Amanda Brown

Head of PR, First Direct

first direct, the UK's leading online bank, has been recognised as pushing the boundaries in the use of digital media.  In 2009 it launched Talking Point, the first open forum for bank customers where they can both leave comments and be responded to.  More recently the bank launched firstdirect lab where prospects and customers can interact with new initiatives before they are launched and so help shape future products and services.

Amanda is head of PR at first direct and has been responsible for spearheading a series of its innovative campaigns for nearly ten years. In the last 3 years Amanda has developed and launched the bank’s groundbreaking and award winning social media newsroom which has now also been launched within HSBC.  This gave the bank a whole new PR dynamic but also threw up the thorny issue of who own's social media and how to overcome the barriers this presents.