Media Matters Q1 2008

Welcome!

Fortunately, we have a lot of good material to work with! Not only has our client SearchFlow just won a prestigious award for being one of the "Best Companies" for employee satisfaction, but our client Security Risk Management (SRM) has recently announced that the firm will be working closely with a number of big-name UK charities this year, in order to bring their security measures in line with the latest industry standards. At CBC, we have also tried to do our own bit for charity, and recently volunteered our PR skills to promote a creative fundraiser that was organised to help the victims of last year's cyclone in Bangladesh.

We'd also like to take this opportunity to welcome back a couple of companies who have returned to become "new" clients again! It's great to have long-term relationships with companies like these, and to know that they are happy to keep coming back whenever they need us. We'd also like to wish good luck to our long-term client Shahid Azeem (the recent star of the television show Millionaire's Mission, as well as a director of ArcomIT), who is running the marathon in support of the YMCA. If you would like to sponsor Shahid, please go to www.justgiving.com/shahidazeem.

The spring also happens to be a very popular time of year for trade shows, and Andrew and Uli have both been on exciting adventures to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and also to CeBIT in order to support different clients. With so many clients attending these shows and others this year, we have put some Top Networking Tips on our web site, so that we can help anyone attending these events to maximise their time there.

You'll find details of all of these stories - and more - below.

CBC Client News - SearchFlow named as one of the "Best Companies" to work for in 2008

Since CBC is essentially an extension of SearchFlow's in-house marketing team, we also benefit from - and appreciate - the strong focus on employee relations that SearchFlow consistently demonstrates. This approach has allowed our companies to form a very strong relationship, as we both have very similar values when it comes to staff.

"We are delighted to be working with Chaz and his team. In a relatively short space of time, they have got under the skin of our business and have achieved a deep understanding of our market and how we need to best position ourselves to drive response and recognition," says David Kempster, Marketing manager for SearchFlow (pictured on the right in the photo). "CBC provides the right blend of skills, informality and professionalism to get the results we need. I have been very pleased with the level of proactive support and swift and effective response to our needs, through a very rapid and changeable time in the evolution of our business."

Following news of SearchFlow's "Best Companies" award, CBC was able to place a full-page company profile of SearchFlow in HR Management International Digest, which is an essential information resource for human resource managers all across the globe.

CBC also has some news to announce in the HR arena, as we have just passed our re-assessment with Investors in People (IIP), an accreditation that we have held for nearly nine years. We were also short-listed for the "Best Workplace" category during the Guildford Style awards in January 2008.

So it seems that SearchFlow and CBC are definitely "on the same page" when it comes to people development. In addition, SearchFlow has just signed a brand new 12-month contract with CBC, so we are delighted to confirm that our companies will be working together for some time to come!

And some more good news...

"When people give money to charity, they are putting a lot of faith in that organisation. In fact, the entire relationship is built on trust," says David Ripper, IT Manager Sue Ryder Care. "It is absolutely essential that we do everything that we can to maintain that trust, which is why we are working with security specialists SRM to help us to keep our data secure while ensuring we meet compliance regulations."

Marie Curie's community nurses also have access to a wealth of confidential patient information, which is subject to strict controls by the NHS. As such, certain conditions must be met if Marie Curie to be able to connect to N3, the new broadband communications network for the NHS. SRM is helping Marie Curie to move towards meeting these requirements, as well.

For more client news, feel free to visit the News section of our web site anytime! And for our own clients, remember: we want your news! Encourage all of your employees to send any company news, story ideas, or other developments to chazb@chazb.com so that we can include it in our next newsletter.

CBC unveils the next edition of The Surrey Research Park News

After speaking to readers and working closely with Dr Malcolm Parry, Director of The Surrey Research Park, this next issue also features a new, high-impact design.

"Design is quite often the first thing that readers notice, so revamping web sites, brochures, and newsletters is often an excellent way of refreshing your marketing materials," says CBC Director Mandy Brooks. "We are really proud of this next edition of The Surrey Research Park News, especially as it manages to reflect the needs of the readers, whilst at the same time ensuring that the Park and the companies featured in the magazine will benefit in terms of their own marketing objectives."

