Manchester PR Agency - Smoking Gun

Archive for the ‘Recent Work’ Category

April 2013 in the Smoking Gun Study

Monday, April 29th, 2013

So that was the month that was. In recent weeks we’ve been signing new clients, promoting great campaigns, and, of course, sharing expertise. All in a day’s work.

To kick things off it’s our great pleasure to announce that Smoking Gun will be handling PR responsibilities for Gorilla Glue. The UK arm of America’s toughest adhesive manufacturer is making a serious push into the British market, and we’re delighted to be assisting with social and traditional media support; the start of a strong bond that will hopefully last for some time to come.

In other recent news, our work for the Manchester United Soccer Schools initiative has scored several impressive goals. The Premier League winning side is combining sports coaching with English language lessons, and to help raise awareness our Facebook competition achieved 3.1million page impressions since it launched in March, with 6,658 likes and an engagement level of 52%. Meanwhile, the business goal of increased traffic to its new site was met with a 71% uplift in unique visitors.

We’re currently involved in two extra-curricular activities too. Six Seconds of Illumination- #6seconds- will see students from Salford University’s Design Futures course organise an exhibition for creative business owners and the public, showcasing what Design Thinking means to them. Louise Woodward, Account Director here at Quay Street, is working alongside undergraduates and tutors, offering insight and advice on how to develop the idea.

Staff have also signed up to the Pledge A Pint campaign. Spearheaded by Sam Roden, who was taken critically ill last year and recovered thanks to blood transfusions received at the University Hospital of South Manchester, the idea is to donate blood rather than money in order to back his efforts in a host of events, including the London Marathon. For information on how to get involved click here.

All in all plenty to talk about, and that’s before we mention the superb evening organised by our client, WRG, last week. Dubbed ‘The Unforgettable Year’, a host of high profile speakers, including Media City mastermind (and WRG non-exec) Lord Michael Grade, reflected on Britain’s successes in 2012- from James Bond in Skyfall to the Olympics. Indicative of the host company’s global reputation for nurturing and building brands based on truly memorable ideas, it rounded off a busy period of time in fine and fittingly professional style. Now back to work with us.

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March 2013 in the Smoking Gun study

Thursday, March 28th, 2013

 

So spring never really sprung. Instead we had snowdrifts and sub-zero temperatures. Still, with another two awards, a fantastic new client, more faces joining the team, and a major digital launch, we’ve had plenty to do indoors.

First up, we’re delighted to welcome onboard Beth Livesey, our new Account Executive, who brings with her impressive experience working for major consumer leisure brands. A perfect addition to help with the rather sizeable office workload following a string of successful pitches, it’s our pleasure to have her take up a desk and start beavering away on her Mac.

That’s not our only new signing, either. Smoking Gun PR is now handling PR duties for Manchester United Soccer Schools. Offering football training, unprecedented access to the world’s most illustrious league side, and English language lessons in conjunction with Oxford University Press, we’re happy to add another global brand to our burgeoning list of clients. Check out the global Facebook competition we’ve currently launched to find the School’s first ambassador.

Animal lovers are likely to be interested in two more of our recent client wins. Mysocialpetwork has now arrived in the UK after its German inception and does exactly what it says on the tin. From rats to cats, rabbits to horses, the new social network has already proved popular with pet owners and we’re predicting much more growth as the months go by. Meanwhile, a host of national media coverage and a slick video talent competition for Crufts evidenced how good a job we did with publicity for The Kennel Club’s legendary dog show.

All of which just about leaves enough space to mention that we picked up no less than two awards at the Golden Hedgehog ceremony in Manchester earlier this month. Our work for Nissan Shows It Cares picked up Best Consumer PR Campaign of the Year, meanwhile our celebrated staff took home Small Agency of the Year. More hard-earned success, it’s deserving of a pat on the back, albeit all hands are currently on deck representing the brands we love. Back to it then…

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2012 in the Smoking Gun study

Wednesday, December 19th, 2012

What a few weeks. Recent times here on Quay Street have seen award wins, more nominations, and, of course, plenty of media coverage. Impressive, even if we do say so ourselves, nevertheless it pales in comparison with this year’s overall success.

