Today, Muckle Media has announced it has bought Platform PR, one of the north of Scotland’s leading communications consultancies.

The exciting deal supports Muckle Media’s ambitions to expand across the UK and will see Platform PR managing director Jane Cumming and director Jenny MacPherson join Muckle Media’s board. The new team of 12 will continue to grow Muckle Media Group across the Highlands, central belt of Scotland and the UK.

Muckle Media’s experience in media relations, social media marketing and communications strategy for primarily corporate, consumer, public and third sector and technology firms will complement Platform PR’s PR and public affairs expertise in the renewable energy, food and drink sectors to form a creative agency which offers support across all sectors with a specialist senior team of practitioners. Existing Muckle Media clients such as Gett and Entrepreneurial Spark will be complemented by long standing Platform PR clients including Marine Harvest and Falck Renewables.

Nathalie Agnew, managing director, Muckle Media Group, said, “I’ve long respected Jane, Jenny and colleagues at Platform PR and look forward to welcoming them to our team. I’m certain a number of our clients will benefit from their senior counsel and can’t wait to work together as we shape the future of Muckle Media Group, helping clients to achieve their organisational objectives using smart communications.”

Muckle Media is delighted to be nominated in the Fresh PR Awards for Freshest Corporate Campaign.

 
The shortlist is for the agency’s work on the national rollout of business accelerator Entrepreneurial Spark. The initial launch in Birmingham saw Muckle Media secure speaker events with Dragons’ Den pitcher and creator of Reggae Reggae Sauce Levi Roots and the founder of the MOBO Awards, Kanya King. The shortlist celebrates the success of the various PR and marketing activity undertaken to encourage applications to Entrepreneurial Spark’s new Birmingham hub.
 
Muckle Media is shortlisted alongside campaigns from the likes of Barclaycard and Laterooms.com and is the only Scottish agency shortlisted in the UK-wide awards.
 
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at the Mercure Piccadilly Hotel in Manchester on the 8^th of October.
 
View the full award shortlist
 
Read more on Muckle Media’s work with Entrepreneurial Spark here.

Muckle Media is delighted to be shortlisted for four awards at the 2015 CIPR PRide Awards Scotland, building upon its two nominations in 2013 and three in 2014.

2015 sees Muckle Media shortlisted in the follow categories:

·       Integrated Campaign of the Year for taxi app client Gett
·       Best Use of Photography or Design for V&A Dundee’s Design in Motion travelling exhibition
·       Best Use of Photography or Design for Scotland’s Decision: Scotland September 18
·       Outstanding Small Consultancy of the Year

Having been shortlisted in three categories at the 2014 awards and winning in two: Outstanding Small Consultancy and Business and Corporate Communications Campaign of the Year, the team at Muckle Media is looking forward to this year’s awards ceremony.

The awards will be announced at a ceremony on the 8^th of October at the Glasgow Mariott Hotel.

As markets become more competitive and consumers demand more than a simple advert or ordinary social media campaign to grab and maintain their attention, brands must innovate and develop their own, unique personality.

 
Recently, there has been some standout examples of brands skipping traditional campaigns and opting for a more quirky approach.
 
One large pizza with extra emojis please
 
If ordering a pizza over the phone or on a website is too much for US customers, Dominos has the answer in the form of pizza emojis! Hungry social media users can order their food by tweeting a pizza emoji or #EasyOrder to the @Dominos account. Orders are then made using the customer’s preferences on their Easy Order account on the Dominos website.
 
The idea fits perfectly with Dominos’ main customers – young, tech-savvy individuals who are most likely to be regular users of social media and well versed in the language of emojis.
 
Vines worth sharing
 
As video begins to fill our social media timelines, top brands are already ahead of the trend. Many companies regularly share Vines that showcase their product, share useful information, or are just funny! The better the Vine, the more likely it is that social media users will share, therefore extending the reach of the brand.
 
