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Whitepaper - PR in a changing media landscape

Friday, 10th May 2013 at 11:31am

whitepaperAs part of The Think Tank's sponsorship of B2B Marketing's Knowledge Bank PR Channel, our PR Director Samantha Dawe has produced a Whitepaper titled 'PR in a changing media landscape'.

The Whitepaper looks at the need for a new mindset in a changing media world. Many commentators have spoken about the basic model for media and marketing being broken. While media fragmentation is seen as a challenge, an expanding range of media options is also an opportunity.

The Whitepaper is free to download either from the B2B Marketing web site or by clicking the link below:

PR in a changing media landscape.pdf (254 kb)

Tagged PR, B2B Marketing, Marketing, B2B, whitepaper, Media, Press Relations, Media Relations, Public Relations

Sponsorship of B2B Marketing Knowledge Bank

Monday, 6th May 2013 at 3:52pm

B2B Marketing and PR

The Think Tank is proud to be the sponsor of the PR channel on the B2B Marketing Knowledge Bank, the UK’s premium resource for B2B marketing advice and best practice.

As part of our sponsorship we will be issuing a range of articles, white papers and web casts over the coming months, focussing on Public, Press and Media Relations.

To kick off this sponsorship we have issued the following ‘How To’ guides, case studies and white papers (click on the titles to view):

HOW TO: Survive a press interview

HOW TO: Manage your brand online

CASE STUDY: Permasense turn to The Think Tank to launch new company in risk-averse sector

Whitepaper: PR in a changing media landscape

We hope that you find these interesting and if you would like to discuss any of them in detail please contact Samantha Dawe, Director of PR, The Think Tank at samanthad@thinktank.org.uk or by calling 020 7831 2225.
Tagged B2B Marketing, PR, press Relations, Knowledge Bank, White Paper, How to Guides, Best Practice

100 Years for Formica Group featured in The Guardian

Friday, 18th January 2013 at 10:57am

Formica 100 years logoGuardian Formica Article2013 marks the 100th Anniversary of the iconic Formica® brand, best known for high pressure laminates. The product was developed in USA in 1913 as a replacement for the mineral product 'Mica' and thus was called 'Formica'. Did you know that laminate is made from paper? Many people don't.

The Think Tank has worked with Formica in the UK and across EMEA for the past 10 years providing a range of marketing services including PR and as a part of the 100 years celebrations we have been working to raise the profile of the brand and its history through the media and yesterday saw a great article published in The Guardian Newspaper - both online and in print.

Formica® laminate is an iconic product that is used all around us in our everyday lives and, judging by the fantastic comments posted on the Guardian website, many people have very fond memories of the brand. One of the pictures featured takes us right back to when The Think Tank was based in Soho and used to frequent the Piccadilly Cafe - we remember it well.

The article, titled 'Shiny, happy households: Formica turns 100', is written by Oliver Wainwright and looks at the history of the brand, and how it has developed and been used over the years.

To find out more about the history of this iconic brand click here and read the full article or alternatively click here to see 'Formica: our century-old laminate love affair – in pictures', also published on the Guardian website.

You can also click below to view the article in PDF form.

Shiny, happy households_...pdf




Shiny, happy households_...pdf (957 kb)

Tagged Guardian, marketing, Formica, press, pr, Europe, iconic, brand, Press Relations, article, 100 years, anniversary, interiors

Barbour ABI featured in Evening Standard

Thursday, 10th January 2013 at 12:58pm

Barbour ABI article in evening StandardThe Think Tank has been working with Barbour ABI to raise awareness of the great construction and housing sector data that they deliver every month.

As part of this activity we were able to secure them a mention in the Evening Standard Homes and Property supplement as part of an article discussing the 'don't move, improve' trend.

The article featured Ed Miliband and his wife, as they extend their house in Primrose Hill, and quotes Barbour ABI's statisticss that detail the volume of planning applications received across London boroughs.

In the article Adam Valentine, Group Content Director at Barbour ABI, said he expected the upward trend to continue – in 2010 some 55,000 London homeowners applied for permission to extend their homes. “I think that the areas where we are seeing a large volume of home improvements are those where prices are still rising. These are the areas where people will seek to increase the size of their homes,” he said.

Read the full article here.

Miliband's Primrose Hill mansion gets even bigger _ News _ Property news _ Homes & Property.pdf (300 kb)
Tagged Barbour ABI, statistics, construction, improvement, PR, press relations, article, Evening Standard, Homes, Property

BestFor PR Awards

Friday, 30th November 2012 at 12:00am

Best For PR Awards ConsumerBest for PR Awards ConstructionBest for PR Awards NationalBest for PR Award TechnologyThe Think Tank has received four awards in the 'BestFor PR Industry Awards'.

