The Review of the Biggest PR Pitches and Mergers & Acquisitions in UK PR in July 2025 with Andrew Bloch

Welcome to our review of PR pitches and mergers & acquisitions in the UK PR scene with Andrew Bloch. Here we discuss the biggest pitch wins and mergers & acquisitions that the PR sector has seen in July 2025Andrew 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.The PRmoment podcast will be taking a more relaxed approach over the summer. We won’t be doing weekly shows but as and when pressing PR issues occur that need discussion we’ll hop back on the pod.Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.PITCH WINS Mars global snacking and pet care appoints Weber Shandwick Collective. Pladis appoints Headland Tin Man – Double win – Bella and Duke, pet wellness and nutrition, premium raw pet food. Lelo – sexual wellness brand, tasked with shifting the narrative around pleasure without shame. Global Flower Services appoints Finn partnersHisense appoints Ranieri Salesforce appoints Harvard Xplora appoints Brand Nation Anker Innovations appoints  Red ConsultancyEquinox appoints  MHP Glyde appoints Stacked/Munch PR Asda appoints Smarts Fish ‘N’ Chips (Fox’s Burtons savoury snack brand) appoints Frank. Guatemala Tourism appoints PC Agency St Pancras Hotel appoints Palm PR Ordnance Survey appoints Diffusion Global Brands (VK and Hooch) appoints Hatch Just Eat appoints EarniesPrep Kitchen appoints Words + PixelsRoyal Ballet and Opera appoints Hope & Glory St Mungo’s homeless charity appoints The AcademySweaty Betty Foundation appoints  Fanclub Debenhams Group appoints Threesixty TK Maxx appoints Burson  M&A Activity Inkling merges with Eight&Four Supermetrics (leading marketing intelligence platform) acquires Relay 42 (real time customer data platform) Brave Bison acquire Mark Ritson MiniMBA

Welcome to the latest PRmoment podcast. On this week’s show we chat to Rebecca Cradick who is vice president, Global Communications at Armis and leads a sizable in-house team alongside multiple agency teams. Rebecca gives us an in-house perspective in the state comms as we reach the half way point of 2025.Before we start, it’s your final chance to get your ticket for our PR in AI Masterclass coming up on July 2nd. I’d urge you not to miss this event if you’re interested in the future use of AI in PR. There’s lots of AI insight out there, but speaker wise, this event really does separate the wheat from the chaff. The bluffers from the doers.Check out the microsite PRMasterclasses.com for all the details including the speaker line-up.Here’s a summary of what Ben and Rebecca discussed:What are the responsibilities and objectives as a modern in-house corporate communications leader?Who are the key stakeholders for in-house public relations professionals?How does Rebecca see the in-house communications position changing over the next few years?What is the risk: reward spectrum of the comms environment for brands currently? Have PR budgets become a problem? Are in-house communicators being asked to do more with a similar budget? Does the always on nature of a senior comms role make getting a good work life balance difficult?When Rebecca talks about why WhatsApp has become her most important stakeholder negotiation tool.Rebecca on why she believes: “Covid changed the expectation of employers. They expect their people to work harder.”How does Armis use agency support? Why Rebecca believes the unwritten rules of socialising in a professional environment have changed.

