My week at Brandspankin'

I’m Chloe and for the past week I’ve been an intern at Brandspankin’. I recently left Pendle Vale College after completing my GCSEs and will be going onto study A-levels at Nelson & Colne College.

I have always had an interest in journalism, and hope to pursue a career in the industry, so being having experience working in an environment that journalists liaise with is incredibly useful. I’ve learnt about branding and how important it is for businesses because it reflects what they stand for, as well as what services they provide and who they are.

I’ve also learnt how to write news articles and had a handful published on ismonthly.com, which I am extremely happy about. Having experience writing articles is incredibly useful, because as I write more, it will mean my writing style will improve. All the articles have been on social media and focus on what effects social media can have on businesses.

Like most teenagers, I use social networking sites almost daily. I believe they are great ways to express opinions on a range of subjects, from big issues like politics to films and music. However, Brandspankin’ have taught me that social media can also be used by businesses to gain exposure for themselves and to reach out to their consumers.

Social networking sites now offer insights for their business pages which allow them to see the interactivity of the people who’ve liked the page, and when they are online- which allows the business to schedule their posts to when most of their consumers are online in order to have the maximum response and reach from their posts.

The combination of branding, journalistic writing and use of social media are necessary to fully understand the Marketing, PR and journalism industries, as all three are entwined with each other and rely on each other constantly.

Burnley’s aerospace giant smashes environmental target

Aircelle seven years ahead of target

BURNLEY-based aerospace giant Safran Aircelle has met an ambitious environmental objective seven years ahead of target and now sends none of the waste from its Burnley plant to landfill sites.

The company is the biggest private sector employer in Burnley with over 1,000 people employed at their site. This sees the business generate lots of waste material that includes anything from office waste materials like paper, card and toner cartridges – right through to scrap materials including metals.

The scheme was suggested to Aircelle by Graeme Cumpsty of GS Facilities Management, with the aim of the business sending 0 per cent of its waste to landfill by 2020. The total waste generated by the site peaked in recent years at just over 500 tonnes per year.

Up until April 2013, Aircelle working with G.S. Facilities Management Ltd were achieving an average of 95 per cent recycling of waste produced. Since May 2013 the business has been achieving 100 per cent recycling following the introduction of the waste to energy process.

Janis Murphy Aircelle’s Health, Safety & Environment Manager, said: “We’re delighted that we’ve hit our environmental objective seven years ahead of target. That’s potentially 3,500 tonnes of waste material that would have otherwise gone into landfill. It’s a demonstration of the fact that we are hugely committed to our community and that we take our social and environmental responsibilities very seriously!”

Stephane Cueille, Aircelle’s Managing Director, added: “Our objective is to make Aircelle a profitable business, whilst meeting our social and environmental obligations. Recently, we’ve been stressing our strength as a team – and this is an excellent example of what we can achieve. It’s a very positive development and I’m proud of the team’s efforts!”

Pendle Witch Walk

We were delighted with the culmination of all our efforts a couple of weekends ago, when we saw 1,300 people attended the Pendle Witch Walk. We believe that the Burnley and Pendle area has a rich heritage and enjoys some of the best countryside that the UK has to offer, so to have half of the attendees come from outside the area was something we’re really pleased about. Of those attending approximately 850 did the walk, we broke the world record for the biggest gathering of witches, with 482 people in the appropriate attire as outlined by Guinness (i.e. Black wide brimmed pointy hat, Black full length cloak, Broomstick) and most importantly, we have raised over £30,000 for Pendleside Hospice. We also generated positive media attention from all over the world – the US, India – even Armenia! Radio 4 and Radio 5 also did pieces about the event, as well as television coverage from BBC, Granada and CNN. We were delighted with the outcome because we’d sought from the outset to demonstrate that Pendle is a beautiful place to live with its wonderful countryside and fantastic heritage. On the morning of the event artist Philippe Handford produced the “1612” guerrilla installation in 500ft numerals on the side of Pendle Hill. We supported Philippe’s efforts and generated some positive press for the project – and one of our team was up on Pendle Hill at 5:30am helping to create what was one of the defining images of the day! The music event after the walk featured Shaun Russell (swing, big band), Lancashire Sinfonietta, Nelson Arion male voice choir, Leyland Brass and Vicky and the Big Combo (motown and soul). Brandspankin’ MD and Pendle Witch Walk organiser, Julian Jordan said: “The day was a massive success – we had great weather, we broke the world record and we raised a huge sum for Pendleside Hospice, so we’d like to put on record our gratitude for all the magnificent support we received.”

Oohh now that looks useful...

Having our lead designer currently located on the other side of the world, Sydney to be exact has caused one or two logistical issues, but they’ve been easily surmountable with modern technology, and there have been many benefits. I wake in the morning eager to find out what she’s done or what interesting new little thing she’s found or discovered and sent me during the night. It’s like waking up to a little present every day!

