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An award win – and we finally do what we tell our clients to do!
20 Dec 2013
by Rebecca Dutton

Kirsty Smallman and Rhea Alton

Kirsty Smallman and Rhea Alton

Here at J&PR we are forever encouraging our clients to shout up when they do something great or have something interesting to say about themselves.

This time, however, the shoe was on the other foot and it was our turn to do the shouting.

We generally do very little of our own PR but after being shortlisted and then going on to scoop the top title of Free 2 Network 2013 Start up Business of the Year at a glittering awards ceremony we couldn’t avoid it.

Radio interviews, business news features, general news features, on-line news site newsletters and the subject of other people’s blogs, along with a very busy couple of days of social media – J&PR was the centre of a PR campaign for a change.

Thankfully, I had chosen to don a new dress for the occasion!

We are always advising our clients to ensure they promote an award shortlisting and to update the media on the result. It can generate really good positive PR.

Even now, weeks on, whilst the celebrations are over and my high heels are tucked away for the next glitzy award ceremony, our media campaign continues to rumble with J&PR’s success still making the newspapers.

But for businesses running their own PR campaign it really is essential that they have knowledge of the local media in order to maximise the company’s publicity.

Reporters and photographers are busy people and newsrooms are busy places and this fact cannot be underestimated.

So the more businesses can do to help by understanding what is news and what is not and what sort of pictures different media like to use the better chance they  stand of getting their news published.

Had it not been for my own media background and understanding of the local press J&PR could well have missed its own opportunity to get a photo in our local paper.

As the professional photographer snapped away at the awards ceremony at St George’s Hotel, Llandudno, last month I couldn’t help noticing that he only took portrait photos.

When I double checked this fact he agreed he was only taking portraits.

I then had to advise him that our regional newspaper which would certainly want a photo of us as winners generally published landscape pictures.

Without this knowledge I would have been left without a professional photo of me on stage to accompany my press release and J&PR’s  PR campaign would have fallen at the first hurdle.

A good tip to ensure PR is for business owners to  stay up to date on what journalists at the regional media need or want to ensure they have access to the best possible opportunities.

As for our award win, it really did come as a bit of a shock to Rhea and I. In fact, it still hasn’t quite sunk in and we will be flying on cloud nine for some time yet.

We have been inundated with cards and messages from clients and local businesses and we thank everyone for their continued support.

 J&PR are a Shropshire PR agency covering Shrewsbury, Telford, north Shropshire, south Shropshire and parts of Mid and North Wales. As well as working with businesses, organisations and events across the region on PR campaigns J&PR run regular DIY PR Training Courses and DIY Digital PR Training Courses at venues in the county.