Public relations, better value than advertising?

In times of competing media channels and the fragmentation of TV and printed channels, PR can be a very valuable marketing tool. Advertising, whilst very beneficial for the promotion of some products and services, can be less effective for a drip effect of constantly putting your name forward at a time and place where the audience is receptive and absorbs the information as an item of 'news' as opposed to an ad that is designed to promote and convert enquiries. PR is a relatively gentle medium as it is more informative and it is the cumulative effect of PR that makes it effective over a longer term. If you think PR could work for you, give us a call anytime to discuss.

Yes, she owned it, but it was her 18 yr old grandson who thrashed it around for 34000 miles!

Seriously, i'm sure being really old, she was very careful with it.

Street view, worth a look.

just been playing with Google's new toy, Street View, it's a bit like a 360 degree movie but on a street. Start at Google Maps. I tried it by putting in Oxford Street, Manchester, then just drag the little yellow man icon over the street and off you go!! It's actually quite interesting. Doesn't cover every street yet, but well worth a go. Enjoy.

Coping with the upturn.

Recessions can't and don't last forever, so what are you doing to plan for the upturn? What are the key areas in your business to take care of now, so you're not taken by surprise by that massive influx of demand, and the ready pots of disposable income coming your way? All the signs are there. Financial experts are now almost certain, bar a miracle, that the good times will almost certainly be back, and those who are not shrewdly making allowances for these prosperous times, may well be left behind - but still doing quite well.

The week that was.

The last week has been one of our busiest, and we are proud to announce we have been successful with three new public sector contracts, more details of which we will provide in the coming weeks. The recession is continuing to bite and now is the time to start taking action, making calls and getting marketing out there. We are producing more and more email marketing campaigns for our clients. We can save you time and effort, as well as money in getting the basics of a new email campaign right from the outset. Contact us if you would like more info.

Direct Mail, still an effective marketing tool.

Direct mail gets a lot of bad press, but it's still a very effective marketing tool, especially when combined with an outbound telemarketing campaign to follow up the mailing and convert enquiries. As with PR, one of the most important aspects is the creative approach and the 'angle'

chosen to frame the message, so it is entertaining to the recipient and presents the information and call to action in an interesting way. In a downturn, you could look at posted direct mail in two ways, either there will be less of it as marketing budgets are cut to weather the financial storm, threfore making your campaign stand out as there is simply less for it to compete with. The other potential scenario, in some sectors, is that DM is increased to stoke up flagging sales, making the competition more intense and potentially less attractive as a marketing option. As with all marketing comm's the same old rules apply, make the message attractive, on brand and on message with a relevant and attractive proposition, and you won't go far wrong. One last thing on direct mail, the following up bit can increase your conversions massively, so it's worth doing rather than sitting waiting!

Getting more from Google Maps!

Google Local Business is a great way of tapping into the power of Google Maps, for getting your business in front of people looking for services in your town or city. You can add loads of information, images and even video to your listing and it's a very good way of getting to the top of Google for free. You can also ask customers to leave reviews for you, which are visible on your search query results page within Google's natural listings. Signing up is fairly straightforward, just type 'Google local business' into Google and follow the instructions. Given that many people are looking for services from local suppliers, it makes very good sense to make full use of this underutilised resource. If you want to, you can pay an agency to do it all for you, but really, it's not difficult! - if you have a few minutes spare over a cuppa... Ps. You can check out our listing by googling, 'design agency preston' Cheers.

In the studio this week...

This week, so far, has been extremely busy, we are working on a few web projects which will be filtering through to our portfolio in the next few weeks and months. It is already a little difficult to believe that we are nearing the end of the first quarter, the days and weeks seem to be going by very quickly, but it is all good, and we are enjoying the challenge of working on so many current projects, and the variety this is bringing to the studio. Our new business efforts have been paying off with some very good recent enquiries from the website, and plenty of tenders that we are competing for, for some very exciting opportunities.

The benefit of design and marketing is that no two days are ever the same, and although we are sometimes under, what can seem like intense pressure, it is great seeing the success our work is generating and knowing we are making a very big difference out there. We are very much wanting to display some new stuff on the website and as soon as we get just an ounce of breathing space, we will be updating the site with some more of our latest work. Once again, thanks to our fantastic team and our dedicated supply chain who are backing us up with amazing service and attention to detail - Phil

Marching on...

March is a great time to look at your marketing and decide what needs doing to ensure a good run of business through the summer. A bit of spring in the air and a bit of work on your marketing now, can make a very big difference to the results you get throughout the rest of the year. Contact us now for a no-obligation review of any of your marketing activities. (Pic courtesy of Freeimages.co.uk).