The paper that always shines!

The Sun Logo

On Wednesday morning Kate Godber and Nicki Petitt attended a Gorkana Breakfast Briefing with The Sun. We both gained an honest insight into the consumer editor’s, Jane Hamilton, pet PR hates as well as the stories she just loves to write about. Tim Spanton, features writer, gave us a nice glimpse into his wardrobe too – sporting a luminous pink tie and equally glaring pink socks!

Here’s a guide to Jane’s and Tim’s dos and don’ts: 

Do:

1)     Contact Jane via email jane.hamilton@the–sun.co.uk and Tim via email tim.spanton@the-sun.co.uk or phone +44 (0)20 7782 4000

2)     Send Jane ‘young and funky stories with a sexy twist’ – all stories need an upbeat and positive angle.

3)     Send Jane and Tim statistics from quirky surveys – the survey needs around 1,000 participants (500 absolute minimum). The Sun will always include spokesperson name and job title.

4)     Email Jane before 10am – the team have news conferences at 11.30am each morning, so Jane will need story ideas beforehand – as early as possible!

5)     Trust in the team at The Sun – they always try to include two plugs of your client – “PRs are very important for us journalists.” 

Don’t:

1)     Phone Jane to follow-up on your pitch – if it’s appropriate she will respond to your email.

2)     Send Adobe attachments or large photo attachments to Jane.

3)     Pitch ideas to The Sun that have already appeared in the Daily Mail – they like exclusives and stressed that they would not have “the Mail’s seconds!”

4)     Invite Jane to press events during the day or evenings – she doesn’t attend many as she is a very busy lady, but will try to attend breakfast meetings.

5)     Send Tim regional stories for the ‘Captain Crunch’ feature (the Sun’s money expert) – stories must be on a national scale.

 Tip: Tim Spanton sends out story round ups each Monday morning – to be added to the distribution list, email tim.spanton@the-sun.co.uk

Boutique Run

A newbie to the Promote PR team, Sophie McKimm, did us proud at the weekend by running the Boutique 10k event in the blistering heat. Here she tells us all about it…

On route to the Boutique Run...

Saturday 10^th  July, was the hottest day of the year and as most people tucked into to a delicious BBQ’s or admired a golden tan I, along with hundreds of other female running novices, prepared for a 10k run around Battersea Park.

 The Boutique 10k run, organised in aid of breast cancer, was the first of its kind. A female only event, the organisers went to town on providing ‘a girly day out’. The run’s base camp- the boutique village, was decorated with pink and sported two huge glittery stilettos. There were rows of marquees housing nail beauticians, masseuses and make-up artists all offering free beauty services for runners after the race.

 At 6pm, the race start time neared and the boutique village began to flood with girls of all ages dressed in the black branded boutique run t-shirts and clutching Gatorade hydration drinks. After a warm up from the Pineapple Dance Studio legend Louie Spence the hundreds of keen girls made their way to the start line.

Before the start of the run

 Waiting for the race to start, I started to feel incredibly nervous. What had been described as a ‘fun run’ with friends, now seemed a competitive serious race. My two friends, who had told me they had not been training and were probably going to walk the course, turned out in the newest running trainers and were performing stretches, which to me looked like a move from an Olympic gymnast. The other ‘competitors’ standing around starting reeling off their quick times and how they were aiming for a personal best. The little training I had done, involved a  few ‘jogs’ around a field with my dog in tow often stopping for a mobile phone call, started to feel very inadequate.

 As the race was opened I was carried by the sea of black t-shirts across the start line. As one of my friends started to sprint off I initially began to panic- everyone seemed to be gliding past me. As I treaded out my first paces I began to set into a running rhythm leaving one of my friend’s steps behind.

 The run seemed extremely long and at times the heat unbearable. Pacing myself I was motivated by the passers-by shouting encouragement and by other boutique runners determined to keep going. As I passed the 3k mark I seemed to find my pace and began to enjoy the run along the Thames and through Battersea Park.

 Crossing the line an hour later was the best feeling, not only because I was handed a glass of champagne and given a glamorous pink medal but because I had finished the courses without stopping, without having a heart attack or collapsing from heat exhaustion.

 Greeting my ‘I’ve never run before’ friend who had finished two minutes before me, we headed to the marquees to get our nails done and for a much needed massage.

 As our last friend joined us, we all celebrated our survival of the Boutique run and even agreed to sign up for another organised 10K together. Although our usual Saturday past time of shopping can be extremely satisfying we realised coming to a sporting event together and joining hundreds of other people in pushing our bodies to achieve a distance we never thought we could do was a lot more rewarding.

After finishing the race with our medals!

Shortlist magazine: Gorkana briefing

Shortlist magazine

Shortlist magazine launched 3 years ago, positioning itself as a magazine for modern, affluent, urban men. The content consists of a mix of entertainment, information and current affairs for upmarket men with careers; distributed in 10 cities around the UK, as well as airports and Fitness First gyms.

