The PR News Review: The Budget, OBR gate and a loss of trust

Welcome to our review of PR pitches and mergers and acquisitions in the UK PR scene with Andrew Bloch. Here we discuss the biggest pitch wins, mergers and acquisitions that the PR sector has seen in November 2025.Andrew is the lead consultant PR, social, content and influencer at the new business consultancy firm AAR and a partner at PCB Partners, where he advises on buying and selling marketing services agencies.Andrew also runs the advisory firm Andrew Bloch & Associates.Don't forget The PRmoment Award's early bird entry deadline, on 19 December Market OverviewNovember has been a very buoyant month.The market has seen great wins and has been extremely busy on the M&A front, which is probably expected since people were trying to complete deals before the budget announcement.It is an important time of year for pitches, as agencies line up new business for the following year and clients aim to get everything in place for 2026.PITCHESWarburtons appoints Burson The UK’s biggest bakery appoints Burson to handle its brand and consumer communications, focusing on building its heritage and innovation narratives ahead of the company's 150th anniversary. Burson will also manage the corporate news agenda.BAKERY79 appoints Stakked The modern food-to-go concept, established by Park Garage Group, has hired Stakked for PR support. The campaign will focus on building consumer awareness and driving uptake as Bakery79 rapidly converts forecourt concessions as part of its acceleration into the UK food-to-go market.Astrid & Miyu appoints Aisle 8 The jewellery brand, which operates 20 UK stores alongside sites in New York and LA, selects Aisle 8 (a fashion, beauty, and lifestyle specialist) to elevate its brand image and media profile.Bodyform appoints Earnies The menstrual care brand, part of the Essity portfolio, has appointed Earnies to deliver a major awareness campaign highlighting the impact and challenges associated with heavy periods.Tonys Chocolonely appoints Shook and Here Be Dragons Tony's has appointed Shook and Here Be Dragons for a creative project celebrating the chunky nature of its chocolate bars. The campaign involves using high-profile talent, like 'The World’s Strongest Footballer', as well as a PR stunt marking the standardization of the brand’s signature red colour.WaterAid appoints Mischief The global water charity has selected Mischief to deliver its festive campaign and winter appeal. The project focuses on raising awareness and funds to support WaterAid’s mission to help communities access clean water, decent toilets, and good hygiene.Baller League appoints SoapBox The 6-a-side football league has hired SoapBox, a sport communications specialist, to handle its PR, event management, and press office function.Meta appoints John Doe Meta has expanded John Doe’s brief to include creative communications for its wearables products, covering AI glasses, VR headsets, and other emerging technology from the Meta Wearables portfolio.The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism appoints W The Department of Tourism has awarded W a five-year contract for UK and European PR and communications. The agency will execute a strategic program covering media relations, influencer partnerships, and event activations to position the destination as a leading Caribbean holiday choice.Samsung appoints Ogilvy Samsung has expanded Ogilvy’s remit to handle the brand’s UK social and influencer work. This appointment builds on Ogilvy’s existing relationship with Samsung, which includes B2B responsibilities across Europe.BMW Group appoints Kindred Kindred has been appointed to develop the creative communications strategy for both the BMW and Mini brands. The brief focuses o

Welcome to the News Review on the PRmoment podcast. In this weekly show I’m joined by Angie Moxham, and Mark Borkowski.This is the PR New Review where we look at the biggest news stories of the week from a PR perspective and this week we’re talking about the budget, the Labour government continuing dreadful communications and the resulting loss of trust from the electorate.Before we start, you can now enter the PRmoment Awards. The early entry deadline is 19th December so do take a look at this year's categories and if you enter a few by 19th December, you’ll save yourself a few quid.  Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.

Welcome to the News Review on the PRmoment podcast.If you're enjoying these shows don't forget to subscribe; we published at least one new podcast every week.In this episode it's our weekly New Review feature where we discuss the most interesting topics that we've seen in the media each week and I'll be doing that alongside my good friends Angie Moxham and mark Borkowski.It's pretty much your final chance to get your ticket to PR Masterclass: The Agency Growth Forum which is next Wednesday 26th November.A few tickets are still available - both face-to-face and virtual.In this week's news review we talk about the UK Government Communications, the lack of trust in politics and the seismic changes we're currently seeing in the structure of the media.

