We are, unapologetically, a PR business.

Yes, we deliver all the activity you’d expect a company like ours to do to promote the brand, build the profile and protect the reputation of the businesses we work with.

On a daily basis on our clients’ behalf we are:

• using digital channels to engage target audiences
• creating videos which pop up on your social feed
• analysing social media follower lists to engage potential customers
• compiling e-shots which result in opens and shares
• designing Google Ad campaigns which build lead lists
• imagining creative digital content which make people sit up and notice
• deploying multi-media strategies to reach decision-makers and
• building landing pages which convert visitors into sales

But that’s not what we ‘do’. They are just the, often digital, methods we employ. It seems that ‘digital marketing’ has achieved a standalone mythical status in our industry.

Businesses are being told they must do it. So-called experts are lining up to tell businesses exactly how to do it – even if the day job is making widgets or selling beds. And yes, there’s plenty of chancers out there who really haven’t got a clue, but are selling the myth anyway.

Digital marketing isn’t rocket science. It’s just marketing now, in 2019. It’s like an estate agent saying we ‘sell houses online’. It sells houses. The fact that it does so via Rightmove, just like every other agent, doesn’t make it new-fangled tech. I know small businesses often have to be a jack of all trades, which is why they can access great courses, like these on offer in Shropshire. But if you really do make widgets or sell beds, it will take more than knowing how to schedule social media or make a video on your smarthphone if you want it to be effective.

In reality, it doesn’t matter how many channels you embrace to ‘digitally market’ your business if your message doesn’t resonate and your content is dull. It doesn’t matter how much you optimise your SEO or time the delivery of your advert, if the creative idea behind it doesn’t hit the mark.

Be Bold Media is a public relations company. We develop, nurture and protect the relationship a company or a brand has with its public – its customers and potential customers.

How we do that is by telling their stories, by weaving together words and images which people want to read and watch.

We tell people who our clients are, what they stand for. We use our journalistic skills to celebrate their business wins, their people’s successes, the commitment to the communities in which they are based and the sectors in which they operate.

And we invest in our media contacts, influencer network and business intelligence platforms to spread their story and their message wider than they could tell it themselves.

That’s PR. PR is the difference between why you buy a Coke and not a Pepsi; why you might wear Nike instead of Adidas and why you pick a KFC over a Maccy D’s. All these companies are selling something similar, but the stories they engage you in are different.

For the clients we work with, our words mean business. Do yours?

‘Skill fade’ – is it a risk to your business?

Microsoft Exchange hack – should you be worried?

Pass the Cuisenaire rod… 🤷‍♀️

Nick Evans is a porter with the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. He’s also a life-saver.

Nick was outside the hospital when a couple arriving to visit a relative realised their seven week old baby had stopped breathing. Nick immediately began CPR until teams from the hospital’s emergency department took over.

His was just one of the amazing stories which were heard at the Trust’s Values in Practice Awards on September 13 in Telford, which celebrated the wonderful contributions made to patient care and experience by staff and volunteers.

I was delighted to be the evening’s host for the Trust, working with the fabulous events and production company Yarrington. And I was also privileged to be able to see and hear first hand about those on the front line, and behind the scenes, who go the extra mile for the 500,000 people SaTH looks after each year.

We’re a team of mostly journalists here at Be Bold Media. We’re no strangers to the power of a good story, we tell them on behalf of our clients every day. But what struck me most about Friday night was that all too often, the stories of the every day thoughts and deeds which make a real difference are not told.

So we’re going to try to do that more often from now on.

In a world where celebrity news and Brexit take the lion’s share of the headlines; where Kim Kardashian breaks the internet with a photo and where fake news claims dominate the Twittersphere, we’d like to share more real stories of everyday people who make us smile, go above and beyond or simply do the right thing.

If you see any, flag them up won’t you? Feel free to send me a link via DM on here, tag us in your post or tweet them to us @beboldpr and use the hashtag #realstories. Or you can email us on [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you.

‘Skill fade’ – is it a risk to your business?

Microsoft Exchange hack – should you be worried?

Pass the Cuisenaire rod… 🤷‍♀️

When you go into a shop to buy an apple, you have a reasonably good idea what that apple is going to look like, what is tastes like and how much it’s going to cost. You then have a choice to buy that apple… or not.

