For most people, bank holiday weekends involve spending time with friends and family in gatherings commonly centred around food and the odd alcoholic beverage. Well for a team from Berkeley PR and its sister company, Ascent PR, the recent bank holiday weekend also involved the small matter of jumping from a tiny propeller plane at 10,000ft!

The main aim of such a daring (if not, bonkers) feat, was to raise £5000 for the NSPCC. The location was to be Sky Dive South Coast in Salisbury  where a team of 10 Berkeley and Ascent nutcases fulfilled a lifetime’s ambition at the same time as supporting a very worthy cause.

Our day started at 5.30am on Sunday 6 May and my instant thought was: ‘what have I let myself in for?’ After a safety briefing which consisted of showing us the flying position that we were to assume during the freefall period, and being advised to ‘take it all in as it’s over in seconds’ all that was left to do was to wait for our sky dive time to be called.

There were nine flights in total, which we were divided up into (I was in the eighth flight which meant that I had a nervous long wait!), with Sara Lewis, managing director of Ascent PR in Bristol (and aptly, the organiser of this event) going first.

When my time was finally called I was instructed to get changed into a fetching blue jumpsuit, harness and hat that looked like a swimming cap! Four of us, along with our lovely instructors, then climbed aboard the tiny propeller plane and were taken up 10,000ft with views of Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge on the way up.

Once we’d reached altitude, there was no going back. The aeroplane door opened which created the most horrific noise and we all took one last look at each other before the pilot counted down from five which was Amy’s cue to shuffle towards the door, lean back onto her instructor and jump out – disappearing from our view in seconds! I was up next and after shuffling until my legs were dangling outside of the plane, I looked down and could just about see the ground through the clouds.

Before I knew it I was flying towards the ground, freefalling at 120 mph before my parachute opened 30 seconds into my journey down (phew!). The next three minutes were spent gliding over fields and houses (a bizarre experience) before coming in to a dignified and (luckily for me) smooth landing! I’d done it!! Joining the rest of my team mates and sharing each individual experience was the best feeling and knowing we’d done it for such a good cause was amazing. The current total raised (at the time of writing this) is £4,020 – a fantastic achievement. We’d like to thank friends, family, colleagues and clients for the generous donations so far!

We are still hoping to reach our target of £5000 so we would appreciate any other donations. Please visit: http://www.justgiving.com/PRskydive

@louisehm

As a former journalist, I know more than most how disheartening it is to receive a bland press release. Unfortunately from my experience, it would seem that creative PR agencies are few and far between. Trust me; I’ve done the field research.

For this reason, I was determined never to pen a dull press release when I stepped over to the other side of the fence and joined a PR agency. There is a lot of hype around the difference between hacks and flacks but the truth is, neither one could survive without the other.

The secret to a good press release is agonisingly simple. It has to be news. How often have you looked at an editorial team and found the press release desk? News desks need news to prosper – and they aren’t precious about whether or not it comes from a PR agency.

Company announcements may well be the talk of your client’s canteen – but to tackle the national press and really play with the big boys, your PR has to be brave and full of conviction. A perfect example of this can be typified by one of Berkeley PR’s newest clients, social sharing site Have You Seen.

The founders behind the company wanted to make a big splash in the consumer arena – but took our advice when we explained that the national press need a decent news hook before they will even consider covering a new business launch.

To provide Have You Seen with the news they needed to propel their launch into the big leagues, we suggested a YouGov study which explored the ways in which people save, spend and share money. After a few hours of tireless brainstorming (in which a variety of weird and wonderful ideas were bandied around!) we finally had our news hook.

We asked a sample of 2,000 Brits whether they had ever shopped online after a glass of wine (or three) – and knew for certain we had our story when the research revealed that one in seven of us had.

With this news in our armoury we tackled the national and consumer press – achieving exceptional coverage in The Sun, The Daily Mirror, Cosmopolitan and two excellent articles in The Daily Mail – the UK’s most visited news website.

A successful press release does not only need to tell a story, it has to highlight a problem and then offer the solution. But the essential ingredient will always be news. A PR’s job is to craft their client’s message into something the news desks want to hear – fresh, exciting and brave PR.