Thank you for joining us today! Our guest is Anouschka Menzies, co-founder of Bacchus PR.Bacchus PR was founded 27 years ago and now has over 130 employees across 5 offices - London, New York, Miami, Dubai and most recently Riyadh.It works across the fashion, restaurants, hotels and real estate sectors and has a fee income of approximately £14m. Annouska describes the type of business that Bacchuss does as 70% consumer and 30% corporate.Before we start, the headline news is that The PRmoment Awards have now opened for entries.. So if you want: Independent third party recognition of your work and a compelling differentiator that attracts new clients and builds credibility, then do enter.Improved this year is our insights & feedback functionality, you now receive constructive feedback on your campaign work and agency performance, broken down by the specific judging criteria.And finally from a GEO and LLM Optimisation perspective: Every winning entry will receive a dedicated profile page on the PRmoment Awards website, which will showcase the successful submission and explain the judging panel's decision. Also, our PR Masterclass the Agency Growth Forum is less than 2 weeks away. Virtual and face to face tickets are now available.Check out PRmasterclasses.com or the homepage of PRmoment for the full speaker lineup.Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Here’s a summary of what Anouschka and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed:Anouschka started the business with Charlotte Lurot and, a couple of years later, Daize Washbourn joined. Has having 3 leaders from an early stage accelerated the ambition of Bacchus? Anouschka talks about PR needing to have a commercial impact and needing to generate cash for clients. How does that come through in the approach to Bacchus’s work? All of Bacchus’ senior staff in London have been with the business for over a decade. That creates great experience and knowledge in the business but can it result in a lack of opportunity for more junior employees?Anouschka talks about how Bacchus made the move into real estate PR? That seems quite a jump from restaurants and hotels? But that was a crucial step for the business right.How does Bacchus create an entrepreneurial culture in its business? “It needs to be a better package than anyone else is offering.”Anouschka has built an international business when lots of her peer agencies have struggled to build an international network. Why did she decide to go international relatively early in Bacchus's journey?“Corporate PR is probably easier than consumer PR!”“Any international entity coming to the UK needs to understand that our press will leave no stone unturned.”How excited is Anouschka about PR’s GEO opportunity?If Anouschka had one piece of advice for young PR agency leaders out there, what would it be?“Never compete with anyone but yourselves?”Is Anouschka nervous or positive about the future of the PR agency business?

Welcome to the PRmoment podcast's weekly News Review.We're joined by Angie Moxham, founder of 3 Monkeys and Fourth Angel and Mark Borkowski, founder of Borkowski PR.In this new show Mark, Angie and PRmoment founder Ben Smith review the biggest news stories of the week from a PR perspective.This week we compare the communications styles of Trump verses and the BBC. Does Trumps fearless, confident style threaten to overwhelm the BBC's risk averse approach?We also talk about Labour's ongoing communication struggles. Angie and Mark discuss Rachel Reeves U-turn on a U-turn and why confused comms seems to indicate a confused government. Also a reminder that our our PR Masterclass: Then Agency Growth Forum is in less than 2 weeks. Virtual and face-to-face tickets are now available so check out PRmasterclasses.com or the homepage of PRmoment for the full speaker lineup.Thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.

Welcome to our review of PR pitches and mergers and acquisitions in the UK PR scene with Andrew Bloch. Here we discuss the biggest pitch wins, mergers and acquisitions that the PR sector has seen in November 2025.Andrew is the lead consultant PR, social, content and influencer at the new business consultancy firm AAR and a partner at PCB Partners, where he advises on buying and selling marketing services agencies.Andrew also runs the advisory firm Andrew Bloch & Associates.Before we start, make sure you get your tickets quickly for our PR Masterclass: Agency Growth Forum . It’s on Wednesday 26th November 2025, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm GMT. Both face-to-face and virtual tickets are available. The event is held in central London.PitchesVinted appoint Axe+Saw – Social media brief to manage Instagram and TikTok channels globally. Airbus appoint MHP Group – Europe’s largest aeronautics and space company appoint a new retained strategic comms adviser following a formal tender process. MHP Group includes agencies MHP, Mischief and La Plage.Formula E appoint M+C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment – global brand and corporate comms brief following a 6 way pitch.Tomme Tippee appoint The Romans for a global PR and influencer brief.Alcohol Change UK appoint Shook and Shape History to deliver its 2026 campaign. Alcohol Change is the charity behind Dry January.The Investment Association appoint M+C Saatchi to deliver a cross-banking sector campaign. The Investment Association – a trade body representing investment managers and investment management firms in the UK Will lead the creative and media delivery of The UK Retail Investment campaign, which will encourage more people to become investors. Co-Op appoint Speed Communications for a joint consumer and corporate brief. Will work alongside in-house team to execute creative, insight-led campaigns through media relations, thought leadership and storytelling.Net Company appoint Cavendish Consulting for government relations and pr brief.Philips Hue appoint Tin Man for a global consumer PR brief.M&A activity for OctoberHeadland acquire Bladonmore - an international digital, brand and content comms agency. W. Bladonmore will retain its identity and has 50 FTEs in London and NY. This is Headland’s first acquisition since LDC, the private equity investor which is part of Lloyds Banking Group, reinvested in the business in October 2024, having first partnered with the firm in 2021. Headlands is £33M rev in 2024. Clients include Accenture, BAE systems, Danone, KFC, OcadoGolley Slater 100% of shares sold to EOT. 130 members.Next 15 merges 5 companies to form new B2B marcomms firm Pretzl. The new business will be led by Clive Armitage, current CEO of Agent 3. The b2b marketing firms Agent3 Group, Publitek, This Machine, Velocity and Twogether will be unified. Will launch in Feb 26 - 300 employees across 12 offices in North America, Europe and APAC.

