Over the last two weeks at Synergy towers, two very different stories got us talking for two very different reasons. They aren’t normally comparable, but in the name of PR they both gathered an immense amount of coverage and whipped the nation into a frenzy!

Firstly, The Sun sparked fury across the country – with several journalists, footballers and fans tweeting their disgust – after the front page headline ‘BWING ON THE EUWOS (WE’LL SEE YOU IN UKWAINE AGAINST FWANCE)’, referencing the newly-unveiled England manager, Roy Hodgson. The timing was impeccable, just days before Rupert Murdoch had stated that his papers would produce serious journalism, and then the mocking of Hodgson appeared.

Many have accused the Sun of bullying and perhaps rightly so. The Sun certainly felt the backlash and many sportsmen reached out to Twitter to voice their opinions. Days later, The Sun followed up with a story from Jonathan Ross, claiming ‘life is too short’ and Hodgson was a big enough person to deal with such ‘bullying’.

Phil Neville (@fizzer18) tweeted: ‘Have u seen front page of The Sun this morning disgraceful journalism – what chance have we got!’

Jake Humphrey (@mrjakehumphrey) commented:  ‘I think today’s headline in The Sun is offensive.’

I think it’s fair to say The Sun went too far with this headline, and given the scrutiny News International are currently experiencing, this sort of headline is distasteful.

The second news of note was that The Prince of Wales delivered not The Sun, but rain for the people of Scotland this week. HRH had a go at presenting the weather during a tour of BBC Scotland’s Pacific Quay headquarters and what a good job he did! The heir to the throne gave weather reading a winderful go and delivered a specially-written script inspired by the royal residences of Scotland.

If you haven’t yet seen the fantastic royal performance then take a look here:

By Francesca Gamble on May 14th, 2012

Tags: Default, Media, Public relations, Synergy

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Synergy has once again been recognised as the UK’s leading sponsorship agency after scooping three Hollis Sponsorship Awards. Our Chairman Karen Earl, who founded the company in 1984 as Karen Earl Sponsorship, was presented with the Outstanding Achievement Award; Synergy won Agency of the Year; and our client Betfair was awarded the Best Use of PR for its ground-breaking ‘Bum-vertising’ campaign for Betfair Mobile.

The judges were full of praise for Synergy’s work, with Rosemary Sarginson, organiser of Hollis Sponsorship stating:

“Synergy demonstrated revenue growth, profitability, high levels of client retention, numerous new business wins, campaign creativity, a good grasp of the digital domain and a commitment to developing its people…[A] cleverly constructed campaign saw Betfair use QR codes as a way to drive people to its mobile betting service [generating] high levels of consumer interest and PR coverage, thus securing a significant number of mobile betting account sign ups.”

Receiving her award Karen Earl commented:

“It’s a great honour to be recognised by those I respect and work alongside in the sponsorship industry. Since we began the agency in 1984, sponsorship has developed exponentially and now presents clients and agencies with very exciting opportunities. The industry has never been better placed to communicate with audiences and London 2012 will be a great example of its effectiveness.”

Tim Crow, Synergy CEO said:

“We’re incredibly proud to have been recognised both as an agency for what was a great year, and for the Betfair campaign which was a stand-out piece of work by any measure. And it was just wonderful to see Karen honoured for the pioneering contribution she’s made to our business and to the industry.”

By Francesca Gamble on April 5th, 2012

Tags: Awards, Media, Sponsorship, Synergy

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Jameson were back again this year with the popular and truly global film competition, Jameson Empire Done in 60 Seconds, which sees amateur directors re-make their favourite movie masterpiece in just 60 seconds. Yes, exactly, how do you begin to cram the epic storyline of a classic like War Horse into just 60 seconds…surely that’s impossible?

Well, this year saw exactly that and more from entrants spanning 20 countries, with hundreds of entries whittled down to a shortlist of just five finalists by the 16,000 avid film fans voting online at Empire Magazine. The UK entries were up against 33 finalists from around the world who came together to showcase their films at the London Film Museum in front of  a judging panel of cinematic experts, including Editor of Empire Magazine, Mark Dinning, Sky Movies Premiere presenter Alex Zane, Bridesmaids award-winning actor and comedian, Chris O’Dowd and the director of Monsters, Gareth Edwards.

