2022 update

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I can’t believe we’re in the middle of February already and I haven’t written a 2022 update – to be fair, the year took off at breakneck speed, and then I snuck off for a birthday week away in Cornwall. Excuses, excuses.

The Recycled Candle Company

As usual, the boys were incredibly busy in the run up to Christmas fulfilling wholesale orders, online orders and running a stall at Exeter’s Christmas Market. Somewhere amongst all that they finally received their Green Apple Awards trophy and the news that they were the sole winners of the Sustainable Development award. Brilliant. Some lovely PR gained in national publications too, including Metro. And we’re about to launch a limited edition candle in a charity collaboration with Missing People. With influencers on board to help, I can’t wait.

Express & Echo |Metro

The Outdoors Group

Opening a new Forest School at Escot Estate. Here I hold my hand up, as this came from my suggestion! Can’t think of a better location, tucked away in part of Black Aller Woods. As well as the Forest School there’s a second site adjacent where the group will run its amazing Transitional Learning Programme giving respite to those struggling in mainstream schools.

Devon Live |East Devon News

Chilcotts Auctioneers

Two interesting stories for this client. Firstly, a collection of antique silver spoons called ‘The Charles C Brian Collection’ which included rare early West Country spoons, some dating back to the late 16th century. The initial estimate of £20,000 to £30,000 was exceeded and the collection achieved an impressive £43,000. There was a secondary story about a missing Plymouth spoon, which was fun to research, too.

Antiques Trade Gazette | Plymouth Herald | Devon Daily

The second story focused on five watercolours by a local artist, Alfred Leyman. These depicted scenes from the Honiton area. Such was the interest that the paintings, estimated at between £200 and £400, actually sold for an average of £1114 and one reaching £1650.

Midweek Herald  | Western Morning News

Otter Garden Centres

Another pair! This time PR for the wonderful fundraising total for Hospiscare raised at the Ottery branch, which topped £14,700 – amazing considering the continuing impact of the pandemic on stores having to close.

Sidmouth Herald | East Devon News

This was closely followed by a story about nightly visits by an actual otter to the Koi carp pond, which was entertaining…

Sidmouth Herald | East Devon News

Exeter Living Awards

They came round very quickly! I put two clients in for awards, Connaught@Christmas for the Event category and SunGift for the Sustainable category. Both are finalists, and will find out if they’ve been successful on March 17th. I wonder if anyone will notice if I wear the same dress as I did last September?

Copywriting

I’ve also been busy writing brochure copy for Burrington Estates, for upcoming residential and commercial developments in the region. At the same time, something completely different with my work for Brigstock Skin & Laser and Communitas Clinics, creating content for their websites. I have two features to write for Devon Life, one about a Flower Farm, the other for Sidmouth’s new Jazz & Blues Festival.

Name-dropping

Oh, and with my agency work for Diespeker & Co in London we’re collaborating with Angela Scanlon…..

That’s a snapshot 2022 update so far this year, by no means exhaustive. And I’ll just add that this year is my 30th year being self-employed after being made redundant by HTV in 1992. I’ve pledged to do 30 things to mark this auspicious milestone, so watch this space for updates.

Volunteer Mentor Award

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Life sometimes takes an unexpected turn doesn’t it? It certainly did on Friday November 20th when I found myself attending a digital awards event ‘in’ Hull.

My connection with Hull came about after I reconnected with Charles Cracknell, an alumni of King Alfred’s College (now the University of Winchester). Charles commissioned me to copy-edit the Hull Global Entrepreneurship Week brochure and it’s become an annual project. I have got to know many names of the businesses, schools and individuals who get involved in GEW each year.

When lockdown hit, a lot of the young entrepreneurs were excluded from financial help as they’d not been in business long enough. A dangerous oversight I think. Charles wasn’t going to sit back and do nothing so he asked business people to help out as a mentors. I agreed to get involved. And so I was introduced to Blush Cleaning, and the vivacious Alex and Nicole. Over the months I’ve given them support with grant applications, Covid-19 safety protocols and advice for Facebook posting (they’re actually really good at it!).

