House PR

Henry’s House rebranded and relaunched as House PR at the end of 2009. House PR is run by a board of five directors, lead by managing director Ginny Paton and company director Sam Oxley. Consumer brands and entertainment properties are the agency’s heartland with a strong focus on media relations. The award-winning digital team goes from strength to strength with online campaigns undertaken as standalone briefs or fully integrated into broader campaigns.

How would you sum up 2009 for your agency?

A new beginning. We rebranded as House PR at the end of the year.

What was the high point of 2009 for your agency?

Winning five new pieces of business in our first month of trading as House PR: Peugeot; Freeview HD; eXpansys; Taste of London and Cointreau.

What was the low point of 2009 for your agency?

Having to tighten our belts financially at the beginning of the year.

Please give an overview of your staffing through 2009, including significant hires and internal promotions.

Our new business wins have been matched with a big recruitment drive which has seen staffing levels increasing from 14 to 20 staff. Krissy Knights was promoted to the board and the digital team doubled in size.

What was your best client/account win of 2009 and why?

They are all fantastically important but Peugeot stands out because we were up against some of the biggest and best agencies in the industry – and we got the business.

What were your three best campaigns of 2009?

Announcing the Fiat 500 as the new fleet car for BSM which generated blanket media coverage: broadcast, print and online and got a new client off to a great start.

Running the PR campaign to support T4 on the Beach for the 5th year, which involved taking 80 journalists from London to Weston-super-Mare for the day. Print coverage increased year on year by 48%, online engagement increased exponentially.

Running the PR campaign for BBC Electric Proms which delivered a return on investment for the BBC of a whopping 195:1 at AVE

How did the recession affect your performance in 2009 and what trends did you notice throughout the year – e.g. clients taking longer to sign off budgets etc?

We sharpened our tools and did some of our best work ever.

Of which achievement in 2009 are you most proud?

Having such a great team of people in place. They are loyal, industrious, creative and inspiring – genuinely at the root of all our success.

Describe your agency in five words

Hardworking; fun; one to watch.

How have you embraced social media in 2009?

We embraced social media long before 2009 – it sits at the heart of everything we do. Therefore 2009 was a year where we continued to build in this space and as such are increasingly being exposed to social media briefs.

What are your plans for 2010?

To build on our early success as House PR, delivering great work for clients and being a great place to work for staff.

If your agency were an animal, what animal would it be and why?

Dolphin: Lean, sharp, intelligent, collaborative, friendly and energetic.