read-raw

Newbie in the office!

At 18 years old, it seemed a good idea to fly the coup and move 300 miles away to a city that was soon to be branded the ‘saddest place to live in Britain’. Guessed yet? I moved all the way north to Aberdeen for university. After too many cold years, I’ve managed to escape and move back to my homeland of Yorkshire with a Communication with Public Relations degree.

After four weeks holding up at my family home in Ripon, living out of boxes/bags and job hunting, I’m so lucky to be able to begin my career as a Junior Design Account Handler with Raw Creative in Harrogate. During my interview, I knew this job was the one. It’s now 4:38pm on my first day, and I am so excited to get fully immersed in everything! Someone said to me that my first day in a job would be the first day of working for the rest of my life. But I don’t see it like that – it is the first day of doing what I love in the perfect environment. I couldn’t ask for more!

A few facts:

- I’m an avid Newcastle United fan, who professes to be a Geordie born in Yorkshire.

- You can find me on a Saturday afternoon chasing a red leather ball and sporting a piece of willow.

- I have two nicknames which seemed to have stuck (thanks to the cricket boys), ‘Disco’ and ‘TPT’.

Here is the irony about my journey so far (once I’ve moved to Harrogate) – I will have moved from the ‘saddest place to live in Britain’ to the ‘happiest town to live in the UK’. And I couldn’t be happier!

Column Inches at Christmas Time

It’s that time of year again – news desks across the country are being snowed upon by a veritable avalanche of over branded, tenuous, Christmas-themed releases.

The majority of these releases won’t see the light of day.

But for the Consumer PR – this is probably THE most crucial time of the year to achieve column inches for your brand.

So what can you do to ensure your Christmas release doesn’t end up in the bin?

1. Be imaginative – and make it current:

We all know that news is on a loop and that papers will use the same stuff year in and year out – Cost of Christmas, Greatest Christmas Movies, Highlights of the Year – but is there anything you can do to make your story more current, more topical – give it a fresh top-line news angle – this could mean the difference between a stick and a page-lead.

2. Look at sales stats:

Sales stats are a great way to achieve product-based coverage – they can create interesting news stories because they make a comment on current trends and lifestyles – all great tabloid and mid-market fodder.

So look to see if sales of any products are up this year – it doesn’t even need to be a considerable increase – but if it’s an interesting enough product it’ll work.

Look into the reasons why this would be. Why are people spending more on XXX – is it due to a change in lifestyle – the recession – are men becoming more like women? Give it a reason.

Look into regional, gender or age differences in spending habits – who is spending more or less on what products? Make a statement about specific demographics.

3. Don’t flood the market:

One or two Christmas-themed PR stories will make a national newspaper each day. So don’t send reams of Christmassy press releases out.

It is not the case that the more journalists see your brand name, the more inclined they will be to use your Christmas release.

Think quality over quantity.

4. Don’t waste money on stunt-like festive PR shoots.

Balance risk and cost. Unless it’s an absolute cracker – stunts are a very expensive way to get no pick-up whatsoever.

Celebrity endorsements and pricey stunts can work but again, be creative – it needs to be a belter.

If you work in-house – use an agency who know what they’re doing – we rate Taylor Herring and Cake PR in the stunt department.

Here’s an example of a belter of a Christmas PR stunt for Lakeside shopping centre  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1325899/Chantelle-Houghton-reaches-new-heights-Lakesides-Christmas-tree-fairy.html

5. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking your story will appear because it has a Christmas slant.

Poor stories end up on the spike whatever time of year they are filed – and at Christmas, because of the sheer volume of releases being sent to news publications, you need to be even more creative than ever.

Consider, and I realise this is controversial – perhaps NOT giving your story a Christmas theme.

Coverage at Christmas is coverage at Christmas – it doesn’t necessarily need to be about Christmas.

Raw got Quizzical at the CIPR Charity Quiz Event

What better way to spend a Thursday evening than competing with your work colleagues against industry rivals, in a battle of wits and knowledge, all in the name of charity?! That’s exactly what we did last night at the CIPR Charity Event held at the Alea Casino.

Pre-quiz we spent hours swatting up in the office, rigorously printing off and filling in pub quizzes,  cramming in as much general knowledge as we could. We had impromptu pop quizzes and read recent news stories;  testing each other on the way to the venue – we felt prepared and ready for victory, we even had an truly inspired (and witty) team name at hand!

We arrived to see a sea of people on the top floor of the casino. Whilst waiting for drinks we sized up our competition and, as the opportunists we are (and taking a leaf from X Factor) – we decided to create a SUPER-Group, merging together the expertise of both Raw and Dinosaur PR (it was
only after they agreed to our team name that we knew we had made a great
decision).

