What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 15 July 2013

Welcome to another week and whilst we are firmly in Fresh mode, last week we did our bit for Cloud 9 with a couple of days very wisely invested in the inaugural Meetings Show UK.

The Meetings Show UK was a major new event for the UK meeting industry offering an unrivalled platform of inbound and outbound business and bringing together the heart of the meetings community.  The hosted buyer programme – the first in the UK –  identified influential buyers, the education programme was devised by a panel of leading industry figures guaranteeing the very best content and the networking opportunities provided even more chances to build those critical relationships.

The Meetings Show UK was the first UK event to offer a fully hosted buyer programme which accommodates buyers from Europe and beyond and we were lucky enough to be included.  In addition to this, unprecedented industry support and a powerful marketing campaign attracted thousands of additional trade buyers from across the corporate, association, agency and public sectors.

We enjoyed a great event with Manchester Live at BAFTA with a performance from Lesley Garrett and a great overnight stay at the Grovesnor at Victoria and whilst at the event we also managed to catch up with some of our key contacts from some of the fantastic venues we use in Manchester.

As a new event there were a few teething problems but on the whole, it was a pretty well run and organised event, which featured an exhibition showcasing UK and International destinations, venues and hotels along with key providers of meetings and technology services.  A major professional education programme was also available and whilst we were too busy networking to take advantage, the speakers and their content looked great.

One of the sessions we would have liked to attend was hosted by Steve Elliott, Managing Director of Blackberry Productions who presented a free QEIICC Masterclass, titled ‘20 Tips for attracting more people to your events’. Essential for all event organisers, and even after all this time, we recognise that its sometimes good to go back to basics!

So what did Steve have to say....

1. The start point for almost any event has to be Research. Finding who, what, where and when other events are taking place around your planned event date is critical to optimising the number of people that can and will attend your event.

2. You’ll probably have a good idea of the Objectives for your event. That is until someone asks you what they are. If you are not crystal clear on the aims and purpose of your event and what success is going to look and feel like you risk not communicating clearly with your target audience.

3. A Draft plan Is always a great way to begin to get your ideas and thinking structured and begin to create a framework around which other elements of the event can be developed. Begin with simple logistics, start and finish times, get in, break down, key features of the event and then build on from there.

4. Particularly for ‘first time’ events it is good to Test your draft plan with groups of people that have a vested interest in the success of the event. Include target audience groups in the testing exercise. The wider you test the longer time you’ll need to carry out the exercise.

5. Content they say is king. All speakers must be effectively briefed and managed to align their content with your core theme. Rich content, properly communicated will encourage people to get involved and excited about your event.

6. People need to know if attending an event will be ‘worth their time and/or money’. A clear statement of features and Benefits, repeated frequently in your marketing will attract and encourage people to attend events.

7. Frequently the first thing people do before starting planning an event is book the Venue. This is a big mistake. It’s not just about availability on your preferred dates and capacity. The choice of venue should reflect the personality of the event.

8. Thinking hard about your target number of guests/delegates/attendees is critical. I’d always plan to ‘Sell out’ and be oversubscribed. It is so much easier to manage a waiting list than chase numbers.

9. To maximise the numbers of people attending your event effective Promotion is vitally important. I believe in going out to the market as early as possible to achieve the best results. Establish the date in the diary, run a tease campaign releasing an early indication of headlines and highlights. Feedback from previous years is really useful.

10. Ultimately it’s about designing, developing and delivering a high quality event experience that establishes and builds a positive Reputation with a target audience as the ‘go to’ event for your chosen theme.

Successful events that attract an audience, engage and interact with them and ultimately inspire them will be based on robust upfront research, detailed planning and excellent delivery to ensure that what we create not only meets but surpasses the expectations of our audience.

In other news this week we are also looking ahead to 2014 and various events we have in the pipeline.....the 2014 DARE Awards with the PRCA, the CIPR Northern Conference with the North West CIPR Committee and others...

And it would be remiss of us not to mention that the World Cup returns in 2014 with all eyes on Brazil....! 

But our focus for now is both Fresh and the Brand You Awards with Bristol Media which both officially closed last week - although we are starting to wonder how anyone in the world manages to get anything done as deadlines don't seem to matter any more - but maybe that's us being far too soft!

Check back next week for updates on Brand You and Fresh and in the meantime, enjoy the sunshine and have a great week!

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 17 June 2013

Welcome to another week and we have our PR hats on this week as Wednesday is the CIPR Northern Conference in Newcastle, followed by the first PRCA DARE Awards in Leeds on Thursday and DARE Scotland in Edinburgh on Friday.

So busy busy busy and lots of focus around the Public Relations and Communications Industry both this week and next, when the DARE Programme continues in Slough, Bristol and Birmingham.