The 2012 UK finalists included three budding directors who have previously entered the competition: Jack Kendall, Simon Jago and Michael Whaite. Jack Kendall re-created The King’s Speech, the Oscar-winning picture directed by last year’s Jameson Empire Done in 60 Seconds judge, Tom Hooper. Simon Jago created a remake of the cult sci-fi horror movie The Thing and Michael Whaite reduced the Star Wars Trilogy down to 60 seconds with his quirky animated film. New to the competition were David Smith, with his remake of Steven Spielberg’s epic War Horse and Philip Askins with his 60-second animation of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Jameson Empire Done in Sixty Seconds ambassador and star of Bridesmaids and The IT Crowd, Chris O’Dowd spoke of his support for the competition and the opportunity it gives aspiring young film-makers:

“I am delighted to be on the judging panel of such a great competition. Jameson Empire Done in 60 Seconds is a fantastic way for amateur directors to showcase their talent in the film world. Empire and Jameson have created a novel award that really tests entrants’ creativity and editing skills. Making a movie in 60 seconds is a tough challenge, one that even an experienced film-maker would find daunting – I’m excited to see what they deliver!”

Synergy also worked alongside eight key influential film bloggers to ensure depth of messaging for Jameson,  giving them access to the Done in 60 Seconds (DISS) judges, Alex Zane, Mark Dinning and Gareth Edwards.  As a group they did a fantastic job of reviewing the event and in turn Jameson received a vast amount of well-branded coverage. Hurray!

At the Jameson Empire Done In 60 Seconds global final, Philip Askins from the UK was confirmed as one of the five contenders with his entry of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The overall winner, which was announced at the star-studded Jameson Empire Awards went to Indira Suleimenova from Kazakhstan, who recreated Black Swan in 60 seconds, and even managed to pay homage to some of Natalie Portman’s other films including Léon in a very clever way.

A true winner in our eyes, Philip Askins with the DISS Judges

On Sunday, the Jameson Empire Awards kicked off in true style, as a whole host of Hollywood stars made their way up the red carpet. Synergy worked closely with film blogger Hey U Guys and lifestyle publication MSN to capture and document the evening as it unfolded.

Michael Fassbender Wins the Jameson Hero Award

Olivia Colman Wins Best Actress and Gary Oldman Wins Best Actor

The cast of The Inbetweeners Win Best Comedy

Synergy ran a VIP competition in the Metro to give one very lucky film enthusiast the chance to mingle with A-list celebrities for the night, socialising in the same room as Olivia Wilde and Gary Oldman. The prize also included VIP tickets to the after-show party at Café de Paris.

It was a star-studded weekend from start to finish and flew past in what felt like 60 seconds. Both Synergy and Jameson are very proud of all our UK DISS Finalists and wish them lots of luck in the future. We have made some lovely friends and look forward to working with extremely knowledgeable film bloggers Hey U Guys, MSN,  Who’s Jack, Film Pilgrim, Establishing Shot, Best of Film, Cine Vue and Hollywood News in the future.

To all budding film directors: one day it could be you attending the Jameson Empire Film Awards. Keep your eyes peeled for the 2012 Done in 60 Seconds competition and in the meantime, log on to the Jameson Empire Done In 60 Seconds Film Academy to learn top movie-making tips from the stars: www.jamesonwhiskey.com/DISS.

By Francesca Gamble on April 5th, 2012

Tags: Alcohol, Awards, Celebrity, Film, Media, PR, Public relations, Social Media, Sponsorship, Synergy, Twitter

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What happened:

English handmade tailors Lutwyche partnered with premium Scottish whisky brand, The Dalmore to launch their first tailor-made, luxury men’s shoe. Traditionally known for its tailoring, Lutwyche needed something special to mark the launch their first made-to-measure brogue.

Why we Love it:

As far as I know this is the first time an alcohol brand has partnered with a shoe brand, marrying together my two favorite things! In many ways, this is the perfect partnership, as both brands encapsulate the authenticity and craftsmanship of truly luxury brands, while complementing each other’s style and ethos.

Both brands extended their core audience while staying true to their brand values. By sharing their credibility in these complementary markets, both brands managed to define ‘luxury’ and ‘premium’ in a new sphere.