We found the quiz a challenge at times, but excelled on the first round (we were off on a great start!) which was Recent News (we can thank our incessant Radio 1 addiction, and the Metro on our commutes); we whizzed through the rounds, and enjoyed Fish & Chips dinner. We decided to play our
Joker card in the Music within Film category, although we got 8/10 (a great effort), next year we will definitely be playing that card in the Recent News round.

To add to the excitement of the quiz, and learning to play roulette (with just chips before letting loose downstairs with real money) we got to take part Lucky Numbers (**not Bingo**) before each round – Which Craig won! We enjoyed the spoils of the prize together this morning to soothe the pain of
coming joint 6^th.

All in all, we had a fabulous time, and we’ll be swatting up until next year; we’ve got 1^st place in our sights!

Another New Face! Sarah Heron, our new Head of PR, introduces herself: "When I grow up I want to be……."

Well day one is half way through and I’ve been made two cups of tea and taken out for lunch - who said there’s no such thing as a free lunch? What do you mean that was just for the first day?

 My daughter asked me this week when I grew up what did I want to be? Well at 41 this may be a moot point, but I simply said “happy.” As we spend up to 20% of our life at work, I’m damn pleased I’ve found a chilled and going places agency to work for!

 As an avid shopper and lover of retail therapy, Raw is the perfect agency as it has a wealth of retail clients and shopping centres. I have also managed to jump on the bandwagon just as the PR department has been nominated for a CIPR award. Kudos!

 Since leaving Leeds Met Uni (too many years ago to mention) I’ve worked for many of Yorkshire’s PR agencies; including with the vivacious Kirstyn twelve years ago when I was a fresh-faced graduate. From there I’ve famicidely moved my way up to Head of PR, which is where I luckily find myself at Raw.

 When away from work my loves are simple:

1. My small daughter and the amusing things she tells me, like “Mummy wouldn’t the world be a better place if everyone just told jokes lots.” And that “rich people with land should give everyone a bit and share.”
2. Good food and baking cakes
3. Asti
4. Cleaning (yes I’m obsessive)

 

A New Face in the Raw Office!

Hi there! Just a quick blog post introducing myself, Joyce – the new Social Media Executive for Raw Creative Ltd.

I’m an Events Management graduate from Sheffield Hallam (as of July 2012) and claim Cambridge as my hometown, despite my indistinguishable accent (thanks to an American dad, and Italian mum and going to school with kids with Suffolk accents).

 As a lucky employed graduate, I am really excited to have found such a great opportunity with an exciting agency! My role here at Raw will be diverse, including looking after the social media accounts,  looking into social media strategies, community management, and content creation, as well as helping around the office and liaising with our in-house PR and design teams.

I have a real passion for social media (you can follow me on pretty much any platform out there!); I love how it changes all the time, and how it’s changing the face of communication, especially between businesses and consumers.

As well as social media, I love cooking (or rather, eating) food, reading as many books as I can, and travelling (don’t get me started talking about travelling or I’ll never stop), and my new favourite hobby at the moment is knitting (currently working on an excellent winter scarf).  My claim to fame is that Dick Van Dyke (from Mary Poppins) is my Dad’s uncle, and I once got a call-back to go onto Come Dine with Me.

It’s fair to say that my first day at the office has been great (and that’s not just my American enthusiasm); After a lunch with the PR girls, and getting my hands on the accounts I look after – I’m ready to get stuck in!

 

There's no place like VQ

We decided to approach the people who pull the strings at Victoria Quarter Leeds, with our proposed creative and ideas for VQ's seasonal events in 2013. They were very impressed with what we produced and to our surprise asked us to produce the creative for this years big summer event based on the Wizard of Oz.

We were delighted to get the opportunity and above is an example of the creative. Combining elements from the story and the glitz and feel of the VQ centre we produced an identity for the event that Raw Creative and the client is very pleased with.

The event is tonight 24th May 2012 and the evening starts at 6.00pm and runs until 9.00pm, with many individual stores hosting their own events and magical offers and discounts available throughout the centre; it’s the perfect opportunity to secure your very own pair of Ruby Slippers! Check out some of the offers on the VQ facebook page.

To add to the occasion, the centre will be dressed with Oz-inspired props and you’ll be able to meet many of the characters from the film and enjoy live entertainment while following the Yellow Brick Road around the centre’s stores.

So if you can get yourself somewhere over the Rainbow... there’s a wizard shopping event just waiting to be discovered.

Keep calm and eat cake!

On Thursday 5^th April, the Raw team hosted its first ever Colossal Cake Sale for Help for Heroes. Well it sure was colossal! We gathered outside of the Victoria Shopping Centre and spent the day with troops selling hundreds of cakes, cupcakes, biscuits, meringues and chocolate crispies to Harrogate’s shoppers.

