Goodyear Dunlop Takes The Plunge In Charity Launch

Employees from Midlands tyre giant Goodyear Dunlop have taken their fundraising to new heights to launch the company’s support of Teenage Cancer Trust.

The company, best known for its commitment to safety and innovation, has pledged to raise £30,000 for the charity to be spent on a specialist teenage cancer unit at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

To officially launch the fundraising, twelve Goodyear Dunlop associates threw their fears aside and descended 120ft down the renowned Fort Dunlop building, situated in Erdington.

Mark Brickhill, Group Managing Director said: “Teenage Cancer Trust is a fantastic charity, and we are thrilled to be supporting the development of a unit at Birmingham Children’s Hospital that will be the first in the county for 13 to 16 year olds.

“We have been so touched by the work that the charity does and I’m certain that all of our associates will get firmly behind the fundraising to help to make a difference to the lives of the young people who face this terrible illness.

“I would like to thank those who undertook the abseil for kick starting what I’m sure will be a fierce fundraising campaign.”

Having raised and donated over £52,000 to the Children’s Hospital in 2008, the company is no stranger to fundraising, and will be organising a variety of events throughout the year in order to reach the target.

Paula Hancox of Teenage Cancer Trust said: “We are delighted to have the support of a company like Goodyear Dunlop and are very grateful at its pledge to help support the building of a specialist unit.

“The development of a Teenage Cancer Trust unit in Birmingham means that young people from across the West Midlands will have access to the comprehensive services they need to help fight this terrible disease.

“The funds raised by Goodyear Dunlop will go towards ensuring that young people with the illness have the chance to be teenagers first and cancer patients second.”

To make a donation and support the charity abseil, visit
www.teenagecancertrust.org/sponsor/Goodyear_Dunlop

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For further information contact Meg on 021 355 3446 or email megan@haslimanntaylor.com

Goodyear Dunlop employee Kirsty Williams takes the 120ft plunge down Fort Dunlop

PR That Takes The Mick

Dan Clifford, director at Haslimann Taylor, writes:

If you were ever looking for examples that prove the power of PR, one of the best places to turn your attention to is the sporting world.

Sometimes it is natural and often it has been worked on very carefully, but the effect of good PR is all too obvious in this high profile arena. Take last week’s US Open golf held in New York. You would expect the world to be rooting for Tiger Woods, he’s the best player on the planet (probably the best to have ever played the game), it’s a privilege to watch him ply his trade, and he is gunning for a record that nobody had thought could ever be broken.

But people weren’t pulling for Woods, because he might be the best but he is not their champion – that title goes to Phil Mickelson*. And why? Just look on message boards, picture galleries or read a few features. Along with being a very fine competitor Mickelson is a PR machine. “Have just stood and watched Phil sign autographs for two hours in the rain – he stayed until he had signed for everyone in the queue” reads one post. “Just seen Phil and his family at the In N Out Burger drive through – what a legend”, “Played in a corporate golf day yesterday and Phil Mickelson was in my team, he turned up wearing shorts carrying his own bag and introduced himself to me and my colleagues by saying ‘hi I’m Phil’”. Quite simply, he knows how to play the game on and off the course. And it matters more now than ever. Social networking and the thirst to share every juicy bit of information have combined to mean that forums, message boards and personal sites are helping to shape the perceptions and images of everybody – and it really matters. If people like Mickelson, then they want to use the same clubs as him, wear the same clothes, eat at the same chains, drive the same car etc.

And that’s the point – this isn’t about Phil Mickelson. It’s just that I’m golf obsessed and he’s a very good illustration of how PR can be so powerful when done genuinely and done consistently. Brand Mickelson shouldn’t be more popular than brand Woods. But it is. Because it reaches out to people, communicates with them, gives them a good experience and encourages them to tell others because they feel priviledged. It doesn’t always deliver the very best, but it’s forgiven because it apologises, it offers to put itself out to compensate and it is accessible. And this PR works in the very best way – you start it and your brand fans embrace it and take the message out further and deeper than you ever could.

By the way, Phil didn’t win the US Open – he came second. But I’m sure the young golf fan he sat down next to on the grass verge by the green to applaud the winner will remember it differently.

* Phil Mickelson is now taking time away from golf as his wife Amy battles breast cancer. We wish her a speedy and full recovery.

“Get Experience To Get An Edge”

Anya Court, graduand of University of Birmingham, writes about her work experience placement at Haslimann Taylor:

So you’re a student weighing up your career options. How about a glamorous PR job – an endless orgy of champagne-fuelled launch parties, tottering into the office in designer heels and hanging out with celebrities? If this is your impression of PR, then clearly you haven’t done work experience!

