NRG Networks in Bath: seminar on 'Surviving the Broadcast Interview'

Morgan PR heads west today to co-present the 'Surviving the Broadcast Interview' seminar at the NRG Networks meeting in Bath. We take to the stage with former BBC Producer and founder of BizView.TV, Dave Harries.

Our background in broadcast media management for Thames Valley Police gives us a terrific insight not only into what the broadcast media want, but also how best to present that and how to avoid the all too common pitfalls when stepping in front of the video camera or radio microphone.

We are expecting 20 for the lunchtime event being held at the University of Bath and knowing the script it is destined to be a lively event.

Morgan PR will be offering '15 Seconds of Fame - 15 Top Tips for Surviving the Broadcast Interview' as a free download on this month's 'Creating Reputations' Newsletter - subscribe now on this page if you are not already among our loyal readership!

Organic PR: The Video - discover why so many people are raving about this Morgan PR event

Two busy weeks have passed since Morgan PR delivered its Organic PR seminar at the Sheepdrove Eco Centre. It has been tremendously rewarding to see so many of the delegates following our advice and already they are creating a home grown buzz by simply reflecting what they do through blogs, on Twitter and Squidoo.

In a pesticide free nutshell, we maintain that every business is capable of Organic PR and by leveraging the activities within their companies through a joined up strategic approach they can promote themselves to their customers - and of course the media. In the seminar we argued that video goodness was part of that mix so, not surprisingly, we had commissioned a video of the event.

We have talked about Julian Wellings before on this blog for his excellent newsletter support through Expertise on Tap, he is also behind Julian Wellings Films and created this brilliant record of the day:



What do you think? We are touched by the heartfelt testimonials given by so many of the delegates and you can see these on the video. They were – with lovely clickable Google-friendly goodness:

• Sue Terry, Argon Associates - Housing and Social Care consultants
  
• Mike Samuels, life saving Medical Photographer
  
• Lucy Venables, marketing guru of Red Prosper
  
• Sarah Dawnay, Mothers of Innovation, fabulous products for Mums and kids
  
• Graham Rhodes, internet marketeers 6th level marketing
  
• Fiona Grindrod,will writings specialists, Just Wills Ridgeway
  
• Michelle Lucas, life, career and executive coach of Greenfields
  

You may have guessed we talked about the importance of hyperlinks and it seems only fair to offer links back to these generous delegates.

We also made a rather generous offer to delegates - as we had paid for Julian Wellings Films to be at the seminar, we were able to share his skills. Delegates were able to record their own promotional video and someone who took up this offer was Mary Thomas of Concise Training - you can view her video below, which perfectly explains how you can benefit from working with her:



We have already had numerous enquiries about the next Organic PR event and will have a date very soon. Do contact us if you would like to reserve a place. We are also exploring delivering the seminar within companies - we would be keen to hear from anyone interested in this service.

A personal recommendation from Seth Godin? Not quite! But Morgan PR does his kind of PR!

Morgan PR has long raved about the marvellous Seth Godin - his books are those most frequently pulled from the shelves, his blog was the first to be honoured with an RSS feed (ensuring we received his blog post promptly) and his books are also frequently given away by us to clients.

So reading his latest blog post: The difference between PR and publicity, has created great excitement in the office because his definition - those most people only do publicity and few doing PR - is one agree with and absolutely, Morgan PR does PR as defined by Seth Godin!

Ask any of the delegates at February's Organic PR seminar we delivered and they would concur. PR is about storytelling and it doesn't always involve the media! Some of our most successful PR has involved a the deft and timely use of Twitter and this blog - with not a journalist in sight (apart from my own reflection!).

Godin says:

A publicity firm will tell you stories of how they got a client ink. A PR firm will talk about storytelling and being remarkable and spreading the word. They might even suggest you don't bother getting ink or issuing press releases.

Yes! Exactly! We do that!

Now, we would forgive you for muttering about the Morgan PR chickens and eggs, querying which arrived most promptly. Are we merely expounding the law according to Seth Godin, or was this always our approach? Honestly... I could not be sure, so long have his books been read that they must have influenced us. Of course, that is why this eptiomy of abundance has written the books!

