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NEW AGENCY SELLS CZECH STARSby Cat Contigulia The Prague Post
Jo Weaver is out to make the next Czech superstar. The founder of Prague-based public relations agency JWA, Weaver has decided to take a shot at bringing Czech sports and music stars to the international spotlight with a new company, Czech Sports and Music Agency (CSMA).
Though there are a number of management agencies that represent entertainers in the country, there are very few, if any, that provide the full-style packaging and branding services known to make or break stars in the United States and the United Kingdom.
"I got to meeting some people at sports events, and I realized they don't have managing and promoting here the way we do in the United States and the UK. This country turns out so many fantastic sports people and so many fantastic musicians, and they've got this huge history of it and experience, but they're not in any way building their brand," Weaver said.
The agency will work with individuals involved in sports, music and entertainment to promote them and build a brand through everything from media training and image consulting to finding them sponsorship deals, arranging public appearances and even acting as an intermediary between musicians and venues.
Weaver calls her approach the David Beckham principle. "Everyone in the world knows him, and he became a worldwide name because someone, hopefully like us, got a hold of him when he was 17, and they saw he was a pretty boy, and a pretty good footballer; not the best in the world, but good, and they said, 'He's hugely marketable, isn't he?' " Weaver said. "They've marketed him so his brand will carry on for the rest of his life whether he plays football or not."
By contrast, Weaver says in the Czech Republic, athletes and musicians often accept low payments for performances or appearances because they are not branded well enough, and when age or injury puts an end to their career, they're not left with a brand to capitalize on afterward.
Weaver originally got the idea for the firm when she first arrived in then-Czechoslovakia and dreamed of representing some of the athletes she had admired while living in the United Kingdom. She put that idea on the back burner, though, and went on to form JWA, mostly working with businesses in sectors like real estate and finance. Then, when the financial crisis hit, those sectors started to slow, and JWA started getting contracts in the sporting world, like the Prague International Marathon. While mulling the idea of setting up a sports agency, Weaver spoke with an old business associate who used to be involved in the music industry, and the two decided to expand the venture to include music.
So far, the agency has attracted around 10 clients in sports and music, and Weaver hopes to add a handful more in the coming months.
"I've been a bit cautious to start doing too much in the beginning. I definitely think we will have a lot of learning experiences," Weaver said.
"This is a horrible phrase, but we sort of have to suck it and see. Already the music part is busy, and it's honestly more complicated than we may have thought at first. We realized we need a voice coach, and a recording studio."
Also, as one of the first of its kind in the country, it remains to be seen how the Czech market, which is less oriented toward major branding campaigns using celebrities, will receive the product.
"A lot of people are really cynical about branding. But I think sooner or later, it will be here," Weaver said. "I've heard it so many times over the last 20 years that it's different here, or that it won't work here, but sooner or later it does."
Cat Contiguglia can be reached at ccontiguglia@praguepost.com MANAGERS REFLECT ON 2011 (19/02/2011)
Jo Weaver, Managing Director, JWA Prague
How was 2011?
2011 was a lot better than we expected, with quite a lot of new business coming in from some unexpected places. However, I do not think that it marked the end of the financial crisis; we were just lucky to be approached by a few good companies that made our overall figures look a lot better. From a management point of view, whilst overall our business did quite well, I struggled with, on one hand, the knowledge that if we got much more new work, we would need to take on one or two new people, but on the other, that having made a lot of people redundant in the previous years, I really didn’t want to take on new people unless we really had to. I have also seen that I am not alone in feeling that the effects of the past three years – battling with cashflow, clients not paying, losing a lot of business, making people redundant - have taken their toll. Many of my friends, who are in senior positions, have suffered some illness over the past year, or are finding it difficult to stay enthusiastic about their business, when there is no real sign of an end to the economic situation.
Expectations for 2012?
Personally our own budget looks quite reasonable for 2012; we don’t expect any significant improvements in profit, but also feel that things are relatively stable. However, much as 2011, there is still the nervousness that if we lose a client it wont be so easy to replace them, so we will continue with a very cautious management approach; keeping costs to the minimum, and saving rather than spending if there is the possibility. We will also continue with our quite aggressive marketing approach; being a marketing agency, we strongly believe that it is our own marketing that will make the difference to whether we do well or not as we go through the year.