What you don’t do is to take a bite out of the apple, and then decide whether to buy.

Yet this is the dilemma that the creative sector is increasingly facing.

As PR specialists working in the communications arena, we like to think we are fairly good at explaining exactly what we do.

We have a website which shows people what we and our services look like and we take great pride in sharing testimonials from clients about the great work done on their behalf. We share coverage we’ve achieved on our social media, a clear sign to anyone browsing the shelves that we’re delivering on what we promise we can do.

When people enquire about working with us we give them information which clearly sets out our approach to PR, our experience, our expertise, case studies and our fees.

To all intents and purposes, we are exactly the same as the apples on the shelf.

We’re asking you, on the basis of all that you have seen, read and heard, to make a decision on whether you engage our services… or not (and, of course, all of our client roster did exactly that).

But we, and colleagues in other agencies we work alongside such as design and web, are increasingly being asked to produce creative concepts, PR plans, suggested designs, at the point of pitching for a contract. Companies are asking for time-intensive creative work ahead of even being called in for interview.

Creative accounting?

Would you ask an accountant to suggest your tax liability before engaging them to do your books? Would you ask a restaurant to send over free starters before deciding whether to book a table? Would you ask a plumber to replace a washer free of charge to check if you want them to replace the bath as well?

Of course not.

Now don’t get me wrong, we’re not precious when it comes to putting forward a few ideas to potential clients. It’s important to demonstrate not only that we ‘get’ their business but that our fantastic team has a creative hive brain which is second to none. But there is only so far we go.

So speaking business to business, please don’t ask those of us in the creative sector to work for you before we work with you.

If you want a new global PR campaign, a guerilla social media take-over, an influencer engagement programme or a six month communications plan, then that takes time and creativity. That’s what you pay for and that’s the value we bring. That’s the whole apple.

‘Skill fade’ – is it a risk to your business?

Microsoft Exchange hack – should you be worried?

Pass the Cuisenaire rod… 🤷‍♀️

Amazing, wasn’t it?

A 93-year-old man walks on to stage at the world’s greatest music festival and the whole place falls absolutely silent as he starts to speak.

That is, of course, after giving him the sort of standing ovation only ever reserved for those with modern-day legend status.

If you want a living, breathing example of the power of communication, then surely Sir David Attenborough at Glastonbury over the weekend is it.

Every word the veteran broadcaster and naturalist uttered was hung on by an adoring crowd, which might otherwise have been slightly irritated that a grey-haired old man was holding up the music to once again remind them that the world was in danger of going to hell in a plastic handcart.

Of course, Sir David, whose Blue Planet series revealed the horrifying extent of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans, chose his words much more carefully than that.

He thanked the crowds for their help in responding to a call to use less plastic – the festival declared itself plastic-free this year – before reminding them of the scale of the problem facing the world.

“Now this great festival has gone plastic-free,” he said. “That is more than a million bottles of water which have not been drunk by you in plastic. Thank you! Thank you!

“The ocean covers two-thirds of this planet of ours … the land only covers one third of the globe. There are seven great continents on which we human beings live. Each of them has its own marvellous creatures – birds and mammals, animals of all kinds. Each of them has its own glory, each of them has its own problems.”

Sir David’s appearance was an amazing example of some golden rules we tell all our clients when dealing with communications.

Know your message, know your audience and say what you need to say with consistency, honesty and passion.

Do that for long enough and back up your words with action and you will enjoy the sort of trust and authority which allows Sir David to speak to and for all generations in this most challenging of times.

And if you need any help making sure your words are just the right words, get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.

‘Skill fade’ – is it a risk to your business?

Microsoft Exchange hack – should you be worried?

Pass the Cuisenaire rod… 🤷‍♀️

Reputations count.

In fact, they are just about the most important thing you have in business.

If customers don’t trust you, if you fail to deliver on your word, if your products don’t do what they say they’ll do on the tin, Joe Public will quickly abandon you.

And they are unlikely to give you a second chance.

It’s a lesson learned the hard way by some heavyweight brands.

German car giant Volkswagen reckons it has paid a £25billion price for fiddling its diesel emission results to make it look like its cars were less polluting than they really were – and has set aside another £1billion for legal costs to cover the fallout from the scandal.

