Red Flag Consulting
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Red Flag is a public relations (PR) company with offices in London, Dublin, Brussels, Washington DC and Cape Town.1 Alongside companies from the biotechnology, food and alcohol industries, its client list has included British American Tobacco (BAT) and the Consumer Choice Center (CCC), which has received funding from BAT and other tobacco companies.
In February 2025, Ankura Consulting Group announced its acquisition of Red Flag.2
Background
Founded in 2013 by Karl Brophy in Dublin, Ireland, it offers services such as coalition building, grassroots mobilisation, reputation management and political engagement.34 Brophy was previously a partner in PR company Hume Brophy.5
In July 2021, Red Flag acquired International Business-Government Counsellors, a US lobbying firm that specialises in “providing technical advice to large corporate companies on trade legislation.”6
Relationship with the Tobacco Industry
In 2018, Red Flag lobbied the Irish Government on behalf of PJ Carroll, BAT’s main Irish subsidiary, on e-cigarettes and smoking cessation.789
According to the EU Transparency register, BAT was a client of Red Flag from 2017 to 2023.1011 The company lobbied for BAT on the EU tobacco policy.10
As of March 2026, BAT once again listed Red Flag as an intermediary,1213 although BAT did not appear as a client on the Red Flag entry.1415
The Red Flag website states that the services it offers include strategic counsel, communications, government relations and advocacy, risk monitoring and analysis, research, and reputation management.
It also states that it delivers “coalition building and grassroots activation”.16 See astroturfing.
Consumer Choice Center and World Vapers Alliance
The Consumer Choice Center (CCC), which is supported by BAT and has received funding from other tobacco companies, was also listed on the EU register as a client of Red Flag from 2020 to 2021.10 CCC’s 2021 tax return shows that it paid Red Flag over US$2.2 million for “strategic communications”,17 and a further US$200,000 in 2022.18
The World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) was set up and funded by CCC, and also directly supported by BAT.1920 Red Flag maintained the WVA website between December 2019 and April 2022.2122 According to an investigation by Le Monde and The Investigative Desk, Red Flag was involved in WVA’s “Back Vaping. Beat Smoking” campaign, which saw a branded van visiting major European cities including Geneva during the 9th Conference of the Parties (COP 9) to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).20
The investigation describes Red Flag’s speciality as setting “up movements that seem to be grassroots-oriented, but are not.”20 In response, Karl Brophy told the Business Post in July 2022 that WVA was no longer a client of Red Flag, and the relationship had been brief.23
Relevant Link
- Red flag website
Tobacco Tactics Resources