Ethos Public Relations Manchester

21^st May 2012

Yesterday saw over 40,000 runners take to the streets of Manchester for the Great Manchester Run.

Account Manager Christina was on the sidelines cheering on partner Paul who has raised £195 for Guide Dogs, whilst Account Executive Emma’s partner Rob raised £217 for Arthritis Research UK. Not only that, but across the Pennines in Harrogate, Emma ran Race for Life, raising £147 for Cancer Research.

Here at Ethos public relations we not only donate 1% of our pre-tax profits to charity each year, but we also like to show our support to our employees, friends and family who do their bit for charity too, and have sponsored Emma, Paul and Rob for their efforts.

You can still donate to these fantastic causes by clicking on the links below. Well done to all the runners who took part this weekend!

• Emma's page
• Rob's page
• Paul's page
• Charity donations
  

16^th May 2012

Public relations agencies pride themselves on writing good stories for their clients and most of them also realise the importance of a good image to accompany the story.

This is becoming increasingly the case as more and more stories are published in digital format on the web in the form of blogs or online news.

Recently, we sent this image to a journalist on behalf of our client Econoloft, and we think the photograph is worth a thousand words.

• Econoloft
• What we do
  

14^th May 2012

As worldwide brands go – they don’t get much bigger than Manchester United FC and now thanks to a nail-biting football match on Sunday – Manchester City is fast catching up with its neighbour.

Like most Manchester businesses, Ethos public relations has staff supporting both the blues and the reds but what we are really proud of is the common denominator in both brands – Manchester.

The fact the city has two great brands bearing its name is great news for the economy of Manchester. Just ask the hoteliers, restaurateurs and bar owners. Whether you love football or you hate it - there is no getting away from it - our fabulous city now has another world wide brand to be proud of.

We shall be lending our support to the thousands of people lining the streets later today to congratulate the blues (just as we did last year to congratulate the reds!)

• Manchester United
• Manchester City

11^th May 2012

We are very pleased to have received our copies of a new magazine that we produced for our client, Action For Kids today, and happy to see an interview we set up with the charity’s founder on Disability Horizons.

We have put together a colourful 16-page magazine, filled with stories about how Action For Kids is helping children and young people with physical and learning disabilities find greater levels of independence and it is great to now see it in print.

It is an added bonus to also see an interview we set up with Sally Bishop, the founder of Action For Kids, on Disability Horizons.

If you need a hand with producing a customer magazine or copywriting, please get in touch! We would be more than happy to help!

• AFK website
• Disability Horizons interview

11^th May 2012

Following on from the news that we have been appointed to work with Inview Monitoring Systems on their PR and marketing, we have today been helping rewrite their website.

A well-written website is essential in today’s business environment and it is an ideal opportunity for your businesses to not only inform your customers and potential customers, but also to display some of your own personality.

Over the years Ethos public relations has helped many organisations and businesses rewrite and relaunch their websites, so if you could benefit from a review of your website, then why not get in touch with us?

• Writemywebsite.com
• Inview
• Action For Kids website
• What we do

9^th May 2012

We are very pleased to announce that Ethos public relations has been handed the brief to manage the communications for Inview Monitoring Solutions, a start-up security business in Lancashire.

Inview offers fully-monitored CCTV for residential and business customers, mobile rapid response and security guards. We have already been promoting the business as it is the main sponsor in a fundraiser for Parkinson’s UK featuring Frank Bruno and Rasheda Ali.

Director of Inview, Yasin Aslam said:  “I wanted an agency that would be able to offer me a lot of support as the business develops.

“As well as a proven track record in media relations, Ethos public relations offers a hands-on approach and has already provided a lot of valuable advice around the strategic marketing of my business.”

• Inview Monitoring Solutions
• Rasheda Ali fundraiser

8^th May 2012

Our client FrithRugs has asked us to promote a new collection of rugs made from 50% hemp and 50% jute. 

Both hemp and jute are natural plant fibres and hemp is particularly eco-friendly as it is a plant that grows quickly with little or no chemical fertilisers. Jute, a relative of hemp, is one of the most natural fibres around and together these two plant extracts have been used in textiles for many thousands of years.

FrithRugs is one of several clients in our ‘Homes’ portfolio and we will now be contacting major journalists in the sector and persuading them to feature this new collection in their newspapers, magazines, websites and blogs.

Fortunately, the British public’s love of home interiors and design shows no sign of abating and we love promoting products like this to the public via the media.

• FrithRugs
• New rugs

4^th May 2012

Ethos public relations is excited to be part of the team that is bringing Muhammad Ali’s daughter, Rasheda Ali to Manchester to raise awareness of Parkinson’s disease.

Rasheda Ali travels across the world raising awareness of the condition and helping local communities raise money.  This is the first time she will be profile-raising in Manchester and she will also be joined at the event by boxing legend Frank Bruno.

The dinner event will be held at the Sheridan Suite in Manchester on 4 June and has the full support of Parkinson’s UK which will also have representatives at the event.

Tickets are available at £50 per head or £450 for a table of ten. Go to www.sportscorporation.com to order yours.

• Parkinson's UK
• Rasheda Ali

3^rd May 2012

Millions of people will be off to polling stations across the country today to vote, with a total of 4,722 seats to be decided as political parties battle it out in local elections.

Locally to us at Ethos public relations, there is a referendum on whether Manchester should have an elected Mayor as well as local council elections. Voters in our neighbouring city, Salford, will choose who they want as Mayor.

Here at Ethos public relations, we believe everyone who can should vote. Everyone’s right to vote was won following years of campaigning and getting actively involved in the country’s democracy is the best way to thank everyone who fought for universal suffrage.

So, if you want to make a difference and have a say in who represents your local area then we encourage you to make your way to the polling station to vote – we will be!

• Manchester City Council
• Salford City Council

3^rd May 2012

Millions of people will be off to polling stations across the country today to vote, with a total of 4,722 seats to be decided as political parties battle it out in local elections.

Locally to us at Ethos public relations, there is a referendum on whether Manchester should have an elected Mayor as well as local council elections. Voters in our neighbouring city, Salford, will choose who they want as Mayor.

