Public Relations News From Hong Kong and Megan Markle…
Navigating a tricky and complicated public relations crisis is a scenario that many agencies thrive on. Crisis management, reputation clean-up, and damage control are often used synonymously with the PR industry — but this does not automatically mean that an agency will be able to make a miracle happen. This proves to be true in this week’s news round-up of headlines from around the industry.
Hong Kong Fails to Entice a PR Firm to Come Onboard
Given the recent political unrest in Hong Kong, it’s unsurprising that the government is attempting to find a way to restore its global reputation. The Hong Kong government sought proposals and bids from PR agencies in an attempt to find a firm that would tackle the monstrosity that is the current state of affairs. This can be viewed as a classic case of “too little, too late”, as most of the firms who attended an in-person briefing quickly realized that the aggressive deadlines and the magnitude of the situation would not yield satisfactory results.
The Holmes Report has reported that several prominent firms, including Brunswick, Ogilvy, and Ruder Finn, attended the in-person briefing, but no bids were placed as a result.
Markle Hires American Firm for Image Polish
It’s not new news that Megan Markle has had trouble finding a foothold with her public image since she married Prince Harry and became a part of the royal family. Being new to the family and having her own share of tabloid fodder in her personal life, Markle has tapped PR firm Sunshine Sachs to help polish her image.
The decision to go with an American firm has already ruffled some feathers, but Sunshine Sachs does have previous experience working with the royal family as well as with Markle indirectly.
LeKiosk Taps Spark-Agency
French streaming service LeKiosk has announced that it’s chosen Spark-Agency and its UK counterpart, Bijou PR, to handle its B2B and B2C efforts after evaluating pitches from several other agencies. The streaming service will aim to be a leader in digital news and media and expand its offerings across France and the UK. Spark-Agency beat out its peers with a pitch that caught the attention of LeKiosk that contained plans to use integrated campaigns and media relations.
One Green Bean Beats Out Competition for Domino’s Account
Household pizza name Domino’s has named its retained PR firm, One Green Bean, after a five agency pitch process. This agency will now take over consumer PR operations and work alongside Brunswick, Harris PR which handles PR on the corporate and financial side of the coin.
Nina Arnott, head of communications for Domino’s, said that One Green Bean distanced themselves from the competition by having a unique approach to “agency partner collaboration”, among other things.