Welcome to the latest PRmoment podcast. On the show today we’re talking to PR creative don Mark Perkins. Mark now runs his own PR creativity training scheme called Pop Creative. He’s worked for a raft of PR’s most creative firms including Cow, W, Frank, The Red Consultancy and MHP.Infamously his work includes the Christmas Tinner and Missing Type campaigns.Before we start, two pieces of good news at PRmoment this week. The first is that the programme for PR Masterclass: AI in PR is now complete. The PR Masterclass series are hybrid events so you can attend either in person or virtually. The event is on July 3rd and themes include:How to Integrate AI into your PR WorkflowThe impact of AI on JournalismAI as a content production toolIs LLM optimisation PR's biggest opportunity of our lifetimes?Check out the microsite PRMasterclasses.com for all the details including the speaker line-up.The other vital bit of information is that The Creative Moment Awards are now open for entries. You can see all the categories for 2025 at the microsite creativemomentawards.co.The final entry deadline is Friday 20th June.Here's a summary of what Mark and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed:Mark tells us how his Pop Creative methodology works.“My focus has always been about having the right idea, rather than 5 or 10 good ideas.”Are there 2 types of creative directors in PR - those who come up with ideas and those who facilitate others to have ideas?What are Mark’s top 3 most favourite creative campaigns he’s ever worked on? Did Missing Type and Christmas Tinner make the cut? Will Mark ever return to PR as a creative director?“Having been a PR creative lead for over 20 years, I kind of felt that’s a mountain I’ve climbed enough times.”Mark on why PR creativity has not changed in the last 20 years:“Our job, in a world of noise, is to grab people's attention.”“Great creative listens, it doesn't demand attention.”Mark on why don't we see more creative double acts in PR, in the way we tend to see creative partners in advertising?“Advertising is a different discipline…PR is story first.”Mark tells us which PR firm he enjoyed working for the most…Of the new crop of PR creatives, who is Mark a bit jealous of? Which firms' work does he like the most at the moment?Mark and Ben discuss whether earned creative is about to become the dominant creative channel.

Welcome to our review of PR pitches and mergers & acquisitions in the UK PR scene with Andrew Bloch. Here we discuss the biggest pitch wins and mergers & acquisitions that the PR sector has seen in April 2025Andrew 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.Don’t miss PR Masterclass: AI in PR on July 2ndHow to Integrate AI into your PR WorkflowHow will AI impact the agency business model?The impact of AI on journalismIs LLM optimisation PR's biggest opportunity of our lifetimes?Check out the microsite PRMasterclasses.com for all the details including the speaker line-up.The other vital bit of information is that The Creative Moment Awards final entry deadline is Friday 20th June, You can see all the categories for 2025 at the microsite creativemomentawards.co.Thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Here is this month’s run down of the biggest PR pitch wins in May 2025:International Wine & Spirits Competition appoints ClarionBritish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) appoints KindredLastMinute.com appoints Sunny Side UpPeoples Postcode Lottery appoints SmartsTruffle Burger appoints ChompGousto appoints The RomansBAM UK appoints Four Agency WorldwideSamsung appoints MischiefWestern Digital appoints HarvardBurson appoints CellnexIP Office appoints Lansons Team FarnerWaitrose appoints The HeardWenzels appoints WSky TV appoints Blurred Contura Orthopedics appoints Match FitAnd this month’s run down of M&A activity in the PR sector:Stakked acquires RadioactiveMission Group merges Mongoose PR with Populate Social and Alive Experiential to form Mongoose Sport& EntertainmentIntinctif sells MENA operations to Excella AdvisoryPublicis acquires Capitv8M+C Saatchi  acquires Dune 23Together Group acquires OBO

Today on the show we’re talking to media lawyer legend Jonathan Coad about what PR folks need to know about the law. Jonathan Coad graduated from Jesus College Cambridge with an MA in law and is one of the UK’s highest profile media lawyers.His practice areas are copyright, defamation and privacy. His media clients have included Disney, ITV, Sky, Viacom, MTV, Channel 4, Sony, Huffington Post and Newsweek. He has undertaken reputation management work for corporate clients such as Amazon, Procter & Gamble, Gucci, GlaxoSmithKline and Cambridge University. He has also acted for high-profile business moguls, senior politicians, music, TV, film and sports stars and members of the Royal Family. He’s had 30 years experience at the intersection of media and law and today he’s going to talk about PR practitioners should know about dealing with the mediaBefore we start, two pieces of good news at PRmoment this week. The first is that the programme for PR Masterclass: AI in PR is now complete. The PR Masterclass series are hybrid events so you can attend either in person or virtually. The event is on July 2nd.Check out the microsite PRMasterclasses.com for all the details including the speaker line-up.Also, the final entry deadline for The Creative Moment Awards is 20th June. You can see all the categories for 2025 at the microsite creativemomentawards.co.Here’s a summary of what Jonathan Coad and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed:What does the client want when a media crisis kicks off?What is the role of the corporate PR firm and what is the role of a media lawyer in a PR crisis situation?“The key tools for any PR crisis practitioner (in the UK) are The Independent Press Standards Organisation Code and Ofcom. And less important but none the less as (essential) background the law of data protection, defamation and privacy. Those are my work tools.”Why does media regulation play a vital part in crisis response in the UK?Who makes editorial decisions where contentious issues arise?  What are the criteria on which editorial decisions are made? “99 times out of 100 the editor will take the advice of the in-house lawyer.”What are the sources of perceived risk for media owners? The applicable regulation (press/IPSO, broadcast/Ofcom) or the law (privacy/defamation/date protection)?Who creates perceived risk for the media owners? Is the appetite for risk the same across the media?  Should PR folks treat broadcast and press the same?  How should PR folks treat social media crises for their clients? Where can PR folks learn more about PR, journalism and the law, including Jonathan’s book, Reputation Matters.

