The Fuel Blog
Client news… latest developments in brand strategy, marketing & PR, graphic design, web development, online marketing and print management… a few updates on life here at Fuel - you’ll find it all here on our blog. Of course you are always welcome to keep checking back for updates, but we recommend you make life easier by following us on Twitter or subscribing to our regular updates.
St Mellion welcomes the cream of Cornish business
Over 40 of Cornwall’s leading businesses will descend upon St Mellion International Resort on Thursday 17 May for the prestigious annual Cornwall Business Awards organised by the Cornwall Development Company.
Companies have been shortlisted into 15 different categories ranging from Young Business Person of the Year to Best International Business and Business Leader awards.
Those on the shortlist were selected from another strong field of entrants by an expert panel of judges including CUC Director Sue Brownlow, Plymouth University Pro-Vice Chancellor Julian Beer, Eden Project CEO Time Smit KBE and rugby legend turned entrepreneur Phil Vickery MBE.
Around 350 senior business figures are expected to be in attendance for the gala event which will culminate in the ultimate ‘Winner of Winners’ to be announced by Olympic medalist Roger Black MBE.
Stephen Towers “We are absolutely delighted to welcome the event back to St Mellion again this year. It will be fascinating to see who wins the awards and we look forward very much to contributing towards making the event another tremendous success.
Last year’s ‘Winner of Winners’ was ShelterBox’s Tom Henderson for his outstanding contribution from Cornwall to international disaster relief.
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Twitter & Anonymity: Does the law need to be changed?
Foot Anstey Associate, Peter Singfield looks into the difficultly in keeping identities protected in today's social media world.
At the end of last week, a Sheffield United footballer was sentenced to five years in jail for raping a young woman. Over the weekend, a number of comments were made on Twitter, insulting the woman in question and, in some cases, naming her, or speculating as to her identity.
There have been calls this week for a long hard look at whether the law dealing with this sort of behaviour is adequate.
For instance, the charity End Violence Against Women have issued a statement on their website:
"It is profoundly disturbing that the rape victim in the Ched Evans trial has been named and abused on Twitter and other social media sites. It has long been law that rape complainants are protected by lifetime anonymity and those who have named her have been reported to the police for committing a criminal offence. This raises serious questions about the adequacy of the criminal justice system to deal with offences that occur online and we are calling for an urgent review of laws and practices.”
One can absolutely understand the sentiment: it is imperative that victims of offences, and of sexual offences in particular, have confidence in the criminal justice system, and its ability to protect them. It would be nothing short of a tragedy if a victim of an offence did not come forward for fear of disclosure of her identity.
However, I do not believe that a change in the law itself is the simple answer. The law is far from perfect, but it does already set out the necessary prohibitions. For instance:
• The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 affords anonymity to a victim of a sexual offence, and a criminal offence is committed if a person causes identifying matter to be published in England and Wales in a written publication available to the public.
• Under Section 127 Communications Act 2003 a person is guilty of an offence if he sends by means of a public electronic communications network a message or other matter that is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character; and
• There is a range of anti-discrimination legislation, as well as other public order offences where threatening or abusive messages are conveyed.
The law cannot physically stop people doing certain things. The best it can do is
(i) prohibit certain acts;
(ii) spell out the consequences of those actions, to act as a deterrent against those actions; and
(iii) to punish anyone who commits the prohibited act.
The problem represented by Social Media is not necessarily the law: it is a combination of the attitude of users, jurisdiction and practicality.
Attitude: In this author’s view, there is a burning need for the education of users of social media. Specifically, free speech does not mean, and has never meant, that you can say whatever you like without consequences. Users of the internet do in our experience seem to view the internet as a platform for airing whatever views they wish, however extreme or unacceptable, without consequence, and we routinely see such arguments advanced.
When stripped down to its essentials, Social Media is just another way to communicate. In most cases (leaving the issue of privacy settings to one side) it is essentially communicating in public. Just as it has never been acceptable to make certain kinds of discriminatory or abusive statements in a speech to a crowd, or in a newspaper, so it remains unacceptable to make them on a website or social media platform.
To be fair, a number of Twitter users did take action to report the comments to the Police, and to point out the illegality of comments being made. That is certainly commendable, but this form of self-policing is not enough, more needs to be done to deter users from unacceptable or illegal comments in the first place.
Jurisdiction: A lot of social media sites will be hosted outside of the United Kingdom. In order to do something about defamatory, or illegal or abusive content on those sites, it is often necessary to go to an American-resident company to report that content. In the clearest of cases that is not unduly burdensome, you make a report and the company will take the material down. In a case such as this, for instance, where a victim of a sexual offence has been named, I would expect a site to take prompt action.
However, in more difficult cases, where material is not obviously illegal, but it is defamatory, or abusive, or it constitutes harassment of another, some social media sites will require a Court Order before taking action (which is time-consuming and expensive), and that Court Order may not itself be the end of the story, as there can be a clash of two competing legal systems with differing attitudes to what free speech means and what limitations there can be in the interests of justice.
Practicality: Convincing a Social Media platform to take down a particular post is not an insurmountable obstacle, nor in deserving cases is it impossible to convince them to bar certain users from their platform. However, as the growing problems with internet trolls demonstrate, the anonymity provided by the internet allows a determined wrongdoer simply to set up another account and start again.
===================
When dealing with the more general issue of the compliance of users of Social Media with the law, a lot more thought is needed both as to whether the law is fit for purpose in dealing with what is an international cross-border platform, and whether a better practical mechanism can be found in co-operation with the providers of the platforms for dealing with content or users that steps over the line.
What I think the last week’s events show more forcefully is the importance of doing more to stop any issue arising in the first place. The thing about anonymity is that it is extremely fragile – once a disclosure has been made that fragile protection is irrevocably damaged. It certainly is a situation where prevention is better than cure. The law has a role to play in that, but the deterrent effect of the law does not work without education.
Education can take a number of forms. Later in their statement, End Violence Against Women recognise its importance, saying: “the case also highlights a bigger issue about the deeply-held but ill-informed beliefs that people still hold about women who experience sexual and other violence, for example that women routinely lie or contribute in some way to the violence…We also want the Government to take concerted action to address attitudes that condone violence.”
The law can play its part in the process of education. It is to be hoped that anyone who posted a comment naming the victim of a sexual offence should be prosecuted, not only because the acts themselves are illegal, but also because it is imperative to restore confidence in victims, and because such prosecutions can themselves represent a way of educating users of Social Media.
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Fuel 'Join the Club' at PAFC
With fingers crossed for a positive result against Oxford United we hope the feel good factor at Home Park kicks off early tomorrow with the launch of Plymouth Argyle FC's brand new membership packages for next season. Developed under the theme of encouraging fans to "Join the Club" we have been delighted to work with Peter Jones and Rick Cowdry on the campaign which heralds "A new season. A fresh start."
Thanks to careful consultation and an innovative approach from the PAFC Board, the membership packages offer a range of flexible options and benefits for fans allowing us to focus the creative applications on the promise that "It's so much more than just a seat."
On behalf of everybody here, it has been a real pleasure playing a small part in Argyle's revival. COYG!
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Armed Forces heroes on course for new horizons
Members of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces who have suffered life changing injuries are once again showing their courage, skill and determination – this time on the golf course in pursuit of new careers.
Eighteen golfers from the On Course Foundation, a charity dedicated to enabling seriously injured servicemen and servicewoman to participate on a level playing field and take up careers in the golfing world, have just completed a three day golf tuition and career development course at St Mellion International Resort in Cornwall.
The On Course Foundation were guests at the Resort after being nominated as official charity by St Mellion Club Captain Jon Behannah as part of its preparation for the Simpson Cup when British amputee golfers take on their US rivals at Florida’s famous TPC Sawgrass venue in December.
In addition to expert tuition on the techniques, rules and etiquette of the game, the attendees also received presentations from David Moon, Golf Operations Manager at St Mellion, and Mike Bush, St Mellion’s award-winning Head Greenkeeper on potential opportunities within the golf industry.
John Simpson, founder of On Course said: “On behalf of the Foundation I would like to extend our sincere thanks to St Mellion International Resort. The conditions were absolutely perfect preparation for the Simpson Cup – glorious sunshine on championship courses. The fact that those conditions came in March was a pleasant surprise! Their hospitality has been first class and has certainly heightened the desire of all those who came down to pursue a new career in golf.”
Jon Behannah said: “It was an absolute honour to welcome the On Course Foundation here and to witness some truly fantastic golf. Their military training has certainly equipped them with the mental attributes to succeed in the game so we wish them well at TPC Sawgrass and in securing careers in golf. They will undoubtedly inspire people wherever they go.”
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Moving in the right direction
We are kicking off our fifth year in business in new premises. Relax, we are still at Crownhill Fort, we’ve just invested in larger office space and equipment following a record beating 2011/2012.
Now at Studio 12 and 13 in the Fort’s impressive Officers Quarters, regular visitors can now find us over to the far right (same row, but walk or drive over to when you get into the parade ground).
The new facilities include a new client meeting room, telephone system, desks, monitors, break out workspace and some garden furniture to soak up the surroundings, get creative and enjoy outdoor meetings in the sunshine with clients.
We look forward to welcoming you soon.
Contact details in full:
Fuel Communications Limited
Studio 12 & 13, Officers Quarters
Crownhill Fort
Plymouth
PL6 5BX
Tel: 01752 426333
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St Mellion to host celebrity charity golf day
Top golfing venue announces it will host 8th annual SHC Celebrity Charity Golf Classic in June to raise money for The Harvey Hext Appeal; sign-up for tickets for golf and gala dinner
On Tuesday June 26, 2012, celebrities and local business people will be competing against each other on the Jack Nicklaus Championship Course at St Mellion International Resort to raise money for a local charity, the Harvey Hext Appeal.
Some tickets are still available and keen golfers are being encouraged to sign-up for the event in the summer.
The 2012 SHC Celebrity Charity Classic is being supported by Steve Hoskin, a local businessman, and owner of Steve Hoskin Construction (SHC Ltd). The day itself is much more than just golf. After the 18-hole shotgun start Stableford golf tournament is over, there will be a Gala Dinner and Cabaret, with some of the celebrity participants entertaining the guests with a mixture of comedy and music.
During the eight years of its existence, the SHC Celebrity Charity Classic has raised thousands of pounds for local charities. The Harvey Hext Appeal (www.bmycharity.com/HarveyHextAppeal) is aiming to raise £300,000 to treat a local five-year old boy who was diagnosed in June 2010 with stage four Neuroblastoma, a very aggressive childhood cancer.
Hoskin said: “I am delighted to be working with St Mellion, with whom I have a longstanding affiliation. The SHC Celebrity Charity Classic is a brilliant day, not to be missed, and is raising money for a very worthwhile cause.”
Celebrity participants for the 2012 event have yet to be confirmed, but previous years have seen the likes of Kevin Whateley (Lewis from Inspector Morse), Tim Healey, Rik Wakeman and Roy Evans (Liverpool FC) as well as ex TV soap stars and popular comedians.
David Moon, Golf Operations Manager at St Mellion International Resort, said: “The SHC Celebrity Charity Classic is set to be another memorable event. We are looking forward to welcoming golfers and celebrities to the course and our four star venue.
“There are still places available: the cost for a team of three players is £495, and additional guests for the Gala Dinner and Cabaret are welcome at £45 per head. There are also corporate sponsorship opportunities available, so I would urge any interested parties to get in touch with me on 01579 352004 or at stmellion-golfdays@crown-golf.co.uk.”
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9 Ways to Ruin Your Social Media Presence - Part 3
And so to the final three ways to ruin your social presence. Part one and part two covered points such as tone, listening and activity, today we are looking at staff involvement, metrics and strategy.
7. You discourage your staff from getting involved
Your staff can be your best brand advocates, but they can also be a potential liability. As they are probably already active in at least some of the channels you want to utilise, why not provide training and support to help them develop their activity and become actively involved in promoting their work to their networks? This will not only enable you to reach a wider audience in the short term, it will also present an important transparent and ‘human’ element to your activity.
8. You don’t measure effectively
Setting KPI’s and measuring your return on investment is as important with social media as it is with any other form of marketing or advertising. There are a variety of ways of measuring social media, and the right approach for you will depend largely on what you want to achieve. The important thing is that you calculate the return on your investment in social media.
9. You don’t plan effectively (or at all)
All these previous pitfalls can be avoided by adhering to this final point. By developing a strategy (even a simple one) you will build yourself a guide to moderate your social media activity and keep yourself focused on your original goals. There is nothing to say that this strategy can’t be evolved as you go, but at least you start with a reference and maximise your potential for success along the way.
So, not a definitive list by any means, but a lot of points worth considering. If you have any additions or thoughts on this series of posts, feel free to message me on Twitter.
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9 Ways to Ruin Your Social Media Presence - Part 2
In part 1 of this blog post we mentioned conversation, listening and commentary, today is more about tone, content and activity.
4. You constantly self promote
Nobody wants to be advertised or sold to via social media. To get the most out of these channels you have to add more value than just posting your latest offers. Think beyond sales and leads, what else can you use social channels for? Customer service? Internal communications? Product development? There are a host of opportunities beyond the most obvious - the trick is to think of social media as more than just a set of marketing tools.
5. Your activity is too corporate
Whether you represent a large law firm or a local entertainment venue, your audience will have different expectations of your social media activity and your corporate press releases. Don’t get them confused - although social channels will provide your audience with information, news and value they are conversational by nature and should be approached as such.
6. You are over or under active
Consistency is important in all your activity. A lot of businesses make the mistake of signing up to ‘all’ the social media channels then quickly running out of steam - either because they believe that they have run out of things to say or because they get disillusioned due to the lack of overnight success. Take stock of your resources and be realistic in terms of how much time and effort you should invest.... and be careful not to become an ‘OverTweeter’.
Tune in tomorrow for the final part of this series. In the meantime, please feel free to contact me on Twitter with your thoughts
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9 Ways to Ruin Your Social Media Presence
There is never a shortage of consultants, evangelists and 'gurus' telling you how to run your social media campaigns, but it is quite rare that the obvious (and therefore easily avoidable pitfalls) are discussed. So over the next few blog posts will be a list of the main issues that cause companies to fail in taking over the social world. It isn't exhaustive, but it's a start...
1. You don’t allow commenting on your blog
The whole point of social channels is that they are social. If you keep your activity closed, how and why would it be amplified? Your activity should be promoting and encouraging engagement with your audience, so you need to give them access to every possible avenue for contacting you. Don’t be afraid of opening up your blog posts to scrutiny - not only will you engage some new and interesting people, you may even learn something! (NB. We like to practice what we preach - commentary will be incorporated into this blog soon. For now, please comment via Twitter).
2. You don’t respond to comments or are defensive and aggressive
Social media is about building relationships and trust, whether you are acting as an individual or on behalf of a brand. It doesn’t matter if the comments you receive are positive or negative, you need to respond to them in the right way. I’ve heard business social media representatives talk about ignoring or even deleting bad comments - bad idea (and here’s a high profile example of why)! Social media needs to be transparent and open. If you don’t abide by this you will eventually be found out, and the consequences will probably be worse than the original negative comment...
3. You don’t listen
The ability to listen to and filter information is arguably the most important benefit of social channels. There are a number of free and cheap monitoring tools to allow you to effectively find out what your audience (and competitors) are talking about and how they are talking about it. Only by listening can you decide how to effectively and appropriately engage - it is a wise place to start your social media activity.
Look out for the second part of this blog post tomorrow, or contact me on Twitter with your comments in the meantime....
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Business vote 'YES' for Waterfront BID
Waterfront businesses have voted a clear ‘YES’ in a ballot to decide on setting up a Waterfront Business Improvement District (BID), with a 59 per cent turnout -significantly higher than the national average 41 per cent turnout for BIDs.
Results announced today showed 70 per cent of voters backed the BID to drive investment in the Waterfront and give local businesses a greater say in the way the Waterfront is marketed and managed.
The vote gives the go-ahead for Plymouth Waterfront Partnership (PWP) to set up the BID and to work with Plymouth City Council and other partners in taking forward the Waterfront Business Plan, which will deliver £6.2 million of investment in the Waterfront BID area over the next five years. The BID will come into operation in April this year.
David Wheeler, Chairman of Plymouth Waterfront Partnership, said: “This is a strong vote of confidence in Plymouth’s Waterfront from the businesses who trade here and who clearly see the potential for a more successful and profitable future going forward under a Business Improvement District.
“The high turnout gives strong legitimacy to the vote. It gives businesses, through the PWP, a strong mandate to drive improvements for the Waterfront, to lobby on behalf of the area and to help shape the future of the Waterfront over the long term in partnership with Plymouth City Council.
“On behalf of the PWP Board I would like to thank businesses for their support throughout this process and the Council for backing the business community and the BID by agreeing to ring-fence services and provide significant match funding in what is a difficult economic climate.
“Our focus now is very clearly on putting all the arrangements in place for the start of the BID and on delivering the Waterfront Business Plan, which businesses have helped design.”
Cllr Ted Fry, Plymouth City Council Cabinet Member for Planning, Strategic Housing and Economic Development, said: “Businesses have taken a very positive decision in voting for a Waterfront BID. We welcome their commitment to vote yes for the BID and to take a greater role in investing in and managing the future of the Waterfront, which is such an important asset for the City.
“The City Council is committed to developing the Waterfront and the visitor economy and through the BID process we have the opportunity to empower businesses. It is part of the Council’s wider strategy to support growth in the city economy and create jobs and wealth.”
The confidential, postal BID Ballot was run throughout February by the independent Electoral Reform Services, with BID Ballot papers sent out to 659 voters in the Waterfront BID area.
Detailed figures for the vote were as follows:
Votes cast: 389 (59 per cent turnout)
Yes: 273 (70 per cent)
The Yes vote represented 79 per cent majority of the total rateable value of businesses which voted in the ballot compared to the national average of 70 per cent. (A majority in terms of votes cast and rateable value is required to meet the ‘dual-lock’ mechanism for a BID to be legally voted through.)
Following the positive BID Ballot result, the PWP Board will now work with local businesses and stakeholders to agree the details and membership of the PWP Advisory Board which will be fully representative of all stakeholders in the Business Improvement District and which will advise the PWP’s Board on future strategy and the implementation of the BID Business Plan.
The governance arrangements will be discussed at a public meeting to form the PWP Advisory Board on April 4. This will include discussion of how Plymouth City Council will organise its executive functions to support the delivery the BID Business Plan.
Check out our work with the Waterfront BID team.
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Learn lessons from Capello resignation
Jonathan Kitchin, Associate in the Dispute Resolution team at Foot Anstey looks at Fabio Capello's resignation as England football manager.
Fabio Capello's decision to resign with only four months to go until the European Championships came as a bit of a surprise. To say it was a high profile role is an understatement at best, and highlights some of the issues that come to light when a senior figurehead leaves an organisation.
It would be interesting to know whether Mr Capello was entitled to choose the England captain, in what circumstances the FA could "pull rank" and how both parties were supposed to deal with the media (given his interview on Italian television). His employment contract or service agreement would set out how both parties are supposed to conduct themselves. The strength of the arguments on conduct set the scene for negotiations, as each party will try to build up a picture that the other is the "wrongdoer".