Whilst we are pretty much sorted for all of the forthcoming events, you can see that it’s a whirlwind of travel, trains, planes and motorways and even though we always love going to some of these fabulous cities, we rarely get the time to enjoy anything more than a perfunctory look out of a window.

We never really get to see any sights other than the inside of a function room, which may be why this year we have opted for several unusual venues and not the usual hotel banqueting suites (which all start to look the same eventually!).

The CIPR Northern Conference Venue is the fantastic Great North Museum which incorporates collections from the Hancock Museum and Newcastle University’s Museum of Antiquities, the Shefton Museum and the Hatton Gallery.

Highlights of the £26million museum include a large-scale, interactive model of Hadrian's Wall, major new displays showing the wonder and diversity of the animal kingdom, spectacular objects from the Ancient Greeks and mummies from Ancient Egypt, a planetarium and a life-size T-Rex dinosaur replica skeleton.

 The Living Planet display houses hundreds of creatures and by using a mixture of touch screen technology and hands-on investigations, visitors can investigate these animals and find out where they live and how they survive in such extreme places as the arctic and desert.

 

Live animal tanks and aquaria are integrated into this major display where visitors can see wolf fish, pythons and lizards to name a few. Star objects include a full size model of an elephant, a great white shark, a virtual aquarium, live animal displays, a polar bear, a giraffe and moa skeleton.

So in addition to the fantastic schedule at the CIPR Northern Conference, the delegates will certainly have lots to look at!

With DARE North, the only Hotel we have picked as part of the DARE Schedule, it’s the Queens Hotel in Leeds, which is a personal favourite of ours and steeped in history.

From there we are off to The Hub in Edinburgh. This historic, category A listed building forms an integral part of the architectural fabric of Edinburgh. The Hub’s spire is the highest point in central Edinburgh.

It was constructed between 1842 and 1845 as the Victoria Hall to house the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The architects were James Gillespie Graham and Augustus Welby Pugin. Curiously the building was never consecrated as a Church. In 1929 the Church of Scotland ceased to use the building and it became a temporary home for a variety of congregations. It was named the Highland Tolbooth St John’s Church in 1956, before falling into disuse in the 1980s.

In 1999, the building was transformed into The Hub, the offices and a performance space for the Edinburgh International Festival. The building is a stunning combination of award winning contemporary design and classic Victorian architecture.

The next week we are resuming DARE firstly in Slough at the Spirit Conference Centre. The Centre Conference Venue opened its doors to the businesses and people of Slough and the surrounding areas in1998, the vast number of meeting rooms, 12 in total, and the magnificent size of the main banqueting suites means it has the capacity and flexibility that any one could need for their meetings, conferences, training workshops and events. Perfect for DARE…

From there we move to Bristol and the iconic Engineers House, is a Grade II listed conference centre in Clifton Down, a prestigious suburb of Bristol.It was built in 1831 by Charles Dyer, a leading Bristol architect. The most famous owner of the house was Charles Pinney, who was the Mayor of Bristol during the Bristol City Riots, and although it is sometimes referred to as ‘The Mayor’s House’, it was actually the private home of the Pinney family between 1835 and 1867. 

The building has a 19th century elegance and charm and the picturesque grounds overlook Westbury Park. Whilst the venue itself is steeped in history, the IT and conference facilities are absolutely state-of-the-art. Engineers’ House is AIM accredited, an indication of the quality of service and facilities you can expect to find.

To conclude the DARE tour we are off to Birmingham and Birmingham City Football Club and the Jasper Carrott Suite which is a fantastic space overlooking the football pitch.

Its fun and funky, a little like the comedian in whose honour the suite is named after!

As some of our tour will involve car travel, we pray for no traffic jams and no accidents that will require a claim of any kind.

But should we have a problem, we can always refer to some of the great Insurance Claim

Forms that Mr Carrott often referred to in his act, just in case we need any inspiration :

"Going to work at 7am this morning I drove out of my drive straight into a bus. The bus was 5 minutes early.." (Thanks N Bradley)

"I was driving along when I saw two kangaroos copulating in the middle of the road causing me to ejaculate through the sun roof." (from an Australian claim form - Thanks N Shepherd)

"I started to slow down but the traffic was more stationary than I thought."

Q: Could either driver have done anything to avoid the accident? A: Travelled by bus?

The claimant had collided with a cow. The questions and answers on the claim form were - Q: What warning was given by you? A: Horn. Q: What warning was given by the other party? A: Moo.

"I was going at about 70 or 80 mph when my girlfriend on the pillion reached over and grabbed my testicles so I lost control."

"I didn't think the speed limit applied after midnight"

"I knew the dog was possessive about the car but I would not have asked her to drive it if I had thought there was any risk."

"First car stopped suddenly, second car hit first car and a haggis ran into the rear of second car."

"Windscreen broken. Cause unknown. Probably Voodoo."

