Mothercare appoints Diffusion to integrated brief

Mothercare Group, the UK’s largest provider of baby and parenting products, has appointed Diffusion to an integrated brief to help develop the social media strategy for its iconic Mothercare and Early Learning Centre retail brands.  Diffusion has also been tasked to raise national awareness for Mothercare’s social networking site for new parents, Gurgle.com, through a high-impact campaign targeting young parents via mainstream print and broadcast media.

Mothers and young parents are an increasingly active group online, placing a huge amount of value on the opinions, advice and recommendations of their peers.  Figures from comScore reveal that over 4.6 million mothers in the UK go online every month, spending over 26 hours surfing the web with a high focus on retail sites.  Diffusion will be working with Mothercare and Early Learning Centre to develop an online engagement strategy based on actively listening to perceptions of the brand and its products online and then increasing participation on key parenting blogs, forums and social networking sites.

Key objectives will be to use social media to emphasise Mothercare’s expertise and heritage in the baby and parenting space, as well as promote key products and offers to drive both footfall on the High Street and sales via the brands’ ecommerce sites.

Diffusion’s issues-based PR campaign for Gurgle.com will seek to make it a destination site for expectant and recent mothers looking for advice from both resident experts as well as the site’s extensive community of mothers.  Core to the campaign will be to increase Gurgle’s profile in national and lifestyle press, positioning Nifa McLaughlin, editor of Gurgle.com as a recognisable media spokesperson on key social, lifestyle and health issues effecting new parents.

Brian Curran, Head of Group Direct Marketing for Mothercare commented, “Mothercare and the Early Learning Centre are brands which over many decades have built very strong reputations for quality, safety and innovation.  We recognise that today reputations are increasingly being shaped through online channels, and this is particularly true given the explosion we’ve seen in parenting forums and blogs in recent years and through our own site Gurgle.com.  We will be using Diffusion’s digital integration expertise to develop a social media approach which will allow us to enhance and safeguard our online reputation and increase our ability to listen to our consumers to deliver even better products and customer service in the future.”

Ivan Ristic, director and co-founder, Diffusion commented:  “The UK’s online community of parents is growing in both size and influence and is understandably becoming a major consideration for retail brands looking to reach UK mothers who control household budgets.  Developing relationships with key online influencers and working with Mothercare’s brands to make it an active and valued part of these online communities will be central to our strategic approach. Gurgle.com in particular provides a very active and vibrant platform for new mothers, which we will look to build through a proactive media relations campaign that brings a fresh and informed perspective.”

Metro Newspaper appoints Diffusion to run social media campaign for Metro.co.uk

LONDON, 27 May 2010: Metro, the UK’s third largest national newspaper has appointed integrated agency Diffusion to develop and implement its social media strategy for Metro.co.uk.   Diffusion has been briefed to build awareness of Metro’s online offering to the 3.5 million consumers who read the paper daily in 33 cities across the UK.

The campaign will look to make Metro.co.uk a destination site for ‘City Clickers’,  18 to 44 year-old young urban professionals looking for the best entertainment, showbiz and sports news as well as the strange and irreverent stories for which Metro has become famous.

Core to the campaign will be to increase online engagement and conversations between the paper and its readers and creating new digital marketing opportunities for advertisers.  Diffusion will be developing Metro’s presence and engagement with readers on key social media platforms as well as building relationships with key bloggers across a range of niche subject areas and at a regional level.

In addition to building visits and reader loyalty to Metro.co.uk, Diffusion will also be promoting Metro’s online services, including the launch of its World Cup Fantasy Football game this month.

Abi Slater, Head of Marketing for Metro commented, “Metro.co.uk has established a strong reputation for fun and irreverent content which sets it apart from traditional newspaper websites. While the newspaper clearly owns the mornings, the website has the potential to give people more Metro moments throughout the day and week.  Sustained online consumer PR and strategic use of social media channels will be key to building awareness, traffic and consumer loyalty to Metro.co.uk. Diffusion impressed us with their strong understanding of social media and the ability to showcase real results from working with online media brands”

Ivan Ristic, director, Diffusion commented:  “The 2010 General Election was a watershed moment in proving the importance of digital channels and online communities to the media industry.  Metro has recognised this with the rebrand of Metro.co.uk and the campaign will provide a positive, solid platform enabling users to share content at a time when other news outlets are restricting access to their sites.”