Financial considerations may then take priority. The combination of a hefty benefits package and a six month notice period or a fixed term contract can quickly give rise to a six or seven figure claim. This is the reason why football managers can receive large pay-outs. In the business world, a claim can mushroom in value if a minority shareholding needs to be bought out or the exercise of share options come into play. Claims of large financial value or involving more complex corporate arrangements are typically pursued in the High Court.
The High Court is also the correct place to litigate if "foul play" is suspected. For example, seeking the return or destruction of confidential data that has been taken, getting an account of profits for opportunities that have been unlawfully diverted or enforcing restrictive covenants. These remedies require the use of emergency injunctions to deliver up information and restrain conduct. Injunctions are reserved for the most business critical of issues, being the most draconian and high impact civil remedy available.
A senior executive may also have statutory rights to pursue a claim in the Employment Tribunal for unfair dismissal or discrimination. A procedural defect or loaded comment could give the departing director negotiating leverage. However, making Employment Tribunal and High Court claims at the same time requires extremely careful legal advice as pursuing one may rule out claiming in the other. This is important when compensation in the Employment Tribunal is capped at £25,000 for breach of contract, £72,300 for unfair dismissal and the cap removed for discrimination.
The type of legal issues at stake and their financial parameters will influence the choice of forum for resolution. From a more practical perspective, minimising disruption to the workforce, preserving customer or supplier relationships and managing any potential damage to the brand are also key. When broaching discussions, consideration needs to be given to the choice of broker in order to establish a confidential and constructive dialogue from the outset. Usually, any out of court settlement will be recorded in a settlement or compromise agreement.
When negotiating senior exits, embarking on the right strategy and legal tactics with reference to the bigger financial and commercial picture is crucial. No doubt the pressure points behind Mr Capello's resignation will come to light in due course and time will tell as to whether Harry Redknapp has been lined up to replace him.
If you would like to discuss this article, Jonathan is contactable on 01392 685246 and jonathan.kitchin@footanstey.com
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International Resort sets a new membership trend
The South West’s leading golf and leisure resort and only 36 hole championship golfing facility in the region has introduced a brand new membership structure, specifically tailored to the each golfers individual requirements.
This unique approach makes St Mellion the best value members’ club in the region, where golfers are only required to pay for the facilities they require and which best suit their individual playing habits. Regardless of the course and days you wish to play you will enjoy two fantastic and contrasting layouts, greens of exceptional quality, both overseen by the regions only Master Greenkeeper, Mike Bush.
St Mellion also has one of the most vibrant competitive, friendly and social diaries in Devon and Cornwall across every section. (Ladies, Men’s, Seniors and Juniors). Golfers of every level are welcomed and the professional team offer a unique St Mellion Get into Golf Passport, the only golf coaching programme which guarantees to get your playability for a fixed price.
Individual membership starts from just £650 per year and gives members playing privileges on the Kernow Course, competition entry (subject to normal club fees) and access the members only levy discount and Crown Golf Open Play schemes. Members who wish to upgrade to an additional golf membership of the championship Nicklaus course, health & fitness club or buggies can simply add them on.
All Members also benefit from a 10% discount in the resort’s bars and restaurants with a 15% discount in the Elemis Spa.
St Mellion International Resort welcomes hosts from across the globe looking to play one of the most famous and exciting golf courses in the world. It has a great golfing heritage with 36 holes of golf, including the Jack Nicklaus signature course, a golf academy, 80 bedroom four star hotel, golf lodges, award-winning leisure facilities, brasserie and fine-dining offerings, bars and an Elemis spa. As the finest golf complex in the south west of England, St Mellion. But it is not just the visitors from further afield that fill the complex.
Stephen Towers, Resort Director, said: “The resort attracts members from across the region all looking for the one thing that St Mellion can offer that others can’t; affordable luxury. This new tailor-membership structure means that, even during the toughest economic times, the resort is still affordable for those that want it and we can build a package to suit them. We are very proud to be doing something different, to give a flexible approach that sets us apart.”
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Male Origin launch new site
Male grooming product specialist MaleOrigin is launching a brand new website with a new catalogue of high quality hair, skin and shaving products.
“We have listened to our audience and developed a new, improved shopping interface” said Managing Director Jason Bramhall, “We plan to review and discuss the best grooming products on the market, and to offer those products at competitive prices. We feel we have a lot of value to contribute to what is already an established, online community.”
To coincide with the new website, the MaleOrigin team are planning a number of offer-based campaigns, and will be making much more use of social channels both for promotion and to encourage community collaboration. Leading up to the launch, MaleOrigin has been working closely with the team at Fuel to design and build the new website and provide a strategy and training for engaging their audiences through social media.
“It’s been a really exciting challenge for us to reinvigorate the MaleOrigin brand,” said Fuel’s Nikos Lemanis, “And working with such a positive and enthusiastic client is always a pleasure. We’re looking forward to helping them go from strength to strength.”
Take a look at the new MaleOrigin website then get involved in the conversation with them on Twitter and Facebook. They’ll soon have you looking better groomed than you have in years!
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How sociable are you?
How sociable is your brand? Why does this matter? Latest research from global PR agency, Weber Shandwick (in partnership with research company Forbes Insights) suggests that having a strong social media presence (or ‘sociability’, as described in the report) is a key driver in your company’s overall reputation.
The research states that global executives, from the world’s top class companies, attribute 52% of their brand’s reputation on how sociable they are online, up from 45% one year ago. The research predicts this increase will continue to hit 65% in three years. That’s an amazing five-year growth rate of 44%. Moreover, one third of all global executives with digital / marketing responsibilities view their “quality of online presence or engagement” as a core factor to their company’s overall reputation.
While considering that social media is one of the fastest growing trends during these difficult economic times, it’s no surprise that the research found that universally 87% of all global executives had social media brand strategies, and that nearly all (97%) use at least one social media tool. However, 63% of those global executives admitted that they had not integrated their social media strategies with their core marketing and communication strategies. In addition, 16% stated that their brand’s presence / sociability was ‘world-classed’ this leaves 84% who felt theirs was lacking – that’s surprising as, stated above, 87% currently have social media strategies in place.
The research also identifies nine key drivers as a guide to successful brand sociability, these include:
- It’s not the medium – and it’s more than the message
- Put your brand in motion
- Integrate or die
- Make social central
- Listen more than you talk
- Count what matters – meaningful engagement
- Think global
- Go outside to get inside
- Be vigilant
Nikos Lemanis, Head of Online Marketing, elaborates: "Of the nine key drivers above, for me the most important is 'make social central'. Socialising your brand and your marketing activity has become imperative as community recommendation and open communication channels become ever more important drivers of consumer purchasing decisions. Social channels let you listen to and engage your audiences in a much more organic way, and the benefits of this shouldn't be underestimated."
This research was gathered from an online survey conducted in spring 2011 with 1,897 senior executives from high-revenue companies across 50 countries.
The research can be access via this PDF
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New Visitor Guide launched to support city's tourism sector
Plymouth’s Visitor Guide for 2012 has been launched as a key tool to drive visitor numbers to Plymouth, boost the tourism economy and position the city regionally and nationally as a top UK destination.
The 2012 Guide, produced by Plymouth Waterfront Partnership, has been designed as a high quality publication showcasing the very best the city has to offer whether visiting for a day, a weekend or longer.
Featuring a foreword by our newest celebrity chef, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, who describes Plymouth as “a city of undiscovered gems”, the guide is designed to excite an interest in the city, encourage more people to visit and discover all that Plymouth has to offer.
Sarah O’Leary, Waterfront Manager said: “Waterfront businesses told us that for them the Visitor Guide is a really valuable marketing tool. We’ve built on last year’s transformational publication to produce a quality of design and content to really make Plymouth shine. Working with our media partners DCA Public Relations and Fuel Communications to bring the new guide to life, we’ve confidently positioned the Waterfront as Plymouth’s key tourism asset, linking it with the retail area of the city centre and showcasing its superb setting at the heart of Devon and Cornwall.”
The Visitor Guide will benefit from a targeted programme of distribution to ensure the highest possible impact. 20,000 copies will be distributed across key target markets including tourist attractions and holiday destinations across the South West. The guide will also be available to download online to broaden its viewing audiences. Accommodation providers in Plymouth will also receive copies to serve as a ‘bedroom browser’ showcasing the very best of what visitors can see and do during their stay in the city.
Roy Martin, owner of The Invicta Hotel and Chair of the Plymouth Hospitality Association welcomed the new publication, he said “The Visitor Guide is a great addition to the visitor experience in Plymouth and is important in increasing the number of overnight stays. Not only does it draw potential visitors giving an insight to the city’s offer, it also acts as a guide whilst they’re here to help them explore and discover both main-stream and off-the-beaten-track experiences.
“I’m thrilled that the Plymouth Waterfront Partnership has kept the Visitor Guide alive to support the city’s tourism sector in the coming year.”
This year will also see a wider marketing campaign to support the Plymouth Visitor Guide, with a digital version of the Guide being created, new additions to the Visit Plymouth Website and a PR campaign designed to target the national travel and leisure press. As well as mainstream distribution, last year the guide was sent to more than fifty other Plymouths across the world. This will be broadened with the 2012 Guide also being sent to the thirty five countries exposed to Plymouth through broadcasting of the America’s Cup event which took place last August.
Vivien Pengelly, Leader of Plymouth City Council said: “Through the pages of this guide people from all across the UK and beyond will be able to find out more about our wonderful city and I hope they will be encouraged to make Plymouth a destination for a city break, or visit for a day whilst on holiday in the South West.
“This Visitor Guide is a fantastic ambassador for the city and should have a real impact in terms of supporting the tourism sector and the local economy.”
Copies of the Plymouth Visitor Guide are available to pick up from the Tourist Information Centre on the Barbican, or can be downloaded from www.visitplymouth.co.uk
Read more on the project's Case Study page.
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What have you got to GAIN?
We’ve just launched the interim website for GAIN – Plymouth University, Plymouth City Council and Tamar Science Park’s Growth Acceleration and Investment Network.
The interim site will give you all the background you need on GAIN before the GAIN portal – designed and developed by GOSS Interactive, Fuel, Tell Online and Two Four – is launched in the spring.
So if you are a business, investor or have a business idea that you want to fly in 2012 find out what you’ve got to GAIN at www.gaininbusiness.com
Read more on the project's Case Study page.
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Marketing executives split on budgets
OK, here’s the split. In Q4 of 2011 20% of marketing executives reported an upward revision of marketing budgets leading to “Marketing Spend Revised Up” headlines on many marketing websites. Scroll down a little bit and you will see that 19% are reducing their budgets. So what is going on? We take a look at the latest IPA Bellweather Report survey of marketing experts in 300 UK companies.
If you throw on top the survey also found that marketing executives’ confidence for the industries in which they operate has fallen to an 11-quarter low, the picture becomes very gloomy indeed. On the face of it the marketers, the bright sparks, the optimists are taking a real hammering.
For those of you who don’t follow the quarterly trends you could be forgiven for thinking that overall investment would be roughly in line the general economic outlook – pretty much flat. The reality is that it is up 0.6% according to the report.
But as always, the real story lies beneath the headlines. Things are changing. Whilst traditional media and public relations spend has been revised down slightly and sales promotion/direct marketing revised up slightly; online marketing has jumped significantly. In Q4 of 2011 the experts’ surveyed increased Internet and search marketing activity by 13.4% and 14.9% respectively. So whilst overall investment is pretty much stagnant, tactical manoeuvring isn’t.
Clearly the tactics used will depend very much on organisational strategy. If a strong strategy is in place it’ll be very clear where the tactical investment needs to be made and yes that will still include so called ‘old’ marketing such as traditional media advertising and public relations.
However, the transparency through management data, ability to put in place goals and sheer insight into client/customer and potential customer/client activity will mean that online marketing investment will continue to grow while we all wonder when the real economic recovery will happen. The question is - are you on top of all the above opportunities? What is clear, regardless of whether you are revising your budget up slightly, or trimming it a little bit, most forward thinking organisations (including your competitors) are spending time and money in this area.
Earlier we said that marketers could be taking a real hammering. But here at Fuel we are growing year in, year out by helping our clients perform on tight budgets. It is a strategy that isn’t going to change anytime soon.
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Two new members appointed to Plymouth Waterfront Partnership board
Representatives from two of Plymouth’s most high profile businesses have joined the board of the Plymouth Waterfront Partnership (PWP).
Comron Rowe from Foot Anstey and Charlotte Malcolm from Sutton Harbour Group join the eight-strong board, chaired by Dr David Wheeler, ahead of a ballot in February which will ask local business to vote on the creation of a Waterfront Business Improvement District (BID).
Comron is a Partner at Foot Anstey, specialising in pensions law and is widely acknowledged as an expert in his field. Comron brings the full strength and legal acumen of Foot Anstey to the Board, providing financial and legal support to the PWP.
Comron Rowe said, “Foot Anstey is strongly in favour of the Waterfront BID. Plymouth plays an important part in the region's long term economic future and the city’s Waterfront has a unique opportunity, through match funding, to attract the level of investment it deserves given its potential to spearhead and attract more skilled jobs and visitors to the city. “I’m delighted to be part of the PWP Board working to support Waterfront businesses in making the most of this fantastic opportunity.”
Charlotte Malcolm, Commercial Marketing Manager at Sutton Harbour Group, brings to the board a wealth of marketing experience from across the private sector and in leading the communications for one of the Waterfront’s most prominent businesses knows what it takes to attract customers and drive interest in Plymouth’s unique offer.
Charlotte Malcolm said, “Communicating the pros and cons of a BID so that all businesses within the proposed boundary can make an informed choice, is of paramount importance. I am particularly pleased to be able to offer the Board my skills and knowledge in this area so we can share as much information as possible with the businesses who will be casting their vote in the confidential ballot in February."
“I’m excited to join the PWP Board at this significant time in the BID process. This is an excellent opportunity to be part of the team improving the Waterfront for residents, visitors and businesses.”
A five-year, £6.2 million investment plan for the Waterfront has been drawn up by Plymouth Waterfront Partnership (PWP) and local businesses, designed to grow annual visitor spend by 25 per cent (£63 million) by 2020. The private sector-led initiative is designed to give local businesses much more control in the way the Waterfront is managed and promoted, with a focus on generating increased footfall, visitor spend and marketing the Waterfront as a regional and UK destination.
A ‘yes’ vote in the postal ballot, to be held from 01 February until 02 March, would see all businesses contributing through a BID Levy (based on rateable value) towards the funding of the BID - with a third of businesses paying up to £100 annually and half between £100 and £500.
A further £2 (£2.4 million in total) will be targeted in match-funding by PWP for every £1 contributed by Waterfront businesses.
On top of this, Plymouth City Council has confirmed it will support the initiative by ring-fencing £2.7 million of funding for services on the Waterfront for the full five years of a BID and also contributing £673,000 in match funding to the BID.
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Top Disputes Lawyer Joins Foot Anstey
Ambitious South West law firm Foot Anstey has attracted another senior lawyer from London to its new Bristol office as part of its strategy of securing top talent to deliver specialist advice to its national client base.
The firm, which recently collected the ‘Regional Law Firm of the Year’ accolade at the British Legal Awards, has recruited dispute resolution expert Anna Bateman as a partner to head up dispute resolution in the firm’s Bristol office and to join its nationally recognised media team.
She joins Foot Anstey from international law firm Herbert Smith LLP’s London office where she trained as a solicitor and subsequently qualified in 1999. Anna brings a wealth of experience which has seen her advising on high profile cases which include Primark’s recent successful complaint against the BBC regarding Panorama footage, acting for Virgin Radio and broadcaster STV in the contractual claim brought by presenter Chris Evans concerning his departure from the radio station and representing a major football club in a libel claim regarding statements about its financial position.
She is a litigation specialist who has extensive experience of all aspects of litigation and has also participated in many successful mediations. Her sector focus is on the media and entertainment industry in which she has advised on a wide range of disputes and regulatory complaints.
Anna’s practice includes advising on contractual, defamation, privacy, confidential information, shareholder, director, restrictive covenant and tortious (professional negligence and economic tort) issues and disputes.
She joins the firm’s nationally recognised media team which acts for three of the four largest regional newspaper publishers in the UK – Northcliffe Media Ltd, Johnston Press PLC and Trinity Mirror PLC as well as media organisations such as Which? Magazine, Odeon/UCI, UBM plc, Progressive Digital Media Group plc and Silvergate Media.
Commenting on her arrival, Anna said: “I am delighted to join a firm which has one of the best media teams in the country. Foot Anstey is clearly going places which is what attracted me here. I look forward to playing a real part in the development of the new Bristol office and the media team and advising both regional and national clients on resolving complex dispute issues.”
John Westwell, Managing Partner at Foot Anstey said; “We are delighted to have attracted an ambitious lawyer of Anna’s calibre to the firm - she will undoubtedly add further strength to both our media team and the Bristol office. Anna’s arrival will ensure that we continue to provide our discerning clients with the specialist skills that they expect.”
Anna is one of eleven new specialist partners recruited by Foot Anstey from national and international firms in the past year as part of the firm’s continued talent acquisition strategy.
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7 Steps to Streamlining Your Online Marketing
Online marketing is simple to do, but not simple to do well. Anyone can send a bulk email, but it takes some foresight and a strategy to convert email recipients into customers. Anyone can start a Twitter profile, but it takes time and a strategy to build an active and engaged following. Anyone can install Google Analytics into their website, but what do you then do with the data?
Well, here are some pointers to bear in mind if you want to ensure the best possible start in your digital marketing exploits.
1. Powerful headlines and subject lines
Your bio on Twitter, your info field on Facebook, the subject line of an email – you have a multitude of opportunities to catch the eye of a potential customer and encourage them to read on or engage with you.
The short 'headline' has been proven to be one of the most important online marketing tools if used correctly – as people's in-boxes become more clogged, they become more selective about what they take the time to read, and the best weapon for getting your email noticed in the crowd is a catchy subject line.
2. Clean up your presence
Inconsistency in your branding and messaging can result in a negative view of your product or company in the eyes of a customer. It is important that both your online and offline marketing activity tie together seamlessly in their look and feel as well as in their tone and content.
A simple starting point would be to ensure that your entire online presence is standardized, and that all profiles and listings have up-to-date, relevant and consistent content. This means that whoever looks after this side of your business needs to be kept in the loop in terms of business developments, product changes and service updates.
Make sure your branding looks and sounds the same across the board – any confusion about your identity weakens your image.
3. Make it easy
Your customers are not only bombarded with more information and advertising than ever before, they are more in control of it. Simply put, they are in charge of their relationship with you. So make it easy for them to find what they need or want and you are much more likely to engage and convert them.
You can start this process by humanizing your voice on social channels. An audience’s expectations of a blog or social network profile differ significantly from that of a press release or corporate dispatch, and this is certainly worth remembering.
In short: don’t just sell to them - actively seek feedback (positive and negative), find out what they want, then make sure that you are giving it to them!
4. Create a strategy
There’s very little merit to jumping in at the deep end when it comes to online marketing. Chances are you will have suppliers, service providers and self-titled ‘gurus’ recommending every type of online channel and every possible approach. But what do you actually want to achieve?
The greatest single benefit of using digital marketing channels is the ability to benchmark and measure the results of your activity. So decide what you want to achieve - whether it’s increased brand awareness, the creation of a community, increased sales or product feedback - then create a strategy for achieving it.
