News and thoughts

By Adrienne Robins

Putting together your 2018 marketing strategies? Well, here are some trends you might want to follow to keep things fresh and exciting. 

1. Get a good vlog game 

If you’re working on FMCG or are delivering B2C messaging, then you should reach out to the vlogging community. Share your products and opinions with these savvy YouTube/Instagram personalities and you’ll reach new audiences, particularly of the youth and female kind. This isn’t a new trend, but it’s one that’s growing quickly. Don’t expect vloggers to promote your stuff – that’s advertising! Instead, let them give their candid reviews. PC Centric does this really well when it comes to techy stuff https://youtu.be/kKpHe_hFMJs 

Alternatively, if you’re comfortable being in front of the camera, there’s nothing to stop you from vlogging. Just make sure you’ve got an interesting angle and are prepared to stand by what you say. Don’t worry about being perfect in terms of lighting etc. It’s more to do with content. But remember, it’ll take time to build an audience – vloggers like PC Centric don’t achieve success over night. 

2. Think stories 

When it comes to social media, stories are where it’s at. Everyone loves an Instagram story, so make sure you add to these. And it’s the same when it comes to Facebook/Messenger.  

For Twitter (and Facebook), we’d like to see more people going live, letting people really engage with events and emotions as they happen. 

3. Old school is going to be super cool 

New GDPR and E Privacy Regulations come in to force in May 2018, and these will significantly change the way we approach direct marketing, especially in terms of emails. 

In short, mass email marketing to prospective customers is pretty much dead. Which is no bad thing seeing as the conversion rates are often pretty dismal.  

Instead, marketing strategies will be much more targeted and better joined up with the sales process. There will be a massive focus on getting well researched targets to opt in, rather than simply hitting the send button and hoping. 

To do this, marketing teams are going to have to spend more time understanding what really makes potential customers tick. We might also see an increase in old school direct mail.  

One thing is for sure though, if mass emails are an integral part of your marketing you need to prepare to do things differently. 

By Paul Sanderson

Today the Government published its long-awaited Industrial Strategy and the section on recycling is ambitious. 

But is this ambition realistic? 

We have a number of clients in the recycling sector, but also work with manufacturers too, so the Industrial Strategy is obviously of interest. 

For the recycling sector, it calls for the introduction of a circular economy. Great, but there was no detail on this. 

It also wants to see “raising the resource productivity of businesses, including through the promotion of recycling and strong secondary materials markets where products are designed with efficiency and recyclability in mind”. 

In my view, to create strong secondary markets, it is absolutely essential to design packaging that can be easily recycled in the first place. 

Give a member of the public a steel or aluminium can or a cardboard box and they almost always know it can be recycled. Give them a multi-material food pouch and they really aren’t sure whether they can or not. Simple wins. 

As Simon Ellin, the chief executive of The Recycling Association (one of our clients), always says, we have got to put quality first when it comes to recycling. Quality is vital as contamination makes the products harder, sometimes impossible, to recycle. 

The best way to get that quality is to have packaging that is easy for the public to understand whether they can recycle it or not. 

Let’s hope that when the Government eventually publishes its new strategy for resources and waste, it recognises that the biggest win will come from designing and manufacturing products that can be easily recycled.  

By Alex Bean

Over the years, we have held many events in different locations, from our recent event in the ultra-lush New Hall Hotel and Spa in Birmingham, to other lavish locations such as the Malmaison in Liverpool and Rudding Park in Harrogate. 

But what did we consider when choosing these venues?  

Most people will tell you the obvious points on how to find the right venue, such as setting a budget and writing a list of essentials beforehand. 

However, here are our five top tips that will make you really think and narrow down your search until you find that perfect venue for you.   

1) Proximity to public transport 

When finding the right venue, you need to consider how your guests will arrive. If some are likely to opt for public transport then make it easy by minimising the distance from train stations, bus stops and taxi ranks.  

Luxury locations can often be a little bit inaccessible, so although there may be parking on site, you really need to do your public transport homework (or lay on a transfer service) for the clients who aren’t driving.

2) Ring the venue first to get a feel for the level of service 

If you ring the venue first and they aren’t helpful over the phone, it is unlikely that they will be in person. Organising an event without a supportive venue team is possible, but it’s so much easier if you all pull in the same direction. This really is a case of first impressions being important. 

3) Has a competitor held an event there previously? 

To make your event stand out, have a look at where your competitors have held events, and cross them off your list.  

You want to hold an event somewhere new and exciting, somewhere that will make your clients remember every detail. 

By holding it in the same place as a competitor, what you are essentially doing is making them remember a previous event, which kind of defeats the objective. 

Be different! 

4) London is expensive – but free venues are anything but 

Although London may seem the best place in the UK to hold an event, it will cost you more than places in the surrounding areas.  

Unless you have a budget that can accommodate London prices, look elsewhere. We like Oxford and Birmingham for good prices and easy accessibility. 

You’ll be surprised what 100 miles can do to the price tag. 

A word on free venues: our experience is that free can be a headache requiring a lot of extra preparation hours (and hours are not free). Also, catering costs at free venues will rack up – and can often result in a similar cost to a paid for venue. Except you don’t have any on-site support. Our advice – proceed with free venues with a heavy dose of caution.   

5) Look around 4/5 venues before choosing  

It is essential that you look around the venues before booking, because sometimes pictures flatter to deceive. 

I like to call these “catfish-venues.” 

When you visit, remember your must-have list and really get a feel for the place, even down to the little details that you wouldn’t have previously thought of. Everything counts when searching and comparing venue locations. 