Thomson Local appoints Diffusion in Social Media Drive

LONDON, 13 May 2010: Thomson Local, the UK local search company, has appointed Diffusion to develop and implement integrated digital campaigns to increase consumer awareness and traffic to ThomsonLocal.com.  Operating for over 25 years and with a database of 1.8 million businesses, Thomson has evolved to become the leading local search company in the UK.

The first campaign, Britain’s Punniest is a competition to find the UK company with the wittiest name.  From ‘Spex in the City’ to ‘Thai-tanic’, members of the public will be able to upload photos of the small business names which make them laugh out loud to a special microsite, where they will also be able to vote for Britain’s Punniest.  Consumers who make submissions and vote will get the chance to win a holiday to Las Vegas with the overall winning business set to receive over £5,000 in marketing support .

Diffusion will be driving entries and traffic to the site via an integrated tradition media and social media campaign targeting national press, SME media, blogs, forums as well as social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter.

Mark Cox, Corporate Communications Manager, Thomson Local commented: “We have seen a fantastic registration rate since we gave consumers the ability to rate and review businesses on Thomsonlocal.com last year.  As the site continues to evolve and new features are introduced we are constantly looking at new ways to engage users. We wanted to work with an agency that really understands how to integrate social and traditional media, whilst not forgetting how important ‘local’ is to our brand”.

Ivan Ristic, Director, Diffusion added:  “ThomsonLocal.com offers a really fantastic service to its users that goes far beyond basic search and directory services. Its target user base has a fragmented media diet across traditional and social media that is particularly suited to an integrated approach and we’re looking forward to implementing an effective campaign and enjoying a successful partnership with Thomson Local.”

Royal Institution selects Diffusion as Christmas Lectures go Digital

PR Week’s New Consultancy of the Year to implement integrated online awareness campaign

London, 14 December 2009 – The Royal Institution (www.Rigb.org), one of the UK’s oldest and most respected science-based communities has appointed Diffusion to run an integrated digital campaign to promote its annual Christmas Lectures.  First delivered by Michael Faraday in 1825 and an iconic fixture of the festive TV schedule since 1966, the 2009 Christmas Lectures will be the first to take advantage of digital platforms to deliver an interactive audience experience.

The 2009 Lectures titled “The 300 million years war” will have a strong environmental theme, examining the complex relationship between animal and plant life.  Diffusion will be using digital and traditional media channels to reach out to young people, teachers and parents to drive viewers to the lectures which will for the first time be broadcast on More 4 between 21st and 25th December.  The agency has also been tasked with driving traffic to the Royal Institution website, which will host new interactive digital content and services.

The Lectures will be delivered by leading UK ecologist Prof Sue Hartley and viewers will be able to ask her questions about each programme via a live web chat straight after each show, as well as submit questions in real-time using Twitter and Facebook.  The RI has also developed digital content to download to encourage viewers to conduct their own experiments at home with their friends and family and then share tips and their results via the RI website.

Ivan Ristic, Director, Diffusion commented, “Our experience shows that digital channels and online communities need to be central to any campaign trying to engage with young people. The RI has recognised this, both in the interactive format of this year’s Christmas Lectures and in the design of PR campaign it wanted to promote the 2009 shows.”

Olympia Brown, Senior YPP Coordinator, The Royal Institution comments, “The Christmas Lectures at the Royal Institution are an established part of the British Christmas, having run since 1825.  The key for us was to work with an agency which was able to take this sense of heritage and maintain relevance to a modern audience.  We were impressed with Diffusion’s expertise in reaching out and engaging with young audiences online and being able to use digital content to drive online traffic.”

