Each month, we’ll be introducing you to a member of the Muckle Media team. First up is Eilidh.

1. How did you get into PR – what’s your background?

I have a degree in product design which has prepared me for marketing products and being creative with ideas – I love a good brainstorm!

2. What’s the best piece of coverage you’ve secured for a client?

On one of the first projects when I joined Muckle Media, we worked with Campbeltown Picture House for its centenary. I had the idea to get a letter from the Queen like anyone else celebrating their 100^th birthday would receive. We managed to get this and it secured some great coverage and the project was also nominated for a CIPR PRide award.

3. Is there anything you’ve done in your career that you’re particularly proud of?

During a project for charity art trail Ready Steady Gallop, in which horse sculptures were place around Hamilton and South Lanarkshire, one of the sculptures was unfortunately stolen. In response to this, I made suggestions to the client including a #FindAngus social media campaign. We made missing posters and appealed for information via Ready Steady Gallop’s social media pages which received a great response.  The first #FindAngus post led to more than 370 shares on Facebook and ultimately helped reach new audiences for the project and the missing sculpture was quickly located. The Ready Steady Gallop project has been nominated for a PRmoment Award for Integrated Communications Campaign of the Year. We’ll find out the result in March.

4. What brands/startups do you think are doing a great job with their PR and marketing at the moment?

I like to follow my favourite brands on Instagram and I think the ones that act as lifestyle channels, rather than just selling their products work the best.

I love Protein World’s Instagram posts. The company gives you information on its products, healthy recipe tips and ideas and it often posts workout videos for followers to try. CrossFit’s Instagram is also great; it is regularly updated and is really inspiring. It just makes me want to go and train – exactly the purpose of the account.

A startup that has had huge success recently is Tens. The sunglasses company has built upon its crowdfunding success by keeping itself in the spotlight with award wins and social media campaigns. I love Tens’ branding and every campaign follows the same look, giving the brand a strong identity. The brand has also kept things fresh by launching new ranges early on and kept social media audiences engaged by sharing their photos with the sunglasses on Instagram.

5. What’s been your biggest achievement out of work?

My biggest achievements out of work have probably been for archery. I’ve competed in many championships and competitions since I started the sport. At the moment I’m Scottish Outdoor and Bowhunter Champion.

6. What’s your favourite song at the moment?

There are so many! If I had to choose one just now, it would probably be Fatherson’s Half The Things.

7. How do you like to spend your free time?

In my spare time you’ll find me in the gym, practicing archery or at home drawing or painting.

8. What are your ambitions for the future, in and out of work?

I’d love to work on some more interesting social media campaigns for clients and utilise Instagram like some of my favourite brands do. I’d also love to start my own business in the future – I’ve got lots of ideas! Out of work, I’d like to compete more in sports and do more drawing and painting – I’d also like there to be more hours in the day to get all this done!

To kick off Scotland’s Year of Food and Drink 2015, Highlands and Islands Enterprise showcased the best of the region’s produce at the London Boat Show. Exhibiting alongside Sail Scotland, the marketing body for sailing tourism, HIE held tastings of local produce such as salmon, mussels, cheese, oatcakes, tablet, whisky and craft beer.

 
With the food and drink industry in the Highlands and Islands contributing £1 billion to the economy annually and supporting 32,000 jobs, HIE’s attendance at the London Boat Show aimed to raise the profile of Highlands and Islands produce even further.
 
Anna Allan, Head of Business Events, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, said: 
“Food and drink is a booming industry sector for the Highlands and Islands, with home sales up 30% since 2007 and overseas sales up 50%. Whisky is leading the charge – making it Scotland’s leading export. We were delighted to be collaborating with Sail Scotland to bring Highlands and Islands produce to this high profile event in London and help our supported businesses to reach new markets and increase their revenues. The London Boat Show is a great place to showcase the Highland’s local produce to a global audience.”
 
