Cotton Council International (CCI), the US National Cotton Council’s export promotion arm, has appointed Hill+Knowlton Strategies (H+K) as its global communications partner.
H+K has been tasked with establishing the US Cotton Trust Protocol and communicating US cotton’s sustainability credentials on a global scale in what the agency said is a major global account win.
H+K said it will combine data and analytics with behavioural science to help CCI identify and prioritise potential partners and develop a creative communications strategy that engages a broad spectrum of stakeholders, “creating awareness, adoption and advocacy for the voluntary standard”.
The agency won the competitive brief against 12 others in a process co-ordinated by Joanne Davis Consulting.
The three-year partnership begins in October and will be led by H+K’s global chief business development officer, Sam Lythgoe.
“What really excited us about this brief was the complexity of the challenge. The cotton supply chain is complicated and there are multiple standards,” Lythgoe said.
“As an agency, we never shrink from a challenge and brought together experts from around the globe in public policy, retail, brand building and sustainability, as well as media and stakeholder engagement. Together we shaped a response that proposed unexpected approaches to drive awareness and adoption. We can’t wait to get started.”
Bruce Atherley, CCI executive director, said: “The entire selection committee was overwhelmingly impressed by H+K’s thoroughness and attention to detail. From spending time with growers, brands and the influencer community, they truly demonstrated their understanding of the industry, their expertise in establishing a new voluntary standard and most importantly how to engage brands and retailers.”
Source: www.prweek.com