30 years at LawsonClarke – you get less for murder!

“It seems like a lifetime ago,” says Sue Hitchcock who received a letter dated 23^rd September 1982 offering her the position of part-time secretary/PA to the managing director of Cirencester based PR consultancy, LawsonClarke PR, her first job after secretarial college.  

“Indeed it has been a lifetime, and as the joke goes, you get less for murder,” adds Sue, who still works in the business as office manager and ‘right hand person’ to the company’s MD, Jeremy Clarke.

“The business has always adopted a flexible approach to employment.  I started working four half days (16 hours a week) – effectively job sharing.  This quickly developed into a full time role, and over the last couple of years, I have chosen to reduce my time so I have longer weekends.

“As with any service based business, the workload is determined by the number of clients you have, the number of staff, and inevitably the economic conditions, but it’s the variety and interest of the work that has kept me in the same role for so long.

“As a hedge against the cyclical nature of the economy and with the increasing cost and bureaucracy attached to employing people, the company adopted a new way of outsourcing to professional and specialist consultants some 20 years ago.  While this was seen quite radical and certainly unusual in the early nineties, it is now a method of working that many PR companies have adopted.

“So while there may not always be that many people in the office, there are colleagues working remotely, and many of these have become good friends over the years.

“We specialise primarily in consumer PR, so I am regularly talking to journalists in the national, consumer and broadcast media.  We worked with Brabantia, the housewares brand for 24 years, and do a lot in property where we have several clients including Monte Nibbio Estates in Italy, and the Cotswolds property specialists Butler Sherborn.  Automotive is also a core market, and we are the press office for the Korean car maker, SsangYong, so there’s always something different when I walk in each morning, and no day is ever the same.”

Said Jeremy Clarke: “At a time when people seem to change jobs quite frequently, it is a remarkable achievement to remain working with the same company for over 30 years. Those who have known us for a long time often ask ‘is Sue still working for you?’ and are truly surprised that she is, speaking more about her than her employer I suspect!

“As I said when we celebrated her 25 years with the company, her dedication, commitment and loyalty are rare qualities, and hugely appreciated,” he added.

Think about your avatar

The whole social media thing evolved at such a phenomenal rate that typically when most people joined the rush to be on Facebook or Twitter they simply scrabbled around and grabbed any old image for their avatar.

Bish, bash, bosh and with little thought to strategy, it was up there for all the world to see where probably it remains to this day.

But whether you’re online as an individual, a company or brand, we’d venture to suggest that the image you choose needs a bit more consideration.

As has been commented on ad nauseam elsewhere, if you’re online you should have a strategy….or at least have given some thought as to why you’re Tweeting, on Facebook or whatever platform you’ve chosen.

For strategy, read: who, what, where, when, and most importantly – why!  Oh yes, and how?

Who do you want to communicate with?

What do you want to talk about?

Where will you be doing it – at home, work, on the move?

When and how often?

Why do you want to?

How – what tools are you going to use – laptop, desk top, iPad, smartphone, TweetDeck, HootSuite?

Which brings us back to the image or avatar.  Your avatar should be – as the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) puts it – a ‘visible manifestation of an abstract concept’.

Some Top Tips

1. As a company or brand, using your logo as it appears in the corporate identity manual seems the obvious answer – but isn’t that just a bit too corporate and obvious?  It also completely misses the point behind social media which is about engaging with your audience and joining them in conversation on the same level, not preaching to them in the authoritative manner of yore.  If you do use a logo, at least come up with a creative interpretation to help communicate the brand’s personality.

2. Your avatar should be an expression of who you are or what your company is about.  It should also be distinctive and instantly recognisable, especially as your online reputation will be associated with the visual icon you select.

3. If you choose to use a head and shoulders shot, make sure it’s clear and recognisable as you or associated in some way to what you’re writing about.  And under any circumstances, do not use a cut out from your best mate’s stag do or hen party!

4. Use the same avatar to link your profile on different channels – this will aid recognition so your friends and followers can easily find you.

Here are a couple of examples worth checking out from Twitter:

Richard Branson gets trotted out as the exemplar of ‘best practice’ for so many aspects of business, and no change here. He is the embodiment of Virgin, so no surprise he chooses an image of himself over the brand logo: @RichardBranson
@mipaa does use its logo, or at least part of it and creatively.		Blogger @MajorGav employs a distinctive avatar that visually communicates his subject area.
Estate agents @ButlerSherborn took the lime leaf from its identity which stands out well from the crowd.		SsangYong @SYMotorUK utilises the badge on the front of one its cars, while the colour combination is both distinctive and memorable.