This morning I got up and along with the finished artwork for a clients ad, she’s also sent me a link to this little blog she’d found and thought I should share it with you as well. It does what it says on the tin – 101 most useful websites. It’s from January this year and previews the most useful from 2011, so some have fallen by the way side, but the author has updated where he can at the end. The sites all solve one problem really well and all are there to help us ‘improve our productivity’. But I’ve just spent the past half hour looking at them all, when I should really have been doing the VAT, so my productivity has probably dipped slightly because of it. However next time I need to generate some random numbers for a prize draw or a lottery I may be holding I’ll know to go to http://www.random.org or if I want a less confusing view of time zones I know to go to http://www.everytimezone.com

Seriously though there are some excellent sites here, no doubt you’ll all have heard of some of them but there’s bound to be at least one that makes you go “Oohh now that looks useful”. Go on have a look http://bit.ly/handytips

MeganBrown.co.uk appoints Brandspankin’ to manage media relations

NEWLY launched online gift store MeganBrown.co.uk has appointed Lancashire-based Brandspankin’ to manage media relations and build awareness.

The Shropshire-based business focuses on selling unique and often handmade gift products that are made in Britain - such as natural bath & body products and handmade chocolates, jewellery and homewares.

To date the business has already built an impressive list of suppliers including Savonnerie London, Clifton Cakes, Hurley Burley and Gillian Kyle.

With recent research demonstrating that more than a third of consumers would buy British if it was made easier, Megan Brown's promise of only sourcing unique gifts that are made in Britain is set to benefit millions.

Building awareness around key values, along with driving online traffic and promoting sales were all considerations in appointing an agency.

Megan Brown said: “We’re delighted to have appointed Brandspankin’ to manage PR for us. They are vastly experienced in successfully delivering public relations campaigns and they share our values and commitment to the idea of promoting British design and manufacture.”

Jacqueline Jordan, Director of Brandspankin’, said: “It’s fantastic to be working with MeganBrown.co.uk. They support the British designers and manufacturers who understand the UK market best and are renowned for their creativity and innovation. It’s the perfect site to visit for birthdays, for mother’s day, or just for a beautifully handcrafted indulgence!”

Pendle Witch Walkers set to be world record breakers!

Guinness World Records™ endorse record number of witches attempt!

A HUGE Charity event planned to coincide with the 400^th anniversary of the Pendle Witch Trials in August is set to break a world record for the biggest ever gathering of “witches”!

Pendle Witch Walk, taking place on August 18^th – the exact date of the infamous trials - has been approved by Guinness World Records™ as an official world record attempt. And with over 2,000 attendees expected in witch-themed fancy dress, organisers are confident that they’ll claim the record!

The event itself is a 5-mile circular sponsored walk from the beautiful Lancashire village of Barley – the epicentre of so-called Lancashire Witch Country!

The walk will take in the summit of Pendle Hill – which in itself is emblematic of both Lancashire and witchcraft, as well as being a site of reverence for both Pagans and Quakers!

Simon Tattersall, one of the organisers of the event, said: “It’s great news that Pendle Witch Walk has been recognised by Guinness World Records™ as a World Record attempt. Clearly, that means we need as many people as possible to visit the website (www.pendlewitchwalk.co.uk) and register to join the festivities – then of course, attend the event in witch-style fancy dress.”

“We only announced the launch locally a couple of weeks ago and the levels of interest have been staggering - we’ve already had dozens of people register for the walk, the website traffic has been phenomenal, plus we have 250 Facebook followers and 700 on Twitter!”

“We’re hoping for a great event and a truly memorable day. The world record attempt for the greatest gathering of “witches” will give everybody’s efforts an undisputable measure of achievement. It will bring huge attention to the Burnley and Pendle area and our tumultuous history, but more to the point we hope that via their sponsors, walkers will raise in excess of £50,000 for Pendleside Hospice.”

Why you should probably NOT spend money on print advertising!

IF YOUR business is a start-up, or just a small business, you face the challenge of managing your limited resources whilst trying to generate a return.

In difficult economic circumstances, winning new business – even generating leads can be hard. Then there’s the question of building awareness more broadly, to ensure that when prospects make a “buying decision”, your business is front of mind.

It’s usually when you’re toying with these imponderables that the phone rings and some slick-talking smoothie says that the publication he works for has an available page, they’re due to go to print imminently and out of the goodness of his heart, he thought he’d offer it to you at a very reasonable discount. Yes, that old chestnut!

Well, I’m not suggesting that you say NO to every one of these media-sales types…just 99.9 per cent of them. Brass is better in your pocket than theirs!

In short, here’s my advice regarding how to respond when approached to buy advertising space:-

- Ask if their circulation is audited by ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulation). If it’s a radio ad, the equivalent organisation that audits radio listener figures is called RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research)

- If they say they don’t have these metrics, but offer a “Publisher Statement”, there may be little basis to whatever they claim as their circulation. Ask them to qualify the figure by giving you their print run.

