Public Relations News From Qorvis, HILL & Knowlton, Zeno Group & Weber Shandwick
Qorvis Communications has been hired by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, known as KSRelief. Qorvis is expected to provide media relations services and PR services to the organized as soon as the contract is finalized, according to documents filed with Foreign Agents Registration Act database. The services provided may include conducting workshops or seminars for journalists or think tanks, media relations, events, and drafting op-eds. KSRelief is funded by the Saudi government and many PR and lobbying agencies have distanced themselves in the past several months. Qorvis recently published a press release saying that the organization has joined the U.N. in observing the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.
Adidas has confirmed that Hill+Knowlton, W Communications, and Hope&Glory have been appointed to its UK PR roster. All of these companies have worked for Adidas previously in different projects. Hope&Glory will now be handling a range of projects after working on the running and women’s performance areas of the business. W Communications will be handling the UK Originals brief. Hill+Knowlton retains the majority of the brand’s PR activity in the UK and will now take on sports performance as well as issues and crisis communication.
Zeno Group has been named agency of record by Turkey Farmers of Canada and members of the Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council. The contract was signed last month, though the agency won the five-year, multi-million-dollar account last October. Zeno was hired to boost turkey consumption and is designing a fully-integrated campaign set to launch in mid-May. The goal is to engage primary meal planners in order to raise awareness of the benefits of turkey in order to drive year-round demand and increase overall consumption.
SKDKnickerbocker has been hired by NSO Group as a central part of their public relations offensive. NSO Group is facing several lawsuits charging that its technology was used to spy on journalists and dissidents. SKDKnickerbocker was hired to help with media inquiries as the firm tries to turn around its marred image. Other clients of SKDKnickerbocker include LGBT group Human Rights Campaign, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, Amazon and Starbucks. NSO Group is an Israeli surveillance company launched by Israeli military veterans following their terms in the army. The company used technology created by veterans to launch Pegasus, the spyware that gains remote access to a target’s smartphone.
Weber Shandwick has announced the appointment of three new senior leaders to help in expanding the agency’s technology and corporate communications in the U.S. West Region. Annemiek Hamelink joins as executive vice president of Technology practice. She enters the position with 20 years of experience in the field of technology communication. Gareth Williams is the executive vice president at North America technology strategist. He will help clients to navigate their increasing need for technological insights. Mike Tayler joins as senior vice president of corporate practice. This means he will be leading crisis management and corporate reputation issues for clients all across the U.S. West. All will be based in Weber Shandwick’s San Francisco office.