5. If you’re considering refreshing your avatar or even changing it to reflect a particular initiative, season or campaign, give this careful thought.  Aim for evolution rather than a complete change to retain some identifiable element to aid recognition.  Alternatively, use an evolved image temporarily and return to the master avatar in due course.

6. If you are ever tempted to apply a Twibbon http://twibbon.com/ in support of a particular cause, do make sure you remove it afterwards. It doesn’t look good to still be sporting a Remembrance Day poppy on your avatar weeks after the event!

For more tips on ‘Creating a Better Professional Online Profile’, click here:

http://www.commpro.biz/corporate-social-media-zone/social-media-marketing/twitter-who-10-steps-to-creating-a-better-professional-online-profile/

We are where we are – deal with it

OnStrategy consultancy launched to deliver real world advice

Whether we are on the brink of a triple dip recession or not is irrelevant.

No amount of navel gazing, wishful thinking for how things ‘could have/might have/should have’ been or indeed ‘once used to be’ will make things any different.  We are where we are and it’s not going to change any time soon.

Smaller budgets, reduced resources, greater demands for more from less are the new vernacular of business, sales, marketing and frankly anyone trying to cope financially.  Whether talking about your domestic housekeeping, a Government Department or an organisation’s marketing and PR budget, the language is much the same.

But whatever the current financial landscape there’s still a job to be done.  So could smart thinking be the way forward?

Of course the answer is yes; but where’s this thinking going to come from.  ‘Bright young things’ have bright, young – and largely unproven ideas and suggestions, which was all well and good in the Silicon Valley-esq and Nike ‘Just Do It’ way of the late 1990s and early Noughties, but…

Well exactly: there’s a but.  That was then and this is now.

Maybe the time has come to invest in some real world experience. Experience that will deliver a pragmatic, risk reduced way forward and one that needn’t cost a banker’s bonus especially if you buy it in by the day rather than add it to the payroll.

With this in mind, welcome to OnStrategy - the consultancy solution from LawsonClarke.

And the difference is?

It’s pure consultancy that’s delivered simply

1. Meet – the first meeting is free
2. Tell us your problem, discuss openly and honestly
3. We’ll apply our lifetime experience gleaned from many years of brand engagement to come up with some pragmatic solution options, all to a pre-agreed scope, scale and cost.

What for?

• Strategic thinking
• Reputation auditing
• Review of issues/crisis management
• ‘What if’ scoping
• Review of resources, internal and external
• Recommendation of solutions

Simple.  End of.

If you’re a client business, we promise not to sell you anything else.  If you’re an agency, we’ll happily work alongside you to the best of our combined ability for the good of your client.

Real world advice.  Drawing on our intuition and born out of 40 years brand/marketing/PR management experience, and over 30 years creating and running our own successful business.

Call us.  The initial meeting is free.

Tel:     +44 (0)1285 658844

E-mail: onstrategy@lawsonclarke.co.uk

Why the red bus?

 

LawsonClarke avatar

We frequently get asked why we have a London bus as our Twitter and Facebook avatar.

The answer is quite simple.  We own one, in fact the very one in the photograph – Routemaster RML 2352.

That inevitably results in the next incredulous question: “What on earth do you want a bus for?” to which the answer isn’t nearly so straight forward.

The short answer lies somewhere amongst the following:

CUV 352C doing what it did best, Marble Arch late ‘90s

• It’s a design icon and top 10 British design classic
• An automotive engineering masterpiece
• A fascinating 50 year time capsule of London life since the ‘Swinging Sixties’
• Nostalgia – like many others I used to travel home on double deckers after school and commuted on Routemasters when working in London
• As advertising manager at Peugeot we advertised on them

Top 10 British design classic

• They make people smile

Admittedly it’s also slightly eccentric but we cope with that!

The long answer is not only longer and involves a number of people to thank – or blame! – but probably only of interest to classic vehicle enthusiasts, so feel free to jump off here!

The story starts on the Guild of Motoring Writers’ diamond jubilee celebration classic car run to Northern Spain in September 2004.  After several days touring – we were in a 1973 Triumph TR6, a celebration dinner was held in the Centro del Vina Villa Lucia Cena in the Rioja region.  After a fair quantity of the wine cellar’s contents had been sampled, the conversation turned to what vehicle we might bring on the next Guild Classic.  On asking the rally planner Steve Brown of European Rallies Ltd (ERL) if we could have a route with a 14ft 6ins height clearance, he picked up the challenge and said “you buy it, I’ll plan it.”