I knew from my copy-editing that GEW always had an awards event, the Hull Youth Enterprise Awards, so I was rather surprised – and pleased – to be included on a shortlist as a Partner. I was even more pleased that Blush Cleaning was a finalist for Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

For the event, I duly looked out a smart top, although I will admit to wearing fluffy socks. I poured myself a glass of fizz. I saw and heard lots of people I’ve come across in the brochure copy year after year – it was fantastic to put faces to names. And then the awards were announced.

I was thrilled when Alex and Nicole were announced as winners of The Sheila Waudby Young Entrepreneur of the Year. I didn’t win my category, but then I wasn’t expecting to. But then came a category I wasn’t aware of, with special Awards presented for outstanding service to enterprising young people. Announcing the John Cracknell Youth Enterprise Volunteer Mentor Award, the presenter described the winner as living in Devon… I realised it was me! I think I gave a little acceptance speech, I can’t remember as I was in shock. And maybe on my fourth glass of fizz!

So thank you to the lovely people of Hull GEW and the John Cracknell team. I love the fact that I’m here in the deepest South West supporting young entrepreneurs in the North East. When things settle down I’ll be paying a visit to meet Blush Cleaning face to face!

We Are Only Human

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The Family Law Company kept me busy during lockdown, commissioning me to copywrite their new Divorce Guide, We Are Only Human.

Part of the brief was to write a simplified explanation of the process from start to finish. This gives those starting down to the road to divorce a good overview of what is involved.

The challenging element was to interview past clients and write up their stories. I’ve conducted many telephone interviews over the years but clearly these required extra sensitivity! In the end I spoke to nine clients all with very different experiences. There were some with children, others without. Some had remained amicable with their ‘ex’ whilst for others there was a need to draw a line under the relationship.

As professional as I am, I couldn’t help but empathise with all of them; I even shed a few tears along the way!

I also interviewed two counsellors, Sarah Ashworth and Amanda Williamson who were kind enough to provide information for sections on how to be sure a marriage is over, and tips on how to move on. Wise words from both.

After writing up each interview, I passed them in front of the lawyers involved to double check the legal processes were described correctly. Marketing Manager Kerry England then created the digital guide using her many creative skills.

The Divorce Guide is just part of the ‘We Are Only Human’ campaign. Kerry oversaw the production of a video made by Blinkback Video and I wrote several features introducing the new guide via a number of publications including Devon Life.

This was a meaty and satisfying copywriting project and was a great way to keep busy during the lockdown months.

We Are Only Human

PR for family law during coronavirus

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I am proud to provide a PR service to The Family Law Company, a forward-thinking, innovative and principled legal firm. The work is always interesting and often emotive, but even moreso over the past few months of the coronavirus pandemic.

Early on, the company saw the need to explain ‘contact’ in the current climate, particularly after Michael Gove made a statement (which was later changed). Basically contact is where separated parents see their children, referring usually to the parent that doesn’t live with the children. The issue, of course, is whether this should continue at the moment. I worked with Solicitor Hannah Porter on a blog clarifying the facts. Marketing Manager Kerry England, who pushed the blog out on social media, said the traffic to the website doubled the day that it went live. I turned the blog into a press release and the interest continued. The content was later turned into a free webinar presented by Hannah and Solicitor Imran Khodabocus, for whom I secured an interview with Heart FM to explain what the webinar was all about. Devon 24  Grow

Alongside this has been supporting an initiative from MD Norman Hartnell, who has a longstanding commitment to the plight of those who need legal aid, and the problems with accessing it. The increase in domestic violence during the pandemic has been well covered, but Norman saw a pressing issue; to access legal aid, certain ‘evidence’ must be presented which is nigh on impossible to get at the moment, when getting to see a doctor, for example, is incredibly difficult. Additionally, perpertrators of domestic violence are even more present during lockdown. Norman wrote an impassioned letter, which I proofed and edited, to send to MPs including the Prime Minister, asking that this requirement for evidence is dropped, and that legal aid lawyers are more than capable of assessing whether a need for legal aid is genuine.

