The Hallway lures ex-Naked head of PR Louise Pogmore to spearhead new PR offering

Independent advertising agency The Hallway today announced the launch of a new PR offer, spearheaded by former Naked Communications head of PR, Louise Pogmore.

The PR capability is embedded into The Hallway not operating as a separate brand or sister agency; allowing PR to seamlessly tap into and complement the brand, advertising, content and technology resources of the wider agency.

Says Pogmore: “The world of PR is evolving incredibly fast. Operating in separate agency silos just isn’t optimal anymore. To maximize its impact PR has to be in the same room as the planning, creative and digital teams of the advertising agency. I have always been passionate about breaking PR out from its silo, and now is the perfect time to be doing that. The Hallway and I have a shared vision on the future of communications and the chance to bring that vision to life was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse.”

Says Jules Hall, managing partner at The Hallway: “There is no doubt that the best work is created when you get different disciplines working together combining their own unique perspectives. But with different agendas for different agencies that is often easier said than done. When those disciplines are all on the same team it is a lot more effective, and a lot more efficient for clients.

“PR is the next logical addition to The Hallway. Story is key to what we do, and with a PR team operating alongside our other specialists we extend into “sparking” stories and enabling others to create the narrative. Louise has an impressive track record and we’re thrilled to have lured her over to partner with us and drive our PR offer – It’s a really important step in our journey to redefine what a great ad agency should be as we move into 2013.”

Pogmore has extensive PR experience spanning over 14 years and has developed award-winning campaigns at leading agencies including Porter Novelli, Edelman and Hill & Knowlton. Most recently, she played a pivotal role in developing the PR offer at Naked Communications.

The announcement comes at the back end of a stellar year for The Hallway, with new business wins including Tourism Queensland, InsuranceLine and Fuji Xerox, award wins for Bupa and Mizone as well as the successful launch of feature film Dream Racer which has already been awarded in Hollywood.

Pogmore will take on the new role at The Hallway in January 2013.

(Pictured: Jules Hall, Louise Pogmore and Simon Lee)