“For me, media relations is everything. It is really important that my PR agency team has good relationships with local journalists.” – Simon Coughlin, Guidewire
When an international company operates across several markets, public relations cannot simply consist of translating the same message from one country to another. Each country has its own media landscape, editorial expectations, local topics and relationship dynamics, which means global communications teams need local partners who understand both the broader strategy and the realities on the ground.
For Guidewire, whose cloud platform supports P&C insurers in modernising their systems, Europe is a key region for growth, and France is one of its priority markets. In this context, the role of a local PR agency is not only to secure media opportunities, but also to provide local counsel, build strong relationships with journalists, support spokespeople and help coordinate campaigns with other agencies across Europe.
We spoke with Simon Coughlin, Senior Manager, Public Relations – EMEA at Guidewire, about why local expertise matters in an international communications strategy, and how OneChocolate supports Guidewire’s media relations activity in France.
What makes a strong local PR agency when working internationally?
For me, a local PR agency needs to have superb media relations. It needs to know the journalists who are interested in Guidewire, and who are interested in the types of topics that we are happy to speak about. I really feel that I have that with OneChocolate. The team has always given me a lot of confidence in its knowledge of local journalists, what they are writing about, and the opportunities for Guidewire to comment on relevant articles.
Because we are US-headquartered and have a relatively small communications team, I also need to know that my regional agencies are proactive and working hard on our behalf in their local regions. What would not help is having a regional agency that simply sits back and waits for news to happen. We are a fairly conservative organisation and we do not publish a huge number of press releases, so we do not always have a massive amount of news to announce to the market. Therefore, we need an agency that is very proactive and thinking about the stories we could be part of.
Client service is also integral to me. By that, I mean maintaining regular communication, building a good rapport with the client, and always thinking outside of the box. It means always keeping Guidewire top of mind and looking for the types of stories we could potentially be involved in.
What can a company reasonably expect from PR today?
For Guidewire, quality matters more than quantity.
Because we are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and growing quickly in Europe, it is really important that we have quality rather than quantity of media coverage. What I need from my agency, and what OneChocolate provides, is quality opportunities rather than a wider range of low-quality opportunities.
But the company also needs to be ready internally to make the most of those opportunities. For a global company, particularly one that is headquartered outside Europe, you need local spokespeople who have a great understanding of the local market and are able to build good relationships with local journalists.
That is why we do a lot of work around training and ensuring that our spokespeople know the messages we want to push out to the local market. Having local spokespeople address local issues is massively important, particularly in France, where we have strong spokespeople and where OneChocolate has built trusted relationships with those senior leaders, while also helping them build relationships with local journalists.
How important is coordination between agencies across different countries?
Our annual European consumer survey is a joint effort between our agencies in France, Germany, the UK and Spain. For a multinational project like this, it is really important to have voices from each local market represented.
The agencies provide excellent input into the questions that we need to ask consumers, because the agency representatives on the ground know the local market. They know the topics which are of most interest to local consumers.
We would not be able to have an effective campaign without those local voices, and OneChocolate does a really good job of feeding into those questions. That preparation is massively important to the success of this type of project.
It is not just about the content, it is also about the strategy around media relations. For our annual European consumer survey, which we have been running for the past six years, OneChocolate supports us with an in-person media briefing in Paris ahead of the launch each year. The team has helped us attract a good quality and quantity of journalists, which has led to good coverage.
For me, it is about thinking carefully about the message, what will be of interest to journalists, and how we can ensure that journalists receive the message in a timely, engaging manner through our spokespeople.
What role do press trips and major events play in your media relations strategy?
Guidewire holds two large events each year. We have a global event in the United States, called Connections, which has been held in Las Vegas for the past two years, and we also hold an annual European Forum.
The role of the agency is really important to me. When the OneChocolate team was with me in Las Vegas in 2025, they really supported the French journalists on the ground. They entertained them and made sure they had all the information they needed. They were a really valuable resource to have with me at the event.
Connections is a massive event, with more than 3,000 delegates, and I am personally very busy going from meeting to meeting. It is really important that I have someone from OneChocolate with me who is able to support the French journalists, make sure they are happy and content, and check whether they have any additional needs.
The same applies to our European Forum. In 2025, it was in Paris, and in 2026, it was in Brussels. Again, the OneChocolate team was with me on the ground, making sure that the French journalists present were speaking with the right people and that our spokespeople were giving the right messages. They are an integral part of my event support team.
Would you recommend OneChocolate as a PR agency?
Yes, I would definitely recommend OneChocolate.
For me, the team has been an invaluable support within France for Guidewire. We are a growing US-headquartered company, Europe is one of our integral markets for growth, and within that, France is definitely one of our key markets.
We rely on the OneChocolate team and its local expertise, local media relations and understanding of the market. We rely on its counsel to help us refine and repurpose messaging.
OneChocolate has played an important role in the success we’ve achieved over the past few years, and I am very thankful for their partnership and support.
Thank you to Simon Coughlin for sharing his perspective on international PR, local media relations and the role of regional agencies in supporting global communications strategies.
Interview conducted by Lison Ricq
