ICT and Media

Wild Card PR

In public relations, there are two groups of people whose opinions make all the difference to an agency's success. First, and most obvious, are its clients. But hardly less important are the journalists with whom it deals on a daily basis. If they see the agency as a lightweight serving up nothing more than flimsy hype, there's little chance that they'll pay much heed to its press releases or turn up at events it organises.

A quick look at the endorsements on Wild Card's website shows the respect that the agency has earned from a host of leading journalists. GQ editor Dylan Jones, for instance, writes: "Wild Card is that elusive thing in the PR industry - an agency that actually delivers. Small enough to keep that personal touch but with big account experience, its tailored approaches are always well researched and targeted."

With write-ups like that, it's little wonder that Wild Card's clients - who range from high-profile luxury brands to small start-ups - tend to be delighted with the media coverage it's able to generate for them.

So why has this highly regarded Covent Garden-based agency decided to open an office in Truro?

"Our initial focus will be on the food and drink sector", explains MD Kate Wild. "There's a thriving and very exciting entrepreneurial culture in the South West - and nowhere more so than in Cornwall, where at £1.5bn the food and drink industry is currently growing faster than tourism. "Wild Card's experience in building both emerging and established brands, through delivering hard-hitting campaigns, puts us in a strong position to service clients at a local and national level from our new office."

As with so many businesses moving into Cornwall, there's also a strong personal aspect. "I was brought up in Cornwall," Kate explains, "and I suppose I've always dreamed of being able to move back.

"What's made it possible is not just the increasing amount of potential business in the county, but also the improvements in communications that enable us to deal with national and international clients quite easily from here. Young's Seafoods, for instance, is based in Grimsby, which is now a fairly easy journey via Newquay Airport. There are also frequent flights to London, though I prefer to use the train as it's such a good environment to work in."

Workforce
Rosie Halloran has been appointed as a senior account executive in Truro, joining Wild Card from Cornwall-based agency Skyfield Communications. She'll be working alongside the 25-strong team in the London office, reporting direct to Kate Wild, who - along with human resources and operations director Simon Holborow - will be dividing her time between the two locations. The company's finance and administration functions have both been moved to Truro, with two new managers appointed to run these. Kate says she was delighted by the calibre of the locally based candidates who applied to the posts. Wild Card is proud to have achieved Investor in People status in recognition of its commitment to staff development and training.

Clients
Wild Card is particularly well known for its work in the food and drink sector, where its clients include Gü, Laurent-Perrier, Glenfiddich, Jacksons of Piccadilly, Young's Seafood and the Booths supermarket chain. Amongst its clients in the premium lifestyle and homes sector are Scott Dunn, John Cullen Lighting and Leica Cameras.

A number of existing clients based in South West England will be serviced from the Truro office, and the company is currently pitching to several new prospects in the region. Wild Card is also working with sectoral organisation Taste of the West to organise and publicise the annual Cornwall Food and Drink Festival in September, a key showcase for local food and drink producers.

Technology
Simon Holborow says that the broadband infrastructure in Truro is as good as that available in London, enabling staff in the Corwall office to access the company's central server in London directly. This in turn has allowed Simon to introduce a bespoke new agency management system (based on the FileMaker standard) that records and integrates key client-related actions such as press contacts, monthly reports and invoices.

Support
"Cornwall Pure Business (now known as InvestinCornwall) have been extremely helpful, always available to answer any questions we had about setting up in Cornwall and putting us in touch with suitable agents when we were looking for premises," says Kate Wild. "They've also helped us identify companies in our target sector that we might want to talk to, people we might want to approach and networking events that we should be attending."

Further Information

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7 Edward Street, Truro, Cornwall, TR1 3AJ
Telephone: 01872 243560
Email: wildwest@wildcard.co.uk
Web: www.wildcard.co.uk