However, even when this highly sought after poaching consultant was a mere gamekeeper at Thames Valley Police (press officer!) and before I'd be enlightened by Seth Godin's writing, I sensed that some of the best PR I did involved getting the right people talking without a word ever being printed or broadcast. It was never about the headlines - that was the fire fighting. It was about laying the foundations and cultivating the mavens - and it still is.

We quoted our all time favourite Seth Godin line at our Organic PR seminar to encourage delegates to take what they had learned and embrace Organic PR with some actions. We quoted:

Stop trying to be perfect and start being remarkable

Many heeded this fine advice and more on that tomorrow when we post the video of the event!

Morgan PR's new photos from Neale James truly rock thanks to www.animoto.com!

Fluttering around Twitter earlier I discovered www.animoto.com which can take your photos and create a short film as funky as this one for free!

We had been pondering how to showcase the fabulous photographs taken by Neale James - the award winning photographer you may know from such websites as www.nealejames.com and www.breathepictures.com.

They are for our new Morgan PR website (coming very soon!), but already are creating a stir - not least the Avatar created for my Twitter persona - featured on this video and can be viewed if you follow me on Twitter!

The wraps are off exciting networking venture in Newbury - could you be part of The Non Exec Set?

The first rule of ‘The Non Exec Set’ is - you do not talk about ‘The Non Exec Set’. The second rule of ‘The Non Exec Set’ is - you DO NOT talk about ‘The Non Exec Set’. Third rule of...

Well, whether you or not you are familiar with David Fincher’s 1999 Oscar nominated adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel Fight Club, you will get the idea that The Non Exec Set is something of a secret organisation – or at least it was! Now the wraps are off!

Yes, one of the toughest requests of a blogger is not to mention something you so want to write about, and the launch over a year ago of this innovative approach to networking has left us fair to frothing over the keyboard at times!

Peer support within large corporate organisations is one of the key elements so often missing among smaller businesses, however two enterprising women from West Berkshire have quietly launched an innovative group called ‘The Non Exec Set’ which remedies this. So successful has the group become that it is set to hold a dining event with a difference in May.

Michelle Lucas (pictured above right) and Lucy Venables (on the left) first met one another at a networking event and discussing their corporate backgrounds prompted a shared belief that there was a gap in what networking could offer. Michelle Lucas explains: “In our transition from corporate life to working in small business we were missing the peer support that you get within large companies; from management team meetings to discussions around the coffee machine.

“We felt that there were other small business owners who had made a similar transition and if we got a group of these people together, we could use the benefit of our joint business and professional experiences to provide that missing support.”

Marketing guru Lucy Venables of Red Prosper Marketing had started her career as a chef and career coach Michelle Lucas, who founded Greenfields Consultancy, had a dining table that held eight people, so the Non Executive Set group was born as a monthly informal dinner party meeting and Morgan PR has been lucky enough to find itself sat around the table on numerous occasions and has met some terrific people – and was never able to blog about it!

To be fair, the confidentiality bred content. The dinner party environment and the commitment to confidentiality allow for some candid questions around the table and some very honest answers and advice from fellow members of ‘The Non Exec Set’. There is rarely a problem that a business owner would be facing for the first time that someone else would not have already dealt with.

Lucy says: “The Non Exec Set is an informal forum where we can discuss the day to day challenges of running our companies - issues our members raise cover marketing, finance and HR, as well as having a setting where they are able to share new ideas – testing the water in a safe environment.”

The growth of the group has seen it move venues and it now alternates between The Square in Weavers Walk Newbury (sister restaurant of Morgan PR favourite Le Petit Square) and The Lamb Inn at Hermitage (although it is technically in Curridge!) and the energy and enthusiasm among members has prompted an ambitious idea which we are delighted to support.