Muckle Media supported HIE’s attendance at the London Boat Show through media relations, with coverage secured in the likes of The Arran Advertiser and Strathspey Herald. Following the event, a summary was also included in HIE’s February newsletter.
 
Image: Highlands and Islands Enterprise

The New Year continued with even more momentum than 2014 for start-up accelerator Entrepreneurial Spark.

 
The Entrepreneuring Awards
 
As part of Muckle Media’s PR support, the team’s first job was the Entrepreneuring Awards. Held in Glasgow on the 9^th of January, the night celebrated the best of the UK’s entrepreneurial talent. The awards featured an address by guest speaker, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Sir Tom Hunter and a pitching competition where Entrepreneurial Spark entrepreneurs could pitch to the panel for the chance to win spot prizes. Celebrating the great achievements of the UK’s entrepreneurs, the night aimed to provide them with funding to continue their good work.
 
Entrepreneurial Spark announces record results
 
To coincide with the Entrepreneuring Awards, Muckle Media announced Entrepreneurial Spark’s results for 2014, in which the incubator smashed its previous records for job creation, investment and turnover. Through Entrepreneurial Spark support, firms have created more than 1,000 jobs – almost double the 520 created in its first two years of business. Total turnover for supported firms also rocketed to £41million at the end of 2014; trebling the £15,676,000 achieved during 2012 and 2013. Investment in supported start-ups also increased by £10 million, from a total of £8,047,000 achieved by the end of 2013 to more than £18 million at the end of 2014.
 
Jim Duffy, Entrepreneurial Spark CEO, commented:
 
“2014 saw a step change in our expediential growth as RBS agreed an exciting partnership to take the best practise from Scotland to the rest of the UK, and these Scotland numbers show the sheer potential that Entrepreneurial Spark has to engage, excite and, most importantly, accelerate budding entrepreneurs across the country. With our new accelerator hub launching in Birmingham in February we can’t wait to take our model south in our next step of driving an entrepreneurial revolution across the UK.”
 
Kanya King MBE shares her entrepreneurial story
 
Just a few days after the success of the Entrepreneuring Awards and the announcement of the 2014 results, Entrepreneurial Spark hosted its ‘Be the best you can be event’ with special guest speaker Kanya King MBE, founder of the MOBO Awards. Held in Birmingham on the run-up to the launch of Entrepreneurial Spark’s new incubator in the city, Kanya discussed what she had learned from her years in business. Kanya shared her inspiring story of how she overcame doubters to create one of the most popular music awards in the UK today and became named as one of Britain’s ‘Most Entrepreneurial Women’ by Real Business.
 
To register your interest in applying to Entrepreneurial Spark or to receive the latest news, please sign up via its website: https://entrepreneurial-spark.com/application.html 
 
Image of Kanya King MBE: Entrepreneurial Spark

Muckle Media is delighted to be shortlisted in three categories at the PRmoment Awards 2015, building on its one nomination from the 2014 awards.

For work with Entrepreneurial Spark and its Opportunity Knocks event, Muckle Media has been nominated in the Best Use of Research and Financial Campaign of the Year categories. For work with Hamilton Business Improvement District and Ready Steady Gallop, Muckle Media is nominated in the Integrated Communications Campaign of the Year category.

The awards celebrate the achievements of public relations practitioners in the North, Northern Ireland and Scotland region and the winners will be announced at a ceremony in Manchester on the 11^th of March.

Muckle Media managing director Nathalie Agnew said: “To be nominated in three categories in awards of this calibre is a great achievement for Muckle Media. We’ve been working hard to achieve the best results for our clients and to have this recognised with more award nominations is incredible. We look forward to the awards ceremony and to continuing the hard work throughout 2015.”

Towards the end of 2014, Muckle Media began working with ESP Group. ESP Group provides end-to-end solutions for smart schemes in the UK and beyond in mobility, education, healthcare and smart cities; issuing and supporting the operation of the likes of concessionary travel, commercial ticketing and staff and student card schemes.

