Double whammy

It’s great to see Neptunus’ work at the London Olympics recognised in the temporary structures feature on pages 31 – 36 of the June 2013 issue of Access All Areas. There’s a great image showcasing the London 2012 Megastore that Neptunus built.

In the same issue on pages 6 - 8 Neptunus showed off more blooming marvellous structures at the Royal Chelsea Flower Show.

Tiger's loss is good news for Augusta

The dramatic finish to this year's US Masters, the fairytale conclusion to Adam Scott's quest to win a Major following his last-round collapse in last year's Open and the crowd's vociferous reaction to his victory drowned out the huge sighs of relief emanating from the committee room of Augusta's clubhouse.

Having added a stroke to a 14 year old Chinese amateur's score for taking a few seconds too long over a couple of golf shots - the first penalty of its kind in 17 years - the Master's powers-that-be then shot themselves in the foot by showing Tiger Woods the kind of leniency that the Catholic church has shown some members of its priesthood over the last few decades.

Surely, the golf world's number one golfer is well aware of what happens when his ball goes in the water... as well as the penalty for not following the rules of the game.

And every golfer in the world knows what happens when you sign for the wrong score - which is what Tiger did. You're disqualified. Full stop. End of story. Unless you're Tiger.

The committee dragged out a rule of golf brought in a couple of years ago specifically to address the issue caused by eagle-eyed television viewers watching hi-definition close-ups of televised competitions and reporting the minutest of transgressions that went unnoticed on the course itself.

It recognised that disqualification was too draconian a punishment for instances where players inadvertently incurred penalties when, for example, their ball shifted slightly while their attention was elsewhere.

Desperate to ensure their box-office attraction kept up the viewing figures for all four days of the Masters, the committee invoked this rule. By doing so, it trampled all over the spirit of the game and possibly changed golf forever, with club players demanding a two-shot penalty for signing for a wrong score, rather than accepting disqualification.

That result is bad enough. But what if Tiger had won? What would that have done for the credibility of this particular tournament - possibly the biggest in the world? What would it have done for the integrity of the game as a whole?

This issue would have run and run. Tiger's image would have taken more of a battering. Augusta would have been discredited. Reputations would have been in tatters.

When asked about the one-stroke penalty imposed on the Chinese eighth-grader, which happened on the same day as his own transgression, Wood's response was "Rules are rules."

Apparently, that succinct statement is open to interpretation.

Another for the collection

No, we're not talking about Wayne Rooney's winner against the Ukraine last night.

Or, indeed, yet another reason why goal-line technology should be introduced sooner rather than later (well done John Terry - four words I never thought would be seen together).

We're talking about the Motor Transport Awards and our win in the Training category on behalf of a logistics client.

Félicitations tout le monde!

The Grudge Match

In the spirit of Euro 2012, which is just around the corner (as is another sporting event that I'm struggling to recall), we wondered what would happen if Public Relations played Advertising.

Let's kick off...

Think about the last time you read a newspaper or magazine. It doesn’t have to be a ‘worthy’ title – if it was this morning’s Sun, then it was this morning’s Sun. (After all, this is just between you and us!)

Can you remember some of the stories you read? What were they about?

Okay, now thinking about the same publication, how many advertisements can you remember?

Over the years, we’ve asked these questions to many clients and potential clients and the answers are always the same – they remember what they read and nothing (or next to nothing) of the advertisements that were in the same publication.

Public Relations 1 Advertising 0

Now, looking at the stories you remember, how much of that editorial did you believe? Put another way, how much of what you read did you think was a pack of lies? We reckon your answer to the latter is zero.

That’s because a publication’s readers accept that the editor has filled his or her pages with information that he or she believes is credible and genuinely of interest. The vetting process has already been completed. The printed results can be taken at face value.

Can the same credibility be attached to products and services featured in an advertisement, or is there an obvious bias?

Public Relations 2 Advertising 0

Half time. Break out the oranges.

Now don’t get us wrong. Advertising has a significant role to play in the marketing mix assuming (a) you have the budget required to achieve the impact you need and (b) the resulting sales justify the expenditure.

Taking out advertising space enables you to say exactly what you want about your business and to present those messages in an eye-catching format.

Public Relations 2 Advertising 1

But what if you don’t have the budget necessary to make the campaign a success? Normally, one advertisement won’t do. You’ll need a campaign over a period of time. Cutting your coat according to your cloth may mean cutting the size of the advertisement, but a small advertisement – or even a series of small advertisements - can be easily overlooked.

Placing a full-page advertisement in a well-targeted trade press journal can set you back £1000 just for the space. But what if your potential customers have, say, three or four well-targeted journals to read. What if your customers are ranged across different market sectors, each of which has their own relevant publications?

An effective advertising campaign can quickly go beyond the reach of the vast majority of businesses out there,

Yet for the price of one full-page advertisement or less, a public relations campaign could secure editorial coverage for your business across a range of relevant titles and over a period of time – giving you the opportunity to reach a bigger target audience and to enhance your prospect of sales.