Michelle Lucas explained: “There is a distinct bullish mood among the Non Exec Set members; we do not believe we should lie down and let the economic climate take over. There is lots of activity and positive energy in the group and we want to share this with others, which led to the idea of a larger dining event, on Wednesday 20th May at Donnington Valley Hotel, where we will open up the Non Exec Set and have a number of dinners focusing on topics including people, finance, IT and sales and marketing.

A website explaining more is currently being created by Morgan PR associate Adrian Scott of Companion Computers that will allow those interested in joining The Non Exec Set to discover more about the May event, and the aims and objectives of the group.

Katharine Jayne is an uplifting slice of fashion right in the heart of Newbury

It is nice to discover a fashion retailing success story at a time when the papers are full of news about shops closing down. In the past 18 months Newbury born businesswoman Kate Johnson has established her shop, Katharine Jayne in the Market Place as one of the friendliest places in the area to pick up the latest fashion looks.

Earlier today Morgan PR met with Kate Johnson (or Katharine Jayne Johnson if I were to give a clue to how this store came by its name!) and over coffee she revealed how a career in fashion, including a spell as a fashion and lingerie buyer at Camp Hopson, prepared her well for launching her own business.

"Some people would say it wasn’t a good time to start a new business but having my own shop was a long-held ambition of mine” says Kate. With over 20 years experience in the fashion industry and now buying for ‘Katharine Jayne’s ‘ fifth season, Kate has a clear idea of what works for her customers. “I was determined to appeal to all women, which is reflected in the portfolio of our brand mix so we keep everything wearable but interesting and within sensible budgets.

"We offer clothes that are well made and use quality fabrics so our customers look and feel good wearing them. Fabrics are very important to me and my customers. Many of the ranges are offered from a size eight to size 16 and if we do not have a particular size in store we will try and meet requests. I see one of my most important jobs is to bring in something new and exciting every season."

We were given the opportunity to meet Kate thanks to the Newbury Weekly News, for whom Morgan PR write many of the features that appear in Newbury Business Today, and you can learn more about Katherine Jayne in the edition out on March 12.

Also, keep clicking on the Katharine Jayne website - it is nearing completion and should be bursting into life any day now.

Meet the Chamber - Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce host event at Sheepdrove

The best thing about such a fabulous venue as Sheepdrove Eco Conference Centre is that you can never return too soon, so we were delighted to be back later today – this time for a Meet the Chamber event that attracted more than 80 members of the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Morgan PR has only recently joined the Chamber and thus far has been thoroughly impressed by the communication and sheer volume of events being promoted by the Chamber.

It was great to be back in the majestic Oak Room with so many fellow professionals and we made many promising contacts that we look forward to working with in the coming months. It was also good to see plenty of familiar faces too.

Organic PR seminar offers joined up solutions

Sheepdrove Eco Conference Centre proved a stunning venue for Morgan PR's Organic PR presentation today and it was clear from the sheer excitement and ethusiasm generated by the people who attened the event that we had helped them - we said that this seminar would help them 'enjoy a bountiful harvest in spite of the recession' and we believe that will happen when they employ the tactics we revealed today.

We had been asked to present the seminar by the Federation of Small Businesses as part of the FSB Trading in Tough Times series and there can be little doubt that the tough times had brought record numbers to such a seminar, and from a varied and diverse background.

We sought to balance a terrific amount of information on how to leverage your organic PR - and we have yet to find a company that is not abundant in opportunities - with concrete strategies on how to implement that information to benefit their businesses. A trio of workshops gave delegates the chance to confere on their tables and decide what they would do first when they returned to work.

We were delighted with the enthusiam created during the workshop - there were so many of those attending who we writing down what they were going to do and already many have emailed Morgan PR to tell us what they have done!

We also had the event filmed for our own future public relations by the fantastic Julian Wellings Films and will be posting that video here soon. Part of our presentation explored the value and indeed expectation of video and what a tremendously powerful piece of PR it can be.