"The car in front hit the pedestrian but he got up so I hit him again"

"I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law and headed over the embankment."

"I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way"

"In an attempt to kill a fly, I drove into a telephone pole."

"An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car and vanished."

"I was thrown from the car as it left the road. I was later found in a ditch by some stray cows."

"Coming home I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don't have."

"I thought my window was down, but I found it was up when I put my head through it."

"The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him."

"I had been driving for forty years when I fell asleep at the wheel and had an accident."

"As I approached an intersection a sign suddenly appeared in a place where no stop sign had ever appeared before."

"To avoid hitting the bumper of the car in front I struck a pedestrian."

"My car was legally parked as it backed into another vehicle."

"I told the police that I was not injured, but on removing my hat found that I had a fractured skull."

"I was sure the old fellow would never make it to the other side of the road when I struck him."

"The pedestrian had no idea which way to run as I ran over him."

"I saw a slow moving, sad faced old gentleman as he bounced off the roof of my car."

"The indirect cause of the accident was a little guy in a small car with a big mouth."

"No one was to blame for the accident but it would never have happened if the other driver had been alert."

"The pedestrian ran for the pavement, but I got him."

"The accident was caused by me waving to the man I hit last week."

"I knocked over a man; he admitted it was his fault for he had been knocked down before."

Made you smile? It did us!

Enjoy your week.

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 15th October

Welcome to another week!

Our current focus is all about an event we are staging - the forthcoming CIPR Northern Conference which takes place at The Rose Bowl, Portland Crescent, Leeds, on 31 October 2012 with a “Fit for the Future” theme. 

The focus for this year will be centred around the changing face of the PR industry and how equipped we are to tackle the increasing challenges that lay ahead. Whether it is understanding and keeping ahead of the continual changes in the digital and social media sectors, making the leap to being a sole practitioner or starting your own consultancy, or making sure you have the skills, gravitas and confidence to reach the top; the 2012 Northern Conference is one you cannot afford to miss.

There will be a packed schedule this year and a choice of interactive workshops as well as several keynote speakers, all of whom are at the top of their game. Delegates will also be able to enjoy the great facilities available at The Rose Bowl, a stunning prestige building with great views of the City of Leeds.

Cloud 9 has a good relationship with the CIPR (we're members) and staying in the PR industry, the other leading industry body the PRCA (we're members of this one too). So we like to think we know a thing or two about PR, and having run PR Awards for many years, understand the fundamentals of a great PR campaign.

However, our theme for this week is bad PR and some of the horror stories surrounding PR stunts and campaigns that have gone badly wrong. We haven't included how using Social Media as part of your PR can also backfire, as that in itself is worth a dedicated blog on its own!

Just remember to avoid some of these key mistakes that some of the bigger brand names have made in the past-

As PR gaffes go, it certainly wasn't slick. BP chief executive Tony Hayward decided to go racing on his yacht at the weekend while his company struggles to contain the 60,000 barrels of oil pouring into the Gulf of Mexico daily. Furious US Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel blasted: "I think we can conclude Tony Hayward is not going to have a second career in PR." 

In 2001 Blue were riding high as Britain's most successful boy band - and on the verge of breaking America. Until gormless Lee Ryan opened his trap during an interview in the aftermath of 9/11. "What about whales?" he shrieked. "They are ignoring animals that are more important. "Who gives a f*** about New York when elephants are being killed?" Blue never did crack the States. Funny, that.

The too good to be true free flights promo in the 1990s offered trips to the US for any customer spending more than £100 from Hoover. The company found itself overwhelmed and hundreds took Hoover to court. The firm had to fork out £48million.

The £4.3billion Terminal 5 will forever be remembered for its shambolic opening two years ago. A catalogue of errors saw 216 flights cancelled and 15,000 bags delayed. What made matters worse was the fact that BA seemed incapable of accepting any blame over the fiasco. Later chief executive Willie Walsh finally admitted it was not its "finest hour."

The longest court case in England saw the burger giant sue Marie Steel and David Morris for defamation. In 1997, after 30 months, a judge said McDonald's had, among other things, exploited children with advertising. The firm was still awarded £60,000 damages but did not pursue this money after the campaigners refused to pay.

In order to avoid making major PR gaffes, it is always worth taking the time to do your research, think before you speak and if funds allow, get involved with one of the professional trade associations like the CIPR or the PRCA.

Both offer extensive training and a range of courses and webinars covering a range of communications topics, including conferences to help shape and sharpen your communications skills - especially now that Social Media is so vital in any PR campaign.

