NEW YORK: UK-based restaurant chain Pret A Manger has selected Sharp Communications as its first PR AOR in the US as it expands its business in the country.

Lewis PR previously managed the brand’s communications globally, said Jennifer Nelson, marketing director for Pret A Manger USA. She added that the firm is still handling PR for the chain in the UK and will work collaboratively with Sharp.

Nelson declined to give details on the review process, but said a “couple” of agencies competed for the US business.

Sharp won the account because of its experience in the food space, as well as its “creativity and passion,” she added.

Pret A Manger decided to bring on a PR agency in the US because of the growth the company is seeing in key markets, including New York, Chicago, Boston, and Washington DC.

“It’s so important that we make sure we communicate our ‘made today, gone today’ message,” explained Nelson. “We make food fresh every day, we donate it to local charities, and with the amount of effort we put forth, the ingredients we source, and the passion our team members have, it’s a wonderful time to make sure our message gets out there.”

Sharp’s main responsibilities include consumer brand marketing, media relations, special events, and support of the company’s philanthropic arm, the Pret Foundation.

With a team of four staffers on the account, the agency will engage press outlets and bloggers who cover the general consumer, food, and health and wellness categories, said James Brodsky, president and CEO of Sharp.

Social media is handled internally at Pret A Manger, said Nelson, but Sharp will help the in-house team with idea generation for social channels.

She added that the initial contract is for one year. Budget information for the account was not disclosed.

In addition to hiring Sharp, Pret brought on Walrus for US marketing and creative work in March, Nelson said.

Pret A Manger, which launched in London in 1986 and debuted in America in 2000, has more than 240 locations in the UK and more than 50 in the US.

This article was originally printed in PR Week.

The Heard and Scene column profiled both The Society of Memorial Sloan- Kettering Cancer Center’s annual Bunny Hop …

… as well as the Randall’s Island Park Alliance’s Spring Gala.

In addition, the Off Duty section featured Vertu’s latest luxury mobile phone, the Vertu TI, which is the first of Vertu’s smartphone’s to run on the Android platform.

Three times the charm!

Such was the case when we met AD100 designer Jesse Carrier from Carrier & Company, who was working on the re-build of Town & Country magazine Editor-in-Chief, Jay Fielden’s Connecticut home after it was sadly destroyed in a fire.  Cosentino was so inspired by the Fielden family’s restoration challenge that of course, they said yes to work with them on the kitchen. After a quick review of samples, Carrier & Company selected one of Silestone’s leading colors White Zeus Extreme, the whitest white on the market offering a clean, modern look, and the countertops were fabricated and installed.

Fast forward 10-months later, et voila!  The home is complete and front and center in The New York Times “Home” section with a fantastic photo of the new kitchen mentioning Silestone.  Check out the story, “Restoration Drama…”

The National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) Gala Awards Dinner

This year’s event brought approximately 270 attendees including some of the country’s foremost scholars, government officials, diplomats, business leaders and philanthropists.  The evening honored former president of Finland, The Honorable Martti Ahtisaari and Chairman, President and CEO of The H.J. Heinz Company, William R. Johnson.

Also recognized for their leadership were Scholar, human rights and global youth advocate, Ronan Farrow, and esteemed writer and editor, Nicholas Thompson as recipients of the 21st Century Leader Award.  Proceeds from the evening benefited the National Committee’s educational programs and diplomatic meetings that address security challenges facing the United States.

The Sharp team was responsible for securing pre-event coverage and media attendees.  In the weeks leading to the Gala, Sharp secured several press interviews with the National Committee’s various foreign affairs experts to increase awareness of the numerous thought leaders aligned with the non-profit.  Journalists from top-tier media outlets such the Associated Press, Reuters and Huffington Post LIVE attended the event.

22nd Annual Bunny Hop, The Associates Committee of The Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

The 22nd Annual Bunny Hop took place on March 5th at FAO Schwarz Fifth Avenue, New York’s legendary toy store. Sponsored by Tiffany & Co., this year’s event sold 900 tickets and resulted in $311,000 benefiting the Pediatric Family Housing Endowment, a fund that pays for overnight stays at special nearby accommodations when children and their families come from out of town for treatment at MSKCC’s renowned Pediatric Department and are unable to afford this expense.

The Sharp team handled all aspects of Public Relations initiatives surrounding this event, which included drafting appropriate press materials, securing calendar listings to help drive ticket sales, and inviting appropriate media attendees to cover the event. This event was covered in the Wall Street Journal the following day, where it was positioned as the high-profile family event of the year.

Also in the not-for-profit sphere, The Pennsylvania Gazette, an alumni magazine from the University of Pennsylvania, wrote a great profile piece on Lieutenant Commander Pamela Wall and Keynan Hobbs in their bi-monthly January/February issue.  The article was published following two events hosted by The Jonas Center for Nursing Excellence to raise awareness and support for the nurses who are on the front lines of veteran’s health.

Lastly, its never to early to show some love and with Valentine’s Day right around the corner the team crafted a clever pitch for CIRCA on “how to be your own Valentine this year.”  Check out the great segment on FOX Chicago.
Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News

Kohler Moxie in The Chicago Tribune

Cosentino Silestone in Connecticut Cottages & Gardens

Eastside House Settlement’s Young Collector’s Night in Architecture Digest

Influencer Relationships.  Influencers are the new celebrities.  With blogging and social media becoming strong tools for creating and driving news, brands are actively looking to engage with influencers.  Often aligning with tastemakers who share the same core values as the brand, can offer greater credibility and authenticity than a celebrity.  Extending reach through influencers and leveraging their voice of authority to spread messaging is a smart and subtler way of speaking to your target audience.