If you would like to receive a copy of the Surrey Research Park News, or would like to speak to us about how we could help with your own newsletter or company magazine, then feel free to contact us today.

The WOW factor!

• A highly positive review of our client's new digital TV recorder in The Guardian
• A profile of our client placed in Estate Agency Times, prompting the company's Chief Executive to contact CBC with a very positive email to express his gratitude
• Placing a case study for a CBC client in the company's number one target publication
• Securing a live interview on BBC radio for one of our charity contacts, after which our client emailed: "[We] so appreciate your support with this kind of exposure. This is just the kind of platform we need to build in order to realise our fund raising objectives. [It's] so good to know that you are there."
• Securing meetings with a number of leading analysts for a client at the recent Mobile World Congress - less than 24 hours after the client requested these meetings!
• Arranging and conducting an exclusive survey for The Law Society Gazette on behalf of one of our clients working in the property sector
• Identifying a number of key industry and financial awards, and then submitting winning entries for our client in the Deloitte Top 10 and Sunday Times Tech Track awards.
• Placing a contributed article from a CBC client into Charities Management, and therefore allowing our client to comment on a key issue, in a key publication, to a key audience

PR spotlight this month: Integrated Marketing - what is it, and why do I need it?

Instead, we focused our efforts - and the client's budget - on areas where we could gain maximum impact with minimum expense. For example, in the first three months of the campaign, we prepared three separate press releases for the firm's target media. This steady flow of information is very important, especially at the beginning of an integrated campaign.

In addition to the press activity, a series of targeted sales letters were distributed to both potential and existing customers, and several high profile reader competitions were placed in a number key publications. Competitions and reader offers are often overlooked when it comes to planning PR strategy, but these tactics can be extremely effective. For the cost of whatever prize the company chooses to donate, the sponsor company is essentially provided with direct access to its target audience.

Company newsletters can also play a key part in an integrated marketing campaign, and many of CBC's clients have decided to pursue this option as well. Imagine the impact of receiving a sales letter on the same day that you've read about the company in the newspaper, noticed its reader offer in a magazine, and received its latest newsletter in your email inbox. The result can be very powerful.

Of course, the difficult part here is timing, but coordinating all of these different activities is an achievable goal. And that is the beauty of integrated marketing: although it requires time and attention to detail, it won't break the bank, which means that it is a viable strategy for virtually any company to pursue.

Industry News: New report says that conflict management can make or break reputations

"The findings of this survey reaffirm what public relations professionals have known instinctively for some time: that everything an organisation says and does impacts on its reputation and how it is seen by others," says Colin Farrington, Director General of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

"The role of public relations is to build and manage the long-term relationships on which organisations' reputations depend, which is why it is so vital," he added. "It is also why public relations should be placed at the heart of an organisation's business strategy. Conflict can't always be avoided but whether an organisation's reputation stands or falls as a result is probably less to do with the particular situation and more to do with how that organisation manages its business and communications strategy generally."

CBC News: Chaz and the team volunteer their PR expertise to raise funds for cyclone victims in Bangladesh

Although Shah had organised other fundraising events, on this occasion he sought advice from CBC, as we have a great deal of experience managing large-scale charity projects. As a result, CBC volunteered to manage a regional press campaign for the Charity Curry Night. Articles and reports about the "UK's largest Curry Night" were not only published on websites, in the local press, and on local radio, but also on regional TV news broadcasts. To involve even more people, and to spread the idea to other counties, Chaz contacted the trade magazine Masala Monthly and the Editor has now begun a campaign to replicate the evening in other areas of the UK. As a result, two more counties have already run similar evenings to raise funds for the communities hit in Bangladesh.

All of these efforts have resulted in an initial result of £55,000 raised from the night in Surrey, with more still to come - a figure that represents over £1,000 for each participating restaurant. The event was supported by regular curry-goers and others from all sectors of the community who came out to have a fantastic evening - we thank all of them for their generous support.

We hope that you have found our newsletter to be of interest. Of course, do not hesitate to contact us on 01483 537890 with any questions or for any assistance you may need. You can also email me at chazb@chazb.com

In the meantime, we wish you all the best for a busy spring!

With kind regards,

Chaz Brooks