At the start of the year, ESP Group won the contract to create and supply smartcards for rail passengers under a Department for Transport ticketing programme. The cards will work in a similar way to Oyster Cards and will be rolled out across southeast England with similar schemes then hoped to be adopted throughout the UK.

This news secured coverage in various media, especially in the Hull area where the smart cards will be developed. Articles were published in the likes of Hull Daily Mail and the news was broadcast on BBC Look North and BBC Radio Humberside.

ESP Group director Steve Cassidy also featured on BBC Radio Scotland to share his advice on preparing for travel in the recent bad weather and Muckle Media secured quotes from Steve in articles discussing winter weather travel. Listen back to Steve’s advice from 01:37: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04wtb6w#auto

For further details on the work at ESP Group does, visit: https://the-espgroup.com

The announcement on Christmas Day that parcel delivery company City Link was going into administration stood out as the story over the festive period – for all the wrong reasons. It was almost a text book example of how not to handle bad news. What lessons can be learned?

 
Develop clear, concise messaging
 
Bad news is bad news. City Link going into administration and employees losing their jobs was always going to be bad news thus the need for clear messaging to explain why this was happening was even greater than when communicating a good news story. Although the statement issued by Ernst and Young contained the relevant key messages, all were overshadowed by the timing of the announcement which became the story.
 
Develop key messages, refine them and test them with media training to ensure that they can be easily and effectively communicated.
 
Identify and prioritise all stakeholders
 
It was clear that the most important stakeholder, City Link employees, was overlooked. Media coverage was full of reports of staff being interviewed and stating that they found out their fate from the media.
 
Identify and prioritise all stakeholders and plan your communication from there. Where possible, plan for simultaneous communication to stakeholders so that they are receiving the message at the same time and you are in control of the message and ultimately the story that will be reported.
 
Understand your stakeholders
 
City Link either never considered, or completely underestimated the key stakeholders and how they were most likely to react to the news. When it came to the unions, they saw it as an opportunity to criticise not only the announcement itself but also the fact that it had been made on Christmas Day. As for employees, they felt betrayed. Christmas is the busiest time of year for parcel delivery companies and many staff had gone the extra mile to get presents delivered that very week. With the absence of any communication from City Link management to staff, media had no problems finding disappointed and angry workers for interview.
 
Understand how stakeholders are going to react and plan your communication accordingly, especially how and when you will communicate.
 
Assign clear ownership
 
It was clear that nobody really wanted to take ownership of the communication. In the end, the official communication came from administrator Ernst and Young. Nobody in management at City Link was quoted in any of the media coverage and it took until the 29^th December (4 days after the announcement) for Jon Moulton, founder of City Link’s founder company Better Capital to give any interviews to media.
 
Following the stakeholder mapping, assign ownership to each stakeholder to lead the communication to that group.
 
Timing and external factors
 
In all the media coverage which has ensued on this story it was clear that City Link had been struggling for a while. There were early warning signs that the company would need to cease trading over Christmas and yet it seems that management adopted a ‘bury head in sand’ approach to handling the actual communication which resulted in staff learning that they were losing their jobs on Christmas Day – the one day of the year that purveyors of bad news stories will be vilified in the media, like the baddies in a Christmas pantomime.
 
Remember that you cannot communicate in a vacuum. Be aware of external factors and how they could affect your story and plan it accordingly. Whilst you cannot bury bad news, you can try to avoid being the main story on all news bulletins on a national day of celebration.
 
Do you need communications advice? Email us on [email protected] to discuss.
 
Image: www.telegraph.co.uk

As 2015 approaches, many brands will be looking to boost business and reach new consumers. With the ways we communicate with consumers evolving, it is important brands have a presence on appropriate social media channels – but how do you choose the best content to share? We take a look at some New Year resolutions brands on social media will be able to keep.

 
Video
 
Not long ago we were talking about the importance of sharing compelling images on social media and although that’s still a must-do, video is also proving popular on the social media pages of brands. With apps such as Vine making it easy to create short, interesting videos, brands can get creative with what they share. Stop-motion, instructional videos and showcasing a new product; video can be a great way to get consumers interested in your brand.
 
