Successful Year for SRL (18/01/2006)
2005 proved to be a very successful year for SRL with a growing demand for our strategy-driven brand of integrated marketing communications.
Our diverse business base is not only very healthy for the company, it provides benefit to clients of a wide marketing perspective with lessons shared and reflected in all we do.
With a daily involvement in all aspects of the marketing mix we are in a good position to experience first-hand any shifts in direction and effectiveness. While a balanced integrated campaign is, as ever, effective for branding and awareness the multi-media age we live in has produced a fragmentation which makes direct response advertising increasingly expensive as acceptable results become difficult to achieve.
The computer has moved from office working tool to a home source of information and entertainment. One of the key themes of our business growth had been the explosion in e-marketing. Whether it is the development of increasingly sophisticated web sites (doing business rather than providing static information) or response advertising via search engines, what as once futuristic is now the norm and very, very cost effective.
The other notable theme has been the appetite for public and media relations. We expanded our PR team still further during the year in order to take advantage of this and to ensure we could offer our clients thoroughly professional and effective strategy and delivery. A highlight of the year was running the Olympic 2012 campaign for the east of England – we’re prepared to accept that Seb Coe had a hand in the winning bid as well (but only just!).
2006 will no doubt provide the usual mix of business challenges and opportunities but as we approach our 10th birthday in May, 2005 has provided us with an excellent springboard to make even more progress.
Thank you for all your support and confidence in the team.
|
| |
Law Firm Marketing (19/10/2005)
25 years ago law firm marketing was virtually unheard of, promotion of a law firms services was considered unnecessary and even a little crass. Today law firms are extremely commercially aware and know that, like any successful business, they have to promote their services in an increasingly competitive market in order to stay ahead of the game.
Law firms ranging from the national and international to small local firms are looking to strategic marketing to provide them with effective communications solutions in order to attract and retain customers and prospects.
And it’s not just a one size fits all strategy. Even firms with the smallest of resource are becoming more sophisticated in their communication tools and policies. Segregating forms of communication between clients and prospects, understanding how clients want to be communicated to and the difference between private and business client needs are all key considerations for the modern law firm.
Targeted newsletters, effective websites, strong public relations campaigns, specific and timely communications and interactive PDF’s, as well as advertising, events and seminars are all vital equipment in the law firm marketing tool box.
Shorthose Russell is increasing developing a specialism in professional services marketing, with clients ranging from local to national and international law firms. Whilst the difference in size and budget between the firms is apparent, the marketing methods used to promote their services follow the same principles – targeted, professional communications designed to promote the firms strengths whilst emphasising the approachability and depth of experience within the firm.
Many law firms today retain their own marketing team, and they understand the crucial role that marketing plays in their future development. Even those that don’t have a dedicated marketing team have willing and eager Partners and fee earners who are keen to take up the marketing mantle.
Either way, the future of law firm marketing is changing fast, and the attitude of Partners and fee earners towards marketing continues to develop in a positive way ensuring that law firm marketing will continue to go from strength to strength in the future.
Hayley Curson
Account Manager
|
| |
Shorthose Russell team expands again (05/08/2005)
After a busy six months and the acquisition of a number of new clients, Norwich based full service marketing communications agency, Shorthose Russell, has further expanded its team with the appointment of a new Marketing Account Manager and a Production Manager.
Hayley Curson, age 33, joins the Shorthose Russell team as Marketing Manager with over 9 years experience within the marketing communications field. Hayley comes to the agency having previously worked in the marketing departments of Mills and Reeve, Robinsons Mercedes-Benz and Norwich Union.
Adding to Shorthose Russell’s highly experienced marketing team, Miss Curson will be developing and delivering effective marketing communication strategies and services to Shorthose Russell’s clients as well as contributing to new business campaigns and pitches.
Hayley said, “I am really looking forward to building relationships with existing clients, contributing to the growth of Shorthose Russell and being part of a creative and inspiring agency team. Shorthose Russell is one of the most respected agencies in the region and I am looking forward to working on a great range of clients.”
