Weber Shandwick Launches UK Sports Practice at Major Sports Business Event

With some of the top brands in sport in its client portfolio, leading global PR agency, Weber Shandwick, launched a dedicated UK sport PR practice on Tuesday evening at a well-attended event in London.
 
Weber Shandwick Sport welcomed more than 100 influential sport-related media, companies, organisations and personalities to listen to a panel debate themed around “Sport in the Downturn” with Richard Caborn MP, the Prime Minister’s Ambassador for the England 2018 World Cup Bid; Professor Simon Chadwick, one of the UK’s most respected sport business experts; Jon Smith, CEO of First Artist Sport, the global player representation agency; and Mihir Bose, Sports Editor of the BBC.
 
The new practice will be co-headed by Associate Director, Scott Bowers, and Head of Media, Fiona McLachlan, and will harness expertise from Weber Shandwick offices across the UK, including London, Manchester, Glasgow, Leeds, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Inverness and Belfast.
 
Weber Shandwick Sport will call upon the experience of more than 50 consultants within the UK – and hundreds from the largest global network in the world – who have a strong track-record in sport-related public relations.
 

Colin Byrne, CEO Europe, Weber Shandwick, said: "For a long time we have been working at the heart of sport in the UK and around the world, with clients from successful Olympic bids and major sport sponsors through to sporting organisations and clubs.
 
“By launching Weber Shandwick Sport, we are harnessing our expertise at leveraging the universal and emotional appeal of sport to build reputations or achieve a client's unique communications objectives.
 
"Every client will have a bespoke team tailored for their needs from our full-service network. Whether it involves experts in issues management, consumer marketing, enhancing corporate reputation, public affairs, healthcare, technology and so on; very few PR consultancies involved in sport can claim to match our blend of strength in depth and dynamism.
 
“These are exciting times and Fiona and Scott intend to make waves with the full support of the Weber Shandwick network behind them."
 
Recent sports-related clients within Weber Shandwick's portfolio include: the Sochi 2014 Bid Committee and now Organizing Committee; the Tokyo 2016 Bid Committee; MasterCard Worldwide and its sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Euro 2008 and PGA European Tour golf; A1GP World Cup of Motorsport; Samsung Electronics and its TOP Olympic sponsorship; Mobil 1's sponsorship of the McLaren F1 Team; England Squash; the Youth Sports Trust; Sheffield United FC; FC Shakhtar Donetsk; Heart of Midlothian FC; Science in Sport; The Scottish FA; and UEFA.