Before I embarked on a work experience placement at Haslimann Taylor I wasn’t so naïve as to think a career in PR fitted the jaded stereotype of Eddy Monsoon, or even her modern counterpart Lauren Conrad, but I’ll admit I still had only a vague idea of what the ‘day job’ entailed.

If you really want to find out what a career is like, asking people already working in that sector, googling ‘PR’, or allowing yourself to be influenced by films and television is just not enough; you have to experience it for yourself. It is also now more vital than ever to get work experience under your belt to give your graduate job applications an edge. Not only are there more graduates generally, many of whom want to pursue popular careers like PR, but we are in the midst of a recession which means less entry-level opportunities for graduates.

The best advice I can give to students is that it is never too early to begin getting work experience. Your first and second years at university are ideal for building up your CV because you have spare time in which to do it. Come third year, with the pressure of a dissertation, numerous essays and your finals suddenly it dawns on you that you haven’t even thought about your career options, you’ll wish you hadn’t spent all your summers boozed up in the Balearics.

You may even find that a period of work experience will completely change your career ambitions. During my A-Levels and first and second years reading English at University of Birmingham I had my heart set on newspaper journalism, so began to build up my portfolio and CV by writing off to local, regional and national newspapers to get any work experience I could.

I undertook placements at my local hometown newspaper as well as at The Sunday Mercury, a regional tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, and two nationals, The Sunday Mirror and The Times. I got a lot out of them, finding that I had to show journalists and editors that I was capable and build a good relationship with them before they allowed me to write articles, some of which I’m proud to say were published.

My aspirations changed however when I attended a talk organised by my university careers service where Bron Eames, managing director at Haslimann Taylor, conducted a presentation on careers in PR. I decided to give work experience there a try, to see life on the other side of the fence, and found that PR involves much more variety than I’d thought, with no two days the same.

Work experience at Haslimann Taylor is very well structured, with a clear and organised programme of work in place – a contrast to the newsroom where I had to beg and plead for meaningful assignments.

I found that PR can be a thankless job at times, with hours spent phoning time-pressed journalists who often see you as an unwelcome distraction to the job in hand. I begin my spiel, and then hear a tapping down the phone line and realise that they have continued to type, phone held between ear and shoulder, and are only half-listening to me while I try to sell-in a story. I have realised that to succeed in PR you have to take this kind of thing on the chin!

In my opinion, Haslimann Taylor offers excellent work experience placements. In the weeks I have spent with the company I have gained knowledge of most of the agency’s clients and have completed a variety of jobs from writing press releases, to working on client websites and helping organise events to attending a client meeting. There has been the odd tea round, but less than you’d imagine as even the MD Bron chips in!

Having spent a total of seven weeks at Haslimann Taylor, I now feel confident that I understand what a career in PR truly involves. Over the coming weeks as I begin my search for my first proper PR role, I will actually know what I’m talking about and can demonstrate a portfolio of real client work I have completed. It’s an edge I hope may just make the difference for me in this undoubtedly tough year for graduate recruitment.

Anya Court during her work experience placement with Haslimann Taylor

Calling All Snorers!

If you’re kept awake every night by the nocturnal rumblings of the person next to you, help is at hand.

A Snoring Boot Camp has been organised by Helps Stop Snoring, makers of the UK’s leading snoring remedy, after the first event of its kind proved to be so successful last year.

With hundreds of applications received last year from people at the end of their tether, Helps Stop Snoring is offering snorers a second chance to stand up and take orders at this year’s army-style Snoring Boot Camp.

If you’re snoring is becoming a nocturnal nuisance, or if you’re sick of someone else’s snoring preventing you from sleeping, Helps Stop Snoring wants to hear from you. The UK’s six worst snorers, taking into account lifestyle and snoring history, will be called up for service at the three-day grunt-busting course, which will take place at a top secret location.

The weekend will be overseen by the Boot Camp ‘Sergeant Major’ and will include advice from a leading Ear, Nose and Throat specialist, along with input from a crack team of fitness and nutrition experts.

Graham Carr-Smith of Helps Stop Snoring said: “After the success of last year’s event, with five out of our six snorers seeing a dramatic reduction in the level of their snoring over the weekend of therapy, we thought we’d bring Boot Camp back to give people another chance to enter.

“The aim of the event is to provide as much information as possible to the selected snorers and their families, helping them to reduce or stop their snoring problem altogether. This, combined with the Boot Camp itinerary of exercise and healthy eating, should provide some winning results.”