- Ensure that they offer you a detailed demographic statement regarding listeners/readers. Ask yourself if this demographic is really who you need to be selling to.

- Ask them if they have successfully advertised a business offering services like yours previously. Can they qualify this? Ask them what return on your investment you might expect. If this is answered in a woolly fashion, ask them if they have case studies from businesses comparable to your own. Or better still, ask if you can have the contact details of an advertiser who has gained a measurable return on their investment from advertising with them.

- If at any point when you ask these sorts of things, you are given prevarication or evasiveness, it suggests they can’t give you the assurances you need before you part with your money.

I was with a client recently when a salesperson from a lifestyle publication turned up. She flannelled through most of the stuff I’ve outlined, so I asked her to do a “taster” deal - and that if it worked my client would commit to a series of adverts. The taster I suggested was a free one page ad for my client and he’d pay them half of the profit he generated from any leads the ad generated. Suffice to say, she declined. More to the point, since then neither I nor my client have been approached by the publication. This speaks volumes about their confidence in their product to do anything beyond vanity advertising.

In fairness, you might want to advertise for reasons other than straightforward lead generation, such as long-term awareness building. In which case, at the very least this approach should get you access to better than rate-card prices.

Finally, as a test of a publication’s commitment to giving you a deal that actually works, why not ask them to publish a press release for you? If you get a response to your story, it’s reasonable to assume that if you advertise with them you might see a response too!

Pendle Pub Walk Top 20

Greetings Pendle Pub Walk pop pickers!

Brandspankin’ is very proud of its sponsorship of Pendle Pub Walk and tomorrow’s walk is set to be the biggest and best yet, with over 500 walkers covering the 10 mile route.

We’re hoping for good weather, but a few summer showers won’t dampen the spirits – especially if you tuck into a pint or two of Spellbinder – the special ale produced for by event sponsor Moorhouse’s Brewery.

In the meantime, here’s our Pendle Pub Walk Top 20 – listen to this tune - whilst reading the following...not ‘arf!

1. These Boots Were Made for Walking - Nancy Sinatra
2. Zippin’ up my boots (Going back to my roots) - Richie Havens
3. I would walk 500 miles - The Proclaimers
4. Running up that Hill - Kate Bush
5. Walk On By - Dionne Warwick
6. Walking in the Rain - The Ronettes
7. Walking on sunshine - Katrina and the Waves
8. You'll Never Walk Alone - Gerry and the Pacemakers
9. I Can See For Miles - The Who
10. Hurry up Harry (we're going down the pub) - Sham69
11. Walk This Way – Aerosmith
12. Run to the hills – iron Maiden
13. I walk the line – Johnny Cash
14. Walking back to happiness – Helen Shapiro
15. Walk on the wild side – Lou Reid
16. Don’t walk away Renee – The Four Tops
17. Walk of Life – Dire Straights
18. Walking On Sunshine - Rocker's Revenge
19. (You Got To Walk And) Don't Look Back - The Rolling Stones
20. Raindrops keep falling on my head – BJ Thomas

Funded PR & Social Media Marketing Courses are back!!

We have managed to access limited match funding for clients who want to come on our PR & Social Media Marketing Course. Total cost is £500 + VAT (£250 of which will be funded). Funds and places are limited, so please call us now to register your interest on 01282 878 301.

Our training courses have been extremely popular and have had a brilliant response from attendees – we guarantee that if you do the course and implement our advice, you’ll get a measurable return on your investment!

The Brandspankin’ PR and social media marketing course trains your business to:-

• Formulate key messages properly

• Write a compelling, “media-ready” press release

• Formulate an objectives-based Comms/Marketing plan that locks your

marketing activity into your Business Plan

• Understand the requirements of journalists and publication editors

• Use a series of freely available tools to monitor and measure the success of

your campaigns

• Understand how to optimise and best utilise your presence on social media

sites including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube and Foursquare.

• Use a variety of online PR resources to self-publish your news releases

• Use blogging platforms to self-publish

• Massively enhance your online presence – so-called “Digital Asset Optimisation”

• Significantly increase traffic to your website

• Significantly increase profitability

SIMCAM Stan catches nuisance knocker in the act!

Disabled Stan's ingenious wireless camera system foils phantom nuisance

AN ELDERLY pensioner at a Hull Residential Home has slept soundly for the first time in five years, thanks to an ingenious system that is the brainchild of a disabled entrepreneur!

The pensioner had been plagued by a malicious door knocker for the past five years and had barely had an unbroken night’s sleep. However, thanks to Stan Glover’s SIMCAM the problem is now a thing of the past.

“I have been plagued with a phantom door knocker for the past five years”, she said. “Thanks to that new camera they daren’t knock anymore!”