Planning content
 
Setting out a plan and having a strategy for your social media content can make the difference between social media success and a social media flop. Integrating social media with other communications and generating content around things such as company announcements and relevant items in the news agenda and on the run-up to product launches or other milestones. Creating a viral hit is the object of many brands on social media but in reality it can be difficult to achieve. Instead, focus on creating share-worthy content – what would your target audience find interesting and make them want to tell their friends about and engage with your brand further?
 
Reactive content
 
As well as planning social media content, social media teams should stay on top of the news and the latest developments in the brand’s industry. For example, a food brand that had an ingredient that was found to be really good for you could maximise its impact by piggybacking on the news. Equally, if an ingredient was found to be harmful, the team should know early so they have time to prepare a strategy and are ready for any questioning from social media followers.
 
It doesn’t all have to be industry related though. Look at the success of Oreo’s ‘Dunk in the Dark’ image during a blackout at the 2013 Superbowl, which received 15,000 retweets, and KitKat’s reaction to #Bendgate when the new iPhone 6 Plus was found to be easy to bend. The biscuit brand’s image and accompanying message ‘We don’t bend, we #break’ received over 28,000 retweets.
 
140 characters
 
Writing for social media can be quite different from other forms of communication. Squeezing in everything you want to say without spelling and grammar mistakes can be difficult in 140 characters! Experiment with different layouts and structures and share posts with the team to see if you can get any further insight. Familiarise yourself with successful social media pages of other brands – what are they doing and how can you do it better?
 
Don’t forget a blog!
 
B2B businesses with blogs generate 67% more leads per month than those without according to Bell Pottinger Digital. Blogs on your website can not only improve SEO but provide interesting content for social media and can showcase the expertise of your team.
 
There are a whole host of techniques brands can use to improve their social media pages. Need some tips or would like to share your thoughts? Tweet us: @mucklemedia
 
Image from Twitter: @KITKAT

Christmas can be a prime opportunity for startups and other businesses to reach new audiences and boosts sales, given they use the right techniques. We count down our top 12 tips on maximising the impact of your business on the run-up to Christmas.
 

1. Run Christmas promotions

Everyone loves a special offer and for startups it can provide great opportunities to reach new consumers on the run-up to Christmas. Many businesses utilise websites such as Wowcher to offer deals to people in the area. Why not also offer incentives such as 10% off their next order for any friends a customer introduces. Why not also offer discounts post-Christmas with a January sale. Make sure you advertise it on social media with strong visuals or a video too.

2. Mobile is for life, not just for Christmas

This might be one for the new year if you haven’t already but having your website optimised for mobile and tablet use is becoming more and more important for consumers. Google also announced last month that it will be adding a ‘mobile friendly’ label to search results to show people which websites are mobile optimised – make sure people aren’t put off before they’ve even clicked on your link. 

3. Get social this Christmas

We all know how important social media is for brands and Christmas is a prime time to attract new followers. Don’t fill your timeline with any old rubbish though! And don’t just sell your product – consumers want more from brands than that, they want a relationship with them. What to share will vary based on your brand but think about what consumers will find interesting and check out your competitors’ social media pages – how can you do it better? 

4. Christmas gift guides

Creating a Christmas gift guide to offer to media is a nice way to show your product or service to interested audiences. For example, if you make handbags, why not create a gift guide with other outfit ideas for gifts or for a Christmas party. You might also consider teaming up with other startups or businesses to increase your reach by creating a joint gift guide.

5. Get Christmassy for Google

Boost Google hits with holiday related content – blog posts, videos and regularly updated social media accounts will increase the chances of new consumers stumbling across your brand.

6. Differentiate

Consumers are bombarded with messages at Christmas. What makes your brand different and why should they buy your product or service over another?