Here at Ethos public relations, we believe everyone who can should vote. Everyone’s right to vote was won following years of campaigning and getting actively involved in the country’s democracy is the best way to thank everyone who fought for universal suffrage. 

So, if you want to make a difference and have a say in who represents your local area then we encourage you to make your way to the polling station to vote – we will be!

• Manchester City Council
• Salford City Council
• Aboutmyvote.co.uk
• Where we are

2^nd May 2012

A story in today’s Manchester Evening News sparked a conversation in the office about charity fundraising and who does what for free.

Manchester City Football Club allegedly wants to charge £40 an hour for its mascot to attend a fundraiser for the Teenage Cancer Trust – whilst rivals Manchester United offered their mascot for free.

As we handle the PR for national charity Action For Kids, we are well aware of how important it is that charities get excellent value from the money they spend. Publicising your charity and encouraging more people to donate or support the charity costs money and is essential to helping more of the charity’s beneficiaries.

One of us though had real life experiences of the problems mascots suffer. It turns out that our Account Manager Christina was the mascot Funky Monkey for Co-op Sports for Schools in a previous life!  And so if you want a well-trained, experienced mascot for your charity or organisation you know where to come…

• Charity PR
• Action For Kids

1^st May 2012

Media relations is often about sending written releases out to media organisations, usually by email. But for some projects or stories it is more useful to speak directly with editors or producers to see how they think a particular story can fit with what they are doing.

Ethos public relations firmly believes that you should target what you say to the audience you are addressing, so what better proof of that than asking the media what they want?

We do this with all of our clients - but especially so for our housing and lifestyle businesses, such as Econoloft and FrithRugs.

And it does work – we have lost count of the times a nudge from us has resulted in coverage.

• FrithRugs
• Econoloft

30^th April 2012

One of the advantages of using a PR agency is the fact that we have a wide range of expertise and experience.

As you will see from our news section our clients cover a wide variety of areas from housing to charity and from renewable energy to co-operatives.

At first glance it may seem that these areas do not have anything in common, but on more than one occasion we have been able to use knowledge gained in one field to help get the message across in another.

So why not get in touch to see what we can do for you?

• RBH press release
• Action For Kids press release

27^th April 2012

As well as our usual media relations work and client liaison, we have also been busy this week getting together a team of paddlers for the Rudyard Sailability Annual Dragon Boat Race that takes place on 7 July.

We think it would be great to open up our team to anyone who wants to come and take part in the races which are really good fun – and very wet!

The Dragon Boat Race on Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire is the charity’s major fundraising event of the year and promises to be a great way to get active and raise funds for this fantastic charity.

So if you, or anyone you know would like to join a team, then get in touch with us to find out more.

• Rudyard Sailability
• Dragon Boat Race

26^th April 2012

Today we launch our new website for housing associations interested in public relations.

socialhousingpr.co.uk has been designed to answer some of the questions that social landlords and housing associations might have about using a PR agency such as Ethos public relations.

The sector is facing many challenges at the moment and new ways of working, so it is more important than ever that housing providers ensure they have the maximum public profile and can build the right relationships with journalists, residents, politicians and employees alike.

Visit our new website by clicking on this link. And do not forget that we also have websites dedicated to charity PR and website copywriting.

• Social housing PR
• Charity PR

25^th April 2012

One of our Directors, Debbie, recently took part in an interview for Daryl Wilcox Publishing (DWPub), a media database which provides online information services to over 2,500 journalists and public relations professionals.

In the interview, Debbie talks about the work we have done for our clients including Energy4All and Action For Kids, as well as providing some interesting insight into the public relations industry and what Ethos public relations stands for.

The interview has also been mentioned on DWPub’s Twitter and Facebook, as well as featuring in the company’s regular email bulletin. Well done Debbie!

Why not have a read of the interview yourself to find out a bit more about us and our clients?

• Interview
• Twitter

24^th April 2012

Our client Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) is already celebrating its 500th Member after officially becoming the UK’s first tenant and employee co-owned mutual landlord last month.

43 year old John Whetton works for Manchester based charity ‘Back on Track’ and has been an RBH tenant for over 10 years. His parents were very active in the co-operative movement and so he is fully appreciative of this move by RBH and jumped at the chance to become a Member.

By becoming a Member John, like other tenants and employees, will have the right to elect a Representative Body which monitors the success of the society, sets policy framework and agrees how to spend money. 

John has said that he is keen to get more involved in the management of the society and have more of a say in the way in which RBH develops. 

• RBH
• Press release

23^rd April 2012

Were you one of the 2000 people who joined in the St George’s Day parade in Manchester this weekend?

Over recent years the St George’s Cross has unfortunately been associated with football hooliganism and racism and so it is fantastic to see ordinary people reclaiming it to celebrate their pride in being English. And of course, it is great that we Mancunians are leading the way with what is the biggest St George’s day festival – hopefully it will just get bigger and bigger.

You may not know that the St George's Cross is not exclusively English and has been adopted on the coat of arms and flags of several countries and cities which have St George as a patron saint, notably Greece, Portugal, Moscow and Barcelona – but we don’t mind sharing!

It is also William Shakespeare’s birthday today – another reason to celebrate being British! Fans of the Bard will enjoy the ‘Sky Arts’ season of his work and also the BBC’s ‘Shakespeare Unlocked’ – we will certainly be watching.

• St George's Day
• William Shakespeare

20^th April 2012

Ethos public relations has supported Rudyard Sailability for a number of years and this week we have uploaded information about their annual Dragon Boat races to their website.

Each year teams of 11 paddlers take part in a fundraising event on the beautiful Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire in aid of Sailability, which helps those with a disability enjoy the freedom of the lake.

This year’s event takes place on 7 July and we would really like to see the races raise plenty of funds for the charity.

If your business or organisation would enjoy putting in a team to have a great (and wet) day out, whilst supporting this magnificent cause, why not take a look at Rudyard Sailability’s website now?

• Doing our bit for charity
• Rudyard Sailability

19^th April 2012

We were interested to see figures published today by RenewableUK showing that two-thirds (67%) of the UK is supportive of the use of wind power.

The figures are similar to a Guardian poll in March, which showed 60% of people in favour of wind energy.