5. Be targeted and relevant
Email marketing systems and CRMs have come a long way in the last 5 - 10 years, and the days of sending mass emails to all your contacts no longer works.
A customer or contact should never feel that an email from your company is irrelevant, so the key is splitting down your audience into targeted groups based on how they discovered you, which of your services they have shown interest in, and even their demographic information, then sending them only communications that are relevant to them.
Although the above applies centrally to email marketing the same concepts can be applied to your social media activity and search engine activity, both paid for and organic. Audiences have a multitude of ways of finding what they want online - if you have what they want then make sure you’re there when they look for it!
6. Analyse and improve
I’ve already said it above, but feedback is one of the most important drivers of digital activity. Never before has it been as easy to listen to and engage your audience, both directly and indirectly. You need to know your customer and their changing habits and expectations.
Analytics and marketing tools are freely available and easy to use, but as important as the data they produce is, it’s important to properly analyse this data and transform it into real insights that guide your activity and user experience and evolve your business model.
7. Get the right tools in place
Retaining management of your digital channels can be a daunting task, and time is often seen as a very real barrier to achieving your online goals.
There are plenty of tools available that will help to streamline your activity (such as Tweetdeck or Hootsuite for social media), and you should research the options before you start. Even simple tips such as aggregating some of your favourite blogs into an rss reader will ensure that you have a constant stream of news and inspiration to dip into for blog posts and commentary.
Once again, if you concentrate on what you want to achieve, and therefore the channels you will use, you can make a decision on the right tools for you.
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Hello To Our New Recruits
We’ve strengthened our offer to clients and our management structure with two highly experienced appointments - David Munn as Operations Director and Deborah Uncles as Media Executive.
David, a founding Director of Fuel, will now play a full-time role in managing day-to-day operations whilst working with the directors to deliver strategic plans. David has a wealth of experience in organisational growth as the former Managing Director of the largest firm of independent mortgage brokers in the South West.
Deborah has enjoyed an extensive career selling media space to local advertisers - both in the press and outdoor media. After a hugely successful number of years with Northcliffe Newspapers she decided to take some time out and go travelling. On her return Deborah started up her own outdoor media company. Her sales experience also extends to property in both the Middle East and Europe. Having now returned to Plymouth, Deborah joined Fuel in this new role.
Commenting on the new team members, Fuel Director Martyn King said: “We are delighted to welcome Deborah to Fuel in a brand new role and bring David’s considerable expertise into the business on a full-time basis. Their arrivals will add further depth to our offer and enable us to devote even more time to fuelling growth for clients in what are still challenging conditions for business.”
Since starting up in 2008 Fuel has grown from 3 to 12 experts in graphic design, marketing, public relations, social media and web development. Fuel’s clients include Destination Plymouth, Drew & Co, Foot Anstey, Hackworthy Group, Maitlands, Plymouth Community Homes and St Mellion International Resort.
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Plenty To Be Positive About
Plymouth Visitor Guide 2012 - the second time we’ve been appointed to generate ad revenue and design a compelling proposition for Plymouth. Very honoured - busy working on it! The all new Guide will be published in January 2012.
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Woodford Bright Spark Takes Top Prize in Christmas Card Competition
A pupil at Woodford Primary is celebrating after coming first in the annual Christmas card competition organised by local electrical and mechanical installation company Drew & Co.
Year 4 pupil Mia Bandey came first in the competition which received a record 778 entries from 16 schools across Plymouth. Her creativity won her a £25 Toys R Us voucher and her school a cheque for £150. The card is now being adapted into a professional card, which will be sent out to Drew & Co’s clients throughout the South West.
The competition was judged independently by staff at Drew & Co.
Andy Botterill, Managing Director of Drew & Co said; “It’s an absolute delight to hold the Christmas card competition again this year. To achieve such an enthusiastic response again this year from all the local schools is exceptional. Big thank you to all the schools and pupils who took part – it really was a very hard job to choose the winner."
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Shop Plymouth This Christmas
We recently launched this major new site for Plymouth City Centre Company after beating off stiff competition to win the contract. The shopplymouth site is fully content managed with mobile applications to follow for the award-winning BID scheme. The project involved us working closely with Plymouth City Centre Company’s in-house team and involve retailers in shaping the design and build of the site.
Ben Masters, Head of Web Development at Fuel, said: “This was a complex development for the team but one we absolutely relished. The site brings together the City Centre’s entire shopping offer in one place and is extremely dynamic with regular updates and social media integration.”
City Centre Manager Clint Jones said: “Fuel has added real value to this project and I’ve been impressed with the way they approached it, involved all stakeholders and given them ownership of the site. That was the solution we we looking for and the whole team here is really pleased with the result.”
Want the latest on what is going on? Check it out www.shopplymouth.co.uk
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A Big New Client GAIN
We are delighted to announce that we have been appointed, following a competitive tender, to deliver the Brand Identity and Communications Strategy for GAIN - Plymouth University, Plymouth City Council and Tamar Science Park’s Growth Acceleration and Investment Network.
We’ve already come up with a brand identity to push the boundaries - which is just what GAIN is doing in bringing investment to the Peninsula and working with high potential companies to make ideas fly and create new private sector jobs.
Once again, we are collaborating again with DCA Public Relations on the communications plan and we are also part of the consortium, led by GOSS Interactive and also featuring the talents of Two Four and Tell Online to design and develop a unique portal - the engine room for the initiative.
Dave Smith, Creative Director at Fuel, said: “This is a major win for us which shows our confidence to collaborate for the benefit of our clients. GAIN is a really exciting concept - a model that is attracting national and international attention. As a GAIN client ourselves - having started up at Plymouth University’s Formation Zone - we’ll be able to provide real insight and help develop the offer.”
Professor Julian Beer, Board Member for GAIN commented: “We are delighted to have Fuel on board. Quite simply, as a high growth company they ‘get it’ and, I am very proud to say, living proof of what we are seeking to achieve. We look forward to working with Fuel, DCA PR, GOSS Interactive, Two Four and Tell Online on what is strategically a major initiative to drive investment, growth and skilled jobs across the Peninsula.”
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Foot Anstey Completes Sale of Recruitment Firm to Dragon-backed Company
Leading South West law firm Foot Anstey has completed the sale and management buy-out of Bristol based recruitment consultancy Timothy James Consulting (TJC) to Hamilton Bradshaw former Dragon’s Den star James Caan’s private equity group.The business was established in 2003 by Peter Bennett and co-founder Chris O’Connell and has offices in Bristol, London and Manchester. TJC employs 60 staff, has an annual turnover of 17million and has twice been listed as a Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track Top 100 Growing Company.Foot Anstey corporate partner Tracy Fennell, who recently joined Foot Anstey’s new Bristol office, led the team which advised Peter Bennett on the sale of his stake in the business to Hamilton Bradshaw. He commented: “Our specialist corporate finance team was delighted to advise Peter on the sale of a business which he helped to grow into a major player in the technology recruitment market. We wish him well for the future and Hamilton Bradshaw and the MBO team every success with TJC.”James Caan, Chairman of Hamilton Bradshaw, said: “We have been looking for a technology specialist for some time and I am delighted that TJC was the business we finally selected.”Foot Anstey worked with London based Cavendish Corporate Finance LLP on the sale. Baker Tilley provided corporate finance advice to the MBO team and Ashfords were their legal advisors.Posted by: Stacey
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Festive Fanfare As St Mellion Declares December Deals
Local resort aims to make it a Xmas and New Year to remember with three special packages the New Year’s Eve break includes free tickets to the Gala Glitter BallThe St Mellion International Resort located in Saltash, Cornwall recently unveiled its 2011 festive break packages which boasts some of its ‘best ever’ short holiday deals staying at the resort’s 80 bedroom AA 4 star hotel.Guests from the South-West looking for the perfect blend of fun, indulgence, luxury and glamour can select from three special packages, each tailored to the needs of couples, families and small groups hoping to avoid cooking and clearing-up and wanting a change of scenery and pace. There’s a world-class spa for the ‘need to be pampered’ and 36 holes of championship standard golf for the ‘need to be active’.The festive packages come in three varieties - staying at St Mellion over Christmas itself (arriving on either 23rd or 24th December), staying between Christmas and New Year (arriving on either 27th or 28th December) and staying at the resort for two nights over New Year (from either 30th or 31st December).
- Three night ‘Christmas Break’ for 259 per person includes four course Christmas Day lunch, dinners, west country breakfast and full use of the spa facilities (three swimming pools, sauna, spa pool, steam room and fully equipped gymnasium and weights room).
- Three night ‘Twixmas Break’ for 179 per person includes three course dinner on two nights, west country breakfast and full use of the spa facilities.
- Two night ‘New Year Break’ for 189 per person includes full breakfast with six course Gala Dinner and Glitter Ball on New Year’s Eve plus a live music from a five piece band and a disco to dance the night away!
To make a reservation, call 01579 352001 or e-mail: stmellion-accommodation@crown-golf.co.ukPosted by: Stacey
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Maitlands Nominated for Another Award
Local independent estate agent Maitlands is pleased to announce that the company has been nominated for another prestigious award this time by Home Sale Network, a national network of independent estate agents, for their 2011 South West Regional Award.The winner will be announced at the Awards Dinner on the 18th Annual Home Sale Network Conference, being held at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel, London on Friday 18 November.Home Sale Network’s 2011 South West Regional Award is an annual prize for the agent that has consistently made the best overall contribution to the Network throughout the year and offers nominees the chance to become the Network’s ‘Best Network Agent in the South West.’Andrew Blacklock, Managing Director at Maitlands said, “For us to be nominated for the 2011 South West Regional Award is further recognition of the hard work and combined effort, commitment and enthusiasm of our entire team.”Richard Tucker, Home Sale Network’s Managing Director commented, “Home Sale Network is a national network of independent estate agents, made up of 12 regions across England, Scotland and Wales. All members are encouraged to work together to promote the Network as a whole as well as their individual brands.“The 2011 recognises the agent that has been most successful at demonstrating outstanding independent business initiatives and embracing the Network principles.”Maitlands has had an impressive last 12 months in terms of external recognition with the company picking up “Best Small South West Agency” at The Sunday Times Estate Agency Awards, “Best in the South West” at the Guild of Professional Agents awards and hitting the number one ranked agent in the UK spot by www.allagents.co.uk in June.Posted by: Martyn
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Record Number of ‘Leaders in their Field’ at Foot Anstey
A record number of Foot Anstey lawyers have caught the eye of the researchers working on the Chambers Guide 2012. Thirty of the firm’s lawyers have been listed as "Leaders in their Field" in the new edition published today. The Chambers Guide, widely regarded as the most authoritative guide to the legal profession in the UK, is compiled after detailed research over a six month period including thousands of telephone and face-to-face meetings with clients and other law firms.New "leaders" at the firm this year include Helen Wallwork (Corporate/M&A), Comron Rowe (Pensions), Jonathan Kitchin (Dispute Resolution), Anna Roderick (Charities) and Chris Thorne (Personal Injury: claimant). They join an established list of leaders at Foot Anstey in key practice and sector areas such as Real Estate and Media.The quality of the firm's specialist teams was also recognised in the guide who saw top tier or improved rankings in Corporate/M&A, Employment, Intellectual Property, Charities and Clinical Negligence.Commenting on the findings, John Westwell, Managing Partner at Foot Anstey said: "As a business we are committed to offering our clients specialist high-value advice and to bringing the best talent to the region. It is very pleasing to have this acknowledged by thorough independent research. Since the research took place we have opened a new Bristol office and have recruited 11 specialist partners from leading UK firms so we look forward to further recognition next year."In addition to the new office and high profile recruitments, the firm has undertaken a series of strategic investments during over the past 12 months which include installing market-leading Client Relationship Management software, converting to LLP status and launching its new brand identity.Foot Anstey has bucked the trend in the legal services market by growing steadily during the downturn. The firm offers high-value legal expertise to a discerning client base which includes the likes of: The Eden Project, Halfords, Screwfix and Which? Ltd.Posted by: Stacey
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SSG Marketing Co-ordinator Role
Are you an enthusiastic, energetic and confident person looking for a perfect Marketing Co-ordinator role based in Plymouth? If so, this might be the role for you! Fuel client training and consultancy service SSG is looking to add a Marketing Co-ordinator to their team, as support to the Sales, Marketing and Customer Service Manager. The ideal candidate will be a graduate to foundation degree level Marketing or Business. They will need to demonstrate excellent interpersonal and communication skills along with a good knowledge of the English language and grammar. Other essential skills and attributes include good time management, positive attitude to work and the ability to work as part of a team. Experience is desired but not essential.For further information about the role or SSG Training and Consultancy please click here.Posted by: Stacey
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Quickstore Opens with Charitable Offer
Leading South West self storage company Quickstore has opened a new facility in Saltash as part of a strategic expansion process during 2011. The new 20,000 facility at Forge Lane, Moorlands Trading Estate will offer flexible self storage solutions for personal and business use with secure 7 day 24 hour access currently on offer at Quickstore centres in Plymouth, Torquay and Exeter. Additional dedicated space for boat and caravan storage has also been created.Andy Patrick, Managing Director of Quickstore who were one of the first self storage companies in the UK, and now the major space provider in the South West said; “We are delighted to open the new facility in Saltash which offers solutions for local people and businesses that require flexible storage. That demand for flexibility in the current uncertain climate has seen demand rise and allowed us the open here and expand our sites in Plymouth and Torquay too.”As a special opening offer, Quickstore is making storage available free of charge to a local charity which would benefit. Mr Patrick explained; “We have made the offer in other centres and it has worked really well for the charities involved. So if you are a local registered charity with storage needs please contact Julie Mazzoni on 0845 1300 994 to find out how we can help.”Quickstore was established in 1989 and was only the 14th self storage centre to open in the UK, there are now over 800. Overall the company has over 1,000 storage units in the region.Posted by: Stacey
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Fast Growth 75 Report
QUOTE: The results of Fast Growth 75 again make for inspiring and fascinating reading. Macro economic events such as the Eurozone crisis have added to the existing economic malaise and it continues to be difficult out there for businesses, but the successes highlighted in the Fast Growth 75 report continue to demonstrate that as well as challenges, there are opportunities for businesses with the right leadership and strategy.At Foot Anstey we provide specialist high-value legal services to an increasing number of successful businesses both in region and nationally, and look forward to helping them to even greater success in the future.- Chris Worrell ARTICLE: There can be little doubt that all businesses have continued to work within a turbulent and volatile trading environment since last May’s Fast Growth 75 report.Whilst we continue to see successful businesses exhibit similar behaviours to those described in last year’s report, namely looking internally, understanding the numbers and their customers’ needs, working hard at pricing, holding on to key talent and adapting in order to stimulate growth, this year’s succession of macro economic shocks and general economic malaise will have surprised and affected even the best prepared companies.It is almost impossible for many businesses to predict and plan for macro events such as the continuing Eurozone crisis and the spread of contagion to the stronger Euro economies, the contraction in the US and their respective contributions to the shrinking export markets and reported collapse in output, demand and ultimately orders.However, whatever the wider economic backdrop, our experience is that in times of crisis, growth companies and managers don’t hide, adopt a victim mentality or make knee-jerk decisions which potentially prolong the difficulties. Instead they continue to ride the challenges and interrogate their own businesses and operations to ensure they are robust and adaptable as well as adopting opportunistic thinking and proactive strategies.The Fast Growth 75 companies have shown again that it is possible to profit even during challenging times, drawing on their own expertise and that of their advisers to scrutinize operations, making decisions and responding to the shocks which have rippled through the global economy, but also adapting their existing businesses, responding to change and looking to identify and secure new opportunities and a chance to continue to grow even when the wider economy is in the doldrums.The UK government has been trying to assist by tackling some of the hurdles to growth such as red tape, tax and funding with the continued focus on banks. However confidence remains muted that governments have the tools and power to arrest or even slow the financial difficulties and with the UK Treasury forced to focus on reducing debt and having little money to spend, increasingly it is down to the private sector to try and get the UK out of the doldrums.There is no easy or comprehensive answer, but here we offer three common traits we often see taken by businesses who are prospering:
- Adopt positive and opportunistic thinking
A business’ future is not determined solely by external economic events, but by its response to those events.Growth companies don’t resign themselves to a downturn, they make their own luck by looking for the silver lining, being alert to changes in their marketplace and using them to their advantage, taking action in new and creative ways to get closer to key customers and targets, focusing on solutions and long term prospects and ultimately getting in shape to seize any growth opportunities.
- Build resilience to thrive in tough times
An upturn is not round the corner and indications increasingly suggest that wider growth prospects are deteriorating and will not rebound soon. To keep moving in the right direction and withstand the external shocks that can often unsettle a business, growth companies are building their resilience and getting themselves ready to change course and move quickly when needed.Many growth businesses have already adapted to operate in a low growth environment. They have not just cost cut or reacted to individual crises or setbacks but are constantly revising business models and strategies and strengthening their internal culture to ensure operational flexibility, employee loyalty and team collaboration.
