Educational organisation Mad Science North West has chosen Freshfield to lead a communications campaign across the region. 

Freshfield will be managing an integrated programme of public relations aimed at raising awareness of the Mad Science North West activity to science teachers, pupils, parents, high schools, colleges and universities, as well as businesses, local authorities and trade associations across Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Merseyside and Cumbria. 

Mad Science North West works with schools, local authorities and businesses to deliver unique, hands-on science education programmes to children through after-school clubs, birthday parties, in-school workshops, holiday clubs, assemblies and corporate events. 

It is a regional franchise of Mad Science – one of the world’s leading science and education enrichment providers – which delivers programmes in 27 countries.

Freshfield organised and managed the opening of a new office for the North West Aerospace Alliance by Quentin Davies, the Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, who also made the keynote speech. 

The office opening at Bamber Bridge, Preston, was attended by a number of leading business figures in the region, national and regional media. The launch featured speeches by Martin Wright, Chief Executive of the NWAA, and Steve Broomhead, Chief Executive of the North West Regional Development Agency.

Freshfield has been appointed by Lancashire Sport Partnership to conduct a county-wide awareness raising campaign for the SPAR Lancashire Youth Games 2010. 

The announcement follows a competitive tender process and means Freshfield will be providing full PR support to the event organisers, Lancashire Schools Sport Partnership and Lancashire Sport Partnership. Main sponsors James Hall & Co are the SPAR distributors for the North of England.   

The SPAR Lancashire Youth Games will run across all 14 local authority districts in Lancashire until July, bringing together more than 2,000 school pupils from 120 primary schools. The programme includes 84 district finals and six county finals events, including the SPAR Disability Youth Games 2010.

Following a period of growth, Freshfield is looking for a senior account executive to handle a portfolio of retail, leisure and education accounts.

We’re looking to hear from candidates with the following attributes: 

• Excellent writing skills
• Good media relationships with relevant journalists regionally and nationally
• 1-2 years’ PR agency experience
• Experience in delivering campaigns in retail, leisure and education sectors
• Robust organisational skills
• Professional client relations skills
• Good understanding of PR strategy and emerging trends (e.g. social media)
• Experience of working on other marketing communications projects (design and digital)
• Educated to degree level

You will benefit from a structured training and development plan – with a training budget – and 25 days holiday a year. Salary is negotiable. Please send your CVs with covering letter to elaine@freshfield.com

We’re delighted to welcome four new clients to Freshfield; OBAS UK, AEI Cables, Bowland Village Inns and Quinta do Vale Golf Resort (pictured) in Portugal. 

OBAS UK and AEI Cables will be handled by our specialist manufacturing & technology team, while our specialist leisure unit will lead campaigns for Bowland Village Inns and Quinta do Vale Golf Resort in Portugal. 

OBAS, based at Longridge near Preston, has chosen Freshfield to implement a programme aimed at raising the awareness of the building and construction products division. With a range of more than 17,000 products, OBAS is a major supplier to the plumbing, building and decorating industries and has an impressive customer base throughout the UK and Ireland in excess of 26,000. 

Meanwhile, Durham-based AEI Cables, a leading manufacturer of electrical cables, has tasked us with a national brief of media relations and direct communications including marketing literature and online PR. Other territory targets include the Middle East and Hong Kong. 

For Bowland Village Inns, Freshfield is orchestrating an integrated media and events programme aimed at raising awareness of the family-run business behind some of Lancashire’s finest pubs. 

Our leisure specialists are also leading a campaign aimed at prospective second home owners on behalf of the Quinta do Vale Golf Resort in the eastern Algarve, offering an unrivalled golf and leisure experience at the Seve Ballesteros-designed championship course.

Freshfield is to create two new specialist sector teams covering energy and healthcare. 

This follows the appointment of Paul Tustin as account director who brings a depth of experience with clients including the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, the National Nuclear Laboratory, the NHS Information Centre, Trafford NHS Primary Care Trust and Mersey Care NHS Trust. 

The two teams offer the full range of PR and marketing communications support in particular media relations, public affairs, media training and crisis and issues management.

Tustin is a former director of his own public relations business, Acumen PR, and was also a senior account director with national networked consultancy Harrison Cowley in Manchester. Paul also has experience in the manufacturing and leisure sectors. 

Speaking on the move, Simon Turner, managing director, said: “Paul brings a vast amount of experience to Freshfield and we are delighted to have him on board. He will help us develop new sector specialisms and strengthen our senior management team.” 

“These are exciting times and yes, we are realistic in this climate, but our capacity to do business in our specialist fields is growing all the time and we relish the challenge ahead.”

To our clients, contacts, media friends and suppliers, thanks for your support in 2009. Our office will be closed on Thursday December 24 and respective bank holidays over the Christmas and New Year period. Our office will be open on December 29, 30 and 31. Our first day back in 2010 is Monday January 4. Merry Christmas!

We’ve just completed a digital project for the £80 million regeneration scheme, Cottam Hall Brickworks.

cottamhall.co.uk’s principal communication objective was to give a wide range of stakeholders information about its background, what the proposed scheme will look like and how it fits into the local environment. www.cottamhall.co.uk

Freshfield has completed a new online presence for venture capital fund, the Coalfields Funds. The fund, which is managed by EV Group, offers up to £33 million of commercial equity funding to new and existing SMEs. The aim of the fund is to support the growth of business in former coalfield areas. www.coalfieldsfunds.co.uk/

Twenty VIP guests were treated to an exclusive preview of the new six-course tasting menu from award-winning Hastings head chef, Warrick Dodds, on Wednesday, November 11 in Lytham. The lavish evening of fine dining and wine marked the official launch of Warrick’s stunning new first-floor dining room, ‘Room 26’.

The private event, which has led to a raft of positive reviews and radio interviews, was attended by influential food critics, radio presenters and journalists from across the North West. It was managed and hosted by Freshfield’s PR team, with guest sommelier, Piers Mortimer of wine merchants, Corney and Barrow.