Lutwyche took its inspiration from the aesthetics of The Dalmore single malt and, in particular, the stag whose head appears on every bottle. This iconic image is built into the design of the shoe with the regal stag’s head crest stamped on the inside of each sole. Everyone who purchases a pair of Dalmore Brogues can  have them personalised with their name and, of course, receive a bottle of The Dalmore’s award-winning King Alexander III single malt whisky.

At Synergy, we love it when brands successfully manage to combine passion points, so when fashion and alcohol decide to come together, we always know we’re in for a treat and this is no exception. What is there not to love?

What the brand said:

The Dalmore Master Distiller, Richard Paterson commented:

“The Dalmore, like Lutwyche, prides itself on qualities of artisanship, exclusivity and excellence, so we’re delighted to be partnering with a like-minded brand on such a creative project. The skills that have been passed down through generations to create each drop of our whisky are matched by the craftmanship that goes into the creation of this shoe. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship between the two brands.”

By Francesca Gamble on December 6th, 2011

Tags: Alcohol, Default, Fashion, Synergy Loves, Synopsis

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To celebrate the 55^th BFI London Film Festival and Jameson’s third year as ‘Official Spirit’, the brand introduced The Jameson Apartment, a pop-up cinematic speakeasy in the heart of London’s Soho.

Synergy’s role was to maximise PR communication around the Jameson Apartment through different media, including print and social media channels. The ultimate aim of the campaign was to raise awareness of Jameson’s association with film through the BFI partnership and to recruit more consumers by driving awareness amongst target consumers.  

To launch the Jameson Apartment Synergy held a press evening, inviting key journalists and bloggers from lifestyle, film and drink titles, not only to enjoy the concept of the 1920s speak-easy and new Jameson cocktails, but to help build key relationships and leverage coverage.

In addition, Synergy successfully negotiated media partnerships with Who’s Jack, Hey U Guys, Empire Magazine, Urban Junkies and Eat Sleep Live Film, who hosted individual nights at the Apartment to generate coverage and recruit key target consumers. Over the course of the festival, the Jameson Apartment was heaving with budding film-makers, actors, actresses, film buffs, drink experts, and general bar enthusiasts.

Throughout the festival, Synergy also ran a comprehensive press office, placing listings in London’s most influential titles, The Evening Standard and City AM, plus ticket competitions for screenings with influential film blogs like Hollywood News and Vue Cinema. Overall, Synergy delivered 76 pieces of coverage, reached over 3 million consumers and generated an ROI of 5:1.

Keep up to date with the latest from Jameson and visit: www.jamesoncultfilmclub.com or www.facebook.com/jamesoncultfilmclub.

By Francesca Gamble on December 6th, 2011

Tags: Alcohol, Brand marketing, Event management consultants, Film, PR, Public relations, Synergy

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Ssshhh… we have something you might like to know about, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. It’s a secret, OK?

A 1920s cinematic speakeasy has landed in the heart of Soho, just in time for the BFI London Film Festival. The Jameson Apartment provides an unforgettable experience in a pop-up style vintage bar hidden away on the top floor of Kettners. Complete with a discreet entrance, a real life ‘Dandy’ and tantalising cocktails, the Jameson Apartment is the perfect hideaway for a nostalgic evening with friends. 

In order to gain entry to the Jameson Apartment you will need to first obtain the secret password, and on arrival remember to relay this to our Dandy who will be waiting for your call.

Log on to www.jamesoncultfilmclub.com and all will be revealed!

Ssshhh… please don’t tell.

By Francesca Gamble on October 21st, 2011

Tags: Alcohol, Public relations, Sponsorship, Synergy

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Synergy has been appointed by leading energy provider, SSE, to manage their National Community Partnership with the RFU, following a competitive pitch earlier this year.

The brief will see Synergy create and implement a full strategic sponsorship campaign – including Digital consultancy, PR, event management and rights exploitation – to drive awareness of SSE as a valuable supporter of grassroots rugby in England.

SSE launched their sponsorship this week by kicking off a nationwide online survey (www.SSERugby.com) appealing to the whole rugby community in England to answer the question, ‘What do clubs want?’ SSE will use the responses gained, prior to the survey closing mid-September, to build a tangible pool of resources which they will make available for clubs to win across the year. Full details of how clubs can take part will be announced with the full website launch, currently planned for the beginning of October.