- Invest in key areas get ahead of the competition
During times of cost cutting, downsizing and commoditizing products and services it is easy to lose focus on identifying and pursuing new growth and profit opportunities.Growth companies often already have their house in order so can allocate resource to identify what they do best and focus on what products, services or customers are key to profitability and give them increased attention.They ensure they are investing as well as cutting in order to ensure they remain visible in their marketplace and are well placed to accelerate even more quickly when the tough times abate.They have also examined whether the competition has become distracted in a way which provides opportunities to attract new profitable customers and talent, make strategic acquisitions at a good price, introduce new products or service lines and differentiate themselves.And, lastly, there is one trait which is common to all growth businesses; positivity and hard work. As we all know, there is no substitute for hard work and those businesses with a strong work ethic, leadership, positivity and clear strategy will rise to the top.Posted by: Stacey
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Foot Anstey advises Lord Alli on new venture
Foot Anstey has advised on the acquisition by Lord Alli and his new international group, Silvergate Media, of the rights owned by Chorion to The World of Beatrix Potter and the Octonauts. These were the first assets to be sold by the media rights business Chorion following the decision by its senior bankers to break up the business, under a competitive process with an accelerated timescale. Matt Stoate led the team at Foot Anstey which advised on the deal. Waheed Alli said, “Matt has worked with me on transactions before and I am pleased to continue my relationship with him at Foot Anstey. I was delighted with the quality of service from Matt on a pressurised deal involving a number of City and international firms acting for the various stakeholders to this transaction. It took a heroic effort from the Foot Anstey team to get this transaction across the line and I look forward to continuing my relationship with them.”Matt Stoate commented, “We were delighted to work for Waheed on what was an important and sensitive project for him and to complete another significant and complex cross-border deal. This was one of a number of transactions we have successfully completed for our London-based media clients from our base in the South West in the last few months.”Posted by: Stacey
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Foot Anstey Opens Bristol Office
Ambitious South West Law firm, Foot Anstey LLP has opened its new office in Bristol to meet the demand of its growing regional and national client base.The move, which was announced in August, has attracted several new partners to the Bristol office - taking the firm's total of new partners recruited from leading UK law firms to 11 in 2011 alone.Expansion into Bristol and continued investment in talent acquisition cements Foot Anstey's reputation as a dynamic regional heavyweight committed to enhancing client experience across its centres of excellence in Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Taunton and Truro.The new recruits bolster core practice areas such as Corporate & Commercial, Dispute Resolution, Employment and Property. They also significantly strengthen Foot Anstey's media and financial services offerings.The new faces joining the firm at 100 Victoria Street include Partner Anna Bateman who joins Foot Anstey's highly regarded Media team from Herbert Smith and Partner Tracy Fennell who arrives from New Law in Cardiff. Imam Qazi, a specialist in Islamic Finance, has arrived from Burges Salmon and he is joined as a partner in Foot Anstey's real estate team by property development expert Daniel Halstead from Osborne Clarke. Will Whitt has also joined as a Partner from Burges Salmon's Corporate Banking & Finance Group.In total Foot Anstey will have more than 15 lawyers working out of the Bristol Office in Phase one of this development.Foot Anstey Partner Richard Sutton, a Bristolian, who will head up the Bristol Office said: "We are delighted with the team we have assembled on day one in Bristol and will be looking to further strengthen the team in the near future. The firm already advises clients in the city and we will look to build from these foundations. We now look forward to developing long lasting business and community relationships in Bristol."John Westwell, Managing Partner at Foot Anstey, commented: "The opening of this office represents an exciting strategic development in the continued evolution of the firm. We are confident that ouroffer is compelling to commercial organisations that are looking for high quality commercial advice coupled with unparalleled value. This move will help us to provide a better service to our clients and will enable us to continue to attract the best legal talent."Foot Anstey has bucked the trend in the legal services market by growing steadily in recent years. The firm continues to offer specialist high-value legal expertise to a discerning client base which includesthe likes of: The Eden Project, Halfords, Screwfix and Which? Ltd.Posted by: Stacey
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City Recycling Company Tries to put an End to Fly Tipping
Devon’s leading specialists in re-use and re-cycle management The Absolute Recycling Company have announced a new accreditation that should help to alleviate the county’s fly-tipping problem. The Absolute Recycling Company in Plymouth is now a Dedicated Collection Facility (DCF) which gives the expanding company the power to collect waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) from homes and businesses, as well as accepting items brought to the Plymouth based facility.The Absolute Recycling Company recently moved to a 22,000 ftﾲ facility in Burrington Way, Plymouth, allowing them to increase their waste in-take capacity from 60 to 1200 tonnes a month. This latest extension of their services increases the waste management company’s influence over the region’s environmental impact.One of the owners, Chris Catherall commented: “This new accreditation is designed to prevent and reduce the amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment that is sent to landfill, by promoting its reuse, recycling and recovery. The separate collection of WEEE saves energy and resources and avoids hazardous materials from going to landfill by providing business and homeowners an easy solution.”Electrical and electronic equipment is any product that relies on electricity or batteries to perform its primary function as well as other dangerous items such as fluorescent lights, all which the Absolute Recycling Company will collect, or take delivery of for free.Chris said; “We ask people not to leave electrical items out in the garden or on the kerbside before collection as this could hinder our ability to repair and recycle them, we offer a full collection service which means removing it safely from within the premises.”The company reuses or recycles redundant electrical, electronic and IT equipment including PC’s, fridges, washing machines, mobile phones and is the only company in the area licensed to get rid of electronic waste. The fully Waste Management trained staff remove and transport broken or redundant goods from homes and businesses in a fast and friendly manner and Refurbish as much as they can, selling the goods back to the public at a fraction of their original cost prolonging there useful life there by reducing environmental impact.The Absolute Recycling Company is licensed by the Environment Agency for Waste management and storage and carriage of waste. With the tightening of the law, concerning the Data Protection Act, more and more information is protected and ARC provides a full data removal and overwriting service if required to all their customers. The service meets all requirements for the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and the Requirements of Hazardous Waste Regulations (RoHS).Posted by: Stacey
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St Mellion Business Show 2011
One of the largest business shows in the region has announced that they will be holding their annual event again on Wednesday 28th September 2011. This will be the sixth year that will hold the free show, listed as of the most popular events on the Devon & Cornwall business calendar. This year’s event has been re-launched with the help of a new website, new overall look and new inclusions to the day’s itinerary.The event not only provides exhibitors with a perfect marketing tool, it also presents attendees and exhibitors with a prime opportunity for local networking that is essential for any business or enterprise.Over 50 exhibition stands are expected with attendees across all areas of local business, from bankers to builders, blue chip to sole traders. Exhibitors include Fuel Communications, The Federation of Small Businesses, Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, The Institute of Hospitality, Plymouth University, Quickstore Storage and Francis Clark LLP. Some of the money raised will be donated to this year's sponsored charity, Cornwall Community Foundation, supporting very worthy local Cornish charities.Lisa Brammer, Business Development and Events Manager at St Mellion, and the event’s organiser said “I’m really excited to be planning the 2011 Business Show. Last year was such a great success and this year looks to be even better. We have fresh elements to throw into the mix of the day and many enthusiastic exhibitors for visitors to meet. Hopefully some strong business relationships will be formed therefore keeping business within the local community.”The event will officially open at 10am where a comprehensive programme of professional guest speakers, demonstrations and workshops will run throughout the day alongside the main exhibition room. The show will close at 3:30pm. Entry is free and attendees can register online at www.stmellionbusinessshow.co.uk Exhibition stands can also be booked by visiting the website or by contacting Lisa Brammer on 01579 352062.Posted by: Stacey
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St Mellion Hosts International Wine Makers
Wine Makers will travel across the world to host a series of special dinners at a restaurant situated within Devon and Cornwall’s St Mellion International Resort.The 2 AA Rosette ‘An Boesti’ restaurant will host the makers and owners of some of the world’s most respected wines offering the chance to learn more about growth and production, as well as an opportunity to pair both aperitifs and wines with canaps and a three course dinner in the highly regarded restaurant.On Friday 30th September owners of Huia in the Marlborough area of New Zealand will be travelling to the resort to enthuse guests with the promise of rounded, elegant wines and intense fruit flavours made by the organic and biodynamic vineyard.French born Yannick Lou, Food and Beverage Manager at the resort, said; “St Mellion offers an unrivalled selection of the world’s best wines. We have over 200 listed in our Cellar Book which includes Fairfield’s Sauvignon Blanc in our Bewdern Brasserie right through to Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac 2003 at 595.00 a bottle. These Wine Makers evenings are perfect for both connoisseurs and interested beginners, for a sociable evening with friends, or to impress clients. We are here to make sure that everyone leaves (or stays!) knowing just a little more about wine and having had a very enjoyable evening.”Future events will include a visit from representatives of Castello Banfi in Italy on Friday 21st October and Spanish Marques de Riscal on Thursday 3rd November. All events are an all-inclusive cost of 50.00 per person with arrival drinks at 7pm. Booking is essential, call 01579 351351.Posted by: Stacey
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Get Ready for the New Construction Act
Those involved in the construction industry cannot get away from the fact that significant changes to the existing Construction Act 1996 will shortly be upon us. It is not an option for those involved in the industry simply to put their heads in the sand and hope that these changes will go away. The free seminar in Exeter hosted by construction law experts from leading South West law firm Foot Anstey will enable those in the industry, be they contractors, employers or other construction professionals, to benefit from a thorough briefing on the changes and an explanation of the likely day-to-day effects of the new rules on their business. The New Construction Act will bring into force a new regime for construction contracts from 1 October 2011. Importantly, this new regime will include oral construction contracts, unlike the current Act which only applies to written contracts. This will inevitably widen the ambit of the legislation and in particular increase the scope for disputes to be resolved through the adjudication process.Changes to the provisions in connection with adequate payment mechanisms under construction contracts will result in pay-when-certified clauses, like pay-when-paid clauses, being outlawed. There will also be amendments to the default payment provisions and existing requirements for withholding notices Contractors will benefit from new provisions linked to the right to suspend work for non-payment, thereby making this a more robust weapon than it is at present.In addition, members of the firm’s specialist construction team will give some practical guidance on how organisations can make appropriate amendments to their standard form contracts to reflect the new Act.Foot Anstey Head of Construction Chris Hoar, who is recognised as a “Leader in his Field” in the latest edition of Chambers UK said: “This Act considerably widens the scope and applicability of the existing legislation meaning that many smaller contracts will be affected by the legislation. It is essential that employers, contractors and professionals understand these changes and prepare properly for them.”The “Getting ready for the New Construction Act” seminar will take place on Tuesday 18 October 2011 at Foot Anstey’s Exeter office from 8am to 9.45am. To book a place or request further information please contact LindaTaylor on 01392 411221or Linda.taylor@footanstey.comPost by: Stacey
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Law Firm Supports International Disaster Relief Charity
Lawyers from south west law firm Foot Anstey have raised 5,550 for international disaster relief charity ShelterBox, by organising a whole host of different fundraising events.John Westwell, managing partner at Foot Anstey, said: “Foot Anstey is delighted to have been able to support ShelterBox in this way. Our aim was to raise a substantial sum for the Charity. The year’s events have far surpassed our expectations thanks to the tireless efforts of our junior lawyers and the generosity of all our staff and colleagues.”Events included a ‘Wear Green To Work Day’, a ‘St. Patrick's Day Quiz’ attended by many from the local business community, a ‘ShelterBox Swap Shop’ and a ‘Roof Camp’ which involved the firm’s trainees camping in a ShelterBox tent on the 7th floor of the firm’s Salt Quay House office for a whole weekend!Tim Bunting, UK General Manager of ShelterBox, said “This is a fantastic sum and I would like to thank all involved for their hard work and generosity. We rely heavily on donations and this will make a significant contribution to those people whose lives are affected by disaster. By organising these events, Foot Anstey has also helped to raise the profile of the work that ShelterBox carries out.”Foot Anstey’s ongoing partnership with ShelterBox has also resulted in Foot Anstey partner Toby Claridge completing his ShelterBox Response Team (“SRT”) training, along with the firm entering the ‘ShelterBox Dartmoor Challenge’, which takes place in September.Posted by: Stacey
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12 Hours, 36 Banks, 2 Bikes: All For Devon Communities
Devon branches in a massive fundraising challenge. HSBC’s Area Commercial Director, Steve Hancock, and International Commercial Associate, Gemma Scovell are raising money for Devon Community Foundation by riding motorbikes to every HSBC in the county and with Devon being the 4th largest county in England covering 2,700 sq miles it means that the most direct route between them is a distance of 362 miles!The charity Devon Community Foundation provides support to small voluntary or community groups helping local people, individuals and organisations who want to make a difference to their local community and provide a cost-effective, personal and flexible way for businesses, individuals, statutory organisations and private trusts to invest in these community groups and make a lasting difference to local issues and causes in Devon. Every year, Devon Community Foundation manage around 1 million in grants, getting money to where it really matters; to voluntary groups on the frontline doing vital and life changing work.Steve Hancock said “We will be raising funds to support Devon Community Foundation, having joined their Devon 100 Club this year. HSBC Commercial and Retail Bank have come together to raise 20k for Devon Community Foundation over the next 12 months. We have already completed community volunteering projects but this bike ride, although tough, will be another way to get people to donate. We hope the money we raise will be a big part of the HSBC offering.”To sponsor Steve and Gemma visit http://www.justgiving.com/hsbcmotorbikechallenge or JustTextGiving where you can make donations of up to 10 by texting OTY192 and either 1,2,3,4,5 or 10 to 70070. It's easy, fast and totally secure.Posted by: Stacey
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Major new consultancy contract
We are delighted to announce a major new contract with Plymouth Community Homes (PCH) after succeeding in a competitive tenderprocess.Fuel is now working on a retained basis with PCH’s Manufacturing Services businesses todeliver a comprehensive range of brand and business development services to this not-for-profit organisation. More details to follow…Posted by: Martyn
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MP Pledges Support to Expanding Recycling Company
Alison Seabeck MP, together with other Councillors, made the visit to the Absolute Recycling Company (ARC), after supporting their move to a 22,000 ftﾲ facility in Burrington Way, Plymouth, increasing their waste in-take capacity from 60 to 1200 tonnes a month and potentially doubling their staff numbers from 12 to 24. During her visit she said; “Following on from their initial approach we looked into the work that ARC does. Once we dug deeper it became clear that this was actually a very impressive enterprise. I was surprised that they were doing what they were doing on the scale that they were doing it. The business was undertaking all the right things for all the right reasons and therefore we were very happy to show our support.”The Absolute Recycling Company was formed by Manufacturing and Logistic managers Chris Catherall and Brads Jenkins in June 2008 and is fast becoming one of the UK’s leading specialist electronic and electrical waste management companies.The company reuses or recycles redundant electrical, electronic and IT equipment including PC’s, fridges, washing machines, mobile phones and is the only company in the area licensed to dispose of electronic and electrical waste. The fully trained staff remove and transport broken or redundant goods from homes and businesses and refurbish for reuse, selling the goods back to the public at a fraction of their original cost.MP Alison said; “The scale and the size of it is very impressive and so are the staff I’ve met today. The fact that everything has a useful next life has really surprised me. The things that people throw away in their gardens, and the things that they might fly tip well just don’t do it. Get in touch with The Absolute Recycling Company. Everything is re-used and the end product is then re-sold at a price that makes it possible for people to access computers and other equipment that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to do.”Owner Brad Jenkins said: “We are very grateful to the support shown to us by Alison Seabeck and her team. Our new premises mean that we have been able to increase the amount of goods that we can take in from the both the commercial and domestic sectors. We have two units at our facilities, one that allows us to re-furbish re-useable goods and source spare parts, and the other to recycle anything left over. The increase in space also means that our strictly governed business can now do more compliance work and far larger businesses which will further increase the services we provide.”The Absolute Recycling Company is licensed by the Environment Agency for Waste management and storage and carriage of waste. With the tightening of the law, concerning the Data Protection Act, more and more information is protected and ARC provides a full data removal and overwriting service to all their customers. The service meets all requirements for the EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and the Requirements of Hazardous Waste Regulations (RoHS).Posted by: Stacey
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Foot Anstey to open Bristol office
Ambitious South West Law firm, Foot Anstey LLP will open an office in Bristol to meet the demand of its growing regional and national client base.The move, which will cement Foot Anstey's reputation as a dynamic, client focused regionalheavyweight, will provide existing clients with access to a wider range of experts and follows a series of strategic investmentsthat have been focused on securingtop talent and improving the client experience inthe firm's othercentres of excellence in Exeter, Plymouth, Taunton and Truro.Foot Anstey has taken a long lease on offices at 100 Victoria Street, at the heart of the business district in the City. The firmwill open the new office in October.The announcement of the expansion, which followsthe firm’srecent change toLLP status and significant investment intechnology, will provide a first class client experience and a compelling working environment meeting client expectations and aspirations for a twenty first century law firm.Foot Anstey has bucked the trend in the legal services market by growing steadily during the downturn. The firm has a reputation for attracting the best legal talent to the region and for providing specialist high-value legal expertise to a discerning client base which includes the likes of:The Eden Project, Halfords, Screwfix and Which? Ltd.The new Bristol office will strengthen the firm’s Media and Financial Services sectors. Additionally, the firm will be expanding core practice groups in key areas such as Commercial, Dispute Resolution, Employment and Real Estate. The firm will continue to investacross their South West footprint to ensure that clients have access to high quality advice at all times.John Westwell, Managing Partner at Foot Anstey, explained: "The opening of this office is an exciting strategic development in the continued evolution of the firm. It is client led and drivenby significant opportunities in sectors in which we have a strong and growing reputation. We are confident that our offer is compelling to commercial organisations that are looking for high quality commercial advice and unparalleled value. This move will help us to provide a better service to our clients and will enable us to continue to attract the top legal talent."Foot Anstey Partner Richard Sutton, a Bristolian, who will head up the Bristol Office said: "A fair proportion of our turnover currently emanates from within the Bristol market through clients such as Allianz and DAS so this really is a logical next step for the firm. Bristol has a recognised sector focus that correlates well with our sector strategy. We look forward to building long lasting business and community relationships in Bristol."Posted by: Martyn
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Agencies collaborate for Plymouth
L-R: John Casey, David Smith, Jenny Bishop, Clint Jones and Steve Gyseman
Two of the region’s leading creative agencies have teamed up to provide a comprehensive public relations, marketing and design service for Destination Plymouth.DCA Public Relations (Deborah Clark Associates) and Fuel Communications are playing a key role in promoting Plymouth’s visitor market through an ongoing series of campaigns for Plymouth City Centre Company, Plymouth Waterfront Partnership and Positively Plymouth, which all sit under the Destination Plymouth umbrella.One of the team’s first tasks after being appointed through an open tender process has been to support Plymouth City Council and Destination Plymouth in the delivery of communications and design for the exciting America’s Cup World Series.John Casey, DCA Director, and a former news editor of the Plymouth Herald, said: “With an expanded brief for Destination Plymouth it made sense to bring together our significant experience of handling PR for the City Centre Company with the design and marketing skills offered by Fuel. Our relative strengths provide the client with a fully comprehensive service through the combined strength of two companies at the top of their game.”Fuel Director Steve Gyseman explained: “Our partnership with DCA is all about bring together high-quality expertise for the city’s benefit. Both agencies share a passion for Plymouth and we are very much enjoying working together.”“The level of teamwork between the two organisations has been nothing short of excellent - it honestly feels like we are working with a single organisation, but with the flexibility and complementary skills and abilities of two,” said Clint Jones, Plymouth City Centre Manager.Posted by: Martynblog comments powered by Disqus
Award winning clients
The awards keep coming for our clients!So far this year Maitlands have won a whole string of them including ‘Best Estate Agency in the South West’ at The Sunday Times Estate Agency of the Year, the Guild of Professional Agents and hitting the number 1 spot in the UK. Bays Brewery added to their list of awards by picking up the best ‘Promotion and PR Award’ at the National Brewing Business Awards. St Mellion International Resort’s An Boesti restaurant was awarded the coveted AA rosette for its fine dining; Accountancy Plus Training became the first accountancy training provider in the whole country to receive the Training Quality Standard Award. Whilst Plymouth Chiropractic Clinic was one of just a handful of practices in the UK to pick up a PPQM Award.