Ethos public relations commissioned a similar survey on behalf of our client Energy4All which was carried out amongst residents in Devon, which showed that 69% of Devon residents would not mind if wind turbines were visible from their home, if they were in the distance. The similarity between results of these three polls speaks for itself.

We believe that detailed research and polls such as this are a great way of getting across your message to the media, so why not get in touch to see what we can do for you?

• Energy4All-Devon
• RenewableUK

18^th April 2012

Today marks 100 days until the start of the 2012 Olympic Games.

With excitement starting to rise, not only in London, but throughout the country the team at Ethos public relations is looking forward to watching some of the world’s greatest sport stars take part in a great summer of sport.

The Olympics are not only a boost for the capital – they will also be of benefit to the country as a whole. Some events will take place in stadia across the country and foreign teams are setting up home in various cities in the run up to the Games.

Our home, Manchester, is hosting a number of football games and the Australian swimming team and US basketball team are just a couple of the teams that will be using the city’s facilities before heading to the Olympic Village

We will definitely be keeping an eye out for future medal winners when we are out and about!

• Olympic Games
• Visit Manchester

17^th April 2012

Tomorrow sees one of our Account Executives, Rob McPherson, leave Ethos public relations for pastures new.

Rob has been with the company for the last five years and has worked on a wide range of clients in the entertainment, housing and charitable sectors. He was in charge of the running of the office and also managed various websites – both for the company and for clients.

His creativity and hard work has been invaluable and helped Ethos public relations go from strength to strength.

We wish him all the best in his future career.

• The team
• What we do

17^th May 2012

At Ethos public relations we work with a wide range of businesses and organisations to get their message out to the right people at the right time.

We have also made some of our experience and knowledge available to everyone.

You will find some of our free training materials in our resource centre, thePipzz, and you will also find tips and ideas on our sister sites, www.charity-pr.co.uk, www.writemywebsite.com and www.socialhousingpr.co.uk.

We hope that you find these useful and would encourage you to get in touch to see how we could further help you and your communications.

• thePipzz
• www.writemywebsite.com

12^th April 2012

Case studies and customer reviews are an effective way of promoting a business, and the team at Ethos public relations has been particularly busy this week on the phone speaking to happy customers and drafting testimonials on behalf of clients.

Debbie and Emma have been busy calling Solar Direct Savings and Econoloft customers and Sean has been following up a face-to-face interview he did with a family for a new magazine.

At Ethos public relations we believe that precision and accuracy are just as important as the story itself, so if you want an agency that has an eye for detail as well as a good story, then why not get in touch to see what we can do for you?

• What we do
• SDS testimonial

10^th April 2012

We've just sent off our donations for this year and we're pleased to be supporting six very worthwhile charities.

Every year, Ethos public relations aims to give 1% of its pre tax profits to charity and our charities are selected on the basis of a staff ballot.

Christina, Emma and Sean were the lucky people who got to choose charities this year. Christina chose Parkinson's UK and Guide Dogs, Emma chose The Stroke Association and Arthritis Research UK and Sean chose Rudyard Sailability and Family Action.

Each charity received £200 and we hope this helps them with achieving their goals.

• Our Ethos
• Social Report

5^th April 2012

This weekend we celebrate our 14th anniversary.

To mark the occasion Sean, one of the directors who set up Ethos public relations, has written a blog on the changes between 1998 and 2012.

Whilst technology has improved tremendously over the years, Sean states that the level of service and ethical principles of the business are constants that will stay with the company for the next 14 years and beyond!

So why not have a glass of celebratory lemonade, champagne or whatever beverage you prefer, for us while you read Sean’s blog.

• Sean’s blog
• All blogs

4^th April 2012

With blizzard conditions sweeping many parts of the UK today, what a day for Channel 4 News to chart the difficulties of disabled people when using public transport. Channel 4’s ‘No Go Britain’ campaign has been looking at life for disabled people but today people across the UK will have shared difficulties with their transport, disabled or not disabled.

Many people have struggled to get to work this morning through the traffic and public transport chaos caused by the heavy snowfall, and it will be interesting to see how disabled people fared.

Christina, our Account Manager here at Ethos public relations, who lives in Saddleworth finally made it into the office, through bad blizzard conditions! Have a read of her travel blog by clicking on the link.

• Christina’s blog
• No Go Britain

3^rd April 2012

Recently the team at Ethos public relations has been making the most of the latest social media platforms such as Storify and Pinterest.

Whilst it is still unclear whether these sites will be as successful as Twitter and Facebook, we feel that many of our clients will benefit a great deal from them. We have been using Storify to publish our own news, as well as clients’ stories, and Pinterest has been a great visual platform for our clients FrithRugs and Econoloft.

The continued growing importance of social media needs to be managed effectively for a business, which is why we provide a social media service for clients here at Ethos public relations.

So if you would like to find out more about our services, in particular what we can do for your social media, why not get in touch?

• What we do
• Social media

2^nd April 2012

Ethos public relations is delighted to announce we are to sponsor the Best Internal Marketing Campaign category in the Housing e-Academy Virtual Awards.

This is the first time the company, which is part of Virtual College, a leading e-learning provider, has had an Award ceremony but as Chloe Weatherhead, Head of Housing e-Academy says, it’s about time the social housing sector was recognised for its use of e-learning.

Marketing and communication are powerful tools in ensuring employees interact with e-learning and we look forward to seeing just how entrants have used these tools to best effect. For more information about the awards go to www.housingea.co.uk.

• Housing e-Academy
• Awards

30^th March 2012

From video to blog and
website to magazine,
we have the copywriting skills
to create the right scene.

For all of your stories,
images and news,
visit www.writemywebsite.com
and don’t get the blues.

Keep your website up to date
with search engine optimisation.
Interesting news will also make
your site an internet sensation.

Twitter and Google+,
Storify and Facebook,
with our social media skills
you will just want to take a look.

So, do you want some free copywriting tips?
Of course you do!
Visit www.writemywebsite.com,
our little spring treat for you!

22^nd May 2012

The long-awaited spell of sun we have been having recently has given light to some spectacular photos of packed beaches and parks in newspapers.