Also joining the team at Shorthose Russell is Rebecca Morrison, age 32, who will be heading up the agency’s Production Department as Production Manager. Miss Morrison brings with her over 6 years experience in print and studio management, formerly working at the Jeffrey Pellin Consultancy and Gowise Print.
Rebecca said, “My new position as Production Manager at Shorthose Russell will give me the opportunity to work with a really dynamic team on a wide variety of projects. Shorthose Russell’s client portfolio is second to none so I am looking forward to getting started.”
Victoria Brooke
PR Manager
|
|
| |
|
Acrobat’s up there (17/05/2005)
‘Pixels and Print’ (see archived stories) discussed the balance which needs to be stuck between print and web as major players in the marketing mix. Suggesting there is no right or wrong and the benefits of each meet different needs. Or as often the case, a combination of the two often makes for the most effective solution.
Since then, at one of our company Lunch and Learn sessions we discussed what can be achieved with Adobe’s latest version of Acrobat.
Pdfs can now bridge the gap, which existed previously between print and web. Adding pdfs to websites can be a great way of adding content to them also being a manageable file size to download. It is much easier for us to ensure a pdf once printed still looks good, without having to compromise on content as can be the case with printable versions of web pages. Although up until now the pdfs we have made for web remained quite static, an electronic version of what has been sent to print.
A Pdf which navigates as a website does, has interactive elements and can link to other documents and to the internet, then becomes much more of a powerful marketing tool. When a very targeted approach is needed, pdfs provide something which can be e-mailed, easily stored by the user for future use, and takes away the possible cost of re-print.
Pdfs also provide our clients an alternative way of supplying print-work amendments to us. Enabling them to easily be very specific about their comments with the built-in commenting tools. Also the ability to keep detailed track of a job’s progress in one digital file.
Steve (Creative Director) and I are due to attend ‘Adobe Live’ later this month at the Business Design Centre in London. There we hope to learn some new Acrobat tricks, as well as see what’s new in their most recent software releases.
There are more acrobat features than can be detail in this article, that could be utilised to benefit our clients. We are gradually learning ourselves different ways in which pdfs can make a practical difference. Increasingly so, as the adobe workflow becomes better streamlined and the software becomes more integrated. Helping us to deliver greater variation of solutions with increased efficiency for our clients.
Rachel Fiddy
Designer
|
|
| |
|
Measuring the real value of PR (22/04/2005)
Over the years PR has become a recognised and essential discipline in the marketing communications mix, with many businesses recognising the excellent results it can achieve. Despite this, some people still remain unconvinced by what is often seen as by some as an immeasurable communications technique.
We are always keen to demonstrate to clients the positive effects of PR, but sometimes the clients themselves are all too happy to testify as to how effective PR has been on their business.
Pitman Training is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of IT and Office Skills training to companies and individuals. With 70 training centres across the UK and Europe, the Pitman Training method uses a unique audio, software and workbook method which enables students to work at their own pace.
Pitman Training Norfolk, owned by Glyn Woodman, is one of the most busy and successful Pitman Training franchises in the UK with centres in both Norwich and Kings Lynn.
Since 2002, Glyn has employed Shorthose Russell to ensure that the Pitman Training Norfolk to run an effective regional PR campaign with very specific business objectives, to generate new business leads and to educate people about what Pitman Training has to offer them.
“The training market is growing increasingly competitive so it is vital that we retain a high profile in the regional press which leads to new business enquiries,” explains Glyn Woodman. “The main focus of our PR activity is to raise awareness of the range of courses on offer and potential funding available, position Pitman Training Norwich as an authoritative voice in adult learning and raise the profile of Pitman Training in key target media.”
“By creating a programme of newsworthy and relevant stories and features about Pitman Training Norfolk, Shorthose Russell ensure that training issues are on the agenda of our key media and other relevant audiences. The PR plan takes into account seasonality within the training world and forthcoming announcements relating to funding and education, but it is also flexible so as to facilitate reaction to hot topics and news. The team has spent time really getting to know the business, visiting the premises and talking independently to our learners. This has enabled them to build up ideas and case studies.