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And the good news is…
There’s no doubt this year is proving to be another tough one for business. Low confidence levels, crisis in the eurozone, fears of a double dip recession and tight cashflow are hardly the ingredientsfor optimism.But in this age of austerity we've been working hard with clients to make their budgets leaner and demonstrate ROI. Taking a fresh look at the opportunities that exist online could focus spend and offer much needed user data that ensures spend in that area is focused and effective.Looking on the bright side, new marketing techniques continue to evolve presenting organisations with greater opportunities to segment markets, create conversations and win new business. As a result, online marketing continues to grow in terms of both popularity and budget spend. To give you an idea of the pace of change consider this…1. Social networking traffic into corporate websites now rivals search engine traffic (so if your online marketing is focused on getting on to page 1 on Google you are only doing part of the job)2. The fastest growing demographic on Facebook is 45 year olds and over (We hear; “My customers aren’t on Facebook!” Are you sure?)3. LinkedIn’s number of registered users has grown to over 100 million (We hear; “I get most of my work from recommendations.” Make sure you are on LinkedIn then!)4. The number of iPhone users has been exceeded by Android users (We now view web content through hand held devices. Is your site compatible? At Fuel we are making mobile compatibility standard on all new sites)The question many businesses (but not regular Fuel clients) are wrestling with is how do we adapt our methods to embrace these changes and make our marketing budgets more efficient? If you want a free consultation on how to take advantage and structure your budget accordingly in a tough and changing market give us a call.Posted by: Martyn
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St Mellion Grows its Partnership with the National Trust
St Mellion International Resort has launched a new charity partnership with the National Trust and made its first donation of valuable funds to its near neighbour Cotehele House.The initiative, which involves a voluntary addition of 1 to every member’s bill at the award-winning luxury 4 star resort, has raised a significant sum of 1766.25 for the continued development of local Tudor visitor attraction Cotehele House in St Dominick.Charmian Saunders, Visitor Services and Volunteer Manager, said “We are very thankful to St Mellion for this donation which will enable us to develop the Valley Garden and provide a greater link between the wider estate and formal gardens. Further fundraising could lead to important conservation work in the valley, possibly leading to the introduction of some unique plantings and provide a special micro-climate in the Tamar Valley. “The National Trust owns some of the most important areas and properties in the country, but only one in five National Trust properties are self-funding. With no support from central government, the vast majority of their financial backing comes from voluntary donations like St Mellion’s.Stephen Towers, Resort Director at St Mellion said: “We have been delighted by the response from our members and guests who appreciate The National Trust’s role in looking after much of our stunning coastline, countryside, gardens and houses. We hope that a great many families will benefit from our partnership with the National Trust.”Posted by: Stacey
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5 Steps to Effectively Measuring Social Media
What factors do you consider when judging the success of your social media presence? The size of your following? The reach of your messages? The conversion of connections into customers? Each of these is a valid metric in their own right, but not all are relevant to every situation.It is important to define your strategy and metrics before you set off on your social media journey, then to ensure that you have the correct tools and processes in place to remain focused on your targets.
To successfully measure your social media activity, these five points are vital:
1. What is your ‘R’? You can’t choose your measurement tools until you define what you are measuring. Whether you are directly marketing to generate leads and sales, engaging people to build a community or improving perception, reputation or market positioning, your chosen metrics will be different. Set a clear set of goals before you choose your metrics and you will track success with much greater accuracy.
2. What is your ‘I’? Despite popular belief, social media is not free. Facebook and LinkedIn campaigns cost money, as does time. And time is something that needs to be invested on an ongoing basis if you want to engage and respond to your community. The returns on the investment in social media can be excellent, but you will never know if you don’t recognise your investment in the first place.
3. Understand your audience What motivates your audience? How, when and where do they like to communicate? What makes them contribute to a conversation or discussion? Identifying your audience and their behaviour should determine which channels to focus on and the type and tone of your responses. It will also drive the nature of any offers and targeted content you provide through these channels.
4. Set your benchmarks and end objectives By this point you should be able to define the most suitable metrics to use. For marketing they will be based around conversions, for community building message amplification will be more important, and for reputation building engagement metrics and relationship scoring is key. Then compare your current status against your competitors, against the leaders in your field and against your previous performance using these chosen metrics. Set your key performance indicators based on this information and you have the basis of a structured social media strategy.
5. Analyse and improve Choose your analytic tool based on your goals and metrics, then use it to pick insights out of your organised data such as driven traffic and unorganised data such as article comment or blog posts. The key is to continuously improve your activity by gaining these insights, making amends to your strategy, adapting your activity, then measuring again. In summary, take control of your social media from the start by approaching it as you would any other marketing activity - by keeping your eye on the goals and adapting to hit them.
Posted by: Nikos
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7 Tips for Effective Email Marketing
It would be easy to expand this list into 20 or 30 points, but I think these seven cover the basics of conducting successful email marketing:
1. Permission is not an added bonus Sending email campaigns to recipients who haven’t opted-in damages your reputation and weakens your message. There are no long term benefits to using subtle methods of data collection such as pre-checked boxes in enquiry forms either - those who sign up by mistake are not qualified contacts and will probably feel they are receiving unsolicited messages from your brand. Make your opt-in process straight forward, prominent and above board.
2. Quality over quantity It may look impressive to have a massive list of contacts in your database, but it is much more important to have a smaller and more targeted list. Define your target audiences and concentrate on trying to add names to these lists. You may not end up with a large database, but the names on it will be much more likely to convert into customers.
3. Design for an inbox, not a web browser With so many emails landing in their inbox, your recipients need to be able to engage with yours as quickly and easily as possible or they are likely to pass it by. Make sure your email meets the following standards:- Looks right in as many email clients as possible (including mobile platforms)- Is easily navigable- Has a short and well written ‘grabbing’ statement in the subject line- Needs to be obvious that it’s from you- Has the important content in the most effective place
4. Don’t be afraid to test There is no such thing as a perfect email and continuously performing tests to refine your campaign ROI is very important. Try modifying subject lines, offers, order of content, or sending time and day to see how results are affected. Some email marketing software allows you to perform split A/B testing - this can be an extremely valuable tool.5. Divide and conquerIf you can segment your already targeted list into interest groups and sub-groups, your messages to these groups can be even more relevant, succinct and meaningful. Try splitting your database by recognising why people have signed up and where and how they arrived at the decision. There’s nothing wrong with having one contact in multiple groups but make sure you don’t send them repeat messages or overwhelm them with too many emails.
6. Keep your eyes on the bigger picture Email marketing works best in conjunction with your other marketing activity, both online and offline. Make sure your email messages are supported throughout your online profile - create relevant and keyword rich landing pages for your offers and announcements and ensure that social media, mobile marketing and printed marketing all amplify the same message.
7. Focus on goals, not dataIt’s very easy to get caught up in measuring success by email ‘opens’ or ‘click throughs’, but these should be viewed as more of a guide than a measure. Measuring the success of an email campaign needs to start well before the campaign is sent or even designed. Set performance metrics in advance of the campaign - how many conversions do you want to achieve? How many enquiries need to be generated directly from the campaign? Goal-focused objectives are much more useful to your marketing knowledge than post campaign reports alone.
Feel free to add your thoughts about these points and any others you feel are important....
Posted by: Nikos
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Major Development at St Mellion International Resort
A PHASED 50million development of 265 holiday homes at St Mellion International Resort is planned to be started by next year.The resort, which has already pumped 20million into facilities, has planning permission for the homes and is "in advanced discussions with developers now"."We're hoping to progress that in the next 12 months, to get it back on track," said resort director Stephen Towers, explaining that the project was delayed by a lack of bank funding following the financial crisis of recent years."We want to be starting the process 12 months from now," he said. "It would be an investment over time, in four phases."We are talking about 250,000 a unit. It's going to be 50million by the time it's complete."The aim is to make St Mellion one of the largest resorts of its type in the country, and the resort is in talks with developers.Mr Towers said: "We are looking at different options to explore with different property developers at the moment."Plans for a bigger spa are a priority too, the current spa, which has a 90 per cent occupancy, is too small.Mr Towers said St Mellion's parent firm Crown Golf was showing "a heavy commitment" to the resort and therefore the region.He said it was vital to invest in the facilities in order for them the match the "world class" Jack Nicklaus golf course at the resort and to compete on an national stage with venues such as Wales' Celtic Manor and Hertfordshire's Hanbury Manor."We want to be well positioned for the future," he said. "You can't stand still. If you are not progressing there is bound to be someone else doing it. We have to have the edge."Mr Towers said 2011 has been a good one for the 80-bed four-star hotel, which also has 30 cottages."This year has been very strong for our corporate business, up 20 per cent year on year," he said."We have taken events here that probably would have gone to other conference hotels in the UK. That's positive for us and the area."Our (visitor) numbers are up too. I like to think some is up to good work in sales and marketing. We are in a positive situation."He said the figures were pleasing at a time when competitors are happy if they are at par with last year.Mr Towers puts much of the success down to the drive to provide value, especially as UK customers have become "more discerning" as budgets tighten. The resort has also focussed on attracting families, and couples on short breaks.But it has also had to "work more efficiently" in the face of such things as food inflation and VAT hikes.St Mellion has also targeted foreign visitors which have grown from "nil to eight per cent"."We are developing that," Mr Towers said. "We have aggressively marketed St Mellion to the UK and international audience. We have gone to international trade fairs and really developed tourism inbound."A "Cornish French Open" is being arranged for September, and has pulled in 60 French entrants."We have also developed a web strategy, and launched a new website," Mr Towers said.With Cornwall attracting 85 per cent repeat business "we need to move new business into the South West," he added, because the resort also saw itself as an important draw for the region.Mr Towers said: "We have partners across both counties. It's to promote this area as a destination, not just promoting St Mellion."The trend has been for 20 per cent of the resort's visitors to stay for golf, the rest for other leisure or business, and the resort has been pushing its other attractions, including creche, bike hire and walks, and its short game academy for golf beginners.It also works with the Golf Foundation, visiting schools to encourage the next generation of players."The key is people want to make sure they get great value," Mr Towers said. "We have continued to invest in the product we give customers. That's key in terms of success."As featured on the This Is Plymouth website.Posted by: Stacey
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Record Number of Specialists at Foot Anstey
A record number of lawyers at leading South West firm Foot Anstey have caught the eye of the researchers working on the Chambers Guide 2012 30 of the firm’s experts will be listed as “Leaders in their Field” in the next edition due to be published later this year.The Chambers Guide, widely regarded as the most authoritative guide to the legal profession in the UK, is compiled after detailed research over a six month period including thousands of telephone and face-to-face meetings with clients and other law firms.New “leaders” at the firm this year include Helen Wallwork (Corporate/M&A), Anna Roderick (Charities), Comron Rowe (Pensions), Jonathan Kitchin (Dispute Resolution) and Chris Thorne (Personal Injury: claimant).Lawyers from each of Foot Anstey’s centres of excellence in Truro, Plymouth, Exeter and Taunton were singled out for recognition across a wide range of legal disciplines including, Employment, Real Estate, Construction, Defamation/Reputation Management, Intellectual Property, Agriculture & Rural Affairs, Private Client and Clinical Negligence .Commenting on the news, John Westwell, Managing Partner at Foot Anstey said: “As a business we are committed to offering our clients specialist high-value advice so it is very pleasing to have this acknowledged by Chambers UK following their thorough independent research. We continue to attract and recruit the top legal talent in order to provide a premium service to our clients.”The Chambers Guide 2012 will be published in October of this year.Posted by: Stacey
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News of the World vs. Freedom of Expression
It’s usually fairly eventful being a media lawyer, and last week’s events were no exception. In fact, you don’t have to have any connection with the media to appreciate that the revelations regarding the phone hacking scandal are likely to bring about fundamental changes not only to journalists and journalism, but also to the very concept of freedom of expression itself.After all, how often do we see a product which has been around for almost 170 years, turn from a highly successful business into a brand which is so toxic that it has to be closed down in the space of just two days? Even Gerald Ratner’s infamous quip about his company’s earrings not lasting as long as a prawn sandwich didn’t destroy his jewellery company so quickly.Every decent person knows that the phone hacking activities of journalists working at the News of the World some five or six years ago were, and remain, nothing but appalling, disgusting, and outrageous. It seems they behaved without any morality or humanity whatsoever. And if the rumours are to be believed, it looks as though certain Metropolitan Police officers were not much better.I haven’t met anyone, journalist or not, who has any sympathy whatsoever for the News of the World or its senior executives. In fact, the most vocal critics have been the journalists, like those who work for this newspaper. Believe me when I say that every day, they strive to meet the highest ethical and journalistic standards, and although reporters and their bosses might not always succeed in meeting the high standards expected of them, my experience is that, if they fall short, it’s for a variety of reasons, but never because this is what they set out to do.Which raises a few interesting questions. The chattering classes and a number of politicians were quick to condemn “the press” because of the failings of those who ran the News of the World, without bothering to acknowledge or recognise that there are some pretty important issues for our democracy at stake.No-one is defending the News of the World, least of all me. However, I can’t help wondering if tarring a whole industry with this particular brush is of any help or benefit to those who will be deciding whether “the press” is in need of more regulation. It seems to me that it is entirely right and proper that we should be highly critical of the paper and its owner, News International, but if we place any value at all on freedom of expression (which is, after all, at the heart of our democracy), surely our rulers should proceed with considerable caution.Let me explain what I mean. This newspaper has been serving its readers for decades. It has our interests at heart, and it tries to reflect the opinions, concerns, worries, and so on, of local people. It’s a community newspaper, which wants to serve the community in which it is based, by reporting on local issues which are of concern to local people. As the Judges have repeatedly emphasised in a series of judgements stretching back more than thirty years, this newspaper (and increasingly, its associated website) are our “eyes and ears”. No-one else will investigate possible wrongdoing, or hold to account those who spend public money, our money. If our rulers restrict “the press” too heavily, who will protect our interests then? An emasculated press is bad, very bad, for democracy.It’s worth remembering that the News of the World was only one of twenty national newspapers. There are also about 1,300 regional and local newspapers in this country. Even the sternest critic of the press does not suggest that the scandal extends to more than a handful of national publications. No-one is suggesting that all the other local papers up and down the country, have behaved as appallingly as the News of the World behaved. But excessive regulation will not differentiate between them.So once again, I ask the question: will our rulers react to the scandal by restricting our right to know?The law is a blunt instrument. Everyone agrees that preventing the outrageous behaviour we all now know about is necessary. But will it really be in our interests if the politicians go to the other extreme? Do we really want the State to regulate this noisy, boisterous, sometimes irreverent and irritating, but always fundamentally important, profession to such an extent that we end up like some other European countries where we, the people, are controlled by a political elite about whom we know next to nothing?I know that this is precisely what some people, including some politicians, want to achieve. I’m not one of them. The sins of the News of the World have been enormous. My concern is that by taking action to prevent any repetition, Parliament will go too far the other way, and everyone will be far worse off.That’s when we really will have something to complain about.To be featured within the Express & Echo.Tony Jaffa, partner, Foot Anstey01392 685355tony.jaffa@footanstey.comTony Jaffa leads Foot Anstey’s editorial, regulatory, and contentious media team. He specialises in all aspects of publishing law, including on-line publishing. Tony also advises on a variety of non-editorial matters including regulation, copyright, lotteries, advertising, promotions, data protection, and freedom of information.Posted by: Stacey
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Maitlands Ranked No 1 in UK
Award-winning independent estate agents Maitlands is celebrating after hitting the number one ranking on a national website dubbed “the Trip Advisor of the estate agency.”The company took the number spot on 28 June 2011 based on positive customer feedback on www.allagents.co.uk which lists reviews on hundreds of estate agents from all over the country and ranks them according ratings provided customers.Maitlands Managing Director Andrew Blacklock commented: “We are delighted to be ranked number one in the UK based on customer feedback. We embraced the merits of allagents right from its inception because it provides complete transparency in an industry that is often criticised for lacking in it. Customer service absolutely central to everything we do here so I am very proud that the hard work of the entire Maitlands team is being judged favourably and independently on the web.”In total Maitlands has received 98 reviews to date on the site which has attracted over 9500 reviews to date.The news is further recognition of Maitlands’ work after being voted ‘Best Small Agency’ in the South West Region at the latest Estate Agency of The Year Awards in association with The Sunday Times and The Times.Posted by: Stacey
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Spaces Available at our Golf Day
Acaster Blades are holding a golf day on the 6th July 2011 at Trethorne Golf Club, Kennards House, Launceston. We would like to invite you to join us.The day will include:Coffee & bacon roll on arrival18 holes of golfNearest the pin & Longest Drive Competitions2 Course Evening Dinner to include Main course & DessertPrize giving.Accommodation and buggies are available.Please call on 01566 779655 and ask for Linda to confirm if you can come along and join us on the day.Posted by: Stacey
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South West Lawyers Appointed to Investigate Allegations of Abuse
Foot Anstey has been instructed by the family of a former resident of Winterbourne View care home in Hambrook near Bristol exposed in a secretly filmed BBC Panorama investigation that showed patients being physically assaulted by staff.Foot Anstey will be investigating allegations of probable physical abuse, intimidation and bullying against Cornish man Terry Rooney during a period of occupation from November 2006 to April 2010.Winterbourne View, in Hambrook, Bristol, is a purpose-designed acute service, offering assessment, intervention and support for people with learning disabilities, complex needs and challenging behaviour. The hospital has also been providing a service for those liable to be detained under the Mental Health Act 1983.The five-week undercover BBC investigation, screened two weeks ago, filmed abuse at the privately-owned, 24-bed facility, on the outskirts of Bristol. Footage showed disabled adults being slapped, kicked, sat on and drenched with water. They were tipped off by whistle-blower Terry Bryan, a former senior nurse at Winterbourne, who repeatedly approached authorities with his concerns about its care.The family of Mr. Rooney have said; "We feel, with what we know now, that Terry's 3 1/2 years in Winterbourne View were a lie. We desperately want Terry back in Cornwall so we can keep closer in touch with him."Andrew Hannam, Partner and health care litigator at Foot Anstey who is leading the case said; "The events at Winterbourne View illustrated by the recent Panorama programme need to be fully uncovered and those affected by it compensated."If you are concerned about a family member or would like to speak to Foot Anstey about legal implications arising from the case, please contact Andrew Hannam on 01823 625642 or andrew.hannam@footanstey.comFor all media enquiries please contact Martyn King at Fuel Communications on 07815 322304.For further coverage from the Western Morning News please click herePosted by: Stacey
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Mortgage Products continue to improve to over 7,000 Products
Andy Blacklock from Maitlands and the Mortgage Advice Bureau comments on the latest Bank of England base rate decision. The short-term outlook for the UK has deteriorated since the Bank of England issued its quarterly report in February and inflation is now forecast to increase to more than 5%. In a normally functioning economy policy setters would be raising interest rates to counter this.Although we have once again returned to economic growth the feeling is that the economy remains far too fragile to cope with any rise in interest rates in the short term. In addition, we continue to hear significantly different comments from forecasters giving their opinion on what will happen with the economy and the policies that should be adopted to both shape and influence it.On the one hand, some believe the Bank of England base rate should be raised now and steadily throughout the remainder of 2011 and into 2012, forecasting a base rate of 2.75% by the end of next year. Others take the opposite view and believe that the rate must and will remain at its current 0.5% for both this year and all of next.Who knows who is correct? But in terms of what is happening to mortgage rates May has seen a flurry of activity with lenders withdrawing and re-introducing new products, refreshing and re-pricing existing mortgage deals with hardly a single working day going by without some product change taking place.Average mortgage rates for 2 and 5 year fixed rates fell back by 0.06% and 0.18% respectively in June from May and now stand at 4.44% and 5.44% respectively. Average two year tracker rates also reduced further to another new low of 3.38% in June down by 0.02% from May.Mortgage product numbers overall have continued to improve, with the number of deals throughout May averaging a little over 7,000. However, we have seen a further increase from lenders, recently with product numbers averaging more than 7,400 in the first two weeks of June. This demonstrates an increasing willingness to lend and more products means greater competition and better rates for borrowers.For further information on how the latest base rate decision affects you, please call Matt Johns or James Webster on 01752 204000Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.A fee of up to 1% of the mortgage amount may be charged depending on individual circumstances. A typical fee is 95.Posted by: Stacey
