Portable launches new marketing and publicity agency

Yesterday we announced the formation of our new marketing and public relations agency, appropriately entitled The Portable Agency. The new agency will see the company extend its activities beyond web and online video and into marketing and strategy for brands across Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

The expansion was brought about by a long conversation we’d been having with Evie Bear, who heads up Sydney based public relations agency Management & Publicity (M&P), which represents a range of notable fashion brands from Australia and internationally including Arnsdorf, Amber & Thomas, Beat Poet, Benah, Colab, Dress Up, Georgina Thomas, Jerome Dreyfuss, Laurence Pasquier, Something Else, Spring Court and Three Over One.

“We had been looking at several options for opening an office in Sydney. After working alongside Evie Bear during 2010 fashion week and other recent projects, we were lead to the novel idea of joining forces,” says the company’s co-founder and creative director Andrew Apostola.

It’s been a big year for Portable. We established a New York office in February and in March launched a new [online video channel](http://portable.tv/about), that is peaking the interest of some of the world’s most eminent companies, including Nick Knight’s ShowStudio, the offices of Vivienne Westwood and footwear brand Nike. We also released a new technology product Portable Shops, which allows fashion designers and boutiques to power their digital presence. The product now powers over 60 brands internationally including Arnsdorf, Therese Rawsthorne, Loden Dager, Josh Goot, Akira, Lonely Hearts and a range of other UK and North American brands.

The creation of the new agency will mean that the company now has a presence in Sydney, Melbourne and New York as well as the resources to launch fashion and culture brands using digital technology, marketing, PR and a host of international relationships.

“Digital is such an integral part of the way brands grow their business, however you need to understand how to mix traditional media and marketing in order to succeed,” says Simon Goodrich, co-founder of Portable.

“We have an excellent record of bringing brands to life online through the combination of digital strategy, online content and video and our recent work with fashion brands has shown that there’s a great opportunity in the fashion industry,” adds Mr Goodrich.

The Portable Agency will focus on helping brands to grow not only their profiles but also their businesses both locally and internationally. With over 17 staff, the company will build the profitability of the brands it represents through a combination of brand alignments, managed events, digital content creation and curation, online video production and e-commerce.

“I’m thrilled with the combining of our two businesses,” comments Evie Bear, the company’s new managing director.

“For the first time in Australia, there now exists an agency that can holistically service the fashion and creative industries. It’s my hope that this will spur a cultural change, facilitating Australian brands (specifically) to succeed here, and to have international brands see our market here as an attractive one.”

Ms Bear, who will head up the agency’s operations in Sydney, has a diverse career within the fashion industry spanning over 14 years. She’s worked with iconic names including Guido Palau, Isabella Blow, Peter Saville, Alexander McQueen, Raf Simons, Veronique Branquhino and Neville Wakefield. Having worked over different sectors of the industry, (as a freelance writer, consultant, mentor, producer) Evie’s skill-set, understanding and personal ethos towards fashion and the media in Australia is an excellent fit within the Portable brand.

She will join the company’s co-founders Simon Goodrich and Andrew Apostola who are respected internationally for their work on digital and creative projects.

The Portable Agency officially launches November 1, 2010 and can be found at www.theportableagency.com.

For all interviews and press inquiries please contact Evie Bear on +61 (2) 9380 9488.

The companies other services can be found at:

www.portable.tv
www.portablestudios.com.au
www.portableshops.com

About Portable

Portable is one of Australia’s most exciting digital technology and content brands. Since launching in 2006, it has developed a range of internationally recognized products and in February 2010 opened a New York office. It is the creator of www.portable.tv, one of the world’s leading curators of fashion, music, film and art video online. It works with designers, producers, artists and directors for companies and brands around the world, and in 2009 was recognized by Smart Company as the “next big thing”. It is completely independently owned and as such has been able to carve out its own path and priorities.

Portable is the brainchild of Andrew Apostola and Simon Goodrich. Andrew Apostola is one of Australia’s leading creative producers. In 2008 he was awarded a British Council Award, recognizing him as one of Australia’s leading creative’s and leads the team from the company’s offices in New York. Simon Goodrich is the company’s managing director and drives the company’s operations from its headquarters in Melbourne. He is a judge for the internationally renowned Webby Awards, the Oscars for online and is also the National President of the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA), the peak body for digital in Australia. In 2008, he was recognised as one of Australia’s leading entrepreneurs under the age of 30 by Anthill Magazine.

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