“Our PR campaign has proved incredibly successful for Pitman Training Norwich. The press coverage in 2004 generated almost 1 million opportunities to see in the target media and the equivalent rate card advertising value of the coverage was three times the amount paid in PR fees.
“Our aim has always been to become the primary voice of training in Norfolk and undoubtedly Shorthose Russell have got the message across forcibly and professionally. We have been able to clearly measure the effectiveness of the press coverage achieved by the reaction of consumers – our business has increased!
“One of the key reasons for the success of the campaign to date is the relationship that we have with Shorthose Russell. The agency team know us, and our business, extremely well so they are able to pitch stories to the media with authority and enthusiasm. We meet with them regularly and speak almost daily to ensure they know what’s going on and that we don’t miss any opportunities to tell positive stories.”
Glyn concludes, “I definitely value PR more than advertising as it is credible, informative and allows us to educate our audiences, alter their perceptions and encourage them to take the decision to train.”
Victoria Brooke
PR Manager
|
| |
Where’s the destination? (11/04/2005)
Our involvement with tourism destination marketing organisations (DMOs) is proving that the market has reached a very interesting stage in its development.
DMOs (traditionally local authorities – more recently joined by public/private sector partnerships) have long had a model based on paper-based advertising generating response for guide books which had the task of creating a desire to visit and acting as the shop window for accommodation providers. The interested reader would then make direct contact with the providers they were interested in and, hopefully, make a booking at the place of their choice. Unless they were big businesses, most providers would use all their advertising budget to buy a space in the guide in the (once justifiable) hope that all the business they needed would flow from it.
Because this model worked acceptably well for so long, the destination marketing organisations built their revenue model around it. The income supported their work and helped pay the wages.
What is happening now is that the arrival of the web has undermined this model in a big way. Firstly the response from paper-based advertising has collapsed (making cost per response something you wouldn’t want to even think about) which in turn means the role of the traditional guide is brought into question as far fewer go out and subsequently the accommodation providers don’t sell their wares and look for alternative routes to market… enter the web.
DMOs know this and are moving to a web-based, rather than paper-based strategy. However the problem they have to wrestle with is how to generate as much revenue from web advertising as they once did from the guides. Unfortunately they don’t have long to work out how to do it as income will collapse anyway as past advertisers bypass them and deal directly with commercially run websites at a fraction of the cost.
Watch this space!
Tony Shorthose
Managing Director
|
| |
SRL team get sporty (05/04/2005)
How often do you get the opportunity to go on holiday and come back a world champion? Well look no further than the World New Age Kurling Championships which take place in Norfolk from 6-8th May 2005. Absolutely anyone can compete for the coveted title of the world’s best kurler! We’re proud to work for the only Five Star Holiday Village in the UK, Potters Leisure Resort, who are hosting the Championships.
New Age Kurling was invented by John Bennett four years ago as a sport that his disabled son could play. It’s now played in 32 countries around the world and, because able bodied and disabled people can play on an equal footing, it has been approved as a sport by Disabled Sports England, The British Wheelchair Sports Foundation and most disabled sports unions around the world.
The sport is based on traditional ice curling but can be played on any smooth surface. A rubber “stone”, which is mounted on ball bearings, is pushed along the floor by hand, or using a pusher, to reach a target. Simple!
Last month Tony and I went along to Potters to learn the rules of New Age Kurling and take part in a mini-tournament with the staff there. I teamed up with bowling superstar John Price, who is ranked number 5 in the World Bowls Tour and was runner up in the World Indoor Bowls Championship in January. I thought that with this sporting hero on my side I couldn’t fail to win.
But Tony drew on his experience as a Lawn bowler and he, and his team mate, managed to beat us to reach the final. Look out for Mr Shorthose in the New Age Kurling Championships as he has obviously discovered his sporting talent!
You can find out more about the Potters Holidays New Age Kurling Championships by visiting www.pottersholidays.com
Pippa Lain
web: www.pottersholidays.com
|
| |
Exam stress over (29/03/2005)
As part of Shorthose Russell's continued commitment to employee training I recently started the Chartered Institute of Marketing's Professional Diploma in Marketing. I am pleased to say that I passed my first exam this month after several weeks of fretting whilst waiting for the result.
