Kynaston's Propaganda to move to city centre as Illamasqua rolls out

First stage of agency's evolution results in surprise move into the heart of the city.

The relocation comes on the back of the agency's growing Brand Multiple division, which works closely with businesses, brands and investors to add value at a boardroom and brand level. Propaganda's staff will be moving to the prestigious Calls Wharf building, the former grain warehouse, which has been developed by Bracken, the Leeds-based property investment and development company. The agency will take over two thirds of the building, which will cover over 6,000 sq ft. Speaking of the developments Julian Kynaston, chairman, Propaganda, said: “This is the first of three key announcements that Propaganda will make by the end of February. In the next few weeks we will announce a number of senior appointments that will bolster our strategic and creative offering. We will also unveil a dynamic overhaul of our operating structure, which will continue our evolution away from the traditional agency model to focus on the consultative side of our business, and will align us with the needs of this fast changing market.” See the next issue of The Drum for an interview with Julian Kynaston about this move and the other developments soon to be revealed at the agency. Meanwhile, Illamasqua, the cosmetics brand created by Propaganda and launched in Selfridges in London in November is now being rolled out across the UK into cities including Manchester, Edinburgh, Belfast, Newcastle and Glasgow. Additional interest in the brand has also come from the USA, Australia, Asia and most of Europe and the brand is already an A-list hit with celebrities like Sienna Miller, Lily Allen and Courtney Love all reportedly buying bags full of Illamasqua products. Commenting on its success, Chairman, Julian Kynaston said “We set out with the deliberate intention of making Illamasqua the make-up of choice across its entire product range. The fact that Illamasqua has the highest unit per transaction across the whole of Selfridges Beauty Department, after just six weeks, shows how well the marketing is helping customers to engage with the brand.”