Callcredit appoints Octopus Group

Consumer data specialist Callcredit Information Group has appointed Octopus Group as its retained PR and social media agency following a competitive three-way pitch.

Octopus Group will be undertaking a public relations and social media programme worth six figures. Tom Holland, Octopus group director,  will lead the account and report to Callcredit’s interim communications director, Mary Whenman.

Callcredit’s services include database marketing, credit referencing and software analytics and fraud prevention. Led by chief executive Mike Gordon (pictured) and headquartered in Leeds, Callcredit was acquired by private equity business GTCR in 2014

Whenman took on the interim role at Callcredit last October and her contract will run until September. She is a former MD of Weber Shandwick’s corporate, financial and public affairs division.

She said: “We are on track to deliver our ambitious plans to double the size of the company over the next five years. The role for communications is to raise awareness of the business, tell our corporate story and help support the sales organisation. We want to take a digital-first approach to communications and Octopus Group impressed us with its ability to deliver an integrated programme that’s linked to the sales funnel.”

Tom Holland, director of Octopus Group, added: “Callcredit is a challenger brand with a really compelling story to tell. There is so much potential here to deliver creative, high-impact campaigns that drive awareness and engagement with key buyer personas, and also to integrate PR and social media into a broader lead generation programme.”

Callcredit is also building its in-house capability and is currently recruiting a corporate communications manager.

In 2011, Callcredit launched Noddle, the free-for-life credit reporting and scoring service with “no hidden fees or 30-day trial periods”, which now has more than two million customers. Kindred will continue to handle consumer PR for Noddle.