Shortly afterwards, motoring journalist Brian Laban wrote a piece in the Daily Telegraph in which he compared driving a Routemaster with the Volvo VLW Wright Eclipse Gemini – Transport for London’s (TfL) then new generation ‘low-floor’ double-decker, and the now infamous Mercedes Citaro Bendi-Bus at the Millbrook Proving Ground.  In it he commented on how “astonishingly easy” the Routemaster was to drive while also providing details of where you could buy one as TfL was selling off its remaining stock of these iconic buses.  Read his piece here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/2731580/On-the-buses.html

Somewhat bizarrely – it must have been fate! – a few days later I found myself sitting next to Brian on a table hosted by Andrew Didlick, PR director of Peugeot UK at the annual Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) dinner.  Poor man was quizzed ruthlessly, but he patiently answered my questions and confirmed just how easy it was to drive.

Technical detail

Contact was made with Steve Newman of Ensign Bus, the company charged with handling the disposal of buses as each route had its Routemaster fleet de-commissioned and replaced with new vehicles.

Several visits to Ensign at Purfleet, conversations with Steve and online research narrowed the search to our preferred model, an RML.  At 30ft the ‘Routemaster Long’ is 2ft 7ins longer than the standard RM and more pleasing aesthetically than its shorter cousin.  The RML seats 72 people, eight more than the RM and is instantly recognisable from the side by its additional small centre windows on both decks.  We also wanted one powered by either a Scania or Cummins engine, the other option being an Iveco which we had been warned off for various reasons, not least because it didn’t sound like a Routemaster! (The Routemaster fleet was re-engined during the early 1990s as the original AEC units needed replacing).

Not in great shape

We eventually found RML2352 languishing in a yard packed with old buses.  It was in less than perfect condition, but it appeared as though it wouldn’t take too much TLC to get it roadworthy and apart from a gearbox failure (!) on the day we were due to collect it, took delivery the following week – 18 July 2005. Less than a year later and with the promised height clearance, we took part in the 2006 Guild Classic to Ypres in Belgium.

Arriving in Calais	Journos and PRs set off for the gala dinner	Fill ‘er up Jean   Claude!

Today RML2352 is as they say in classic bus vernacular ‘in preservation’.  Classed as an historic vehicle, it benefits from being free to tax and is insured complete with roadside breakdown cover for a relatively modest annual premium.  This restricts it to carrying just eight passengers, but can be driven on a car licence!

Annual MOT test	All aboard for the LawsonClarke            Christmas lunch

More information about the Routemaster: 

The Bus We Loved by Travis Elborough: http://traviselborough.co.uk/books-3/the-bus-we-loved/

Routemaster Association: http://routemaster.org.uk/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Routemaster

 

Good photography for successful PR images

At a time when we all have a smartphone, it’s easy to believe that anyone can be a good photographer.

But achieving great photographs that work for your brand and communicate your key messages needs thought and consideration.

In today’s media savvy world, photography is essential both in print and increasingly online.  It used to be important for accompanying press releases or marketing collateral, but now strong images are also needed to attract and engage socially via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest et al.

In this blog we’re going to look at the basic requirements for commissioning photography primarily for print, and a future blog will look at creating ‘Images for the Internet’.

So here are 10 Top Tips to help you achieve successful images.

Know what you want

Only then can you properly brief a photographer to achieve what you’re after.  Have a vision for the images you want to achieve – even source some examples – so you can discuss this with them in advance and they can tell you whether it’s realistic.

Choosing your photographer

Work with a photographer who has the experience you need.  Start by having a good look at his or her folio or website.  Make sure they have the experience you require by subject – people, fashion, still life, sport, automotive, interiors, reportage etc – and see whether they are best suited to working on location or in a studio.  Just because someone did a great job of your sister’s wedding pictures doesn’t qualify them to take action sports shots.

What’s the story?

Remember these two sayings: ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’, and ‘Every picture tells a story’.  This is especially true today.  We are all now ‘time poor’, and with so much information available to us through so many different channels, everyone’s attention span is getting shorter.

Faced with hundreds of different stories, editors often select images they think will look good on the page and then decide on the copy. Help them by providing images that will enhance the look of their publications and websites – and get your story featured!

	Waterside homes are a firm favourite with property journalists, and the rowing boat helps set the scene and tell the story.
Credit: Butler Sherborn

Composition

Remember that the subject or product has to be the hero of the image.  A creative shot may look great, but will people focus on what you want them to see or just an overall impression?

Also choose a background or location that complements the subject and helps communicate the story.

	We needed a commercial background to promote this van version of the Korando 4×4.  While providing an attractive backdrop, the line up of JCBs also added to the story.  This portrait shaped image was designed as a possible front cover.
Credit: SsangYong

Variety

The more different and varied images you can produce, the more likely an editor is to find a shot they like.  Remember to provide different angles, as well as shots that can be used as cut outs.

Credit: SsangYong
These two shots were part of a series to illustrate this new off-road vehicle; both have featured widely in the press and online.