Vines that hijack current news and events are even more likely to be shared. Marmite (which has a great Twitter account if you’re looking for some inspiration / need a laugh) did this perfectly with its Solar Eclipse hijack: “Only one eclipse we want to see this morning. #eclipse2015 https://vine.co/v/OYmOl5Ztr9r“
 
Brands fit for a princess
 
With another royal baby being born on the 2^nd of May 2015, many brands including British Airways, Lego and Dominos took the opportunity to welcome Princess Charlotte to the world.
 
Social media was obviously the most instant way to do this. The home of the princess fairy tale, Disney, created one of the most engaged with tweets. It was simple but effective: a video montage of the most well-known Disney Princesses and baby characters including Simba, Bambi and young Frozen characters Elsa and Anna, along with the message ‘Special delivery! #RoyalBaby’. The post has been retweeted over 7,500 times and favourite by over 9,000 users – all of whom, we’re sure then wanted to break out old videos of The Lion King and Lady and the Tramp!
 
Getting nostalgic with Tens
 
To mark the launch of its latest range, Instagram-style filtered sunglasses brand Tens created an 80s inspired infomercial. The infomercial was shot predominantly on VHS and comes complete with cheesy American voiceover. Tens director, Tom Welsh, said the inspiration came from user feedback that wearing the sunglasses gave them a feeling of nostalgia. That’s what makes the infomercial so successful; it not only reflects the young and fun image of the brand but takes the target audience back to their childhood when they were likely watching VHS videos and cheesy American TV shows.

“Lock the windae’s ‘n’ front door” – Edinburgh Police play with Lego
 
And it’s not just consumer brands that are getting in on the action; public services are doing it too.

Earlier this year, Edinburgh Police hit on an inspired way to show people how easy it could be for burglars to break into their homes. The team used Lego characters to act out sneaky Lego burglars breaking into Lego homes with photography of the scenes being shared on Twitter along with rhymes to offer tips and advice, all in a Scottish accent of course!

“Look how ye get access tae the back o’ yer hame,
“If it’s easy others wull dae the same,
“Restrict access tae the rear,
“And help prevent others fae choring yer gear.”

Managing director of Muckle Media, Nathalie Agnew, has been selected to participate in the PRWeek/Women in PR Mentoring Project.

Nathalie’s application impressed the judging panel convened by Women in PR and she will now participate in the project that aims to tackle the lack of female leaders in communications. Nathalie kicked off her mentoring programme in London on the 26^th of June, where she was matched with an experienced female PR mentor who will offer guidance and support.
 
Nathalie said: “I’m delighted to have been selected for this project. The opportunity to learn from another PR professional is a great opportunity – the guidance will help me develop professionally and I look forward to sharing what I learn with the rest of the Muckle Media team.”
 
Women in PR president Mary Whenman said: “As a partner of PRWeek’s 2015 Mentoring Project we were very impressed with the calibre of the candidates, so judging was a difficult task. We would like to thank everyone who submitted an application. The standard was very high and we would encourage those not shortlisted this year to re-apply in the future when they have gained more experience.”

By Linsay Moore
In the words of Taylor Swift: “All I know since yesterday is everything has changed”.

And changed over the past 24 hours it certainly has. On Sunday Taylor Swift shared a blog post with her fans and followers on Tumblr, which announced that she would be withholding her platinum-selling album ‘1989’ from Apple’s upcoming music subscription service, as she was unhappy with the three-month free trial offered to subscribers.

This post was then shared via her Facebook and Twitter pages, racking up over 104,000 likes, 37,000 re-tweets and 61,000 favourites.

In a turnaround that proved the power of social media and blogging, Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, quickly shared the news that Apple was changing its methods of service in-line with Swift’s criticism and would ensure all artists are paid throughout the process.

Writing on her Tumblr, Swift stated:

“I’m sure you are aware that Apple Music will be offering a free 3 month trial to anyone who signs up for the service. I’m not sure you know that Apple Music will not be paying writers, producers, or artists for those three months. I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company.”

Far from the cry of a spoiled kid who is only looking at the money signs, Swift instead explained that she was supporting the young, struggling musicians and producers who will not be paid anything for the first three month trial subscription period. As Swift says “Three months is a long time to go unpaid, and it is unfair to ask anyone to work for nothing”.