Again this was turned into a press release which I distributed to local press, newsrooms and The Law Society. I also had a very useful chat with a family law journalist who writes for the Guardian, a useful contact for the future! The letter is definitely worth a read: Norman’s letter

Diespeker Magazine

Hot off the Press – the Diespeker Magazine!

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There’s been a lot of talk about the death of print since the digital era began. Newspapers are closing – or at the least, shrinking, magazines are folding and online publications becoming ten-a-penny. But there’s nothing like print, you can’t beat a quality publication.

I grew up with the Twinkle comic as my main weekly reading material, gravitating to Jackie then the fabulous Cosmopolitan magazine. My dad read the Express and the Telegraph, my mum the Daily Mail. I, being a bit of a socialist, turned to the Guardian, devouring its alternative take on the world. I’m still a fan today.

I’ve been a writer throughout my career. My ambition was to write for magazines, but I only started after a move to Devon and career change into PR, when I began writing occasional features for Devon Life. I’m now on the contributors list. Made it.

But what of print in the corporate world? In the good old days I wrote copy for company brochures, manuals and leaflets. But what company has a corporate brochure now? Everyone has a website where up to date information is easily accessed by potential customers and clients. I’ve seen many annual reports, but not many glorious glossies celebrating the successes of a business.

Fast forward to January 2018.

I was asked by agency Terra Ferma Media to be the content editor for a magazine they were producing for Diespeker & Co. I couldn’t possibly say no. I manage Diespeker’s PR, so I know the company very well. Working to TFM’s flatplan, I scoured the content I had from the past two years, cherry picking the very best stories and repurposing them. I generated new content, via interviews and tracking down project stories. I worked like a demon to meet the deadline, while the design team worked on the overall design, and pulled together images to illustrate the content.

Finally, it was ready and the magazine went to print. There was then a lull, and then, a huge surge of excitement, as the magazine was presented to the MD. I was dying to see it. Finally, my copy arrived with a fanfare (well from me, anyway). It’s fabulous, a really beautifully produced magazine that people will actually want to pick up and read. I’m a very proud copywriter.

There are a limted number of printed copies, and of course the magazine is available online. If you want to take a peek you can order a digital copy here.

Magazine pageMagazine page

 

 

 

 

London PR for Diespeker

London Calling – London PR

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I’ve been working with agency Terra Ferma Media for five or so years as an associate. Initially managing social media for a number of their clients including Ellenborough Park, Mantis Travel and (my favourite for kudos alone) Bear Grylls Survival School, they then asked if I could write the copy for their client Diespeker & Co’s new website. Naturally I said yes! This led to an invitation to handle the PR for the London natural stone and terrazzo company, which I leapt at.

Three years’ on and last night, an email landed in my inbox. The client wanted to tell his outsourced marketing team that his turnover had doubled over the last year and that he was extremely excited by this news! As was I, of course.

Impactful

There’s little doubt that the work we’ve all been putting in has had a significant impact on the success of the business. Diespeker’s website, when it launched, was – and still is – way ahead of competitor websites in terms of content and style. We add regular news updates and the stories we tell are not only about projects, but Diespeker’s supported charity (Stem4) and MD John Krause’s exploits as a marathon runner.

I was really pleased in November when Diespeker won Manufacturer of the Year at the South East Manufacturers Awards. Although I wrote the submission, the proof is in the pudding – the work that Diespeker is doing with bespoke terrazzo is unequalled by any other manufacturer in the UK.

The future

We’re about to embark on a company magazine, which I’m delighted to be editing. I know we’re entrenched in digital, digital, digital, so it’s lovely to be working on a print publication for a change. There’s also going to be a launch later this year, of an offshoot business aimed more at the luxury interiors market. Can’t wait!

It’s a privilige to be working with Diespeker & Co, to be part of the company’s journey to greater and greater success.

Yet, although I love my visits to London, the buzz of the Smoke and seeing old haunts (we passed by a flat I once lived in, in Streatham, on my last visit), I also love returning to Devon. It’s always fascinating taking the train, and watching the regular commuters in their daily routine. I have the best of both worlds, I think.