Blog

Tue 25th Jan 2011 | Tagged as: PR

Author: Shireen Shurmer

Celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Fish Fight campaign (www.fishfight.net ) is a powerful example of how effective communication can bring about immediate change in consumer attitudes and behaviour.

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Fri 14th Jan 2011 | Tagged as: Print

Author: Harriet Jamieson

With analysts predicting that global sales of e-readers will hit 11 million in 2011 – up 68.3 per cent from 2010 – the question ‘Is Print Dead?’ is steadily being asked louder and louder - particularly by those in our industry.

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Mon 13th Dec 2010 | Tagged as: Misc

Anyone who spends any time around boys aged 5 to 45 will have experienced the power of the merchandising behemoth that is the Star Wars franchise. But I was still surprised to witness its full impact on my junior Jedi Knight In Training on Saturday. Passing through our local shopping mecca the JJKIT stopped to share tips on light sabre combat with a life-size Stormtrooper. This fascinating exchange took place in a shop that would not normally be dignified with a second glance.

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Tue 7th Dec 2010 | Tagged as: Journalism, PR, AD Communications

Author: Isabella Schiavi

I have seen them many times, just saying “hello” or providing me with a press pack before entering a press conference. They sometimes phoned me putting forward ideas or content for the magazines that I managed, or chased me to organise one to one meetings with some of their clients. Of course, at times the content was not quite appropriate for my readers or the interviewee not so talkative. But, we invariably succeeded in honestly evaluating if something was really suitable to my specific needs.

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Mon 6th Dec 2010 | Tagged as:

Author: Greg Mills

‘A colleague received a letter at the office from his 16 year old daughter, who was away at school. He found this rather strange as his daughter had never previously sent him a letter and also because she’d sent it to his office rather than to their home.  On opening the letter he understood why - his daughter didn’t want her mother to know the news: she’d been expelled from school for using drugs, she was now living with her dealer, and what’s more, she was pregnant by the guy!  Distraught, my colleague passed me the letter to read for myself and I noticed there was a tiny ’PTO’ at the bottom of the page. ‘Did you see the “PTO” ‘? I asked him, passing back the letter. ‘No,’ he answered, and then continued to read: ‘Dad, I want you to know that not a word of what I’ve written on the first page is true – I just want you to be able to keep a sense of proportion if I don’t do well in my GCSEs!’

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Tue 30th Nov 2010 | Tagged as: Print, Packaging, Events

Author: Elni Stofberg

I’ve just returned from a busy two days at Emballage and am looking at the packaging industry with renewed interest...

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Wed 24th Nov 2010 | Tagged as: PR, Print, Advertising

Author: Lucy O'Dea

So the royal engagement is official. Prince William and Kate Middleton have named the date, picked the venue, and whether you’re a royalist or not, reports of the royal wedding offering a billion pound boost to the UK economy can only be a good thing.  And this can only be positive news for the printing industry as the engagement supplements, magazine specials and souvenirs start to reach the retail shelves.....

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Mon 22nd Nov 2010 | Tagged as: social media, PR

Author: Joanna Muggeridge

Unfortunately – or fortunately – depending on how you look at it, I’m not part of ‘Generation Y’. So I haven’t grown up with social media as just a natural by-product of being. Even so, ever since the early days of being able to connect via the web, I’ve always been interested....

B2B Social Media, what are we waiting for?

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Fri 12th Nov 2010 | Tagged as: social media, Print, Events

That was the rally cry on a slide of one of the presenters, Jeff Hayzlett, at the annual BAPC (British Association for Print and Communication) Conference last Saturday in Waltham Abbey, Essex.  Perhaps a bit extreme in its language, but its underlying message was a common thread to most of the conference presentations – that printers need to change the way they do business, become visual communications businesses, use digital technology to expand the services they offer, and adopt - or at least consider - social media to extend their reach.  Jeff, the ‘Chuck Norris of marketing’ (according to an unnamed German blogger) and ex-CMO of Eastman Kodak (though, from the content of his presentation and opening video, you might well have thought that he still held the position!) was, as ever, larger than life, and gave a very entertaining, high octane presentation, essentially a summary of his book, ‘The Mirror Test’.  Very engaging stuff and he did a great job of promoting Kodak’s cameras (!), but of less relevance, I thought, to the B2B audience of printers.

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Tue 9th Nov 2010 | Tagged as: social media, PR, Events

Author: Isabella Schiavi

I’ve just spent two days at Media Pro, a stimulating event that took place in London, and my brain has been bombarded by information overload regarding communication, marketing, strategies, new ways to increase brand awareness and discover revenue streams.

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Wed 3rd Nov 2010 | Tagged as: Events, Plastics

Author: Philip Paris

Last week I attended K 2010, and can honestly say that plastic proved its pulling power with more than 3,000 exhibitors taking part at the Messe Dusseldorf.  Traditionally the exhibitions I go to are ‘print’ orientated, so I was particularly interested to see how the messages communicated at K were different from print shows of equivalent importance.  

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Wed 20th Oct 2010 | Tagged as: Wide Format, Print, Advertising, Signage

Author: Kerry MacKenzie

This week, a building wrap that would have been every large format printer’s dream was ‘put on hold’ in the Government’s spending review.

The Olympic stadium wrap was to cover the same area as two and a half football pitches and be equivalent in length to 72 London buses, according to The Olympic Delivery Authority. The Times said that it would “be visible from across London”.

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Wed 13th Oct 2010 | Tagged as: Wide Format, Print, Advertising

Author: Charlotte Ward

You know how it is when you’re on holiday; yes your brain is switched off, but if you should chance upon something work-related, your mind will half-heartedly suggest that this may be something worth remembering on your return. Invariably however, the small nugget of information you chanced upon buries itself deep in the recesses of your brain never again to see the light of day.

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Mon 4th Oct 2010 | Tagged as: newspapers

Author: Lucy O'Dea

It takes me forever these days to read the Sunday Times, and usually a whole week before I actually glance at the Business Section..... and glance is about all I do.  Recently however, one particular article truly caught my eye, and got more than the usual passing scan.

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Mon 20th Sep 2010 | Tagged as: social media

Author: Shireen Shurmer

...‘Social media’ is no black art: it’s simply a collective term for a range of interactive, web based communications channels which may or may not be right for you.  Jumping in with both feet ‘because everyone else is doing it’ is as well-advised as spending three months’ salary on a full-length leopard print coat that will languish at the back of your wardrobe.....

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