Today on the show we’re looking back at 3 of the winning campaigns from The PRmoment Awards to dive a bit deeper into what they were all about and why they won.We’re looking at 3 campaigns from V&A, Greggs and Calm with Aarti Bulsara, director, Hope & Glory PR and DonFerguson, deputy MD, Hope & Glory PRWe’ll be looking at the objective, strategy, creative, activation and results of the work.There is a video version of this podcast on PRmoment Youtube channel and we will be using video to bring the campaigns to live, so it may be worth checking out our Youtube channel if you're interested.Before we start, two pieces of good news at PRmoment this week. The first is that the programme for PR Masterclass: AI in PR is now complete. The PR Masterclass series are hybrid events so you can attend either in person or virtually.Check out the microsite PRMasterclasses.com for all the details including the speaker line-up.The other vital bit of information is that The Creative Moment Awards are now open for entries. You can see all the categories for 2025 at the microsite creativemomentawards.co.The final entry deadline is Friday 20th June.Here's a summary of Aarti, Don and Ben's discussion:Winning Campaign Case StudyHope&Glory, CALM & adam&eveDDB - Missed BirthdaysCALM's “Missed Birthdays” was a spectacular installation designed to raise awareness of suicide. Each of the 6,292 balloons marked the birthday a young person missed because they died by suicide. It drove 220 pieces of coverage, delivering over 350 million Opportunities to See through editorial coverage. 23,000 people shared the installation on their social channels. Most of all, the installation prompted 29,500 visits to the CALM C.A.R.E. Kit microsite delivering vital prevention information and advice.The PRmoment Award judges said: “Crisp and clear articulation of what you did, why you did it and what your campaign generated - both in terms of coverage but also in behaviour shift.” Winning Campaign Case StudyNigella meets GreggsGreggs is known for its playful tone of voice and position within British culture. Its biggest challenge at Christmas is to launch its festive menu in a disruptive way (when media is saturated with high-budget launches). Step forward culinary queen Nigella. The resulting campaign generated over 1,520 pieces of coverage from start-to-finish. The “ad” was hailed a triumph and Greggs reported that Q4 like-for-like sales rose 2.5%.The PRmoment Award judges said: “A strong, unexpected idea and execution with great post-campaign data, showing the true impact of PR when done well.”Winning Campaign Case Study:The V&A - If You're Into It, It's In the V&AThe V&A has over 2.27m objects in its collection. There’s something for everybody so “if you’re into it, it’s in the V&A”. Hope&Glory offered nine people the opportunity to advise the V&A about its collections – enhancing its understanding of modern culture. The campaign reached 87% of the core audience and, of those exposed to the campaign, 76% said the activity made them think more positively about the V&A brand. Amongst non-V&A visitors, 40% said the activity made them think it was more relevant to them.The PRmoment Award judges said: “Huge results for a modest budget. Tapped into culture. This is gold standard”