Stan’s clever device came about after he suffered a massive stroke in July 2008. He was told he would probably never regain his mobility, but plucky Stan, 58, decided to prove doctors wrong and teach himself to walk again. After a fall whilst teaching himself to walk again, Stan almost fallen into the fire and his wife worried about even going to the shops and leaving him alone.

The experience inspired Stan to come up with SIMCAM - a small, portable, alarm remote camera powered by battery or mains and fitted with a SIM card, allowing it to call mobile phones or send emails. The ingenious solution costs a fraction of orthodox CCTV systems and comes with a remote key fob, meaning that if a disabled user falls it activates the alarm/camera.

Solving the mystery of the malicious door knocker is the latest in a series of successful applications for Stan’s SIMCAM device. The SIMCAM has also alerted Nursing home staff to the unauthorised presence of a young Male at 5:45am one morning recently. The Nursing home Manager has the images and expects to identify the person involved.

Andy Rollins, Contracts Manager from 24-7 Security Systems Hull, said: “Our Company had been asked to patrol this area to see if we could apprehend this vicious nuisance knocker. The lady’s life had been made a misery, being woken up at all hours of the night by loud banging on her door.”

He added. “We heard about SIMCAMS and Stan came out in person to show the full range of products. We immediately purchased one of each of his Alert cameras and simply located it near the lady’s door, set it remotely via our mobile for infrared motion detection and lo and behold at 2.30 am that night an alert by text was received on the patrol guard’s mobile. The SIMCAM had taken 8 pictures showing the individual in the act of knocking on this lady’s door.”

Karl Crossland, Managing Director of 24-7 added: “It really does give you peace of mind. We now have images transferred from e-mail to a cd-rom which can be used in evidence.”

“The Nursing home has been shown the evidence. We feel this will be the end of the matter and we will no longer be required to patrol. For less than £200.00 we solved a five year long problem. I think we will be using quite a few of SIMCAMS products!”

SIMCAM Stan catches nuisance knocker in the act!

Disabled Stan's ingenious wireless camera system foils phantom nuisance

AN ELDERLY pensioner at a Hull Residential Home has slept soundly for the first time in five years, thanks to an ingenious system that is the brainchild of a disabled entrepreneur!

The pensioner had been plagued by a malicious door knocker for the past five years and had barely had an unbroken night’s sleep. However, thanks to Stan Glover’s SIMCAM the problem is now a thing of the past.

“I have been plagued with a phantom door knocker for the past five years”, she said. “Thanks to that new camera they daren’t knock anymore!”

Stan’s clever device came about after he suffered a massive stroke in July 2008. He was told he would probably never regain his mobility, but plucky Stan, 58, decided to prove doctors wrong and teach himself to walk again. After a fall whilst teaching himself to walk again, Stan almost fallen into the fire and his wife worried about even going to the shops and leaving him alone.

The experience inspired Stan to come up with SIMCAM - a small, portable, alarm remote camera powered by battery or mains and fitted with a SIM card, allowing it to call mobile phones or send emails. The ingenious solution costs a fraction of orthodox CCTV systems and comes with a remote key fob, meaning that if a disabled user falls it activates the alarm/camera.

Solving the mystery of the malicious door knocker is the latest in a series of successful applications for Stan’s SIMCAM device. The SIMCAM has also alerted Nursing home staff to the unauthorised presence of a young Male at 5:45am one morning recently. The Nursing home Manager has the images and expects to identify the person involved.

Andy Rollins, Contracts Manager from 24-7 Security Systems Hull, said: “Our Company had been asked to patrol this area to see if we could apprehend this vicious nuisance knocker. The lady’s life had been made a misery, being woken up at all hours of the night by loud banging on her door.”

He added. “We heard about SIMCAMS and Stan came out in person to show the full range of products. We immediately purchased one of each of his Alert cameras and simply located it near the lady’s door, set it remotely via our mobile for infrared motion detection and lo and behold at 2.30 am that night an alert by text was received on the patrol guard’s mobile. The SIMCAM had taken 8 pictures showing the individual in the act of knocking on this lady’s door.”

Karl Crossland, Managing Director of 24-7 added: “It really does give you peace of mind. We now have images transferred from e-mail to a cd-rom which can be used in evidence.”

“The Nursing home has been shown the evidence. We feel this will be the end of the matter and we will no longer be required to patrol. For less than £200.00 we solved a five year long problem. I think we will be using quite a few of SIMCAMS products!”

New Facebook business pages

Well yesterday was the day! The day Facebook business pages automatically changed over to the new design bringing them more in line with the design and functionality of personal pages. If you haven’t already looked, your business page may look a bit different today when you log on.

So what are the differences?

One of the first things you’ll notice are the tabs have gone from the top of the page. The navigation is now down the left hand side. There on the left...yes there, can you see them? Small aren’t they?!

According to Facebook it’s what we all expect, so that’s where they’re staying. I’m sure at first the ‘navigational links’ will not get used as often as the tabs were – which could mean lost opportunities, but it does mean we’ll have to be a bit more creative in letting people know about them and, like everything else in life, after a while what once seemed new, weird and different will become second nature.

