Sofia Heidenberg

The first GolinHarris office in Sweden will serve as the Nordic hub of the agency’s European operations, and will partner with sister agency, Lowe, to build client relationships and provide PR counsel locally.

The office will be led by Managing Director Sofia Heidenberg, a seasoned PR practitioner and start-up expert. Heidenberg has more than 17 years of experience in consumer and corporate communications as well as in crisis and issues management. She previously led her own agency, PRFabriken, and held senior communications posts at companies like Skanska Group and JKL. Heidenberg is also a board member of the Advertising Association of Sweden.

GolinHarris and Packer Forbes create alliance in Europe

GolinHarris and Packer Forbes have formed an alliance to help healthcare companies better prepare for and respond to the rapidly changing communications environment they find themselves in. The two agencies will offer a fusion of truly global ethical and consumer healthcare expertise. Packer Forbes will act as GolinHarris’ European hub for ethical healthcare programs and they will work jointly on consumer health campaigns.

“I am really excited by this initiative as it allows us to meet the challenges of the complex healthcare market and bring an in-depth understanding of increasingly sophisticated consumers,” says Alexa Forbes, managing director, Packer Forbes Communications. “Through our alliance with GolinHarris, we will continue to deliver the same level of outstanding service but now have a greater global reach with the support of one of the major networks in the world.”

Across the globe new audiences are playing critical roles in healthcare, from decision making to delivery, and communication agencies need to adapt their services to meet this changing environment. Audiences such as the National Health Service and Primary Care Trusts in the U.K. play a much larger role than ever before and informed consumers are playing an increasingly large role in their healthcare and treatment decisions. The perfect solution to this changing environment for marketing and communications healthcare teams is the combination of the ethical healthcare experience of Packer Forbes and the consumer and new media capability of GolinHarris.

“Packer Forbes and GolinHarris share a passion to succeed for clients and this is what makes this new partnership so compelling and such a great fit—from pitch to program delivery our energy, drive and personal touch is what will set us apart.” says Jonathan Hughes, joint managing director, of GolinHarris in London. 

Packer Forbes has worked in global and UK ethical healthcare for over 15 years and is the UK’s longest-standing independent healthcare PR agency; it will now handle all of the UK and European elements of GolinHarris’ global healthcare programs.

GolinHarris has extensive ethical and consumer healthcare experience in North America and Asia Pacific but to date has had no healthcare expertise in London and Europe. This alliance rounds out their capabilities and means that the agency can offer truly global ethical healthcare and consumer healthcare services.

In 2007, GolinHarris was awarded Editor’s Choice and also Large Agency of the Year by PR Week US and in 2008 was named by the Sunday Times as one of the Top 50 companies to work for in the UK. Packer Forbes is currently the Communiqué small agency of the year and has won this accolade three times. 

More GolinHarris global news

	Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc. has engaged GH for product-based public relations services.
	The launch of the Nintendo Wii was named Campaign of the Year at the PRWeek Awards. The Society of Actuaries won Corporate Branding Campaign of the Year and Insidege, GH’s internal relations practice, earned the Employee Communications Campaign of the Year award for its work with Dow.
	The McDonald’s team executed one of the most successful McDonald’s All American Games in recent history. The five-day event was attended by close to 200 national and local media and has generated 370 million impressions to date.
	Roosevelt University in Chicago awarded its first two recipients with Al Golin Scholarships.