Welcome to the latest PRmoment podcast. On the show today we’re talking to the 3 co-founders of Fight or Flight: Joe Walton, Charlie Meredith-Hardy and David Woodward. It’s Fight or Flights 5 anniversary this year so we’re going to chat about how this independent has gone from a start up with zero income 5 years ago to a business that now has a fee income of over £8m globally, with revenues in the US of approximately £3.7m.Clients include Oracle, Motorway and Expedia.Before we start, two pieces of good news at PRmoment this week. The first is that the programme for PR Masterclass: AI in PR is now complete. The PR Masterclass series are hybrid events so you can attend either in person or virtually. The event is on July 3rd and themes include:Check out the microsite PRMasterclasses.com for all the details including the speaker line-up.The other vital bit of information is that The Creative Moment Awards are now open for entries. Do check out all the categories for 2025 at the microsite creativemomentawards.co.The early bird entry deadline is Friday 16th May.Here’s a flavour of what Joe, David and Charlie discussed with PRmoment founder Ben Smith.Joe, David and Charlie reflect on how the UK B2B PR market is at the moment.Why the UK B2B market has had a challenging last 12 months. What size of budget do Fight or Flight’s target currently, in the UK and US?Why did Fight or Flight launch in the US so early in its life cycle?The reasons for a B2B tech PR firm to launch in the US are obvious but how have Fight or Flight managed to get £3.7m revenues in about 3 years? Why has Fight or Flight succeeded where others have failed?“We made some very big senior hires (in the US) out of the gate”“We hired the right people, we went in hard, we went in senior and it's paid off.”In the early years the positioning of Fight or Flight centred around the opportunity for creativity in B2B communications. David reflects on whether that has worked, or whether the growth of the business quickly outgrew the positioning?“If you look at the points of difference in the agency world. Quite  few of them are not defendable”“A little bit less than 5% of the B2B market is doing truly brave creative work. The work that takes you out of your comfort zone and builds fame.”For B2B PR firms, is one of the challenges the relative low seniority of some in-house B2B communicators?“We are seeing quite a few consumer PR folks coming into B2B.”Fight or Flight have grown quickly? Everyone wants to grow quickly but it’s a difficult thing to do.  Joe, David and Charlie tell us how they did it.“People often ask us, ‘Do you wish you did it earlier?’ My answer is: that we did it at exactly the right time.”What were the challenges of such fast growth for a PR firm?Are Joe, David and Charlie optimistic or pessimistic about the state of UK tech at the moment?Where is Fight or Flight likely to launch next?“People tend to forget the danger of doing nothing.”As “three, white, straight founders from the home counties” how did Joe, David and Charlie approach the need for Fight or Flight to have strong DE&I credentials?The implications of AI for the media, PR firms and in-house teams are significant. Where is Fight or Flight on the opportunity: threat spectrum?

Welcome to the PRmoment Podcast.This is our quarterly bonus podcast, where we chat about Rajar’s latest results. For those of you who aren’t aware of Rajar - it was established in 1992 and operates the single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United KingdomRaja publishes the listenership figures each quarter, which is good for insight for PR, curious about how the public engages with radio and how the market is performing.On the show today, we have Alex Blakemore, senior producer & newsroom daily editor at Markettiers, who will discuss the latest Rajar results for Q1 2025. Before we start, two pieces of good news at PRmoment this week. The first is that the programme for PR Masterclass: AI in PR is now complete. The PR Masterclass series are hybrid events so you can attend either in person or virtually. The event is on July 3rd and themes include:How to Integrate AI into your PR WorkflowThe impact of AI on JournalismAI as a content production toolIs LLM optimisation PR's biggest opportunity of our lifetimes?How will AI impact the agency business model?The legal implications of AI in your communicationsHow to move from AI experimentation to implementationCheck out the microsite PRMasterclasses.com for all the details including the speaker line-up.Here are some of the highlights from what Alex and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed:Some headline stats:Radio Weekly Reach is now 50m, 87% of UK adults, Live Radio Hours – Weekly stay strong at 20.5 HoursTV Hours – Weekly watching  (Barb April 2025) 16hrsBBC Share of Radio Listening 43%BBC vs Commercial Reach – WeeklyBBC – 31.3mCommercial – 39.8m Heart is now the UK’s biggest radio brand by listeners- overtaking Radio 2. Commercial Stations on the RiseTalkSPORT UP from 3,253,000 to 3,506,000Heart Network UP from 10,058,000 to 10,192,000LBC News UP from 974,000 to 1,013,000Times Radio UP from 604,000 to 622,000GB News Radio UP from 468,000 to 559,000BBC Stations on the RiseBBC Radio Berkshire UP from 34,000 to 48,000BBC Radio Newcastle UP from 215,000 to 234,000BBC Radio Scotland UP from 745,000 to 827,000BBC Radio WM UP from 185,000 to 194,000BBC World Service (UK Reach) UP from 1,184,000 to 1,210,000Trends and Insights for PR folks:1. News and speech content holds valueLBC News, Times Radio, and GB News Radio all saw meaningful increases, especially in total hours. This suggests a sustained demand for news-driven formats, particularly in uncertain political and economic conditions. 2. Online and smart speaker radio listening have hit record levels demonstrating changing listening habits as more people opt to tune in via connected devices like laptops, mobile phones and smart speakers. Total online listening to all radio has reached a record high of 28.5%. As part of that, smart speaker listening has also hit record levels, now accounting for 17.6% of total listening, up from 16.6% in the same quarter of 2024. 3. Because of choice, radio networks and stations need to know their audience - Older audiences are spending more time listening. Classic hits and news-led services performed especially well, with older listeners helping drive growth in total hours. Stations like Boom Radio, Greatest Hits, and BBC Radio 3 are examples of this pattern. The strongest percentage increase in weekly reach belongs to Heart Musicals, which increased by 61 percent, from 134,00