The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) is the world's largest professional marketing body with 50,000 members in 130 countries. They define the marketing standards that operate in the UK and champion best practice globally. They exist to develop the marketing profession, maintain professional standards and improve the skills of marketing practitioners, enabling them to deliver exceptional results for their organisations. They do this by providing membership, qualifications and training to marketing professionals around the world.
I am hoping that the CIM diploma will enable me to carry out a better job in my position as Marketing Executive at Shorthose Russell, enabling me to become more professional, more informed and more connected. Next exam in July so fingers crossed!
Melissa Gwynn
Marketing Executive
|
| |
London 2012 Olympic Bid (24/03/2005)
Hopefully everyone in the country is aware of the London 2012 Olympic Bid campaign, which is well underway and heading for the home straight to, hopefully, pip Paris at the Post in Singapore on the 6th July.
Shorthose Russell has been helping to promote the 2012 Bid across the East of England, by demonstrating what a potentially amazing opportunity for people who live in region the Games will be.
The regional campaign has been something of a marathon event in its own right with launch days, railshows, photo shoots at Woburn Abbey and Cambridge University, Premiership football matches and real Olympic heroes. This activity has been supported by a raft of promotional PR materials and intensive media relations.
Everyone in our office has entered in to the sprit of things with 'Back the Bid' t-shirts being taken to Caribbean, Gran Canaria and the slopes of Austria, lapel badges being loyally worn and stickers covering every available surface. Not to mention one member of the team sending his children to school with a handful of badges (don't tell the IOC!).
This has been a really good example of how a national initiative can be distilled into a workable regional campaign, with close relationships between the central team, but the opportunity to run with our own creative ideas because they recognise we have the expertise to deliver the right result.
If your interested in a creative regional PR campaign then why not get in touch as you don't want your communications plan to fall at the first hurdle!
And don't forget, if you haven't already, go online at wwww.london2012.com and show your support. Every vote will count!
Pete Joyner
Account Director
web: wwww.london2012.com
|
| |
Shorthose Russell Appointed to EEDA PR and Marketing Roster (11/02/2005)
2005 has got off to a remarkable start for Shorthose Russell with an impressive new contract win.
The company has been appointed as the only Norfolk agency on a roster of agencies to provide public relations and marketing support services to the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), whose brief covers the six counties of the region.
More than 100 top communications agencies tendered for the prestigious contract to work with EEDA, but only 9 were selected to take a place on the roster. Shorthose Russell has been contracted to supply a range of strategic marketing activities including development and design of communications materials, e-marketing, consultancy and PR and media relations.
Chosen by EEDA because of its ability to deliver professional, creative marketing solutions and to meet challenging deadlines, Shorthose Russell has a proven track record working with a variety of national and regional clients. It has already commenced work on several campaigns for EEDA including raising the profile for the 2012 Olympic ‘Back The Bid’ campaign in the East of England and raising awareness of the positive impact of European funding in the region.
Managing Director, Tony Shorthose, said, “I see the new contract with EEDA as real recognition of the quality of our team and our ability to deliver first-rate communication solutions. To have succeeded against such huge competition is very gratifying. With the appointment of Peter Joyner we are also expanding the team in response to our rapidly growing portfolio of clients.”
Victoria Brooke
PR Manager
|
| |
We’re not square! (04/02/2005)
Creating a new identity always marks a turning point in any company's life, a real emergence of change.
So on Monday 31 January 2005 Shorthose Russell delivered a new corporate identity.
But you may ask, what’s changed?
Company buy-out, new staff, a growing and evolving business to quote just a few.
But where do you start when designing a new identity especially for the company you work for?
First, Shorthose Russell wanted to present itself as clear and comprehensible.
Second, we wanted to symbolise our ethos, attitudes, so that everyone who works for us can share the same spirit and then communicate it to all the people who deal with us.
And third, we wanted to differentiate ourselves and what we do from our competitors.
