Having a ‘Whale of a time’ for Charity

Valerie Castan, our Account Manager is raising funds for local charity The Christies running London Marathon this Sunday.

We have supported various local charities in the North West and are happy to back Valerie who is showing her support for Christies.

Valerie has been running for over 6 years and after the loss of a loved one she decided to start raising funds for Cancer Research and the Christies completing Race for Life in 2007 and Manchester Bupa 10k run in 2006 and 2009.

She also took part in Manchester’s first walking night Shine Marathon for Cancer Research UK in May 2010.

This year is a much bigger challenge and she will run the complete course of London Marathon on Sunday.

Hannah Whale, Managing Director said: “The local charity, Christies is one close to our hearts. We wish her the best of luck and hope it will further raise money for a truly great cause.”

Are you social media savvy?

Social media has been the industry buzz word for some time now and it seems it is here to stay.

Amongst the mass of options available are you asking yourself: “What do I want from it?” “How will my business benefit from it?” “Which forum is for me?” “Are my customers/ competitors using it?”

Amongst the mass of options available are you asking yourself: “What do I want from it?” “How will my business benefit from it?” “Which forum is for me?” “Are my customers/ competitors using it?”

There are so many platforms to choose from, it is important to select the right ones.
See how many you recognise.



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Social networks are fundamentally shaping the way customers interact with brands in the modern age. They are changing the way we promote products and influencing how the market evolves.

A common misconception is that social networking is just for individuals; but B2B is now also catching onto the current trend and businesses are understanding how important it is.

Ask yourself this: Is your business making the most of the internet to promote its brand and engage with its customers?

More businesses than ever are developing their presence online through social networks. You need to choose your weapon correctly and having a presence online requires some effort but should not distract you from developing your business offline.

The online landscape changes continually, Myspace lost 10 million members in February and a total of 50 million were lost over a year. Twitter took 5 years to establish itself and has been growing at an amazing rate.

So, are your target audience sitting on Twitter or Facebook all day looking for your services? The answer is probably no, but what social networks can do is allow interaction, assist you in developing your brand and identity and raise your profile. It puts your brand in the forefront of the customers mind for when they do need you. You can position yourself as an expert, provide amazing customer service levels and be at the top of your game.

Having an online presence is compulsory these days, but it should go hand in hand with a fully integrated marketing approach. Social media marketing should be partnered with a strong brand strategy, both online and offline.

Are you going to be the next big thing on Youtube?

Lately we have been thinking a lot about viral videos in the office.

Success stories propelling unknown brands and individuals alike to online stardom have impacted dramatically on the rapid development of online video content websites such as Youtube and Vimeo.

There is a lot of video content out there, in November 2010, 35 hours of video were uploaded every minute on Youtube.

So, how do you stand out from the crowd? What transforms a good viral campaign to one with millions of viewers? Is this a profitable route for your business? How can you turn viewers into potential customers?

Creating a viral can be a great way to increase exposure, get your brand name out there and generate traffic to your website.

One of our favourite example is:

• “Will it blend “- 155,995,569 views.

Started in 2007, it presents a very successful series of infomercials gone viral, promoting Blendtec’s powerful blender

What is important with online video is the need to manage expectations when it comes to the success of your YouTube content.

Are all the viewers potential buyers? A successful viral campaign does not necessarily generate sales. It might lead to it eventually.

Having a great video is not a guarantee for success. There is a need for a promotion and distribution plan.

If you want to use video to promote your brand, your product, your service, you need to be very clear about your objectives, have set targets and work towards them with rigour.

A strategic approach is just as important as the content if not more.

A few points to consider before going viral:

1) Have realistic expectations

2) Think about your target audience

3) Create an angle. Edgy, surprising, funny, original, sexy or emotional?

4) Set objectives. More traffic to your website? Raise awareness of your brand?

5) Develop a strategic promotional plan

6) Have fun with it!

Top 10 tips for PR

Kat Johnson from Aedas spoke at CIMCIG – “How to get the best from PR”

1) Choose an angle

2) Write news worthy content

3) Write in a style journalists like

4) Know your subject – research relevant literature

5) Send releases ready to print

6) Write releases in advance – time sensitive

7) “On/Off record” – Treat everything you say as “on the record”

8) Respect deadlines

9) Build relationships

10) Follow up with a thank you