Ethos public relations Manchester

Our Fantastic Fairtrade Banquet!

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:45 +0000

This Fairtrade Fortnight what did you do? Which Fairtrade products did you buy or swap? Well, the Ethos public relations team celebrated by successfully holding a Fairtrade lunch - which, due to the vast amount of food, turned into a banquet - on Friday (5th March)!! Having been given the role of key organiser, I set about researching available Fairtrade products and recipes. The obvious sprung to mind – Fairtrade bananas, coffee, sugar and chocolate - but tracking down savoury products was somewhat of a task. Sean had the great idea of using Fairtrade spices - I soon found a supplier online ‘Bart Spices’ and, most importantly, recipes that incorporated the spices: Fairtrade cardamom pods, ginger and black pepper. Next step was to track down Fairtrade coconut milk and Fairtrade olive oil - after ringing round the majority of places in Manchester we were out of luck, as no one stocked them, so again I had to resort to the internet. I placed my order for these and the other Fairtrade products we needed – tahini, chocolate, honey, apple and orange juice. Having finalised the menu, I gave everyone a say on their preferred choice of dish to prepare. On Thursday night, I wished everyone luck as they left with their Fairtrade ingredients to cook up a storm, and even more luck transporting it from home into work the following morning – Tupperware at the ready!! By one o’clock on Friday afternoon, the office was filled with the aroma of spices and a Fairtrade banquet was laid out. Sean, Shaun and myself were responsible for the starters. I made hommous with pitta breads using the Fairtrade olive oil and tahini, Sean made coconut and lentil soup using the Fairtrade coconut milk and spices and Shaun made fruit and nut cutlets using Fairtrade nuts, apricots and raisins. We even had a glass (or two) of Fairtrade Sparkling Wine to toast our great efforts. For main course, Christina made a refreshing salad of mango and avocado with balsamic dressing and toasted pinenuts (the mangos and avocado were supposed to be Fairtrade, but due to logistical problems we had to make do with organic.) Valerie made chunky spiced vegetable and bean soup using the Fairtrade spices, served with bread. Now on to dessert – we gave Rob and Debbie who, by the way, usually steer clear of the kitchen, the task of making desserts. Rob made flapjacks with Fairtrade chocolate and Debbie really did surprise us with her Fairtrade banana surprise!! The pièce de résistance would have to be Sean’s honey cake made using Fairtrade honey. Even though we had all overindulged, we found room for a small slice, especially since it was Shaun’s birthday earlier in the week, so we had to celebrate that too! The verdict – it was a culinary delight! The flavours worked well together and the colours of all the different dishes made for fantastic photographs. Who knows what recipes we will cook up next year for Fairtrade Fortnight. Watch this space....

Rules is rules!

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:24 +0000

We're just in the process of updating our company communications policy to take into account the use of social networking sites. Since our policy was first written, just over three years ago, it's incredible to think how the use of social networking sites has grown. In 2006, I don't think I knew what Facebook was and Twitter had only just come into existence. The Twitter 'joke' reported in the newspapers last month, which led to the first person in the UK being arrested for comments posted on Twitter, flagged up to all of us the need to be careful about what we post on social networking sites. This person's Twitter comment about blowing up Robin Hood Airport led to their arrest under the Terrorism Act, seven hours of police questioning and suspension from work! As the use of social networking sites is now so common, from both a personal and a business point of view, we thought it was high time we set out in writing some of the do's and don't's for us all as employees of Ethos public relations. The example above is extreme, but the issues of what should or should not be posted, who it is shared with and how it is shared are all important if employees and companies are to avoid getting into hot water. In addition to the obvious things like confidentiality, not bringing the company into disrepute and generally not been offensive, issues include the need for employees to make it clear when posting whether they are speaking on their own behalf or on behalf of the company. Making sure you're only posting to the people you should be posting to is important too. Recent news stories of Facebook postings causing disastrous consequences include teenagers announcing their house parties to everyone on Facebook, only to find they're inundated with troublemakers, leaving their parent's home wrecked. Because social networking sites are still relatively new, it seems like there are lots of pitfalls when posting. However, I'm sure for most of us, the more confident and experienced we get at posting on them, particularly for business purposes, the less problematical they will seem. In the end, I guess it mainly boils down to common sense. Image: luigi diamanti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Eggciting approach to workshop

