Member Article

Influential new name for Paver Smith

PR agency Paver Smith has re-branded - from now on, it will operate under the new name:‘Influential’.

The company says the idea underlying the concept is that ‘all marketing is ultimately about shaping opinion’ and that the new name will ‘reflect the wider services the agency, which has offices in Liverpool, Manchester and London, now offers’.

The major brands Influential currently represents include construction giant Morgan Sindall; Quilter Cheviot, the leading wealth manager; and Redx Pharma, a global player in early stage drug development.

Influential’s other national PR campaigns include the Downing and Langtree property groups and the Viva Brazil restaurant chain.

The agency also has substantial regional briefs for the accountancy firm Grant Thornton, National Lottery operator Camelot and the Liverpool One retail and leisure complex.

Sara Wilde-McKeown, managing director, said: “We work with influential brands and wanted a name that reflects our affinity with our customers’ values and aspirations. Influential acknowledges what we are here to achieve for clients.

“We have built a national reputation for being a highly effective PR operator since the agency was founded in 2006. It’s important now that our brand mirrors not just how the agency has evolved, but also how the market in which we operate has changed. “

The rebrand acknowledges the kaleidoscope of ways people now share information, and the variety of tools brands use to engage with their audiences.

Ms Wilde McKeown added: “We are a smart communications agency that delivers influence for brands.

“We do that by blending insight, fresh ideas and expert story-telling to help brands connect with customers and stakeholders. That’s about combining strategic thought with creative execution - and being both entrepreneurial and collaborative in our approach.”

The most recent recruit to what is now the Influential executive team Karen Swan, who joined the board in May, has over 20 years’ marketing, brand and insight experience.

In her previous role she was head of marketing at software company GBGroup. Prior to this, Karen was the director of strategic marketing at Trinity Mirror Regionals where she had responsibility for the full marketing mix including both B2B and B2C.

The Influential board is completed by directors Jon Brown and Chris Hulme, both former journalists, and chairman David Heal, who founded and developed Harrison Cowley into the UK’s largest independent PR agency before selling it to Huntsworth.

The agency’s major project wins in 2014 already reflect the wider service offering now being delivered under the Influential brand.

These include a substantial public health consultation exercise for Greater Manchester Health Network (GMPHN) - the Healthier Together campaign. It has seen the agency deliver a fully integrated marketing, communications and consultation brief for GMPHN, which is overseeing the radical transformation of the entire healthcare service across Greater Manchester.

Influential also won the brief to deliver a new marketing strategy for the public sector agency Marketing Liverpool and ACC Liverpool conference and convention centre around its Ambassadors programme.

The project involves creating a new brand and marketing approach as part of Liverpool’s strategy to attract major business events to the city.

The team is also driving the marketing and communications programme for the Liverpool Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), developing a strategy to promote the LEP and key economic development initiatives.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .