Amos lighting to open new branch

Lighting the Way

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New showroom for Amos Lighting

I’ve known of the plans for a new showroom at Topsham in Exeter from the beginning of the year. It’s a bold move for this family-run business, but one that I am sure will go well.

We had to hold back from releasing any formal announcement for some time as the final negotiations were in the hands of the lawyers. Interesting how news leaks in the close knit Devon business community, though – I was asked on a number of occasions about the new showroom, long before the press release went out. Luckily all the documents were finally signed, sealed and delivered, so the story is now officially public.

Hot on the heels of the announcement I released a second press release, detailing the appointment of Ashton Hargreaves as the manager of the new branch. Ash is the perfect choice, and I’m looking forward to working with her once the branch is live.

Even though it’s only June, we’ll be racing towards the business launch and launch weekend in September. Catering, entertainment, giveaways – all to be organised and promoted. The launch is on the same weekend as the Self Build Show at Westpoint where Amos is exhibiting, so everyone will be working at full pelt. Watch this space!

Social Media

Amos Lighting has a healthy, active social media profile. But one important reminder that has come out of working with them is the need to ensure that login details for all social media are kept safe in a known place.

As part of my PR service I was asked to help sort out the company’s social media. We spent a fair amount of time trying to get into their existing accounts, set up long before I was on the scene. There was no record of the passwords, so it took a lot of guesswork, trying different combinations. We managed to access Pinterest but with Facebook and Twitter we had to start again, then work hard to get the old inactive pages deleted. It’s all done now, thank goodness! I have a note of all the logins, but, more importantly, so do David and Nicola Amos. After all, I might leave the country one day. Or retire.

Liz Chilcott 'poisoning' her husband

PR promoting poison?

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Magical stories

I’ve said before that I love working with Chilcotts Auctioneers – not just because they’re such nice people, but also because the stories they give me to work with are just magical in terms of PR.

Previously I’ve put together press stories on a whalebone that once belonged to explorer Ernest Shackleton, diaries written by a Japanese war camp internee, and a Chinese moonflask that sold for nearly £500K.

The ‘poison’ flagon

The most recent task was around a flagon that once contained a ‘cure-all’, quack medicine. This was nothing like the moonflask in value, being valued at a much more modest figure of £100, but the back story was just as interesting to research.

Microbe KillerGod bless the internet for giving me lots of resource to discover the truth behind William Radam’s ‘Microbe Killer’, invented in the late 19th century as a way to kill microbes in humans, thus defying many ailments – in theory. Although it was 99% water, the liquid also contained 0.59 sulphuric acid, 0.016 sulphurous acid and ash – and this was thought to have killed the grandfather of the vendor of the flagon, who had taken too much of it.

A great story in itself, but as usual Liz and Duncan Chilcott rose to the occasion magnificently when asked to pose for a photograph to accompany the press release. Liz cheerfully gave the pretence of wanting to poison her husband with a large ladle of the Microbe Killer – and of course, the press loved it.

Coverage

The story was picked up by regional press, including Western Morning News (who gave me a byline, much appreciated), Express & Echo and the Midweek Herald. It also attracted a lot of interest on social media.

I always have a sense of anticipation when I go to my monthly meeting with Chilcotts – what fantastic story will they give me to PR this time?

The black pudding team

Cooking on blood – PR for black pudding

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PR is sometimes seen as a glamorous job – think awards ceremonies, schmoozing, freebies. In fact, for most of us it’s far more belt and braces, and occasionally in my case, gory.

PR for black pudding

It can be quite a challenge, as someone who is pretty much a vegetarian, to work with a business that’s basically all about meat. However, knowing as I do that the meat is sourced from animals raised only with the highest welfare standards, no factory farming here, I am 100% behind my client, chef Robin Rea of Rusty Pig.

So when Robin told me he was working with Dr Jan Davison to try out eight traditional black pudding recipes, some from the 18th century, I dropped by with my camera and notepad.

PR for black puddingBlack pudding, you may know, is basically made from blood. I watched as jugs of blood were poured into bowls with various other ingredients, mixed by hand and put to simmer on the stove. Delightful.

What was really interesting was the basis for the tests. Jan is delivering a paper to the Oxford Food & Cookery Symposium looking at how offal was once used for dishes for the wealthiest people in the land, including the Royal Family. I learned how ingredients such as ambergris, rosewater and penny royal were used in black pudding. And how one recipe called for a porpoise (which I’m pleased to say was a recipe not used).