Despite miserable weather all week, the sun came out for us and so did 20 soldiers from Ripon’s Army Recruitment Team and Harrogate Army Foundation College. After recruiting friends, family and Harrogate Advertiser readers to put their baking aprons on, we were lucky enough to receive sugary donations from several local businesses. A big thank you to Betty's of Harrogate, Mama Doreen’s Cupcake Company, Bespoke Cupcakes and the Harrogate Cake Company for  their scrumptious offerings (which sold out long before ours!)

We also had fantastic banners designed by our team and printed complimentarily by Holberry Signs, another big thank you to them and to the Victoria Shopping Centre for letting us pitch camp on the piazza for the day!

So how did we do I hear you ask? Thanks to the generosity of Harrogate cake lovers we sold out, raising a phenomenal £450! Every penny will go towards the Phoenix House Personnel Development Centre at Catterick Garrison, which opened in 2011 and aims to rehabilitate wounded servicemen and women in the North of England.

Moving on up now!

Here at Raw HQ, we’re all settled into our new office and what a fantastic few months it has been since the big move! Not only are we now at a pride of place location on the prestigious Albert Street, we have a bigger office and, thanks to recent victorious pitches, a bigger client list too!

The last few cardboard boxes have been unpacked and our shiny new logo vinyls are up on the floor length windows for all of Harrogate to admire! Since moving in, our PR and design monkeys have been busy working on pitches and tenders for work and we now have several new clients which we will soon reveal.

In February, the team put on their best smiles for the Raw photoshoot! Harrogate-based photographer, Simon Johnston came in to take team snaps and headshots for our press releases, website and, of course, the Read Raw blog. Although it has taken a few weeks to all agree on one we like – here’s the long-awaited Raw team photo:

Last week, myself and Jo journeyed to MediaCityUK in Manchester for the BCSC Social Media for Shopping Centres seminar. We handle the social media for a number of clients, many of whom are shopping centres all over the country. The conference was a great opportunity for us to gain insight from some of the industry’s most proactive Social Media managers, seeing Justin Webb, PR Manager for the Trafford Centre and Jim Harris, Centre Manager of St Stephen’s in Hull, talk about their objectives and campaigns was very helpful. We’re already planning future campaigns for our clients and the advice at the conference was a big help!

We have some exciting things coming up at Raw. As well as the work we’re starting for new clients and the Tough Mudder training schedule Nicole has told you about, we’re doing our bit for charity. We’ll be hosting a Colossal Cake Sale for Help for Heroes on Thursday 5^th April. From 11:30am, we’ll be outside of the Victoria Shopping Centre in Harrogate, selling cakes to shoppers with the help of young soldiers from Harrogate Army Foundation College. We’re asking friends, families, colleagues and local businesses to donate cakes and all things sweet to the cause, so if you can pop your apron and get baking, we’d really appreciate the contribution!

That’s all for now here at the Raw HQ I think, watch this space for upcoming news and announcements or follow us on Twitter, @RawCreativeLtd.

 

 

 

We’ve Arrived!

After a slightly stressful move on Friday 20^th January the Raw team are settling in nicely to our swanky new offices just up the road from our old home at the top of John Street.

Not only have we moved, a group of us are setting ourselves a personal challenge and taking part in the British Tough Mudder event, where six of us will be training for the 12 mile obstacle course taking place on 18th November 2012.

Training has already started and we are now entering week three of our 35 week training programme that has been kindly set up by Justin O’Halloran, local fitness trainer and owner of Performax Fitness in Pannal.

So far we have completed two outside runs, the first a 5km which involved us running through a dark forest, through lots of slippery mud and up the hills in and around the Valley Gardens in Harrogate. Due to the rain and level of unfitness between the majority of the group it’s safe to say it was quite a struggle, however it left the team feeling determined to continue with the challenge and get fit!

The second group session saw the team complete a 6km run. This time we missed out the muddy forest and kept to the roads. However it wasn’t a simple jog around Harrogate as we had all secretly hoped - Powerplate man had us all sprinting through the gardens to help increase our fitness levels and get us used to the feel of how the body relates to obstacles. The determination had set in and people had been doing their best to exercise outside of group sessions which made last week slightly more bearable than the first.

 We are now getting ready for week three and will keep you updated with our progress. Help us keep up our motivation by following our progress and seeing how we do on the big event. A team picture will follow but for now why not enjoy our new office photograph – cleverly edited by the design monkeys of course ;)

The Raw Studio Is On The Move!

The big move is on Friday the 20th January, and then fingers crossed we will be fully operational in our fresh new studio come Monday 23rd January. We are taking plenty of snaps of the big move, so no doubt they'll be a blog post made out of them showing off our new studio.

Im personally looking forward to getting my hands on the big blank walls at the minute. If you have any inspiration you can throw my way regarding design studio or office interior design ideas, then do so. Have plenty of ideas so far but no harm in having more.