Unusual for a men’s magazine in that it contains NO nudity and NO profanity (interestingly, this was based on numerous amounts of consumer research beforehand that revealed that many men were sick of the “Nuts” style format and wanted something more credible and classy).

Off the back off the success from titles like Sport magazine, Shortlist was able to adopt a similar weekly free sheet model.

On May 13 Shortlist launched a brand new refresh, all changed except the logo. The launched presented new sections and pages with a brand new modern feel. Readers are re-embracing their masculinity…apparently!

New sections:

• Shortlist Tech: executive tech, gadgets, including a “hero product” full page, looked after by Simon Kirst.
• Instructions for men: with relevant experts for each one; often witty and irreverent e.g. “how to land a jet plane in an emergency”. This section is managed by Andrew Dickens.
• To Do and Playlist: sections looked after by Matt Hussey – all contain desirable, upmarket items.
• Expert shortlist: section to be shrunk and moved to front, looked after by Jo Ellison.
• Travel page:  high-end, aspiration driven, no “late deals”.
• Style: pages consisting of 1 page concerning grooming, 2 pages of fashion, 1 page of “essential purchase”. This section is governed by Adrian Clark, who enjoys “desk visits” for fashion products!
• Features: 6 weeks in advance. Always looking for great, intelligent ideas, could be anything from politics, sport, and true crime. A features schedule is not sent out as this alters constantly. Expect World Cup to be massive in Shortlist! Other sports they like: F1, big boxing matches, 6 Nations etc.

No dedicated health section but could be room in lists, news. Tend to favour health stories with more of a “fitness” slant, sometimes involving elements of nutrition.

The talk of “post recession Shortlist reader” did present concerns of job security, however this gloom has lifted and the swagger is back.

Shortlist maintains it has no direct competition; Sport has a different readership and is released on a different day.

Shortlist compares itself to the likes of high-end magazines such as GQ and Esquire, although they are the only weekly offering of this type of magazine.

Shortlist publishes 56-64 pages every week, and they plan 6 issues ahead (internal plan, never released to PR’s). Features work to 2 weeks lead time and news 1 week ahead.

Guest editors in the past have included Jonathan Ross and James Corden. The front covers are of a very high standard; has to be A list, current and recognisable to the intended readership. All celebs included in the magazine have to be well-known names, except for possibly of the front section which is very topical and has featured X factor/Apprentice individuals.

Shortlist is very unusual, with the fact that its advertorial’s are created by the same team that creates editorial design.

Competitions are always very popular. Tech competitions should have value of £2.5k for half a page and holidays £5k+ for a full-page.

Online content is not all replicated from magazine; mostly bespoke content.

Shortlist is too publicised through social media devices, they are on Twitter, which is looked after by Matt Hussey.

Terri White, Editor

Adrian Clark, Style Director

Lucy Foster, Features Editor

Internet World

Our team visited the event, Internet World, where one of the key topics talked about in the social media theatre was evaluation. They have summarised the main points made, below:

The three step process to measuring social media is:

• Think back to your original objectives – how it will impact what you want to achieve i.e. improve brand awareness
• What metrics signify your success – sentiment tracking; how people are talking about your business
• Look for ways to measure in metrics using social technology – dig deeper into the platform and what metrics are available. These will help with the above two points

We generally count what is easy to count – number of followers doesn’t mean anything, they aren’t the number of leads you get – this does not measure the success of a campaign

 The six things that are important to measure are:

• User Reach (How far and wide the message goes)
• User Impact (How have people responded, are people forwarding messages?)
• Volume of Participation (How engaged people are)
• Quality of Participation (Who are they, are they important for the campaign?)
• Volume of Energy (How many conversations have been started because of it?)
• Quality of Energy (What are they saying, what is their influence?)

Only some of these will be important to a campaign though – you need to assess what measures success for you.

Footfixx

Kate and Lisa went to trial a treatment at the Amida Spa at David Lloyd Leisure in Hampton.

The treatment we were treated to is called Footlogix™ Footfixx. The treatment, we were told, would be like a facial for the feet – sounded intriguing!

New to the UK, Footlogix is a new range of professional and spa retail products for the feet.  Amida Spa offer both the professional spa treatment plus the take home maintenance mousses. We met with the brand spokesman Alicia Mitchell (who holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Podology-feet) and were shown how the products work. Originally from Canada, the treatment involves a step by step process for improving the wellness and hydration of feet.

Our feet were assessed to begin with and our hydration was tested. Hydration should be around 30% within the feet and mine were found to be well below that. We had our feet soaked in a concentrate that includes 10% urea and aloe vera. (Please note the urea is synthetic and has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties!)