It is too early days to really comment, but we suspect that the death of President Havel may have a real impact on the Czech Republic as we go into 2012; he has always been such a stabilizer and a voice of reason; without him, we wonder how the very shaky government will manage… Hospodarske noviny (02/02/2011)
HOW DO MANAGERS RUN Jo Weaver, Managing Director, JWA Prague
Before coming to Prague I had spent most of my growing up years being obsessed with sport, particularly during my childhood when I had competed with my horses in show jumping, and played quite serious tennis. Even when I started work in London I still managed to keep reasonably fit, but then I was sent to Prague in 1990 and everything went horribly downhill! For the first two years, the combination of twelve hour working days and then evenings spent sitting in a pub with my few expat friends, eating bowls of local Czech food (mostly goulash and dumplings at that time) and drinking whatever we could lay our hands on, alongside absolutely no exercise at all other than occasional disco dancing, started to do significant damage!
I can’t really remember when I made the decision to start to get fit again, but I decided to take up running. I figured that this was something that I could do on my own, at any time, and just about anywhere…. What I hadn’t figured out was that this would become as much of an obsession as every other sport that I had tried in the past!
Now running is a passion that is difficult to explain. I don’t need to compete any more, I don’t need to run long distances, but I do love the feeling that I have from running... the ability to do it, to be outside, to feel the stress of the day just float away as you run along… taking up running was one of the best things I ever did.
CIA News (02/12/2010)
BCD is suing the state for almost half a billion CZK
BCD, which was doing the decontamination works at the Spolana chemical plant, has filed an arbitration case against the state for 300 million CZK for completed decontamination works at the plant. An additional 180 million CZK is to be paid for almost 2 years of inactivity of the company’s technology at the site. Jo Weaver from the agency JWA, which is representing BCD, told CIA that the arbitration case was filed last week. Zdenek Zajicek, Deputy Finance Minister, said that the ministry has no information about the filing of the arbitration.
BCD was to perform decontamination works on two buildings, which the company was contracted to do, and then start the decontamination of a third building that was later also assessed as contaminated. After BCD tore down the building, the Ministry of Finance halted all works with reference to the upcoming ecotender. According to Zajicek, the remaining works will now become part of a separate tender. Weaver has indicated that while the final decision is being prolonged, the previously decontaminated soil is being contaminated again.
Strategie (29/11/2010)Czech PR is closer to the finals of the EEA in Prague
JWA Prague has captured one of the nominations for this year's European Excellence Awards
Strategie (29/11/2010)
mam.ihned.cz (29/11/2010)9 nominations for the Czech Republic on this year's shortlist for the EEA
The Czech Republic was nominated for a total of 9 awards at the 4th annual European Excellence Awards. JWA can hope for a win in the category Sports&Lifestyle for its cooperation with the Prague International Marathon.
Euro (29/11/2010)Andrej Vukotic joins JWA as Account Manager
Ceskamedia.cz (29/11/2010)9 nominations for the Czech Republic on this year's shortlist for the EEA
The Czech Republic was nominated for a total of 9 awards at the 4th annual European Excellence Awards. JWA can hope for a win in the category Sports&Lifestyle for its cooperation with the Prague International Marathon.
Trend marketing (24/11/2010)
Marketing Magazine (15/11/2010)Andrej Vukotic joins JWA as Account Manager
Technický týdeník (1/6/2010)
Strategie (6/4/2010)American Joins JWA
Jennifer Fry joins JWA in the position of Account Manager. In the past she has worked as a consultant for various civic organizations and is active in Prague’s expat community. She started the Prague chapter for MEETin.org and is the InternNations.org ambassador for Prague. In the United States, she worked for the organization, Ashoka, and she holds a B.S. degree in Neuroscience.
