LONDON — Direct Line Group has appointed Edelman Smithfield to lead product PR for insurance brands Direct Line, Churchill, Churchill Expert and roadside rescue and recovery brand Green Flag, all previously handled by Citigate Dewe Rogerson. Edelman Smithfield also takes on the Direct Line Business Insurance account previously handled by Eulogy. Boldspace, Talker Tailor Trouble Maker and Weber Shandwick have also been appointed on a roster to support large-scale brand activations.

LONDON — Ice Travel Group, formed by last year’s merger between TravelSupermarket and Icelolly.com, has appointed travel PR and marketing agency Lotus, part of W Communications, to manage PR activity for both online brands. The agency will run the press office and lead on PR campaign ideation and strategy.

MANCHESTER — After a competitive pitch, Red Havas has been appointed as the retained UK PR agency for leading coconut water brand Vita Coco EMEA, which has annual UK sales of more than £120 million. The agency is tasked with supporting the existing Vita Coco product range and working on launch campaigns for new products this year, as well as highlighting the B Corp brand’s sustainability credentials.

LONDON — Construction technology innovator Disperse, whose technology has been used across Europe’s largest urban regeneration project, Canary Wharf, has appointed Brands2Life as its UK communications agency to increase brand awareness and help deepen client relationships with the top UK contractors and real estate developers. Disperse’s AI technology captures and processes visual records from construction projects and transforms them into data that improves productivity for project management teams, mapping progress from day one through to completion.

LONDON — Synpulse, the global management consultancy to global financial service providers, has appointed Milk & Honey PR as its agency in the UK and the DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) region, with a six-figure brief including press office, thought leadership positioning, spokesperson profiling, and strategic communications counsel. Milk & Honey’s UK team will work closely with colleagues in its new German office, with support also provided by Milk & Honey North America for Synpulse’s team in New York. The team will be led by partner Caroline Gruen and Germany CEO Manuel Hüttl will act as DACH strategic lead.

MANCHESTER — Brazen has been appointed by Neville Johnson, the premium fitted furniture and staircase brand, following a competitive three-way pitch. The agency will handle consumer PR campaigns and press office, working with the brand’s SEO and digital teams. Neville Johnson joins Brazen’s portfolio of home clients, which includes Wilko, Silentnight and Scandinavian wall art design brand, Desenio.

LONDON — Online car buying and selling platform Carwow has appointed Boldspace to lead consumer and corporate PR on a retained basis after a competitive pitch. Boldspace will run press office and campaigns for the fast-growing business as it seeks to raise its public profile in the car buying and selling marketplace. The agency will focus on driving national media coverage and creating creative campaigns that deliver cut-through with the brand’s core car buying and selling audience nationwide. The account is led by client director Tom Yazdi, reporting to Meghan Sinclair, Carwow brand and communications director.

LONDON — Following an initial six-month project, payment authentication and risk/fraud assessment firm Outseer, spun out from RSA Security last year, has appointed B2B technology agency, Spark Communications to manage UK PR. Spark will develop creative campaigns and content, help the company define its PR and content strategy and execute UK media relations for fintech, retail and technology audiences to build Outseer’s brand awareness and position the company as a thought leader separate from RSA.

LONDON — Technology communications agency Missive has been selected by fintech Proportunity to deliver a UK PR programme championing homeownership for first time buyers and those looking to upsize their home. Proportunity, which recently raised a $150 million mixed debt and equity funding round, uses machine learning to identify homes in high-potential growth areas and bridges the gap between what buyers can afford using traditional financing methods and what they need in order to secure these high potential homes.

LONDON — Hipcamp, the Jay-Z-backed provider of outdoor stays in tents, yurts, treehouses, beach huts and tepees, has appointed Red Lion to lead consumer communications for its UK launch – its first foray into Europe. Red Lion will handle Hipcamp’s UK press office as it looks to expand its international reach. The agency will also support on a series of campaigns to build brand awareness in the UK and grow its share of listings. Red Lion joint managing director Ellen Durrant will lead the account. Hipcamp’s UK launch follows its acquisition of CoolCamping, an UK-based online travel agency.

