Smarts Communicate Sets Up PR Shop in London

The debut coincides with Smarts’ offices in Scotland re-branding as Smarts Communicate in a move designed to provide opportunity

Belfast-based global public relations and content agency, Smarts Communicate, has furthered the expansion of its international communications business with the opening of a new office in London. The firm employs 45 people in its Irish base and has seen revenues rise by almost 50 percent across the past two years.

Alongside the growth of its global consumer public relations division, the group, which currently has clients across more than 20 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, has a client portfolio which includes British Airways, BT, Lidl, Johnnie Walker, and Guinness.

In 2015, the company was appointed global agency for Johnnie Walker, for whom it also handles PR and social media activity in Western Europe. It has recently overseen the global PR launch of the Joy Will Take You Further campaign, the biggest in brand’s 200-year history.

The said branch will be headed by Managing Partner, Helen Rainford, who was previously Consumer Creative Director at Good Relations and formerly Associate Board Director at Cake. A SABRE award winner, she has led accounts such as B&Q, Sainsbury’s, Samsung, IKEA, Coca Cola, Alton Towers Resort, and Tourism Australia.

The new London lead was the brains behind the award-winning Fifty Shades campaign by B&Q. The debut coincides with Smarts’ offices in Scotland (Glasgow and Edinburgh) rebranding as Smarts Communicate in a move designed to provide greater opportunities for businesses seeking a UK networked service.

“Smarts Communicate already has a great client portfolio and reputation for delivering brave campaigns. We firmly believe that PR actually has to do something—shift opinion, change behaviours, drive sales. I’m looking forward to growing a team in London that builds on that conviction and opens new avenues,” said Rainford.

The agency’s campaigns have seen work done with a host of international stars including David Beckham, Jenson Button, Snow Patrol, Jake Bugg, and The 1975, among numerous others. The new London operation will be based at 90 Tottenham Court Road, W1T 4TJ.

Smarts Communicate is part of MSQ Partners, a stable of creative agencies which includes The Gate, Holmes & Marchant, and twentysix. The group has 25 regional and national offices worldwide in locations like New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, and San Francisco.