2017 Business Excellence Awards

68 Acquisition International - Business Excellence Awards 2017 Perception PR SecureKey Technologies Inc Public Relations Company of the Year 2017 - Milton Keynes Best Identity Network Provider - Ontario Perception PR SecureKey Technologies Perception PR is a public relations agency specialising in supporting clients from across the leisure industry. We caught up with Leigh Strathearn to find out more. SecureKey is a leading identity and authentication provider that simplifies consumer access to online services and applications. We profile the firm to explore the techniques which have driven it to its current success. Company: Perception PR Contact: Leigh Strathearn Contact Email: Leigh@ perception-pr.co.uk Address: PO box 7615, Milton Keynes, MK19 6XD Phone: 01908 683514 Web Address: www.perception-pr.co.uk Company: SecureKey Technologies Contact: Sarah Kirk-Douglas Contact Email: [email protected] Web Address: www.securekey.com BE170098 BE170097 Perception PR is a leisure focused agency and work with a range of shopping centres, restaurant chains, garden centres and the fitness industry. The firm is just entering into its 11th year in business, and as such leverages its youth to offer clients a flexible, dynamic service focused on staying at the forefront of emerging market developments, as Leigh explains. “Here at Perception PR we work incredibly hard for our clients and have evolved over the past few years as the traditional term of PR has changed unpredictably. As a young agency we understand the new platforms to position our clients and the influencers in digital media that can help make a business successful. Our background is bar, clubs and restaurants which has helped us to explore our creativity.” Within the wider PR industry, the Founded in 2008, SecureKey’s next generation privacy-enhancing services enable consumers to conveniently and privately assert identity information using trusted providers, such as banks, telcos and governments, and help them connect to critical online services with a digital credential they already have and trust. Since inception the firm has obtained an impressive history of producing products and services such as SecureKey Concierge™ that prevent consumer identity fraud while always putting the privacy and empowerment of consumers first. SecureKey’s technology allows consumers to use trusted sources, such as financial institutions, telecom network operators and governments, to authenticate with and assert their identities for accessing the services of participating organizations. Recently, SecureKey and the Digital ID Authentication Council of Canada were awarded with an up to $800,000 grant to build a privacy enhancing cloud-based identity ecosystem, from the Command Control and Interoperability Center for Advanced Data Analytics (CCICADA). The CCICADA, a research center of excellence, receives its funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate, underscoring the great international importance of what SecureKey is hoping to achieve with digital identity. market is evolving and traditional media still has its value but, ultimately, this is changing. This change has affected the dynamics of firms such as Perception PR, and in order to remain at the forefront of the digital revolution the firm has evolved with the industry and utilised its links in the industry to apply best standards, as Leigh concludes. “Moving forward, our main aspiration is to continue to be the best and be known for it. Our clients are our focus and will remain so as we seek to offer them the very best service and solutions in the industry. Staff satisfaction is as important as our clients and we ensure they receive the best training and guidance while working with some of the biggest brands in the UK so that they are motivated and able to provide our clients with the most cutting edge service on the market.” Six of Canada’s leading financial institutions (BMO, CIBC, Desjardins, RBC, Scotiabank and TD) have been engaged as both investors and partners in the development of this digital identity ecosystem, providing $27M in funding and working closely with SecureKey on the development of the solution itself. This unique collaboration will ensure the effective delivery of the new innovation and digital fraud prevention to both consumers and other service providers across Canada. Lastly, the firm have recently announced that it will be working with IBM to deliver the digital identity and attribute network powered by blockchain in Canada and around the world. Using IBM’s blockchain technology, consumers can instantly verify their identity online, without the risk of fraud, identity theft or data breaches via hacking, as SecureKey ensure that all data is not stored in one central place.