These three themes would be the starting point for the development of our new identity - coherence, symbolism and positioning.
With just a simple idea and no lavish gimmicks, we evolved the previous square design (into black for purity and gravitas), said who we are (the company name) and introduced creativity and targeted response through a vibrant green dot.
So if you like our new identity or want to find out how corporate design can evolve your company why not contact us today.
Steve Rowland
Creative Director
|
| |
 |
New PR Account Director at SRL (12/01/2005)
Our PR team continues to go from strength to strength evidenced with the recent appointment of Pete Joyner to our team as PR Account Director.
Pete has over five years experience in the field of PR working on both agency and client side. He has extensive experience in the travel and tourism sector having managed key accounts for local government, UK and international trade and consumer clients.
You may have seen Pete somewhere before? When Pete was seven he held a small but important role as a cub in the infamous Bernard Matthews adverts - what a claim to fame!
We would like to warmly welcome Pete into the Shorthose Russell team and wish him a long and successful career with us.
If you would like to find out more about the PR services we can offer you at Shorthose Russell please call Pippa Lain, PR Director, on 01603 785765.
Melissa Gwynn
Marketing Executive
|
| |
|
One in a Million! (10/01/2005)
In September 2002 we launched a basic e-commerce website for the UEA Student Union. Our brief was to design and construct a bookings site that would provide details of all forthcoming events, enable visitors to book online (reducing the pressure on the telesales staff) and that would be easy to update by the UEA staff so as to avoid expensive maintenance costs.
From the start it became apparent that the site was going to be very successful, indeed in the first month alone, over £20,000 worth of tickets were sold. Since then the site has undergone a number of updates to improve its functionality, leading to a total re-write in late 2004 that has now made it an extremely powerful e-commerce site.
January 10th was a real red-letter day for both the UEA and SRL as it marked the official total sale of £1m worth of tickets.
The success of the site merely reflects the change in the way consumers are viewing e-commerce, indeed it is true to say that Britain is becoming a nation of on-line shoppers. Statistics published in the January 6 edition of ‘Marketing Week’ estimate that during November and December 2004 over £4bn was spent on e-commerce sites, which is the equivalent of the combined sales of 19 shopping centres the size of Bluewater – quite staggering! In addition, The Office of National Statistics estimates that the total online sales for 2004 were in the region of £40bn. Given these facts however, there are still many retailers that haven’t woken up to the power of e-commerce and are lagging behind their competitors.
Consumers shop online for a number of reasons: convenience, the range of choice available, the quick & easy availability of information about products and the savings that can be made online. Growth in online shopping is set to continue during 2005, with the availability of Broadband being a major factor in its continuing success.
Jenny Rope
Studio/Production Manager
For more information on how you can make e-commerce work for you, contact Mark, Melissa or Jenny for further information.
|
| |
 |
A Christmas Tail (24/12/2004)
It’s easy in this business to be cynical about awards - more variations on a marketing theme seem to sprout every year.
However when an award does come your way, it’s suddenly quite exciting of course, especially when you weren’t expecting it.
In this season of Christmas cheer it was lovely to get an unexpected present in the shape of an award from Viacom. This was for the busback element of the integrated promotional campaign, for the new Time & Tide Museum in Great Yarmouth, which was up against national competition.
We firmly believe in avoiding the obvious marketing solution for our clients and for this particular campaign we like to think we did break with convention, whilst at the same time we didn’t deviate from the key task of communicating a clear marketing message to the target audience.
Trying to organise the shoot of a herring was a surprisingly convoluted challenge as well - it’s the first time I’ve written a shoot brief in which I’ve requested a good looking fish with no blemishes!
It’s often said that there are no new ideas and that everything has been done before. However that’s definitely no excuse for delivering pedestrian creative and marketing solutions and so our mantra for 2005 will be to continue to find that alternative way of making sure a message hits home.
Wishing you all a terrific Christmas and a very prosperous New Year.
