PENNEBAKER Expands International Presence Through Alliance With Fifth Ring

HOUSTON, TX, Aug 27 (MARKET WIRE) --
Pennebaker, the award-winning branding, advertising and marketing
communications firm, announced today that it has joined with Fifth Ring,
an integrated corporate communications firm based in Aberdeen, U.K. and
Dubai, UAE, to provide customers with expanded services and international
reach. The new alliance, called Pennebaker Fifth Ring, will offer
strategic communications services to clients within the United States and
internationally, and adds a public relations offering to the existing
Pennebaker portfolio of services.

"Pennebaker has been working on international projects from our Houston
base for many years," said Ward Pennebaker, principal of Pennebaker. "The
alliance with Fifth Ring is the next logical step for us to achieve true
international coverage. Our clients appreciate what we can do for them
from here, but they have told us they would like a local presence of the
same quality on the ground in Europe and the Middle East. Joining with
Fifth Ring will help us accommodate our clients' growing needs, as well as
provide value-added, seamless services around the world."

Pennebaker, established in 1984, has a team of 22 and offers a variety of
marketing communication support, such as strategic marketing and research,
corporate identity development, marketing collateral production,
advertising, packaging, web design, multimedia and motion graphics.
Pennebaker has an impressive client list, including AIG Retirement, the
Bristow Group, ChevronTexaco, Exxon Mobil, HIMA, Motiva, Mitsubishi,
Schlumberger, United Way of Greater Houston and VAM Drilling.

Pennebaker Fifth Ring's U.S. capabilities will be immediately enhanced
with the addition of a public relations department headed by Brad Leone,
who joins the company as General Manager and head of public relations.
Leone joins Pennebaker Fifth Ring from Houston-based Vollmer Public
Relations, where he was General Manager of the Houston office. With
extensive experience in energy, technology, healthcare and financial
services, Leone brings a diverse range of PR and strategic communications
knowledge to Pennebaker Fifth Ring.

Even before its official launch, Pennebaker Fifth Ring has been attracting
new international business. In June, it announced its first client win of
AESI Holdings Inc. and its subsidiaries Gilmore Valve and Azura. AESI is
the parent company of Hydrafit Subsea, a client of Fifth Ring. The scope
of work includes redeveloping AESI's identity, brand and marketing
collateral, as well as a public relations campaign. This new business is
a clear indication of Pennebaker Fifth Ring's international offering and
the value its establishment holds for both existing clients and future
prospects.

Ian Ord, business development director of Fifth Ring in Aberdeen, said,
"Fifth Ring has been searching for a compatible business in Houston with
matching business principles and complementary skills for some time and
Pennebaker has proven to be the ideal fit. The opening of the new Houston
office is another milestone towards accomplishing our vision to build a
truly international company within the major energy hubs of the world. But
energy, although important, is not the whole story and it's not just our
oil and gas clients who stand to benefit. With a strong increase in
commercial links between Houston and the Middle East, other core sectors
such as financial and professional services, medical and education will
also profit from our new offering. We are very excited about this new
venture and confident that Pennebaker Fifth Ring will help grow our
international client base."

Clif Collier, group managing director of Fifth Ring based in Dubai,
summarises: "As a result of producing our long-term vision and strategic
business development plan, we realised that to meet the level of growth we
aspired to, we would have to expand our international offering. And with
the growing cross pollination between Aberdeen, Dubai and Houston we found
ourselves very much in a position where we could truly work with clients
on their international strategy, but at the same time deliver powerful --
and localised -- marketing communication messages."

Notes to Editors:

Pennebaker, one of Houston's premier branding, marketing, and
communication firms, has been producing award-winning work for 25 years.
The company also provides litigation support services inclusive of
international arbitration. Pennebaker's expanding client base includes
national and international clients from a wide spectrum of industry
segments including energy, food and beverage, professional services,
infrastructure, medical, technology, hospitality and education.
Pennebaker won 12 Awards and 6 Citations of Excellence from American
Marketing Association and American Advertising Federation in 2008.

Fifth Ring, established 1991 in Aberdeen, offers clients an integrated
service of brand and strategy development, design, digital media,
advertising and PR. The company since opened offices in Dubai, UAE in 2003
and Inverness, UK in 2007. Fifth Ring has recently reached over 50 staff
members after a year of successes across the company. It won the Chartered
Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) silver award in the Integrated
Communications category for Scotland, while the Aberdeen office was ranked
7th in Scotland by industry magazine The Drum, based on financial
performance. It has also seen the launch of its own staff development
program, Fruition, and is now recognized on the Recommended Agency
Register.

Media Contacts:

Susan Pennebaker
Principal
Email Contact
(713) 963-8607 x 114

Brad Leone
General Manager, Public Relations
Email Contact
(713) 457-2139

Copyright 2008, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

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