Paddy Power appoints former government SPAD Adam Smith
Former special adviser to ex-Department for Culture, Media and Sport minister Jeremy Hunt joins Irish operator as head of external communications
Paddy Power has appointed Adam Smith as head of external communications, leading the Irish operator’s fresh communications approach.
Smith left his former role as special adviser to ex-Department for Culture, Media and Sport minister Jeremy Hunt last year during the Leveson Inquiry, during which he was criticised for developing too strong a relationship with News Corporation’s public affairs director Fred Michel.
PR Week reports that Smith will join the Irish operator’s new in-house team headed by former Foreign Office senior diplomat Catherine Colloms who joined in January, tasked with aiding the company in maintaining a bigger input into regulatory affairs.
The company appointed PR agency RLM Finsbury as its new adviser regarding financial PR, corporate communications and public affairs last week, replacing previous account holder Powerscourt.
Paddy Power overhauled its visual identity last year, introducing a new brand logo that is universally attached to its different vertical sub-brands, and strengthened its marketing team with the arrivals of John Lewis brand marketing manager Anna Braithwaite and Beattie McGuiness Bungay account director Harry Dromey.
Paddy Power is currently looking to bolster its roster of PR agencies in the lead up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, with the company having invited agencies to pitch stunt ideas in July.