Taylor Herring Brand Communications Appointed To Handle PR For Edinburgh

For immediate release

LONDON Thursday 13th January 2005; Taylor Herring Brand Communications have won a three-way competitive pitch to handle trade and consumer PR around the Edinburgh International Games Festival 2005 (EIGF05).

The agency, whose clients include Robbie Williams, Celador International and the British Comedy Awards have been appointed with a brief to widen the appeal of the festival outside the traditional games market and encourage consumer attendance.

Full details of the schedule for the 2005 event will be announced shortly but Scottish consumers & festival goers can look forward to a return of the 'Go Play Games' exhibition showcasing upcoming titles & 'Game Screenings'. The trade conference will deliver a truly compelling programme with international speakers of the highest calibre in attendance providing unrivalled networking opportunities.

In addition to media relations Taylor Herring Brand Communications will also be working with Edinburgh International Games Festival Director Lisa Fox on securing sponsorship from both within and outside the games and interactive entertainment industries.

Fred Hasson, Edinburgh International Games Festival Programme Editor said "Taylor Herring Brand Communications displayed a great understanding of what Edinburgh is all about. Their experience with big name entertainment brands and celebrities will be crucial in promoting the event beyond the computer games environment and into the mainstream"

Justin Crosby, Head of Consumer brands at Taylor Herring Brand Communications said "Edinburgh is a truly unique event in the games industry calendar. It's a great shop window opportunity for the industry to underline its contribution to entertainment and culture. We are looking forward to bringing this year's event to a broader audience, reflecting the mainstream appeal of interactive entertainment and computer games."

ENDS

For further information please contact;

Justin Crosby at Taylor Herring Brand Communications on 0208 206 5151 justin.crosby@taylorherring.com

Notes To Editors

• Taylor Herring Brand Communications is the sister company of Taylor Herring Public Relations. Clients include Celador International, Robbie Williams, EMI Music Group, Emap Publishing, Flextech Television, Granada and Channel Four.

• The Edinburgh International Games Festival is managed by a committee drawn from all areas of the business, including publishers, developers and two industry trade bodies; The Independent Game Developers Association (TIGA) www.tiga.org and the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) www.elspa.com. The EIGF is financially supported by Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian and by sponsorship from some of the biggest names in interactive entertainment, telecoms and retail with BT, GameStation, McDonald's, Nintendo, Nokia N-GageTM, NVIDIATM, Orange, PlayStation^®2 and Xbox^® supporting the event in 2004.

• Scottish Enterprise is the main economic development agency for Scotland covering 93 per cent of the population from Grampian to the Borders. The Scottish Enterprise Network consists of Scottish Enterprise and 12 Local Enterprise Companies. Working in partnership with the private and public sectors the Network aims to build more and better businesses, to develop the skills and knowledge of Scottish people, and to encourage innovation to make Scottish business internationally competitive.

• The Edinburgh International Games Festival's aim is to increase the awareness and understanding of interactive entertainment and it's place at the heart of popular culture, highlighting the growing bond between video games and other entertainment industries notably music, literature, television and film.