Weber Shandwick wins haemophilia campaign

The Haemophilia Society (HS) has hired Weber Shandwick Public Affairs.

The agency will co-ordinate an HS campaign to highlight the plight of those sufferers infected with Hepatitis C through contaminated blood. It is also charged with handling all media enquiries.

The agency was appointed following a four-way competitive pitch against LLM Communications, Paul Richards Communications with PoliticsDirect.Com and GCI Political Counsel with Red Door.

Weber Shandwick's three-strong team will be led by associate director Stephen Doherty, who reports to HS chief executive Karin Pappenheim.

HS, which provides support to UK haemophiliacs, has already secured a multi-million pound hardship fund to help those infected with HIV via contaminated blood.

Previous PR work was carried out in-house by Pappenheim, and HS's board of trustees. This is the first time an agency has been appointed to handle all PA, campaigning and media enquiries.