You now have some more tips to think about when looking for your dream venue! 

Happy hunting! ?  

By Alex Bean

 

With our office based just off Bold Street in Liverpool, we are surrounded by an abundance of restaurants and cafés that all scream “EAT FROM HERE”.  In fact, in summer when we have the office window open we can smell all the delicious food on Bold Street and it makes us starving! 

Although we aren’t Michelin star judges (we wouldn’t say no if asked though!), we know a thing or two about the best places to go for a perfect lunchtime takeaway from somewhere on Bold Street, because honestly, we have tried most eateries on the road already! 

So here are our top five takeaways from Bold Street in Liverpool:  

1) American Pizza Slice  

This place, without a doubt, takes our first spot. Not only does it do a good range of pizzas, but the size of one alone could fill you for an entire day, and plus it’s absolutely delicious.   

It’s a pizza that makes you want more, and with one slice only costing £2.50, it’s great value for money. Alex recommends the peperoni pizza and Paul loves the halloumi one.

2) Artisane 

The story behind this French bakery, sorry boulangerie and patisserie, is quite magnifique. The team behind this amazing place is made up from local and international bread and cake aficionados, who produce hundreds of mouth-watering treats every day. The stunning selection of beautiful patisserie makes it well worth a visit, but the selection of sandwiches and bakes is stunning too.

Paul suggests the vegetable curry pasty and ask for it to be warmed.  

3) Bold Street Coffee 

If you ever find yourself walking to the end of Bold Street, you will come across this little café on the left-hand side. 

Not only does this place do, in our opinion, the best coffee in Liverpool, it also makes ammmmazzzingg toasties that are truly-scrumptious. If you’re ever in need of a deep, intense coffee, walk past the Costa and the Caffe Nero and try this little place instead, you’ll discover what you’ve been missing. 

4) Bakchich 

This Lebanese street food restaurant is always packed, which says a lot about how good the food is.  

If you’re a fan of halloumi, kofta’s, Lebanese-style burgers, and wraps, then this place is one to try, and we are sure you will love it as much as we do! And not many people realise they do takeaway too. So when you need to grab something to eat at your desk, you can still have Bakchich.

5) The Italian Club 

Italian food is amazing anyway, but this restaurant makes it exquisitely. 

From the dry-cured ham paninis to the carbonara, this place is one for the lovers of traditional Italian recipes and ingredients. Don’t miss out on trying this little spot, because it will soon become a favourite. 

 

Happy eating!  

 

By Adrienne Robins

When it comes to B2B PR, the baseline focus is often on products, services and target markets. But that can only carry you so far. 

Identifying and nurturing an industry personality, however, can take your PR to another level.  

Over the years, we’ve worked with a range of individuals in the recycling, construction, energy and sustainability sectors, and all have enjoyed regular print media/online coverage. Some have come to us with the explicit objective of raising their personal profile, while others have been surprised to find themselves in the spotlight. 

For those that already recognise that they have a story to tell, the key is to help them refine messages and identify the less obvious (but often more interesting) stories and opportunities.  

For many, it’s also important to provide practical support in terms of identifying and securing feature and speaking opportunities, drafting copy and acting as a sounding board for more controversial (or should that be thought-provoking?!) opinions. 

In reality, if you have a ready-made personality, the challenge can be more about focus and direction.  

But not everyone arrives at our door ready to take to the stage, or even aware that they have a story to tell. Mike Jackson from Prismm Environmental is a good example. 

At our first meeting with Mike it was obvious that his mindset was all about innovation. He’s certainly not old school recycling.  

It was clear to us that Mike would be able to forge a place for himself in the UK recycling landscape, and after talking it through he was happy to give it a go. 

Six months down the line, Mike has a vlog, has spoken at a recycling conference, has a regular column in a target market e-newsletter, and features in the latest issue of Recycling & Waste World magazine (pictured above). And he’s full of new ideas, which means the coverage will keep on coming. 

You can read Mike’s feature here (go to page 20): http://recyclingwasteworld.co.uk/digital-editions/3425 

By Paul Sanderson

 

On Friday it is Black Friday when some retailers will be offering discounts on loads of consumer goods. 

In a matter of just a few years, Black Friday has become a UK institution after being developed in the United States as a shopping day for Christmas on the day after Thanksgiving. 

But it has also become a day when some less scrupulous retailers lower prices after raising them the week before, effectively leaving them where they had been anyway. 

This is kind of how the news from China feels about the 0.5% allowed contamination levels that were revealed last week. 

Currently, it is permitted to send 1.5% contamination within loads to China, but the Chinese had proposed 0.3% in August. 

Therefore, there has been some relief that China has increased the amount of out-throw it will allow, even though effectively it means reducing the accepted amount by 1% of the total. 

Maybe this was clever psychology by the Chinese Government, or maybe they just listened to their own recyclers and the efforts of trade associations, including The Recycling Association in the UK. 

However, the 0.5% level is going to be really, really hard to meet. My view is that this can only be met by proactively sorting to this level, leaving a lot of material for other destinations. 

In order to meet this 0.5% level on a large scale, we need to transform everything from the beginning. This means packaging needs to be designed to be recyclable, and manufactured to be easily recyclable. That doesn’t mean theoretically recyclable, but that the public look at it and go, yep, I can recycle that.  

Need to know more about alternative destinations for your recyclable materials, post-China? Attend the REB Recycling End Markets Conference on the 13th December to find out the essential information : http://harosa.com/reb-recycling-end-markets-conference/