NEWS: PR EUROPE

ZURICH: Cornerstone proves Really Useful

The Really Useful Company, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s theatre production

and marketing firm, has hired Cornerstone Communications as its first

retained PR agency in Switzerland. Cornerstone will publicise

performances of Phantom of the Opera, which opened at Basel’s purpose-

built Musical Theater Messe in October, and promote the concept of

musicals as a type of theatre to Swiss audiences. ‘There isn’t the same

tradition here of travelling to see a show as there is in the UK, so we

will be trying to get that idea across,’ explained business director

Helen Gallagher.

BRUSSELS: Heidi Lambert’s screen debut

The European Film Companies Alliance (EFCA) has recruited Heidi Lambert

Communications as its first PR agency to help communicate issues facing

the film industry to the Brussels media. Set up last year, EFCA

represents seven film production companies, including Rank and Polygram,

and lobbies on their behalf on issues such as copyright control, EU

financial support and piracy. Heidi Lambert will support EFCA’s lobbying

activity by explaining those issues to the 800-odd journalists based in

Brussels and outlining EFCA’s particular position.

PARIS: Sophie Renard in disk PR drive

Sophie Renard Relations Publiques, headed by president Sophie Renard,

has been hired by disk and CD-ROM maker Verbatim to handle a major media

relations push targeting business users and consumers. A subsidiary of

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, Verbatim faces fierce competition from

rivals such as 3M. SRRP was hired without a pitch.

VIENNA: Aces hired to support gypsy people

Aces International has been hired to promote closer links between the

gypsy peoples and national communities of Hungary, Austria and the Czech

and Slovak Republics. Aces chief executive Klaus Petermann said that the

campaign would involve annual conferences between gypsy and government

delegations, educational programmes and the drafting of the first ever

German-Romany dictionary in Austria.

ATHENS: Zafiropoulos is HPRCA president

Greece’s newly established Hellenic Public Relations Consultants

Association has elected Thanos Zafiropoulos as its first president. MD

of local agency Partners, Zafiropoulos will hold the post for one year.

Set up in March this year, the HPRCA has eight members and will start a

comprehensive marketing campaign later this year aimed at promoting both

its members and the concept of PR generally.

PARIS: Mathieu Thomas for UNICEF project

Mathieu Thomas Relations Publiques has picked up an account from UNICEF,

the United Nations children’s organisation, to promote a schools fund

raising project. Called Brikkado and involving 60,000 schools across

France, the campaign will encourage pupils to collect recyclable milk

cartons which will be made into wrapping paper and sold at Christmas,

with proceeds going to UNICEF. Actress Emmanuelle Beart is to act as

the project’s patron.

edited by John-Pierre Joyce