PR News
FORWARD

FORWARD is relaunched and announces partnership with Two Palms Media

Australian consumer PR agency, FORWARD, has been relaunched by Fergus Kibble and has partnered with social-first creative agency founded by Ed Ringwood, Two Palms Media. 

Fergus sold the agency to GrowthOps in 2023 and exited in 2024. After GrowthOps collapsed in 2025, he has now bought back FORWARD brand and IP.

The combined specialist agencies will offer communications and brand planning, earned media relations, reputation and issues management, AI visibility, social strategy and community management, creative and in-house content production, influencer and talent management, and events and experiential activation.

Fergus Kibble, Founder and Managing Director of FORWARD, said: "I am pleased to be bringing FORWARD back.

"Our core DNA is the same, and we have added capabilities to meet PR’s needs in 2026. Working alongside Ed and the Two Palms team means we can scale immediately and bring earned ideas to market at the velocity of social and with a deeper influencer partnership bench."

Ed Ringwood, Founder and Director of Two Palms Media, added: "The traditional model of PR in one place and social in another doesn’t work anymore.

"Culture moves too fast. A story breaks, a conversation starts, a creator picks it up, and if your earned and social teams aren’t connected in real time, the opportunity is already gone. This partnership is built for that reality."

(Pictured L - R: Ed Ringwood, Stefanie Jung, Fergus Kibble and Scott Walker) 

Previous story

Nick Coe is brought in as Director of Public Relations for think tank

Next story

IN2 bolsters senior team to support international growth

You might also enjoy

3CPR
Industry update

3CPR launches AI-powered reporting dashboard

Specialist corporate and financial communications consultancy, 3CPR, has launched CLARIO, an AI-powered reporting dashboard.

CLARIO - standing for Clarity and Innovation - was developed in-house by 3CPR’s data scientist. It tracks media coverage outcomes and key programme metrics, allowing clients to access live reporting and download charts, graphs, and data for internal use.

According to the consultancy, unlike broader media monitoring platforms, CLARIO focuses on the work undertaken by 3CPR and the resulting outcomes. It has also enabled the agency to move from half-yearly or annual reporting to an always-on model, reducing the time required to compile reports manually.

3CPR Founding Partner, Paul Cheal, said: “Media outcomes remain a key metric for PR performance, but for too long we have been stuck using tedious, time-consuming spreadsheets and relying on reporting that focuses on hindsight. AI provides a generational opportunity to change our approach - linking our activity to tangible business outcomes and providing real time visibility of strategic opportunities.

“The CLARIO platform offers a near real time view of media outcomes, tailored to each organisation’s goals and KPIs. It provides significant time saving for PR teams and delivers greater transparency to clients.

“We have already received overwhelmingly positive feedback from our clients. In the spirit of lifting our profession as a whole, we are offering a white label version for corporates or agencies who want to revamp how they report on their proactive activities and media campaign outcomes.” 

NAB
Moves

NAB strengthens team with new Associate Director

The National Australia Bank has welcomed Mikkayla Mossop as Associate Director. She has wrapped up five years at the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, most recently as General Manager, Media and Corporate Affairs. Prior to this, Mikkayla worked in broadcast journalism at 3AW. 

Ashbury
Moves

Ashbury brings in new Associate Director in Hong Kong

Ashbury in Hong Kong has welcomed Sidney Leng as Associate Director, Advisory. In his new role, he is responsible for strategic communications advisory for the firm’s clients.

Sidney has provided strategic communications and media relations advisory to clients across the financial services, real estate, technology, and legal industries. Prior to joining Ashbury, he was Associate Director of Financial Communications at Burson and has also worked in branding and marketing at FinTech unicorn Micro Connect, and in communications at Huatai International.

Sidney started his career as a journalist covering Chinese political economy and finance for English-language media outlets, including the South China Morning Post, Foreign Policy Magazine and National Public Radio.