If you think you or someone you know should be a candidate at this year’s Snoring Boot Camp, email bootcamp@htpr.co.uk for more information, or call the Helps Stop Snoring ‘Boot Camp Hotline’ on 0845 270 0602. Visit www.stopsnoring.co.uk to find out more. Registration closes 31st July.

For further information, please call Jess Hardisty or Emma Howden on 0121 355 3446 or email jess@haslimanntaylor.com.

You’re Hired: How To Get Work Experience At HT

Bron Eames, managing director of Haslimann Taylor, writes:

It is graduate work experience season at HT, which is great news for everyone! Graduates have a better chance of getting a job with some good work placements on their CV and our account handlers benefit from extra help.

Simple eh? Well, not that simple, actually.

Firstly, we are committed to giving our graduate and undergraduate work placements a proper work plan. This takes time. Work placement students at HT can expect a good cross section of tasks with an allocated manager. There will only be an occasional requirement for tea making or photocopying and there will definitely be a chance to write copy, join in a brainstorm, speak to journalists and if at all possible, sit in a client meeting. Everyone fills in feedback forms at the end of their stay with us and attending a client meeting was a recent request that was acknowledged and actioned. They will, we promise, get a true insight into a career in consultancy.

The other reason that accommodating work placements is not simple is that we have to trawl through an awful lot of applications to find suitable students. Now we are not necessarily looking for rocket scientists here, but, like many agencies and PR departments, we are inundated with requests for work experience, for which we are very grateful, but an alarming proportion of them are barely literate. The majority are not checked for spelling, grammar or punctuation. No effort has been made to find the name of the person responsible for recruitment, no research has been done about the business, but there will likely be a bland plea for an opportunity based on ‘excellent communication skills’, a few pub jobs and maybe a starring role in the school netball team – I don’t care! I want to know if they write for the university paper, are involved with community radio, have done voluntary work for a local charity, sent in reports to their local press, created a website, campaigned for a good cause, found something interesting to say about one of our campaigns.

So far, every year we have ended up with a dozen or so students who are bright, hard working, enthusiastic and with a real appetite to learn. We love having them and generally, I hope, they enjoy the experience. We may never see them again, we may employ them, but either way I believe we have duty to help get young people on the career ladder. I also believe that careers advisors and tutors have a duty to explicitly instill in their undergraduates that they need to step up to the mark, and students need to understand that if they can’t be bothered to put some care into their applications, potential employers will not even bother to read them. Fair enough, don’t you think?

Back To School At Harvester In Redhill

Following the launch of our Harvester Fantastic Food pack for Key Stage 1 and 2 pupils, the Redhill Harvester in Salford welcomed a class from a local school to take part in a practical session linked to the pack.

Staff at the Redhill teamed up with a Harvester chef to deliver a two hour fun-filled session at the pub and grill for 24 pupils from St Peter and St Paul School.

Manager of the Redhill, John Pettet, said: “We gave the children their own personal Harvester chef hats and during a VIP tour of the kitchen, our Head Chef told them about what his job involves. The pupils then learnt about the origins of the freshly prepared fruits and vegetables in Harvester’s famous Salad Cart. There was also a blind taste test which was fantastic to watch because it got the children eating vegetables they thought they didn’t like, or hadn’t had the chance to try before.”

Following their ‘training’ the children helped themselves to the Salad Cart, and had a special meal created from Harvester’s Young Guest Menu. Each child received a personalized certificate to mark their participation in the event, and went home with a Harvester goodie bag containing ingredients to make a salad at home.

Gail Fraser, who teaches the seven and eight year old pupils, said: “It was great to see the children getting excited about fresh fruit and vegetables, and I think all young people should be taught about where their five-a-day comes from. All the children learnt a lot in the session and had fun in the process, so we would like to thank the Redhill Harvester for letting us all visit.”

If you would like more information about Harvester School Visits, or to request a copy of the Harvester Fantastic Food Pack, please email schools@harvester.co.uk

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For more information please call Charlotte Pettitt on 0121 3624029 or email charlotte@haslimanntaylor.com

Absorbing News From HT

One of Haslimann Taylor’s consumer teams has just completed a slightly unusual media tour for feminine hygiene brand Lil-lets, involving test tubes, tampons and coloured water.

The ‘dip test’, which can be viewed below as well as at www.lil-lets.co.uk, shows a direct comparison between Lil-lets and Tampax tampons when dipped into water. The test is designed to prove that the company’s applicator tampons are more effective than its main competitor, Tampax, in preventing leaks.