Petra Boyce
Account Director
|
| |
|
 |
Lunch and Learn (22/12/2004)
On Wednesday 15th December SRL had its first ‘Lunch and Learn’ meeting – a chance for everyone to sit down and discuss some of the recent campaigns we have been involved in and interesting projects that are coming up in the New Year.
As a hard working and busy agency, it is often the case that we do not get the opportunity to see what other people in the team have been doing for other clients. By taking time out to share, we could find out what each other has been working on and gain an insight into the different marketing disciplines within SRL to benefit our clients.
At Wednesday’s meeting there were presentations by Creative Director - Steve Rowland, PR Manager - Victoria Brooke, and Marketing Executive - Melissa Gwynn as well as a general introduction from Managing Director of SRL - Tony Shorthose.
Topics discussed included re-branding, business 2 business public relations and pay per click advertising.
Also on Wednesday was the annual SRL Client Christmas Party, held at the St.Giles Gallery in Norwich. The event gave the whole SRL team the chance to chat and mingle with clients over a glass of wine, whilst admiring the photography on display at the gallery. It was great to see so many of our clients out for the evening and a good time was had by all.
Victoria Brooke
PR Manager
|
| |
|
Pixels and Print (06/12/2004)
I’ve heard people talking about the death of print, and others of how so-called paper-less work environments are now just as full of books and paper as they ever were. From a marketing perspective these are really interesting times.
The benefits of marketing on the web are obvious. It’s an environment which is easily updatable, immediate and can be extremely targeted. It can also be delivered at relatively low cost, as Tony mentioned in his article of 05/11/04, and there’s is no limit to the amount of information that can be stored there. But is the web always right?
I think it is fair to say though that often when something interests the viewer on screen their first response is to print it out before reading. It is true that for most people it is easier to read from printed matter, and they only scan text on screen. So why not start by printing your communication? Remove the hurdle of relying on the customer to print it? If someone has the printed item from the outset it could be argued that the opportunity for cross-selling is far easier. When customers are on the web, they are aware that competitors are only a few clicks away, and the nature of the web encourages them to constantly investigate this. For example when shopping on-line how often do you notice the whole of a site’s product range?, yet most of us have a good idea what the catalogue on the coffee table has to offer. A sense of quality is never communicated as effectively as a well executed piece of print; there is no substitute for its tactile nature and the impact of printed images. The designer has a far greater control over what the customer sees. There is also the advantage of positioning print, for our tourism clients there is the ability to locate print where it is needed, rather than relying on a tourists prior research on-line. How often have you picked up a print without really thinking about it?, and how often do you roam around the web without looking for something specific?
So whether it’s web or print, it is important for our clients to be able to benefit from the strengths of all communication methods, to inform, persuade and reinforce. The right marketing mix needs to be struck to achieve optimum results for our clients. In this way the benefits of all our areas of expertise can be gained.
Rachel Fiddy
Designer
|
| |
Media Rate Increases (25/11/2004)
Now is the time when all media buyers have to re-cost their schedules because rate increases are starting to come in. On the whole the increases are between 2% - 3%.
We would of course have already warned our clients that increases would take place but we have found that some publications will hold the rates for confirmed bookings provided we make enough now!
Archant on the other hand have honoured October bookings (their new rate card came into affect October 4) but we have had to re-cost November booking onwards.
Viacom have announced rate increases of 5% for 2005 but are still offering some very competitive packages.
If we can help give us a call!
Mike Southey
Media Buyer
|
| |
Buyout Springboard to Growth (11/11/2004)
Shorthose Russell, one of East Anglia’s leading marketing communications agencies, is celebrating a highly successful few months during which the company has been bought out by Tony Shorthose and fellow director of the company, Mark Harvey, from co-founders The Russell Organisation, and won a number of impressive accounts and extensions to existing contracts.
Adding to its enviable portfolio of key regional clients and national brands, Shorthose Russell has secured national contracts with Frans Maas Plc, the Scout Association and The National Trust, and regional accounts with Greater Yarmouth Tourism and the East of England Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (EEMLAC).
