The broadcasting giant has handed specialist agency webitpr a year retainer as it targets web journalists, bloggers and fans alike. The agency will work alongside ITV’s in-house publicity team, using social media news releases to distribute video clips and news announcements.
Stephen Davies, webitpr’s media manager, will lead the account, reporting to ITV new media publicist Ben Ayers.
‘An increasing number of people are writing about our shows online and we need to communicate with them,’ said Ayers. ‘Social media releases help us reach out with video clips, links and social bookmarking tools, which are becoming the web standard.’
Adam Parker, webitpr CEO, said that broadcasters should follow ITV’s lead: ‘It understands that it has a host of online global micro audiences to communicate to as well as traditional journalistic contacts.’
