Changing Insurance For Good With Setanta Insurance
The Mason Media team is working with Setanta Insurance, one of Ireland’s fastest growing companies in that sector.
Setanta Insurance has just launched a new look brand together with the bold strapline “insurance changed for good” as it seeks to build on the success of its first 18 months in business.
The creative campaign was put together by our strategic partner, Wilmslow-based Driven.
The PR programme aims to build dialogue with brokers and launch cost competitive products to market.
P2G Pips Post Office To The Post
Mason Media turned bad news for Post Office customers to good news for delivery service Parcel2Go with a story that the Bolton-based business was set to benefit from a £60,000 increase in revenue as London and Scotland postal workers walked out on strike.
Coverage was secured in media ranging from the Financial Times to Manchester Evening News, helping to further position Parcel2Go as a modern, customer-focused, efficient alternative to the Post Office.
Front Page Headlines for Cancer Charity
The North West Cancer Research Fund relies heavily on fundraising to support essential research into the fundamental causes of cancer.
When Managing Director of Wirral-based business, Connection 365, Steve Murcell announced his mission to cycle across the Pyrenees we threw our efforts behind raising awareness of the challenge to raise funds for the charity.
The gruelling cycle stretched for 720 kilometres from the Atlantic Ocean right across to the Mediterranean Sea, climbing over 11,000 metres in less than 100 hours! Our liaison with regional media secured a front page article in the Ellesmere Port Standard and a business news article in the Ellesmere Port Pioneer – helping Steve on the way to raising almost £1,000 for NWCRF.
Stepping In To Protect Reputations
Mason Media’s specialist Reputations Matter unit continues to provide clients in need with critical support. Whether it is putting in place strategies to deal with potential negative media coverage or stepping in when a crisis breaks, our team of experts is always on hand. During recent times we have worked with clients across sectors as diverse as retail, property, financial services and charity.
Welcome Anna!
The Mason Media team continues to grow with the arrival of Anna Asamoah who joins the team to help on consumer and corporate accounts. Anna brings with her a strong grounding in PR, with previous experience working for a PR agency in Paris. Her past clients include Magnum ice creams, Passionata Lingerie and Club Med Gym. Anna is fluent in both French and Spanish, which just leaves us to say “Bienvenue/ Bienvenido a Mason Media!”
Mason Media, the Liverpool based PR consultancy, has doubled staff numbers in response to growing business demands. The expansion includes developing a new consumer PR offering, led by former Bell Pottinger Consumer Director, Christine Morgan, and senior appointments in the agency’s corporate team.
Christine, former Director of Bell Pottinger’s London-based Good Relations returns to her home city of Liverpool and brings 12 years’ experience to the Mason Media team. Her experience includes developing campaigns for clients across retail, food, charity and leisure for brands including Meat and Livestock Commission, Aunt Bessie’s, Clarks, Gossard and Daily Mail Ideal Home Show. Successful campaigns include Retail Week’s Marketing Campaign of the Year and International Launch of the Year for Japanese clothing company UNIQLO.
Mason Media’s corporate team is also bolstered by the appointment of Executive Media Consultant, Christina Harrison-Stirling, who brings 20 years journalism and corporate PR experience. Christina brings a wealth of experience from professional and financial services as well as public sector work with former clients including Co-operative Insurance, Marks & Spencer Financial Services and Blackpool Borough Council.
Former journalist Sarah Park also joins the team, increasing the Liverpool office personnel to ten. Sarah brings nine years’ experience helping regional small to medium enterprises develop a national profile.
Managing Director, Nick Mason, says: “Mason Media is experiencing a dynamic time with a series of new client wins.
“Our senior recruitments mark a growth in the agency’s business and capabilities. It puts us in good stead to offer clients a high-level professional consultancy and strong results from a leaner North West cost basis.”
“The arrival of Christine and Christina and our other new recruits will help ensure we achieve our further exciting plans for expansion.”
Christine Morgan says, “I am delighted to return to Liverpool and offer the strong consumer PR expertise gained working in London agencies to the North West.”
Also joining the Mason Media team is Jane Batchelor who brings with her seven years’ travel and leisure industry knowledge. Her past credentials include media relations and copywriting for Accor Hotels in South East Asia, one of the world’s largest hotel chains.
Mason adds: “Although there are well documented fears on the current economic climate, we are finding that businesses are more and more acknowledging the importance of public relations and reputation management and are seeking cost effective communications plans that deliver against commercial objectives.”
Stand and deliver
Mason Media secured headline coverage for Kirwans Solicitors Senior Partner, David Kirwan on his announcement to stand as the first anti-sleaze Independent candidate at the next General Election
Since working with the leading North West law firm, Kirwans Solicitors, six years ago Mason Media has secured high profile national and regional coverage to raise the profile of Senior Partner David Kirwan and his other lawyers.
