Joanna Dring Email & Phone Number

Amsterdam, Nl

Head up brand PR, corporate, trade and category communications, press office, crisis communications. Part of the corporate affairs and marketing leadership teams. Founded and lead the HEINEKEN LGBTQ+ Taskforce.PR is central to our market-leading brands which include Birra Moretti, Heineken, Strongbow and Old Mout, and I am responsible in making sure we have world-class earned consumer campaigns and events, often with high profile talent. From Heineken’s ‘12th Woman’ campaign at the Euros which tackled gender stereotypes, to pitching and leading high-profile firsts such as the product placement of Heineken 0.0 in ITV soaps, or an hour long behind-the-scenes TV show on our cider making with the BBC’s Inside The Factory. Everything you read, see or hear about our brands in the press or editorially with influencers, is handled by my function.Pushing boundaries in communications is something I thrive on, particularly when it crosses marketing disciplines.Corporate comms, sustainability and issues management are key to our reputation and license to operate, and I work closely with the management team, public affairs colleagues and integrated comms teams, to make sure the HEINEKEN narrative is received in the best possible way through media, stakeholder engagement and owned channels.I run the busy press office and ensure robust statements for issues in this highly regulated industry. I ensure compliance on all marketing material to make sure it adheres to CAP, BCAP and Portman Group codes.I work with and manage a number of agencies to maintain our superior share of voice in media amongst our competitive set.

Amsterdam, Nl

HEINEKEN is the UK's leading cider and beer producer and the name behind iconic drinks brands such as Strongbow, Bulmers, Heineken®, Foster's, Kronenbourg 1664, Red Stripe, Birra Moretti, Old Mout and Desperados, together with a full range of speciality brands.I lead consumer PR for ciders, mainstream beers and craft beers. PR must never be safe or predictable - if it's been done before, it's not good enough for me.We run campaigns that have national reach, that consumers want to talk about and share. I apply the consumer PR approach to our corporate campaigns - who says that a corporate campaign shouldn't be featured in LadBible? Google #BrewingGood Cheer and you'll see what I mean.I look after all our trade PR too - we consistently have a share of voice which is 3.5 times our nearest competitor.Working within the corporate relations function, I make sure that our campaigns are linked, where necessary, with our public affairs agenda and internal communications platforms.

Co-opted onto the committee for the British Guild of Beer Writers to assist with PR, positioning and purpose.

København V, Hovedstaden, Dk

Responsible for the global, strategic PR for Carlsberg, Kronenbourg 1664, Tuborg, Somersby Cider and Grimbergen.Working with a network of PR managers across our markets, I lead the PR strategy for global issues, events and campaigns, most recently, ‘Where’s The Party?’ across 18 markets and amplifying Carlsberg’s sponsorship of the Barclays Premier League.I drive and lead the PR work stream on behalf of the Global Brewers’ Initiative consumer campaign in the UK called ‘Let There Be Beer.’ This first-of-its-kind, multi-million pound campaign sees investment from the UK’s five largest brewers working together on an unbranded campaign purely for the beer category. Vast press office experience and deal daily with journalists, both proactively and reactively.Adept at dealing with sensitive issues with the media. For example, alcohol misuse, redundancies and product recalls.I manage a number of agencies and work cross-functionally to ensure the best stories are always shared, and to ensure the business is prepared for potential issues.

København V, Hovedstaden, Dk

Headhunted by Carlsberg UK to cover corporate public affairs, communications campaigns for the beer brands, implement Carlsberg Group communication campaigns in the UK, increase the profile of CSR activities, develop a digital and social media programme for CUK and handle crisis communications.Managed the press office and dealt daily with journalists, proactively and reactively.Represented Carlsberg UK at industry stakeholder meetings including DrinkAware, the British Beer and Pub Association and the Portman Group (the self-governing body for alcohol advertisers.)

Bedford, Bedfordshire, Gb

Following a promotion at Wells and Young's, my role expanded to encompass the digital side of the business (in addition to PR and Comms) - online communications, social media strategy, brands' presence online, PPC and SEO.Responsible for the PR, communications and digital strategy for beer brands and corporately at the UK’s largest private brewery.I had regular interaction with the chairman and MD, writing corporate press statements, managing their internal communications and advising on stakeholder relations and media interviews.I led the PR and digital strategy for the re-launch of Bombardier beer, which saw Bombardier being the first cask beer brand to fully embrace social media and digital marketing. This led to a sales uplift despite a declining market.As a member of the senior marketing team I had experience of overseeing the work of some of the work of the junior members of the team, and gained valuable people management skills recruiting and managing a PR Executive.I led the communications strategy for the multi-million pound acquisition of the Scottish McEwan’s and Younger’s beer brands from Heineken UK. The successful communications plan delivered key messages to over 40 groups of stakeholders in a timely and appropriate fashion. Resulting press coverage was positive and supportive of the acquisition.Led the communications for a major, international product recall of 750k bottlesIncreased the focus on internal communications and launched an internal magazine, new intranet, increased the frequency of company briefings.Ran the press office and was the first point of contact for all journalists and bloggers.

Bedford, Bedfordshire, Gb

I am responsible for all areas of communication at Wells and Young's Brewery, the UK's largest private brewery. These include consumer PR campaigns (in house and managing agencies), corporate communications, internal communications, running the press office, crisis management and trade press communications. Our beers include Young's, Courage, Estrella Damm, Kirin Ichiban and the 'Bang On' Bombardier, which is currently enjoying a £4m marketing investment with Rik Mayall as the Bombardier. As wells as the PR for this campaign, I am also responsible for the digital elements which span social media, SEO and PPC. So far, this has seen Bombardier become the most popular cask beer on social media sites with 23k+ likes on Facebook, over half a million views on YouTube and 6k Twitter followers.I generate coverage across consumer, drinks, marketing, food press, blogs and other relevant media outlet, via reactive and proactive communications.I have experience of high profile crisis communications including international product recalls and loss of major contracts (Corona Extra and Red Stripe).I am the first point of contact for all media, dealing with press enquiries across all the brands, corporate and on an industry issues level.I am passionate about integrating digital PR and social media with traditional PR. You can read more on my thoughts here: http://www.prweek.com/uk/news/1053074/Staking-claim-social-media-PR-agencies/ From an internal communications perspective, I have experience of communicating with a mixed work force of office and production staff. I have introduced an employee magazine called Beer Matters, a brand new Intranet site called The Snug, and methods of communicating and listening to people in the brewery who don't have access to emails.

Bedford, Gb

Wrote press releases, press statements, arranged media coverage and forged relationships with journalists to ensure positive media coverage.I researched, wrote and edited the Council newsletter, Bedford News, which was circulated to 80,000 households.I was the first point of contact for all media and wrote press comments for the Chief Executive, elected Mayor and other senior officers.I acted as spokesperson for the Council to local media and I advised councillors and senior officers on key messages for press interviews.For five months I ran the press office on my own, and increased the amount of media coverage (becoming proactive rather than reactive) with creative and media friendly ideas alongside council initiatives.

Detroit, Michigan, Us

The role included parliamentary monitoring and research, managing the Vauxhall e-Politix site and managing local PR events in Bedfordshire.Working with the local newspaper I introduced a charity initiative which ensured regular coverage and reaffirmed Vauxhall's role in the local community.I assisted with successful lobbying projects such as the case for LPG fuel and wrote submissons to Select Committees.

2.1, Business Management

A-Levels, History, Business Studies, Theatre Studies