Another change that will take some getting used to is the fact that wall posts now go through a filtering system and are no longer shown in chronological order. This can be very annoying and confusing, especially for admins - and comments left on facebook’s help pages certainly seem to bear this out. A post made by an admin yesterday for instance could show further down the page than a comment a fan made last week, AND it’s different for different visitors.

Why have they done this you may ask? It’s confusing for you as an admin but apparently not for your fans or visitors. It allows the posts to be more relevant, in a social capacity – rather than placing the most popular post at the top. It also ties in with how many, if any, of your friends have interacted with, commented or liked a post. This is a social network after all and by doing this they are given greater preference to more ‘social posts’ rather than the “shouty” sales pitch that we may want to deliver. But again it just means we have to be more creative and engage with our visitors a bit more, which aint necessarily a bad thing.

Whilst some might see the changes listed so far as negative there are some good amendments. You can now ‘like’ a page and ‘comment’ on wall posts of pages that you have liked. This means that you can go off and find relevant pages to your business and ‘like’ them, which will then show up on the left side of the profile page, under your tiny navigational links, and will rotate with each page refresh. Then, as long as their wall is set to open where others can post freely, you can “like” posts, leave a comment, or post something up yourself. But be careful not to fall into the trap of liking dozens of other businesses and posting comments everywhere just so you get in front of loads of people. This could and should be seen as spammy and could get you banned and cause more brand damage than it’s worth. Think about what and where you post and don’t do it just for the sake of it.

There are other more techy changes to get your head around too, but from what I’m told these are going to make things a lot easier. So, gone is FBML and in comes iFrames. Anything using FBML previously will still be ok, but as of today you’re going to have use iFrames. This, should open up a whole range of possibilities. You can basically put some content onto your website, ensuring its 520px wide, and then embed that page into a relevant navigational link (tab).

And that’s about it really. I could go on and talk about the five thumbnail pictures you’ll see at the top of the page or the fact you can see the activity summary when you log in or about spam monitoring or the fact you can now feature administrators to give your business page a more personal feel...or...or...or, but I think I’ll leave it there for now and let you discover the rest for yourself. Feel free to get back to us with any tips or hints on the new Facebook business pages and we’ll post them for everybody’s benefit!

Jac

NEWS RELEASE: Pendle Pub Walk set to be bigger than ever!

ROTARIANS from Burnley Pendleside Club have announced the 3nd annual Pendle Pub Walk, and this year’s sponsored charity event promises to be the biggest yet!

The 10 mile circular walk – scheduled for Saturday 18^th June - will begin in Barley and pass through some of Pendle's most stunning scenery, stopping off at some of the area’s finest pubs as waypoints. This year’s walk is set to raise money for Pendleside Hospice – a very worthy cause that is close to the hearts of thousands of people across east Lancashire.

Grahame Trudgill one of the organisers of the walk, said: “The event gives people an opportunity to enjoy a summer walk through wonderful scenery and in the company of friends and family. It’s also a really good opportunity to meet lots of new people – I was really struck by the atmosphere and camaraderie at last year’s event, as people walked together chatting and stopping off for drinks on the way round.”

“This year’s walk is going to raise money for Pendleside Hospice. So many of us have a connection with the Hospice and everybody is touched by their dedication and the wonderful service they deliver to our community – so I’d urge as many people as possible to get involved.”

People interested in either participating in the walk or sponsoring walkers should visit the website set up especially for the walk - www.pendlepubwalk.co.uk. Organisers say that everyone is welcome on the walk - registration is open and costs just £10.

Last year's event saw 150 walkers raise over £6,000 for Derian House Children’s Hospice and The Prostate Cancer Charity.

Burnley Business sweeps the board at last night’s Oscars

Oscars accolade for Burnley’s global leader in sound engineering

A BURNLEY based digital technology business specialising in sound engineering last night enjoyed huge success at the Oscars.

The prestigious ceremony – watched by a global TV audience in excess of 150 million people - saw massive success for films associated with AMS Neve. Winners that used AMS Neve’s technology included The King's Speech, Inception, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, Black Swan, Alice in Wonderland and True Grit.

Notably, Inception won 2 Oscars that are especially pertinent to AMS Neve, given their expertise - Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing. The sound for Inception was produced on the AMS Neve 88RS analogue audio console at Air Lyndhurst (London) and also on the AMS Neve DFC Gemini console at Warner Bros. (Los Angeles).

AMS Neve enjoys global renown in the ultra high-end feature film scoring and mixing environments, the post-production and broadcast industries, as well as in professional and project music studios.

From their headquarters in Burnley, Lancashire the business employs a team of world class analogue and digital designers, software specialists and audio purists who over the years have been at the cutting edge of the advancement and evolution of professional audio products.