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:29 +0000

Like many business professionals I've attended numerous conferences, workshops and seminars - and as we all know - some are very much better than others. This week I was a guest of the Housing e-Academy at its e-Enabling Tenant Engagement Conference in Leeds. I attended two workshops, the first was from Creative North who introduced delegates to a very clever use of mobile phone technology. The second was managed by the host organisation and reminded us about the wealth of social media opportunities available for communicating with core audiences. A highlight of the venue in Leeds was that both my workshops were held in a very plush private cinema which certainly beats sitting around a conference table! And I think I can speak for all delegates when I say we loved the 'eggs' provided by the presenter which allowed for a unique interactive audience experience.? Think how the audience participates in 'Who wants to be a Millionaire?' and you should get the picture. It's always good to get out and about and keep up with the latest innovations and technologies - and of course it's a great networking opportunity. I was able to meet delegates from my current client portfolio and I bumped into people I had worked with in the past. I met new people too - those working in the social housing sector and many politically active (with a small 'p') tenants and residents.

Building Trust in the Digital Age

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:09 +0000

I am not the first person to write about embargoes on press releases in the digital age. Last year Rob Brown's blog, Breaking the Embargo, highlighted cases of PR companies breaking their own embargoes and Jeremy Toeman's reply argued that embargoes are essential in maintaining relationships between journalists, bloggers and PRs. For too long, I think, people have seen the embargo in terms of controlling news release, something bloggers and social networking sites seem to see as anathema. Too often PR companies and overzealous marketers have seen the embargo as a way of trying to ensure that the public get the right message at the right time. In today's 24 hour media world this really does seem old fashioned and counter to the prevailing idea that news belongs to everyone as it happens. In the political arena, an embargo can ensure that politicians from other parties don't trump a major policy announcement, but even here publicists have been known to 'float' an idea before the announcement itself, calling into question the importance of an embargo. But for me the use of an embargo is about something much more fundamental, and increasingly forgotten. Some stories or announcements are actually complicated and deserve a measured amount of analysis. They shouldn't just be stripped from a press release immediately and posted to this blog or that website. They deserve preparation and, dare I say, some research by the journalist/blogger. The 24 hour news culture puts a lot of strain on journalists to deliver content speedily and the Twitter generation demands we distil things to appropriate soundbites. But as professionals, dedicated to providing information, whether journalist or PR, we should also care about providing a 'quality' story. It seems to me that often that can only be achieved by giving our journalist colleagues ample time to digest information in the news release and then to undertake additional research. This can only be achieved by the appropriate use of an embargo. (Photo by Danilo Rizzuti, courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

Back to school for Ethos public relations

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:41 +0000

Making New Year resolutions is all the rage at the minute so we thought that we would get in on the act and make one ourselves. We have decided that we are going to learn or re-learn shorthand!A few of us were taught shorthand at university but after a few years of sporadically using it we thought it was about time that we sat down and refreshed our memories. Some of my - oh how should I word this - more experienced colleagues, who have been in the business a little longer than I have, know other versions of shorthand but we are going to be using Teeline. We have put aside a small bit of time each week to teach ourselves this useful tool which will come in handy for taking notes in interviews. One of the main rules for shorthand is to remove the vowels from words and group the 'indicators' for each consonant together. The removal of letters to make smaller words is quite usual in text speak so hopefully, in this technological world we live in, it means that we won't find the new 'language' too difficult!But if you do hear us saying 'ltl' instead of 'little' or 'wk' instead of 'week' then please do let us know!!

I made it through the snow!!

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:33 +0000

This morning I woke to find around 5 inches of snow if not more covering the streets AND roads of Manchester, the most I have ever seen in the city centre. I togged up, put my wellies on and ventured out in what looked like a mild blizzard.On the walk to work, I heard various business people alike talking on their phones discussing the bad weather conditions, how they had been delayed and how buses had struggled to get up hills. Cars were wheel spinning and sliding about. It wasn't long before my phone was ringing, firstly Valerie rang, backing up claims of disruption to local public transport, she was unable to get a bus or tram from Crumpsall. Secondly Christina rang confirming delays on trains - they would both try and make it into work as soon as they could. I took some photographs on my phone, hence the upload of Piccadilly Gardens, as it just looked so scenic a change from the usual rain and greyness. I finally arrived at my desk and was met with a warm office and a round of applause. Slowly colleagues started to filter in, including Valerie and Christina. As our reward for the whole team making it into work we have all enjoyed a mid morning snack of jam doughnuts and coffee. I can't wait for the next snow day.