Our feet were then sprayed with Footlogix Callous Softener and were filed and all the hard skin was removed – nice!  Having never been for a pedicure before this was rather enlightening and once they had been covered in the Dry Skin Mousse they felt wonderful. All the products in the range allow the skin to breathe and use ‘Dermal Integration Technology’ that means the products are absorbed into the skin and leave it hydrated.

We learnt a lot about our feet in the session due to Alicia’s vast foot knowledge. We learnt just how badly ballet pumps have damaged our feet and the importance of keeping our feet hydrated. The treatment was fantastic and we are ready to don our flip flops for summer and show off our smooth feet!   

Pampered feet

SPATEC 2010

Our Account Director, Melanie Lawn gives us her version of SPATEC 2010:

When I was asked to attend SPATEC, having not attended before, my first thought was one of ‘Oh my… three days spent with beautiful people with perfect nails – I’m going to stand out like a sore thumb!’ (literally). Personally, I love the idea of Spa being a life choice and not simply ‘a treat’ and part of a random Hen weekend in Leeds, but in reality I’m not that girl!

However, I jumped at the chance and viewed the trip as a great opportunity to understand the industry more, to get under the skin of how people make Spa part of their everyday lives, and to fully understand the ‘big hitters’ in industry.

Arriving in Croatia around 2pm was great (having boarded a plane at Heathrow at some ridiculous hour – anything starting with 5 is harsh, regardless of where you’re traveling). The plane journey had been an education all of its own. ‘Spatrek’ as it should have been known, as it soon became clear that 90% of the plane were on their way to SPATEC. I was surrounded by old friends catching-up, people networking and generally having a good time.

In normal Spatec style, the accommodation was superb (Le Meridian, Split) and from the moment I entered the lobby it was ‘Networkers.. GO..GO..GO..!’ . Officially the conference didn’t open until 9am the following day, but that didn’t stop us all from ordering a drink and getting down to the business of getting to know each other, all 180 of us.

After a rather nice drinks reception that evening, the following morning we were treated to a 45min session from Pete ‘I’m extremely loud and positive’ Cohen – top chap! Just what I,  and the rest of the group needed to get us in the mood and raring to go. Topline, Pete encouraged us to be happier and accept people as they are… pretty good advice I’d say.

Next came a day full of ‘speed dating’ type sessions with numerous spa suppliers and buyers – great fun. Personally I’ve never actually been speed dating, but if these sessions were anything to go by, I reckon I’ve missed out. 10 mins each to talk, discuss and establish were the two parties might be able to work together – bloody brill! (I wish all business meetings could be like this). 

By the end of the first day I was exhausted, losing my voice but in great spirits – what lovely people they are from the Spa industry. Everyone so positive, professional and friendly, I was having a ball (not to mention sourcing plenty of advice about hair, nails, skin, nutrition and of course, the latest must try treatments). 

That night the ‘dreaded’ team building took place. There had been much talk of this the night before and personally I was starting to fear 5.30pm coming round. However ‘our mission should we choose to accept it’ was to follow clues around Split, find a planted bomb and deactivate it –sounded simple enough. BUT, I hadn’t accounted for a rather enthusiastic team leader, crumbs… by 8pm when the task had finished, I’d seen every part of Split at a record pace, with a sneaky vodka & coke on route, and having almost thrown myself down a 50 foot castle wall – I say ‘almost’ as clearly I came to my senses at the last moment and thankfully a fellow team mate (Gary) offered to face death on my behalf – thank god.

I calmed my nerves later that evening indulging in a fabulous meal in a lovely local restaurant, surrounded by 15 of my new found friends – great evening had by all.

Friday arrived and sadly, so did the Ash Cloud! Although business was still being done and people were in reasonably high spirits, many (including myself) were worried about getting home. By the time of the Gala Dinner that evening panic was setting in and there was a noticeable change in atmosphere.

The following day ‘How are you getting back?’ was the question on everyone’s lips. I and my colleague Leila decided on the bus route – yep, the prospect of 30+ hours on a coach didn’t exactly fill me with delight, but getting on my way and heading closer to home seemed like the sensible thing to do. I was.

After a non-stop coach journey across seven countries in 34 hours, it’s fair to say you get to know the 26 strangers you are traveling with well. SPATEC has never offered such an unusual networking experience. But, do you know what…. they should! It was great fun (ok… fun might be a little strong) but, I actually enjoyed myself most of the time. Waking up beside someone who I had just met two days before – is an unusual situation (well for me it is… never been big on the whole One Night Stand thing).  What’s more, I actually managed to do some new business and learn even more about the Spa industry.

Needless to say, next year if I’m asked to attend SPATEC I’ll be sure to jump at the chance. It was an experience, both in terms of business and networking, as well as life and soul searching. An unplanned 34 hour bus trip provides plenty of time for reflection and, on reflection, SPATEC is not only a great networking opportunity, event and ‘jolly’, it’s also a place where lifelong friends are made.

SPATEC

To view all our SPATEC 2010 photos click here.