AMS Neve founder and Managing Director, Mark Crabtree said: “We’re delighted to see so many films that use AMS Neve technology winning at this year’s Oscars. It’s a great testament to the quality of our work and the dedication of our people. We see ourselves as inheritors of Burnley’s tradition of engineering excellence.”

“This is a great accolade for AMS Neve and for Burnley’s high tech and digital sector. I hope this will support the work of the Burnley Bondholders group, as we transform perceptions and establish Burnley as a destination for investment opportunities, relocation and tourism.”

---ENDS---

Local girl joins Brandspankin PR and Marketing Agency

EARBY lass Madeline Horth is the newest member of the Nelson-based marketing and public relations agency BrandSpankin’.

Madeline, a final year public relations student at UCLAN University is on track for a 2:1 degree and will work as a marketing and public relations executive with the business.

Madeline has a passion for public relations and is immensely enthusiastic about her work. Whilst studying for a BTEC Media at Craven College in Skipton Madeline achieved the ITV Yorkshire television award for outstanding student of the year.

This will be a great experience for Madeline and give her an insight to the working world. Madeline said: “I am really excited to work with Brandspankin’ - it is such a fantastic opportunity and the people I am working with have lots of experience in the field so I will be able to learn a lot from them.”

Madeline’s dream job is to move to Dubai and ultimately have her own public relations agency.


ENDS

33 and counting for Harry Garlick’s Long Player!

OUR client,electrical retailer, Harry Garlick is set to celebrate the big 33 for its very own Long Player!
But that’s not 33rpm like a vinyl LP – it’s 33 years with the business for longest serving employee Ian Heald, the manager of Harry Garlick’s Barnoldswick branch.

Iain first joined the business in 1978 after he left school and for 28 years worked at the Burnley branch, starting on the shop floor and working his way up to be the branch manager.

He admits that keeping up with the latest developments in technology gets harder as you get older, but he recalls fondly the first thing that he sold - an Ultra Music Centre, that in 1978 cost a whopping £189 – which was the equivalent of three weeks wages for most people!

“It was a music centre,” Iain recalled, “so it was a record deck, a tape recorder and radio - like a radio gram. It was expensive at the time, but now you’d get that type of equipment for next to nothing. At the time it was cutting edge and the thing to have.”

“Things have moved on a lot, because nowadays the thing to have would be wifi equipment, so people can have music all round their house wirelessly.”

Harry Garlick may have diversified into many areas of consumer electronics, but they have a long association with television. Ian says that this is another area where things have progressed tremendously.

“3D is the latest thing in TV, but I can remember in the 1980’s when people were shown 3D and they had to wear green and red glasses. The picture quality was awful and people still think of that. It’s changed massively - I watched the Ryder cup on 3D and it was amazing. The contours on the green were really visible - it was fantastic.”

Besides the changes in technology, Ian fondly remembers the people and characters that he’s worked with and served down the years. But the funniest incident involved his father.

“He rang to say that my son had ruined his new video recorder. My son had been giving him instructions over the phone on how to set it up. When he put the video in and pressed play it just made a horrible grinding noise and got stuck. I asked how was that my son’s fault and he said, “well he didn’t bloody tell me to take the cellophane off the tape!”. So when people come in and say they’re techno-phobic, I tell them not to worry - they can’t be as bad as my dad!”

One of Ian’s sons now works at Harry Garlick’s Clitheroe branch, so it’s fair to say he’s kept it in the family!

“Harry Garlick is also a family run business, so it’s got a very good atmosphere, which is important to me. Plus I think it helps as customers have a sense of knowing that they can trust us to give good customer service. We’ve kept that friendly, family approach throughout my time here – even with the advent of new technology and an evolving market place. So for example, this Christmas we used our TV to have a family skype call between us in Barlick, my sister’s family in Nottingham and her daughter in Australia. Being able to do that so easily for all the family is just amazing, especially for the older generation is just mind blowing!

NEWS RELEASE: Burnley Bondholders appoint Brandspankin’ for PR brief

National and Regional media targeted to help change perceptions of the town and borough

A CONSORTIUM of Burnley’s largest businesses and organisations has appointed Marketing and PR agency Brandspankin’ to generate positive coverage across national and regional media and promote the Pennine Lancashire town as a great place to live, work, visit and invest.

The Burnley Bondholders group has been working towards transforming perceptions of Burnley for two years and have committed financially to promoting investment opportunities, relocation to the area and tourism.

Kevin Keith, Burnley Brand Manager, said: “Burnley Bondholders are not followers, they are leaders: people and organisations in Burnley who believe passionately that our town is a great place to do business, who believe more of the right people need to know the right things about Burnley, who champion our world-class aerospace industry; our advanced manufacturing expertise; our all-new schools, college and university, and our breathtaking countryside.”
“Brandspankin’ were selected for this important account in part due to their solid track record of delivering media coverage at regional and national level – it is vital more of the right people know the right things about Burnley - but also due to their drive and determination to show the rest of the northwest and beyond, that Burnley is open for business. We are delighted to have them on board.”

