PR consultancy celebrates new client

An Exeter public relations consultancy will be helping to tell the story of the South West’s ever-changing coastline after winning a major new contract.

KOR Communications – who have just been nominated for two major industry awards – will be providing strategic advice and services to the South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme, a joint initiative of the Environment Agency, Defra and local authorities.

Approaching its tenth anniversary, the programme has been gathering information on the Westcountry’s shoreline since 2006, sharing data with scientists, councils and government bodies involved in flood defence and coastal protection, as well as schools, colleges and universities.

It covers more than 600 miles (1,000 kilometres) of coastline from Portland Bill in Dorset in the south to Beachley Point in Gloucestershire, near the border with Wales.

KOR Communications’ managing director Annette Richman said: “We’ve come up with a range of innovative ideas to help the South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme spread the word about the work it is doing promoting understanding of what is happening to our coastline and why.

“It’s important that those people who look after our environment and infrastructure – particularly in the South West with its long coastline – have easy access to accurate and up-to-date information.

“Educating people, especially schoolchildren, about how the region’s coast is changing is also key to the success of the initiative. We’ll be working with the monitoring programme and its partners to improve the public’s understanding of the project and its work.

“KOR has a skilled and creative team with a proven track record of developing and implementing communications plans for a wide range of clients in a variety of sectors, and is an approved provider of services to the public sector in Devon.”

The consultancy has been shortlisted for two awards in the CIPR (Chartered Institute of Public Relations) PRide Awards for the South of England and Channel Islands region, as Outstanding Small Public Relations Consultancy, and for Best Use of Media Relations.

Annette said: “To have been shortlisted in these major industry awards by judges who are recognised leaders in their areas of expertise is a huge vote of confidence in KOR Communications and its ability to deliver a range of communications services to clients all over the country.”

Coastal Process Scientist Emerald Siggery said: “We’re looking forward to working closely with KOR Communications to spread the word about the importance of the coastal monitoring programme to the people of the region. They’re an incredibly professional team who have already come up with some exciting ideas.”