NEWS: CIM reviews PR agency to boost its public profile

The Chartered Institute of Marketing is reviewing its public relations

agency, after almost five years with Harrison Cowley, as part of a drive

towards more proactive PR.

The 25,000-member institute is currently examining credentials from

selected agencies and is expected to draw up a shortlist in the next

week.

Fiona Rogers, CIM marketing director, said the review was sparked by a

evision of the CIM’s public relations strategy.

She said: ‘We have been very pleased with our coverage in the national

press and now need to focus across all media, including radio and

television.

‘We also want to get even more involved in debates about big issues,

such as the economy. We are now regularly being asked for comment, by

both the big regional newspapers and the national press, and we believe

we have a contribution to make.’

Rogers, who confirmed that Harrison Cowley was one of the agencies under

consideration, said that the ideal firm would have public affairs

expertise, with a ‘conduit to parliaments in the UK and Brussels’.

Brian Roach, managing director of Harrison Cowley’s Maidenhead office,

which handles the CIM account, said he was given several months notice

of the review.

Roach said that reviewing an agency, after almost five years, was an

intelligent thing to do and that Harrison Cowley intended to convince

the CIM that they should continue working together.