At Ethos public relations we think that this just goes to show how much journalists love a good picture.

A news story is made even better – and has an increased chance of being used – if it has a picture that helps tell the story. That is why we encourage our clients to ensure that they have a good bank of photos. We provide a specifically tailored photography service and manage the entire process for them.

We could also help your business shine with engaging photos that could light up your story. So go on, give us a call.

• Photography
• What we do
• The Pipzz
• Contact us
  

27^th March 2012

The avid football fans amongst us here at Ethos public relations, were delighted to hear today that the National Football Museum will officially open at Urbis in Manchester city centre on 6 July.

The museum, formerly based at Preston North End, is expected to attract over 40,000 visitors each year once it opens at its new Manchester home.

More than 140,000 football objects, photographs and works of art will be on display, including the famous Jules Rimet trophy and the shirt worn by Maradona in the infamous 'Hand of God' World Cup quarter final in 1986, which saw England defeated by Argentina.

We cannot wait to visit the new Football Museum which is just down the road from our office. Another good reason to visit Manchester, we think!

• Football Museum
• Where we are

26^th March 2012

The BBC today announced the date when they will start broadcasting BBC Breakfast from MediaCityUK.

The first edition will come live from the North West studios on Tuesday 10 April and boasts a strong line up.

We extend a warm welcome to the BBC Breakfast team and look forward to working with them in the future.

Now that MediaCityUK has been officially opened - during the Queen’s visit last week - it is great to see that it is really becoming a hive of activity and we look forward to a new era of regionally-based national broadcasting. This is not only good for the North West of England, but for the whole UK.

• BBC Breakfast
• MediaCityUK

23^rd March 2012

It’s been an exciting week for us at Ethos public relations as we went on site to watch a ‘pod’ or to give it its full title – an ADAPTA™ adaptation unit – being dropped into place by Halifax-based company C3S Projects.

The pod has been ordered by our client Contour Homes for a Preston family who need the space for their severely disabled adult son and his carers.

The main Blackpool Road came to a standstill as staff, family and well wishers all held their breath to watch the pod be moved from the lorry and set down next to the family’s bungalow.

It was a ‘piece of cake’ according to Graham Ross, Operations Director from C3S Projects. Watch the video for yourself!

• Video
• Contour Homes

22^nd March 2012

Yesterday, Sean was at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in Preston to talk to PR students about careers in public relations. Along with a number of other PR and communications professionals, Sean was questioned by the students on issues such as how to make a CV stand out, the importance of corporate social responsibility to communications and what employers look for in candidates.

Organised by the university and its CIPR (Chartered Institute of Public Relations) student representative, this inaugural event is now likely to become an annual event, giving students, on a variety of courses, first hand experience of meeting employers on campus.

Ethos public relations was keen to help out and we wish all the students well in their careers within the communications industry.

• CIPR
• CSR

21^st March 2012

Six years ago today, on 21 March 2006, the first ever public tweet was sent by Jack Dorsey, founder and now Executive Chairman of Twitter.

Since that very first tweet, Twitter has grown significantly both in importance and in numbers and now has over 300 million active users - and counting!

And with the Budget being announced today, social media feeds will be the first point of contact for many people for the latest on George Osborne’s speech, using #hashtags, updating their statuses and tweeting their thoughts.

Ethos public relations provides a social media service for all our clients, so if you think your organisation could benefit from our services, why not take a look at our sister site www.writemywebsite.com to see what we can offer or get in touch with us directly.

• Write My Website
• #budget2012

20^th March 2012

Have you taken part in our charity poll yet?

To coincide with the launch of www.charity-pr.co.uk - our sister site dedicated specifically to charitable organisations – we asked the question ‘Do you know if your current employer supports any charities?’.

We have had a number of votes so far but we want more people to get involved to make the poll as comprehensive as possible.

So, if you are interested in charities as much as we at Ethos public relations are, please vote and spread the word through social media and your friends and colleagues!

It only takes a few seconds to complete and will give us a good indication about how charitable employers really are.

• Vote
• Charity PR

19^th March 2012

Today, we have launched a brand new website – www.writemywebsite.com – highlighting the online copywriting, website management and web updating we can offer.

Over the years, Ethos public relations has written dozens of websites for clients. Often, this involves writing a website from scratch following a brief from a client and working with a developer to produce an informative and engaging site.

We have also been 'given' websites to manage by clients, which involves keeping them up-to-date with new copy, blogs and news stories.

Is it time to refresh your website? If so, why not talk to us today?

• Writemywebsite.com
• What we do

16^th March 2012

We are trying to find out if employees in the UK know whether their employer supports any charities and we need your help.

At Ethos public relations we have always been keen to do our bit for charity, and each year our employees choose which charities we support, so it would be great to find out if other employers keep staff informed about their support for the community and charities too.

If you could visit our sister site www.charity-pr.co.uk and vote in our online poll we would be very grateful.

• Vote
• Our Ethos

15^th March 2012

Sean, one our Directors, has travelled a lot recently, visiting Lowestoft, Norwich, Bangor, Reading and London.

Whilst passing the London Olympic site he thought about how regeneration could help the unemployment situation in the country.

With east London getting money pumped into it in the run up to Olympics he considers whether other UK landmarks are in similar need of regeneration.

With Bangor Pier requiring money for ongoing maintenance he asks whether it would be good to utilise the energy and time of trainees and the unemployed to help with its upkeep.

• Sean’s blog
• Olympic stadium photos

14^th March 2012

All this week, as part of Climate Week, the team at Ethos public relations has been working with our clients Energy4All and Solar Direct Savings (SDS) to publicise their latest news stories.

Climate Week (12-18 March 2012) is Britain’s biggest climate change campaign and we have been working with the local Devon media to publicise Energy4All’s upcoming open evenings about its new Devon Community Wind Co-operative as well as promoting the benefits of solar power to trade press for SDS.

As an ethical business we like to do as much as we can for the environment, and we encourage you to support Climate Week too. Whether it is signing up to a challenge, going to an event or just doing that little bit more to combat climate change - every little helps!

