News From Hogan Lovells, Fleishman Hillard, WPP, Publicis Communications, and Boxed
Hogan Lovells Brings Mark Irion to Oversee Their PR
Hogan Lovells, a DC law firm, just added PR to their non-legal offerings for clients and brought in Mark Irion to head the new communications group within the firm. Although a move like this is not common for a law firm, it’s also not unheard of, especially in DC where some law firms offer a variety of non-legal services such as lobbying, cybersecurity risk management, and consulting. Irion said when the move was announced, “The whole thing is designed not just to add additional services but how to win. How do we win?”
Irion was formerly with Levick’s DC office as their president. He also worked at Dutko Worldwide (now known as Grayling). In previous positions he’s worked with a wide array of clients including Hasbro and the government of Dubai. Clients at Hogan Lovells he may be working with include Nissan North America, Aflac (insurance) TPG Capital, and coal and natural gas companies.
FleishmanHillard Replaces Grayling as AOR for Allianz Worldwide Care
Allianz Worldwide Care, a global health, disability, and life insurer, just appointed Fleishman Hillard to represent them for PR. The work will be led out of the FH Dublin office in Ireland where Allianz has one of their biggest operational centers. Allianz Worldwide Care is part of Allianz Worldwide Partners – the broader partnership employs 16K people in 35 countries. FH, an Omnicom company, replaces Grayling, which had represented the insurer for the last five years.
The agency healthcare leader for the EMEA region, Orla Burke, said: “It’s an interesting time to work in the healthcare sector with lots of challenges and Allianz Worldwide Care provides solutions that make a real impact for organizations, individuals, and partners. I’m looking forward to bringing our expertise in health, insurance, retail, and technology to bear while supporting the team at Allianz Worldwide Care.”
Walgreen’s Boots Alliance Brings WPP in for Global Communications
WPP just picked up a big new client/partner in Walgreens Boots Alliance, the pharmacy giant, to do their marketing, advertising, and communications for wholesale and retail. PR agencies under the WPP umbrella scheduled to work with Walgreens are Hill & Knowlton Strategies, Ogilvy PR, Cohn & Wolfe, Burson-Marsteller, Finsbury, and others. The deal is believed to be worth approximately $600 million.
WPP plans to create a “Team WBA” from among the various agencies to work from hub offices in New York, London, and Chicago. Sir Martin Sorrell, WPP chief executive, said: “Team WBA will be a custom solution that draws together the talent and resources from across WPP to develop effective communications that will differentiate WBA and drive results.”
Publicis Comms Nordics Region Changes Leadership
Alexander Pietersen has been named the new CEO for the Nordics Region of Publicis Communications. He’s been with Publicis since 2001 and previously served as CEO in Denmark. Most recently he’s served as CEO and co-founder of Reputation, a Publicis agency and has extensive experience working in transformations for Publicis in Russia, Finland, and Denmark. In the Nordics, he’ll be joined by Catherine Toubal as chief talent officer beginning in February, as well as CFO Astri Garshol.
The Nordics include such agencies as Reputation (Denmark and Finland), Kitchen (Norway), Saatchi & Saatchi (Sweden and Denmark), Prodigious (Sweden and Denmark), and MSLGROUP (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland). Peitersen reports to the CEO of Publicis Communications, Justin Billingsley.
Boxed Looking for Both PR and Digital AORs
Boxed, an online shop for household products and groceries, has issued RFPs for both a PR and a digital agency of record. They approached small and mid-sized firms earlier in January and have plans to narrow it down to four agencies for each category during the first week of February with a final decision to follow by the middle of the month. Seems like the type of account for a 5WPR, Hunter PR or Coyne Public Relations.