Strategie (5/10/2009)
Marktingové noviny (2/10/2009)
Marketing & Media (29/9/2009)
Strategie (10/8/2009)
Marketingové noviny (07/08/2009)
Transitions Online (03/08/2009)
Prague Post (29/4/2009)
Transitions Online (27/4/2009)
Marketing Magazine (April, 2009)
HN (April, 2009)
Strategie (6.1.09)
CiJ (January, 2009)
Marketingové Noviny (17.12.2008)
Strategie (15.12.08)
Marketing & Media (15.12.08)
Strategie Magazine (November, 2008)
Strategie Magazine (1.10.2007) – ECM TO WORK WITH JWA
ECM Real Estate Investments, one of the leading property development, investment and facility management companies operating in Central and Eastern Europe, has appointed JWA Prague s.r.o, a member of the FD international network, as its new public relations agency for financial and corporate PR.
ECM will work with JWA on a variety of corporate and financial PR projects, in collaboration with FD in London, who will be responsible for ECM’s profile throughout the region.
Commenting on this appointment, Milan Janku, ECM’s President and Chairman of the Board said, “As ECM continues to grow and expand throughout the Central and Eastern European region, and particularly since our listing on the Prague Stock Exchange, it has become ever more important for us to have the sort of international and financial PR expertise that JWA, together with FD, can bring to us. The appointment was made in July and we are already starting to see the benefits of our co-operation. We are looking forward to a close and fruitful working relationship with both JWA and FD.”
Marketing & Media Magazine (1.10.2007) – ECM APPOINTS JWA
ECM Real Estate Investments, one of the leading property development, investment and facility management companies operating in Central and Eastern Europe, has appointed JWA Prague, a member of the FD international network, as its new public relations agency for financial and corporate PR.
Press Release - ECM APPOINTS JWA AS NEW CORPORATE AND FINANCIAL PUBLIC RELATIONS AGENCYThe real estate developer will work with local agency in the areas of financial and corporate PR
Prague, 27th September, 2007 – ECM Real Estate Investments A.G. (“ECM”), one of the leading property development, investment and facility management companies operating in Central and Eastern Europe, has appointed JWA Prague s.r.o, a member of the FD international network, as its new public relations agency for financial and corporate PR.
ECM will work with JWA on a variety of corporate and financial PR projects, in collaboration with FD in London, who will be responsible for ECM’s profile throughout the region.
Commenting on this appointment, Milan Janku, ECM’s President and Chairman of the Board said:
“As ECM continues to grow and expand throughout the Central and Eastern European region, and particularly since our listing on the Prague Stock Exchange, it has become ever more important for us to have the sort of international and financial PR expertise that JWA, together with FD, can bring to us. The appointment was made in July and we are already starting to see the benefits of our co-operation. We are looking forward to a close and fruitful working relationship with both JWA and FD.”
Jo Weaver, Managing Director of JWA adds:
“ECM is a very exciting new client for us and we are sure that this partnership will greatly benefit both parties. We hope that ECM will gain from our extensive PR and marketing experience in both the international business-to-business world as well as the real estate sector, whilst we will have the opportunity to work with one of the most successful and fast-moving Czech-origin companies that has a portfolio of very interesting projects and is further expanding rapidly throughout the region.”
Announcement, November 2007– JWA was nominated to participate in the European Excellence Awards 2007. Mlada Fronta Dnes, July 26, 2007
Jo Weaver, Managing Director of JWA Public Relations, Chairwoman of the British Chamber of Commerce, and General Director of Superbrands in the Czech Republic speaks to Mlada Fronta Dnes on work-life balance and family.
PRESS RELEASE: Prague, 23 May, 2007JO WEAVER, LONGEST STANDING BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CHAIRPERSON
Last evening, during the British Chamber of Commerce’s Tenth Annual General Meeting in Prague, Jo Weaver was re-elected by Chamber members for a third term, making her the longest standing Chamber Chairman in the history of the Chamber. Weaver is also the only woman to ever serve as the Chamber’s Board Chairman.
In response to her re-election, Weaver commented, “I’m delighted with the member’s decision. Over the past three years, the other board members and I have put forward a new vision for the Chamber and invested considerable time and energy in carrying it out. Today’s vote indicates that members agree with the direction in which we have been moving.”
Two other new members were also elected to the Board, Pavla P?ikrylová from Peterka & Partners and Martin Vosecký from CATRO.