The awards have been keenly contested and 'BestFor' describe them as follows:

' PR Agencies across the UK have the opportunity to apply for a BestFor PR ranking. Our independent judging panel rigorously assesses each application and if successful, agencies are awarded a gold, silver or bronze ranking and listed within the relevant ranking table.

Each ranking table on the BestFor PR website enables companies seeking PR agencies to identify, select and contact leading agencies in the applicable sector or region that match their requirements.'

We are thrilled to have received the following awards:

Silver - Consumer Category
Silver - Property and Construction
Bronze - Technology
Bronze - National Category

This is a great credit to our PR team. Well done to all.

Click here to find out more.

Tagged PR, Awards, BestFor, Best, Technology, Construction, Consumer, National, Press Relations

The way journalists use social media

Sunday, 23rd September 2012 at 4:42pm

Social Media and JournalismGlobal public relations software and media tools provider Cision has conducted a study into the use of social media by journalists.

In the 2012 Social Journalism Study they asked journalists how they use social media, and how it impacts their work. A summary of the very interesting results can be seen in the infographic below or you can download the full study by clicking here.

It's a must for all PR professionals and marketers.

Tagged Journalists, research, PR, Press Relations, Cision, Study, Social Media

Entering the world of Wikipedia

Monday, 2nd July 2012 at 7:39pm

Wikipedia
The UK’s Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), the professional body for public relations practitioners, has announced special guidance for Wikipedia entries.

The guidance for public relations professionals using the site includes a number of recommendations and has gleaned global support in recognition of its potential for building mutual understanding between Wikipedians and public relations practitioners, the CIPR says.

The most significant of these is that public relations professionals should not directly edit Wikipedia pages relating to their organisation or brand but should instead suggest amendments to Wikipedians – the community of regular Wikipedia editors.

The consultation period for the guidance was hosted on Wikimedia UK, and the CIPR advises it will continue to be reviewed and refreshed as the relationship between the Wikipedia and public relations communities continues to progress.

See the best practice guidance here.

Tagged Wikipedia, Best Practice, PR, CIPR, Press Relations, Agency

Giving CIBSE a louder voice

Monday, 11th June 2012 at 4:58pm

CIBSEThe Think Tank is pleased to announce that we have been appointed by the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) to raise their voice and profile, extending the Institution’s communications activities through PR, Public Affairs and Social Media activity.  

We will be working closely with the CIBSE in-house communications team to create a series of strategies and campaigns to help raise further awareness of the organisation with Government, opinion formers and the media. We will also be looking at the use of social media platforms to create further channels for dialogue.  

The overall focus for 2012 is to demonstrate and communicate the organisation's depth and breadth of expertise and knowledge, and how this can help the built environment sector as a whole in the development of energy efficient buildings in a period where the UK's energy policy and usage is coming under even greater scrutiny and creating debate. 

The pursuit of engineering excellence is also a core theme.  

With a new look CIBSE Conference and Exhibition taking place at Olympia in October 2012, CIBSE’s 2013 prestigious Building Performance awards programme and the CIBSE/ASHRAE Young Engineers Awards, the Think Tank will be working to raise the profile of core events in CIBSE’s calendar.  

The Think Tank supports many organisations within the UK and across the EMEA region in raising awareness and developing opportunities to engage with a range of stakeholders.

Tagged CIBSE, Building Services, PR, Press Relations, Public Relations, Public Affairs, Social Media

Building on substantial foundations

Thursday, 7th June 2012 at 6:46am

FoundOcean Energy ConstructionFoundOcean is a leading engineering company which has been providing offshore grouting services for the global energy construction industries for over 45 years. It provides a range of services to the oil & gas and renewable energy sectors including foundation and structural grouting, structural repair and strengthening, as well as pipeline and cable support and protection across the globe.

The Think Tank has been appointed to raise FoundOcean's profile within these sectors through PR support activity in the UK and beyond.

Working closely with the in-house marketing team we have been developing article opportunities and comment pieces across the European energy sector press, engaging with stakeholders, discussing key industry issues and demonstrating that FoundOcean has the expertise and experience to answer the needs of the sector through innovative engineering.

Over the coming months we will be securing opportunities within the core industry titles to raise awareness of FoundOcean's capabilities, and position it at the forefront of sector expertise. We will be focusing our efforts on delivering and securing industry comment, feature articles and case studies around the groundbreaking work that FoundOcean is doing, and supporting the company at exhibitions and events. 

