PENNEBAKER Expands International Presence Through Alliance With Fifth Ring

Market Wire, August, 2008

Pennebaker, the award-winning branding, advertising and marketing communications firm, announced today that it has joined with Fifth Ring, an integrated corporate communications firm based in Aberdeen, U.K. and Dubai, UAE, to provide customers with expanded services and international reach. The new alliance, called Pennebaker Fifth Ring, will offer strategic communications services to clients within the United States and internationally, and adds a public relations offering to the existing Pennebaker portfolio of services.

"Pennebaker has been working on international projects from our Houston base for many years," said Ward Pennebaker, principal of Pennebaker. "The alliance with Fifth Ring is the next logical step for us to achieve true international coverage. Our clients appreciate what we can do for them from here, but they have told us they would like a local presence of the same quality on the ground in Europe and the Middle East. Joining with Fifth Ring will help us accommodate our clients' growing needs, as well as provide value-added, seamless services around the world."

Pennebaker, established in 1984, has a team of 22 and offers a variety of marketing communication support, such as strategic marketing and research, corporate identity development, marketing collateral production, advertising, packaging, web design, multimedia and motion graphics. Pennebaker has an impressive client list, including AIG Retirement, the Bristow Group, ChevronTexaco, Exxon Mobil, HIMA, Motiva, Mitsubishi, Schlumberger, United Way of Greater Houston and VAM Drilling.

Pennebaker Fifth Ring's U.S. capabilities will be immediately enhanced with the addition of a public relations department headed by Brad Leone, who joins the company as General Manager and head of public relations. Leone joins Pennebaker Fifth Ring from Houston-based Vollmer Public Relations, where he was General Manager of the Houston office. With extensive experience in energy, technology, healthcare and financial services, Leone brings a diverse range of PR and strategic communications knowledge to Pennebaker Fifth Ring.

Even before its official launch, Pennebaker Fifth Ring has been attracting new international business. In June, it announced its first client win of AESI Holdings Inc. and its subsidiaries Gilmore Valve and Azura. AESI is the parent company of Hydrafit Subsea, a client of Fifth Ring. The scope of work includes redeveloping AESI's identity, brand and marketing collateral, as well as a public relations campaign. This new business is a clear indication of Pennebaker Fifth Ring's international offering and the value its establishment holds for both existing clients and future prospects.

Ian Ord, business development director of Fifth Ring in Aberdeen, said, "Fifth Ring has been searching for a compatible business in Houston with matching business principles and complementary skills for some time and Pennebaker has proven to be the ideal fit. The opening of the new Houston office is another milestone towards accomplishing our vision to build a truly international company within the major energy hubs of the world. But energy, although important, is not the whole story and it's not just our oil and gas clients who stand to benefit. With a strong increase in commercial links between Houston and the Middle East, other core sectors such as financial and professional services, medical and education will also profit from our new offering. We are very excited about this new venture and confident that Pennebaker Fifth Ring will help grow our international client base."

Clif Collier, group managing director of Fifth Ring based in Dubai, summarises: "As a result of producing our long-term vision and strategic business development plan, we realised that to meet the level of growth we aspired to, we would have to expand our international offering. And with the growing cross pollination between Aberdeen, Dubai and Houston we found ourselves very much in a position where we could truly work with clients on their international strategy, but at the same time deliver powerful -- and localised -- marketing communication messages."

Notes to Editors:

Pennebaker, one of Houston's premier branding, marketing, and communication firms, has been producing award-winning work for 25 years. The company also provides litigation support services inclusive of international arbitration. Pennebaker's expanding client base includes national and international clients from a wide spectrum of industry segments including energy, food and beverage, professional services, infrastructure, medical, technology, hospitality and education. Pennebaker won 12 Awards and 6 Citations of Excellence from American Marketing Association and American Advertising Federation in 2008.

Fifth Ring, established 1991 in Aberdeen, offers clients an integrated service of brand and strategy development, design, digital media, advertising and PR. The company since opened offices in Dubai, UAE in 2003 and Inverness, UK in 2007. Fifth Ring has recently reached over 50 staff members after a year of successes across the company. It won the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) silver award in the Integrated Communications category for Scotland, while the Aberdeen office was ranked 7th in Scotland by industry magazine The Drum, based on financial performance. It has also seen the launch of its own staff development program, Fruition, and is now recognized on the Recommended Agency Register.