Do you belong to a business group or networking organisation that would benefit from our Organic PR seminar? We are also preparing another public event

Record numbers set to attend Organic PR workshop at Sheepdrove Eco Conference Centre

With less than 24 hours to go until Morgan PR presents the Organic PR seminar at Sheepdrove Eco Conference Centre, there are record numbers set to attend the recession busting workshop. We have seen increasing numbers attending the range of seminars we give to businesses and networking groups and it is clear how popular any event it that can offer the chance to beat the recession.

We were asked to present the seminar by the Federation of Small Businesses as part of its Trading in Tough Times Programme and the event has drawn both FSB members and non-members alike.

Neale James takes fantastic photos for Morgan PR

Morgan PR had a deliciously indulgent afternoon today in the oh-so capable and thoroughly creative hands of Neale James, one of the Thames Valley’s foremost professional photographers.

With the latest generation of the Morgan PR website rapidly taking shape it was time to secure the kind of images the fabulous website that has been designed by the very talented Adrian Scott of Companion Computers – the most can-do web guy we have been lucky enough to meet.

As one of our associates Adrian was also with us for the photo sessions and performed a variety of roles from the obligatory web guru through to a reporter and even a paparazzo! Also on hand to be captured on memory card was Miriam McCallum, NLP trainer extraordinaire and another Associate.

We should have sight of the new photographs next week, but just the fleeting glimpses on the back of the cameras gave us an exciting preview of how brilliant these photographs will be – rest assured we will give you a preview here on the blog!

We've worked with Neale James many times before and he took the photos for our current website and also photographed Nigel Morgan for an exhibition once!

Speaking of blogs, we had to trawl all the way back to the start of Neale James' blog to find an image of the man who admittedly spends most of the time behind the camera! Definitely take the time to admire the wonderful photography showcased there.

What is your Myers Briggs Type? Personality matters at NRG Reading

There was a most excellent seminar at the popular NRG Networks meeting at Wokefield Park in Reading earlier today; the pre lunch seminars are generally delivered by members of the networking group and today we were learning about building rapport

Naturally as I became a Certified Practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming earlier this year I was keen to see how Eleanor Yearwood, an executive coach from Key Talent Partners, would approach this essential part of successful business. After all, people buy people and rapport is all about... well, building rapport.

Well we were naturally in for a fun and exciting seminar - lots of moving around as Eleanor spent an hour explaining the four different types of main profiles and how the effect not only our own behaviour, but should also determine how we should act with others when we recognise their own Myers Briggs Type profile.

Actually, it makes much more sense to let Eleanor explain herself - Morgan PR was armed with a video camera, admittedly of moderate quality, and correctly thought that only she would tell you about it!

The seminar was followed by lunch and I was the moderator on our table. Although honestly, my table was motivated and well behaved with some terrific networking going on around the table.

Flushed form the modest success with the camera with Eleanor Yearwood I also asked NRG Networks top dog, the charming Dave Clarke if he would explain a bit more about how this successful networking group works.

What do you think of the video content? We are hoping to bring you more soon - not least some professional content!

West Berkshire Council stabs itself in the foot with knife crime PR blunder

Public sector public relations is always a challenge. Your organisation represents the people, who by the very nature of democracy are unlikely to be universal in their approval - which is why it beggars belief that West Berkshire Council would stab itself in the foot by appearing soft on knife crime - in the middle of a trial of five teenagers who stabbed a local lad to death.

Newbury Today sets the incredulous tone with this article, an interpretation that must surely have been blindingly obvious would be the outcome.

Before starting Morgan PR, when I was a press officer with Thames Valley Police in Newbury and Reading, I co-operated with the media as much as possible in the very real expectation that at some point in the future I would need their co-operation in return. Mistakes are made in the public sector and being able to buy and hour or two of patience from a journalist who has scented blood - often literally - can be invaluable.

Day to day it simply bought you the benefit of the doubt. Journalists would trust you and give you the space to do the job of representing the police rather than reacting to the media. It also avoided stand offs such as that which happened at the Oxford Mail where they printed blank spaces 'where crimes we are not being told about should be reported' Ouch!