Emma Howden, who heads up the Lil-lets account, said: “Our work for Lil-lets has certainly raised a few eyebrows in the office, but once people see the ‘dip test’ they really are impressed.

“We secured appointments for the media tour at the offices of some of the top media titles in the country and, as well as a few laughs, we received fantastic feedback all round. Lil-lets has an important message to communicate and the demonstration is a more effective way of illustrating how much better the brand is than other tampons on the market, than just sending out a press release.”

For more information please contact Jess at Haslimann Taylor on 0121 355 3446 or email news@htpr.co.uk

Time For PR To Stand Up And Be Counted

Sarah Kent, deputy managing director at Haslimann Taylor, writes:

In today’s tough economic climate, demonstrating return on investment on marketing spend has never been more important. Clients in every sector, faced with growing pressure on budgets, are understandably looking for demonstrable value.

For PR, the recession has reignited an age-old debate – how do we effectively measure the value of PR? Can PR really be measured at all? The answer is, of course, yes (otherwise we might as well all give up and go home now), but which of the myriad of evaluation techniques available to us are meaningful, cost-effective and, most importantly, accurately reflect the often long-term benefit of good PR.

The subject of advertising value equivalent remains a bone of contention within the PR industry. Many argue that this calculation is outdated and irrelevant and, with the cost of ad space falling, the figures may simply not look as good as they used to.

AVE certainly has its limitations, mainly because PR is not advertising. The perceived third party endorsement of editorial means it is more influential and PR-generated media coverage can appear in channels where advertising space simply can’t be bought. However, the reality for some clients is that a cost-effective, easy to understand measurement of financial return – however flawed – is still needed in order to make the case for PR internally.

At HT, we do report on AVE for most clients, but always as part of a range of complementary evaluation techniques. The majority of our clients place much greater value on being able to directly link PR activity to footfall and sales, a shift in brand awareness or increased share of voice versus their competitors. The content of editorial in terms of key message delivery and tone, and the relevance of the media in which it appears, is all much more important than how much the space would have cost.

Online PR also opens up a whole host of opportunities to get direct feedback from consumers, whilst tools such Google Analytics provide transparency on the source of website hits. And of course the success of crisis communications will often be measured in terms of lack of media exposure.

So where do we go from here? Some commentators within the PR industry are calling for a common currency for measurement but my view is that we need to focus on just the opposite. There is a danger in introducing complex and convoluted evaluation systems. At the end of the day, PR is not just about generating exposure; it’s about the influence that exposure has on our target audiences. Every campaign or PR programme needs to start with a clear objective and its success judged purely on whether or not that objective was met.

Former Players Association Mix Business With Pleasure

The Aston Villa Former Players Association will showcase both the on and off field talent that has made it such a success during a ground breaking exhibition at Villa Park tomorrow.

Former Villa heroes from the Old Stars side will stand alongside the organisations key partners in an event designed to promote reciprocal benefits and highlight the commercial strengths of the country’s leading FPA.

Almost 30 companies that support the organisation, including leading names such as Citroen, American Golf and Prostar will showcase their products at the exhibition – while former players such as Paul McGrath, Gordon Cowans, Steve Staunton and Brian Little will meet and greet fans.

Former Player’s Association chairman Neil Rioch is delighted that the Business Partner Exhibition has come to fruition and believes it will highlight the benefits of sporting links in a difficult economic climate.

He said: “We have always encouraged the businesses that support us to enter the relationship with the mentality that it is a true partnership – as much about what we can do for them as what they give to us.

“The pull of the Former Players Association means that we deal with some fantastic local and national businesses, and we thought this event would be a great networking opportunity for them all to get together and see how they can help each other as well.

“You only have to see the type of players that are giving up their time to support the event and attend to realise how much we value these partnerships and how vital we believe it is to develop and nurture them.”

One of the attendees at the exhibition will be Citroen’s Regional Fleet Operations Manager John Harrison, and he is delighted by the approach taken by the Former Players Association.

He said: “Too many times people see sponsorships as handing over cash in exchange for a bit of branding somewhere – days like this one will show how much more can be gained from working closely with an organisation like the AVFPA.

“It will be fantastic to get together with existing and potential supporters and see what we can all do to support each other.”

The exhibition will be hosted in Villa Park’s Trinity Lounge from 11am until 4pm and entry is free of charge. For further information call 0121 628 3274 email info@astonvillafpa.org More information on AVFPA and the Aston Villa Old Stars team can be found at http://www.astonvillafpa.org/

AVFPA’s primary purpose is to support the health and welfare of former Aston Villa players in need. Incorporating the Aston Villa Old Stars team’s long fundraising history, the monies raised by AVFPA for charities and worthy causes have totalled over £4 million.

