Lexis Public Relations Ltd

This article is part of the Foodspin project of Spinwatch.

Lexis PR is a PR firm owned by Next Fifteen Communications Group plc.

Acording to Next Fifteen:

in August 2005 the Company acquired a 25% stake in the UK public relations agency Lexis Public Relations with the purchase of a further stake of 26% in April 2006. Agreements are already in place for the remaining shares to be acquired over the next four years so that Lexis becomes a further 100% owned Next Fifteen brand.

Lexis and the G8 2005

Excerpt from Corporate Watch G8 report:

Sponsorship of FCO activity should not be regarded as an exercise in philanthropy. Companies will require agreed commercial benefits, laid out in a contract, in exchange for their support. In an increasingly competitive market, it is important to establish whether or not sufficient value can be offered to interest potential sponsors.

'Identification of detailed benefits at G8 and EU Presidency Informals'^[1]

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), which is organising the G8 summit, has awarded a contract to Lexis PR to secure corporate sponsorship for the event.

According to a Freedom of information request obtained by Corporate Watch, Lexis' priorities include to find companies to provide essential services including transport, IT and telecoms and to find 6-8 'partner' corporations to contribute £250k - £300k each. Lexis organised a reception for corporate leaders in the Summer 2004 to encourage them to sponsor events and set up follow up meetings. As an 'official partner', corporations are promised 'branding credits' on G8 and EU conference materials including the delegate and media official handbooks and 'goodies', as well as access to meetings/networking opportunities. There is very little detail on the actual networking opportunities available, although there is mention of a 'Sponsors' thank you event' as well as 'the allocation of places to sponsors for attendance at activities'.

For £25,000, in cash or services, firms can become 'supporters' of the summit and receive limited access to promote themselves. With such extortionate prices, however, by February 2005 only one Scottish firm had expressed an interest in being represented. Exactly how the G8 will be an opportunity to sell Scottish firms to the world thus remains unclear.^[2]

Scottish Enterprise outline how goodie bags will be gifted to the media and all conference delegates, and that all companies that provide 'corporate gifts' will be credited. In a fantastic greenwash attempt, the Scottish Enterprise website highlights how, 'There is a strong preference for iconic Scottish products such as shortbread, toiletries, Scottish drinks and items that reflect the sustainable themes of the summit such as fair trade and recycled products.^[3]

Lexis PR is a highly successful independent public relations company based in Central London. Lexis has recently come to prominence after winning a number of high profile PR awards, most notably Marketing Magazine's 2004 PR Consultancy of the Year Award, as well as picking up Best Consumer Marketing Communications Campaign, and Best Corporate Marketing Communications Campaign in the 2004 PR Week Awards. Lexis' 2003 revenues totalled £4.6m and are set to rise further when 2004's results are announced.

Lexis offers the full range of public relations services including consumer PR, corporate PR and business-to-business PR, with specialisation in consumer healthcare and sports.^[4] Its clients include Diageo, the Rugby Football Union, Kraft Foods and Coca Cola GB.^[5] Lexis's most high profile recent campaigns were the 'What Women Want' campaign for Dove soap, in which it commissioned research about women's attitudes to the women in the Dove Soap advert and spun it into a story in its own right, as well as handling the crisis over Coca Cola's 'Dasani' brand bottled tap water.^[6]

People

• Hugh Birley, Chief Executive Officer
• Greg Broadhent, Financial Director
• Fiona Jolly, Consumer Director (joint)
• Margot Raggett, Operations Director
• Marilyn Wicks, Consumer Director (joint)
• Duncan MacKenzie-Reid, Business Communications Director
• Tim Hayward, Creative Director
• Bill Jones, Non-Executive Chairman

References

• ^ Document obtained by Corporate Watch under the Freedom of Information Act. March 2005
• ^ Eddie Barnes, 'Scots firms outgunned in G8 partnership', The Scotsman 13.02.05
• ^ Scottish Enterprise website http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/sedotcom_home/about_se/procurement/tenders/g8/g8-sponsorship.htm last viewed 30.3.05
• ^''Consumer PR' is the application of PR techniques to the marketing of products and services; 'corporate PR' concerns more general reputational issues; and 'business-to-business' (or B2B) PR regards communications within the business community.
• ^ For a more complete list of clients see http://www.lexispr.com.
• ^ Trevor Datson, 'Coca Cola Admits That Dasani is Nothing But Tap Water', Reuters 04.03.04

Resources

• Lexis Public Relations PRCA Yearbook 2004