Affect, a public relations agency specializing in technology, healthcare and professional services, and European tech PR and marketing agency With, announced the creation of a global network of technology public relations agencies, the With Global Alliance. The With Global Alliance is launching with founding members Affect (North America), Ideosphere (India), Bold (Southeast Asia), With (UK) and WEdge (China),spanning 4 continents and serving 18 countries.
The With Global Alliance is designed specifically to support technology businesses and the founding members all have deep expertise in the field. Experience across the Alliance includes AI, blockchain, cloud, cybersecurity, and spans sectors including martech, fintech, cleantech and edtech, among others.
Founding members are already working together on global accounts, providing strategic counsel as well as expert in-country execution. Experts from across the With Global Alliance members are working together as unified, global account teams to offer clients consistent delivery and streamlined reporting as they scale their communications across markets. Members are active in the U.S., Canada, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, India, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand.
Members were identified after a detailed due diligence process and face-to-face meetings with shortlisted agencies in their markets. In addition to the tech focus and media expertise, key criteria were an integrated approach to marketing and communications, impeccable client references, long-term growth and profitability and leading-edge client servicing standards. All members are owner-managed agencies with hands-on senior teams and previous international agency experience.
“Being a European agency, we have always had a multi-market offer at our heart,” comments Debbie Zaman, CEO and founder of With. “But as an Alliance, we are now uniquely well placed to support technology businesses as they scale, whether they are looking to enter new markets or grow existing ones. Global business is changing exponentially, whether it is trade deals, M&A or Brexit related, and our aim is to redefine how agile global PR and marketing delivers on that.”
Sandra Fathi, president of Affect, added, “As a trusted partner and advisor for our clients, we have always sought out like-minded agencies across the globe that have both the domain expertise and the skills to consistently deliver stellar tech PR programs. The formation of the With Global Alliance provides us with proven, vetted partners to service client needs in 18 countries and counting, that share the same commitment to client service and results. The Alliance has already benefited our individual team members, our agency and our clients.”
The With Global Alliance has already soft-launched with integrated global work for three different tech clients on projects including investor relations, events and traditional media relations. Joanna Derain, VP International at With, is working alongside With agency Founder and CEO Debbie Zaman on the delivery of global client work under the Alliance. Zaman becomes the Global President of the Alliance with an executive committee formed of the founders of Affect and Ideosphere as well as Derain as Global Company Secretary.
Rebecca Rosborough, CMO for MiQ, a Sunday Times Tech Track rising star, said “The Alliance has delivered exactly what we needed: agile but expert comms in the UK, US, India and APAC. The combined team knows the media we need to know, creates killer content that suits local markets and is helping get us in front of both customers and partners. They bring us proactive ideas that work both globally and locally. We are very excited for what we can achieve in 2020.”
Due diligence is already underway with potential partner agencies in Eastern Europe, South America and the Middle East. Any tech agencies interested in joining the With Global Alliance should contact hello@withpr.com.