Whilst going through my filing ‘cabinet of chaos’, I came across a tatty piece of paper titled the ‘Happiness Manifesto’ which took me back to 2005 and my first brush with the BBC in a voluntary capacity that got me hooked on the way the media/TV worked.

Following a lengthy audition process with Optomen TV, I was chosen to become part of a four-part observational documentary series, Making Slough Happy (lucky me!!). The programme was sold in as an unusual three month social experiment, spanning a variety of disciplines from psychology to economics, aiming to improve the happiness levels of people in the Berkshire town of Slough. For me, it was a chance to get involved in a project that could potentially be the biggest thing to happen to Slough since the famous ‘come friendly bombs’ poem.

During the experiment, I was exposed to dancing in a supermarket aisle, a spot of graveyard therapy and tree hugging….all a bit weird. More importantly I got the chance to help organise the final celebration event. As one of the more ‘happy’ volunteers, I became part of the team that had to negotiate and plan the grand finale with Slough Borough Council. I loved being followed around by a cameraman, sound engineer and team of researchers, but, more than anything, I was thrilled to be part of what was essentially a PR stunt in the middle of Slough High Street.

Working with artist Helen Marshall, the main focus of this event was to be a photography project that would form a large montage. It was decided by Andrew Mawson, a well known social entrepreneur that the piece, created by the community, would make Slough happier and provide a legacy that remained in the town. The event had to be visually pleasing as it was being filmed and would be televised, plus it had to drive viewer interest in the documentary series prior to it being aired.

The release of hundreds of balloons, a main stage full of singers, an outside broadcast bythe wonderful Radio Wexham, stilt walkers and a‘community’-led final art piece secured good coverage in local press and radio. Most importantly though, the series was accepted by the residents of Slough and taken light heartedly. This was the biggest hurdle to overcome as people don’t like being told they are unhappy!

Now, for anyone whowants to read the original ‘Happiness Manifesto’ I have uploaded it to my Twitter and for anyone who wants to try and spot me in the programme here is a link.

Melanie Johnson

After being rudely awoken by my one year old son at 6.30am on Saturday morning, I found myself watching BBC Breakfast and an interesting debate on the demise of newspapers between an ex-newspaper editor and an editor of an online news site. It being 7am on a Saturday, the names of the commentators escaped me, but a few points they made really stuck with me.

With more and more of us getting our news updates online, the role of a physical paper is one that has been hotly debated for some time now. However, an interesting point made during the debate, and one that I agree with, was that if you read a paper, you are more likely to read stories you might not otherwise be drawn to, particuarly if are you looking at the same title online.

If you’re anything like me, you tend to scan a paper first for stories that interest you and then go back later in the day or weekend to read the longer articles or more light-hearted stories that you didn’t have time to read or failed to spot on first look. If you pay for the paper you are more likely to read it cover to cover than just look at the headlines and discard it. It also provides a welcome break from staring at the PC screen or smartphone for a large part of the day.

Looking at news online, you are more likely to go to the sections you are most interested in or search for stories on a particular topic. There is also so much content to view that it seems sensible to filter out things that aren’t of interest or set up RSS feeds on specific topics or companies. Otherwise catching-up on the day’s hot topics could become extremely time intensive!

The rise of tablets and smartphones has obviously meant that more and more of us are getting our news fix on the go, but I think there is still a place for a physical paper to work alongside these new mediums, to continue offering a different dimension to the way we read, digest and share news.

The demise of the physical paper at the moment seems to be more to do with journalist ethics than the medium through which people want to access news. At Berkeley PR, we get the national papers delivered to the office every day and scour them for interesting stories and client coverage. When we ask a new client what their top media target is, the majority still say a national daily paper and theyvalue print column inches very highly.

It would be great to hear your thoughts – How do you prefer to access news? Has the paper had its day? Is online the only way forward?

As part of my presentation training, it was recently my turn to stand up and present something to the rest of the team. Having not long ago worked on a corporate event in Spain for Iron Mountain, I chose to give my perspective on how to prepare for such a rewarding exercise.

