Blanket Group Expands With Partnerships Division

LONDON — The Blanket Group, a London-based global marketing and communications group, is expanding its services into talent and partnerships in its new venture, Blanket Partnerships.

The new arm will sit alongside the group’s two other divisions — Blanket London, which deals with traditional PR, and Blanket Network, which helps beauty individuals raise their profiles. Its roster includes celebrity hairstylist Sam McKnight; Kathleen Baird-Murray, the founder of La Pyae Apothecary, and Dr. Wassim J. Taktouk, a London-based aesthetics doctor. 

Blanket Partnerships will be a heavily commercial enterprise, from makeup artist sponsorships on the red carpet to larger beauty deals, such as Lancôme’s annual partnership with the British Academy Film Awards, otherwise known as the BAFTAs.

The team will be run by Emily Shanks, founding partner of Blanket Group, and Joanna Moursi, associate director of VIP and publicity.

Prior to her current role, Shanks was a talent manager at Storm Model Management and Moursi has been with Blanket Group since 2018.

“Our combined expertise means we are able to deliver high-impact, scalable activations across all budget levels. Amplifying these offline moments, generating meaningful online buzz and securing authentic endorsements from influential voices, whether it’s for a brand launch, cultural moment, campaign or product drop,” Moursi said.

Shanks added that it’s about creating momentum from offline activations, which are recurring in the beauty industry.

At this year’s BAFTAs, Blanket Group helped with sponsoring 46 looks on the red carpet.

“We’re picking actors to work with makeup artists and to create content for their respective channels. We’re picking people who may not have a film out that year and therefore aren’t invited, so we create a package for them that covers their transport, glam and styling. It’s about creating a relationship between the brands and the actors,” Shanks said.

Blanket Group invited Daisy Edgar-Jones to the BAFTAs with Lancôme before the height of her fame with “Normal People.”

“She now has brand deals in other places, but there’s still a lot of loyalty from her,” Shanks explained.

Blanket Partnerships was born out of demand. 

“Everyone is expected to know how the celebrity talent space works now and it’s still a niche space that’s being tapped by communications agencies,” Shanks said.

As a result of a global economic slowdown, communication agencies are getting savvy in how to marshal their resources.

Blanket Partnerships will operate through a retainer contract, one-off projects and add-ons to its existing clientele, who may need a helping hand from time to time with special projects.