So this time last December we were a little smaller, and had significantly fewer trophies on our mantelpiece. But that was before our achievements at the Fresh PR Awards, position as best social media agency finalists in the now-sorely missed How-Do’s own league tables, and the yield of no less than four silvers and one gold medal in 2012’s installment of the CIPR PRide North West ceremony.

And we’re always keen to add more, including at the forthcoming City of Manchester Business Awards, wherein we’re in the running for Best PR and Marketing Agency. As decided on by 50% judges, and 50% online votes, the latter is particularly encouraging after we were ranked third by our peers in Insider Media’s list of the North West’s hottest agencies. Should you feel the urge to show us some support, please vote here.

Of course any campaign is a two-way street, and so it’s indicative of our forward thinking clients that we’ve been able to produce such stand out work. Major new additions to the roster like Kumho Tyres and The Kennel Club have certainly provided plenty of inspiration, and it gives us great pleasure to continue planning high profile media activities for a host of equally great brands.

Onwards and upwards then, despite the obvious enjoyment any holiday brings the New Year start really can’t come soon enough. Just before we part ways, though, why not follow this link to our Christmas Facebook app, which offers the chance to win an iPod Touch, and guarantees charitable donations every time the page is shared. After all, it is the season of goodwill.

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Homes and interiors PR agency reveals truth about home improvement shows

Thursday, November 15th, 2012

Being an expert homes and interiors PR agency, the team at Smoking Gun towers can often be found flicking between Sarah Beeny, George Clarke and Kevin McCloud to keep upto speed with the latest trends and news on behalf of our relevant clients.

Things move pretty fast in this sector and the TV shows for consumers reflect this. The star designers and presenters come in and out of fashion as fast a stencilled tiger print wall decoration!

We’ve produced a handy infographic to help keep you in the know with what’s happened and happening with homes related TV shows thanks to our exclusive research.

Let us know what you think. And what did ever become of Anna Ryder Richardson??

Homes PR agency reveals new infographic

Homes PR experts Smoking Gun reveals its research into the death of home improvement TV shows

Please copy and paste the code below to add The Rise and Demise of the Home Makeover Show infographic to your webpage.

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August 2012 in the Smoking Gun study

Thursday, August 30th, 2012

It’s been business as usual at headquarters this month. So that’s further expansion by way of an increased workplace and brand new senior member of staff, whilst our peers ranked us amongst the region’s finest PR practitioners. A lovely follow up to last month’s news of  our record nine CIPR PRide Awards shortlist.

First and foremost we’ll be welcoming a fresh face to Smoking Gun’s base camp from October, with Louise Woodward making the trans-Pennine journey to join our burgeoning team. Taking up a role as Account Director she’ll bring with her a wealth of experience working on consumer and B2B projects at leading agencies, in both Sheffield and Leeds, making a great addition to our burgeoning skill set.

What’s more, to accommodate her arrival, and in preparation for continued growth, we’re taking over the office next door. This of course means next time you call by we’ll have more conference and break out space than ever before, though we’re delighted to still be offering the same Greenhalgh’s cakes, Panda Liquorice, and well-brewed tea.

Away from internal changes it’s our great pleasure to announce we recently ranked third in a North West Business Insider poll of the Hottest PR Agencies in the region. As voted for by other professionals in the industry, that our position places us above many more established firms is certainly a source of some pride as we begin gathering ideas for new campaigns.

This reputation for quality work continues further afield too, with Big Gun Rick Guttridge recently contributing a guest column to the MEN Business Week’s media section. If you missed that then he will also be sharing some knowledge of all things digital PR related at the Digiterati forum in October; for information on attending the conference click here.

All of which just about sums August up, except to say that Team SGPR members are now training hard in preparation for the forthcoming Men’s Health Survival of the Fittest event. As the video below proves, it’s going to be quite the competition when it finally arrives, so follow this link to discover how you can challenge a Corrie star to a battle of speed, stamina and agility.