This fascinating story was picked up in the local press, allowing for the promotion of Rusty Pig’s ‘Bourbon & Black’ event, where diners will be able to try out the black puddings. I’m going along, but Robin has promised to make me a veggie black pudding for the occasion.

This is the one and only occasion that I might be justified in writing the words, ‘bloody PR’!

Raising the Rafters

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A couple of months’ ago I received a call from a choir. Now, I’ve worked with many, varied clients to provide PR support, from big corporates like Thames Water and Lloyds Bank, to new businesses such as Barrel Top Wagons and Baking Matters. But this was something a little different.
The Exeter Philharmonic Choir has been singing for some 160 years, although none of the original members now remain (sorry, had to pop that in). I’ve lived in East Devon for nearly 20 years, and I had never heard of them. To be fair, this might be because I’ve never had a relationship with choral music; theatre, comedy, pop music, films, those are more my line.
The choir, it transpires, perform in three major concerts a year, plus Christmas Carols at Exeter Cathedral. So what did they want from me? I may have Grade 3 in singing, but I’m not sure I’m the soprano I once was. Of course, it transpired the choir needed to let more people know about their concerts, in particular the March concert at the Cathedral. They had taken a decision to try PR, and my name had come up to provide PR support.
Exeter Philharmonic Choir Concert PosterThe concert was intriguing – a sea-themed extravaganza featuring pieces by Mendelssohn and Vaughan Williams and the debut of The Seafarer, written by Andrew Millington. Andrew was Director of Music for Exeter Cathedral until last year, and is the choir’s conductor. His piece was written around the Exeter Book, an Anglo Saxon book kept at the Cathedral.
I knew this was going to be a challenge, as performance PR is uncharted territory for me. But I found it really inspiring – the members of the choir are so committed, the choir is, of course, non-profit, and the story behind Andrew’s new piece was intriguing – and a good hook.
So I’ve spent the past two months writing and distributing press releases, speaking to magazine and editors, talking to radio and TV and supplementing the choir’s social media output. I was very fortunate to receive support from all the lovely local media, with the event receiving coverage in Exeter Living, Exeter Life, Western Morning News, BBC Radio Devon and more. Thank you all. And with a bit of forward planning, I have secured a feature article with Devon Life, with photographs taken (at the concert rehearsal) by the ever-talented Matt Austin.
Finally, the night of the performance came round, and the choir had kindly invited me to go along. I turned up at the Cathedral with layers (it can be cold in these places!) with a friend who had far more experience of this type of performance, being Welsh and a wonderful singer.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the concert blew my socks off. The choir were amazing, the soloists impressive, the orchestra, the Bournemouth Sinfonietta, just fabulous. They all enjoyed themselves and received a massive amount of applause afterwards, particularly Mr Millington.
From what I could see, there were lots of people in the audience. I’ve yet to find out how numbers compare to previous events, but I do hope my work had a positive effect. If all went well then I’ll be starting to work out a PR strategy for the choir’s concert in October, their very first ‘Lord Mayor’s Charity Concert’. Now that should be fun!
Just for a moment I toyed with the idea of auditioning for the choir myself. Just for a moment. Then I remembered I am so much better with words than music. No-one leaves the room when I start writing.

East Devon PR – THAT Chinese vase

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What fun I had recently on my home turf, with East Devon PR for clients, Chilcotts. They really do have the best stories and I genuinely love getting involved in the research as we bring the threads of history together.

This time it was one of those chance finds that ends up being worth rather a lot of money. In this case, a Chinese vase, called a ‘moonflask’. Auctioneer and valuer Duncan Chilcott knew he had something extra special when he saw the object – and how right could he be? The rare puce-enamelled blue and white dragon bianhu moonflask sold for just under £500,000 in an auction held in Hong Kong.

Well, apart from racking my brains to remember if I had any Chinese vases in my own home (negative), I wrote up the story and sent it out to the usual suspects. Roger Malone at the Western Morning News got first dibs, he’s a great supporter of Chilcotts, as is Mike Byrne at the Echo. Then things went a little wild. Requests from South West news agencies came in and suddenly there was the news about the vase popped up on many popular online news sites, the BBC, Mirror, Mail and so on and so forth.

Of course, once in the mainstream press, the story morphed into something other than the truth, as it does. Suddenly, the vendor became a man from Devon who found a dusty old vase in the rattic, with much reference made to an episode of Only Fools and Horses.

