Bhurji launches Diffusion agency

Three-strong agency secures Direct Marketing Association and e-Dialog as first clients.

London, 04 April 2008 – Daljit Bhurji, the former head of Hotwire’s digital media practice has launched his own agency, Diffusion (www.diffusionpr.com), co-founded with PR Week award-winner Ivan Ristic and former Google search expert Barney Jones. The agency is pioneering what it sees as the new model for PR with Social Media and Search Engine Marketing sitting at the core of campaigns alongside traditional media relations expertise.

Diffusion will be using the experience of its founders, who have worked for major brands including Tiscali, FT.com, CNN and eBay, to develop integrated PR campaigns for the digital, mobile and media & marketing services sectors. Diffusion will also be working with leading consumer brands helping them to enhance their marketing campaigns through the integrated use of Social Media and Search.

The agency launches with two clients already on board: the Direct Marketing Association (www.dma.org.uk) and global email marketing provider e-Dialog (www.e-dialog.com).

Diffusion specialises in helping clients harness the power of the online, social media channels and traditional media via powerful integrated campaigns. The new agency’s unique approach will enable clients to go beyond bog-standard media relations techniques.

Daljit Bhurji, managing director at Diffusion comments, “Vast swathes of the PR sector remain preserved in aspic but to survive as an industry we need to move on from the business models of the 1970s. PR today is so much more than glorified press release distribution. Many brands and organisations we have spoken to are alive to the potential of Social Media and digital channels but are crying out for an agency which does more than spout buzzwords and blindly jumps on the latest bandwagon.”

Bhurji continued, “Diffusion’s mission is to offer clients strategic advice on the new rules of communication in plain English. Social Media is about more than just exciting new tools and channels; it encapsulates a fundamental sea change in how modern consumers want to interact with brands. PR is no longer just a one-way conversation conducted through a set of media intermediaries. It’s about connecting brands to individuals, building communities and facilitating two-way conversations with customers.”

At launch, Diffusion has been selected by the Direct Marketing Association to work on a series of projects designed to promote the association’s work to the new breed of digital and integrated marketing agencies in the UK. For e-Dialog, Diffusion will be running a high profile thought-leadership campaign to cement the email marketing provider’s position as a global number one. The company’s clients include the likes of British Airways, Reuters and Nintendo.

Diffusion will be based in central London. Bhurji will head up the agency’s digital practice; Ristic the media and marketing services practices and Jones will optimise communications campaigns for universal search channels including video and images.