Visual Assets. Gone are the days when all you needed was a press release and high-res jpeg. The emergence of platforms such as Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram, which work exclusively in visuals, has accelerated the trend of using creative visuals in PR. Harnessing great graphics and video is now considered stock.  The more compelling assets you have, the stronger the pitch and story.  Having a top-notch design team at our disposal in-house is a huge bonus, but our PR team is also skilled at how to think about messages visually.  Communications are becoming more and more about art and design.

Quantification. The convergence of traditional media with online and social media is requiring PR executives to dust off their analytical skills once again.  While the old system of attempting to quantify the value of PR against advertising value has become antiquated, data is now coming back in a big way and is key to reviewing and informing new PR strategies. Knowing how to crunch and analyze data is key to delivering results-driven work and ROI to our clients.

Content Creation. Consumer demand for brand engagement means that companies increasingly must act as producers and publishers of content. There is a big opportunity for brands to be their own storyteller – to create compelling content and syndicate widely through a growing number of channels and platforms.  For our team, this means continuing to work with the professional storytellers (aka the media) in the traditional PR sense while dual serving as producers and editors of custom content on behalf of our clients.

Learning. PR thrives on change. The only thing predictable about our days is that every one is different.  The changing nature of our job and the increasing scope of our PR team and the industry as a whole is an interesting trend in itself. Making time to read and learn in order to stay nimble and adapt is key to keeping our competitive edge for both the Agency and our clients.  A few “must-reads” from our team include Ragan’s PR Daily, Brian Solis, Editor at Large, Fishbowl NYC, SmartBrief by the Grocery Manufacturers Association, and Luxury Daily.

Some big trends out there, that all represent exciting new opportunities for the Sharp team.

In other news, Fox and Friends featured CIRCA on two, live segments.  Expert buyers at CIRCA shared tips for getting the most out of the selling experience in a smashing segment titled “Turn Carats into Cash.”  From our home design team, House Beautiful featured ECO by Cosentino in Polar Cap in a round up of countertop alternatives to natural stone and Time magazine featured Kohler’s Moxie showerhead in the tech section, detailing how readers can stream music directly into the shower.

Quest on The Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center’s Associates Committee Fall Party

Fox & Friends on CIRCA

House Beautiful on ECO by Cosentino

Worth on Vertu’s partnership with Smile Train

The year was truly a pivotal one when we look at digital, mobile and social. Brands moved beyond experimentation to develop fully integrated programs, and our audiences and channels for reaching them become even more interconnected and global.

Here are some of the trends on our radar:

• Traditional and new channels are converging.  The line between “digital” and “social” has never been more blurred as consumers’ online and social experiences are often one in the same. More than 82% of the world’s online population is reached through social networking sites and Facebook hit it’s iconic 1 billionth user this year.  As we are planning for clients next year, we are already seeing ad creative converge with social experiences, web experiences that are built for mobile, and PR initiatives geared toward online influencers and bloggers. The silos are coming down, and that’s exciting for the way that we work as an agency.
  • The Four Seasons website redesign brought social engagement front and center and opened up conversation among customers.

• Medium-specific experiences are driving engagement.  As consumers are rapidly connecting to third and fourth screens, brands are investing in complimentary experiences across multiple platforms.  A single creative execution isn’t effective across display, print and mobile, and smart brands are developing creative tailored to the way people are behaving across these unique platforms.  This creates great challenges but also exciting opportunities as we help our clients reach an increasingly global audience.
  • The Montblanc Wold Second application-based program capitalized on mobile to associate the brand with time and emphasize a global community.

• Brand journalism is becoming central to storytelling.  Content creation and content strategies were big buzz words in 2012 and we’re not expecting this to drop in 2013. If anything, as platforms like online video continue to grow, we expect brands to increase investment in this space.  Especially within the luxury sector, rich content has the ability to tell a brand story and captivate enthusiasts.  In addition, all social channels became more visual this year – from the Facebook and Twitter redesigns to the massive growth of Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr — and luxury brands are uniquely positioned to take advantage through beautiful, compelling imagery.
  • Chanel used video to tell the history of the iconic no. 5 fragrance in conjunction with the new Brad Pitt advertising creative.

• Experience is going digital.  Experiential marketing has always been central to creating exclusive, exceptional connections between luxury brands and their best customers. Immersive websites, Augmented Reality and enhancements in click-able video are helping brands extend that level of experience and engagement to more customers.  Especially as luxury consumers trend younger and more global, these tools are shifting into digital marketers’ consideration set and we expect to see more of it next year.
  • Geox brought customers and fans to the rainiest place on earth.
  • Swarovski uses Augmented Reality and Instagram to let people experience the holiday collection.

• Everything is measured.  The team here jokingly refers to our row of desks as “data alley” since more often than not our screens are tuned in to analytics dashboards and monster excel tracking grids.  Luxury marketing is all about getting to a very focused group of people, and as we’re able to measure better and measure more (from qualified leads to sales) we’re able to provide better results for clients and better efficiencies in our programs.

What else are you seeing in this space? How would you add to our list?

In print, the Wall Street Journal featured Kohler’s latest product, Moxie, the first showerhead with an integrated Bluetooth speaker for listening to audio fromyour smartphone (genius.)

In broadcast, A & E’s “Flipping Boston” featured Silestone natural quartz to transform both the kitchen and bathroom in “Dave’s Rental Breakdown,” and ABC San Francisco featured CIRCA in a consumer-savvy segment on how to come up with extra cash for the holidays by selling your no longer worn jewelry.

The Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering in Avenue Magazine

Vertu in C California Style

Milano Smart Living in USA Today

Cosentino in Interiors & Sources