7. Cater for last minute shoppers

A drawback of shopping online is delivery time and charges. Can you help out the last minute shoppers frantically looking for the perfect gift with next day delivery? Promote this on your website and social media pages so people know they can get items delivered fast.

8. Make friends with influential bloggers

Popular bloggers are like media brands all by themselves. Find ones relevant to your brand on social media and start interacting with them. Eventually you may want to offer product samples to them or organise a bloggers’ day where they can come along, meet you and try out your products.

9. Make sure you can deliver

It’s easy to over-promise or under-estimate sales during the Christmas period. Make sure you have enough stock and staff to fulfil any sales or extra activity being undertaken during the holiday period. Failure could put consumers and anyone else they tell off your brand for life.

10. Send a Christmas thank you card with orders

Have you ever ordered a product online and along with your delivery of goodies there’s been a handwritten thank you card? Taking the time to create these little extras can really strengthen your relationship with the customer – it also provides an extra way to share Twitter, Instagram and Facebook page details!

11. Don’t be a Scrooge!

If you can, try to give something back, whether it’s donating some of your products to charity or donating money to a local charity to help people in the area.

12. Have fun!

‘Tis the season to be jolly after all! Social media is a great way to show consumers that your brand is fun and staff love working with you. Share your favourite secret santa gifts, Christmas decoration ideas, videos of staff packing orders in their Christmas jumpers or anything else that shows the people behind the brand.
 
Have anything else to add? Why not tweet us what your startup is doing this Christmas @mucklemedia. Merry Christmas!
 
Image: www.mi9.com

Muckle Media has won Corporate and Business Communications Campaign and Outstanding Small Consultancy at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) PRide Scotland awards, announced at a black tie dinner in Edinburgh on Thursday night.

Taking gold in two categories and being named Outstanding Small Consultancy for the second year in a row, Muckle Media director Nathalie Agnew said: “We’re delighted to have won awards in two categories and to have built upon our success in 2013. Winning Outstanding Small Consultancy is amazing and adding best Corporate and Business Communications Campaign makes it even more special. It’s great to see all our hard work pay off and we can’t wait for the next year and the exciting projects we have coming up.”

Muckle Media has been shortlisted for three awards at the 2014 CIPR Scotland PRide Awards, announced today.

 
Muckle Media has been recognised for its outstanding work across the region, and has been nominated for three awards including Corporate and Business Communications Campaign, Low Budget Campaign and Outstanding Small Consultancy which the agency won at the 2013 awards. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Edinburgh on the 9^th of October.
 
The CIPR PRide Awards recognise the outstanding talents and achievements of public relations practitioners across the UK’s regions and nations. They are the most prestigious and rigorous awards of their kind.
 
Commenting on the award shortlisting, Muckle Media Managing Director, Nathalie Agnew said: “We’re delighted to be shortlisted for the 2014 CIPR PRide Awards after winning Outstanding Small Consultancy and being a finalist in the Not-For-Profit category last year. It’s been a busy year but it’s so rewarding to see our hard work has paid off by being shortlisted in these awards.”
 
ENDS
 
Notes to Editors
 
A full list of shortlisted entrants in Scotland is available here:
https://www.cipr.co.uk/content/events-awards/pride-awards/scotland/shortlist

About the CIPR
 
The Chartered Institute of Public Relations is the professional body for public relations practitioners in the UK. With over 10,000 members involved in all aspects of the public relations profession, it is the largest body of its type in Europe. The CIPR advances the public relations profession in the UK by making its members accountable through a code of conduct, developing policies for the public relations profession, representing its members and raising standards through education and training. For further information, visit the CIPR website.
 
