AdPack USA opens for business in London

Branded tissue marketing company AdPack USA has opened an office in London, its first venture into the European market following a successful launch in the United States.

The out-of-home marketing company has marked its new office opening by donating 10,000 branded tissue packs to Samaritans. Specialising in intercept marketing and place-based advertising on promotional facial tissues, AdPack has taken the Japanese trend of tissue pack advertising and introduced it to the North American marketplace. To date, AdPack has achieved success with clients such as Commerce Bank, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Five Below retail stores and Lowe's, among many others.

Managing the London office is Gavin Towers, who has spent the last two years of his career at Itochu Europe, the parent company of AdPack USA, working in the Forest Products (division/group) dealing with the Cenibra pulp, paper and print business. Prior to that, Towers spent 18 years at EBB Paper, the largest independent paper merchant in the UK, where he served as the company's branch manager. To commemorate the opening of its London office, AdPack donated 10,000 branded moisturised tissue packs to Samaritans, a non-profit organisation providing 24-hour, confidential and non-judgmental emotional support to people of all ages throughout the UK, with advertising created by Lunar BBDO.

Founded in 1953, Samaritans is one of the UK's most admired charitable organisations with more than 200 branches throughout the UK and Ireland. Samaritans offers confidential assistance through its 24-hour phone line for people experiencing distress, despair or thoughts of suicide. "We are finding that more marketers are looking for a non-traditional and more impactful way to reach their targeted audience," said Steve Jacobs, president, AdPack USA. "Our expansion into London is testament to our success in the United States and the start - we hope - of further European expansion.