Now the Newbury Weekly News, the printed parent of the online Newbury Today takes a justifiably challenging approach to the seemingly arrogant stance so readily adopted by West Berkshire's elected councillors and often the council's officers too. Whether it is refusing to apologise for the roadworks causing traffic jams (surely you can feel sorry, without actually saying sorry?) or simply refusing to accept that the rising bollards that keep destroying errant vehicles might be legally sound, but morally unfair? Keeping them in place when it is clear they catch out motorists and wreck their cars is a complete nonsense.

Then there are crisis management case we have managed that defy belief at the way the council has behaved, often spending vast amounts of taxpayers' money with no obvious benefit.

So, in the latest chapter West Berkshire Council says it is against the public interest to presume to prosecute shops that sell knives to children. Newbury Today reports:

Officials said that under Crown Prosecution Service guidelines, prosecuting shops selling knives to children may not always be in the public interest. Presuming in favour of prosecution could “cast doubt” on whether each case was being assessed on its merits, trading standards officers said.

Does that sound like nonsense to anyone else? Surely you catch someone selling knives to kids they presume to prosecute until the merits suggest otherwise. Not so hard, is it?

Now for our PR lesson in all this! What should West Berkshire Council have done?

It really isn't difficult to work out! How about "Promised to investigate", or "Address this matter with urgency". Something to buy time and allow the situation to diffuse. They could have said they would investigate and simply shown they were aware of how strongly people felt - especially while under the scrutiny of a reporter expected to provide a story! Or with the proper planning could have anticipated the issue would up and bite them and avoided the controversy all together by doing the right thing for the community.

Still, look on the bright side - at least Noel Edmonds wasn't there, just waiting for another opportunity to rant on Noel's HQ!

Love in a cold economic climate presents both challenges... and public relations opportunities

Morgan PR has been generating publicity for a terrific French restaurant in Newbury, West Berkshire this week and in the way we have helped Le Petit Square there may be lessons for other businesses who are finding winning the affection of customers during the recession.

The key is that the media - this story has already been taken up by newspapers and radio - are constantly looking for new ways to interpret the recession at the moment and if you can find a way to promote your business within this context then it is possible you can create powerful public relations.

So while it may not be the most scientific assessment of the recession, but Le Petit Square is reporting that while loved up diners visiting on St. Valentine’s Day were still gazing dreamily at one another... they were simply spending less money.

Suzanne Hemchaoui, who founded the popular restaurant four years ago, explained: “Valentines is always a huge night for us – for any restaurant – and we could have booked out 10 times over, but there is no doubt the recession is biting. People were spending less on their menu choice, and choosing to drink Champagne by the glass rather than the bottle.

“The French food, the wine – people see it as romantic anyway and St. Valentine’s Day can often bring out a grand gesture or two, with engagement rings being flourished or we are asked to drop a sparkling ring into the Champagne glass – but this year? Non!

“Chatting to some of our regulars, there are couples who are delaying their wedding because of the credit crunch and on St. Valentine’s people left much earlier than they normally do and some were talking about ‘getting back to the babysitter’, which also suggests cost cutting.

“Across the board we are seeing fewer people and they are spending less. The corporate trade that would see businesses coming in for lunch has certainly reduced. That said, we are lucky and we do have a loyal clientele.

“Our hearts were lifted recently after Gordon Ramsay appeared on his TV programme stood in front of a branch of Strada somewhere, and urged people not to visit anonymous chain restaurants, but to opt for the local independent restaurateurs – like us! That actually brought in lots of business and we saw a surge of people coming in and they were talking about it.

“An independent restaurant like ours, with all the benefits of original menus and the flexibility to respond to our customers, does find it difficult to cope with a chain restaurant in much the way a corner shop struggles to compete with Tesco. We have to offer more and we are certainly not being glum about it – we are currently planning an ‘Allo Allo Night’ for May 1st, which will be a blast and we’re hoping to stage some French film nights too.”

What do you think?

The hard news angle is there - people spent less money on St. Valentine's Day at a romantic French restaurant. In reporting this, the restaurant is named, its plans are revealed and a competitor is knocked - by Gordon Ramsay!