Jonny Petrie, Sponsorship Manager at SSE said:

“Critical to our sponsorship is making sure we maximise it. When it came to choosing a partner agency to help us do this, Synergy demonstrated from the first moment that they understood our business and our brand so when matched to their creative thinking made them our natural first choice.”

Lisa Parfitt, Director of Experiential at Synergy said:

“This is a really exciting win for Synergy. Our heritage in rugby sponsorship – including grassroots activation – is unprecedented in our industry, and we are looking forward to building a strong campaign for SSE that helps build their brand in England.”

By Francesca Gamble on August 17th, 2011

Tags: Press Clipping

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Jameson did it in sixty seconds… Well almost. Just one weekend at least.

One weekend, two red carpets, twelve countries, nineteen Awards handed out and more celebrities and international press than you could shake a stick at.

On Friday 25^th March, Jameson Irish Whiskey held the Done in Sixty Seconds Competition Global Final at the London Film Museum – and Synergy supported both the UK and Global brand teams with their PR around the event. This Award is one of fourteen presented at the Jameson Empire Film Awards – which took place just two days later on Sunday 27^th March, at the Grosvenor House Hotel.

The DISS competition saw twenty-four finalists from all over the world come together for the evening, where their short films were shown in front of four influential film industry specialists which included, Actor and Comedian, Chris O’Dowd and Director Neil Marshall, led by Empire Magazine Editor Mark Dinning. Even Oscar-winning Director of The King’s Speech, Tom Hooper, sent his regards via a video-link from LA, giving his own favourites to the judges for consideration.

The judges picked five films to take forward to the Jameson Empire Film Awards where the overall winner of the DISS competition was announced on Sunday night. The 2011 shortlist included two UK finalists, Michael Whaite from the UK (The Lion King), Lee Hardcastle from the UK (The Exorcist), plus, Valentina Kurochkina & Sergey Potapov from Russia (Avatar), Maeve Stam from The Netherlands (127 Hours) and Samuel Heiligers from Sweden (Indiana Jones) who all got the chance to rub shoulders with their movie icons from the world of film.

On Sunday, the Synergy girls glammed up to the max as celebrities from the world of film, TV and music sashayed up the red carpet. The film industry’s biggest and most respected stars turned out to celebrate in style .

The 2011 ceremony, which was again hosted by comedian Dara O’Briain, was honoured with the presence of such leading names from the world of cinema as Anna Kendrick, Talulah Riley, Lasse Hallström,  Jonathan Ross, the cast of The Inbetweeners, Sarah Harding, Jessica Hynes, Noel Clarke, Kate Magowan, Neil Marshall and Joanne Froggatt among others.

Jameson and Empire magazine also acknowledged and honoured one of Britain’s most exceptional actors for his phenomenal body of work; Gary Oldman was bestowed the Empire Icon, which was presented to him by his Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy co-star Colin Firth.

Keira Knightley took home the Empire Hero Award (presented by Jameson), which was presented to her by her friend and Atonement co-star, James McAvoy. Unfortunately the two UK DISS finalists were pipped to the post by Maeve Stram from The Netherlands (127 Hours) for her interesting and unique interpretation of the Danny Boyle Oscar-nomiated movie.

Synergy also ran series of competitions giving ten enthusiastic lovers of film the chance to mingle with A-list celebrities for the night, socialising in the same room as Keira Knightly and Gary Oldman. The prize also included VIP tickets to the after show party so many of them were dancing until dawn at Aqua on Argyll Street.  Embracing the opportunity, many of them were overwhelmed with meeting their idols and some of them even managed to grab a few sneak pictures, much to their delight.

It was a star-studded evening with more light bulb flashes, sparkly shoes and fake tan, than anyone could image (boys included).  The whole weekend flew past in what felt like 60 seconds, but the Awards received and the memories gained will be timeless.

To all budding film directors; one day this could be you attending the Jameson Empire Film Awards. Keep your eyes peeled for the 2012 Done in 60 Seconds competition and in the meantime, log-on to the Jameson Empire Done In 60 Seconds Film Academy to learn top movie-making tips from the stars: www.jamesonwhiskey.com/DISS.