In addition to the new contracts, Shorthose Russell has extended long term relationships with leading operator of holiday motor cruisers, Norfolk Broads Direct, East Anglia’s premier venue for sports, leisure and events, the Sportspark, and Fitness Express - the UK’s leading operators of fitness clubs in hotels and corporate premises.
The buyout signifies an exciting time for the agency as it moves forward as an independent company.
Tony Shorthose, said, “Over the past 8 years as new people have joined us we have extended our fields of expertise and built up an enviable client list across a variety of sectors. We now have specialist teams dealing with the full range of marketing communications services including strategic marketing consultancy, PR and media relations, advertising and media planning, e-marketing and web design and, of course, our award winning design studio.”
Tony continued, “The new contracts and extension of existing contracts demonstrate the quality of our team and our ability to deliver first-rate communication solutions - we couldn’t have made a better start to our independent future.”
For further information about Shorthose Russell please contact Mark Harvey
email: markh@shorthose-russell.co.uk
|
|
| |
|
 |
Five Star weekend for PR team (08/11/2004)
Vicky and I have just returned from a weekend break at the UK's only 5 Star Holiday Village - Potters Leisure Resort.
Potters is an amazing place but it's really difficult to describe if you haven't experienced it first hand so, as the new PR agency for the resort, we were invited to become Guests for a weekend.
People tend to think of Holiday Villages as being like Hi-Di-Hi but Potters couldn't be more different. There is a huge range of inclusive short breaks to choose from with some top class entertainment and outstanding sporting facilities on offer. During the week Potters tends to attract older people but at weekends a younger crowd arrives with families and groups of friends.
We arrived on Friday evening and threw ourselves into the leisure break, taking part in lots of activities from Tai Chi to New Age Kurling! Victoria demonstrated her very competitive streak and beat me soundly at ten-pin bowling and table football but I'm sure my napkins did look the smartest!
Our job is to raise awareness of Potters to consumers throughout the UK, encouraging journalists to visit and generating media coverage which will lead to increased bookings at key times. We've already had some great results with coverage in the Sunday People (a huge circulation) and several media trips being arranged.
Pippa Lain
PR Director
web: www.pottersholidays.com
|
| |
|
The Web Marches On (05/11/2004)
As the web becomes more mature the focus has moved from the sites themselves to (a) getting them found by the search engines and (b) using those same SE’s as advertising tools.
Making a site as attractive as possible to SE’s is a process called ‘optimisation’. We have been doing a great deal of work in this field recently and have real-world evidence that continuous analysis and tweaking of the content of a site really will move it up the rankings to appear on those magical first couple of pages of search results. We have optimisation packages to suit varying levels of sophistication and budget.
When you consider that over 80% of web users find the site they want via a search engine (rather than by typing in the domain name) it would occur to any marketer that the search results pages are a powerful place to advertise products relevant to the search term used.
Pay per click is probably the most powerful means of doing this and – music to the ears of any client – you pay by results! We have used pay per click recently for a tourism destination website and an individual hotel. The results are stunning. In both cases we ran pay per click and a traditional national press campaign together in order to ‘test and learn’. Both were designed to drive traffic to the website which, within the strategy, had the job of selling the product and converting interest into bookings. The spend for the tourism destination on pay per click was £500 and delivered 1500 responses. £3000 was spent in the press and delivered 60 responses – 33p compared to £50!
There are lots more exciting stories to tell about e-marketing based on work we are doing. If any client or prospective client would like to know more, get in touch.
Tony Shorthose
Managing Director
|
| |
 |
Have you been watching The 70’s Office? (29/10/2004)
Have you been watching The 70’s Office?
A team of creative designers have been flung together to produce winning concepts and campaigns for client products from the 70’s. The catch is… The show is completely of the 70’s and all the creatives only have typewriters, magic markers and their ideas to work with!
Fantastic!
It’s great to watch them struggle to deliver creative solutions without the aid of modern computer technology. Surely this is how it should be at the start of the creative process. Too many of us are used to seeing fantastic visuals, but how much time is spent on polish rather than concept? I can remember the days before computer generated graphics (just), and how the concept was everything, which this programme has highlighted.
