Month: March 2024

Julia joined the Riot team earlier this month, and brings with her over 25 years of experience across film, theatre and arts publicity. Having worked on a range of campaigns from the West End production of To Kill A Mockingbird to the UK release of Shakespeare in Love, we’re so excited to have Julia as part of the team.

Want to get to know her a bit better? We’ve asked her to share a bit about some of her passions and the things she is most looking forward to about working at Riot.

What are you most excited about when it comes to joining Riot?

I am thrilled to be joining Riot’s hugely talented and passionate team, and am very excited about the possibilities for growth, discovering and forging new partnerships.

With no limitations in place, who would be your dream client?

Anyone telling life-enriching stories on stage or screen, created by people who believe in Tolstoy’s concept of art to change life for the better.

What was the first book that you fell in love with?

All seven C.S. Lewis’ Narnia books when I was about 9 years old, and I am still in love with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

What are some of your other passions?

My husband, my daughters and my two dogs – walks in the countryside, special time with my closest friends, singing jazz and dreaming of life by the sea.

 

Picture: Julia Hallawell © Marc Sethi

Orla has been a part of the Riot team since early February, and has already made her mark through playing a key role in the delivery of the inaugural Nero Book Awards ceremony this month. Orla brings with her a wealth of experience in the arts, publishing and heritage sectors, having worked with the likes of Thames & Hudson, Bloomsbury Publishing and the Victoria & Albert Museum. We’re thrilled to have her join us at Riot.

Want to get to know her a bit better? We’ve asked her to share a bit about some of her passions and the things she is most looking forward to about working at Riot.

What are you most excited about when it comes to joining Riot?

Being part of a team again, especially one where everyone shares a passion for culture and entertainment in the broadest sense. Having spent several years in-house in publishing, it’s wonderful to work with colleagues who are all avid readers and who take as much pleasure as I do in discussing what books we are currently enjoying.

With no limitations in place, who would be your dream client?

It’s so hard to pick just one! Earlier in my career I worked at the Victoria & Albert Museum and it is still my favourite museum in the world. I would absolutely love to work with them on their exhibitions programme and on the launch of the forthcoming V&A East site. Another dream client would be the National Trust. I’ve long been a member and I think it would be really interesting to work with them to explore growing their audiences beyond those of their core membership.

What was the first book that you fell in love with?

As a young child it was The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton. I just loved the idea of a secret, parallel fairy world and I definitely remember looking for my own magic tree and fairies in the woods. A few years later it was Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret. Judy Blume was such a beloved author for me in my early adolescence.

What are some of your other passions?

These days I mostly spend my time running around after my little boy in playgrounds, but I take any chance I get to go to the theatre or the cinema. Outside of cultural pursuits, I love getting out of London for long walks and hikes and hope to be able to do this more this spring and summer.

 

Picture: Orla Houston-Jibo © Marc Sethi

Riot Communications, the leading arts, culture and entertainment PR agency, has made two new key hires in the form of Orla Houston-Jibo and Julia Hallawell, who have both joined the business as Associate Directors.

The new hires will support the growth of the company following a series of new client wins which include the Science Museum Group and Octopus Publishing, on whose behalf Riot is handling publicity for James Middleton’s upcoming book.

Orla Houston-Jibo joins the agency after two years as a communications, marketing and cultural programming consultant for clients in the arts, hospitality, lifestyle and heritage sectors, including Bloomsbury Publishing, Chiswick House & Gardens, and Lore Group (One Hundred Shoreditch and Sea Containers hotels). Prior to that, she was Associate Director and Head of Lifestyle Division at Scott & Co where her clients included SKETCH London, Sir Hotels and Petworth Places. Houston-Jibo also brings with her in-house publishing experience, having worked as PR Director at Phaidon and Head of Publicity & Partnerships at Thames & Hudson, and bolsters Riot’s museums and heritage expertise thanks to her time at the Victoria & Albert Museum as a Project Manager and Assistant Curator in the Contemporary Programmes department.

Julia Hallawell brings to Riot over 25 years of experience across film, theatre and arts publicity. She joins from Kate Morley PR where she devised and delivered campaigns for West End productions including To Kill A Mockingbird starring Matthew Modine and Dr Semmelweis with Mark Rylance, plus retained clients including Kiln Theatre. Prior to that she created and led a new Influencer Engagement offering for Jersey Road PR. Earlier in her career, Hallawell worked at Shakespeare’s Globe where she led the theatre’s PR campaigns including for the opening of the indoor Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. Her experience in film includes distribution publicity for the UK releases of American Beauty, Shakespeare in Love and East is East and representing international titles at the Cannes and Berlin film festivals.

In addition to these two new hires, Jules Baretto, who started as an intern at Riot in September 2023, has been offered a permanent role at the agency as an Account Executive. To date, he has worked across a wide range of accounts from Aardman to the Nero Book Awards.

Caitlin Allen, MD at Riot Communications, said: “We are so excited to welcome these two brilliant talents to Riot. Our foundations are in books and our ambition will always be to work with the best of the best in that space, an ambition which will be supported by Orla’s experience on both sides of the in-house/agency relationship within the publishing industry. Meanwhile our client list across TV, film, theatre and heritage continues to grow – and I’m delighted to have Julia and Orla joining as we expand our work further across the arts and entertainment world. In Jules we found the most passionate, enthusiastic and dedicated intern, so are very pleased that he has accepted a permanent position too.”

 

Picture: Orla Houston-Jibo and Julia Hallawell © Marc Sethi