PHA Buzz NEW EDITION | MARCH 2015 PHA triumphs in media awards Page 2 Posing with the latest addition to our trophy cabinet Inspiring staff is the secret of agency success The award is the UK’s only annual award that recognises the ability of media companies to inspire and develop their staff ,with past winners including the likes of BAFTA and Penguin Books. After a vigorous grading process, the shortlisted agencies were invited to discuss their response to the specified criteria which included: company culture and working environment, methodologies for recruiting outstanding talent, training and induction processes and appraisal and promotion opportunities. A team from PHA Media attended the awards and were delighted to achieve the win! PHA Media Director of PR, Stuart Skinner, who accepted the award on behalf of the agency, said: “This is a very proud moment for us. It’s great to be recognised for the effort we put in to making PHA Media an inspiring and influential place to work at and this has been noticed with such a prestigious award. Our people are our biggest asset and we will never stop looking at ways to improve our working environment and boost our skills; this award gives us all the motivation we need to continue the work we’ve been doing.” HR Manager Lucy Gilmore said “Not only is this award a fantastic accolade for every one of us at PHA Media, but it is also a wonderful indication of how the industry is continuing to evolve its approach to recruiting and retaining talent, not least through its focus on wellbeing and actively promoting a positive work life balance. We are exceptionally proud of our team and take our responsibility to provide the best possible working environment and career opportunities very seriously. We are fully committed to moving our talent strategy forward, refining and raising industry employer standards in the process.” The team celebrates the award win 0207 0251 350 | @phamedia | pha-media.com | [email protected] Page 3 PHA conjures up magical results for Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique campaign Following on from the huge success of the Frozen film and franchise, the Disney Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Harrods - with the help of the team at PHA - launched three new packages which gave Frozen fans the opportunity to be magically transformed into Queen Elsa or Princess Anna. From the moment a child steps into the magical world of the Boutique, imagination becomes reality. Children are hosted by their very own Fairy Godmother-inTraining to learn the qualities needed to become a Princess, take a royal oath and enjoy the enchanting experience. PHA were tasked with communicating the new packages available to a ‘hit-list’ of top-tier journalists and bloggers, securing positive reviews of their experiences and driving as many bookings as possible in the lead-up to the key Christmas period. PHA created invitations and press material to support the launch, and built relationships with the targeted journalists and bloggers to ensure that resultant coverage included the correct brand messages. Over the three month campaign, PHA secured over 20 pieces of coverage across national, consumer, regional and online press. This included news articles, features and positive reviews in: The Independent, Telegraph Magazine, Angels & Urchins, Visit London, An American Girl in Chelsea and Not Another Mummy Blog. 0207 0251 350 | @phamedia | pha-media.com | [email protected] Page 4 Schmoozing with Lisa Snowdon Business in the pipeline The Entrepreneur and Business team secured Capital Radio Breakfast Show presenter and model, Lisa Snowdon, as a guest of honour at the grand opening of Pimlico Plumbers’ new plumbing merchant enterprise. Based opposite its main headquarters and depot in Lambeth, South London, Pimlico Plumbing and Heating Merchants is a strictly trade only counter, providing a wide range of products and accessories. Having secured deals with manufacturers including Worcester Bosch, Valliant, Ideal and Honeywell, Pimlico Plumbing and Heating Merchants officially launched in Quarter masters of creativity PHA recently won their first ever government tender to raise the profile of Nottingham’s Creative Quarter - an area of the city created specifically to encourage businesses to launch and grow in Nottingham - as part of a 10 year local government project. December to a fantastic response. plumbers. The Grand Opening was marked by a Champagne Reception and also included a charity auction, compered by Lisa Snowdon and Pimlico Plumbers’ founder Charlie Mullins, which raised in excess of £7,500 for a local girl, three-year-old Chloe Balloqui. “The Pimlico Plumbers’ name is synonymous with quality and both private customers and those in the plumbing game know we’d never use sub-standard products. Therefore our trade counter customers can be exceptionally confident in the equipment they can buy from us.” Charlie Mullins said: “The reaction we’ve received to Pimlico Plumbing and Heating Merchants has been phenomenal. Bringing our merchant requirements in-house is a great way to control costs, but it has also proven to be a great resource for other He added: “The grand opening was a real success and Lisa Snowdon did us proud. The interest in the auction was amazing and will go a long way to raising the vital funds little Chloe needs to get to America for treatment.” The city has one of the youngest populations in Britain, as well as a significantly falling unemployment rates, and there are high hopes to make it a business destination of choice for start-ups and SMEs from around the UK. its infancy, Nottingham will not only see a surge in businesses locating there, but will also be able to retain its best young talent, rather than see them leave after studying to pursue their careers in London. The 13 month brief sees PHA tasked with generating consistent national media coverage based around the CQ’s 2015 event schedule, as well as digital support in the form of website build, SEO recommendations, social media strategy for each event and print design. Coverage to date has been strong across the business press, with the highlight being a highly contested comment slot for Kathy McArdle, CQ’s CEO, discussing the implications of the Autumn Statement on businesses outside the capital, in The Telegraph. It’s hoped that through raising awareness of the Creative Quarter, a project still in The CQ’s first event, Think>Create>Do took place on the 4th February. 