New senior appointment for Altitude PR

Altitude, the dedicated PR brand of Yorkshire-based communications agency, Counter Context, is celebrating its 2nd anniversary with the hire of senior PR practitioner, Olivia Gourlay.

Olivia joins Altitude as account director and brings a wealth of consumer PR experience across retail, food and drink, entertainment, health, and lifestyle, having worked at top agencies in both London and Australia including M&C Saatchi, Ogilvy and Fleishmann Hillard.

Clients she has worked with include Merlin Entertainments, HMV, TK Maxx, Channel 4, Universal Pictures, Unilever and Premier Inn, as well as independent brands including Café Pod and Artisan Coffee School.

Olivia will bolster the core team headed up by Jane Whitham and Adam Reeves-Brown, along with Rachel Measures and Max Haley.

In two years, Altitude has grown from two to five permanent team members and offers PR, media relations, strategic communications, crisis management, training, and social media services.

The agency, which was named Best New UK PR Consultancy last year by the Chartered Institute for Public Relations, is adding new clients across a range of sectors.

Clients include Henry Boot Construction, Mattress Online, education provider RNN Group, Barnsley Council including The Glass Works, Barnsley Museums, St Luke’s – Sheffield’s Hospice, care home group Milewood and property developer Zunikh.

Olivia said: “By joining Altitude I have fulfilled a life-long ambition to bring my skills to the thriving city of Sheffield, where I live. I’m very much enjoying supporting both national and regional businesses, particularly within the retail, cultural and charitable sectors, which is where my passion lies.”

Altitude operates nationally but is based in Sheffield.

Jane added: “Olivia has an excellent track record and is a significant addition to our team. She brings experience gained at the highest level with the world’s biggest brands. These are very exciting times for Altitude.”