Far From The Weakest Link

You need a good reason to turn on daytime television these days and those of you who saw my story about sausage maker Gerry Parsons on the front of today's Newbury Weekly News may have paused to watch The Weakest Link too.

The former Lambourn beat bobby turned sausage maker extraordinaire kept his cool in the face of the faux fierce presenter Ann Robinson earlier this evening to scoop an impressive £2,270, which he is giving to his grandchildren.

The profile Gerry has enjoyed since launching The Butchers Dog Sausage Company is testimony primarily to the outstanding quality of his homemade bangers, but also to why you should keep in touch with anyone you know in the media.

Gerry and I have know each other for many years, but he made the effort to get in touch as his business flourished and allowed me to exploit its potential for news. His appearance on The Weakest Link was a bonus - nothing to do with his business - but at the same time everything to do with his business. The photo used on page one of the Newbury Weekly, and inside was one I took of him brandishing a succulent string of sausages. It has been used again and again and every time underlines that The Butchers Dog Sausage Company is about quality.

When I write a media strategy for a client I always emphasise how what you do outside their organisation can have a terrific impact on their profile. Now Gerry might not be a client - rather I am a customer of his, but the logic holds true!

If you are a sausage slut, do mention me when you contact Gerry - I'm heading over to Lambourn soon to try his new game sausages - a combination of wild boar, venison, pheasant and rabbit. Game on!