Within hours of David’s decision to take on Conservative Esther McVey and incumbent Labour MP in the knife-edge Wirral West constituency, Mason Media had organised a press conference attended by Sky News, BBC radio, Liverpool Daily Post and the Press Association among others.
A modern, dynamic website was managed and advertising to support the announcement booked with key local media. The campaign brought together our core skills of national and regional media relations and project managing the complete integrated marketing strategy www.davidkirwan.co.uk
Howzat! Cricketing Legends Run Up Support for North West Cancer Research Fund
Over the past years we have helped Liverpool-based North West Cancer Research Fund raise awareness to support its crucial research into the causes of cancer. Our work has included facilitating corporate relationships and raising funds and coverage for events such as abseils and the London Marathon.
This year we are bowling in with a fundraiser which sees an Old England XI play a charity cricket match with a Neston Cricket Club XI, Parkgate. Among those taking part are legends Derek Randall, John Lever and Monte Lynch with a Sporting Lunch preceding the match. Anyone wanting to book a table or find out further information, should contact the charity’s chief executive Anne Jackson on 0151 709 2919.www.nwcrf.co.uk
Katie and Peter Split Means Hits for Pannone
The split between glamour model Jordan and her pop singer husband, Peter Andre, sparked a frenzy of activity on newsdesks and among Britain’s law firms too.
Mason Media secured the first broadcast interview on the subject only minutes after news of the couple’s impending divorce broke.
Andrew Newbury, a partner with Manchester-based law firm Pannone, was interviewed by a host of BBC outlets including Radio Five Live’s ‘Drive’ programme.
In the year since they started working with Mason Media, Andrew and his colleagues have provided comment for numerous BBC radio and TV shows, Sky News and a host of national and international newspapers.
S.O.S call from PDSA
An S.O.S call to ‘Stock Our Shops’ secured national coverage for veterinary charity, PDSA this month. Details of diminishing stock donations due to the economic downturn equating to an estimated drop in funds of £800,000 for the charity were issued as the charity faced with a 10% increase in the number pets presented for treatment.
The ‘donation-distress’ call resulted in coverage for the charity on Sky News, Classic FM, Rock FM and was picked up by the Press Association delivering regional coverage including The Grantham Journal and Fenland Citizen. The story was tweeted by Sky to its 17,156 followers.
Mason Media’s Got Talent
Additions to the Mason Media team include Senior Media Consultant, Sarah Park and Associate Media Consultant, Jane Batchelor. Sarah brings nine years journalism and PR experience to the agency with experience from both corporate and consumer clients. Jane brings seven years travel and leisure experience to the team. Mason Media is delighted to continue to expand its talented team!
Striking a win for ViaPost
We secured a feature for ViaPost, the alternative mail service which offers businesses a greener, more cost efficient method to send its post in the Daily Telegraph’s Business section.
Through pitching a story on how businesses can cut costs and carbon emissions we secured a piece in the ‘Disrupters’ section explaining how ViaPost enables businesses to issue mail shots electronically to a hub near to the final postal address. Focusing on both its green time and cost efficiencies, ViaPost was positioned as revolutionising the postal service.
Fund raising through profile raising
April saw Mason Media help secure funding and awareness for charity, Sophie’s Legacy, an organisation set up by Rob Drury, whose wife Sophie, died of ovarian cancer in April 2008 to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support and Prospect Hospice in Swindon.
Ahead of 50 friends and family, including founder, Rob taking part in the Rome marathon we secured coverage on BBC Radio Wiltshire and the Swindon Advertiser.
A post marathon sell-in yielded a front page splash on the Newbury Weekly News profiling the success of the runners and pushing for last minute donations to the cause.
The media coverage gave a strong push towards the target fundraising of £100,000, with new supporters making donations to take the running total to £90,000!
Mason Media is multiplying!
Spring has seen two new arrivals to the Mason Media team. Former journalist and national magazine editor, Christina Hamilton-Stirling joins with a wealth of PR experience in B2B, financial and public sector PR. Past clients include Marks & Spencer Financial Services, the Co-operative Bank, Central Manchester & Manchester Children’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Blackpool Borough Council.
Christine Morgan, former Consumer Director at Bell Pottinger’s Good Relations also joins the team bringing over 12 years consumer PR experience. Her experience spans across Food, Beauty, Retail, Charity, Leisure and Consumer Technology with a previous clients that include Aunt Bessie’s, Meat and Livestock Commission, Boden, Gossard, Clarks shoes, National Osteoporosis Society, Daily Mail Ideal Home Show and eBay to name a few!
We are part of the Twitterati!
MasonMediaPR is all-a-twitter! Embracing the latest form of social media is all part of creating dialogue with your key audience. Keep updated on what the Mason Media team are up to or drop us a line to learn more about how digital communications should be an important part of your comm’s mix