LONDON— MeetingRooms.com, the global marketplace that brings together people and meeting space on-demand, has hired Weber Shandwick as its PR agency of record ahead of its official launch in March. 

The brand, which is owned by the UK's Search Office Space Group, handed the six-figure brief to Weber Shandwick following a competitive review.

The firm is charged with overseeing global communications strategy, content creation, media relations and event support. The account will be led out of the agency’s London office by Weber Shandwick associate director Joe Walton.

The agency hire is part of MeetingRooms.com's plans to establish international market leadership in the emerging category, after launching its private beta phase one year ago.

Accordingly, the PR programme will focus on engaging two key audience groups; venues that can use the service to increase occupancy rates, and people who can use it to instantly find and book the perfect meeting space wherever they are in the world.

"Communications has a vital role to play in helping us define this new, emerging category, in addition to making the case to professionals and venue partners, for using the service," said MeetingRooms.com CEO Caleb Parker.

"While it’s true that technology has empowered us to ‘work anywhere’, often the work you are doing – court reporting, a negotiation, a sales pitch, training courses, strategising – is best conducted in a certain type of environment, a ‘somewhere’," added Parker. "Until now, it’s been difficult to find that perfect space, on-demand, anywhere in the world. MeetingRooms.com is in business to fix that problem."

Walton added that "PR professionals are a great example of a group of people that can benefit from this type of service."