Format

When briefing photography for print media it is worth considering the format needed to maximise your opportunities.  Not every shot needs to be landscape (horizontal), and be sure to include some portrait (vertical) formats for possible use as a magazine front cover – editors often struggle to find images that are the right shape.  Remember to allow clear space at the top of the image for the publication’s masthead/title to be printed, as well as at the bottom or the side for cover mentions.  Think about the way the shot could be used.  If it’s for a possible double page spread (DPS) think about where the gutter (space between the columns of text) or spine (central crease) will fall on the image.  You don’t want a person’s face or a company’s badge or logo falling into this area.

Avoid stereotype images

It’s easy to create the same-old clichéd images such as pictures of two businessmen in shiny suits shaking hands as they agree a contract, hand over keys or receive an award.  Try and come up with something a bit different that will grab the editor’s attention and leap off the page.

	When Owen Vaughan, head gardener at Richmond Villages Painswick won an RHS Gardening Excellence award, we wanted a shot of him doing what he does best!
Credit: Richmond Villages

Write a brief

This needs to confirm the objectives, the type of images and their purpose.  Confirm the venue – location or studio, any props, models and materials required, as well as the budget.

Attend the shoot

See for yourself what is and isn’t achievable.  By actually looking through the lens and reviewing the images with the photographer as the shoot progresses, you’ll learn about important things such as light, shadow and background.  This will also help ensure you get the pictures you’ll be happy with.

Attention to detail

Keep looking and questioning to see what might be wrong.  For example, if a car is being driven, is the driver wearing a seat belt?  If people are involved, are they smiling, grimacing, wearing sunglasses or light sensitive glasses that darken in bright light?  Avoid these at all cost!  While retouching is always an option, you want to avoid the expense of a re-shoot.

Compiled in association with award winning photographer, Michael Bailie

Note:

Another blog in the near future will look at creating ‘Images for the Internet’.

©Copyright 2012

LawsonClarke promotes Bond ‘double agent’ turned author

With all the talk of Skyfall, the latest Bond film at the moment, we thought we’d take the opportunity to share the recent news of our very own Bond link – actress Fiona Fullerton who played KGB double agent Pola Ivanova in the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill. 

We have known Fiona for a number of years, originally through our work in the property world and were delighted when she approached us to launch her new book Dear Fiona – Letters from a Suspected Soviet Spy this autumn.  Initially the brief covered just print media, but as the project progressed Fiona also asked us to handle broadcast media.

The story of a high profile, glamorous actress having a ‘pen friend’ relationship with a real suspected and imprisoned Soviet spy sounds both romantic and unlikely.  But this true story is a fascinating insight into both their lives and how they supported each other against all odds and forged a 30 year friendship.  We won’t spoil the ending, but it really is an amazing read and has had great reviews.

We achieved some fantastic results including BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 2 and Radio 4, BBC South Today,  as well as coverage in The Daily Mail, Woman and Home and regional print media and radio nationwide.  So we just thought we’d share a snippet of the editorial coverage we achieved here.

Double click on images to view

The overall campaign gained an Opportunity To See (OTS) of an audience in excess of 30 million.  For those of you not in the PR world, this literally means the number of people who had the opportunity to see, read or watch coverage of the book launch!

Neither shaken nor stirred by having to give all those press interviews, Fiona was very happy with the resulting media exposure for the book which is already selling well.

Welcome back to the LawsonClarke blog

We know we’ve been pretty quiet recently – sorry about that.  That’s because we took a bit of a break, put our heads together and considered exactly what we wanted to be talking to you about.

Setting objectives is an important part of social media, but now we’ve got it all sorted and as part of that we’ve appointed a new member to the team – Lisa Smith.

Lisa has joined us as a consultant to head up our social media offering; she has over 15 years comms experience and spent the past three years focusing on social media as digital media manager at the restaurant group, Nando’s.  Lisa will be bringing our blog and social media channels to life and adds another string to the bow of many talents at LawsonClarke.

We began delving into social media several years ago with the launch of our own blog and @LawsonClarke on the now omni-present Twitter.  We have had some great results on behalf of clients as well, and looking forward to working with others to maximise their social media potential and online reputation management.

Speaking about her plans, Lisa said: “One of the first areas I will be focusing on is the LawsonClarke blog.  It’s the ideal place for sharing agency news, opinions, knowledge and hopefully some fun stuff too.  We’re working with some exciting clients and it’ll be great to be able to share some of our experience and successes.

“On a wider spectrum, the renewed focus on social media means we are able to advise and offer clients a whole new portfolio of expertise to maximise their PR and marketing potential, reach new audiences and most importantly share and listen to what those audiences are saying.”

Exciting times ahead! We’d love this to be a place where people can comment and share their views, so please feel free to add your thoughts below.

More soon…