Welcome to the PRmoment podcast. Today, we're joined by Angie Moxham, founder of 3 Monkeys and Fourth Angel and Mark Borkowski, founder of Borkowski PR and PR commentator.In this new show Mark, Angie and PRmoment founder Ben Smith review the biggest news stories of the week from a PR perspective and this week we’re talking about Traitors, Meghan Markle’s return to acting and whether the Royal Family can survive Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’s scandal in the long term. Before we start, our PR Masterclass the Agency Growth Forum is now live. Virtual and face-to-face tickets are now available.Check out PRmasterclasses.com or the homepage of PRmoment for the full speaker lineup.Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.

Welcome to the PRmoment podcast. Today, we're thrilled to be joined by Lou Hoffman, founder and CEO of Hoffman. Hoffman is an independent US based PR firm with a fee income of approximately $30m. Lou founded the business in 1987.Hoffman specialises in tech PR and recently bought CCGroup in the UK. Hoffman has offices in North America, the UK and Asia. It employs about 460 people globally.Before we start,our PR Masterclass the Agency Growth Forum is now live. Virtual and face to face tickets are now available.Check out PRmasterclasses.com or the homepage of PRmoment for the full speaker lineup.Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Here are the key themes which Lou and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed:Lou talks us through the reasons for buying a PR Agency? What are the advantages of acquiring an agency versus organic growth? Hoffman has only made two acquisitions since 1987. Is that regret for Lou?  Does he wish he'd made more?  Is it sensible to use debt to purchase a PR firm, or is it better to do it from historical profit?  How do you buy a PR firm? What does the process look like? There are plenty of examples of PR agency acquisitions that haven't worked out, how do you maximise your chances of success? Practically speaking, how can you get to know agencies before you buy them?  How long should an acquisition process take, because whilst it's very important to be thorough, momentum is important? Is a perfect match ever possible?  Which professional advisors as an acquirer should you have? How does it work with the agency you're about to acquire clients? Do you talk to them pre or post the deal?  How does an earn out work for the previous owners of the business?  Post deal it can get difficult, what are the best ways to make it work?  The legal fees can be very high. So does that mean that for micro deals you either have to take a punt and be less thorough? Or is there a level of acquisition at which it's really not worth it from a purchaser's perspective?

In the fifth episode of the season, Dean Connelly, founder of Latte Recruitment give their best attempt at a spooky Halloween special episode. Earlier in the week, Elizabeth asked PR professionals to submit anonymous recruitment horror stories, whether that be a candidate of nightmares, or an terrifying interview process — we wanted to hear about it, warts and all. Dean, a willing victim, must blind react to the tales of recruitment terror. Later, the pair play a game of Recruitment Trick or Treat, where they discuss whether certain perks, benefits and workplace cultures are as good as they seem. Many thanks to our podcast sponsors the PRCA

Welcome to the PRmoment podcast. Today, we're thrilled to be joined by Lorraine Emmett, the founder and MD of the award-winning B2B tech PR agency, EC-PR.EC-PR is a boutique specialising in B2B PR for engineering, science, and technology scale-ups. They typically partner with high-growth B2B tech brands and companies with 50 to 999 employees, working with Strategic Marketing Leaders and CMOs to elevate brand awareness and influence.Today, we'll dive into her insights on how B2B companies can gain a trust advantage. Before we start, our PR Masterclass the Agency Growth Forum is now live. Virtual and face to face tickets are now available.This event always sells out so if you do want a face to face ticket, be quick. Genuinely, don’t hang about. Check out PRmasterclasses.com or the homepage of PRmoment for the full speaker lineup.Also, do check out PRmoment’s TikTok content, it’ll keep you up to date with the best creative campaigns in PR, interviews with interesting PR folks and our weekly Good and Bad PR content with Andy Barr.Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Here’s a summary of what PRmoment founder Ben Smith and founder and managing director of EC-PR Lorraine Emmett discussed on the PRmoment Podcast.Why the emotion of trust is a spectrum. How does Lorraine define trust in a B2B communications environment?Is trust in B2B a function of brand and product?As communicators is it possible to create trust? Or is it a symptom of customer experience?Why is thought leadership an important tool for creating trust?Lorraine talks about Coleman Park’s 7 Pillars of thought leadership in our pre show chat and why she finds them an important reference point. What are Coleman Park 7 pillars of trust?How do you build trust in a B2B market?Isn’t pretty all of a PR/comms team output related to thought leadership in one way or another? The Edelman-LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report consistently highlights the power of thought leadership in building trust and directly influencing the B2B purchase journey. Lorraine talks us through the finding of that report and the implications for how B2B PR and comms teams create and partner with influencers.EC PR’s recent The Trust Advantage report looks at how trust is important for SMEs. Lorraine talks us through the key findings of your The Trust Advantage report. What are the outcomes of thought leadership in B2B markets? Are they both defensive and offensive?What does the best practice measurement of B2B thought leadership look like?