LONDON — Pernod Ricard UK has added four names to its consumer PR agency roster: Exposure, Instinct, Talker Tailor Trouble Maker and The Romans. Their brief for the wines and spirits company, whose brands include Absolut, Jameson, Plymouth Gin, Perrier-Jouët and Beefeater Gin, covers strategic and creative counsel, campaign amplification and press office.

LONDON — Brunswick has made eight people in EMEA into partners in its latest round of promotions: Timothy Schultz in Johannesburg and Julien Trosdorf in Paris, plus Aideen Lee, David Blackburn, Diana Vaughton, Fiona Micallef-Eynaud, Will Medvei and Ian Roe, all in London.

LONDON — MHP and Mischief, both part of the Engine group, have moved into new offices together. The agencies have spent the last six months building shared systems, services and a joint P&L, and are already pitching together where required under the Engine | MHP + Mischief label; more than 30% of MHP and Mischief’s combined team of 200 people already work on shared clients. Their roster includes Lego, Coca-Cola, National Trust, Astra Zeneca, Vodafone, Revolut and JD.

LONDON — Omnicom Group’s female leadership initiative, Omniwomen UK + Allies, has announced that this year it will be supporting Theirworld, a children’s charity committed to ending the global education crisis. Omniwomen UK + Allies will also be raising funds to support the costs of three scholarships for vulnerable / refugee women in Lebanon through a three-year MBA, via a partnership between Theirworld and Edinburgh Business School.

LONDON — Games publisher Lockwood Publishing, best known for its award-winning game Avakin Life, has selected Don’t Cry Wolf as its retained corporate communications agency. The team, headed by CEO John Brown and senior consultant Jamie Weeks, will also be responsible for the Nottingham-based company’s day-to-day corporate press office.

LONDON — Wisconsin-headquartered marketing technology company Widen – used by companies including the YMCA, Yankee Candle, New Balance and the Salvation Army – has appointed technology specialist Babel as its UK agency of record, tasked with supporting the company’s strategic expansion into Europe by establishing a foothold in the UK market. Babel’s remit includes media relations, corporate storytelling, messaging development and strategic counsel.

YORK, UK — York St John University’s York Business School has announced a partnership with digital marketing agency Mediaworks, to offer an MSc in Digital Marketing and Data Analytics. The online Master’s qualification is the UK’s first digital marketing degree to blend academic and industry-specific teaching, integrating traditional marketing strategies such as customer loyalty, with analysis of customer behaviour, customer journey mapping, and social media marketing.

LONDON — Echo Group, which owns the Echo Research operations in the UK and US, along with the Britain’s Most Admired Companies study, has appointed Neil Sherlock as non-executive chairman. A former partner at PwC and KPMG, Sherlock served in the coalition government as a special adviser to deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, covering business, Europe and constitutional issues.

LONDON — Opinium Research, Lansons’ sister political and brand research consultancy, has opened its first US offices in New York. The firm, which will support new and existing PR, public affairs and political clients in the run-up to the Presidential Election, has hired Giulia Prati to head up the office as US vice president of research. Prati has a background in financial services, tech, industrial, healthcare and CPG, and joins from Weber Shandwick, where she was strategy director.

BIRMINGHAM, UK — B2B agency Story Comms has picked up a number of new property and placemaking clients, including real estate advisor Avison Young and industrial space specialist Goodman UK.

MILTON KEYNES, UK — Toymaker Moose Toys has appointed specialist toys and games virtual PR agency Playtime PR as its first retained UK PR agency, after project work on some of its brands. Playtime will manage all UK trade and consumer PR for Moose, including launch activations for all new properties, influencer outreach and media partnerships.