The agency  has recruited Account Director Alex Clough to strengthen the team at its MediaCityUK office.  Alex joins from Amaze where she was part of the PR team for five years.

Alex will take a senior role on the agency’s Wedgwood account and will work with Amsterdam based EATRIS, the medical sector consortium, that appointed Rule 5 last year.  Both roles incorporate global communications briefs.  Founding Partner Julie Wilson said: “Alex joins us at a really exciting time for the agency. We have ambitious plans for 2015 and she will play a key role in helping us grow the business as we evolve from an ambitious start up to an established agency.”

The business has gained a reputation for delivering award-winning work in the sports sector after launching at the end of 2012; notably for its work with clients British Cycling and GB Taekwondo.  In the last 12 months it has acquired clients in media, technology, the arts, health, automotive, and the food sector as well as continuing to grow its business in the sporting arena.

The agency been appointed by Virgin Money to support the PR and Social Media campaign for the 2015 Virgin Money Cyclone Festival of Cycling.

It is the second time the agency has been brought into the saddle and follows last year’s successful campaign.  The event, one of the most respected cycling festivals in the country, attracts the world’s best cyclists and has seen Mark Cavendish, Sir Bradley Wiggins, Hannah Barnes and Dame Sarah Storey all participate in the elite rides.  Equally anticipated are the festival’s Challenge rides which attract cycling enthusiasts from across the country.

The brief sees the agency work closely with Virgin Money’s in-house team to raise awareness of the event in the core cycling and consumer media and drive participation through the festival’s social media channels.  Activity is already underway.

Speaking on the appointment Virgin Money Head of Sponsorship Marketing, Andrew Nicholson, said:  “We’re really pleased to appoint Rule 5 as our official communications partner.  Last year’s campaign saw some real wins for the event with the team engaged both online and on the ground over the course of the weekend.  We’re looking forward to building on activity for 2015.”

Rule 5 Founding Director, Julie Wilson, said: “The Virgin Money Cyclone Festival of Cycling is a joy to work on and we’re thrilled to have been brought back on board by Virgin Money for 2015.

The Virgin Money Cyclone takes place this June 19 – 21 in some of the most beautiful countryside in Northumberland. To register visit https://virginmoneycyclone.co.uk/EnterOnline.asp

On January 1 the agency’s managing partner became president-elect of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR). President Elect is one of four elected officers of the Institute, who also sit on the CIPR’s Board of Directors. Rob will take over as president in January 2016, succeeding Sarah Pinch. The CIPR president acts as chairman of the institute and as a representative for the profession in the UK. Rob said “2014 president Stephen Waddington has set a great precedent for this year’s incumbent Sarah Pinch and for me to follow in 2016. It’s an honour to be given the opportunity to lead the Institute and continue the great work that has been done by the CIPR.”

Since we set up the agency in November 2012 we have actively sought to use the best of the ever-increasing range of technologies. Applications that impact on every aspect of how PR agencies now work.  This week marks the start of a new regular blog feature where we share insight into the applications and latest tech innovations that the Rule 5 team is using.

These technologies have improved every aspect  of how we deliver a service: from the tools that we use to creat content, sharing amongst the team, uploading and issuing to the media, right through to how we evaluate and optimise our work. We will make the guides easy to digest, picking out our top five observations and recommendations based on our experiences. Over time we will build a contemporary guide to the vast range of technologies that help us to do everything better.

Why would we share this when it enables other agencies to gain insight?  There are several reasons:

1. We are happy for other agencies to learn and improve because we want to be part of a movement that elevates the practise and delivery of PR.

2. Technology is constantly evolving and we are confident that Rule 5 will remain an early adopter and innovator.

3. We want everyone including prospects and staff to understand more about how we work.

For our inaugural feature we focus on business blogging platform, Passle.