch Consultancy32
Paris-based Diane Gaillard and Geneva-based Barbara Mahe have launched Consultancy32. The new agency does not have a permanent base or employees, but the pair will work with various senior consultants, including SEO expert Remi Ribes and designer Stephanie Morin, to service clients. Gaillard has worked as a freelancer since 2012, while Mahe was head of PR and marketing at financial indexing firm Solactive. The pair had previously worked together at Dow Jones. Clients include Danone, Suez and KPMG, as well as start-ups across the UK, France and Switzerland.
Trio including ex-MoD PR boss join Bell Pottinger
Tom Sharpe, until recently head of naval communications at the Ministry of Defence and a former sailor, is one of a trio of new hires in Bell Pottinger’s global advisory team. The division focuses on litigation, crisis and geopolitical comms. Sharpe arrives as an associate partner, as does qualified barrister Alex Just, who joins from Old Square Chambers. Mohan Kaul, founder of the development company the Commonwealth Investment Corporation and a former UN adviser, joins the team as a special advisor.
Confused.com hires Third City
Price comparison website Confused.com has hired Third City to launch a new car finance comparison service. UK consumers spent £30bn on car finance last year, buying 3,000 vehicles a day using some form of credit, according to Third City. Confused.com has not used a PR agency since 2014. Third City will work alongside media buyer PHD and creative agency Karmarama.
Separately, Third City has taken o former designer and menswear blogger Nick Bain as a senior creative. He joins from Bacchus. Account director Robyn Percy also joins, from Roche Communications.
MWWPR to launch fan ‘loot’ service
MWWPR has been appointed for the UK launch of Loot Crate – a subscription service allowing fans of various gaming, sci-fi, anime and other entertainment genres to sign up to be sent a monthly box of merchandise. The company was founded in 2012, and Loot Crate continues to work with MWWPR in what is both companies’ home market. Loot Crate head of corporate comms Erik Reynolds says 2017 should “be the year Loot Crate matures as a global brand”.
TMMG commercial director retires
Christopher Goodwin, commercial director of Bray Leino and Speed Communications owner The Mission Marketing Group, has retired. His 31 March departure will lead to “a further streamlining of central operations and responsibilities as part of an ongoing focus on both costs and margins”, according to a group announcement to the London Stock Exchange.