While not criticising the company itself, rather complimenting their ongoing relationship, Swift used her position as an influential artist to highlight the flaws in the soon to be released subscription service and call for a change which supports upcoming artists.

In only 17 hours, Taylor Swift took on one of the world’s biggest companies and won, in an incredibly successful display of the power of social media. More and more brands are learning to engage fans and followers and encourage them to have their say on different products, to encourage consumers to ‘buy in’ to their products before they’re even available and form a better relationship with the brand.

When Ginger Grouse, the premium alcoholic ginger beer from The Famous Grouse, were looking to re-brand their product, they asked followers on social media to help. By asking fans to answer some quick questions on the existing look of their product, Ginger Grouse unveiled their brand new design, drawn from fans’ feedback, earlier this month to great support.

Earlier this year Thomson Airways launched a social media campaign asking fans and followers to name its sixth Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Consumers were asked to capture an image of one of the Dreamliners and share on social media, using the hashtag #787Pics, to be in with a chance of having the latest addition named after them as well as a holiday for two to Mauritius. Thomson Airways announced that the aircraft will now be named ‘Neil’ after the winner Neil Langstone.

So what should brands keep in mind about social media? It provides consumers, both those who are fans of the brand, product or service and those who are not, with a forum for open discussion to air their views. While this can result in both negative and positive feedback, it is very important to engage with these members of the public and listen to their thoughts on the brand/product/service while correcting any inaccuracies. One other thing to remember, as displayed by Apple Music, is that it’s never too late to hold your hands up and admit you were wrong about something. While the manner in which you do this is important, you should never be afraid to say you were wrong about something.

Then, in the words of Taylor Swift just “shake it off, shake it off…”

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

I studied PR and Media at Queen Margaret in Edinburgh and during the final year of my BA Hons course I started working with a PR agency in Edinburgh, so was juggling uni work and my dissertation with ‘grown up’ work for about 6 months, which had its own challenges! Looking back on it I’m really glad I started working during my final year though because it gave me an actual understanding of how PR works in the real world, and left me knowing that if I could juggle working full time with writing a dissertation (and getting a 2:1 degree) then I could handle the pressures that come hand in hand with working in PR.

2.     What’s the best piece of coverage you’ve secured for a client?
I’m not sure I can pick out one piece of coverage as being the best, but I do have a few I’m quite proud of. One example would probably be when one of the luxury whisky clients I worked for previously was announcing a new expression I managed to secure a great feature in the Telegraph Luxury, which was ideal for reaching the client’s target audience.

3.     Is there anything you’ve done in your career that you’re particularly proud of?
On a more personal level I’m quite proud of the fact that after working in a PR agency for only four or five months I was given my own events account to manage. As I had not long started in the world of PR, and had only just turned 21, I’m really proud of how well I handled this challenge and the fact that I managed to do such a good job with the event that I was highly praised not only by the client but also by one of the directors and founders of the agency I worked for. One of the other projects I worked on which I’m particularly proud to have been involved in was for one of the whisky brands I worked for who were launching a new expression in collaboration with renown photographer Elliott Erwitt. Working with the rest of the team at the agency we managed to create our own pop up art gallery in Leica studios in London where we hosted the event, with Elliott in attendance. It was a great event and seeing all of our hard work come together and be such a success was a really proud moment for me.

4.     What brands/startups do you think are doing a great job with their PR and marketing at the moment?
I think there’s a lot of really great PR and marketing happening just now, so picking a few examples is always a bit tricky! Despite all the controversy over the adverts I do think that Protein World’s latest marketing stunt was incredibly effective. It’s one of the most talked about campaigns of the year and provided so much conversation both online and offline that, as a result of the £250,000 they spent on advertising, they reaped over £1 million in direct sales revenue in just four days as a result of the campaign. They stuck with their marketing plan despite the controversy and managed to turn it around to their benefit. I also thought the recent campaign for Magnum ice creams, Magnum Pink and Black, was fantastic. They achieved fantastic coverage and social media conversation and I particularly liked their Regent Street takeover and the fact they turned the London Eye pink!