Diffusion launches dedicated consultancy for Mobile

Diffusion Mobile launches with dedicated mobile specialist team and Juniper Research as first client

London, 9 July 2009 – Diffusion today launches Diffusion Mobile, a specialist consultancy which, for the first time, will focus on providing integrated communications campaigns built around media relations, social media and search to companies operating in the mobile industry. The consultancy will target rapidly growing and broadly consumer orientated segments of mobile telecoms including; content and applications, mobile advertising and consumer hardware.

Diffusion Mobile has been selected by Juniper Research, a leading telecoms analyst firm specialising in the mobile and wireless sector, to support the release of key reports launched by the organisation across the coming year. Diffusion Mobile will run an integrated digital campaign to raise awareness of the firm and its market reports, positioning its analysts as industry thought leaders.

Diffusion Mobile has begun building a dedicated team of mobile industry PR specialists, with senior consultant David Ross-Tomlin, formerly of Nelson Bostock, recruited to build the Diffusion Mobile team and service offering. Ross-Tomlin’s experience includes leading campaigns for brands such as BlackBerry, Ericsson and HTC. He will report directly to Diffusion’s managing director, Daljit Bhurji.

Diffusion has identified mobile as a hot spot for growth in the technology sector over the next five years, with revenues from mobile applications alone set to reach $25bn by 2014.* Daljit Bhurji, managing director of Diffusion commented, “Competition and innovation in the mobile sector is becoming increasingly intense, and creative PR is essential to secure the mindshare of consumers, mobile industry partners and the investor community. Diffusion Mobile will demonstrate the growing importance of digital as part of a wider communications strategy, providing our clients strategic advice on the new rules of communication in plain English.”

Reflecting Diffusion PR’s focus on accountability and measurement, Diffusion Mobile will also operate on a payment by results basis, with clear deliverables and clients only paying for results actually achieved. Diffusion Mobile will initially be headquartered at Diffusion’s offices in central London.

*Juniper Research April 2009

ipoints.co.uk hires Diffusion for social media outreach

Campaign to drive traffic to ipoints.co.uk and build mainstream brand awareness

London, 1 July 2009 – Maximiles, the European online marketing specialist has appointed digital specialists Diffusion PR to create and execute a social media strategy aimed at driving consumer traffic to its ipoints.co.uk online shopping portal. Diffusion will also provide press office support and implement traditional consumer media relations to build greater awareness off the ipoints.co.uk brand, while also raising awareness of Maximiles to the business and marketing trade media.

Founded in 2000, Maximiles is the European online marketing specialist whose consumer-facing sites count over four million members across five European countries. ipoints.co.uk is the UK consumer-facing brand where over two million members regularly collect points for day-to-day shopping with major brands like Argos, M&S, Tesco and Sainsburys and redeem them for major rewards.

The social media campaign will target consumers across a range of platforms to educate them on the benefits of collecting points for their day-to-day shopping online and redeeming them for rewards. The integrated campaign will also target traditional consumer titles and personal finance sections of national newspapers.

Guy Keeling, Managing Director, Maximiles UK comments, “Now, more than ever consumers are wising up to where they can get the best value and rewards for their day-to-day shopping. At ipoints.co.uk we enable our loyal members to collect points while shopping with over a thousand big brands. Diffusion understands how to use social media, traditional media and search to drive greater brand awareness and website traffic and will be a key element of our wider marketing campaign going forward.”

Ivan Ristic, Director, Diffusion adds, “The web has become the starting point for anyone looking to buy anything and a specific blog, forum or social network group could have the potential to drive more traffic and custom to an online retailer than a national newspaper. Together with ipoints.co.uk we are looking forward to implementing an integrated campaign that will drive brand awareness through traditional media and quantifiable traffic from social media.”

Coverzones appoints Diffusion to target SMEs

Campaign to drive brand awareness and small business traffic to Coverzones.com

London, 1 May 2009 – Coverzones, the first online business insurance comparison and policy management site has appointed Diffusion PR to develop and implement an integrated communications campaign across social and traditional media

Coverzones.com lets small business owners compare, buy and manage bespoke business insurance policies online while also offering major insurance firms such as Brit, AIG and Hiscox economic access to the SME market. The Coverzones service is completely impartial.