In the first twelve months, the Burnley Bondholder scheme has 90 members representing 50 businesses and organisations, including many of the town’s largest and best-known employers, Aircelle, Burnley FC, Veka Plc and Moorhouses Brewery. In addition to supporting promotional work, Bondholders also enhance the pride the people of Burnley feel about their town.


Julian Jordan, Brandspankin’s Managing Director, said: “Brandspankin’ is delighted to be awarded this contract. It means a great deal to me personally. I made a choice to move back up here from London as I felt it was a better place to bring up my kids.”
“We share the confidence that so many world-class companies have in Burnley. We share the determination that pupils, students and teachers have to excel in Burnley’s new schools, colleges and university. We share the delight of visitors who roam our magnificent countryside or stately homes. We share all of this because we are local - this is our place of business, our place of pleasure, our place to prosper, and we are determined to ensure many others can share this too.”

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About Burnley Bondholders

Burnley Bondholder’s are an influential group of organisations, predominantly from the private sector, who believe what is good for Burnley is good for business, and so contribute financially to promoting the Pennine Lancashire town as a place to live, work visit and invest. Bondholders believe more of the right people need to know about Burnley’s world class aerospace industry; new schools, colleges and university; nationally significant industrial heritage, and breathtaking countryside.

NEWS RELEASE: Harry Garlick appoints Brandspankin’ for PR and social media brief

NEWS RELEASE: 20.1.11
Harry Garlick appoints Brandspankin’ for PR and social media brief

ELECTRICAL retailer, Harry Garlick Ltd has this week announced that they have appointed Pendle Marketing business, Brandspankin’ to manage their PR and social media marketing activity.

Having been trading for nearly 60 years, Harry Garlick is one of the best known companies in the East Lancashire and North Yorkshire areas - and besides its retail outlets has a significant online presence.

The company has built a solid reputation for service and reliability and now feels that the full range of its retail offering - and the service it offers - needs to be understood more clearly by a new generation of savvy consumers.

Ian Scothern, Harry Garlick’s Commercial Director, commented: “Over decades we’ve evolved from a TV shop and repair business, to a significant retail player, across the North West and beyond - we’re now one of the top 20 independent retailers in the UK. Our values however, remain as they always were – competitive on price, and excellent on service. To communicate this, we required an agency that understood our business, our customers and our values, so we’re delighted to have appointed Brandspankin’.”

Julian Jordan, Brandspankin’s Managing Director, added: “Harry Garlick is a business with a long track record of excellent service across East Lancashire and North Yorkshire. Besides their retail presence they have 64,000 square feet of warehouse space at their Earby distribution hub and head office. They’re a member of Euronics, the UK’s biggest buying group - all of which means they can offer great deals to people and we’re looking forward to getting that message out there. By using PR and social media marketing, Harry Garlick don’t just provide cutting edge household electrical equipment, they also use cutting edge ways of communicating with their customers and prospects!”



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NEWS RELEASE: Inspirational Stan’s resilience turns adversity into opportunity

Pendle man sets up SIMCAM remote camera business after stroke

A PENDLE man has launched an innovative new remote camera business after having a stroke two years ago.

Stan Glover had led an active and healthy life, having previously been a market manager, but he suffered a massive stroke in July 2008. He was told he would probably never regain his mobility, but plucky Stan, 58, decided to prove doctors wrong and teach himself to walk again.

During this time, Stan was terrified of falling over and not being able to get up again without assistance. His wife worried about even going to the shops and leaving Stan alone, especially after one occasion when he had almost fallen into the fire.

However, the experience actually inspired and motivated Stan, who started researching solutions to the problem. That was when SIMCAM came about - a small, portable, alarm remote camera powered by battery or mains and fitted with a SIM card, allowing it to call mobile phones or send emails. The ingenious solution costs a fraction of orthodox CCTV systems and comes with a remote key fob, meaning that if a disabled user falls it activates the alarm/camera.

“Not only can my wife hear everything the camera hears but she can see everything the camera sees. Also a motion detector is incorporated into it, so they can be used for security purposes too – unauthorised entry of a property protected by a SIMCAM will generate a call to a mobile phone.”

“This allows everything that’s going on to be heard and sends very clear images of the intruder. The image is sent with no time delay, and if the first contact’s phone is turned off, it can call up to ten other numbers,” said Stan.

“I’m determined to make a success of it, but in all honesty, I’d be happy if it only prevented one disabled person from being stuck on the floor for hours after a fall,” he added.

SIMCAM has now spawned several versions – a portable one which is ideal for car security and one with a smoke sensor. Stan has even made SIM-CAMS available on a lease system and can provide a completely independent monitoring service.

