Minis Galore!

Now, who doesn’t love a Mini? It’s an iconic little car – which is 66 years old this year. Something I didn’t know about the Mini is that it has lots of die hard enthusiasts who attend Mini-focussed events. Not just in this country, but around the world!

IMM 2025

One such event is the International Mini Meeting. This is held in a different European country each year, and this year it’s the turn of the UK. Over August Bank Holiday, thousands of fans will head for Laughton Showground in Sussex for a weekend celebration of all things Mini.

I was brought on board with Hannah of Six Degrees Marketing to give the event a big push. Ticket sales haven’t been as good as hoped for due to rising costs which impacted ticket prices, and, I guess, worries about the British weather. The last one held here in Bristol in 2019 was hit by gales! The not-for-profit event is being organised purely by volunteers who needed some expert help.

Our service

Hannah and I gave the lacklustre website a major makeover and stepped in to support the volunteer social media manager. Hannah has been busy with e-newsletters while I’ve been pushing out news to trade press as well as local press, with more to come.

Events in the UK have had a really tough time since the pandemic. Smaller festivals like Chagstock have closed for good, and others such as Run to the Sun taking breaks.

It’s a tough call but we’re pushing the boat out. Interest is on the rise, tickets sales are increasing steadily and we are hopeful that enough tickets will be sold to make the event a success. It would be great to see the Mini Drive Out, when hundreds of these fab cars take to the roads around Lewes. With a few tooting horns, we hope!

Good luck to the team, and thank you to John at JR Event Services who put us forward for the project.

 

Event PR Connaught@Christmas

It was a very, very cold day when I first met Connaught@Christmas organiser John Radford in Sidmouth’s Connaught Gardens on my birthday last February to discuss providing event PR. Fast forward 10 months and what a roller coaster of a ride!

This was the first time the gardens were going to be illuminated this way, and I knew from the start it was going to be amazing. Quite the best location, on the clifftops above the sea. Connaught@Christmas combined a paid visit to the gardens with a free-to-visit Food & Craft Village in nearby Manor Road car park. Only on for 6 days, it promised something new, exciting and affordable for visitors of all ages.

After an initial press release to announce the event, all was quiet for many months as the branding and website were developed. With the event starting on December 7th, we decided September was the time to start the push for ticket sales. After introducing John to Hannah Hocking of Six Degrees Marketing to (very successfully) manage the Facebook advertising, I created a series of press releases announcing various aspects of the event, including:

  • Tickets on sale
  • Design team plans coming together
  • Showcasing 30+ local traders at the Food & Craft Village
  • Build begins
  • Gardens light up

I also wrote editorial for the East Devon Resident for its November and December issues, negotiated competitions to win a family ticket with Devon Life and Radio Exe and populated a list for the press launch.We received masses of coverage, interest and support from local media. I was delighted that Radio Devon came to interview John the day before we opened, and when ITV Westcountry responded to my suggestion for a weather report from the gardens. The stage was set! And then came Storm Barra.

We had all been watching the weather, which had looked pretty reasonable until this storm turned up, due on the first day of the event – also the day of the press launch. John and I spoke the day before, then the morning of the storm. I had already contacted everyone on the press list with a ‘watch this space’ message. At midday, the call was made and the first day of Connaught@Christmas was cancelled. I duly cancelled the VIPs. John decided simply to refund all the tickets rather than make people rebook. This was a top decision, as everyone appreciated it and the majority booked for another day. Westcountry were still going to come, as the storm had died down in the afternoon, but then called me to say that we’d been bumped by the resignation of the Plymouth Argyle manager! They did come the following day, all the better as the lovely Kate Haskell did the report – Kate and I both write for Devon Life so it was good to catch up with her.

As for the event, it was a huge success. The feedback was incredibly positive, with only a few visitors being disappointed that they couldn’t bring their four-legged friends. I have an idea about that for next year! Some people asked why it only ran for 6 nights and want it to run throughout December next time. I went twice, once to liaise with ITV and the second time to enjoy it just as a visitor. Both times I fell totally in love with the event, the location, the moon rising over the sea, the projections over Jacob’s Ladder beach, seeing Father Christmas chat with children, the choirs singing on the bandstand, the cactus greenhouse lit up with so many colours.

I’m proud to have been involved providing event PR for Connaught@Christmas. I was totally bowled over too, to receive a gorgeous bouquet from John thanking me for my efforts. Well John, that’s my job. I really hope to do it all again in 2022.

Examples of coverage

Announcement

On sale

Plans coming together

Keeping it local

Where to see Christmas illuminations

What’s On

Build underway

Event begins – a day late!