Orchard Media and Events Group expands its PR and communications offering with the acquisition of Cardiff agency Mela.
[aoa id=”1″]Orchard has been building organically since 2010, reaching a turnover of £14m and a team of over 70 in its new £1m base in the capital’s centre. The firm offers a broad range of services and products in a unique mix for Wales – from PR and social media to production and TV programme making, event management, music promotion, media planning and buying, design, and audio visual. They handle major international projects, from entertainment and filming for the UEFA Champions League Final, to staging Qatar Airways and Aston Martin launch events, producing Luke Evans Year of the Seaads for Visit Wales, and working alongside Welsh Government in their international food shows.[/aoa]
Mela is a well-established Cardiff based agency working across Wales, and specialising in bilingual communications. Mela has worked with national brands and organisations across a range of sectors, it is the communications partner of the Football Association of Wales and played a key role in its social media campaign during Euro 2016. Mela has also worked with clients such as Gorilla, National Library of Wales, Hybu Cig Cymru, Boom Cymru, BAFTA Cymru, Tafwyl, Corgi Hosiery and a number of Welsh Government departments.
A number of Mela staff and key clients will move across to Orchard, while founders Ashok Ahir and Manon Edwards Ahir take up new senior political communication roles within Whitehall and the Senedd respectively.
Orchard PR Director Tim Powell said:
“We’ve collaborated very successfully with Mela in the past, enjoyed great relations with its directors and team, and always respected their strategic prowess, social media output and innovative bilingual approach to communications. This is a great fit for us, and builds another part of the Group business to complement the advances being made by all our Orchard teams.”
Orchard’s progress reflects the current boom in the creative industries in Wales, and they are part of Cardiff’s high value screen collaboration, Clwstwr Creadigolinvolving major international broadcasters, giving them a platform to expand their work in virtual reality and 360 filming.