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St Mellion to hold Marathon Fundraising Event for Seve Charity
On Friday 15th July 2011, a group of four men from St Mellion International Resort will attempt to play 91 holes in one day to raise money for the Seve Ballesteros Foundation supporting Cancer Research UK.The 91-hole challenge is the brainchild of David Moon, Golf Operations Manager at St Mellion, and himself a PGA Professional. He has teamed up with the Club Captain, Chris Pountney, Vice Captain, Jon Behennah, and Darren Gass, PGA Professional and Performance Coach at St Mellion International Resort.Seve Ballesteros, one of the great names of golf, recently lost his battle with cancer but his legacy lives on with his Foundation, raising both awareness and funds for brain cancer research.Ballesteros himself was no stranger to St Mellion, having played in several European Tour events on both of the stunning championship courses at the Resort. His most famous visit was in 1994 when he won the Benson & Hedges International Open, which proved to be his last win on UK soil, and for those spectators fortunate to be lining the 18th hole on that Sunday afternoon, it was a win they will never forget.Moon said: “During the course of his career, Seve won 91 tour events, so it seemed appropriate to play a hole for each tour event he won.“The challenge will start at 5am and we hope to complete it by sunset at 9.25pm. It will be a marathon day, but it is a challenge we are all looking forward to.”The fundraiser is part of a National Golf Club Challenge taking place in July, part of a fundraising initiative that Crown Golf, owners of St Mellion, are running across their 29 golf clubs, aiming to raise over 30,000 for the Seve Ballesteros Foundation.In the lead up to the day all the players will be pursuing sponsors, and aim to raise 1,500. For further information, or to make a donation, please call David Moon on 01579 352004 or e-mail stmellion-golfdays@crown-golf.co.uk.Posted by: Stacey
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Recognition for Top Local Course Manager
St Mellion’s Mike Bush scoops international prize for excellence in Greenkeeping. Mike Bush, Course Manager at the St Mellion International Resort in Saltash, Cornwall has been awarded Master Greenkeeper status by The British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA).Despite being notified of the honour this week, the certificate itself won’t be presented until a glittering awards dinner at the Annual BIGGA conference in Harrogate, North Yorkshire in January 2012.Bush becomes only the 57th greenkeeper in the World to be able to use the ‘Master Greenkeeper’ designation and, at only 35 years of age, Bush is also one of the youngest to receive the award (since it was instigated in 1991).Bush has worked at St Mellion International Resort for 15 years. He began his career as an assistant greenkeeper before going to college in Scotland. He was then promoted to Deputy Course Manager in 1998 and has been the Course Manager for the last 8 years.Stephen Lewis, Chief Executive Officer of Crown Golf, owner of St Mellion, said: “Mike has worked extremely hard to become a Master Greenkeeper. It is a tremendous accolade and at such a young age too. We are truly delighted that the industry is recognising him and we know that the two courses at St Mellion will continue to benefit from Mike’s skill and care for many years to come.”Commenting on the award, Bush said: “It’s a great privilege to have worked at St Mellion for so long and my team have been a great support. I am delighted to have achieved Master Greenkeeper and I am looking forward to picking up the award in January.”The St Mellion International Resort where Bush works boasts 36 holes of championship standard golf. The Nicklaus Signature Course was the first to be designed in the UK by legendary American golfer Jack Nicklaus, and the new Kernow Course was only opened last June.Posted by: Stacey
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Foot Anstey instructed on Winterbourne View case
MEDIA STATEMENTFoot Anstey can confirm that partner Andrew Hannam has been instructed by the family of Terry Rooney to investigate allegations of probable physical abuse, intimidation and bullying against Mr Rooney during a period of occupation from November 2006 - April 2010 at Winterbourne View in Hambrook, near Bristol - the subject of a recent investigation by the BBC's Panorama programme.Please note the following contact details: Legal enquiries: Andrew Hannam on 01823 625642 orandrew.hannam@footanstey.comMedia enquiries: Martyn King on 07815 322304 ormartyn@fuelcommunications.comPosted by: Martyn
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Talent Rises to the Top at Foot Anstey
Seven specialist lawyers are celebrating promotions to senior positions at leading South West law firm Foot Anstey - the first round of promotions since the firm converted to LLP status and rebranded. Julia Green, who leads the firm’s education team which has advised on over 50% of all academy conversions in the region; pensions expert Comron Rowe; intellectual property specialist Marlene Howels; and Claire Stoneman from Foot Anstey’s highly regarded clinical negligence team have all been promoted to partner.Matthew Dunne from the firm’s nationally recognised financial services team; charity lawyer Anna Roderick; and family solictor Jessica Pitt have been promoted to associate."I am very pleased to see all seven lawyers taking their careers to the next level here at Foot Anstey. Their promotions will further strengthen these specialist teams who are all performing strongly. By developing our own talent and continuing to attract the best lawyers from outside the region we will be best placed to provide our clients with access to premium quality advice at all times," said John Westwell, Managing Partner at Foot Anstey.Posted by: Stacey
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Law Firm Uses Expertise to Produce Guide for Future Academies
A South West law firm has published a School's Guide to Academy Status after a surge in demand has led to the firm completing several conversions in the last 5 months.Foot Anstey have acted for over 50 percent of schools that have been, or will be, converting to Academy Status in the South West; about 50 schools in total at the moment. Nationwide more than 600 Academies are now open and even more schools are being offered the chance to apply.Plymouth is listed as one of six local authorities where the majority of their secondary schools are now Academies, representing a fundamental shift of control. It means that they will not be maintained by the local authority, but will gain funding centrally. The Academy will also be able to benefit from such freedoms as being able to set its own pay and conditions for staff, freedom from following the National Curriculum and freedom to change the length of the school day.Until now only schools which Ofsted judged Outstanding or Good with Outstanding features have been allowed to apply to convert in their own right. Other schools have had to apply as part of wider chains, working with strong schools. However, many other mainstream and special schools have said they should be allowed to become stand-alone Academies. Responding to this demand the Government recently agreed to consider applications from any school, including special schools, that can make a compelling case for Academy status looking in particular at exam performance over the last three years, comparison with local and national exam performance, latest Ofsted reports with a specific focus on 'capacity to improve', 'outcomes', and 'leadership and management' and success in supporting the learning of pupils with special educational need.Typically Foot Anstey provide legal advice and support on such issues as making sense of the new structure, setting up the Academy Trust, preparing and negotiating the final forms of the various contractual documents including the Funding Agreement, Commercial Transfer Agreement, and land transfer and lease issues.Julia Green, Head of Education at Foot Anstey, is able to comment on the processes that these schools are having to go through in order to convert; "What began as frontier work with new legal structures and new contractual relationships in 2010 when the firm managed some of the country's first conversions last year, is now becoming a leading strength for Foot Anstey. We are very pleased to make this Guide available to schools which will allow them to benefit from our experience."Foot Anstey's latest publication 'School's Guide to Academy Status' is a briefing note designed to give schools an overview of some of the key issues relating to conversion to academy status and highlights where more information can be found. To obtain a copy please email julia.green@footanstey.comPosted by: Stacey
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Strong Demand for Rental Properties
Almost half (49%) of landlords believe demand for rental property from tenants has increased, according to the latest quarterly Landlords Panel research from BDRC Continental in partnership with the National Landlords Association, writes Andy Blacklock, Managing Director of MaitlandsThe report shows that landlords tend to be happy in their profession - 78% feel positive about being a landlord - although that does not mean it is an easy occupation. 62% believe it has become harder recently, and only 8% agree that landlords are respected by the general public. However, BDRC Continental’s research shows that landlords have fared well over the last three months. They are optimistic about the future, with 49% expecting demand to continue increasing and just 6% predicting a fall.What’s more there are signs that rental properties continue to be a popular investment, with a larger proportion of landlords expanding their property portfolio, as opposed to reducing it. Reflecting a cautious air of optimism, 10% have acquired more properties in the last three months, while 16% plan to do so in the next three months. Rising rents are also good news for landlords: 43% of those surveyed report a rise in rents in areas where they let properties.Across the board, rents have risen by 4.7% and one in five respondents say they are making enough money to live on their rental income. A further 31% actually make enough profit to save some of their rental income. A further 10% are breaking even and only 5% are making a loss. However, just over half - 52%, have experienced rent arrears during the last 12 months.Mark Long, business propositions director for BDRC Continental says: “As with other occupations, there are important regulations and responsibilities that go with being a landlord. These include major features such as the Tenancy Deposit Schemes and the Client Money Protection Scheme, that safeguard tenant’s deposits. Our research showed that almost two thirds of landlords taking part in the research are unaware or unsure of what the scheme is, although those using a letting agent for full management services are far more tuned into this significant initiative.”He adds: “While low interest rates and lending criteria are key factors, advice from a third party is a major element in the choice of lender for 42% of respondents. 59% also agreed that they were open to the idea of BTL lenders providing broader advice to them as landlords. Frustrations in the life of landlords include rent arrears, void periods, poor public perception and the lack of a collaborative approach to providing housing by local authorities.”Posted by: Stacey
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The Ryan Giggs effect on Super Injunctions, Libel Law and Parliament
What a week it’s been for privacy law, Parliament, and everyone interested in democracy. After all, it’s not every day that that you see a potential constitutional crisis developing between Parliament and the Courts as a result of a footballer’s (alleged) misbehaviour.You think I’m exaggerating? Well, let me explain why I think Ryan Giggs’ attempts to keep allegations of his marital infidelity under wraps are so significant.But first, a quick review of the background to recent events.Ten years ago, the Human Rights Act came into force, and for the first time, the European Convention for Human Rights became part of our law. It meant that now, we all have the right to respect for our family lives, under Article 8; and at the same time, we all have the right to freedom of expression, under Article 10.The tension between Articles 8 and 10 is obvious. The Courts get around the problem by saying that each case has to be decided on its own merits, after “an intense scrutiny of the facts”.Meanwhile, the last few years have seen the rise of the super-injunction, the injunction which not only prevents specified information from being made public, but which also prohibits its actual existence from being revealed. If rumour is to be believed, as many as 250 super-injunctions have been made over the last 5 years.Next we have John Hemmings MP. Last week, he became the latest MP to use the protection of Parliamentary Privilege to circumvent a High Court order. He revealed that Ryan Giggs had obtained a super-injunction to try to prevent allegations being published in a national newspaper that he was the married man who had had a 6 month affair with a former Miss Wales.So why are these events so important? Well, let’s look at them in turn.
- Privacy
- Constitutional crisis
- The Rule of Law
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Statistics show house sales are up by 4.7%
House sales increased by 4.7% in May compared to the previous month to reach the highest level seen since May last year, the latest Maitlands Statistics show.The number of houses sold in this month was only 2% down on May 2010’s figure.The statistics show that the 4.7% increase in May was led by activity in lower and higher end markets with strong activity for 2 bedroom houses and country homes in excess of 750,000.Meanwhile, the number of new for-sale instructions received in May was up 1.7%, following a 0.5% drop in April, although the figure is down 6% compared to May 2010.Andy Blacklock, Managing Director of Maitlands, says: “It’s good to see that the drop in activity seen in April - that we can attribute to the plethora of holidays has now been more than compensated for with decent increases in both the number of houses sold and the amount of new for-sale instructions.”He adds that the recent sunny weather, combined with expected stability in interest rates and gradual economic recovery, is restoring consumers’ confidence in the housing market and encouraging them to move.Posted by: Stacey
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Licensed Estate Agents In Devon & Cornwall Helping Customers Win
Maitlands Sales & Lettings is proud to have received its licence from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA)A licensed estate agency branch means consumers are guaranteed that at least one agent within that branch is qualified in residential property sales, either through a formal qualification or through length of membership of the NAEA. This qualification requirement is unique to NAEA licensed estate agents the only licence of its kind in the UK property industry.At its launch in the house of Commons in November, the licensing scheme was given the backing of Grant Shapps, Housing Minister and Alison Seaback, Shadow Housing Minister.Shapps said ‘By ensuring they enjoy the trust of people buying and selling homes, estate agents will inject greater confidence and movement in the housing market.In future anyone looking to buy a home or sell theirs should ask the simple question of their estate agents “are you licensed by the NAEA?”Currently there is no barrier to anyone setting up and practising as an estate . There is no legal requirement for estate agents to obtain the new licence, leaving consumers with a clear choice over whether they choose a licensed or unlicensed agent.Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the NAEA said “I am delighted to confirm that Maitlands is now fully licensed.”“We would like all sellers and buyers to ask their prospective agents, ‘Do you have an NAEA licence?’. If they don’t, they should ask themselves whether that’s the agent from whom they will get the best service when marketing their property.”No one would knowingly us an unlicensed taxi driver. Neither should they use an unlicensed estate agent.”In a difficult time it is important for anyone placing a home on the market to use a professional, knowledgeable agent. NAEA members know their local area and know their local market. That is very important to consumers”The new licence will also guarantee the agency is covered by requires amounts of professional Indemnity Insurance. They will also undertake 12 hours of Continuing Professional Development every year, commit to keeping up to date with industry developments and be bound by the NAEA’s Rules of Conduct.Posted by: Stacey
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From Bump to Beyond
International Resort celebrates families with free event St Mellion International Resort is to host Bump, Baby & Beyond an exhibition that offers absolutely everything that an expanding family needs.Renowned local and national experts will be offering free advice on matters from nutrition to bra-fitting, pregnancy to the terrible tantrums. Drop-in advice sessions will also include information on baby sign language, baby first aid and baby massage. Those that enter the ‘cutest baby competition’ could win a framed portrait of their baby.The event, on Sunday 22nd May will also provide the chance for children to indulge in face-painting or to be entertained in the crche, whilst Mums and Dads do a little retail therapy for toys, clothing and baby products as well as an opportunity to watch a fashion show or relax in one of their three restaurants.Amy Roe (Sales & Marketing Manager) from St Mellion International Resort said; “St Mellion is already well recognised as a family destination with everything from our famous golf course, spa facilities, health and fitness areas and superb countryside location. We like to make sure that we use our unrivalled event space to give our members and our visitors something back in return and this event is a must for all the family.”Bump, Baby and Beyond is happening on Sunday 22nd May 11am-4pm, entry is FREE and visitors will receive a goody bag. For further details please contact the team on 01579 352035Posted by: Stacey
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Expanding communications firm moves into Fort
PLYMOUTH communications firm Fuel has moved to a new home and is celebrating a 25 per cent hike in turnover in the past year.Read more from The Herald by clicking herePosted by: Stacey
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2 AA Rosettes for St Mellion Restaurant
A West Country based resort has been recognised as having one of the top 4 hotels in Devon and Cornwall following an AA Inspection. Their restaurant has achieved two AA Rosettes for culinary excellence placing it at the same level as Tanners, the restaurant owned by the celebrity-chef Tanner bothers, and the hotel received a 4 Star Hotel rating with an increased AA Merit Score of 80%.The St Mellion International Resort is quickly being recognised as a food and leisure-lovers family retreat, with three different dining experiences available. The fine dining experience in a la carte ‘An Boesti’ (Cornish for ‘restaurant’) can now boast some of the highest industry accolades. Yannick Loue, Food & Beverage Manager, said; “We are delighted to have been awarded both the stars for our hotel and the AA Rosette for our restaurant An Boesti. The cooking is underpinned by the selection and sympathetic treatment of the highest quality ingredients. Chef Kevin Hartley’s aim is to achieve consistently high standards with great precision, keeping the focus on quality food, fresh and local.”Kevin Hartley, Executive Head Chef, said; “We design and cook our food with flair and imagination using the very finest local ingredients carefully selected with our local partners. Meat from Scorrier near Redruth, Lamb from Launceston and fresh fruit and vegetables from the Tamar Valley are all combined to create delicious flavoursome dishes with a wonderful balance and depth of flavour.”St Mellion International Resort, set in 450 acres of stunning Cornish countryside, is designed to provide an escape for the whole family. As well as it’s internationally renowned golf facilities it boasts tennis, a gym, squash courts, swimming pools, a Jacuzzi, sauna, steam rooms, treatment rooms, a spa, a brasserie, bar and many options to keep the children separately entertained.Fine dining restaurant An Boesti is located overlooking the resort’s internationally renowned Jack Nicklaus golf course and serves signature dishes that include Warm Poached Oysters with Cornish Crab and ˝Beurre Blanc“ Foam, Cornish Lamb Loin with a Parsley Crust with Semolina, Olives and Parsnip Pure and Flowing Heart Chocolate stuffed with “Tanzanie” Chocolate Mousse, salted Butter Caramel, ice cream and caramelised nuts.Posted by: Martyn
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Fancy a crack at St Mellion’s Parman Cup?
The Nicklaus Course at St Mellion has proved itself a serious test of ability and endurance for Professionals and Amateurs over the years. 20-million has been invested into the Resort and is a venue the European Tour will return to in the forthcoming years.Since 1997, apart from a one-year break due to renovations, the course that Jack built has hosted the Parman Cup, formerly known as The St Mellion International Amateur Trophy. Attracting some of the leading Amateurs from the UK and Europe.Many Amateurs regard competing at St Mellion as a major step toward fulfilling their goal of achieving European Tour status. Paul Casey and Simon Dyson in 1999 and Ross McGowan in 2003, all cut their teeth on the Golden Bear’s nugget in Cornwall. Add to the list former British Amateur runner-up Sam Hutsby, a winner in 2007 and James Ruth in 2005. Both recently holders of a European Tour card and you begin to see a trend.The Parman Cup is the realisation of a dream for St Mellion member and local golfing benefactor Robin Reip, to encourage amateurs in the South West to pit their skill and wits on one of the great courses in Europe.The Parman Cup format has changed for 2011 with the event now a one-day 36-hole event to be played on Sunday 31st July. The field will be limited to 60-players with a prize fund of over 1,000 with 300 going to the winner.Entries close on Sunday 10th July, which will be subject to a ballot, entry forms can be obtained by e-mailing David Moon on stmellion-golfdays@crown-golf.co.uk or on the St Mellion website. www.st-mellion.co.ukPosted by: Martyn
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Commercial Property Heavyweight Joins Foot Anstey
Leading South West law firm Foot Anstey has continued its high profile recruitment drive with the arrival of a nationally recognised real estate expert as a partner.Richard Walford joins the firm from Bristol based Burges Salmon where he spent the past six years as partner. Richard originally qualified with global law firm Slaughter & May in London.Richard specialises in corporate occupier andinfrastructure workwith a focus on developmentand regulated property. He has considerable experience ofacting forlarge private corporate real estate clientsand public sector bodies, including central government and localauthorities, on a range of property related projects. He hasexpertise inhandling complex transactions/restructurings and refinancings, as well asall aspects ofmanagement work,on behalf of large commercial property portfolios.Richard is nationally renowned for his industry expertise in the transport and logistics sectors where he has sat on industry committees and advised transport owning groups as well as government and industry bodies on matters of industry and national policy. He has considerable experience in acting on sustainable development and regeneration projects, acting for clients such as the London Development Agency, Bristol City Council’s 300m project, and Arcadia Group on a variety of schemes as well as consortia of landowners in connection with major new settlements.He joins the firm’s significant real estate team who advise a UK wide client base on a comprehensive range of real estate matters.Richard Walford said; ”I was attracted to Foot Anstey because the firm is clearly committed to growth and has an impressive national client profile. I look forward to adding value to those clients, attracting more to the firm, and playing my part in the firm’s continued development.”Commenting on Richard’s arrival, John Westwell, managing partner at Foot Anstey said; “With his impressive track record, Richard’s arrival is a real coup for our clients who demand specialist advice. He will further strengthen our commercial real estate team and we are delighted that he has decided to progress his career at Foot Anstey.”Posted by: Martyn
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Support Plymouth’s bid for an Enterprise Zone
The Plymouth Growth Board, the University of Plymouth and Plymouth City Council are working together to submit an Expression of Interest (EoI) for an Enterprise Zone (EZ) for Plymouth. Announced in the March Budget an EZ will provide for simplified planning zones, help to rebalance the economy towards more private sector employment, provide for business rate discounts and superfast broadband as well as other activities. The EoI will provide an in-principle proposal for an EZ in Plymouth that would encompass a number of sites across the city and provide a focus for new businesses in the marine/renewables and advanced manufacturing sectors.We are seeking your support for the need for Plymouth to secure an Enterprise Zone so that further employment, business and investment growth is achieved. If you are willing to support the principle of an EZ in Plymouth please respond by return stating that you feel it is desirable for Plymouth. Those companies supporting the EoI will be listed within the document. Please respond by12 noonThursday 28 April.To send your expression of support pleasecontactjeffery.kenyon@plymouth.gov.ukThank you for your support.David Parlby, Chief Executive - Plymouth Chamber of Commerce & IndustryPosted by: Martyn
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Rural broadband boast – a political game?