About the CIPR PRide Awards

The CIPR PRide Awards is the only UK-wide awards scheme that recognises excellence in public relations and communications work across Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and six English regions. Now in its 11th year, the CIPR PRide Awards grow year-on-year as consultancies and organisations increasingly recognise the benefits of awards from the PR professions only Chartered body, and past winners continue to reap the benefits of receiving one.
Alongside the national CIPR Scotland PRide Awards, CIPR Cymru Wales PRide Awards and CIPR Northern Ireland PRide Awards, six English regional awards schemes also form part of the series and include the CIPR Anglia, Thames & Chiltern PRide Awards, CIPR Midlands PRide Awards, CIPR North East PRide Awards, CIPR North West PRide Awards, CIPR South of England and Channel Islands PRide Awards, and the CIPR Yorkshire & Lincolnshire PRide Awards.
 
For further information, please contact Nathalie Agnew on 07985595510

Having launched earlier this week, STV’s latest addition is in full swing. The STV Glasgow channel is the first local channel launched by the broadcaster, with STV Edinburgh set to launch in early 2015.

A few weeks ago, the Muckle Media team was lucky enough to attend a CIPR event at the new STV Glasgow studios.

The Riverside Show

STV Glasgow’s flagship programme is The Riverside Show, a magazine-style show bringing music, conversation, live cookery and various other features from a great new studio overlooking the SECC and the SSE Hydro. STV director of broadcasting, Bobby Hain hopes the show will reach one million people for at least 10 minutes per day by 2016. Hain aims to build a relationship with the target audience overtime and make STV Glasgow a local staple within the next couple of years.

Bringing back the classics

Broadcasting from noon until midnight everyday means the new channel will feature an interesting mix of news, features and classic programmes. Vintage favourites such as Take the High Road and Taggart will be run alongside an hour of non-English speaking content per week.

New styles of programming will also be showcased on the channel. Tenement TV brings acoustic sessions by the biggest bands from a Glasgow flat. Having hosted the likes of Bastille, Jake Bugg and Gabrielle Aplin, Tenement TV hopes to reach a wider audience via STV Glasgow.

A dedicated channel for Glasgow will let the community see relevant news and local interest stories and offers great opportunities for local brands and events. We’re looking forward to seeing how STV Glasgow grows and eagerly await the arrival of STV Edinburgh!

STV Glasgow will be available to viewers in the west of Scotland on Freeview channel 23, Sky channel 117 and Virgin channel 159.

Photo: Muckle Media’s Nathalie Agnew and Eilidh Marshall visit the set of The Riverside Show and meet presenter David Farrell

Holidays can be great for public relations. Christmas gift guides let consumers see your latest product, January is great for exercise DVDs and gadgets and Halloween is perfect for costumes and sweets. But what about Easter? We take a look at how brands have tied their product to the holiday using public relations and social media.

Spring has sprung

Easter signifies the beginning of spring with people looking to freshen up their homes or counting down the days until summer. Spring cleaning products, summer clothes and activities to partake in as the weather improves can prove successful.

Activities for kids are always popular with school holidays so Easter egg hunts are commonplace, but what else can brands do?

Easter PR stunts  
      
Easter has been used by some relevant brands to promote their latest products. A few years back, chocolate brand Thorntons launched an edible chocolate billboard to promote their seasonal products. Thorntons planned for the billboard to be in place for a week but was eaten within five hours! The stunt gained wide ranging media coverage and boosted slowing profits.

Faberge previously created a giant Easter egg hunt around London with the fibreglass eggs being designed by the likes of Sir Ridley Scott and Vivien Westwood. Egg hunters posted their photos to social media, providing reach well beyond London.

This year, luxury jewellery brand Shawish has created the world’s most expensive Easter egg. The £28,000 egg contains a diamond pendant on an 18-carat white gold chain rather than your standard chocolate munchies though.

Another recent product announcement that was revealed as a hoax was a machine that claimed to turn water into wine in three days! The machine was actually a PR stunt for Wine to Water, a charity that provides people around the world with access to clean drinking water. The stunt gained plenty of media coverage and social media shares, therefore raising awareness of the charity.

With creativity, it is possible to turn many campaigns into attention grabbing Easter PR stunts. Will you be having an Easter egg hunt or trying something a bit more adventurous this year?

Image: https://arhitekturaplus.com