On top of that we also managed to show our faces at the opening of Manchester’s festival of new cinema and media, Abandon Normal Devices, along with the city’s monthly Social Media Cafe. So with sights now set on September, a month that will see 2013’s campaign budgets finalised and all manner of new projects launched, we’d best get back to work. See you in a few weeks then.

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Big ideas, small budgets: why creativity doesn’t cost the Earth

Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

A company’s marketing power is only measurable by the innovation inherent in the team responsible. Times are tough for all businesses right now, so it pays to understand you don’t have to receive a huge bill for making equally sized waves.

We’re never ones to blow our own trumpet too loudly, or without due cause. Yet it would be a gross oversight not to begin by referencing our own ongoing work in this context. Last year saw us take home national awards for providing cutting edge, not to mention memorable PR services to Panda, the all-natural healthy snack brand, delivered with real value for money- exemplary of the case in point.

Bringing things back up to date most recently we launched the Panda Balboa video across platforms like YouTube, racking up 26,000+ views on said site alone, in just over a week. As with anything aimed at going viral when looking for the true reach of such a clip one needs to take into account the fact this will then be shared with friends on other networks, who in turn will share with friends of friends and so on, for as long as such web services exist.

So what’s it all about? Well, our friends at Panda are celebrating their 30th birthday so we were tasked with amplifying that in a fun and memorable manner. Then we discovered the Rocky classic Eye Of The Tiger was also 30, which inspired us…

This is evidence enough, but perhaps it’s also relevant to reference the international column inches grabbed by another of our Panda stunts, which saw a liquorice mural of Prince William laid out on a busy Manchester thoroughfare. The idea was good enough to be selected for ITV News and BBC Breakfast, now filmed in neighbouring Salford, and again shows a cost-effective way of making a mountain of coverage from a relatively mole-hill sized investment.

The point is that whatever your business it’s important to remember in 2012 time, effort and innovation are really all it takes to achieve the kind of exposure once only possible through huge expenditure. Food PR, for example, no longer needs to be intrinsically linked with celebrity chef endorsement and associated imagery, and this rule applies across marketplaces and business models. Stepping into the new financial year provides a good opportunity to re-appraise old practices, so why not take time out to find the right professionals or come up with a great idea internally, and give your small undertakings a truly global presence.

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Pandas at the zoo

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

On December 4th the UK’s only pair of giant pandas arrived at Edinburgh Zoo from China. A momentous occasion for animal lovers, this also represented a unique prospect for one of our key clients. Here’s how the brand seized its opportunity.

The connection between Panda Liquorice and panda bears is pretty obvious. The name says it all, but as we’ve already shown in our posts on brand affiliations successful partnerships result from analysis that takes several more factors into account. There’s nothing worse than a poorly conceived link, not least when it leads to embarrassment for either company involved.

In this case the potential for our beloved snack to be affiliated with these rare namesake creatures only became more pronounced with further investigation. Panda Liquorice won the Best Healthy Treat award at the Your Healthy Living Best Products Awards last year, and its policy of ‘no nasties’- whether that’s artificial colours or added sugars- fits in entirely with the image of panda bears living happily on all natural ingredients.

Branding exercises are useless without a great campaign, and here the company tied in a new price point, fresh product, and high profile PR launch to celebrate its deal with Edinburgh Zoo. The success of these initiatives is no real surprise, what with a prior two year relationship with Chester Zoo and a cherry flavoured liquorice red panda tie-in. Nevertheless, few could have expected the new campaign to go quite so well.

This time round Panda introduced Strawberry flavoured treats shaped like bears. Sold in smaller-than-usual 80g bags, the line represents a move into a new niche marketplace, targeting customers on the go and children. The £1 price tag also means Strawberry Bears are competing with different brands when compared to the manufacturer’s other ranges, meaning support through an affiliate campaign was a great idea in order to take this bold step.

The ability to promote a link with a high profile endangered species on packaging is priceless for public recognition; the giant pandas made national headlines, liquorice, on the whole, does not, so new customers will have been introduced to the product. At the same time, donating some of the resulting profits to the costly upkeep of the bears further cements the brand’s reputation as ‘good’.