0207 0251 350 | @phamedia | pha-media.com | [email protected] Page 5 Phil Hall spotlight on… What stories are deemed newsworthy and why? Why do some stories generate pages of widespread coverage and other – equally newsworthy stories – receive little more than a brief mention? Many questioned why the horrific aftermath of the Boko Haram massacre on Nigerian villages, which killed an estimated 2,500, received such a low level of coverage, yet the 17 appalling deaths as a result of the recent Paris shootings achieved almost minutely coverage on a global scale, why is this? As past editor of Britain’s biggest selling newspaper for five years, I had plenty of interesting and valuable stories pitched to me, yet they often didn’t make the pages because they didn’t possess the key components needed in order to be deemed ‘newsworthy’ (also there is only so much space in a newspaper). What are these components? There is a ‘mental check-list’ which editors go through when considering what stories make the paper, however it is a near-certainty that the more people the story impacts, the greater the show in the paper. The sad and untimely death of much-loved Coronation Street actress, Anne Kirkbride, and the widespread coverage which this story rightly received is an example of how stories which affect a large proportion of people achieve a greater showing in the paper. Millions grew up with Coronation Street and the character ‘Deirdre’ and therefore feel touched by her sad passing and it is only right that newspapers share in the nation’s mood and cover the story accordingly. Additionally, it is ‘people’ and their stories and not ‘things’ which generate headlines, so it is important to bear this in mind and try to humanise stories where possible. discussion as it is a very rare incident. Whether the column inches disparity is right, is a question which invites further debate. With the example of Charlie Hebdo / Boko Haram, it is without question that both atrocities deserve to be covered extensively, however there are some stories which geographically seem ‘closer to home’, and therefore strike more of a chord with both editors and the public which leads to greater coverage. It is an unfortunate but true reality that violence in Africa is generally accepted by the public as a sad day-to-day occurrence, however a shooting as people were going about their daily business, in a western country similar to the UK, rightly warrants front page coverage and lengthy A strong headline is key. Journalists talk in headlines around the office, so an interesting story with a solid headline is likely to capture interest from the outset. To add to this, editors look for statistical / expert backing and news stories which possess this are likely to be fast-tracked up the list. Stories which follow or respond to the Government agenda are always going to be of interest to editors, particularly during the run-up to the general election in May. Everything which they do is newsworthy, so if a story can piggy-back on this and if it covers an interesting topic, then it has a high chance of being granted column inches. Although not a blueprint for securing a front page story, understanding the above editorial decisions will help PR and comms specialists to maximise exposure for their clients. 0207 0251 350 | @phamedia | pha-media.com | [email protected] Page 6 #WearItLoud WearItProud The Entrepreneur and Business team had the enviable job of promoting Ministry of Sound’s cool new clothing range on social media ahead of the soft launch of their webstore. The aim - to generate a buzz, using the hashtag #wearitloud. We devised a launch strategy, e-flyer copy and targeted gifting plan. Whilst Ministry of Sound ran a series of very successful competitions across their own Twitter channel, PHA focused on gifting by sending out samples to people we felt were a good fit for the range, along with a personalised note encouraging them to tweet. This strategy worked really well together as tweets using the handle @ MinistryofSound directed fans back to the Ministry of Sound page and into the competition where they could win what their favourite DJs were wearing! The result – the hashtag has so far reached 460,956 Twitter accounts and made nearly two million impressions (the number of times a tweet has appeared on a timeline). Tweets came from key influencers ranging from model Sam Reece (29.7k followers), top industry title MixMag (213k followers) and DJ Thomas Gold (217k followers) – all very different but, crucially, all relevant to the Ministry of Sound brand. Get your hands on the range at their webstore and at House of Fraser. 