Diffusion will identify and interact with small business owner communities through social media to drive traffic to Coverzones.com while also implementing an issues-based traditional media campaign to build greater brand awareness in national and small business press.

Steve Sherlock, Chief Marketing Officer, Coverzones comments, “Unlike the personal insurance market which has become normalised over the last decade, the business insurance market has, until now, failed to provide a standardised online policy comparison and management service. We have invested in developing the first, impartial business insurance comparison and policy management site for SMEs and are looking forward to working with Diffusion to get the message out there to small business owners.”

Ivan Ristic, Director, Diffusion adds, “Coverzones provides an extremely useful service for small business owners. We are looking forward to using a range of tactics to engage with online SME communities through social media, while building greater brand awareness of Coverzones in traditional media outlets through and issues-based PR campaign.”

Beatbulling appoints Diffusion to social media campaigning role

Campaign to raise awareness of key initiatives and aid charity’s lobbying

London, 16 February 2009 – Beatbullying, the government-backed, multi award-winning charity working with children and young people, has appointed digital specialists Diffusion PR to develop and implement a social media strategy project aimed at increasing awareness and engagement with young people, adults and key political figures online. Diffusion will also provide traditional media press office support to Beatbullying targeting consumer and youth media as part of a fully integrated project campaign.

The digital campaign will drive awareness of the Beatbullying’s initiatives through deeper engagement and two-way communications with stakeholders across a number of online platforms including blogs, forums, social networks and online video. It will also leverage the charity’s abundance of celebrity supporters online such as Girls Aloud and Leona Lewis. Social media will also be used as a tool for online lobbying of government and political parties

Founded in 1999, Beatbullying’s unique approach empowers young people to lead anti-bullying campaigns in their schools and local communities. The charity has worked directly and indirectly with 1.5million young people over the last seven years, assisting and supporting young people that are being bullied, re-educating and changing the behaviour of young people that bully and preventing bullying in schools and communities across the UK

Sherry Adhami, Head of Communications, Beatbullying comments, “Campaigning charities today need to place digital channels at the heart of their communications strategy which also reflects how we are increasingly looking to the Internet for more effective ways of engaging with young people, adults and other stakeholders to extend the reach of our work and unique approach to stamping out bullying. Diffusion’s unique approach and understanding of social media and traditional media relations is rare and will be a cornerstone of our campaigning going forward.”

Ivan Ristic, Director, Diffusion, adds, “Young people today spend more time online than they do consuming traditional media and with so many pressing social issues from cyber-bullying to knife crime, achieving meaningful engagement is vital to elicit the behavioural change Beatbullying is striving for. Beatbullying understands that social media is an increasingly effective medium with which to engage this audience, and together we will be coordinating social media, traditional media and search strategies to ensure we achieve meaningful engagement with young people, parents and key political stakeholders. Beatbullying has many exciting plans and goals for 2009 which we are looking forward to helping make a resounding success

Stuff appoints Diffusion for social media campaign

Campaign to target key online influencers, build online community and drive visitors to Stuff.tv

London, 10 November 2008 – Stuff, the best-selling gadget magazine in the world, has appointed Diffusion to implement a digital PR campaign aimed at developing an interactive online community of readers and bloggers around the title and driving visitors to the Stuff.tv web site.

The social media campaign will drive awareness of the wide range of content available on Stuff.tv and make use of a combination of digital tools and channels including blogs, forums, social networks and online video to drive additional traffic to Stuff.tv.

Andrew Tyler, Publishing Manager, Haymarket Consumer Media comments, “Stuff.tv will be launching several new digital initiatives over the coming months aimed at using our content to reach even more readers online. Diffusion brings with it real creativity and digital expertise, that is hard to come by particularly in the media industry.”

Ivan Ristic, Director, Diffusion comments, “Stuff.tv understands that just as social media allows individuals to consume media in a more fragmented and personalised way, that it can benefit by using its abundance of amazing content to interact and engage with relevant communities online. We’re excited to be working with Stuff.tv and look forward to exceeding their digital communications objectives.”

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.