The UK-listed pharmaceutical firm has shifted its PR account to Roland Rudd’s City agency from arch rival Brunswick.
Finsbury beat a host of City PR firms to secure the brief and it is thought that Brunswick repitched unsuccessfully for the account.
AstraZeneca’s head of global media relations Esra Erkal-Paler confirmed to PRWeek: ‘Following a competitive pitch process, AstraZeneca has appointed Finsbury as its retained corporate communications consultancy.
‘As well as advising on financial communications, Finsbury will support AstraZeneca’s ongoing efforts to build its corporate reputation primarily through media relations strategies.’
Finsbury partners Andrew Dowler and Conor McClafferty will lead the account, reporting to Neil McCrae, vice-president group corporate comms, and Erkal-Paler, who are both based at the company’s global headquarters in Paddington, London.
PRWeek first revealed AstraZeneca was repitching its financial comms account in early June.
Meanwhile, it is understood that Brunswick has been taken on to handle ITV’s financial and corporate comms. ITV previously used Tulchan Communications, but it is thought new CEO Adam Crozier and comms director Mary Fagan brought in Brunswick without a pitch, having both worked with the agency at Royal Mail.