Ed Probert, partner at law firm Foot Anstey and chairman of Wired West, the network for IT professionals in the region, welcomed news of potential investment from Fujitsu in rural broadband but said that it was a "methodology of putting pressure on BT". Read more from Ed and other experts in the Western Morning News... http://bit.ly/ho53TePosted by: Martyn
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Maitlands Launch New Initiative to Speed Up Home Sales
With an estimated 1.3m homes for sale and an average of 50,000 completed transactions per month, the typical vendor has a ‘1 in 20’ or 5% chance of successfully selling their home in any given 4 week period. In response to this Maitlands Sales & Lettings, a member of The Guild of Professional Estate Agents is today announcing the launch of a new ‘Accelerated Marketing Programme’ which has been developed and specifically designed by The Guild to improve the presentation of its vendors’ property.This exciting and innovative new marketing service is available via all of The Guild’s 600 plus UK offices and will help maximise the impact, appeal and resonance of the property in today’s stable but challenging market.Given the vast choice of properties available for purchase, simply being attractively priced and available to view on the major portals is no longer a fundamental discriminator, and certainly not sufficient to guarantee a quick and successful sale.As part of the Accelerated Marketing Programme an agent at Maitlands will interview the vendor to explore their motivations and aspirations, including capturing any unique characteristics of the property and following this, a highly innovative marketing programme can be brought into play.The package consists of a short film ‘videoette’ which provides a life-like glimpse into what it might be like to live in the property. This, along with an electronic page-turning brochure can easily be emailed to friends and family to gage their opinion. The home will also reach more prospective buyers via a dedicated full page feature in the agents’ own regional property magazine and high quality personalised brochures and canvassing cards will be distributed to carefully selected potential buyers. These activities will help animate and narrow-down a property search and save time on assessing properties of potential interest as well the time required by the agent to facilitate this. Additionally, regular appraisals during which the vendors will assess the marketing and sales process of their property will help keep the sale on track and the momentum high.This new programme combines the best of old and new media, to ensure the maximum possible exposure for the property, encourage high levels of viewings, and help to secure a quick and successful sale at an attractive price. Most importantly, this powerful and integrated campaign can be equally effective for properties already on the market as for new listings, which bodes well for vendors whose home has already been on the market for a length of time, and will help avoid the potential stigma of a ‘stale’ home that psychologically no-one wants to buy.Andy Blacklock Managing Director : "I am delighted that once again, we have led the way in providing compelling and innovative marketing solutions which benefit vendors selling their home and that Maitlands can provide this service in all of our offices throughout the region. We pride ourselves on upholding the highest standards of expertise and customer care and now more than ever are striving to explore ways in which they can secure the result that vendors deserve for their property."This latest initiative follows the recent launch of Maitlands' app for iPhone and iPads.Posted by: Martyn
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Seminars to prepare companies for Bribery Act
After months of delay the Bribery Act 2010 will come into force on 1 July 2011 which effectively places an onus on the Boards of commercial organisations throughout the UK to introduce bribery prevention procedures or face heavy fines or even a prison sentence.Leading South West law firm Foot Anstey is holding three sessions across the region to enable company directors to familiarise themselves with the new legislation and offer practical advice on putting in place robust prevention measures.The seminars examine key issues such as understanding what the term ‘associated with’ means under the Act, the legal consequences of failing to comply and how to manage an investigation.A breach of the new Act may result in a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. Offences include:failure of a business to prevent bribery being carried out by an associated person of the business; committing bribery; and receiving bribes.Susie Halliday, associate at Foot Anstey, explained: “Organisations need to take proactive steps now to prevent bribery in their business activities before the Act comes into force. The guidance is vital to businesses in identifying the measures needed to implement ‘adequate procedures’ that can be used to defend allegations of bribery under the Act.”The seminars take place on Wednesday 4 May 2011 at Foot Anstey’s Senate Court office in Exeter; Monday 9 May 2011 at the firm’s Blackbrook Business Park office in Taunton: and on Wednesday 11 May 2011 at Foot Anstey’s Salt Quay House office in Plymouth.All three seminars are from 8.45am 10.30am. Attendance is free but places are limited. To book your place please email briberyact@footanstey.com call Polly Bridge on 01823 625672 or book online at www.footanstey.com/eventsPosted by: Martyn
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Foot Anstey Appointed by National Brain Injury Charity
Leading South West law firm Foot Anstey’s Clinical Negligence and Serious Personal Injury team has been appointed to the specialist legal panel of another national organisation.Brain injury charity Headway has appointed Foot Anstey to its panel of specialist advisers to provide comprehensive support to members.The appointment is the third national recognition for the team so far this year. Foot Anstey was recently appointed by the Spinal Injuries Association and awarded a quality kitemark by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers - the country's largest personal injury campaigning group in recognition of its expertise and professionalism.Commenting on the appointment Rob Antrobus, partner and Head of Clinical Negligence and Serious Personal Injury at Foot Anstey said: “We are delighted to be appointed by Headway which carries out admirable work for sufferers of acquired brain injuries who require expert assistance. We have been selected on the basis of the strength in depth of our team and its expertise in securing fair compensation awards in this complex, specialist, area of law.”Foot Anstey has the largest Clinical Negligence and Serious Personal Injury Team in the region, with over 25 specialists with vast experience and track record in handling high value and complex personal injury cases. The team recently launched a dedicated website www.footansteyinjury.com which aims to give people seeking advice on clinical negligence and injuries a focused guide to the services that they can provide.Posted by: Martyn
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Fuel storms new base for further growth
Leading integrated marketing agency Fuel will begin its fourth year in business from a new base after agreeing to move to Crownhill Fort in Plymouth.From 4 April 2011 Fuel will be operating from the Fort’s Officers Quarters as it seeks a fourth successive year of double digit turnover growth.The company has grown rapidly to become one of the leading marketing agencies in the region. Initially a team of 3 people, Fuel has expanded into an integrated unit of 9 experts in marketing strategy, public relations, graphic design, web development, social media and online marketing.Fuel advises a number of organisations in the region including HSBC Commercial, Foot Anstey, St Mellion International Resort, Duke of Cornwall Hotel, Bright Solicitors, Maitlands, SSG, Hackworthy Group, Acaster Blades, Independent Utilities, Plymouth Chiropractic Clinic, Drew & Co and Broadreach House.Fuel director Martyn King commented; “The move provides us with a first-class base from which to further develop the business in what are still tough trading conditions. Those conditions, understandably, have led to businesses paying greater attention to the value they are getting from their marketing budgets. With our director-led approach, we will continue to offer organisations the experience, creativity and businesslike guidance they require to survive and thrive in the current climate.”New address details: Fuel Communications Ltd, Officers Quarters, Studio 3, Crownhill Fort, Plymouth, PL6 5BXTake a look around the Fort at: www.crownhillfort.co.uk
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Another national award for Plymouth Chiropractic Clinic
Plymouth’s largest chiropractic clinic has become one of a select number of clinics in the UK to receive the prestigious Clinical Management Quality Mark (CMQM) from the College of Chiropractors.Mannamead-based Plymouth Chiropractic Clinic has become one of only 21 clinics in the country and the only clinic in the South West to receive the award. The CMQM recognises excellence in terms of operating within a structured and managed clinical environment. Winners of the award demonstrated excellence in a range of areas including clinical audit, risk management, incident reporting, outcome measurement, patient satisfaction, emergency procedures and operational policy.Dr Wayne Whittingham, owner of Plymouth Chiropractic Clinic, said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive this award given its stringent criteria. The whole team here at the clinic can be very proud that their commitment to patients has been recognised at the highest level of the profession.”The award follows on from Plymouth Chiropractic winning the Patient Partnership Quality Mark from the College of Chiropractors which recognises excellence in meeting the expectations patients have about their chiropractic care.Posted by: Martyn
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Foot Anstey Launch New Projects Team
Leading South West law firm Foot Anstey has launched a new team to help clients drive forward major stragic projects after recruiting a new partner with over 14 billion of projects experience.The projects team will be headed up by Al Goodwin. Al began his career with Freshfields in London before joining Bristol based Burges Salmon where he spent 4 years in their projects department which included a six month secondment to the Ministry of Defence.Al has significant experience in Private Finance Initiatives and other Public Private Partnership projects, especially those of a ground-breaking, pathfinder nature and those aimed at delivering efficiencies. His recent work includes advising the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on a project with a private sector company which realised a saving of over 200 million for the UK taxpayer.He has advised on over 20 major projects in his career to date, acting for private sector contractors / sub-contractors, lenders and public bodies of all types on projects in the local authority, education, health, leisure, defence, transport and nuclear sectors.Al Goodwin said; ”With the public sector budget falling nationwide by 48% by 2014/15, cuts upwards of 25% to most departmental budgets (many of special importance to the Westcountry) and cuts to local government funding of 7.25% annually the regional economy is being hit really hard. Despite this, opportunities exist for organisations to work together, create savings and keep jobs in the region through shared services initiatives, collaborative procurement, commercial exploitation of public assets to realise revenues, and more creativity around business processes.”John Westwell said;” With his knowledge and experience, Al will be a tremendous asset to organisations in the public, private and the third sector who are seeking new ways to work together and thrive in the current econic climate.”Posted by: Martyn
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Fuelling growth at Quickstore
A leading South West self storage company has reported buoyant business leading to growth and expansion in 2011, despite the national economic gloom.Quickstore, one of the region’s major self storage company’s has seen positive movement in both the business and housing market leading to the company having to make changes to keep up with demand.Andy Patrick, Managing Director of Quickstore who were one of the first self storage companies in the UK, and now the major space provider in Devon said; “In the third and fourth quarter of 2010 it was apparent to us that the domestic housing market was starting to move again - albeit at a fraction of earlier years - and we started to receive more and more enquiries for business space.”He said; “In our Plymouth depot we built 80 new units over two floors including space that was used by our main office. We moved our office over the road to the new award winning Cargo Development in November and completed all of the units just before Christmas. Already we are seeing acceleration in demand for the new space.”Quickstore was established in 1989 and was only the 14th self storage centre to open in the UK, there are now over 800. Since opening in Plymouth Quickstore has an additional centre in Plymouth with another in Torquay and another in Exeter. Overall Quickstore has 1,000 storage units.However it isn’t without hard work and determination that the company are seeing their business growing in 2011; during the recession they cut operating costs, froze pay, re-engaged with new marketing, negotiated better rates with suppliers and spent time working towards their ISO 9001 which will be in place later this year along with a new website.A refurbished new look for the buildings has helped the business to push into 2011 with positivity. Dave Smith, Creative Director at Fuel Communications designed the new look; “It’s heartening to see a home-grown company like Quickstore reporting such an uplift in confidence. Plymouth in particular has been dominated by bad news in recent weeks so it is a pleasure to be working with Quickstore and to witness them going from strength to strength. I congratulate them on their ongoing success.”Posted by: Martyn
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4. The Value of Social Media
Over the course of this week I am looking at some common concerns that small business owners often voice about social networking. Often these concerns are slightly wide of the mark, and the real issues to avoid are a little less obvious.So far this week I have looked at the worry about not having enough material to contribute, how to deal with negative feedback in the public domain and how to promote social networking as a marketing tool for staff. Today I want to talk about the negative perception of the value of social media to business.
Common concern: “I can’t see how social media is going to win me any business.”
Real concern: You don’t see any immediate financial value, therefore you assume that there is no value.
Most business decision makers understand that a successful marketing strategy is built over time, and that there are very few ‘quick wins’. As social networks become increasingly recognized marketing tools, business owners need to realize that their online activity should not be viewed as separate to the rest of their marketing, and should be judged by how it strengthens a strategy as opposed to how it adds an extra feature.
For instance, would you give up PR forever if a specific campaign didn’t have the desired effects? Or would you analyse and learn from the campaign and use a different approach next time? The value of social networking should not be scrutinized any more or less than any other part of your marketing activity, and if it doesn’t deliver at the level you require you should consider changing your approach long before you consider abandoning it.
One of the most prominent talking points about social media this year will be the advancement of return on investment measures. While I am in absolute support of efforts to define social media ROI, I still believe that there is a significant difference between business value and ROI. Factors such as brand awareness, customer service and public relations will all be positively affected by well planned social media activity, but these will often take time to show on the bottom line.
An analogy hit me this morning while I was getting my spine manipulated at Plymouth Chiropractic Clinic (sounds more painful than it is, honestly). The idea of chiropractic treatment is that not only back and spinal pain are alleviated, but general good health in all parts of the body is increased. And continued treatment not only ensures that the pains don't come back, it can improve stamina, the immune system and even mental health.
The parallels with social media activity is obvious - with marketing or with health care, operate in one area and over time you make a positive difference in many.
Posted by: Nikos
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3. Social Media Time Wasting
Over the course of this week I am looking at some common concerns that small business owners often voice about social networking. Often these concerns are slightly wide of the mark, and the real issues to avoid are a little less obvious. So far this week I have looked at the worry about not having enough material to contribute and about how to deal with negative feedback in the public domain. Today I want to look at the subject of time wasting on social networks amongst staff.
Common concern: “I haven’t got time to run this myself, but I don’t want my staff wasting time on social networks all day.”
Real concern: You force your staff use social media in secret, and it becomes a negative issue in the workplace
According to an interesting survey conducted last year, 55% of the UK workforce access social media whilst at work. This basically means that you have two options: restrict or prohibit staff access through either policy or technology, or accept that social networking is here to stay and is an important part of many peoples' lives.
So instead of limiting staff access, why not harness the potential of your social networking staff as a marketing tool? If they are obsessed with Facebook, introduce them to LinkedIn and Twitter, give them some training and guidelines, and explain how they can integrate social networking into their jobs.
Obviously there is a danger of letting things get out of hand, which is why it is important to have internal policies and guidelines in place for social networking. Many businesses are opting to create social networking policies that are a combination of three factors:
- Behavioural policy - to ensure that activity is relevant and follows the same protocols that is expected in face-to-face networking
- Response Policy - to promote consistently when engaging with other users.
- Strategic Goals - deadlines, goals, and long term plans to ensure that activity remains focussed
With a well planned strategy and infrastructure, social networking can support your offline networking activity, and may even negate the need for some of those expensive networking lunches attended by the same old faces!
Posted by: Nikos
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2. Bad Feedback
Over the course of this week I am looking at some common concerns that small business owners often voice about social networking. Often these concerns are slightly wide of the mark, and the real issues to avoid are a little less obvious. Yesterday I briefly talked about the worry of not having enough material to contribute, and the reality of actually having too much. Today I will look at the issue of negative feedback in the public domain.
Common concern: “I don’t want people to say bad things about my business where everyone can see it!”
Real concern: You don’t want people saying nothing about your business!
Being able to engage your network of customers and peers is one of the biggest benefits of social media, and being afraid of a little bad feedback isn’t a good reason not to get involved. The truth is, if someone has something bad to say about your company, they will say it anyway, regardless of whether you are there to hear it or not. By giving yourself the opportunity to respond to complaints and bad press, you improve your chances of not only rescuing the situation, but rescuing it in public.
More of a concern than bad PR should be lack of engagement. Interest in your brand and its messages may not come overnight, but unless you engage with social networks in the way that they were designed socially then interest may not come at all.The key is to keep track of your connections, of people talking about your company and products, and of the behaviour of key influencers in your industry or sector. Maintain a healthy and public engagement with these people and your online social activity will start to reap rewards.
Posted by: Nikos
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1. Social Media Content Concerns
Common concern: “I don’t have enough relevant material to make getting involved with social media worthwhile.”
Real concern: You don’t have enough relevant material, but you contribute anyway. And you contribute a lot…
Is your business operational? For instance, is there day-to-day stuff going on? Do you work within a specific business sector? Do you have potential and existing clients? The answers to all of these are surely ‘yes’, therefore you definitely have something to write that is interesting to someone.
The key to successfully maintaining an online profile isn’t prolifically hitting your audience with the same messages again and again, nor is it posting an update because you haven’t done so in a while. I feel fairly strongly about the dangers of ‘OverTweeting’, (ie. mistaking quantity for quality when posting updates), as not only can it make it seem like you have no actual work to do, by going overboard with status updates you also risk burning out before you get any real value back from your activity.
Exploring social media as part of your overall marketing strategy requires planning, consistency and continuous development. Listen, learn and provide quality information for you online audience, and they will grow in number and loyalty. The messages will start to flow more freely as you begin to see what your audience responds best to, and the challenge is not to keep them flowing but to control the flow.
Posted by: Nikos
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Recognising the Business Value of Social Networks
When talking to business owners and marketing managers about social media as a business tool, I am often presented with the same core concerns about why they have failed to get involved, or why they have quickly given up and boarded up their Twitter and Facebook accounts.As social networks become more recognized as a valuable part of the marketing landscape, these concerns are gradually becoming easier to allay. The real challenge is in stopping businesses from falling into the less obvious but more dangerous pitfalls associated with social networking.This week I will be posting a series of posts about common social networking misconceptions, from trusting staff with social networking at work to dealing with negative feedback, and then suggesting some solutions.Today I'm looking at the issue of content relevance and quality. Please leave your comments and thoughts - all are welcome!Posted by: Nikos
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Businesses warned over web content claims
Businessesare being urged by media compliance experts at marketing agency Fuel and law firm Foot Anstey to ensure their websites do not breach new rules which come into force on 1 March 2011.
From that date on The Advertising Standards Authority, the independent regulator of advertising across all media, will extend its remit to ‘marketing claims’ made on all UK websites, on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook and online advertising such as Google Adwords. This extended remit will apply to all businesses in all sectors, no matter how big or small they are.‘Marketing claims’ include statements such as “we can save you thousands”; references to competitors; pricing information; and customer service promises.
Nikos Lemanis, Head of Online Marketing at Fuel, advised: “Companies need to check the claims they are making on their sites and social networking pages and ensure that they can back up every claim they make. This should be a quick and easy exercise for most organisations which should improve accuracy of internet marketing. However, the message is you need to check.
”Under the new rules, anyone who is concerned about a marketing message within a website or on social media will be able to complain to the ASA, asking them to investigate.