0207 0251 350 | @phamedia | pha-media.com | [email protected] Page 7 PhD for super woman Fitness enthusiast and TV presenter Charlie Webster has recently become a PhD woman athlete ambassador for our client PhD Nutrition. Charlie is a keen marathon runner and will be taking part in Ironman later this year, as well as continuing to pursue interests in sports including boxing. She has also ridden the three UK stages of the Tour de France in a Tour de Force group, raising money for the William Wates Memorial Trust for disadvantaged young people. We will be working with Charlie over the next year to secure media interviews with her that talk about her exercise regime and why she uses nutritional products to aid her performance and recovery. A MAJOR employment campaign involving some of the UK’s biggest companies has celebrated recruiting its 50th member – following a high-impact PR drive spearheaded by PHA Media. celebrated 50th member. for business today and tomorrow.” The piece also quoted Ian Beresford, head of capability at QinetiQ, the FTSE250 defence and research company which is one of the founder members of the CBI-backed campaign. PHA Media has operated as the campaign’s PR strategy and media relations engine in an 18-month drive that has seen companies and organisations such as Ofcom, Lockheed Martin, Cobham, Balfour Beatty and KMPG sign-up as members. The 5% Club, which calls on companies to reach a 5% target of apprentices and graduates in their organisations, celebrated the milestone with superb national newspaper coverage. PHA secured a glowing piece in the Telegraph which reported how infrastructure company South West Highways had become the Mr Beresford told the newspaper: “This is a fantastic milestone and it shows we’re gaining traction with the industry actively engaged to create the pool of skills we need. “The altruistic reason behind the 5% Club is to the fore but the members recognise the critical need to have the right skills in place With an ambition to secure as many members as possible, the campaign will now look to generated positive PR in March’s National Apprenticeship Week. Find out more at http://www.5percentclub. org.uk/joining.html 0207 0251 350 | @phamedia | pha-media.com | [email protected] Page 8 Our People Sophie Wilson In December we welcomed Sophie Wilson on board as part of our strategy to grow the business and strengthen our brand in new areas. advertising, before starting my own ‘storytelling’ business, which was what I was doing before coming over to PHA. Tell us a bit about your background? What inspired you to move into the world of PR? I started life in the arts, completing an English Literature Degree and an MA in Curatorship and Contemporary Art at Sydney University. However, life took a turn and led me to London. With the exception of a year spent working in the art industry, managing projects and for the likes of Damien Hirst and Antony Gormley, I scored a role in broadcasting and built up a career in media tech. I managed large accounts for the UN and Chinese governments, launching TV channels and doing interesting things like brokering airtime agreements in the Middle East as well as attending the annual TV and advertising festivals in Cannes. I later moved into digital and I had always hired agencies and had managed campaigns in previous roles. Last year, however, I had a personal experience that changed everything. My best friend, who was travelling on a gap year, went missing in the Malaysian jungle. Me and three friends set up a temporary press office in a flat in Shoreditch and launched our own PR campaign. I was appointed media spokesperson and estimate that I took 200 interviews in the space of a few days, including on the BBC live news desk, Sky news and Good Morning Britain. Our international PR campaign achieved great things – the pressure we put on David Cameron meant that Philip Hammond flew over to Malaysia to launch an international search and rescue effort and our social campaign achieved over 88 million impressions on Twitter. It was a surreal and sad time but it made me realise just how powerful and life changing PR can be on this scale. What have you found most enjoyable about working at PHA? This has been my first taste of agency life and I have to say that it has been an absolute pleasure to work with such intelligent and driven individuals. Without exception, every person who works here is of an extremely high professional standard. One little-known fact about me is… I recently spent a year studying yoga, meditation and Hindu mysticism in India and I live in a ‘conscious community’ where I practice these things. Editors’ letter It was with great pleasure that the team at PHA supported the next stage in the Pimlico Plumbers story, with the opening of the new plumbing merchant enterprise for trade customers in Lambeth. With Lisa Snowdon on hand, the occasion was also used to help the continuing moneyraising drive for local three year old girl, Chloe Balloqui, to fund life-saving cancer treatment in the US. Pimlico Plumbers, founded by Charlie Mullins, is one of the big British SME success stories of recent times, taking the firm from a one-man-band to the biggest independent plumbing and services company in the UK. Charlie recently spoke about a ‘feelgood’ factor returning to the UK, and this is reflected in Nottingham’s Creative Quarter. An area of the city has been created specifically to nurture and support the growth of businesses and talent from the city and elsewhere. Supporting the next generation is a key ingredient in the success of the country, and The 5% Club is rightly celebrating the news that 50 major UK businesses have now pledged to reach the target of 5% apprentices and graduates in their organisations. 0207 0251 350 | @phamedia | pha-media.com | [email protected]