LONDON — Pocher, the manufacturer of high quality, intricate automotive model kits, has hired Frank as its PR agency, after a competitive pitch. Pocher is part of the Hornby Hobbies family, alongside Hornby, Scalextric, Corgi and Airfix. Frank’s remit is to develop and execute a PR campaign to introduce Pocher to new consumers beyond the traditional model-making community.

LONDON — Unlimited Group has been selected to work on PR, social media, insight and evaluation for National Highways, the UK government-owned company that operates and maintains England’s motorways and A-roads, after a competitive pitch. The initial two-year contract is worth almost £500,000 and National Highways has the option of extending the contract for a further two years.

LONDON — Ready10 has been appointed by natural performance drinks brand Mission, following a competitive pitch to support the launch of its ready-to-drink zero sugar, zero sweetener and low-caffeine Natural Energy cans (pictured). The brief includes press office and influencer activity, alongside a creative amplification to support the launch. The brief is to raise awareness of the Natural Energy drink among health-conscious and fitness-enthused consumers. Mission was founded by entrepreneur and Guinness World Record runner, Tom Whittle in 2019.

LONDON — Team Lewis has been appointed by payment solutions fintech Riverty to grow brand awareness across Europe, after a four-way competitive pitch. The agency will provide media relations and influencer services to the Bertelsmann Group-owned company, working across the UK, Netherlands, Germany and Sweden. The team will be led by Sander van Buuren, Team Lewis MD of strategy for Benelux, with support from media relations specialists including Niki Wheeler in London.

CAPE TOWN — Global B2B agency Ilex Content Strategies has been selected by Hayo, an innovator in digital solutions in Africa, as its agency of record. Ilex will be supporting Hayo’s long-term growth with a comprehensive suite of marketing and communications services including brand development, messaging, borderless PR, content strategy and sales enablement. Hayo has been operating in Africa for more than two decades, serving governments, regulators, service providers, mobile network operators and enterprises in some of Africa’s largest markets.

LONDON — The UK’s largest golf retailer, American Golf, has appointed PR and social media agency Smoking Gun to handle corporate and consumer communications. Smoking Gun will deliver two media relations briefs for the retailer, including promoting American Golf’s custom fit service, brand partnerships and new personalisation service.

LONDON — Rooster has been appointed by luxury UK travel company Winged Boots to promote its exclusive services to ultra-high-net-worth individuals. Founded in 2008, Winged Boots brings a concierge service to travel management, building tailor-made experiences for personal and corporate travel across destinations from the Maldives to the Caribbean, and the Middle East to Europe. Rooster’s integrated brief spans luxury consumer comms, incentive travel PR, corporate profiling, thought leadership and brand partnerships.

LONDON — Direct-to-consumer wine retailer Perfect Cellar has appointed The Fourth Angel to handle brand partnership brokering and public relations. The Fourth Angel is supporting the launch of Perfect Cellar's first wine collection curated by broadcaster Sara Cox with founder Moez Seraly.

LEEDS, UK — Premium confectioner Mallow & Marsh has appointed Hatch to support its brand refresh and repositioning via a consumer and trade press office campaign, influencer partnerships and experiential sampling activations. The appointment coincides with the brand’s first investment in a TTL marketing campaign and forms part of a £1m budget.

LONDON — The cast of Netflix’s new UK luxury property series, Buying London, has appointed Stakked to deliver an integrated PR and social campaign via two of its specialist creative marketing agencies, following a competitive pitch. PR agency Munch will deliver a public relations campaign for London House, one of the show’s high-end real estate agencies, along with its co-founder Alex Bourne who stars in the show, while Flabbergast has been hired to refresh and takeover the company’s social media strategy, social media management and creative content.

LONDON — ASK Italian, which has 66 restaurants across the UK, has appointed Wild Card to manage strategic communications after a four-way competitive pitch. Tasked with building relevancy and connection with the restaurant’s millennial target audience, Wild Card will lead a digital-first strategy encompassing social media and influencer advocacy, as well as an integrated earned media programme.

LONDON — Wild Card has also been appointed by heating, cooling, ventilation, clean air and refrigeration technology company Daikin UK as its retained communications partner for its residential division after a competitive pitch. The 12-month contract will see the agency raise Daikin’s brand profile across earned, owned and paid media, including positioning it as a trusted voice in sustainable climate solutions. The account will be led by Wild Card MD Georgie Upton within the agency’s environment and social division.

LONDON — The Flywheelers has been selected as marcomms partner for cybersecurity automation platform SecureAck. The relationship started in September 2023, when The Flywheelers helped to launch SecureAck by developing its brand narrative, then bringing it to life across a new website and explainer video, with support from Bobo Studio on web design and Procreate London on video production.

LONDON — Premium vintage English sparkling wine brand Roebuck Estates has appointed lifestyle PR specialist Neon Brand Communications to handle consumer PR activity on a retained basis. Neon will support Roebuck Estates with a year-round PR programme, including media relations, brand partnerships and influencer engagement around events and new launches. Founded in 2017 by former Pernod Ricard global comms lead Amy Grantham, Neon’s client roster includes Remedy Kombucha, The Coconut Collaborative, WelleCo and Hotpod Yoga.