Presentations are nerve-wracking at the best of times, especially in front of people you know and work with every day. To make matters worse, the last thing I presented on was a piece of coursework at University. On that occasion, I was lucky enough to have a whiteboard detach from the wall and fall on my head while I was speaking!!

However, shrugging off the jitters, this presentation went reasonably well (it couldn’t have gone worse than before.)

Should you be interested in the points I raised during the presentation, here are eight tips I took away from my recent experience:

1.    Know your role – Understand exactly what is needed from you.  Ask questions, do your research and practice if you haven’t done something before. Never assume that everything will be ok .

2.    Plan ahead – Put a list together of everything that needs to be completed before, during and after the event. Tick tasks off as you complete them and be aware that more jobs may need to be added to your list. Have regular catch-up meetings before the event to ensure you are on track.

3.    Time – estimate how long each job will take. Try not to leave complex and important tasks to the last minute. Put a schedule together of how your day will run.  Allow extra time for tasks that overrun and additional jobs that can arise on the day.

4.    Communication – Keep track of changes and communicate them to the rest of the team.  Understand how your role can affect other members of the team.

5.    Managing others – If you are managing other people, make sure they are briefed on what is expected of them. Cover any queries and resolve problems before rather than during the event. Run through any relevant schedules with them to so that they can organise themselves properly.

6.    Back up everything – Phone numbers, taxi and flight arrangements, names, locations, schedules, press materials. Keep paper copies of everything and important phone numbers close to hand.

7.    Practice, Practice, Practice – Once you have worked out the schedule and preparation has been completed, run through what you have to do on the day.  Revise your responsibilities and both your own and the complete schedule. Look, cover, write, check. If you have equipment to manage, ensure it works and is fully tested before the event.

8.    Don’t panic – You may get flustered and extremely busy on the day, but keep smiling and stay confident. If you have done everything you can before the event, it should only be acts of God and the completely unseen that can go wrong. If you look worried, frazzled or distressed, it’s likely to rub off on the other attendees.

Last week I was lucky enough to accompany one of my clients, Bruno Brookes, CEO of Immedia Group plc, to an interview at the Sky News studio at The Gherkin. He was appearing on the Jeff Randall Live Show to discuss the importance of in-store radio for customer experience and communication.

This was the first time I had been to a TV studio and it wasn’t quite what I expected. Firstly, the green room is not green, although it did have an extensive array of refreshments. When we arrived, it was occupied by fashion designer and Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year, Anya Hindmarch (who was fabulous by the way!).  Furthermore, the turnaround from arrival, to make up, to screen was almost instantaneous. However, what surprised me most was the size of the set – it was absolutely miniscule!

It was interesting to witness from behind the scenes what goes in to an hour-long news show. It is extremely fast-paced, with the agenda changing all the time. For example, Bruno’s interview was scheduled just before the London Mayoral debate, so this had to be factored in. For part of his interview there was a split screen showing the candidates arriving, which I could only view as a positive – my client side by side with Boris Johnson, what a winner!

I would recommend to anyone that if you get the chance to visit a TV studio, jump at it; you may be surprised at what you find!

@Dannikm

As I come to the end of my third week here at Berkeley PR (after a well-timed buffer of bank holidays), I already feel like I’ve had an enormous insight into the previously mysterious world of PR.

I’ve been welcomed aboard after working as a B2B journalist for two years, which saw me dealing with PR people of one sort or another on an almost daily basis. But I have to admit I’d never given the PR trade much thought, despite adopting the usual journalistic stance of singing their praises when a timely press release filled a gap on deadline day, and cursing their existence after the fifth useless sell-in from some gormless firm that clearly hadn’t done their research.

During my NCTJ days my tutors could often be overheard muttering about ‘The Dark Side’, and although it may be an older school of thought, I think there are still plenty of people who see PR as journalism’s less scrupulous counterpart.

After three weeks on the job I’m happy to report that nothing could be further from the truth, and I’m not just saying that because Berkeley is paying me to. Although it may be (more) commercially driven than journalism, PR is all about connecting with your audience and communicating with them as clearly and accurately as possible.