Banking giant Northern Rock – a company with a £5bn turnover at its peak – disappeared from our high streets almost overnight when the then BBC economics editor Robert Peston revealed in September 2007 it had applied to the Bank of England for emergency support to help it through a liquidity crisis.

Thousands of people with money in the bank lined up outside its branches the next day to withdraw billions of pounds and seal its fate. The Rock crumbled the second its core reputation was called into question.

And – without wanting to be overtly political – look at the way Theresa May’s position became untenable when she repeatedly made promises she could not deliver. She would not call a general election (she did), we would leave the EU on March 30 (we didn’t), there would be no extension to the Brexit deadline (there was) and Brexit meant Brexit (I’ll leave you to decide on that).

As PR specialists with a track-record in journalism, we know just how valuable your reputation is. We know that too many companies take it for granted. And we know that once it’s gone, it’s gone.

Good PR will never be able to repair the damage of consistently failing to deliver on your word, of being caught out being economic with the truth or engaging in sharp practices.

But if you are one of the thousands of companies in this country doing your level-best to deliver the best possible service or product you can, a bit of PR help is an essential part of establishing, managing and enhancing your reputation.

And if the day does dawn when you find yourself in the middle of an unforeseen crisis, you’ll be able to breathe just that little bit easier knowing that we have got your back.

‘Skill fade’ – is it a risk to your business?

Microsoft Exchange hack – should you be worried?

Pass the Cuisenaire rod… 🤷‍♀️

In business you can have one of the world’s best products or services; be at the cutting edge of innovation or at the forefront of your industry sector but this does not automatically make you a success.

In fact those businesses which do tend to prosper are, more often than not, the ones which recognise that internal and external relationships are just as much of an asset to their company as the products or services which they sell.

Collaboration, teamwork and building strong relations with customers, partners and your own staff is critical.

Take for example building firm Pave Aways, which on Friday was named Shropshire’s best business at the Shropshire Chamber Business Awards.

The contractor, which has its headquarters in Knockin near Oswestry, is not just excellent and skilful at what it does – building buildings – it is also an exceptionally honest and trustworthy company.

Its secret to success boils down to a special mix of exemplary leadership, solid relationships (internally and externally) and its grounded, down to earth people.

We’re pretty sure these three key elements are what shone through when judges were making up their minds on who to crown Company of the Year.

It’s exactly the same reasons why we here at Be Bold Media have loved working so closely with them over the last two years.

They’ve taken the time out to understand our business just as much as we have invested time and effort in theirs. We’ve got to know their people and they’ve got to know ours. They get us and we get them. It’s what might be called a ‘perfect-fit’.

What results from this two-way relationship is supreme team-working and ultimately success.

Multi-millionaire businessman Mo Chaudry, who was the guest of honour at Friday’s business awards at the International Centre in Telford, reiterated this exact sentiment to a packed audience of more than 600 people.

He said: “If you can get along with people you can change the world.”

For us, whilst our words are our business, what matters most is our relationships with our clients.

‘Skill fade’ – is it a risk to your business?

Microsoft Exchange hack – should you be worried?

Pass the Cuisenaire rod… 🤷‍♀️

Through its cleverly worded strapline, supermarket giant Tesco has been telling its customers for years that ‘Every Little Helps’.

What’s not to get? It’s simple. Tiny savings on your shopping add up to much bigger things and a healthier long-term bank balance.

Although few of us here at Be Bold would lay claim to being Tesco loyalists (we have Aldi, Lidl and Waitrose on our doorstep!) its famous slogan and the premise behind it has been resonating with us for an entirely different reason of late and that is how it can be applied to the environment rather than our shopping bill.

The debates surrounding climate change, carbon reduction, environmental protection and sustainability have been taken to a whole new level recently – supported, no doubt, by the vast media coverage given over to Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thurnberg and the ripple effect of her actions.

Closer to home issues have been catapulted into the limelight by UK politicians after they approved a motion to declare an environment and climate emergency.

Even amongst all the Brexit shenanigans, Euro-election results and the impending departure of our PM, the current environmental crisis continues to dominate the headlines across national and local media titles and quite rightly so.