So the next time you get that highly polished computer generated visual, ask, is it really going to do the business?
Make your mind up and step back in time with The 70’s Office.
Sky One, 9pm Thursdays.
Steve Rowland
Creative Director
web: www.skyone.co.uk/programmes/office/
|
| |
|
Launch of the Thetford website (22/10/2004)
Shorthose Russell has recently designed a brand new website for The Thetford Tourism and Heritage Partnership, who have been established to attract visitors to the town of Thetford and surrounding area.
The primary role of the website is to act as an information resource to help people plan and make a visit to the town. The site, which includes guest book, online brochure ordering, events calendar and e-postcard facilities will also act as the key marketing tool for ongoing contact with visitors. The new site is innovative, creative and dynamic.
The website has allowed Shorthose Russell to showcase leading edge interactive technology including flash games and complex animation.
Melissa Gwynn
Marketing Executive
web: www.explorethetford.co.uk
|
| |
PR Team nominated for consumer award (29/09/2004)
The Shorthose Russell PR team has been nominated for a prestigious IPR PRide award for its work with the Sportspark in Norwich.
Designed to recognise excellent in PR across a variety of categories, the East of England PRide awards will be presented at a dinner in November.
Keep your fingers crossed!
|
| |
Suffolk Skies website launches (16/08/2004)
Shorthose Russell has created a brand new website for the Suffolk Skies Partnership, an organisation founded to promote the wonderful coastal area which stretches from Southwold to Woodbridge.
The site is designed to act as a point of contact for both consumers and journalists and provides information on the area as well as an events listing. It will work alongside an ongoing PR campaign.
With a evocative use imagery the site captures the essence of this unspoilt and unhurried area.
email: info@suffolkskies.com
web: www.suffolkskies.com
|
| |
 |
Best law firm rebranding (23/04/2004)
Shorthose Russell were appointed by national law firm, Mills & Reeve, to develop and execute a major rebranding project for the business.
The project was designned to move the firm forward in identity terms by more accurately reflecting and extending the firm's industry position, as well building upon the excellent profile and reputation they had developed over many years.
Whilst the project has received excellent feedback we were especially delighted when at last night's acclaimed Legal Industry Marketing Awards (LEMAS) the project was voted best law firm rebranding in 2003.
|
| |
|
Launch of the VisitNorfolk website (02/02/2004)
Richard Ellis, the chairman of East of England Development Agency has launched the VisitNorfolk website aimed at boosting the tourist industry in Norfolk. Shorthose Russell researched, designed and built the site, which enables customers to make direct contact with service providers. This ‘effective and creative’ marketing tool is designed to generate a greater interest in Norfolk, and encourage a larger number of visitors to the region. The website can be viewed at
web: www.visitnorfolk.co.uk
|
| |
IPR PRide Awards (29/01/2004)
The IPR PRide awards recognise the success and achievement of Public Relations companies. At the East Anglian awards ceremony held in January, Shorthose Russell won a gold award for the best use of photography and design in a PR campaign for Suffolk Skies. The company was also short listed for the Best Low Budget Campaign, for a project involving Anglia IT recruitment and the James Bond premiere of Die Another Day. Victoria Brooke, who has recently been promoted to PR Account Manager, received a nomination for the Young Communicator of the Year award. These prestigious awards, which are judged by other PR professionals from different regions, highlight the professionalism and best practice of the PR team at Shorthose Russell.
|
|
| |
|
Annual Review for the Scout Association (01/12/2003)
Annual Review for the Scout Association
Shorthose Russell produced the Annual Review, both as a brochure and as an audiovisual presentation. This review emphasised the diversity encouraged by The Scouts Association, and the ‘Thinking differently’ theme was consistently applied throughout the review. The objective of this project was to develop the traditional image of the Scouts, and highlight the variety of activities and broad-spectrum of work undertaken by the Association. Shorthose Russell has received some extremely complementary responses to this review, Jacques Moreillon, the Secretary-General of World Scouting said “I cannot say how much I am impressed by ‘Thinking differently’, in both style and substance”, a compliment indeed.
|
| |
|
