PR News From Westminster Lobbying, APCO Worldwide, Weber Shandwick, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, and North 6th
Alison White Says Unregistered Lobbying at Westminster is Rare
Alison White is the registrar of consultant lobbyists for the office established in 2015 to track third-party consultants dealing with ministers and permanent secretaries for the government. She reported recently in ORCL’s 2016-17 accounts that “During the past year, I have conducted a series of investigations about the potential requirement for registration of law firms and providers of support services to All-Party Parliamentary Groups.”
In addressing criticism about the requirements for registration being too narrow for in-house lobbyists, she continued her explanation of her investigation telling about how she used various other sources to make sure she was covering all the possibilities. Ending with, “As a result, I have satisfied myself that evidence of unregistered consultant lobbying taking place is rare, and that the information contained in the Register can be relied upon.” Three firms fined included MWWPR, according to PR Week.
APCO Worldwide Replacing Weber Shandwick as AOR for Government of Egypt
Margery Kraus, chairman and founder of APCO, confirmed their agency will be working with Egypt on PR, helping stakeholders and others get current on changes that have happened in the country and working as a western ally in the Middle East. Representing Egypt is believed to bring in billing of about $1.2 million annually, but it is controversial because the Egyptian intelligence services made the contract with APCO, that intelligence service has a reputation for torture and repression. In addition, Egypt along with other Middle Eastern countries is currently accusing Qatar of backing terrorist activities.
Ali Grayeli Named Weber Shandwick’s Exec. Creative Director in Asia-Pacific
Ali Grayeli returns to Interpublic Group at Weber Shandwick after a year working at Uber. Previous work history beyond Uber includes working as the executive creative director at McCann Worldgroup’s Singapore office, as well as creative positions at Ogilvy (China), TBWA, and BBDO.
China’s Dalian Wanda Group Hires Hill+Knowlton Strategies
The property entertainment conglomerate with movie theater chains in the US and Europe including AMC, Odeon, and UCI, has hired H+K for branding globally. Jack Martin, CEO of H+K explained they will be working to help the brands expand rapidly internationally, especially in the entertainment side of their business. One of the things they’ll be challenged by is recent moves by the Chinese government fighting against conglomerates expanding. China is using capital controls to keep more cash in their country and limit the amounts going to other places.
North 6th Agency Adds Atlas Communications to Its Team
One of Toronto’s top social media shops, Atlas Communications, was just added to North 6th Agency’s team. North 6th Agency’s headquarters are in Soho (NYC). This expansion allows N6A to include paid social, design, content marketing, social media, and market media relations in Canada.