Our last blog focused on The Guardian newspaper changing its house-style when reporting on environmental issues. This week we’ve seen stories about Morrisons pledging to become the first British supermarket to roll-out plastic free fruit and veg areas and even our local newspaper (The Newport Advertiser) has been covering a story on three different businesses becoming Plastic Free Champions.

Next week, we’re sure there will be more of the same and that’s why here in the office we’ve been thinking a lot more about our own actions, both as individuals and collectively as a company, and the impact of these on our world.

In fact, like many other businesses, we’ve been making a more concerted effort to reduce our carbon footprint and be more environmentally sustainable where we can.

Some of the things we’ve achieved so far include reducing the amount of energy we use either by boiling the kettle less often, not switching the office lights on if they’re not needed and making sure we turn-off our computer screens at the end of the day.

Some of us are managing to leave our cars at home by choosing to either walk or cycle to the office at least once a week. It goes without saying that we car share where possible when we’re attending meetings but we’re also flexible when it comes to home-working. After all, zero car equals zero emissions.

We’ve switched to plastic-free teabags in the office and we are currently researching other products we can invest in – refillable washing up liquid for example.

We’re almost paperless – we print very little but if we do, we make it double-sided; we have online newspaper subscriptions where possible and we recycle what we can – plastic, card, paper and glass.

At home staff are also making a massive conscious effort to be more environmentally sustainable and in particular they’re reducing their use of plastics.

Some of us now have our milk delivered by a proper milkman where milk arrives in recyclable glass bottles and those of us who are slightly more green-fingered are growing our own vegetables.

Those that don’t garden are looking at plastic-free alternatives for purchasing fruit and veg and Lidl’s ‘waste not want not’ boxes at £1.50 are proving a huge hit!

We’re reducing the amount of meat we consume, particularly red meat, and are being more proactive when it comes to sourcing locally produced goods to further reduce carbon miles.

We’re working on some other things too as well as ways we can monitor and record our carbon footprint so we track what kind of difference we are contributing to the environment over time.

Admittedly, it’s all relatively small-scale stuff at the moment and individually it’s probably not having a huge impact when it comes to saving the planet. However, collectively it’s a start, right? A step in the right direction. Small changes which add up to bigger things.

In Tesco’s own words ‘Every Little Helps’!

*We’ll try and keep you up to speed with our latest environmental efforts on social media and if you wish to join in, feel free to post your pics and thoughts along with us every Friday using the hashtag #footprintfriday.

‘Skill fade’ – is it a risk to your business?

Microsoft Exchange hack – should you be worried?

Pass the Cuisenaire rod… 🤷‍♀️

Our previous post introduced Hattie Mitchell our very first Work Experience student.

Here’s her thoughts after her two weeks with us came to an end.

It seems like months ago when I started work experience at Be Bold Media.

Each day I progress and get a bit more confident in my abilities and with each day I am challenged with something new to try.

I feel like the work I’m doing is helping and I know that the experiences I’ve had will have a positive impact on my future career choice.

I think my main struggle was adapting to the office as it was such a huge contrast to what I’m used to.

However after being here for two weeks, I have done loads of different tasks. Things like; news monitoring, copywriting, coverage collation, website management, general admin, content creation and more, all of which I have have participated in and enjoyed.

And this only scratches the surface.

Taking part in all of this has made me realise how much work goes into every aspect of life in a PR firm and how an entire project can fall apart if one person doesn’t do their job right. Be Bold Media has proved what a vital role PR plays in the success of any business.

Adjusting to working life has been easier than I thought mainly thanks to everyone here being extremely helpful, encouraging and supportive (Even Mel, though she rarely makes the tea…).

You wouldn’t be able to tell that I was Be Bold Media’s first work experience student.

My school, friends and family all gave me a list of what to expect, what to do and what not to do. But the main thing I have learned is that I should not have been so worried.

I have learned so much such as adaptive writing, general public relation skills, how to make my work sophisticated and much more. As well as that, being given the opportunity to explore new sites and tools such as Canva greatly improved my technological skills.

The entire experience has provided me with a broader learning platform, especially on things that school just can’t teach.

I am delighted that I was allowed to do my work experience at Be Bold Media. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here and will be disappointed to leave.

Hattie, you have been a star! Well done, enjoy your summer and we wish you all the very best in year 11.