Public Relations 3 Advertising 1

Full time. 

And no need for penalties.

Do they do awards for award success?

I ask the question because we have just secured the Mobile News Best Airtime Distributor award for one of our major clients. And we have now achieved a shortlisting for them in two more award schemes that will enable them to raise their profile in important market sectors, even if they don't win.

In addition, we have another client shortlisted in the Motor Transport Awards in the supply chain industry.

All in the space of six weeks, which I reckon is quite impressive.

If there was an award for award success, I think we'd have a chance.

Whether we'd have the time to enter is another matter.

We'd have to hire ourselves to get the job done!

Helping to make Lutterworth Ecolighting shine

We're delighted to announce we've been appointed to handle public relations activity on behalf of energy-efficient lighting specialists, Lutterworth Ecolighting.

Lutterworth Ecolighting designs, manufactures and installs energy-efficient lighting solutions in warehousing and industrial operations throughout the UK.

The company’s key message is a biggie for business.

Lutterworth Ecolighting's fully automatic lighting systems only operate when required by incorporating individual motion detection and daylight dimming technology. This results in customers regularly achieving savings of more than 70 per cent in energy costs.

I'll say it again - savings of more than 70% in energy costs. AND the light quality makes working environments brighter and safer places to be. PLUS the energy saved helps significantly with the user's carbon reduction commitments.

Lutterworth Ecolighting is a quality company managed by great people, with an excellent product range and a fantastic sales message.

It's going to be a pleasure working with them.

Come on, come one, come on, come on Take That and party!!!

When Take That recently announced the release of more tickets for their hotly-anticipated Progress tour on Friday 10th December, I was so excited! I’d missed out the first time round as the tickets sold out in record time. And it’s Take That with Robbie back after 16 years! Could it be magic?


I had a problem, the tickets went on sale at 10am and I was meant to be hard at work in the office, securing press coverage for my clients. A quick text message to Phil explaining my plight resulted in the required clearance to try and secure the coveted tickets.

I informed all my colleagues about my plans and Faye got excited as she also wanted to see the band. The whole team was poised by their computers and phones in the office, ready to secure eight tickets to see the boys in their hometown of Manchester.

10am came and went. All the phone lines were engaged and the websites were busy. I was praying to get through. It was quite frantic at one point. Phil strolled in and told me to have a little patience. Perseverance eventually paid off and both Faye and I managed to acquire our tickets by 10.15am. Yeah!

I hope Take That are back for good and can’t wait to see them. I expect it will be the greatest day of 2011.

Yet another award win for yet another client!

Congratulations to PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Honeywell Building Solutions, who managed to win the Partners in Corporate Social Responsibility category at last night's PFM (Premises & Facilities Management) Awards 2010.

Both companies have put a lot of work into ensuring that over 40 PwC premises across the country operate efficiently and cost-effectively. Energy management and corporate environmental sustainability play a big part in the process and were the focus of the award submission.

We put the entry together, but last night's success is down to the quality of the partnership and the results that have been achieved, pure and simple.

It was probably the easiest entry we have ever compiled, but we'll still claim a little of the credit for making a silk purse our of a... er... silk purse!

Well done guys!

New client for Quiet Storm

As the toughest of economic times continue to test UK Plc, we are thrilled to report that we have picked up a prestigious new account with leading productivity solutions provider, RedPrairie.

With over 20 global offices and more than 34,000 customers in over 40 countries, RedPrairie provides technology-led productivity solutions in the fields of inventory, workforce and transportation management. The company’s EMEA headquarters are at Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire.

In addition to helping RedPrairie to maintain its position as Europe’s leading provider of warehouse management systems, we are supporting the strategic and tactical marketing of RedPrairie’s workforce and transportation management solutions.

RedPrairie is a great fit with our existing client base and further cements our position as one of the UK’s leading providers of PR and associated services to companies in and around the supply chain industry.

But don't just take our word for it. 

RedPrairie’s UK Marketing Manager, Natalie Green says: “From our very first contact with Quiet Storm, they have gone the extra mile - not only to win our business but, having succeeded, to meet and exceed our high expectations.

“Quiet Storm’s track record in a number of our key sectors was impressive and we are already seeing encouraging results in the media we know our prospective customers read and respect.” 

 

Sharing is caring

We recently sponsored one of our clients (Nick Payne) to complete the Three Peaks 24 hour Challenge and he climbed the three highest peaks in the UK in 23 hours and 15 minutes.

We were all very impressed by his achievement in the office and the money went to Cancer Research UK.

Needless to say we were all very touched when we received a thank you note in the post from Nick and his wife Amanda.

Amanda said: “We have raised an amazing amount, rest assured every penny will make a difference towards valuable research but also by helping to raise awareness of the disease.

“Thank you, once again from the bottom of my heart for helping us make a difference.”

Keep up the good work Nick and Amanda!