The British Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Linda Duffield, was also in attendance and made positive remarks regarding the work that the Chamber has been carrying out, particularly in regard to some of its more recent initiatives, including its ‘Improving the Delivery of Justice’ working group, and the efforts that it has been making in promoting Corporate Social Responsibility, both to its members and to the outside world.
The British Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic has grown from just a few British companies as members when it was established in 1997, to more than 330 Czech, British and other companies today. It is a non-profit organisation that is funded by its members but that works closely with the British Embassy and today it is a force to be reckoned with.
Press contact:
Alena Králíková JWA s.r.o. Slezska 63 130 00 Praha 3
Tel: +420 242 454 740
JWA & Superbrands Christmas PartyPrague Leaders Magazine, January 2007. Photo spread featuring JWA and Superbrands Please note: Link leads to an Acrobat PDF format Summer Party 2006Prague Club Magazine, May 2006 Photo spread feauting Jo Weaver Please note: Link leads to an Acrobat PDF format Pre-AGM MixerFocus - British Chamber of Commerce Magazine, March 2006. Article featuring Jo Weaver Please note: Links are to an Acrobat PDF format Meet the Brits!Focus - British Chamber of Commerce Magazine, March 2006. Article featuring Jo Weaver Please note: links are to an Acrobat PDF format Getting out the Early Word on PRCzech Business Weekly - January 2006 Article featuring Jo Weaver Please note: Links are to an Acrobat PDF format Prague Business Lunch with Superbrands in a mushroom paradise at Corinthia Towers HotelPrague Club Magazine, May 2005. Photo spread featuring Jo Weaver Please note: Links leads to an Acrobat PDF format
Holding the reins in marketingClub Magazine Pages 4 and 5 - June 2004 Article featuring Jo Weaver Please note: Links are to an Acrobat PDF format JWA Christmas partyClub magazine - January 2004 Please note: Links are to an Acrobat PDF file Jo Weaver - Off the WallPrague Tribune, December 2003 Article featuring Jo Weaver EU Enlargement - will bigger be better ?Director Magazine, May 2003 Written by Lindsay Percival-Straunik Article featuring Jo Weaver Breaking down the barriers
Written by: Monika Mudranincová & Klára Smolová
Many female foreigners supplement the ranks of women in the local business sphere, either as entrepreneurs or in leading managerial positions. Why did they decide to build their careers in this country, and what challenges did they face ?
Article featuring Jo Weaver PRESS RELEASE: Prague, 21st October, 2002These last few days have seen the culmination of eighteen months' work for the full-service marketing agency, JWA Prague, who launched the new shopping mall, Tesco's Letnany Obchodni Centrum in a style never seen before in the Czech Republic.
Once thought of as, first and foremost, an event management company, JWA have now proved that they are up there with the big agencies by preparing and running the whole marketing launch plan for the centre. The campaign started with a stone-laying ceremony eighteen months ago, continued with low-key PR and advertising to promote the centre to future tenants, and then, six months ago, went into a full-scale advertising and marketing campaign which has already been voted as the best promotion of a shopping mall seen this year.
To quote Jo Weaver, managing director of JWA Prague:
"We are known for our event management because that is what people see. We do not believe in promoting ourselves when we are working for a client; it is the client that counts after all. So we never put our own logo on adverts, brochures, leaflets or whatever since we are not the company that is being promoted. Perhaps it is time that we did!"
Like it or not, however, JWA's event-management skills are soon going to be the talk of the town as the three day launch event for Tesco Letnany Obchodni Centrum was a continuous run of spectacular entertainment. Starting off on Friday morning with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony, by 11.00 in the morning the mall was packed with people who were left open-mouthed both by the range of shops and the entertainment on offer.
Entertainers included, amongst others Leos Mares, Ilona Czakova, Martin Maxa and Anna K, there were fashion shows by Promod, C&A and others, dancers, magicians, stilt walkers; shoppers simply didn't know where to look next. And the number of visitors reflected this: an average of 20,000 people visited Letnany Obchodni Centrum over the three day launch period, with some tenants announcing record sales for one or all of the days. A success for Tesco, without a doubt. A success for JWA? Definitely.
For further information: Jo Weaver JWA Prague s.r.o. Tel: +420 242 454 740
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