‘Skill fade’ – is it a risk to your business?

Microsoft Exchange hack – should you be worried?

Pass the Cuisenaire rod… 🤷‍♀️

Almost all newspapers and magazines tend to have their own ‘house-style’.

When we talk about style of course, we are not referring to the interior design of a newsroom or office.

Indeed, most editors are far too busy dealing with the breaking news agenda to care whether the office exhibits the latest retro fusion furnishings or those of a more soft tropic touch.

In editorial terms the expression ‘house-style’ refers to the specific usage and editing conventions which reporters and editors follow to ensure consistency across a publication.

Indeed, the very first document to pass over the desk of any new reporter is likely to be a ‘style-guide’.

Not exactly the most scintillating bed-time read but one any reporter worth their soul will make sure they digest cover to cover if they wish to avoid being hauled into the editor’s office for accidentally using a ‘banned’ word.

And then there’s keeping up with the changes.

‘House-style’ documents are not fixed in stone and often what makes it into (or out of) the style-guide will depend on an individual editor’s preference.

So what? You might say. All organisations have some sort of in-house protocol.

Indeed, they do and it’s not exactly the type of thing you would expect to be making the news.

Only it is…

Just last week, The Guardian newspaper hit the headlines after deciding to update its own ‘style-guide’ when covering stories related to the environment.

From now on, you are unlikely to see the words ‘climate change’ reported in its articles nor the phrase ‘global warming’.

Instead, you will see the preferred terms ‘climate emergency’ and ‘global heating’.

The reason behind the changes – to better and more accurately reflect the current environmental situation facing each and every one of us.

We will all no doubt agree the issue is not going to go away or get better without a collective and global movement. (More on this next week!)

But, The Guardian is not and nor should it be, the only publication or organisation re-evaluating its ‘house-style’.

In fact, just this week during our Be Bold team meeting we decided to make a few changes to our own ‘style-guide’ and put a ban on certain words when posting on social media.

It‘s something all businesses should take a look at once in a while and not just those of us in the media and publishing sector.

Having a list of words or key phrases nailed down in a company ‘style-guide’ which all staff across an organisation can use or refer to when communicating externally can help cement a brand and make sure core messaging is consistently consistent.

It’s something we help our clients with on a daily basis and if you need us to give you a few pointers, do get in touch.

‘Skill fade’ – is it a risk to your business?

Microsoft Exchange hack – should you be worried?

Pass the Cuisenaire rod… 🤷‍♀️

A few weeks ago we set a challenge. We asked you to look at your business and the sector in which you operate and to find an award scheme to enter.

We asked you to put aside your modesty and to stick your head above the parapet.

We challenged you to go for it, to just do it.

We wonder how many of you have risen to the challenge and fired off your first award entry.

To those who’ve successfully ticked the box – congratulations.

To those who haven’t yet found the courage, here’s something else you could consider:

How about being an award or event sponsor?

Arguably, it brings with it many of the same benefits as entering or indeed winning an award – added commercial gain, PR opportunities etc – but without the spotlight shining directly on you.

There are a host of awards and events out there with organisers always on the look-out for business sponsors.

Take for example the Young Enterprise Shropshire Awards. Here at Be Bold we were delighted to be one of the many sponsors for the 2019 event – held just over a week ago.

Our lovely Mel attended the ceremony at the Telford Centre Hotel to meet entrepreneurial youngsters from across the county and to present the award for Best Creative Design, which was won by Friendly Feeders from Meole Brace School.

More than 100 students attended the event and a total of 29 awards were presented with Scrambled, a small business run by pupils at Idsall School in Shifnal, being crowned Shropshire Company of the Year for its innovative products made from recycled Scrabble tiles.

The entire evening was spent celebrating the skills and creativity of the next generation of business leaders but at the same time it was also a fantastic opportunity to give our own brand a little recognition.

So, if you’re not quite ready to boast about how good your own business is, how about supporting others by becoming an event or award sponsor?

You might have to part with a little bit of cash or donate some products or services but the return will be worth it – increased brand visibility, targeted marketing and of course, endless PR opportunities.

‘Skill fade’ – is it a risk to your business?

Microsoft Exchange hack – should you be worried?

Pass the Cuisenaire rod… 🤷‍♀️