The only downside I can see to my new career path is explaining to friends, family and talkative taxi drivers exactly what PR is. To non-journalists, PR seems to be synonymous with advertising at large, making me Mad Men’s Don Draper, minus the chain-smoking and womanizing (fine, fine, and without the lantern jaw, charisma, sharp suits, etc.)

Then again my time as a B2B journalist saw me writing for a trade magazine on remanufactured printer cartridges, and I believe there is very little to rival the blank expressions of people as I explained what that means and why anyone would want to read about it.

I’ll certainly have a much better timing describing my work with fantastic clients like Bruno Brookes’ Immedia Group, PMB Holdings, Hitachi Capital and ThoughtWorks.

All in all, I’m looking forward to a bright future here on the Dark Side.

On Thursday May 3rd, Caversham Heath Golf Club just outside Reading will play host to the Berkeley PR Open Championship. A regular fixture in the Berkeley PR calendar, the tournament is a great way for us to get together with clients and local businesses and pretend to be successful golfers. The day will be packed with chances to win big prizes, such as a brand new Mercedes for hitting a hole in one.

All the money raised during the day will be donated to the 89th Reading Scouts, helping them to continue to offer enjoyment and challenge to young people aged 6 to 18 years.

The format will be a 4 ball better ball team stableford (best two scores to count) played off 3/4 handicap. There will be a shotgun start with participants arriving for bacon butties (or a vegetarian alternative!) tea or coffee at 9am. Refreshments will of course be available on the course and lunch will be served in the clubhouse  – followed by prize giving and a charity auction.

Would you be interested in playing?

If you would, but can’t raise a team yourself then just let me know and we will hook you up with others in the same boat.

We are limiting ourselves to 20 teams so please book as soon as possible, but please get in touch if you would like to join the fun!

@denisdavies

Berkeley PR has been recruiting, and in the last couple of weeks Matt Brown and Isha Webber have joined the ranks. We pride ourselves on being an ambitious, motivated and successful company and we are delighted to see this reflected in a large number of applications.  In fact, we’ve been positively inundated with CVs and I’ve had the pleasure of reading all of them and inviting candidates for interview.

Matt and Isha have hit the ground running. But what made their applications stand out from the crowd? How did their initial application ensure they secured the all-important face-to-face interview to snare the job?

For any PR professional, pitching to journalists is a fine art and a key skill to master. So why not apply the same principles when putting yourself forward for a job? 

Do your research – What are you applying for and who are you applying to? All the info you need is in the job spec and on the internet, so use them.

• Explain the benefits – Why do you want to work for us and, more importantly, why would we want you working with us?
• Use a catchy headline – Show off your copywriting skills and draft an attention-grabbing subject line to ensure the email carrying your CV gets opened.
• Write a strong letter – Which you put in the body of your email, highlighting the key reasons why you are right for the job. This is your opportunity to make sure your CV actually gets read.
• Tailor your email – A copy-and-paste job is always obvious!

Due to the nature of the job, recruiting PRs are always going to be critical of a bad cover letter or CV – you only have one chance to sell yourself and we’re not going to trust you with our clients’ needs if you’ve not done a good job on yourself!

Well it’s my third week back at Berkeley PR after maternity leave and I’m starting to feel at home again. Despite having a year off and swapping press releases and tweets for dirty nappies and sleepless nights, it’s amazing how quickly everything is coming back to me. The biggest change since I was last here is a new office location and a lot more desks and PR bods. There’s a great atmosphere in the office and national press coverage seems to be the norm. The most difficult thing to get my head around is remembering everyone’s names and how to use the new phone system!

We’ve also taken on some ex journalists (and are still recruiting) to build on our writing expertise which is certainly showing in the quality of coverage we are achieving. The client base is really strong, with some great brands, and I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in working on some of them.

On a non-PR note, since I was last here we also seem to have a 5-a-side football team, although I think they might be taking early retirement due to a number of injuries (namely a broken finger and fractured leg/ligament damage) sustained during a recent 4-5 defeat. Maybe stick to the day job guys? Go Berkeley FC!

It’s good to be back.