6th March | Anouska Leon back

R&T Bolsters Brooklyn Brewery work with social win

Brand engagement agency R&T (Richmond & Towers) has been appointed by Brooklyn Brewery to oversee its social media presence in the UK. Following on from a successful year of leading UK PR for Brooklyn Brewery – which saw the launch of its new pilsner – R&T has won the brand’s social media remit, integrating PR and social workstreams under one roof. Adding to its creative consumer and trade PR campaigns, R&T now leads the charge on social media strategy, content creation and influencer marketing for Brooklyn Brewery, which is set to continue driving awareness, further build brand equity, and encourage trial for the beer brand. R&T adds Brooklyn Brewery social media to its growing portfolio of CMBC brands (Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company), of which the agency has worked with for more than five years. R&T’s Managing Director, Matt de Leon says: “Since kicking off our first PR campaign for Brooklyn Brewery last year we’ve been busy getting ‘flavourful explorers’ to embrace the ‘Brooklyn State of Mind’, and it’s fair to say we’ve loved every minute.

“Launching Brooklyn Pilsner in the UK, we quite literally painted the town yellow by unveiling the first ever mural using beer-infused paint, paying homage to the distinct, creative vibrancy of Brooklyn. There was no better place to bring this to life than the bricks of Brixton – which is twinned with the NYC borough of Brooklyn – and we were thrilled with the buzz from media and consumers alike, achieving more than 150+ pieces of coverage and helping secure major listings across the retailers and hospitality sector. “Now, integrating digital further into our annual plan, we’re excited to get audiences fully embracing ‘Brooklyn grit’, by bringing strong ties to community, creativity, sub-culture, diversity, expression and authenticity – showing them exactly what Brooklyn Brewery stands for, in a highly engaging way”. Grace Neal, Brooklyn Brewery Senior Brand Manager, adds: “R&T has well and truly demonstrated enthusiasm and commitment in bringing the Brooklyn State of Mind to life in the UK. We’re really impressed by the team’s strategic and creative approach so it makes complete sense to bring together our PR and social under one roof so that we can achieve a truly integrated plan that will make even more impact amongst our audience”.

14th April | Anouska Leon back

Change Now or Lose your Data – GA4 is on the way

If you haven’t heard of Google’s new GA4, it’s probably time you did. The changes are coming whether we like it or not, and if you’re not prepared, it could have catastrophic consciences. Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is due to replace the current version of Google Analytics (Universal Analytics or UA) in June 2023. This means that in just over a year you’ll be using GA4, and your data must be migrated carefully and effectively to avoid any lasting impacts on your campaigns. Here are the main changes you need to be aware of: UA properties will stop collecting data from 1st July 2023 and historic data will be deleted six months later.  Your UA properties are your websites, blogs and mobile apps that you track within your in Google Analytics account.  They will all have a unique property tracking ID which collects data GA4 data will not be directly comparable to UA data and any existing reports using UA data will cease to update GA4 uses a brand-new type of measurement based on events, as opposed to the previous page-view measurement (which used events as a custom tracking option) If you are using Google Tag Manager, the tags are different and will need updating or replacing You will need a new Google Analytics property to store the data in – your old property will no longer exist The interface of GA4 is very different from UA, so it will take some time for you and your teams to familiarise yourself with it – and get used to the way it works GA4 doesn’t have all the metrics you and your teams will be used to seeing in UA. Google will, however, be adding support – landing pages were added just recently GA4 also introduces a major change to how you can view data from multiple sources in one place. This change means that you’ll be able to feed multiple websites and apps into one analytics property using what are currently known as Data Streams. In a post GDPR and iOS world, cookies are increasingly ineffective, and Google intends to replace that void with artificial intelligence. The AI will only apply in GA4 and not in Universal Analytics.  We will also have the ability to change the standard attribution model (the rule, or set of rules, that determines how credit for sales and conversions is assigned to touchpoints in conversion paths.) away from UA’s current fixed default ‘last click’ setting , making the new GA4 a much more robust operating system in the long run. If you’d like to understand more about GA4 and make sure you’re prepared, get in touch with me and our team of digital gurus will be happy to make sure you and your team is ready.

8th December | Anouska Leon back

Business development – keeping it real

What did you want to be when you grew up?

For me, my first ambition was to be a lorry driver – I was painfully shy as a child and I knew that would mean lots of time without having to talk to anyone. Then, there was hairdressing, next archaeology – until I was kicked out off the history class for being naughty.

Luckily, Romeo & Juliet had just come out at the cinema (remember them?), so I had a plan B. I was going to become an actress. This new career path would increase my chances of meeting Leonardo di Caprio and, what’s more, I could spend my life pretending to be someone else. I actually ended up going on to drama school but needless to say, I didn’t meet Leo – or even make it onto the stage for that matter. Where am I going with this? Well, somewhere between drama school and my first real job, I realised that talking to people isn’t that scary and in fact, most people are really quite nice – especially if you show an interest in them. I’m no longer shy and through my interest in others, I’ve become one of those people who genuinely wants to get to know people and if I can, help them too. And that brings me to my job. Business development (or at least the sales element) has always been considered quite a shallow, opportunistic trade, and an unusual profession for someone like me. But this is where everyone is wrong. I love my job because I’m doing exactly what I love – finding out about people and helping them. Discovering exciting new brands, new products (before anyone else) – and inspirational, talented people to work with. Building proper relationships with them, getting under the skin of their businesses and careers – and ultimately providing them with a solution to whatever keeps them up at night. It helps our clients’ businesses grow – and our business too. It creates jobs, maintains jobs and, of course, builds the economy. I’ve been told I should have been a therapist by some clients or prospective clients, having helped them get out of their hellish job or get that promotion. I may have even saved the odd marriage. I ask a lot of questions when I meet a potential new client. I like to take a deep dive into their business and what makes them tick so that I am in a position to provide an honest, unfiltered, no BS solution. Sometimes (something very rare for someone of my profession) I might tell them that Richmond & Towers isn’t the best fit for them, and my desire to genuinely help them leads me to put them in touch with someone else who I know really would be their perfect match. Other times, what they think they want for their business or careers, turns out not to be what they actually want, and having got to know them and their businesses, I’m able to make informed recommendations which will get them to exactly where they want to be. There is nothing more satisfying than catching up with a happy client who is enjoying the fruits of our labour – watching them and their businesses blossom, knowing that it all started with a coffee at an otherwise dry tradeshow, or a LinkedIn message. So although I still watch Time Team, I really love playing with peoples’ hair (only if you get close of course) and I wouldn’t pass up a date with Leo, business development honestly is the most rewarding and exciting role IMO. It’s a myth that a business relationship need be any different from a personal one. I’m fortunate enough to be part of a team that supports me to work in the way I like to work and who value the honest, genuine approach to BD – and live by the same values as me. People buy people, after all. I’ve recently been invited to co-chair the PRCA Business Development Group and I’m thrilled to have taken up the position during such an exciting period of change. If you want to talk about the group, or working with Richmond & Towers, drop me a line at anouska@rtc.london or via my LinkedIn.