Rapid Response at Hungerford Carnival

At Morgan PR we keep joking that we really should be in the parade at Hungerford Carnival, and then we are inevitably humbled by the sterling efforts that those who actually are taking part have made - yesterday was no different and we made do with cheering, clapping and emptying our pockets into the passing charity buckets.

Speaking of charity, it was rewarding to see all four of the West Berkshire Rapid Response Cars (WBRRC) in the parade - Morgan PR is one of the sponsors the Hungerford car and you can see our logo proudly displayed on the back of the car (normally seen when the emergency vehicle races past en route to save lives!). We were also able to support it further during its recent auction with a £250 winning bid for dinner at The Vineyard in Stockcross

We have personal experience of how important this life saving service can be and are always quick to tell people that this service, often the difference between life and death pending the arrival of an ambulance, is funded entirely by donations, including many local companies such as ours and not least Ridgeway, the local Volkswagen dealership which has provided all fours cars

The facts are sobering, each month the WBRRCs respond to around 80 calls, providing lifesaving emergency services throughout West Berkshire – and sometimes further afield.

Thankfully the carnvial was free of emergencies and the cars were able to move a steady 2mph for the crowds to express the generosity - although one paramedic on foot seemed to be the target for every water balloon thrown!

Also in the carnival were Little Jogs, Hungerford's leading nursery and clients of Morgan PR. The Little Jogs Big Top wowed the crowds with some remarkable feats for pre-schoolers! A special mention must surely go for Ringmaster Elena Allen, seen here in the foreground of the photo below.

Le Mans beckons for Newbury Businessman

We will soon be moving to new offices and Roger Hick of RhD Office will be the office interiors expert Morgan PR will be asking for advice on how best to accommodate our team in the 800 square feet provided.

However, the excitement of new premises hardly compares with the excursion has has planned for the weekend - he is taking his 1960 Alpine Renault to the Le Mans Classic at the invitation of Renault who want to exhibit his vintage car!

The least we could do was help promote his adventure locally - here on Motoring in West Berkshire and in next week's Newbury Weekly News you will be able to read all about the trip, no doubt including the two laps of the famous circuit he will be taking.

Here is Roger and 'Claudette':

4Networking in Newbury

Another day another network breakfast! Well not quite daily, but after the Faringdon Business Breakfast Club on Monday and with Newbury Business Group on Friday, it feels a little like that! Not least as I was asked to act as a sub at BNI Kennet tomorrow, but have a prior appointment. Back to today I was at the Hilton Newbury North for 4Networking Newbury to see how this flourishing group worked.

Readers with long memories may recall I was at the original launch of a 4Networking group in Newbury in May 2007 where I was quite enamoured with the group - read all about it here - however that group crashed and burned over some internal problem.

Version 2.0 however is thriving and as I have said before the 4Networking model is an appealing one. The obligatory 'one minute presentation' is actually 40 seconds and the killer app is the three one-to-one meetings you can have. Each lasting 10 minutes it effectively turbo charges the part of networking so easily glossed over that involves actually understanding what it is that person does.

My first such meeting was with Julian Wellings from Expertise on Tap. He had given the informative 'foursight' 10 minute presentation on email newsletters, highlighting good practice and warning of the dire consequences of amateurish attempts at this affordable marketing tool. Our meeting gave us the opportunity to explore where the synergy could be between Morgan PR and Expertise on Tap, which for me is as important in networking as the referrals that it can bring.

Next I chatted with David Whittingham from Media Fusion a full service agency in Newbury. Once again it was about the value we could add to one another clients.

Finally I spent 10 minutes chatting with Philippa Syme, Development Manager at The Corn Exchange & New Greenham Arts and was fascinated to discover how affordable and relatively unique the opportunities are for promotions at the Corn Exchange and to its diverse audience.

So as you can tell, a very busy morning indeed. Some things did grate. It is held within the main restaurant of the hotel which while providing easy access to the buffet breakfast, it was shared with other guests and quite noisy, which meant it was difficult to hear people and it was also an odd L shaped table which made it tricky to enjoy eye contact with some members, however there was a good atmosphere and I would go again when the Morgan PR diary allows.

Please speak after the tone? Not with call handling service Verbatim

Who among us has not despaired at being prompted to leave a voicemail message, immediately unsure when or even if it will be checked? And how often is an important voicemail message apparently never received?

Here at Morgan PR we are proud to use local Newbury company Verbatim to ensure that people do not have to leave voicemail messages or indeed hear an engaged tone when they call us. Admittedly out of hours you have the option of leaving a message that is promptly emailed to our data hungry Blackberrys, but experience has taught us not many people call out of hours!

So we were interested to spot this story on Times Online which illustrates the frustration that people have with voicemail, explores some high tech solution, but completely misses the opportunity people have to use companies like Verbatim to ensure their callers never have to speak after the tone!

Discovering The Secrets of Great PR over breakfast at the Faringdon Business Breakfast Club

Networking is key to the success of many businesses and Morgan PR is among those breakfast warriors who shun the embrace of goosedown for the scent of bacon and a referral.

One of the groups I regularly attend is the Faringdon Business Breakfast Club, which meets on the first Monday of the month at the Faringdon Enterprise Gateway Centre, and this morning I was responsible for the education slot, and offered 'The Secrets of Great Public Relations'

I guess the real secret is that there is no secret ingredient, to borrow from one of the summer's blockbuster movies. The reality is that every business out there is brimming with stories that would capture column inches or airtime. This presentation was about giving hints and tips on how to spot and exploit their opportunities.

Questions, as they often do, focused on blogging. Business owners can grasp PR and marketing, search engine optimisation and so on, but blogging is still on that fringe (albeit a very large fringe indeed) of 'you know you really should, but you're not sure you could'. I know it works! This blog works and the fact you are reading it now is proof it works!

The caption competition almost stumped the group and it was left to guest and Business Link Advisor Rob Banfield to come up with a witty line for the photo below of a clearly gruelling occasion from my Thames Valley Police days. What was it? That would be telling and besides, I use this caption competition quite often when I give this presentation!

He scooped a box of ultra fresh eggs from the Morgan PR chickens, another cracking idea from the foremost public relations company in the Thames Valley!