 Social Media Conference 2012

The CIPR ‘Share This: Social Media Conference’ takes place at the Microsoft building, London, on 1 November 2012.Featuring sessions on mobile, building campaigns, social media newsrooms and understanding social analytics, you can attend those most relevant to you.Experts in various sectors will cover aspects of social media including the BBC's Director of Communications, Paul Mylrea FCIPR, who will be discussing how the BBC-managed Twitter during the recent Olympic Games; David Bailey from Staffordshire Police will present a case study on social media guidelines; Penny Fox & Elayne Phillips from Defra will be presenting a joint case study on integrating traditional and social media; and Metrica's Richard Bagnall will present the latest thinking on social media measurement. The keynote speaker will be Robin Pembrooke, Head of Online for ITV and Global Radio.Further discussions and case studies will be presented around Networks & Platforms, Mobile and Location, and Understanding Social Media Analytics and Measurement. 

Once a member of the PRCA, many of their excellent courses are completely free including an upcoming event which is a Digital and New Media Campaigns Masterclass. Threepipe present their Ericsson Money campaign along with Azzurri Communications talking through their 2011 PRCA Award winning Connecting for Business Health campaign. Find out how Ogilvy PR London put content at the heart of their campaign surrounding Panda Awareness Week, clocking up more than 2 million views of their video content on YouTube and gaining coverage across the globe from the China Daily to Good Morning America and BBC World.

Yes you need to invest some time and often some money to ensure you deliver effective communications for your company, but at least if you do, you will ensure you never suffer from the same fate as Gerald Ratner :  Surely the most famous (and most costly) blunder of them all was back in 1991. Gerald Ratner wiped £500million from the value of his jewellery company after joking the chain "sold a pair of earrings for under a pound, which is cheaper than a prawn sandwich from Marks & Spencer, but probably wouldn't last as long". He added a decanter was "total crap". Ratner was forced out and the firm re-branded Signet.

Enjoy your week and don't forget to book for the CIPR Northern Conference on 31st October !

You can book via email paula@cloud9em.co.uk or use the booking page on Eventbrite www.ciprnc2012.eventbrite.com

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 30th July

Welcome to another week!

It's all systems go on Fresh this week as closing date is this Friday...and we mean final closing date too - no excuses!

The original deadline was Friday 20th July and after all of the excuses, pleading, rants and even the odd offer of bribery and corruption, this really has to be it.

Judging is looming and we have to make sure all of the work is processed and ready for our intrepid judges!

So if you haven't entered yet then now is the time! www.freshawards.co.uk

 

Throughout this summer of sport, the PRCA will provide a huge variety of online training sessions via PRCA Webinar Recordings. So whether you are working from home this summer, in the office or even abroad, you don't need to put your professional development on hold.

The Webinars available include: Understanding Corporate Social Responsibility, Social Media Etiquette, PR Law Standards and Ethics, How to grow from a junior to a senior consultant, Getting to grips with Grammar, and Using SEO and PR to deliver results to your clients.

You can access this webinars from any computer with a broadband Internet connect and no additional software is required. These courses are only a third of the price of attending a face to face course which is great value as you don't have to factor in travel expenses or time away from your work. Check them out online http://www.prca.org.uk/pr-training

 

 

 

The 2012 CIPR Northern Conference will take place at Leeds Metropolitan University, on Wednesday 31st October.  The focus for this year will be centered around the changing face of the PR industry and how fit we are to tackle the increasing challenges that lay ahead.

Whether it is understanding and keeping ahead of the continual changes in the digital and social media sectors, making the leap to being a sole practitioner or starting your own consultancy, or making sure you are mentally fit to face the future of this increasingly diverse industry, then the 2012 Northern Conference is one you cannot afford to miss.

We are also pleased to announce that Max Clifford will be a keynote speaker at the event.

There will be a packed schedule this year with panels and a choice of interactive workshops as well as a several key note speakers, all of whom are at the top of their game.

A complete conference line-up will available soon but you can reserve your place by email – paula@cloud9em.co.uk or telephone to Cloud 9 Event Management Ltd on 01158 419699

Yes, we know it's Halloween but it seems more than topical this week....as we are looking for support to turn the Pumpkin Pink!

 

 

 

We'd like to give a shout out to Karen Holbrook and  see if anyone can help with an she is staging,  a fund raising event, the proceeds of which will be donated to Breast Cancer Care. Karen personally experienced the devastating effects of this disease having been diagnosed with Breast Cancer on 11^th December 2009. 

 

Following a programme of intensive treatment however, she is now celebrating her second year of being cancer free. In recognition of this achievement, she will be participating in the annual Ben Nevis Challenge being held on 29^th September 2012. Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Britain, majestically rising 4,406 feet amidst the hills and Monroes of the Scottish Highlands.

 

The Charity Halloween Ball fund raising event in conjunction with her Ben Nevis Challenge, will be held on 26^th October 2012 at The Venue on Abbey Street in Derby. This will be a ticket only event at which a charity raffle will be held, so Karen is on the look out for prizes.There are also sponsorship opportunities available so please call Karen 07890 085070