Media Matters Q2 2007

Welcome!

For example, with climate change in the headlines nearly every day at the moment, we are busy promoting the 'green' credentials of several clients who are making a real difference to the environment. At the same time, we have also been working to promote some other important causes on a more local level, including the Save The Royal Surrey Hospital Campaign, as well as the Surrey Centre for Sport initiative, a £33m campaign for a new world-class sports centre at the University of Surrey.

News from CBC: UK employees can still have a "job for life"

At one time, employees who wanted to work for a large organisation - such as a bank or other big corporation - often joined straight out of school/university, and then stayed with the same company until they retired. Although times and working patterns may have changed, it seems that modern workers are now coming full circle, and are once again exploring the possibility of a 'job for life'.

An increasing number of employers - CBC included - are committed to providing a more positive work-life balance, where people have a measure of control over when, where and how they work. More and more, today's employees are expressing a real interest in the possibility of travel, working in different countries, alternating between freelance and salaried positions, and/or trying different career paths within the same company.

CBC has experienced this phenomenon first-hand, with a number our full and part-time British employees now working in the UK, France, and Italy, as both salaried and freelance workers. In fact, high-speed Internet access and low-cost telephony through VoIP have enabled several employees to stay on with us and work remotely, instead of being forced to resign from jobs that they found both challenging and fulfilling.

By catering to our employees' individual needs, we have truly managed to build an experienced, committed, and extremely close-knit workforce that brings diverse experiences and cultures to the mix. The energy, motivation, and commitment that our employees give us as a result really adds a tremendous amount of value to the service that we offer.

CBC helps to publicise the 'green' credentials of its clients

With corporate responsibility now appearing on a growing number of company agendas. businesses are rapidly realising that they have a serious role play in the sustainability of the planet's resources. These environmental concerns, combined with the need to conform to mounting legislation in this area, are fundamentally changing the business landscape in Britain. As a result, we have recently been publicising the 'green' credentials of several of our clients, as the area of environmental awareness and their impact on climate change continue to dominate the news.

At the Surrey Research Park, for example, a number of businesses have joined forces with Surrey County Council to form a Resource Efficiency Club (REC). The aim of the REC is to achieve efficiency savings on items such as electricity, waste and water, and to share best practice across the group. The group was founded by Surrey Research Park residents Detica Plc and BOC, along with the Surrey Research Park's management team.

Our client OB10 has also been instrumental in helping a large number of companies to save resources, by encouraging them to invoice electronically. By using OB10's secure global network to send, receive, and process invoices electronically, companies in the UK and beyond can eliminates the need for printed invoices altogether, and therefore significantly reduces the amount of paper used. In the past year alone, OB10 has electronically processed more than four million transactions, the equivalent of 12 million sheets of paper, weighing more than 60 tons.

Meanwhile, our client Easy Convey is transforming the UK property market by promoting the widespread use of electronic conveyancing: yet another paper-saving initiative. As trailblazers in this area, Easy Convey is currently one of only a few external companies that have been recognised by HMRC to provide conveyancers with a secure method of sending Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) returns online.

Olympic stars turn out to show their support for University of Surrey sports centre project

CBC has been working closely with law firm Charles Russell to support the Surrey Centre for Sport initiative, a £33m campaign for a new world-class sports centre at the University of Surrey, most recently by promoting the inaugural Allan Wells Sports Lecture, which Charles Russell sponsored.

As part of its 40th anniversary celebrations, the University of Surrey launched the lecture series last month at the University of Surrey's School of Management, with an inaugural address from Sir Steve Redgrave. The event was hosted by the BBC's Garry Richardson.

"Charles Russell was delighted to sponsor the Allan Wells Sports Lecture, especially as the feedback afterwards was so positive, and the event itself so well-attended," David Savage, Partner, Charles Russell Guildford office, commented. "We have always been eager to support the University, and through events like these we can now show our support for The Surrey Centre for Sport Campaign, as well."

And finally: A Few PR "Do's and Don'ts" from our PR Fact Sheet on Press Releases

• DO research your target press list carefully, so that you know you are sending your news to an appropriate outlet. Always ask for professional PR advice if you are unsure about which publications to target.
• DO NOT send attachments: if sending a press release by email, just use plain text. It is faster, less prone to viruses, and easier for journalists when searching for keywords
• DO make sure that you know who writes about what, so that you are sending your press release to the right person, and to the right address
• DO NOT phone up a writer or editor to ask: 'Does your magazine cover companies like us?' True PR professionals will know the answer to that question without having to ask
• DO send strong, interesting photos to accompany your press release if you are sending it out in the post
• DO NOT send photos as attachments when sending out a press release via email. Simply mention that they are available on request

For more information on PR "do's and don'ts", check out our series of free downloadable fact sheets.

We hope that you will find these tips useful. Of course, do not hesitate to contact us on 01483 537 890 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 Summer!

With kind regards,

Chaz Brooks