LONDON — Kaizen has been appointed by online photo printing company Photobox to drive its online presence in the French market through digital PR. Photobox will be managed by Kaizen’s French team who will focus on the development and delivery of digital PR campaigns across the country. Other clients in Kaizen’s portfolio include Adidas, Freetrade and Lovehoney.

MANCHESTER — European outdoor holiday company Eurocamp has appointed Smoking Gun to manage UK PR, after a competitive pitch. The agency will lead Eurocamp’s consumer PR and influencer marketing activity, with a brief to challenge consumer perceptions of the brand and promote it to a wider holiday market. Eurocamp offers self-catering holiday homes and lodges in holiday parks across 10 European countries.

MANCHESTER — Smoking Gun has also been appointed by nappy brand Rascal + Friends (pictured) to launch its new range of nappies in partnership with children’s TV show, CoComelon. The limited edition nappies will launch in the UK, Ireland, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Smoking Gun’s parenting division, which also looks after US brand Munchkin, won the brief after a competitive pitch and will be working with Rascal + Friends on media relations and PR campaigns for the launch.

LONDON — Finn Partners has been appointed to provide consumer PR activity in the UK for the Zinc micro-mobility brand, including new launches of adult and kids’ scooters, as well as e-scooters. It is the first time the brand has had a PR agency. The agency has also won a brief to provide UK corporate, consumer and trade communications for The Social Gaming Group, as it launches into the UK with its gastro-gaming concept based around digitized darts. The Social Gaming Group already has sites across Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and Australia.

LONDON — Vegetable box delivery brand Abel & Cole has appointed Kindred as its PR agency after a competitive pitch. The agency has been briefed to develop and deliver PR campaigns that make shopping sustainably simple and highlight Abel & Cole’s Packaging Promise to help customers reduce volumes of waste plastic.

LONDON — Good Advice has been appointed by cloud payment technology provider Form3 as its PR agency in the UK, US and Europe. The brief is focused on a media relations and content creation programme that raises awareness of Form3, its products, partnerships and clients, as well as thought leaders within the company. Form3’s clients include Lloyds Bank, Nationwide, N26 and Square. The company raised more than $200m in funding in its latest round.

LONDON — Recycling Lives has appointed Clarion Communications as its UK public relations agency. Clarion’s remit will include showcasing the recycling company’s approach to the circular economy, while raising awareness of its recycling and commodity services. As the largest car processor in the UK, Recycling Lives helps customers reduce, reuse and recycle across sectors including automotive, manufacturing, construction, retail, utility, public sector and domestic markets. The company also supports ex-offenders and people from other disadvantaged groups into work within its Social Value Programmes, as well as contributing to ending food poverty and homelessness.

LONDON — Aduro has picked up two new account wins. For Tourism Seychelles, the agency will handle UK PR strategy to attract visitors to the destination through a press and influencer campaign, creating social content in line with its creative platform. Aduro has also won The Italian Seltzer Company’s brief to launch its premium hard seltzer brand: Mulberry Street through PR and social content delivery this summer.

LONDON — Revolution Beauty has appointed Rise at Seven as its retained digital agency, with a brief covering brand performance, PR and search. The brand will also be using the agency’s new Rise Live service, which covers reactive social, PR, influencer, content, and paid performance using a trend tracker tool, Early Risers. Built around the principles of inclusivity and affordability in the makeup industry, the global beauty brand recently launched into 2,800 Walgreens stores in the US.

LONDON — Diversity and inclusion consultancy INvolve has enlisted Diffusion to help build brand awareness following a competitive pitch. Diffusion’s campaign will position INvolve’s spokespeople as industry thought leaders and commentators on issues relating to workplace diversity and inclusion, focusing on amplifying the company’s Role Model Lists, which sees INvolve showcase and celebrate global business leaders who are driving change.

LONDON — Data collection and customer experienced insights company Shepper, which works for retailers, FCMG brands and public service organisations, has appointed UK-based communications agency Brazil to handle corporate, investor, B2B and consumer brand communications and media outreach, after a competitive pitch.