Former Outside Organisation publicist Stuart Bell has announced he is launching his own PR firm.
As previously reported, Bell left Alan Edwards' London-based entertainment PR agency somewhat suddenly back in June. Although the reasons behind his sudden departure were never revealed, it was widely assumed Bell would return heading up a rival agency once his non-compete obligations with Outside were fulfilled.
This week Bell did indeed confirm he was launching his own PR company. He has teamed up with Richard Dawes, formerly Head Of Publicity at Universal Music's Polydor Records, to create Dawbell PR.
Like Outside, the new company will focus on entertainment PR with a music bias. Initial clients will include Leona Lewis and Polydor-signed artists Ronan Keating, Take That and newish band Detroit Social Club. It's also thought Paul McCartney, one of Bell's highest profile clients at Outside, will move his representation to the new company.
Confirming the launch of the new agency, Bell told reporters that Dawbell would provide a wide range of communication services to its clients, commenting that: "The role of the publicist has changed greatly in the last few years. We're not just press officers, we provide the whole package. With a lot of PR agencies, their offline and online just doesn't join up".
Dawes added: "We want to offer a fresh new service that looks at every aspect of communications. We want to come up with creative press plans that will get people noticed".