By Francesca Gamble on April 20th, 2011

Tags: Alcohol, Awards, Film, Media, PR, Sponsorship, Synopsis

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What happened: Coca Cola have created a new music programme called, “Coca-Cola Music,” which is designed to give teens the inside track on the creation of music and the opportunity to view the industry’s leading artists at work.   As part of this Coca Cola developed the ‘24hour session’ which uses the social power of the web, to create a unique experience for the band and fans online.  In March, Coca-Cola partnered with Maroon 5 to make music history by writing and recording a brand new song, ‘Is Anybody out There’, they were the first band to take part in the ‘24 hour Session’, using ideas from their fans via Twitter to compose the song. 

Fans can now log onto Coca-Cola’s website for a free download of the song and for the first 100,000 downloads; Coca-Cola will make a donation on your behalf to The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation’s Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN) to provide access to clean water to people in Africa.

Why We Love It: How can we not love it?! For any die hard music fan, being able to have the smallest influence in the production of one of their favourite band’s songs is a unique experience and an unforgettable one.  ‘Coca-Cola Music’ is a concept that communicates with Coca-Cola’s global audience and gives music fans access to what would normally be undisclosed.  The ‘24 hour session’ concept was activated through promotions on facebook and used twitter as mechanism to let fans communicate in real time to Maroon 5 during the live ‘24 hour session’.  Influential bloggers across 20 countries were also employed to keep followers informed and involved in the music making process.  Coca-Cola have demonstrated how powerful social media is for a brand and by having a strong presence online it enabled them to bring their global audience together and communicate to them as one.

In turn, Coca-Cola have created a unique and bespoke experience for music fans but the longevity of this concept could easily translate into other genres, such as film.  Creating 24 hours with a top film Director editing the next big block buster, would be pretty cool, right?

What The Brand Says:   Joe Belliotti Director of Global Entertainment Marketing for Coca-Cola commented, “This is the most ambitious and experimental effort in music Coca-Cola has ever undertaken. For the 24hr Session, we are deploying and developing new and emerging technologies to allow as many people as possible to be part of the event and gain insight into the creative process that goes into making great music,”

Maroon 5′s lead vocalist, Adam Levine commented. “It was a unique experience and an amazing experience, and hopefully it will go down in the Guinness Book of World Records as a crazy, weird experience that was awesome!”

By Francesca Gamble on April 7th, 2011

Tags: Brand marketing, Communications, Default, Digital marketing, Facebook, Media, Music, Social Media, Synergy Loves, Twitter

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As some of you may be aware, running is painfully addictive.

On Sunday morning whilst many of you were nursing hangovers from a Saturday night out, I made the trip to Bath at 7am to arrive in time for 11am to start the Bath Half Marathon.

After an eventful trip to Paddington station, eventually surmounting the challenges thrown at me by London transport, I arrived with just a minute to spare before the horn went to mark the start of the race.

I certainly wasn’t alone as a near 10,000 runners all took to the beautiful streets of Bath to run 13.2 miles on a chilly but sunny morning.  The streets were lined with students still in their pyjamas (naturally), children blowing horns with no particular rhythm and live bands bashing out some great sounds. They made the majority of the run a bit more bearable, but undoubtedly being over-taken by a man dressed as a giant nipple was my highlight! (running in aid of Breast Cancer Awareness charity, CoppaFeel)…

The biggest challenge was running without my iPod, with Bath organisers strictly stating ‘no iPods could be used due to support vehicles having to use the course’. This meant the run was not near as enjoyable (?!) as 13.2miles could have been, added to which I never saw any support vehicles… and I’m sure if I had my iPod I could have shaved a few minutes off my time!

But that said, though the average course time was 2:05hrs, I ran a time of 1hr 47min. Whilst I have the chance, I will rub it in and say, I beat my boyfriend and sister, which was of course the main objective of the day. It also transpires I beat BBC Radio 1‘s Fearne Cotton (also running for Coppafeel) who finished in an admirable 2:01hrs .

The consequence of my (slightly) competitive nature means I’m struggling to walk today but it was well worth it! A great marathon and nice scenic course, if not a little repetitive, but well worth a go!

Finally, a few of my stats below for your enjoyment:

By Francesca Gamble on March 7th, 2011

Tags: Athletics, Charity, Marathon, Running, Sport

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