A recipe for revenue generating PR - in a recession from Morgan PR!

A potentially life threatening lesson in news sense

My unique perspective as a poacher (journalist) turned gamekeeper (police press officer) turned highly sought after poaching consultant (Director of Morgan PR) does give me an interesting take on the news - and the newspaperman blood still courses through my veins, which is why we insist on any PR aimed at the media as being newsworthy.

"Is it a story?" is the question that I urge clients to ask themselves whenever they encounter a potential opportunity. An easy test is if you find yourself telling other people about it - that could well be a story!

The quest to determine if something is newsworthy should be completed before approaching the media; better you decide it isn't a story than a news editor who might just be proficient in junk mail rules on Outlook!

That said, the media sometimes get it wrong too - whether it is through the trickery of gimmick driven PR or through plain missing the strongest news angle in a story.

Take this story from the Newbury Today website - a man has had his rifle, which is fitted with a telescopic scope, stolen from his car and understandably wants it back. The police fear the rifle could be used in crime. Where is the story there? Anyone?

I will tell you what it isn't:



Some criminal, most likely to be feeding a drug habit so not renown for good decision making skills, now has a rifle, which by the owner's admission in the story 'could kill someone from half a mile away'. You bet he wants it back!

However, this is a gun - not a kitten! And surely the story is the police condemnation of the stupidity that sees such a weapon left insecure in a car.

Here's the police comment buried in paragraph nine of the story:

Romy Freiburghaus, Crime Reduction Advisor for West Berkshire said: “This careless behaviour does not only make you a victim of crime, but you also potentially endanger other people’s life through your negligence.

“Never leave anything on display in your car. Even an item covered up on the back seat is a temptation for someone to ‘smash and grab’, which this week’s incident proves.

“By following this simple rule you can minimise the risk of becoming a victim of car crime.”

Full marks for working some crime prevention advice in there, but she says the owner has potentially endangered lives through their negligence - there is the story. A headline that runs something like (with sensationalist slant!):

SNIPER FEAR AFTER HUNTING RIFLE STOLEN FROM CAR IN NEWBURY
- police slam owner's negligence

You just hope the gun is safely recovered before anyone is hurt. And while the suggested headline is sensational, it would warn people about the missing gun.

Incidentally, the police press release can be found here - and that plays it straight, but the police press officer would have anticipated the story getting out there in a much more aggressive fashion. After all, the more people talk about the gun, the more likely it is the police will discover who has it and safely recover the firearm.

However, fear of gun crime aside, there is a point here. You need to know all the news angles of your story, and not just the most obvious one. Journalists can interpret stories in very different ways to that expected. Just think how the gun owner's quotes about the rifle killing would have played under the headline we suggest?

'Twitter could kill your business' - web guru poses tough questions for social media users

It is easy to assume that Twitter and other social media platforms are a business necessity - rather than a business nicety - and fellow blogger, twitterer and prominent web guru Graham Jones has warned that businesses wasting time on such websites could destroy their businesses.

You can read what Graham Jones wrote by clicking here - and we were moved to comment to agree with his warning. It is true, social media can be a time hungry beast - but if you satisfy its craving with the sugar-fuelled equivalent of junk food then you will surely crash and burn. You have to be way smarter than that and as Graham says, knowing what your target audience look at online is key.

This is not really new was much as it is a timely reminder - target has always been King.

Let me explain how Morgan PR does it. We blog, twitter and are well LinkedIn (only ever did facebook as a personal thing, and ecademy was only a flirtation and bursting with spam-like people who do not know me but behave like they do!) and are very careful how we use each and only as part of a coherent marketing strategy.

In its simplest terms we use these tools to populate our permission marketing database - the members of which get our monthly newsletter. All the time we strive to offer them enough value that they continue to grant us permission and over time many become convinced of our considerable expertise and they become customers.

All this is done with analytics that show when you are doing it right and allow you to adjust your approach if you are making mistakes.