5.     What’s been your biggest achievement out of work?
I think probably the fact that I was a published author at the age of 16, with my work being published as part of an inter-generational book of short stories and poems called ‘Oor Ain Toon’. That aside though, I definitely think there’s a big sense of achievement in managing to make the perfect gluten free caramel shortcake…if I do say so myself!

6.     What’s your favourite song at the moment?
I have the most outdated taste in music and my usual choice is either something mellow like Jack Johnson or Jason Mraz or some good old country! At the moment I’ve been listening to a lot of John Mayer though, so I guess I’d have to say ‘Daughters’ or ‘Say’ are my favourite songs at the moment.

7.     How do you like to spend your free time?
In a word? Eating. It’s definitely one of my favourite things to do, combine a Chinese with some Netflix binging and I’m pretty happy! Other than that I’m slowly beginning to explore Edinburgh and visit new places over the weekend, in between visiting the gym (yuck), seeing friends and writing.

8.     What are your ambitions for the future, in and out of work?
I don’t have so much a 10 year plan as that I want to just be happy and enjoy my life while I can. Ambitions wise though I’d definitely like to move up the PR ladder and take on more responsibility for clients and campaigns as I go. Outside of work though I’d really like to keep up my writing and finally finish my first book!

By Dominic Jeff
The move from journalism to PR is such a well-trodden path that newspaper reporters have developed a slang term for it: “going over to the dark side”.

It’s safe to say, having just made the move, that this phrase encompasses a certain sense of moral superiority which members of the fourth estate still cling to despite the tarnishing of their already lacklustre reputation by the scandals of recent years.

To be fair to my former colleagues, the profession has never been without its sense of humour and the jibes aimed at anyone known to be planning the move to PR are generally meant in good spirit. Indeed, as the headcount on the average newspaper has been shrinking at an alarming rate for well over a decade, editors and reporters these days would struggle to fill their pages if some of the copy did not arrive in an almost ready-to-use format, and stories were not presented to them as a tailor-made opportunity.

So it’s been no surprise to me that since starting to work with Muckle Media two weeks ago, I’ve been writing more original copy than in my latter days on The Scotsman, where I more often than not had some sort of text to work from when starting a story. It’s been nice to get the creative juices flowing again.

Of course, many have pointed to the shift in power that is implicit in having those who can afford PR agencies choose the stories to be run in newspapers. However, in practice things are not so sinister as most people engage PR because they have something positive to say. By and large, the stories are still good stories too – what local newspaper wouldn’t want to feature a visit to their town or county by V&A Dundee’s first touring exhibition, for example? Design in Motion is one of the accounts I’ve been working on and I won’t feel like a manipulative spin doctor if a few more people go and see this excellent little collection of Scottish design innovation on its tour of towns and cities north of the Border.

On the flip side, good journalists have adapted to the current state of play and have learned to sort the wheat from the chaff in terms of what they are being pitched. There are still plenty of good journalists out there, so if I do morph into a manipulative villain, I’m sure my former colleagues will be quick to point it out – in the most unflattering of terms.

Kirkcaldy local, Jim Taylor, has set himself a challenge to run the A-Z of Marathons and aims to raise money to support our client the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust.

Infamous among marathon runners due to having over a thousand steps, Jim’s next big race is the Great Wall of China Marathon. He has been training along the Fife Coastal Path taking advantage of the natural route and beautiful setting:

 
“The Fife Coastal Path has countless steps and great locations such as Ravenscraig Park and at Wemyss, so it is ideal preparation.” (The Daily Star)
 
Muckle Media has been helping to spread the word of Jim’s impressive feat by delivering national coverage on behalf of the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust.
 
Jim has already run six marathons in Europe including Athens, Berlin and Dundee. He keeps himself in tip top condition by running over 50 miles a week, cycling 70 miles a week and doing yoga twice a week. Now 57 years old, Jim was a former body builder in his youth:
 
“My passion for Marathons began in 1985 when I was a bodybuilder. Our work set up a morning running club and I went along to the meeting thinking because I was a bodybuilder that I was really fit.” (The Sun)
 
“I was carrying 14-and-a-half stone in weight with 30 inch thighs, but I managed to do two half-marathons that year and I was hooked.” (The Sun)
 
Jim hopes to complete The Great Wall of China Marathon in 5 hours and raise £1000 for the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust.

