A track record of success

Garnett Keeler Public Relations was established by former British Army officer and journalist Philip Keeler and his late wife Sylvia in 1966. Early clients included Lambretta scooters and AC Cars, beginning a tradition of automotive-related PR which continues to the present day. Philip and Sylvia retained an involvement with the company well into the 21st Century.

Today, our ideas are fresh and creative – and all are rooted in four decades of experience.

Here are just some of the PR milestones we’ve covered for clients in the past:

1977

Firework Display for Queen’s Silver Jubilee

Our client, Pains Wessex, was called in to arrange a huge fireworks display to help Her Majesty The Queen mark her 25th anniversary on the throne. Coverage of their involvement was widespread.

1986

Formation of Iveco Ford Truck

Our involvement with Iveco began in 1986 when Ford sold its UK truck operations to the Italian group, meaning vehicles manufactured in the UK were badged Iveco Ford.

That relationship ended in 2003. Ours continues to this day.

1996

Overland expedition from Rome to New York

Iveco assembled a fleet of trucks to drive almost 37,000 km from the heart of Italy to the Big Apple through Europe, Russia, Siberia, Alaska and Canada – the first time the journey had ever been made by land. Our photographer joined the trucks in Siberia to capture images showing the rigors of driving in one of the world’s most inhospitable environments for use across the media.

1998

British Bobsleigh Team at the Winter Olympics

With the nation’s medal hopes upon them, we joined the British Bobsleigh Team in Hagano, Japan on behalf of our client and the team’s sponsor, Zanussi.

Following a successful two year PR campaign, we were there to capture the moment when the four-man squad took the bronze medal. Without the luxury of digital cameras, our team worked to process the film in a dark hotel bedroom, ensuring it was developed and wired back to London in time for the next morning’s papers.

1999

75th Anniversary of MG Cars

After a lacklustre start to the first of three single-make MGF Cup race series, MG needed some PR expertise. The company called on us to run the race press office in 1999 and 2000, and quickly added to our brief by charging us with handling the PR for its 75th anniversary celebrations at Silverstone. The event was attended by thousands of MG owners and marked a major milestone in the history of one of the UK’s most famous marques.

2000

EURO 2000

Working for 3M Commercial Graphics we generated global editorial coverage of a building in Rotterdam covered with the image of soccer international Edgar Davids in the run-up to Euro 2000. Previous agencies had taken pictures of the building and issued them to the media but achieved little: we sent photographers and a video crew to join the installation crews working from a mobile swing stage, and filmed them at work. The footage was used on the opening credits of many of the sports programmes covering Euro 2000 and the stills shots were used by newspapers and magazines across the world.

2002

Building the new Bentley State Limousine for the Golden Jubilee

Although the Bentley State Limousine is derived from the Series Two Bentley Arnage, the engineering challenges bore no relation to those of any conventional car. It was built by a Bentley-led consortium of British manufacturers, including our client, Mayflower Vehicle Systems, which was responsible for the bodywork. The car was designed to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and serves today as her principal transport at state and ceremonial occasions. Back in 2002, it proved to be a superb PR opportunity for Mayflower, on both an international and local scale.

2008

British Airways’ transfer into Terminal 5 at Heathrow

It’s not often you have to play down a client’s success, but diplomacy was called for in 2008 when British Airways transferred its Heathrow operations into Terminal 5.  Our client was responsible for the airline’s ground fleet services at Heathrow, which enjoyed a successful and seamless overnight transfer from Terminals 1 and 4.  However, whilst an eager support fleet stood airside, BA was forced to cancel hundreds of flights due to problems inside the new terminal. For our client, the transfer had been successful – we just couldn’t shout about it too much!