• SDS
• Energy4All

13^th March 2012

As well as managing PR and media relations for our clients, we have a number of connections with charities that we help to promote. One of these is Rudyard Sailability. Rudyard Sailability offers opportunities for people of all ages with a disability to get onto the water at Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire.

Over the past three or four months they have been constructing a new boathouse that will accommodate not only their specially adapted boats but also allow their sailors a comfortable environment to get changed ready for sailing.

You can see photographs of the building work on their Twitter account and they are now on their final push for £100,000 to finish the building and get it ready for the beginning of the sailing season in April. If you could help them by ‘buying a brick’, you will find more information on their website.

• Rudyard Sailability
• @RudyardSail

13^th March 2012

Fairtrade Fortnight 2012 has come and gone and at Ethos public relations we marked it in our usual style – by having our Fairtrade banquet!

We also showed our support by continuing to buy Fairtrade tea, coffee, sugar and fruit for our office. We have always run our business in as ethical a way as possible and fair trade is an example of this. But our ethics are in addition to running a PR agency that focuses on getting our clients’ messages across to the media, stakeholders and consumers.

If you are looking for a PR agency and like the idea of working with one that really cares, then get in touch to see how we can help.

• Fairtrade Fortnight
• Banquet 2012 pics

9^th March 2012

Today, Sean is in London with Action For Kids, the national charity for disabled children and young people, as Sally (pictured), the charity's founder, is being filmed for a new online video.

Action For Kids relies on the generosity of individuals and companies to carry on their work and this new video is designed to help explain to businesses how their support can not only benefit the charity but also the business itself.

Tomorrow, Sean is then off to Norfolk to interview a family that has received help from the charity for the Action For Kids magazine.

To find out more about the charity and how you can help, have a look at the links.

• Action For Kids
• Action For Kids news

8^th March 2012

It is International Women’s Day today (8 March), but one of our clients is already looking ahead to another celebration especially for women: Mother’s Day.

Laserase Bolton has launched a week-long competition on its website which asks people to send in a short message about why their Mum deserves a pamper treatment. The winner will enjoy a skin rejuvenation treatment for both themselves and their Mum.

Ethos public relations has been promoting the competition this week with a press release to the local media and on Twitter. This is a lovely way to say thank you to your Mum so if you have five minutes log on to the Laserase website and tell them why your Mum deserves to be pampered.

• Competition
• Press release

7^th March 2012

Things are ‘hotting up’ in Rochdale as our client Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) approaches the date when it is set to become the biggest housing mutual in the country later this month.

Yesterday RBH played host to the Rt. Hon. Francis Maude MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he met with tenants and employees to discuss the organisation’s forthcoming plans.

On his visit, the Minister heard how RBH had developed its unique tenant and employee mutual ownership model. He met with elected tenant and employee members of a Constitutional Commission and staff champions who explained the processes behind setting up the new organisation.

Afterwards, everyone agreed that Mr Maude seemed hugely supportive of these ambitious plans. You can hear more about this story on the BBC R4’s PM programme later this week.

• RBH
• Press release

6^th March 2012

Since its inception nearly six years ago, Twitter has almost become a necessity, not only in the communications sector, but also to the general public as a whole.

With a recent report stating that Twitter has passed the 500 million user mark and news that Lady Gaga has become the first user to reach 20 million followers, it seems that people cannot get enough of this social networking service.

There is no doubt that social media plays a crucial role in today’s world and that is why we provide a social media service for clients. That is not all we focus on though, as we believe that traditional techniques - such as press releases and advertising - are still as important.

So as Twitter approaches its sixth birthday on 21 March, don’t forget that it is only one part of the whole marketing mix.

• Twitter
• @EthosPR

5^th March 2012

One of the services Ethos public relations offers clients is website management.

We have years of experience in co-ordinating website design and maintenance as well as writing copy for websites. We keep text fresh and engaging and provide clear and consistent messaging to support the relevant brand. We also help make websites ‘search engine friendly’ and can work with a range of designers to ensure that we get the best out of the website.

We have recently helped national disability charity, Action For Kids - who help disabled children and young people towards independence - launch their new website. We worked with their in-house communications team and their web developers to ensure that the website is easy to navigate and that it shows the work of the charity in a clear and concise manner.

The website will feature the latest news from the charity as well as ways people can help Action For Kids – why not take a look at www.actionforkids.org to see the result.

• Website Management
• Website copywriting

2^nd March 2012

Here at Ethos public relations we are busy putting together a media report for one of our clients, Co-operatives UK, collating all the good coverage we have secured over the last few weeks.

Co-operatives UK has had a very busy start to 2012 - the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives.

Not only has its ‘Buy Better Together Challenge’ - created in partnership with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills - opened to applications, but Co-operatives UK has also helped launch the Move Your Money campaign, and managed to produce a number of new co-operative papers, reports and guides.

With so much happening it is fantastic to be a part of it and to see such great coverage across the national, regional, trade, consumer and online media.

• Co-operatives UK
• Co-operatives UK news

1^st March 2012

Today - the first day of March - is not only a celebration of the patron saint of Wales, but it is also World Book Day!

And with both clients and colleagues based in Cymru, we hope our Welsh friends are enjoying the celebrations.

This is the 15th year there has been a World Book Day, and here at Ethos public relations – as avid readers ourselves – we are all pleased to see such a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and, of course, reading itself.

Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus! We hope you will be picking up a book today whether it is in Welsh or in any other language.

• Saint David's Day
• World Book Day

29^th February 2012

Today, the BBC World Service celebrates its 80th birthday.

It remains the world’s biggest international broadcaster and one of our Directors, Debbie, has fond memories of this ‘department’ from her years working at the BBC. “A meeting at Bush House was always a treat,” she said. “Lunch in the canteen was like taking a culinary stroll around the world with diners conversing in numerous languages.” 

The World Service began life as the BBC Empire Service and its broadcasts were aimed principally at English speakers across the Empire. Throughout its history it has proved itself to be an invaluable source of news and information particularly in wartime and in countries that do not enjoy the same freedoms of the press that we do. 

The World Service broadcasts in 27 languages and long may it continue to do so!

• BBC World Service
• About the World Service

28^th February 2012

As a business we have always had a commitment to the community and we try to support charities in as many different ways as possible.