Daily Mirror

“The man, who has not been named, had no idea of the value of his Chinese antique when he took it to be valued at an auction house.

But just like in the famous Only Fools and Horses episode, he was stunned to discover the family heirloom that had collected dust for decades was worth a fortune.”

This caused a fair amount of hilarity among those who knew the facts. But there was no damage, and Chilcotts was mentioned in a positive light in every case  – what a result!

So what’s the next story going to be, I wonder? I can’t wait!

 

 

Thar She Blows!

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Want a whalebone that once belonged to an Arctic explorer? Well it’s yours if you want it, just make a bid at the Chilcotts sale in Honiton on November14th.
What a great story this is.
The curious story of the day that intrepid explorer Shackleton, best known for his expedition aboard the ship Endurance that became trapped in an ice floe for nine months in 1915, decided to gift the whalebone to an order of French nuns after they bought his family’s house to turn it into a school for girls.
The humorous story of the whalebone that lay in the school garden in all weathers, before a history teacher realised its significance and removed it indoors for safekeeping.
The historic story of Shackleton’s connection to Torquay – the home his family owned and his residence there in the early 1900s. Of another of his ships, Nimrod, that moored briefly in Torquay harbour in 1907 before setting out on the first of Shackleton’s three Antarctic expeditions.
The sad story of the last of Shackleton’s ships, Quest, being anchored in Anstey’s Cove below the school before setting sail for South Georgia in 1921 – the voyage during which he died.
The fascinating story of Stoodley Knowle School, established in 1925 by the Congregation of Les Filles de la Croix, an order of nuns founded in Paris in 1641 by one Madame de Villeneuve who was driven by passion to provide an education for girls.
The concluding, melancholy story of the closure of the school earlier this year after pupil numbers crumbled.
The perfect story, in fact. Containing drama, history, sorrow, death, and even wildlife, albeit in the shape of a rather large bone. Sometimes I love my job

A chance encounter with history

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I am lucky enough to have as one of my PR clients Chilcotts, an auctioneer in Honiton. Please put David Dickinson and ‘cheap as chips’ out of your mind, the world of auctions is actually a fascinating sector to work in. There are so many human interest stories to delve into, and abundance of interesting objects and artefacts to admire.

I recently visited Chilcotts to discuss a collection that has been given to them for their September Fine Arts and Collectors Items sale. Poignantly, due to the VJ Day anniversary celebrations, this includes diaries written by Devon man Lewis Burfitt, who was interned in the Weishien camp in China by the Japanese between 1943 and 1945.

The handwritten diaries give an intriguing insight into life as an internee, recording living conditions, sickness, deaths and births. They tell how the Chinese tried to help by smuggling supplies into the camp, eggs, chickens and even piglets – even though this put them in danger of punishment by the Japanese.

Eric LiddellThere were many who didn’t make it out of the camp, including Eric Liddell, the Scottish athlete who on principle wouldn’t run on Sunday. He was made famous in ‘Chariots of Fire’ but I’d never registered that he died a prisoner of war in China.

I spoke to BBC Radio Devon about the diaries, and they interviewed the nephew of Lewis Burfitt along with auctioneer Duncan Chilcott and Jenny Bell, who has been diligently researching the diaries.

As I was writing the press release, the story became even more moving when I realised that the writer of the diaries had lived and worked in Tiensin where the terrible explosions have just happened.

Getting involved in a story like this at this particular time was a real privilege, as was the opportunity to look through the diaries. It’s easy to feel very removed from the reality of a war that took place so many years ago, but this made me stop, think and remember.

Why use a professional photographer for PR?

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A few years’ ago, after experiencing intense frustration with a lack of images available to accompany press releases for clients, I made a small investment. I bought a Nikon DSLR camera.

Now, I have a background in working with images. I was for many years a video producer and occasional director. I’m not bad a framing a picture. My photos have been featured in magazines, newspapers and websites.

However, I am not a photographer. I do my best but I have limited technical knowhow. My photos rarely have that extra sparkle that a news editor, for example, is looking for. I’m not doing myself down here, there’s a place for my type of photograph. However…

Robin Rea 1 My mini case study is a visual one. On the left, a photo I took for lovely client, Robin Rea of the Rusty Pig restaurant. On the right, a photo taken by the talented Andy Johnstone of Wild Dog Productions.

