SAS Institute, the US information systems company, has parted company
with Arrow Public Relations after six years and hired Icas PR in its
place.
Appointed last week following a lengthy PR review, Icas has been handed
an estimated pounds 150,000 in fees to manage a corporate and product PR
brief and handle a series of special projects. Five agencies in total
were approached during the review, including the incumbent.
Icas director Cathy Pittham, who is leading the six-strong team on the
account, said that a major part of its work would be to raise SAS’s
overall profile, particularly among finance and marketing directors. The
company is one of the world’s ten largest software providers but is
generally less well known than rivals like Oracle and Informix.
Icas will also handle regular product PR and the launch of a new range
of off-the-shelf software packages early next year. The campaigns will
include media relations, research projects and organising events and
seminars.
The agency will ultimately report to SAS’s marketing director Glyn Read
but liaise on a day-to-day basis with Sheila Hunt, the company’s new PR
manager. Previously customer development manager, Hunt assumed her
public relations role this week as part of the company’s profile raising
drive.
North Carolina-based, SAS Institute was founded in 1976. It runs 26
subsidiaries worldwide. Last year its revenue increased by 17 per cent
to dollars 562.4 million (pounds 334.7 million).
