Jay Pleass is appointed Head of Group Corporate Affairs

PR & Communications agency Compass Studio, has added three new clients to its roster: Modus Brewing, home of non-alcoholic beer brand NORT, Australian swimwear label, Budgy Smuggle and global first aid brand, SURVIVAL. The new partnerships span beverage, fashion and safety, and mark a period of growth for the agency.

Compass Studio will work with independently owned, Australian brewery Modus Brewing to tell the story behind NORT, the non-alcoholic beer range founded by Jaz and Grant Wearin.

The agency is working with SURVIVAL to share news of its first aid kits with the media, alongside the brand's founding story.

Compass Studio is also supporting Budgy Smuggler with its Father's Day campaign, Budgy By You, which uses new technology to print customers' own drawings directly onto swimwear, giving their customers the chance to create personalised gifts this Father's Day.

Emma Butler, PR Account Director at Compass Studio, says: “These three partnerships show the breadth of stories we love to tell, an innovation-led beverage brand, a beloved Australian fashion icon reinventing a seasonal campaign, and a business that has quietly saved lives for almost four decades. We're looking forward to bringing each of these stories to the media over the months ahead.”

PicturedL-R: Emma Butler, Eliza Boland, Annika Jones, Holly Betts, Natalie Dean-Weymark, Amber Chan, Luke Dean-Weymark

Thinkerbell has launched Hi-Vis, a new offering that audits and improves how brands are seen, understood and recommended by AI models.

The agency rolled out the technology to address what it refers to as ‘the zero-click era’, where people ask AI directly what to buy, where to go, or who to trust. It settles on a shortlist before a human ever sees a brand name.

Dan Monheit, Chief CX Thinker at Thinkerbell, said: “Marketers have spent a century learning how humans choose brands. Now there’s a second decision-maker in the room, and it’s already read everything.

“The truth is that the machines have very human taste. They trust brands that are famous, talked about and coherent, and they’re suspicious of brands that make big claims with little to back them up.”

Hi-Vis assesses brands across three pillars:

• Fuel: what you say about yourself on channels you control
• Fluency: how easily AI can find, read and understand you
• Fame: what others say about you in places you don’t control

It then produces a single Hi-Vis Score, benchmarked against competitors across the AI platforms customers use.

Chief Tinker, Tom Wenborn, said: “This is where most GEO and AI-SEO thinking gets it wrong, it treats AI visibility as a tech problem to be schema’d into better results, but the models are built to weigh third-party evidence over self-promotion.

“The brands winning in AI recommendations are the ones with cultural presence, the ones journos quote, communities discuss, and real people vouch for. Which means the answer to the biggest technical shift in marketing is still the old-fashioned one… be genuinely famous.”

Eight Communications has been appointed as the public relations agency of record for Andaz Gold Coast ahead of the Australian debut of the global Andaz brand.

The agency has been engaged to lead the strategic communications campaign for Andaz Gold Coast, with the scope of work spanning media relations, brand storytelling, media famils, events, influencer engagement, partnerships and the development of an integrated communications strategy to support the hotel's opening and long-term profile.

Eight Communications Managing Director, Angela Cowley, said: “We're absolutely thrilled to be partnering with the Andaz Gold Coast team to introduce Andaz to Australia. It's a rare opportunity to launch a globally recognised hotel brand into a new market, and one we're incredibly proud to be part of.

“What makes this project so special is the passion the team has for creating a hotel that truly reflects the Gold Coast. Every element has been designed to capture the city’s character, from the architecture and culinary offerings through to the experiences, people and community connections that will make every stay feel uniquely local. Without a doubt the Gold Coast is the perfect home for Australia's first Andaz and we can't wait to help tell that story.”

Saraid Carey, General Manager of Andaz Gold Coast added: “Eight Communications shares our ambition to introduce Andaz Gold Coast in a way that feels authentic to both the brand and the destination. We look forward to working together to build excitement for Australia's first Andaz by celebrating the stories, people and experiences that reveal the Gold Coast only locals know.”