Sue Cade PortraitSue Cade ProfileAnd here I shall, without vanity, expose myself. On the left, a photo of me taken with my camera by my delightful teenage daughter. On the right, one taken by Matt Austin of Matt Austin Images.

I commissioned Matt to take a series of profile pics for me for business use. He swears he didn’t use Photoshop, just a ‘beautifier’ lamp… (I am currently attempting to find a portable version to attach permanently to my head).

The moral of the story is, if you can possibly afford to employ a photographer, do. They are worth their weight in gold. And they may not be as expensive as you think.

I love my camera. I mainly love my camera because it’s red and almost foolproof. But I love a professional photograph more.

The power of a good story

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A couple of weeks ago I was chatting away on social media when a company called Barrel Top Wagons (great name) came up in my Twitter feed. They were very excited to have won a Theo Paphitis #SBS (Small Business Saturday) Award and wanted to make some noise about it. Last year, Lyme Bay Cabins had the same success and I’d helped them out with a press release and distribution which resulted in some local coverage and a piece in Devon Life. Lyme Bay Cabins’ owner Gary started tweeting at Barrel Top Wagons to talk to me.

I am always willing to help out a small business ‒ after all I am one – so I talked with Jo Henderson, who co-owns Barrel Top Wagons. She put together some information for me, which was a great starting point, and I tweaked this into a press release.

Barrel Top Wagons Theo Paphitis smlWhen the picture of Jo with Theo Paphitis at a winners’ event came through a few days’ later, we were set fair. I sent the story to my contacts in the regional press and I’m delighted to say the response was brilliant. Western Morning News popped it straight up online and featured the story in the Sunday edition, while Tom at the Okehampton Times took the trouble to email me to say it would be in the next issue. I spotted it in the Express & Echo Monday edition, too, and Jo at Barrel Tops said it was included in the North Devon Journal. (So that’s a ‘yay’ as I’m not yet immune to the thrill of achieving such extensive coverage!).

In truth, this news item was a gift for any PR; the story behind the company is genuinely interesting (read it here) and Jo had given me enough background to make it easy to write a press release that could grab attention. Match the story up with a photo of Jo and the former Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Theo and – well it’s not rocket science is it?

Good luck to the inspirational and ethical Barrel Top Wagons!

The Biker Boys

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Well I know the Hairy Bikers have been in town, but there’s another group of bikers, not so hairy, that I’ve been involved with for a while. In fact, it struck me this week that I’ve been working with the Devon Freewheelers charity for almost a year.

I first heard of the charity in 2015 when I read about the launch of the first Honitonfestival pig Sausage & Cider Festival. I offered to help with PR for the event, which was being held partly to raise funds for the Devon Freewheelers.

I met with Daniel Lavery, who founded the charity, and we talked about all things motorbike. Not one of my areas of expertise, but there you go, I learn quickly. In fact, the Devon Freewheelers offer an out-of-hours courier service to the NHS free of charge. Yes, I’ll say that again, free of charge, throughout the night and for 24 hours on Saturdays, Sundays, and Bank Holidays.

Devon Freewheelers courierThey transport urgent medical supplies like blood, tissue for transplant and breast milk. They also deliver and collect patient notes when asked. If they didn’t do these things, a taxi or ambulance would be used, costing the NHS a lot of money and calling on scarce resources. I’m full of admiration for these volunteers, who include the riders, operations support and fundraisers. No-one gets paid.

Over the year I’ve written hundreds of press releases, taken photos, spoken to fundraisers, supporters and journalists, met the Wurzels (well I stood next to them BssssloodBike-Matt-Austin-3backstage at the Sausage & Cider Festival), persuaded Matt Austin to take photos of one of the riders for Devon Life, shaken hands with local MP Neil Parish who has been incredibly supportive of the charity, encouraged the team to find their first patron (Mark ‘Flymo’ Hayes), negotiated radio interviews with the BBC and Heart FM and generally done what I could to help raise the profile of the Devon Freewheelers.

The riders are out every night in the dark hours, journeying carefully across Devon’s road network, often on their way to save someone’s life. They are unsung heros as the patients they help never know they’ve been there.

It’s been a fascinating year – I’ve learned so much and continue to be full of admiration for the team. And yes, a second Sausage & Cider Festival is scheduled for 2015!

And finally, there’s some exciting news to come for the Devon Freewheelers, so watch this space – the press release will have my name on it!

Devon-Freewheelers-600-600