1. How did you get into PR – what’s your background? 
I started off studying fashion and when I realised my sewing skills were more suited to darning socks than creating couture, I swapped pins for pens and began copywriting for an SEO agency. Thereafter I worked for an online retail store where I soon became more involved in both offline and online marketing activities for a much loved brand. Looking to work with a variety of different brands I then entered a PR agency where I was able to work with both local and international consumer brands developing PR strategies

2. What’s the best piece of coverage you’ve secured for a client? 
Getting a local musician on the front page of national newspapers and having the entire country believing he’d been arrested which resulted in our client receiving incredible exposure.

3. Is there anything you’ve done in your career that you’re particularly proud of? 
I was really proud to be a part of the team that won a national PR award for a global client. The campaign was also featured in an international FRUKT report on innovative campaigns.

4. What brands/startups do you think are doing a great job with their PR and marketing at the moment?
Recent: Sky- Polar Bear on Tube stunt;  All Time: Tinder- Dog Stunt; West Jet Airline Santa stunt; WWFs Panda invasion (2013)

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

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

7. How do you like to spend your free time? 
Reading, hiking; visiting food markets; baking; reiki, horse riding, dog walking and exploring new places with friends

8. What are your ambitions for the future, in and out of work? 
To travel more, laugh more and work with a great team of people above all else

As with most holidays and special occasions, Easter offers many opportunities for brands and today, it’s more important than ever to ensure that campaigns are integrated across channels. We take a look back at some of the best Easter brand campaigns.

 
Asda’s digital Easter egg hunt

 
Supermarket chain Asda worked with a creative digital agency to develop an augmented reality app that shoppers could use in a selection of its stores. Users downloaded the app before attending an Easter egg hunt on Easter weekend where they could scan the eggs that were hidden around the stores. Doing this activated different animations and the supermarket also ran a competition on its Instagram account to engage those unable to attend in person. This is a great way to drive engagement with the brand and also drives footfall to stores.
 
Asda has also got its social media channels in full Easter mode this year! It regularly posts Easter recipes and gift ideas across Facebook and Twitter and even shares decoration ideas and how-tos on its Pinterest page.
 
Live Streaming
 

In 2013, the Happy Egg Co took advantage of an increased focus on video. For three days, the egg company live streamed the incubation and hatching of 17 eggs. Viewers could see the newly hatched chicks in their first hours in the world via Google Hangouts and YouTube. Viewers could even suggest names for the chicks by tweeting the Happy Egg Co and posting to its Facebook page using a dedicated hashtag – #chickcam.
 
The campaign was a great way to further tie the brand to Easter. Integrating the live stream to social media channels increased reach further and engaged followers by involving them in the naming of the chicks.
 
Eggstra important websites
 
This year, Co-operative Food celebrates its new range of Loved by Us premium Easter eggs with a new website (https://www.easterlovedbyus.com/) along with digital and social media advertising. The website includes an ‘eggspert bar’ and an interactive egg comparison. The comparisons are tongue-in-cheek: describing the engineering of the eggs and giving details of the ingredients and even the thickness of the chocolate! The eggs are also showcased on social media with the hashtag #coopeasterhunt, alongside various other Easter posts.
 
Whatever the product or service you are marketing, there are various ways to use digital – what will you do?

Happy Easter!

Asda image: https://www.thedrum.com 

Happy Egg Co image: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXN5CSiv2Wo  

Main image: Co-operative Food https://www.easterlovedbyus.com/

Muckle Media is excited to be working with taxi booking app GetTaxi for its UK PR and marketing activity outside of London. The app operates in 32 cities across the world and allows users to instantly book and track black taxis.

 
Read the full story on PR Week: https://www.prweek.com/article/1338075/gettaxi-appoints-muckle-media-regional-uk-pr-brief