We have clients who found our blog on Google, or perhaps went to our website first. Or they Twittered with us or LinkedIn... then, in different journey times, they migrate across to become clients.

Of course, we don't just exist in cyberspace and many people follow us online after encountering us in the real world.

If you are in public relations or marketing, like us, competency in the social media people are discovering is in itself a terrific way to leverage the relationship and can ensure you are able to help more people than ever before - and in the difficult economic times we currently face, that is so vitally important.

'Will the last person to leave please turn out the lights' - powerful energy saving tips at Newbury Business Group

The 10 minute Masterclass slot at Newbury Business Group is always a chance for our members to shine, and none more so than West Berkshire energy saving guru, Anthony Straszewski from Proport Eco-Services, who this week was enlightening us on energy saving lightbulbs.

During a very interactive session Anthony, pictured above, had us shouting out our frustrations with energy bulbs - they are too slow to light up, they are dimmer than normal bulbs, you cannot get spotlight bulbs - the list went on and Anthony would deftly flourish an energy saving bulb that countered our concerns and plug it in, lighting up the room and illuminating our minds in an ever more friendly shade of green.

He clearly made the point that it is really easy to make excuses for not making simple changes that not only save the environment, but can actually save money too. With readily available lightbulbs such as the ones shown to us today saving 80% on old style lightbulbs we could understand what he meant about being green paying in more ways than one.

No doubt many members will be using Anthony's company for its Lifestyle Green-audit™ and Energy Audit. Proport Eco-Services offers a range of energy related services, including Energy Performance Certificates, and unrivalled local expertise on Code for Sustainable Homes.

Morgan PR has been working with Proport Eco-Services on its branding and market position as it moves forward and we have collaborating with fellow Newbury Business Group member Adrian Scott, from Companion Computers to create a web offering to best showcase Anthony's amazing work, including an extranet to help his clients access their energy information online.

Learning to save time over breakfast - secrets of Four FourTime revealed at Newbury Business Group

One minute elevator pitches and 10 minute Masterclasses? Breakfast at Newbury Business Group might sound regimented, but truthfully the dynamic nature of such a remarkable group of entrepreneurs and business owners makes precision timing more of a theory that strictly enforced fact - many say it is the relaxed nature of our group that makes it preferable to the more 'structured' networking groups out there in West Berkshire.

Perhaps if we were running the meetings using Four Four Time, the thoroughly efficient though blissfully simple timer program created by Tony Spiers of, the naturally named Four Four Time company, the meetings might be more as regimented. There is certainly no doubt the this little application can deliver big savings in time and money.

Tony was delivering a 10 minute Masterclass at this morning's breakfast meeting and gave a powerful display of his creation in action.

During the demonstration Tony explained that typically the users discover how much time they save simply by measuring how much time they spend on each task - one client had discovered they wasted two and a half hours a day on personal emails when they estimated it added up to 30 minutes.

The timer can capture multiple tasks and is easily exported to an Excel spreadsheet if required. Tasks can be paused, quickly launched and alarms set too. One user sets an alarm on the timer to remind them to use the timer! Mutli user licences are also available and

Given Tony's background as a trainer - he also offers bespoke training courses in the basic Office programs - he has managed to create a program that is intuitive and that comes with an instruction booklet that only runs to 28 pages. Not the veritable telephone directories that normally accompany new computer programs.

Morgan PR was an earlish adopter of Four Four Time after writing about Tony and his wife and business partner Jill and the successes they have had with the innovative product.

It certainly is easy to use and it was an eye opener for us how much longer some tasks took and indeed how it was also easy to over estimate the time other tasks would take. Now we tend to use it to measure new tasks the first few times to accurately record typical timings and also with the crisis management work that we undertake. We certainly would have no hesitation in recommending it.

Never become the story - Noel Edmonds pounces on press officer quip

He was never so agitated on Swap Shop! I'm talking about Noel Edmonds, who went postal at a press officer via his charitable show on Sky 1, Noel's HQ and in doing so delivers a terrific example of how becoming the story can be a disaster for a press officer.