One of the ways we do this is by donating one per cent of our pre-tax profits to charity each year.

Recently, we have supported the Alzheimer’s Society, St Ann’s Hospice, Rudyard Sailability, Action For Kids, Guide Dogs and the RNLI.

We have just completed the draw to decide which employees will choose this year’s charities. Sean, Emma and Christina were picked out of the hat and are now considering which charities they will donate to on behalf of the company.

To find out more about our commitment to charitable causes check out our Social Report and our sister charity site - www.charity-pr.co.uk.

• Charity PR
• Social Report

27^th February 2012

The staff at Ethos public relations have just finished our Fairtrade banquet – and the empty plates prove that we enjoyed it!

Debbie’s tortilla crisps and guacamole kicked off the proceedings, swiftly followed by Christina’s mango salad. Rice accompanied the main of honey chicken with Fairtrade lemon – courtesy of Rob - while Sean’s honey cake and Emma’s banoffee pie went head to head in the dessert stakes. The lovely food was topped off with fair trade orange juice and Sparkling Brut from South Africa.

We were all impressed with the cooking and baking skills of our colleagues!

To see how tasty the food looked, have a peek at some of the pictures we took.

• 2012 banquet pictures
  
• Fairtrade Fortnight

27^th February 2012

We have always been firm supporters of the concept of ‘fair trade’ and today sees not only the start of Fairtrade Fortnight but also our annual Fairtrade banquet.

For the past few years all of us at Ethos public relations have prepared a dish made with Fairtrade ingredients which we bring into the office for others to share and enjoy.

Today’s menu includes chicken with Fairtrade lemon, guacamole, mango salad, honey cake and banoffee pie.

So bon appetit to us - and a fair price to the growers!

• Fairtrade Fortnight
• Our Ethos
  

24^th February 2012

Here at Ethos public relations we are pleased that the days are gradually getting lighter and we are no longer leaving the office in complete darkness! It is also nice to say that it is decidedly warm in Manchester for February.

We are very much looking forward to summer, and with the Jubilee celebrations and the Olympics taking place this year, there is a lot to be excited about. Many journalists are, already, writing up features for July and so we are already planning appropriately themed press releases, tweets and blogs.

Our client FrithRugs also recently launched its new ‘Vibrance’ collection of brightly coloured rugs, which will add a splash of summer to any room, and we are busy selling this in to the media.

• FrithRugs
• News from FrithRugs

23^rd February 2012

We have been working with our client, Co-operatives UK, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) this week to publicise their new £60,000 Community Challenge Prize, which is now open to applications.

Not only have we secured great media coverage in The Guardian and The Grocer, but we have helped create a social media buzz around the prize on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

The ‘Buy Better Together Challenge’ is an exciting initiative to help inspire new models of community buying and we look forward to seeing what innovative ideas come through!

• Apply now
• Co-operatives UK

22^nd February 2012

Today marks the 15th anniversary of the cloning of Dolly the Sheep in 1997.

While this is an important scientific milestone, demonstrating as it did, the ability of humans to manipulate the building blocks of life to create identical beings, it serves also to remind us to celebrate diversity.

Humans come in all sorts of sizes, shapes and colours and we for one are happy with that. We believe our society needs to reflect the diversity of humankind. That’s why Ethos public relations has had a commitment to society since the day it was founded.

All PR agencies aren’t the same ...

• Our Ethos
• Mission Statement

21^st February 2012

Today is Shrove Tuesday – or Pancake Day and we are anticipating quite a few hits to thePipzz section of our website as it has one of the few digital images of the world’s largest pancake.

The pancake, which contained an estimated two million calories, was made by the Co-operative Movement in Rochdale in 1994 as part of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society - often considered to be the first consumer-owned co-operative.

So, before you decide how you are going to eat your pancakes – the Ethos public relations team prefer lemon and sugar - why not find out more about the co-operative movement and the world’s largest pancake.

• thePipzz
• World’s largest pancake

20^th February 2012

It is now just one week to go until the start of Fairtrade Fortnight 2012 (27 February – 11 March), and here at Ethos public relations we are gearing up for our annual office Fairtrade banquet to mark the event.

We have been long time supporters of Fairtrade and this will be our third banquet and we have each selected our dish of choice to make using a variety of Fairtrade products. While we are all very much looking forward to getting stuck into making our culinary delights, we are looking forward even more to eating them!

Watch this space for photos of our Fairtrade creations - but in the meantime, why not do your bit for Fairtrade by promoting the Fortnight or even planning your own Fairtrade banquet?

• Our Ethos
• Fairtrade Fortnight

17^th February 2012

While many people think PR is mainly about writing press releases, the average week at Ethos public relations sees us writing a wide range of different materials and this week was no exception.

Rob has been putting together a newsletter, Sean was writing copy for a corporate video, Emma has drafted press statements and Christina has written a blog. All of these need to be written in a variety of styles to suit the audience that will ultimately receive the information.

We are all used to the idea that you write differently in a birthday card than when writing a letter to the Bank (does anyone actually do that anymore?) and we ensure that we write bearing the audience in mind.

Ethos public relations has years of experience of producing high quality copy, whatever the audience. So if you need any form of communications for your business, please do get in touch – maybe even in writing!

• What we do
• Contact us

16^th February 2012

Today we launch our new website for charities interested in public relations.

charity-pr.co.uk has been designed to answer some of the questions that charities might have about using a PR agency such as Ethos public relations.

In a difficult economic climate it is more important than ever that charities ensure they have the maximum public profile, especially to funders, supporters and potential beneficiaries.

Visit our new website by clicking on this link.

• Charity-pr.co.uk
• About us
  

14^th February 2012

It cannot have escaped your attention that yesterday was St. Valentine’s Day.

Hopefully you received something nice from an admirer but, on such a day, we hope you did not forget to show your public relations some love.

At Ethos public relations we find businesses with big hearts irresistible and would love to make a date with any organisation which likes what they see. So if you like honest, open, ethical and creative partners, make eyes for Ethos public relations.

Eros may be the god of love, but when it comes to PR, Ethos public relations is the one you should be falling in love with.