“The whole process has given me an impetus. I was determined not to let the stroke beat me and SIMCAMS have been a massive part of that, both in terms of keeping me safe and keeping me active. It’s been a real Phoenix from the flames story – almost literally,” joked Stan.

You can read more about SIMCAM at www.simcams.co.uk

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Notes to Editors:

For further information, comment and photographs contact: Julian Jordan at BrandSpankin’ Ltd

t: 01282 878 301 m: +44 7912 786 947 e: julian@brandspankin.co.uk

About SIMCAMS

SIMCAMS was founded by Stan Glover. The business provides a GSM camera solution that helps people with disabilities and reassures their loved ones. Simcam is the first totally wireless remote camera that can alert you wherever you are in the world.
SIMCAM can alert you of any accidental fall, smoke or unauthorised entry in your own home by calling/text message. It also sends images of anything the camera sees to your mobile phone and e-mail – even in total darkness.

SIMCAM can monitor any movement, perfect for checking on baby or loved one. You can also check by listening in, on YOUR MOBILE, from anywhere in the world, whenever you choose. SIMCAM connects to remote smoke detectors and also door or window sensors too. SIMCAM works in your home, workplace car/caravan/van, inside trucks/wagons, in total darkness. SIMCAM is delivered from England completely set up ready to work, complete with recharger and TWO remote control units, that not only turn SIMCAM on/off but also include an emergency button which activates camera, to alert up to TEN different mobile numbers.

http://www.simcams.co.uk/

NEWS RELEASE: SIMCAMS gives PR brief to Brandspankin’

NEWS RELEASE: 02.12.2010
SIMCAMS gives PR brief to Brandspankin’

SIMCAMS, the North-west based GSM remote camera business has this week announced that it has appointed Pendle agency Brandspankin’ to manage its PR and social media launch campaign.

The business specialises in remote monitoring cameras that are used in a variety of contexts including monitoring elderly or disabled relatives, as well as home and vehicle security.

The business is the branchild of Stan Glover, 58, himself disabled following a stroke. Stan ignored medical opinion and through sheer determination taught himself to walk again. Stan still has mobility issues though and this heightened his concern that people who are old or disabled are vulnerable when alone – falls whilst unattended can leave them unable to raise the alarm or get help. For that reason, Stan conducted research and SIMCAMS was the result.

Stan commented: “My initial motivation was to assist people in circumstances like my own – eventually I want to set up a social enterprise to help provide monitoring services for people with disabilities. However, in the meantime, our solution is proving affordable and popular as a home or vehicle security solution. I hope to see the security side of the business ultimately help me fund the social enterprise.”

“SIMCAMS can alert relatives if somebody has had an accidental fall, if there is smoke in the house or if there’s been an unauthorised entry into your home. It sends images of anything the camera sees to your mobile phone and e-mail. It can work anywhere in the world and it will alert up to ten different mobile numbers. “

“The next step is to get our message out there, so we’ve appointed Brandspankin’ as they have national media experience, but they also have a specialism in social media, which will help us target specific groups where we think our solution will be particularly valuable.”

Julian Jordan, MD of Brandspankin’, said: “Stan’s story and his determination is inspirational. The launch of SIMCAMS will mean that there is an affordable solution that will give a great deal of reassurance to the families of people with disabilities. So, we’re delighted to be working with SIMCAMS and we look forward to significantly raising their profile.”

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Notes to Editors:
For further information, comment and photographs contact: Julian Jordan at BrandSpankin’ Ltd
t: 01282 878 301 m: +44 7912 786 947 e: julian@brandspankin.co.uk

About SIMCAMS
SIMCAMS was founded by Stan Glover. The business provides a GSM camera solution that helps people with disabilities and reassures their loved ones. Simcam is the first totally wireless remote camera that can alert you wherever you are in the world.
SIMCAM can alert you of any accidental fall, smoke or unauthorised entry in your own home by calling/text message. It also sends images of anything the camera sees to your mobile phone and e-mail – even in total darkness.
SIMCAM can monitor any movement, perfect for checking on baby or loved one. You can also check by listening in, on YOUR MOBILE, from anywhere in the world, whenever you choose. SIMCAM connects to remote smoke detectors and also door or window sensors too. SIMCAM works in your home, workplace car/caravan/van, inside trucks/wagons, in total darkness. SIMCAM is delivered from England completely set up ready to work, complete with recharger and TWO remote control units, that not only turn SIMCAM on/off but also include an emergency button which activates camera, to alert up to TEN different mobile numbers. Or our local monitoring service

About Brand Spankin’
BrandSpankin’ is a creative marketing and public relations business based in East Lancashire, offering high quality, affordable marketing services in a friendly and efficient manner. We service businesses from small start-ups to larger enterprises. We have the experience and scale to help you build awareness and win new business. From media relations to graphic design and print, websites and digital marketing - from contract and trade publishing to advertising, our no-nonsense marketing will help your business stand out from the crowd.
To find out more visit www.brandspankin.co.uk