Peter Singfield, media associate at law firm Foot Anstey said: “Compliance with the new code need not be particularly onerous given that its core principles are not high hurdles to overcome.” However, he warned: “If a complaint is upheld by the ASA, it has the ability to “name and shame” non-compliant advertisers, to order the removal of non-compliant paid-for ads from search engines, and to withdraw trading privileges such as access to media space. Ultimately, then, non-compliant advertising has the ability not only to damage a business’ reputation, but also to hit a business where it hurts: on the bottom line. The vast majority of businesses have strived to advertise in a legal, decent and honest way, and would not seek to mislead customers.”
If in doubt, you should speak to your advertising agency, a media lawyer or visit www.copyadvice.org.uk and view the website audit service being offered by the ASA to allow businesses to get advice from its Copy Advice team on the marketing material on their websites.
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Trainees raise over £1,800 for ShelterBox
Trainee solicitors from leading South West law firm Foot Anstey braved Sutton Harbour’s wintery conditions aftercamping on the roof of the firm’s Plymouth office to raise money and awareness for ShelterBox.Tobias Hole, trainee solicitor at Foot Anstey said; "48 hours after putting thetent up -weary eyed but well protected against theelements you'd expect from camping atop a seven-storeyharbour side buildingin February -our challenge is over! We've had an amazing responsefrom both within the firm and externally.Our current total stands at 1,810 (including 400 raised offline) andwith Gift-Aid contributions included, thatwill buy3 ShelterBoxes to keep families secure in adisaster stricken country. We'd still like to break the 2,000 mark with thedonation pageopen for a few more weeks athttp://www.justgiving.com/shelterbox-survival. Just one more tentcould housea further 10 people who really need help."View coverage in The Herald http://bit.ly/gdVpvPPosted by: Martyn
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Foot Anstey praised for “significant long-term investment”
Leading South West law firm Foot Anstey has officially marked the opening of its new 9000 sq ft Truro office at High Water House - right in the heart of the city.Over 150 guests joined the firm in celebrating the firm’s investment in the county and took the opportunity to network and look around the modern open plan facilities which include a dedicated client suite with large meeting rooms, modern presentation facilities and Apple iPads to offer clients a superior experience and enable the firm to hostfurther high quality events.John Westwell, Managing Partner at Foot Anstey commented: “It was excellent to see so many clients and friends join us to celebrate what is an important part of our growth plan. This move enables us to further invest in our team in Cornwall and provide our clients with first- class services and advice. Foot Anstey is committed to Cornwall and will be further strengthening the team in the coming months.”Jeremy Filmer-Bennett, Chief Executive of Devon & Cornwall Business Council said: "It is great news for Truro and Cornwall as a whole that a major law firm in Foot Anstey has made such a significant long-term investment here. We wish the firm well in the future."The new office complements Foot Anstey’s other modern office and client facilities in Plymouth, Exeter and Taunton. The firm employs over 350 staff in total and is regarded as a “regional heavyweight” by leading independent guide The Legal 500 which ranks the firm in 27 areas of the law for the quality of its advice for local, regional and national clients.Posted by: Martyn
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What will new Internet advertising laws mean for your business?
From the 1st March 2011 the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) are seriously cracking down on false advertising on the Internet, and from this date onwards all website content will have to follow the rules as set out in the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) Code.Basically, the idea is to ensure transparency and honesty from online vendors and service providers, protecting the consumer from being misled by insincere statements, prices, or promises. To enforce this, the ASA will have the ability to demand that any online advert or content that is in breach of regulations be removed.So what does this mean for your business? Well, hopefully you have only ever been honest and truthful with your online material, so you'll have nothing to worry about. Nevertheless you should be aware that if someone submits a complaint about the accuracy of your website content or online advertising material to the ASA, there is a significantly increased chance that they will follow it up and take action.Think about your website content, your Google (and other) advertising, your social networking presence, and any other 3rd party advertising mediums. Is the content on them up-to-date and a fair reflection of your company? Some main points to consider (that could possibly be overlooked) are as follows:1. Do you advertise to geographical areas or markets that you can't sell to? This could be through anything from social media to pay per click advertising if you are offering a service, product, discount or offer, is it clear who can apply for or purchase it? If not, a complaint by someone who wants, but can't have, your product could put you in breach of the rules.2. Do you ever mention your competitors or their products online? It is important that any comments or comparisons of this nature be relevant, verifiable and, in the case of comparisons, be between products or services meeting the same need or purpose.3. If you advertise prices on your site, are they up-to-date? Are you clear about any additional costs (VAT, delivery etc) and the time taken for delivery?4. Do you have the evidence to back up any claims you make online? If your product “will save your customers 1000's a year”, where is the proof? If you fail to provide documentation to back your claims up, you may be regarded as misleading your audience. This also extends to exaggerating the potency or effectiveness of your offer. For instance, “our product will save you money” could also be unacceptable unless substantially backed up with evidence.Apart from these potential pitfalls, there are a couple of additional (and hopefully obvious) ones. For instance, if you are caught posting sexist, racist, prejudiced, or generally offensive remarks online (including on social networks) you run the risk of being pulled up on it by more than just the platform on which the offence was posted.In addition, privacy will also become more of an issue on social networking sites. Although it would be ridiculous to have to ask a Twitter follower in advance if you can mention them in a post, causing offence by not doing this may now have more repercussions than just getting un-followed or blocked. As I said above, hopefully these are obvious ones. If you can't behave yourself on social networks it's only a matter of time until you offend someone, and you probably deserve to fall foul of the new rules... :)In response to concerns about these new regulations, the ASA is encouraging businesses to sign up to CAP Services. Here you will find up-to-date information about how the changes may affect you, as well as advice and recommendations to help you avoid breaching the rules. In addition, check out the CAP's Copy Advice website in their words, “the most comprehensive body of advertising compliance guidance available on the web.” Worth a look if you are still unsure.It remains to be seen how many noticeable changes we will see due to these new guidelines. Google have reportedly made financial contributions to the new scheme, which indicates their support and suggests that they will have a hands-on role in ensuring that the contents of their search and display networks will be as compliant as possible. If Google's level of commitment is in line with the rest of the sector, then this could be a major improvement in the overall quality Internet advertising. Let's hope so.Posted by: Nikos
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Law firm’s double accolade
The Clinical Negligence and Serious Personal Injury team at leading South West law firm Foot Anstey has been appointed toa specialist panel advisers to The Spinal Injuries Association - the leading national charity for spinal cord injured people.The appointment comes after Foot Anstey was recently awarded a quality kitemark by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers - the country's largest personal injury campaigning group in recognition of its expertise and professionalism.View Express & Echo coverage...http://bit.ly/go3o2hPosted by: Martyn
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A+ celebrates new quality award
Plymouth based company Accountancy Plus Training Limited is the first training provideris tobe awarded full certification in the Training Quality Standard (TQS) with 'Excellence in Accounting.'The award comes after the company passed the TQS Part B having already achieved full certification in Part A last year.TQS is an assessment framework that recognises and celebrates the best organisations delivering training and development solutions. It was developed by The Learning and Skills Council, and is a prestigious achievement that can only be attained by the best. The use of the Training Quality Standard mark shows that the organisations certificated understand and exceed employers’ needs.They say; “Certification against the Training Quality Standard is tough to achieve, so we can be confident in endorsing organisations to employers. Consequently, the Standard is something which organisations can aspire to, and be proud of when they achieve it."Accountancy Plus, were one of only a few providers or colleges to have achieved this recognition in 2010, and so are delighted to be singled out for “excellence in accounting” for the second year running.This is the latest in a series of acknowledgments for the company who are also Investors in People and Matrix Standard accredited, along with being the only training provider in the South West to be endorsed by the Learning & Skills Council as a Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) in Accounting. It has also been praised in a report by the Adult Learning Inspectorate as “one of the best training providers in the country.”Simon Deane, Managing Director of Accountancy Plus said; “We are delighted once again to be recognised. We are entrusted to increase the skills of staff members in some of the best organisations in the South West and the use of the TQS mark means that their trust is verified.”Posted by: Martyn
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New finance package makes market-leading boilers affordable
Acaster Blades incorporating the World’s most efficient gas energy system is delighted to announce the introduction an innovative lease/buy financing package which will enable organisations to dramatically reduce energy bills and carbon emissions during what is still a tough economic climate.The company has teamed up with Ignition Credit Plc to tackle the reduction in capital spending commitments which are preventing organisations from undertaking essential boiler replacement works in order to keep buildings operational. Moreover, the current economic situation is preventing companies from investing in cutting-edge technology which will save them money and lower their carbon footprint.Under the new package, organisations will be able to lease/buy boiler system upgrades to be financed from revenue and energy savings over a 60 month period.Blades director Adrian Acaster commented: “Replacing an old inefficient heating and domestic hot water plant with a new Acaster Blade system can produce energy savings of up to 40%. This would make a significant contribution to the lease/buy repayments*.”He continued: “Besides the savings in environmental impact and energy bills, investing in a new system will include a dramatic reduction in maintenance costs and ensure business continuity.”ENDSNotes for the editor:* Repayments are for illustrative purposes only. Unregulated business only. It is not an offer to enter into a legally binding agreement. Acceptance is subject to final credit approval. We reserve the right to review the rental and rate of any changes in costs of other material changes up to the date of inception of any transaction. Errors and omissions excepted.Example System Comparison:
| Traditional existing systemExisting boiler and domestic hot water system traditionally operating at 50% efficiencyGross energy input 1,336,531 kW/h per yearEnergy costs 31,449 per yearCarbon Emissions 252,604 kg per year | Acaster Blades systemAcaster Blade system operates at a market-leading efficiency of 97%Gross energy input 688,934 kW/h per yearEnergy costs 17,021.14 per yearCarbon emissions 130,208 kg per year |
- All figures are subject to site and acceptance conditions, no allowance has been made for fuel price inflation
- The average mature tree sequesters approximately 22kg of CO2* per year therefore this project saves the equivalent CO2 as having 5563 mature trees
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Local medical lawyer discusses Serious Untoward Incident Reports on the BBC
Rob Antrobus, partner and head of the clinical negligence team at Foot Anstey, was interviewedby the BBCto discuss today's reporton that there have been over 800 Serious Untoward Incident Reports published at acute hospital Trusts in Devon and Cornwall over the past 18 months. Of these, 90 resulted in unexpected death to patients.The reportlooks atfiguresobtained by the BBC from Strategic Health Authorities under the Freedom of Information Act. View coverage...Posted by: Martyn
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Legal IT experts come together for clients
IT experts from leading law firms across the region have come together as a dedicated forum aimed at continuous service improvements for their clients.The South West Legal IT Forum held a meeting at Salt Quay House, Foot Anstey’s Plymouth office, in December with topics such as meeting client expectations for 24/7 services, online services for clients and case management systems on the agenda.The South West Legal IT Forum attracts an impressive list of firms willing to share ideas which include: Ashfords, BPL Solicitors, Borlasse & Co, Burroughs Day, Coodes, Dunn & Baker, Foot Anstey, Gard & Co, Gill Akaster, Gregg Latchams, Kitsons, Michelmores, Pardoes, Porter Dodson,StephensScown, Stones, Symes Robinson & Lee and Veitch Penny.In addition to discussing the latest issues, delegates listened to presentations from vendors including Nexus Open Systems, Everything Everywhere (Orange + T-Mobile) and Sellstormto explore opportunitiesthrough various mobile phone technologies.Duncan Eadie, IT and Business Services Director at Foot Anstey, commented: “This is a great example of the South West Legal IT community and suppliers working together to share ideas, gain feedback and improve services in alignment to what clients want to do. This type of collaborative approach will ensure that client needs continue to be met in what is a dynamic sector.”The next meeting of the group is scheduled for the end of February with each firm feeding into the agenda online to agree the most pressing issues to be discussed. If you would like to become involved in the South West IT Forum please contact Stacey Constable of Nexus Open Systems at stacey.constable@nexusos.co.uk.Posted by: Martyn
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Calculating a return on social media
Most business owners and marketing managers have accepted that social networking can be a valuable business tool, yet a significant number still haven't adopted social media as a part of their marketing strategy. The reasons I have heard to explain this may vary semantically, but they often come down to the same core concern - “How can I track whether it works or not?”With mediums like social media that are not directly analysable, it is very easy to fall into the trap of measuring success against non-financial factors and mistaking this for ROI. For instance, reaching 10,000 followers on Facebook may be an achievement of sorts, but it certainly isn't a stand alone measure of business success.
The return on investment for social media has been a point of discussion for quite a while, and many theories and recommendations have been suggested as the best way to approach and measure it.
Some experts choose to focus on statistical analysis and conversion tracking, adopting a similar model to pay-per-click analysis. This approach relies on forging meaningful links between social media metrics such as connections, blog comments and newsletter sign ups, and monetary metrics such as number of transactions, revenue, and profitability.
In theory this is the perfect way to gauge whether social media is working as a marketing tool, but the reality is that quantifying how much a Facebook follower is worth is not an easy task. If the links are badly formed they can lead to misleading data and a skewed view of campaign success levels.
Another way to measure the effects of social media is to disregard direct links to ROI and concentrate on trends and patterns. As is illustrated very well by Olivier Blanchard in his presentation, campaign success can be gauged by looking at enquiry levels, turnover, and profit time-lines and comparing them to the timing and development of your social media activity. By looking for patterns it is possible to get a realistic picture of whether your activity is having a positive effect on business, which platforms and messages are most valuable, and how people are responding to your presence.Whichever method of analysis you adopt, it is hugely important to perform some benchmarking exercises before you start engaging with social media. What do you want to achieve? Where are you now in relation to where you want to be? What are your competitors doing? Who are your audience influenced by? How are your audience finding and engaging with social media? A listening period is important, as are appropriate internal policies to control, monitor, and regulate your social media voice.
How do you measure the success of your social media? Do you have a magic formula, or are you just contributing then hoping for the best?
Posted by: Nikos
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Merry Christmas from Fuel
We wanted to thank everyone who supported our Movember fundraising campaign for prostate cancer awareness. So Merry Christmas from all of us at Fuel Communications. Enjoy!Posted by: Ben
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Manadon Bright Sparks Take Top Prizes
Two pupils at Manadon Vale are celebrating after coming first and second in an annual Christmas card competition organised by local Electrical, Mechanical and Building Services company Drew & Co Ltd.Year 6 pupil Yasmin came first in the competition which received a record 895 entries from 16 schools across Plymouth. Her creativity won her a 25 Toys R Us voucher, her school a cheque for 150 and is now adapted onto a professional card which is being sent out to Drew & Co’s clients throughout the South West.Ellie from year 2 was the runner-up in the competition which was judged by staff at Drew & Co.Andy Botterill, Managing Director of Drew & Co said; “We are absolutely thrilled with the record response to our competition. The quality of entries this year was exceptional - I would like to say thank you to all of the schools that participated and a well done to each and every pupil for entering into the spirit of the competition.”Mandon Vale teacher and art coordinator Mrs Dorset commented; “We are extremely proud of Yasmin and Ellie who both worked really hard to win the top prizes in such a big competition. Drew & Co’s cheque will go towards our Arts Week in March which will encourage more pupils to explore their potential in arts, literacy and music.”Posted by: Martyn
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Travellers team up to inspire people to ‘see more, do more and travel further’
A Plymouth student with a passion for travel has had his experiences published in a new book which is being made available at independent travel company Real Traveller to inspire others to literally follow in his footsteps. Shaun Rafferty had finished reading 2005 at the University of Plymouth when, along with a friend, he decided to embark on a 6 month trip to Southeast Asia.The book titled ‘First-time Backpacker’ is not just a guide, but a travelling tool for any age of adventurer from planning the itinerary, packing bags, applying for Visas and budgeting. It’s particularly focused on the first time traveller to ensure that they are not put off their big trip by small issues.The book began its life as Shaun’s travel diary and slowly grew into a greater idea that was two years in the making. He said; “I hope that people can learn from any mistakes that I made so that they can maximise their travel time. I want to inspire others, and to show that travelling isn’t difficult anyone can do it. Through this book I am able to share with as many people as I can the way to backpack the globe on a shoestring. You don’t need much cash, just curiosity, enthusiasm and a sense of adventure!”The guide’s potential caught the eye of Real Traveller Director Kevin Bateman who said; “Our congratulations go to Shaun for his guide, we are pleased to be supporting such a good publication. He has correctly identified a gap in the market for a book tailored for the first-time traveller. We very much hope it will inspire local people to travel and raises money for worthy causes.”The guide is available for purchase at Real Traveller’s office in Mutley Plain for a reduced price of 10.00 and the company will also make donations to charities St Luke’s Hospice and Amnesty International for every book sold.Photo: (left to right) Michael Symons, Shaun Rafferty and Kevin BatemanPosted by: Martyn
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Blades Low Carbon Systems shortlisted at Cornwall Sustainability Awards 2010
Fuel client Blades LCS' market leading gas energy products have been shortlisted for an award at the 8th Annual Cornwall Sustainability Awards 2010.Commenting on the company's shortlisting in the 'Products & Services' category, director Adrian Acaster said:"We are delighted that our energy saving products have been recognised by such a prestigious competition. We look forward to attending the ceremony along with other leading sustainable companies in the county."The awards ceremony will be held on Friday 3rd December at the Pavillion Centre, Royal Cornwall Showground. The results of the awards will be announced by TV presenter and former Lieutenant Colonel Dick Strawbridge MBE (of BBC's It Ain't Easy Being Green, Coast, Crafty Tricks of War, CH4's Scrapheap Challenge).Posted by: Martyn
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The effects of Google Instant on Adwords campaigns
Google has been rolling out new features and applications all year, but Instant is certainly one of the most far reaching for the whole spectrum of Google's customers. For those of you who haven't seen the obvious changes when 'Googling' something recently, Instant works by taking what you have typed already and predicting the most likely completion, streaming the results in real time. It bases it's predictions on common search terms, and the aim is (as usual) to improve user experience.
For the majority of Google's customers, those who use their search engine to find stuff, the benefits are obvious if Google can successfully present you with what you want before you've finished typing it, then everyone's happy. And from what I've seen so far, they've done fairly well.
But what of the customers who pay Google to advertise with Adwords? Does this new method of presenting search results affect the reach of their ads? And just as importantly, does it change their investment requirements?
Well, according to Google on the Adwords blog, Instant won't change the way that ads are served, but it will change how impressions work. Before Instant, an impression was defined as an ad being shown due to a Google search, but now the definition becomes a little more complex. An impression is now recorded if a) the results page is displayed for a minimum of three seconds when the user stops typing, b) a user begins to type a query then clicks anywhere else on the page (an ad, search result etc), or c) a user selects one of the predicted results.Google claims that this will positively affect the quality of clicks as it directs users towards the answers they need.
But the real effects on an Adwords campaign will boil down to more than just impressions. Early evidence suggests that the way your campaign is run will have a significant effect on it's success, and that wholesale changes should be considered in light of Google Instant. The type of keyword matching used is particularly important, especially for customers with smaller budgets who want to concentrate on niche and longtail search terms.
There is a lot of speculation about the winners and losers to come out of Google Instant's release, but it is still very early to start drawing concrete conclusions. Like most features of managing Adwords campaigns, the effects of Instant will be evident on a customer by customer basis, and solutions will be individual in nature. The most important things to remember are: 1. Stay on top of your account statistics and 2. Keep up-to-date with the recommendations of both Google and online marketing experts.
And if you're worried about your Adwords campaign, drop me a message and I'll be happy to give you some advice :)
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