A recent example of their work is creating and raising funds for the Paul Birch Trust. Paul is a fans’ favourite who enjoyed over ten years at Villa Park and is now courageously fighting bone cancer.

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For further information please contact Dan Clifford on 0121 355 3446 or email dan@haslimanntaylor.com

Names Needed For Roman Characters

Arriva the Shires & Essex has created three Roman characters to celebrate the launch of their Greenline 712 coach service from St Albans to London and is now looking for names for each of the three.

The Greenline coach service will be launched on Monday, 29th June and aims to provide comfortable transport from St Peter’s in St Albans to London Victoria.

The three Roman characters have been created as a tribute to St. Albans heritage and each portrays a different aspect of what the service offers; sightseeing, shopping and commuting.

Linsey Frostick, customer services manager for Arriva the Shires and Essex, said: “The introduction of the 712 means that the people of St. Albans will now have an alternative to the train when travelling to and from London. And with return fares starting at £5 we are expecting seats to fill up fast in the coming months.

“The 712 service will run from Verulamium to Londinium, and our Roman mascots represent the three main reasons why people will use the service; sightseeing, shopping and commuting. So if you think you can come up with a catchy name for the characters send your entry to greenline@arriva.co.uk “

The Greenline 712 service will run Monday to Saturday. On weekdays there will be a special commuter service starting in Harpendon, before calling at St. Albans, Chiswell Green, Bricket Wood, Brent Cross, Finchley Road, Lords, Baker St, Marble Arch, Oxford St, Hyde Park Corner, London Victoria. To celebrate the introduction of the new service Arriva is offering return fares for just £5 until 30th September 2009.

People wanting to send in their suggestions can either email their entries to greenline@arriva.co.uk or leave their suggestions along with their contact details on the Arriva hotline 0845 270 1660. The people who send in the selected names will be invited to attend the official launch of the service later this month.

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Contact: Jess Hardisty or Denver Coulson on 0121 355 3446 or corporate communications, Arriva plc on +44 (0)191 520 4106. For media enquiries outside normal office hours, Arriva can be contacted via its 24-hour media pager service on +44 (0)7623 920 615.

Why Agencies Should Sometimes Be Pro-Active On Pro Bono

Dan Clifford, director at Haslimann Taylor, writes:

I can already hear the howls of derision coming from the agency number crunchers who, having read the headline of this piece, have already decided that a) I’m barking mad b) I don’t understand how to run a business and c) I’ve failed to realise that we are currently faced with what could be described as tricky economic conditions.

And to be honest, up until fairly recently, I would probably have reacted the same. In the past my judgement on pro bono work has been clouded by the fact that often it has been seen as nothing more than a good corporate social responsibility exercise for agencies.

This tends to mean that the ‘account’ is allocated the most junior members of staff that can be found, sits on a creds document under the header ‘we do a lot of great work for charity’ and is generally considered an inconvenience – with the client often feeling awkward about the relationship themselves.

That’s why, before taking on anything like this, the main question that has to be asked is ‘what do we want to achieve by doing this?’ Although this sounds like the heartless approach of someone who doesn’t do anything for nothing, it’s really the best for both parties in a pro bono relationship.

I believe a great example of this is the Haslimann Taylor partnership with the Aston Villa Former Players’ Association – a very worthy cause that, among many other things, use former pros to play charity matches around the country and raise millions in the process.

Through professionally conducting their PR (press launches at the start of the season, conferences ahead of big matches, announcements of new sponsors etc) we have helped them become a much stronger commercial draw, attracting businesses to support them and also encouraging the public to their events.

We also helped them catch the eye of both the FA (due to their national profile as a FPA) and also Aston Villa FC themselves, who are now supporting the organisation much more closely.

And we’ve done it with an account team and structure as with any normal account – because they also do a lot for us. We’ve been able to use player appearances to support client social occasions, we’ve been introduced to all of their corporate business partners (existing and potential) and we are given regular new business opportunities through networking events.

And the best thing? It’s all relevant, and the guys at Aston Villa FPA know we value it, so they feel like our relationship is reciprocally beneficial leading them to be more confident coming to us with new work, which in turn leads to us doing a better job.

And to return to my opening point about the current economic climate and whether I’m barking mad – if you can conduct one of your biggest new business initiatives by utilising existing staff and skills whilst performing a great service for a worthy organisation – is that barking mad?