Tagged FoundOcean, Construction, Oil, Gas, energy, PR, Press Relations, Marketing, Global, Sector, Engineering, Offshore

The Think Tank heads off to Nordbygg, Sweden

Tuesday, 27th March 2012 at 7:48am

AttachmentNordbygg 2.JPGDid you know that Nordbygg is the biggest building exhibition in Northern Europe? I did (as I have been working on it for a few months)…but last week I attended the fair and was reminded by anyone to whom I said " Förlåt, jag prata inte Svenska" (I don’t speak Swedish) as they immediately wanted to be sure that this non-Swede knew how proud of the exhibition they are.  

Well, they should be…with three halls packed to the brim at Stockholmmassen, just 10 minutes outside of Central Stockholm, this event is full of tools, materials and everything you can think of to do with the building industry. Over three days I had the opportunity to speak to journalists from many Scandinavian publications and experience the building industry from a completely different cultural perspective.  

I had the privilege of going to Stockholm with our client Formica Group to help launch its VIVIX exterior facade panels. Offering opportunities to play with colour and shape, VIVIX panels can complement or add interest to office buildings, public, cultural and sports facilities, transportation centres, industrial buildings, educational facilities, residential developments and more.

Eva Hoernisch, Formica Group Design Manager, Europe, was on hand and together we were able to take a few moments to explore the building materials section. With her eye on colour Eva spotted a stand with insulation sample pieces in the most beautiful colour palette. We were dumbfounded at first as to why insulation would be so colourful until we realised it correlated to different degrees of density. VERY clever!  

With room for FIKA (traditional Swedish coffee and cake), a little of bit of Swedish entertainment and a lot of hard work, being part of Nordbygg was definitely an experience to remember.
Tagged Building, Construction, Design, exhibition, Formica, Nordbygg, PR, Press Relations, Show, Sweden

PR for Dinosaurs at The O2

Monday, 25th July 2011 at 8:13am

PR_DinosaursUnleashed.jpgCreating an impact from the word go, The Think Tank supported Dinosaurs Unleashed with a range of PR tactics including press releases, press visits and tours, interviews and competitions for the print media, and B Roll footage for the broadcast media.

We worked with a very diverse range of media from mumsnet to the Evening Standard and Time Out to ITV, Mayfair Life and Dinomite magazine to ensure as many bases were covered as possible to get the message out and to encourage visitors to this new attraction in London.

To see more click here
Tagged Agency, Dinosaurs, Marketing, O2, PR, Press Relations, The, Unleashed

Raisng the profile of IronmongeryDirect

Friday, 22nd July 2011 at 12:00pm

Ironmongery_BusinessCoverage.jpgAlong with regular coverage in DIY Week and Builders Merchant News, we have been putting forward IronmongeryDirect to the broader business press as ‘one to watch’ with the exciting growth it has achieved, and how it is making this happen.  This has included arranging interviews and compiling Q&As which has resulted in coverage in Real Business magazine, Catalogue E-business and Marketing Week as well as issuing business results and updates, and newsjacking.
Tagged ironmongerydirect, PR, Press Relations, profile, trade

Dispelling the myths of Social Media

Tuesday, 17th May 2011 at 2:15am

Marketing through Social Media channels has become a commonly discussed subject in recent years. It is a topic that The Think Tank is regularly asked to explain, clarify and recommend how it can be used to expand and supplement traditional forms of B2B marketing. The topic itself is quite complex, however Social Media can be used effectively to supplement a wide range of marketing activities including Brand Development, Media Relations, Direct Marketing, Promotions and Advertising.

Social Media is being used extensively within the B2C marketing environment however it has only really starting to take hold in business to business marketing recently with many organisations struggling to find justification for engagement. It is essential to ensure that this marketing channel is used to meet specific objectives, expand current marketing activities and not try and replace them.

Social Media campaigns should be developed to ensure relevance to each organisation's marketing objectives, however for those investigating whether they should engage or not Liam Bateman, Director, The Think Tank, dispells a few myths of Social Media that you may wish to consider:

1. We need to use every Social Media channel that we can find. 

2. Social Marketing is free!

3. If we set up profiles people will follow us

4. Social Media is just for chatting with friends   

Click here to view the full article  'Dispelling the Myths of Social Media'
Tagged Blogging, facebook, Integrated, Marketing, Media Relations, PR, Press Relations, social media, Twitter

Nominated for Best PR Campaign

Tuesday, 19th October 2010 at 12:48pm

cma_logo_home_nm.gifThe Think Tank has been shortlisted in this year's Construction Marketing Awards in the Best PR Campaign category for our work with SAS International. We have worked with this leading architectural metalwork, ceiling and room comfort systems manufacturer for several years and at the start of 2010 work was extended when we were appointed as their European and Middle East PR agency in a competitive agency pitch.

The Think Tank provides a range of services to SAS International including digital communications and graphic design.
Tagged Award, Awards, Construction, EMEA, Europe, Marketing, Media, PR, Press Relations, SAS International
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