W acquires GluePR and rebrands to ‘W North’ as part of ongoing expansion
– the agency’s second acquisition in just six months.
W Communications, the UK’s leading independent agency, has added Newcastle to its business footprint alongside London, Singapore and Amsterdam, to deliver its award-winning expertise across consumer, corporate, influencer and social.
In a move specifically designed to provide clients with a view “outside of the London bubble”, W North will open its doors officially on 3 April, 2017 in Ouseburn’s Toffee Factory, headed up by ex-Freuds and Glue PR founder, Christian Cerisola.
Warren Johnson, CEO & Founder of W, said: “There are real differences in culture, interests and consumer habits across the UK, which if anything are growing even more distinct. Not just from north to south, but city to city, town to town. It’s incredibly important for agencies not to get stuck in the London mindset and evolve a more locally responsive approach to communications – not just for themselves, but for the clients they represent.
This venture is designed to offer our current and future clients a different outlook on their communications challenges and meet the growing appetite for campaign activation within other cities in the UK.”
The need for regional, more northerly-focused capability has continued to grow across the agency’s client base, and the Newcastle office, which will be supercharged by W’s acquisition and rebrand of Cerisola’s GluePR, will provide the perfect springboard for this – covering everywhere from Scotland and the Borders, to Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle itself and beyond.
W Managing Director Richard Tompkins, who will work closely with Cerisola, commented:“We spent a lot of time looking at different cities and towns across the North of England and into Scotland, but settled on Newcastle because of its unique blend of strong culture, burgeoning creativity, connectivity to both The South and Scotland, and, most importantly, the quality of talent available.”
The agency will use its Newcastle office for current rostered client work, but also to deliver on the requirements of North East-based businesses and brands, which can take advantage of an award-winning local PR presence, supporterd by the central strategic and creative support of a larger agency, without a hike on price.
W Northern Director, Christian Cerisola, said: “As soon as I met Warren, Richard and the W team I knew that this was not only a fantastic step for me, but also for the PR and communications industry in the North East. There are already lots of good operators here, but to be able to add the weight of a globally recognised, award-winning consultancy to the pool is not only exciting for local and regional businesses, but also a kitemark for this city, which is successfully positioning itself as a true home for creativity.”
The Newcastle team will be expanding fast – and there are already opportunities for roles across all levels. Anyone interested in applying should contact hello@wcommunications.co.uk.
Catherine Walker, Inward Investment Director at Invest Newcastle, added: “For a global organisation, such as W Communications, to look at Newcastle, demonstrates not only the strong creative and tech sector we have, but highlights organisations growing appetite to expand into the UK regions. We have the fastest growing creative and tech sector outside of London and our businesses are really making noise across the UK.
As with all organisations looking to locate here we’ve supported W Communications with our bespoke set of free services such as property solutions and introductions to the local networks. We look forward to working with W Communications and ensuring they have a smooth transition into Newcastle.”
