Get it on...

...get it on!

In many industries at the moment there’s a bit of a frenzy when it comes to awards and preparing entries. Is that the case for you?

Financial year ends and the driver of having something to look forward to  when things start turning chilly – a nice evening out getting a bit merry in a posh frock or monkey suit with your lovely colleagues – often means that awards entry deadlines happen in the summer months, with the dos themselves in the autumn and winter.

It’s a nice way round to do things, we think, a bit like a good old harvest festival, which we LOVED at school. Don’t worry, we won’t be singing ‘We plough the fields and scatter’ (much) if we set up a meeting!

No, it’s more like making hay whilst the sun shines in the, ahem, warmer months – playing hard and working hard – and reaping the fruits of your labours in the autumn.

But what’s it all about? What does it really mean?

We love the Fresh Awards – not least their strapline for last year - and we know that winning awards really can make your mums proud (believe us that’s a big driver for us, too!) and our Clancy is super proud to be a judge for Fresh this year.

But what will we be judging, and why?

Well, of course it’s about results, but what do ‘results’ mean to you?

For us, and hopefully you, results are tangible evidence of work that has made a difference to the bottom or top line, a measurable increase in awareness or share of voice, or a marked shift in perception and engagement – internal or external.

What we’ll run a mile from is anything that asks for equivalent advertising spend. It simply doesn’t mean a thing!

You can churn out coverage in endless titles, racking up an impressive tally on how much the editorial space would have cost to buy. But if the titles aren’t being read by your target audience, and it’s not having an impact on your sales, performance or reputation – in a positive way – then, frankly, we just can’t see the point.

Maybe it’s just us, but we know our wonderful clients care about bums on seats, for want of a better expression to sum up the importance of sales and making money. Money’s not a bad thing – of course - it’s what you do with it that counts…

So, we want to get more bums on seats for you, get people talking in the right way, work with you to motivate and inspire your teams and much, much more…

Fancy pulling up a pew for a chat sometime?

The only way is ethics...

We'll be up front - if you're looking for PR puff and fluff, you've probably come to the wrong place.

That's not to say we don't enjoy fun and frivolity - we do! - but when it comes to achieving results for you and your business we're going to take it very seriously.

And our results are measured in true ROI - not what you spend in relation to the value of the press coverage we achieve. Results to us are an increase in sales and a measurable increase in awareness - the coverage we achieve for you is just a way of achieving that, and there are many other ways too.

We're also passionate about working with ethically-sound businesses - and we're keen to work with those who would like to develop their corporate responsibility as well.

This isn't just driven out of a desire to work with nice, honest folk (though that's something we're passionate about too!), but is commercially-sound for us and you.

According a study last year, consumers classified as “highly ethical” are likely to be wealthier than less ethically motivated people, with nearly two-thirds of this group falling into the ABC1 social class.

Highly ethical consumers make up 19% of the UK population and the study identifies a close correlation between a brand’s ethical reputation and these consumers’ likelihood to express a preference for it. The report’s findings also indicate there are strong commercial benefits to brands being seen to act responsibly.

We'll act responsibly when it comes to you and your business, and that's a promise. But we'll also have some fun as well...

What gets you going?

We've been thinking a lot recently about what it is we actually do.

We know that we provide support with copywriting, social media strategy and activity, media relations, event organisation and so on, but what does that say to you if you're a potential client?

You want to know what we can do for you, rather than a shopping list of our services. Don't you?

What really floats our boat is helping people and businesses achieve their goals by connecting them to others - media, potential clients, other partners - through great writing.

- 
Writing that really says something about what your organisation/person does in a meaningful way

- Writing that really connects with people

- Writing that gets you where you need to be - online, offline and in the 'real' world!

- Writing that reflects your tone of voice, personality and expresses your opinions

- Writing that tells a story - about a business, a person, a service, a product - that people will want to read

If you'd like to have a chat about what we can do for you and your business just get in touch.

We're adding to them all the time...

So, we said at the beginning of the year that there were certain phrases that were banned from Vital HQ. One of these was the changing media landscape. Oops, there goes another fiver in the charity pot!

Our core team is still the same, and we can put together one that best suits your needs, or recommend a single consultant if that's what would work well for you, but in order to adapt to how things are evolving (can we just about get away with that?) we've found that we're bringing in more and more of our skills into our communications activities.

Amongst our team are creative writers and trained journalists who are great at adding character and personality to blogs and social media activities, and trainers and coaches who are ideal for helping to bring together a working team or offering mentoring.

PR and communications has got much, much bigger than media relations - which we're pretty nifty at too, of course - so doesn't your business deserve someone who can think and deliver 'big' too? Yes, we thought so.

If you'd like a chat about how we can bring some vitality into your communications - on or offline - then just give Clancy a call on 07966 874796. We promise to leave the fiddle behind when we come to our first meeting, too, we're great at some things but we know our limitations!

2011 - what will it bring?

As we draw to the end of 2010, we have to say it's been a funny ol' year, wouldn't you agree?

We've been involved in a wide range of projects and - like anyone working in the media - we've had to add several new strings to our bow to keep up with the changing landscape and a tough economic climate.

So, our new year's resolutions...well, for starters we're going to develop a 'cliche box' - much like a swear box, but one that won't bankrupt us!

Top of the list of cliches that we have to dig into our purses for are ' changing media landscape' and 'tough economic climate' (see what we did there?!).

Things have changed, things are tough. That's just the way it is. And we reckon we're as well-prepared as we can be, with lots of exciting things on the horizon.

We'll see you renewed and refreshed - thanks largely to the extra post-NYE bank holiday - in a brand sparkly new year.

Enjoy!