• Our ethos
  
• What we do
  

13^th February 2012

It is always good to get back into the Ethos public relations office on a Monday after seeing great client media coverage in the weekend papers!

A letter we sent on behalf of our client, Co-operatives UK, was in The Times on Friday, while Retail Week ran a feature about another client, Wiganplus and further stories about the loyalty card scheme appeared in the Wigan media over the weekend.

Then on Saturday, two of our clients, Co-operatives UK and ABCUL were featured in the very same article about ethical banking in the Money section of The Guardian.

So not a bad weekend for media coverage at all.

• Co-operatives UK
• News from our clients

10^th February 2012

Although press releases are often the preferred way of sending information to newspapers, the letters page is often a great way to get a personal view aired.

Today, we were delighted to see that The Times published a letter by Ed Mayo of Co-operatives UK on accountability in business.

Ed’s views on businesses operating in an open, honest and ethical way mirror very much the way we try and run our business – see our Social Report.

So if you are eager to find out what people are really thinking, why not have a look at the letters page of your newspaper?

• Social Report
• Co-operatives UK

9^th February 2012

A new affordable housing scheme in Bolton, developed by our client Contour Homes, has helped to bring a family back together.

One of our Directors, Debbie, recently travelled to Bolton to visit Paul Ainscow and his family who have moved into one of the 11 homes on Vernon Street. Previously living apart, the new homes have provided them with the chance to live under the same roof again.

It is a nice story with a happy ending which we are sharing with the local and housing press.

• Press release
• Contour Homes news

8^th February 2012

With Shrove Tuesday now less than a fortnight away, we have noticed a surge in hits to thePipzz section of our website that contains various photographs and resources, including a picture of the world's largest pancake!

The pancake was made by the Co-operative Movement in Rochdale in 1994 as part of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the setting up of the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society - often considered to be the first consumer-owned co-operative. The pancake contained an estimated two million calories and we have spoken to a number of journalists recently who are considering using this fact in their publications.

Many of the hits to thePipzz have been to our photo, as this is one of the few digital copies in existence. So if you want access to this unique image, then Ethos public relations is the place to come.

• thePipzz
• World's largest pancake

7^th February 2012

It has been another busy few days for Ethos public relations and our client ABCUL, with a great feature about credit unions on Your Money on the BBC News channel on Saturday. Last week we also helped Guardian journalist Polly Toynbee and this week we are working with a regional TV programme. This follows a good deal of TV, radio and national newspaper exposure during January, when we issued our "New Powers for Credit Unions" press release.

As a result of the media coverage we have helped to secure, ABCUL's website and the www.findyourcreditunion.co.uk have been receiving record visits. Over 20,000 people visited www.findyourcreditunion.co.uk in January - a tripling of the usual number. In addition, credit unions have seen the coverage and visits to the websites translating into new members, with noticeable peaks when high profile coverage has aired.

It's always rewarding for us when our work makes an impact and this shows that PR really can make a difference.

• Your Money article
• Surge in web traffic
• New Powers press release
• Findyourcreditunion

6^th February 2012

Co-operatives around the country, and indeed the world, are celebrating the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives this year. 

One of our neighbours - the Co-operative Group - are celebrating the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives with huge posters celebrating the International Year.

For those of you who do not have such a great view of the posters as we do, why not take a quick look at our video?

• Video
• Storify story

3^rd February 2012

In a week that has seen much debate about standards in business and a welcome interest in business ethics, we are delighted to publish our latest Social Report.

Ethos public relations is a business with a social purpose as well as commercial objectives and we think it is only right that we report on our impact.

As this week's debate about bankers' bonuses goes to show, businesses cannot exist in splendid isolation - like it or not they are part of the community in which they operate.

We are proud to be part of the community.

• Social Report
• Our Ethos

31^st January 2012

As an ethical business Ethos public relations is a proud supporter of all things Fairtrade and we have taken part in Fairtrade Fortnight for a number of years.

We help to promote the campaign on our website, on Twitter and by buying Fairtrade products. But one of our favourite ways to celebrate the Fortnight is by holding our very own Fairtrade Banquet!

This year’s Fairtrade Fortnight takes place from 27 February – 11 March and we are already looking forward to preparing and enjoying (hopefully!) a selection of appetising Fairtrade courses.

We will post photos of our Fairtrade creations on the day of the banquet - but in the meantime, why not ‘Take a Step’ for Fairtrade by promoting the Fortnight and the FAIRTRADE Mark?

• ‘Take a Step’
• Banquet 2011 pictures
  

30^th January 2012

Our client Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) held its first event to recruit members to what will be the UK’s first tenant and employee co-owned mutual landlord at the weekend.   

In December last year, council tenants voted to transfer ownership of 13,700 homes from Rochdale Borough Council to a new mutual RBH in March – placing members at the heart of the organisation.

Around 200 tenants took the time to attend Rochale Town Hall on Saturday and show their enthusiasm for this new model.

• RBH
• RBH news

27^th January 2012

We were delighted to see credit unions featured on this morning's BBC Breakfast.

We have been working closely with the BBC, our client ABCUL and Unify Credit Union to arrange the feature, which included a live broadcast from Westfield Children's Centre in Wigan, and it is always good to see everything come together.

Credit unions were also featured on BBC Radio 5 Live's Wake Up to Money programme this morning.

Since our PR campaign on behalf of ABCUL to promote new powers for credit unions began earlier this month, we have seen a good deal of media interest and visits to the findyourcreditunion.co.uk website have increased tenfold.

• New powers release
• BBC Breakfast

26^th January 2012

As announced earlier this week, today marks the official launch event of the first purpose-built live/work unit in the North West, Spark Studio.

Ethos public relations has been helping to organise and publicise the scheme and one of our Directors, Debbie, will be attending the event in Salford later today.

Our client Contour Homes is a lead partner in the scheme and this week we have been busy arranging interviews at BBC Radio Manchester and speaking to local journalists about the launch.

We are looking forward to hearing all about the event, make sure you watch this space for news and pictures!

• Contour Homes
• Spark studio
  

24^th January 2012

This week Ethos public relations is working towards the launch of Spark Studio – the North West’s first purpose built live/work scheme.