In the fourth episode of the season — recorded during Mental Health Awareness Week (12-18 May, 2025) — Elizabeth Howlett, editor at PRmoment and Dean Connelly, founder of Latte Recruitment are joined by Nick Morey, co-CEO at Dynamo PR who explains how taking a counselling skills course improved his leadership skills. 

Ben Smith and Jack Peat discussed Taylor Herring's report, "News is Dead. Long Live the News," focusing on PR's adaptation to evolving newsroom structures and social media's transformative role in news generation and distribution. The report highlights the need for platform-specific content strategies, emphasizing authentic, visually engaging content tailored to algorithms and social newsroom preferences, moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach. Next steps include further exploring the implications of these trends and developing tailored PR strategies for different social media platforms.DetailsTaylor Herring Report Overview: Ben Smith and Jack Peat discussed Taylor Herring's report, "News is Dead. Long Live the News," which examines how mainstream publishers' editorial teams are structured and whether PR teams are adapting. The central premise is that PR firms are slow to mirror changes in modern newsrooms. They also discussed upcoming PRmoment events, including the PR Masterclass on AI in PR.Social Media's Transformative Role in News: Jack Peat highlighted social media's shift from a news distribution platform to a source and generator of news. They emphasized how social media upends every stage of the news cycle, with user-generated content playing a significant role.Evolving Relationship Between Publishers and Social Media: Ben Smith and Jack Peat explored the change in how publishers view social media, from using it for traffic to their digital platforms, to becoming a central source of news and audience engagement. They cited examples of publishers prioritizing social media channels with growing teams and significant investments.Platform-Specific Content Strategies: The report revealed that different publishers excel on different platforms. This highlights the need for tailored content strategies rather than a one-size-fits-all approach to PR. The success of publications like Lad Bible and Joe on TikTok and the Economist on X exemplify this.The Algorithm's Influence on Content Creation: Jack Peat noted that algorithms, rather than editors, are increasingly important, requiring PR to tailor content to specific platform algorithms. Editors, however, remain crucial in understanding their publications' voice and how to optimize content for their target platforms.The Shift from One-Size-Fits-All PR: The discussion emphasized the end of the "one-size-fits-all" PR content era, as social news desks seek authentic content tailored to their specific platform and audience. Sending lengthy press releases without visual assets or opportunities for the social news teams to create their own content is no longer effective.Types of Video Content Sought by Social Newsrooms: The podcast explored the type of video content preferred by social newsrooms; it’s authentic, live-in-the-moment content, often shot on camera phones. The idea of providing "B-roll" footage that social newsrooms can then tailor to their own platform's style was suggested.The Growing Importance of Creators in Newsrooms: The conversation highlighted the shift in newsroom staffing, with a growing emphasis on creators who possess deep platform-specific knowledge rather than traditional journalism training. This trend is driving a change in the relationship between PR and publishers.Publishers' Evolving Commercialization Models: The discussion included the evolution of publishers' commercialization models on social media, moving from legacy platforms that rely on ad revenue and referrals, towards platforms like TikTok and Snap that use a "walled-garden" approach, and finally to the trend of publishers owning their audiences through subscriptions rather than renting their audience through advertising.