In return Edinburgh Zoo is now promoted on packs of Panda Liqourice sold up and down the country, and will receive an additional income as a result of this association. During the first weekend the new pandas went on public display we were on site in the Scottish capital handing out Strawberry Bears, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. As such we can say this is another example of brand synergy and well executed PR leading to a truly successful affiliation.

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January 2012 in the Smoking Gun study

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

It’s traditionally the slowest month of each year, though you wouldn’t think so to look at our diary. With keynote speeches, youth project work, charitable gestures, and another two award nominations the last four weeks have been hectic as ever.

Happy New Year, if it’s not too late already now January’s done and dusted. So 2012 is well underway, and if national news opinion polls are anything to go off it’s going to be another tough 12 months for businesses. The recession has already run our economy ragged, and by all accounts we may be about to fall back into a similar, double-dip situation. The jobs market reflects this, and with the increasing cost of university to boot we’re delighted to be involved with Bigdog.co.uk.

More and more young people are now looking at alternatives to higher education. Big Dog offers advice, tailored job and apprenticeship searches, event notices, and articles for 16-24 year olds on the hunt for vocational routes into a career. We’ve been working to raise the website’s profile amongst the public and would be users alongside founder Nick Chadbourne, a chap who has already helped some 5,000 young people train for work in just over two years.

Back in December we decided to donate a percentage of last year’s profits to the Starlight Children’s Unit at Wythenshawe Hospital in South Manchester after doctors and nurses there cared for a critically ill child of the Smoking Gun directors. Now Panda Liquorice is also getting in the charitable mood by sending a proportion of the sales from its new Strawberry Bears to Edinburgh Zoo, after successfully shaking hands on an affiliate deal tied in with the arrival of two giant pandas- click here for more on that story.

We’re also delighted to say Panda Liquorice, our favourite health food manufacturer, will continue to use our services for all press office and digital PR responsibilities this year. After a successful partnership in 2011 that resulted in award wins for both Smoking Gun and the all-natural brand, each party understandably has high expectations for the coming months…

…and what better way to kick start 2012 than with another award nomination for the Panda-Smoking Gun team, with our Giving Nasties the Blues project up for Freshest Social Media Campaign at the Fresh PR Awards. On top of this we’re in the running for Freshest Small PR Team too, so fingers crossed for March 1st.

Elsewhere we’ve also been called upon to offer industry wisdom and help bring another group of business people up to speed for the New Year. At a recent conference of the British Confectioners Association Smoking Gun MD Rick Guttridge was called in to advise on trends in cultural events, technology, and media for 2012, with more professionals benefiting from our sector-specific knowledge of marketing and PR tools.

So January’s not been very sleepy at all, but then we wouldn’t have it any other way. Aside from all this following our recent succession of new client wins we’ve been busy conjuring up some typically innovative campaigns for the future, whilst more major contracts currently sit on the table. So much to do it’s probably time to get back to it, with all eyes set on what already looks like another standout year.

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Our guest columnist

Friday, March 11th, 2011

Here at Smoking Gun we extend an open invite to friends, colleagues and esteemed professional associates should they wish to contribute words of wisdom to these (web)pages. So it’s nice to see the favour being returned, twice.

A familiar face on the Manchester PR agency scene, our very own head honcho Rick Guttridge, has contributed not one, but two pieces to well respected media titles. Firstly, those with a finger on the media pulse may have noticed last week’s How Do Weekly Wrap featured his familiar face. A discussion on advertising, social media and product placements dominated a column that also looked at The Northerner‘s new blog-based format.

And then PR Week today revealed a piece from the same pen focused on Magazineland. Reader’s Digest is one of the few titles that can celebrate an increase in circulation. But the party at the 73 year old monthly will no doubt be 73 times bigger than any of the other publications bucking the downward trend, given the fact this is the first time in 17 years it has seen anything of the sort. Social media, and the crafty appointment of a new columnist in the shape of Loaded founder James Brown both working a treat. Have a read for yourself…

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