Now I've not seen any more than this clip, preferring to keep Noel (and Keith Chegwin) in my 'Memories from a time of innocence' file, along with such gems as Pipkins and Bagpuss, but essentially get the idea that the show does good, not least through public indignation.

This exchange came about over Wealden District Council's rejection on planning grounds of a bungalow for a disabled war veteran - normally the preserve of local papers and regional TV, this has become major story courtesy of a press officer provoking Noel.

Watch:



The killer line. The words that cost this press officer so dearly were his policy-based dismissal that the council 'did not speak to entertainment shows'. I wonder if the press officer realised his mistake the second the words tumbled from his mouth?

Have the press team at Wealden District Council never seen Watchdog? Baiting the spokesman is brilliant TV sport and has nothing to due with truth and everything to do with whipping up indignation and anything that is dismissive of the programme - and therefore the viewers it attracts - is a recipe for red-faces. When the viewers are tax payers (regardless if they live in Wealdon) then you need to switch to crisis management mode pronto.

Noel HQ is suddenly viral gold and appearing all over the web and will no doubt pick up more viewers - which is surely coincidence.

You should never become the story when you are a press officer - unless it helps your organisation of course. Back when I was a press officer at Thames Valley Police I was snapped at Reading Festival and the photo below appear across seven columns of Saturday's Guardian. All very entertaining - but at that morning's press conference there were more questions about that photo then there were about a rape at the festival and certainly less column inches appeared.


To an extent being a police press officer is a little different; when a detective argues he is trying to catch a murderer and would rather you front up the cameras, it is hard to argue back. But then I was a paid spokesman whose role included appearing on camera.

Somewhere in the archives there is footage of a brick bouncing of my hard hat (which I had questioned the wisdom of wearing as it made me look more builder than police PR!) and I am sure there is footage of me ripping into a journalist or six. But never where in itself it would become the story.

Personally I always wanted to come up against political comic Mark Thomas on one of his visits to the atomic weapons factory at Aldermaston - which would have been flirting with the risk of TV exposure of the most ridiculing kind, but it never happened!

Rave reviews for Morgan PR - watch the video and see for yourself!

It seems hard to believe the snow that has continuously carpeted the ground for so many days now was just starting to fall last week when Morgan PR headed across to Faringdon for the FBBC to deliver them a seminar about 'The Path to Networking Nirvana.

Among the audience was Julian Wellings from Expertise on Tap, who provides us with the excellent newsletter services that many of you will be familiar with. He also runs Julian Wellings Films a successful corporate video company and in that capacity he filmed me at the seminar and asked members what they thought of the talk and below is the video he quickly produced.

Naturally we are delighted with the result, the comments and know that videos are the future of websites. Anyway, enjoy the video below!

Twitter means business - Morgan PR among the Twitter Elite in West Berkshire

Morgan PR Twitters - indeed you can find me on Twitter here - and we have been discovering for a little while that it is an effective tool for driving traffic here to this blog, but also to our website, for encouraging people to sign up for our newsletter and keeping our associates updated on our activities.

I guess we could be modestly impressed at being 157,508 out of almost two million Twitters busy enough to be assessed by Twitter Grader, a self congratulatory tool for those busy enough on the micro-blogging site to get noticed.

More interestingly, it checks out where you stand geographically, and we were somewhat amazed to discover we are within the Top 10 Twitter Elite in West Berkshire! Actually at number nine! We kid you not - and here is the really important part - every single Twitterer who makes into the top 21 locally is in business. No bored teenagers talking about the most amazing snowflake they have just seen - well, no teenagers! But definite evidence this is a business tool.

Honestly, it is a surprise that our modest efforts on Twitter warrant such recognition. If you want to be really impressed check out Graham Jones on Twitter, he is the Internet Psychologist and racks up a whopping 97.8%.

What it does reveal is that Twitter is still open to relatively early adopters who are prepared to invest the time and effort to make this service a key part of their marketing strategy; it takes committment and time too, but like LinkedIn, if you make the investment it will work.