Our client Contour Homes is a lead partner in the scheme along with Salford City Council, the University of Salford and developer Godliman Watson Homes.

We are taking the lead in publicising the scheme to the housing and Greater Manchester business press. Our first media interview was on Monday evening when we arranged for Contour Homes - along with a new tenant at Spark Studio – to speak to BBC Radio Manchester.

On Thursday the partners have a preview event during the day followed by an official launch event in the evening. We are particularly looking forward to hearing the poem written by Tony Walsh (Performance Poet and Writer), which has been especially commissioned for Spark Studio and at the moment is a closey guarded secret!

• Contour Homes
• Spark Studio
  
• Contour Homes news
• Event and media management

23^rd January 2012

Feeling inspired to do something for charity in 2012?

Our client, national disability charity, Action For Kids, is one of The Gold Challenge’s 150 charity partners, and is keen to hear from anyone interested in signing up to the UK’s only Olympic and Paralympic sport based charity event.

Why not click on the link to The Gold Challenge to find out more, or contact Carolyn at Action For Kids on 020 8347 8111.

• Action For Kids
• The Gold Challenge

19^th January 2012

It has been another busy day of working with the media here at Ethos public relations!

Further to the Prime Minister’s Co-operatives Bill announcement earlier, we have been working with our client, Co-operatives UK, to promote the benefits this will bring to those looking to form a co-operative business.

The new Bill has sparked a great deal of interest from a wide section of the media, and we have been arranging interviews with the Secretary General of Co-operatives UK, who was there when the Prime Minister made his announcement in London.

• Read the press release
• Co-operatives UK

18^th January 2012

Two of the Ethos public relations team have been in London this week at one of our clients, national disabled young people's and children's charity, Action For Kids.

Following a successful meeting, we are looking forward to helping write a script for a new corporate fundraising film for the charity.

We have a great deal of experience in copywriting – for websites, publications and videos - and we cannot think of a more worthwhile project to write for than this.

If you need assistance with any form of copywriting please contact us.

• Website copywriting
• What we do

17^th January 2012

We were surprised to read today that Virgin Trains had to cancel two specially chartered trains from London to Manchester because not enough Londoners wanted to travel up from the capital to do their Christmas shopping.

Our surprise was due to the fact that Manchester had its ‘best Christmas yet’ with 3.3m people visiting the city and £75m being spent.

If you visited our homepage before Christmas you will have seen that the team at Ethos public relations thoroughly enjoyed the festivities, especially the Christmas markets – and we were only six of an estimated 1.5m people that enjoyed them!

London, you really don’t know what you are missing out on!

• Visit Manchester
• Xmas markets close

16^th January 2012

At Ethos public relations, we always like it when our clients get the publicity they deserve and today has seen us arranging for both the Association of British Credit Unions (ABCUL) and Co-operatives UK to visit the BBC’s MediaCity in Salford to be interviewed for two different programmes.

You & Yours on Radio 4 featured a piece on changes to legislation for credit unions, while BBC regional news in the South East will be featuring a new co-operative being open for business in Oxford.

• ABCUL news
  
• Co-operatives UK news

13^th January 2012

At this time of year many of us start booking our holidays and start to say “the nights will soon be drawing out now”. This optimism is often short-lived, especially if it is followed by a wet summer! But lighter nights is once more on the political agenda. Next Friday will see the third reading in Parliament of the Daylight Saving Bill.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is calling for a move to a system called "Single/Double Summer Time" (SDST), which would put the clocks one hour ahead of GMT in winter and two hours ahead in summer. The focus of RoSPA's campaign is the reduction of the number of people killed on the roads. The most recent research found that a move to SDST could reduce road deaths by 80 per year.

We support RoSPA’s recommendation of a trial run for 2-3 years to provide objective, up-to-date evidence about the effects of SDST.

• RoSPA
• Daylight Saving Bill

12^th January 2012

12 January marks the official UK launch of the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives 2012 - to show how co-operatives help build a better world - and we have been working closely with our client, Co-operatives UK, to help publicise it.

The Manchester Evening News today features a story about how membership of co-operatives is three times higher than the number of individual shareholders across the world, according to a report by Ed Mayo, Secretary General of Co-operatives UK, which is out today.

And there are a number of events taking place around the world to celebrate the start of the International Year, including a live one-hour online debate organised by Co-operatives UK and The Co-operative Group in partnership with The Guardian.

• Read the press release
• 2012 website
  

11^th January 2012

We have been really bowled over with our 'new powers for credit unions' story, which has now appeared in over 100 media outlets, not to mention inclusion in news feeds on dozens of business and finance websites.

Latest coverage includes The Mirror, The Guardian, Financial Times, Independent on Sunday, Scotland on Sunday, BBC Scotland and BBC South East.

So if you're stumped when it comes to PR, why not put Ethos in to bat for you?

• Press release
• Coverage

10^th January 2012

Today we’ve published a blog in tribute to the late, great host of Blockbusters, Bob Holness.

Our Account Manager, Christina Stocks was fortunate enough to meet and interview Bob when she was a student studying journalism at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston, when the quiz show was on at the student union.

Why not have a read of her tribute to the iconic television host in her blog and check out a much younger looking Christina in the photo!

• Christina’s blog
• Bob Holness

9^th January 2012

Ever since Ethos public relations was formed in 1997, we have had a firm commitment to supporting the local community. Indeed it is even written into our business’s mission statement.

We have always wanted to be much more than ‘just’ a successful public relations agency. One of the organisations we have supported in the past is Rudyard Sailability.

Recently, one of our directors wrote a piece about the charity in a voluntary capacity for Disability Horizons. Why not make a cuppa and have a read?

• Read the story
• Our Ethos

6^th January 2012

According to the calendar, at least, this first week of the New Year was a short one for many people, but it has certainly been a busy one at Ethos public relations.

Over the past week or so we have been dealing with a wide range of journalist enquiries and have seen coverage in The Sun, The Scotsman, The Oldham Advertiser and on Daybreak and ITV Wales

Providing dedicated support to journalists and helping them find out the information they need is one of our priorities, so if you are a journalist and want to find out more about any of our clients, do get in touch. We like it when it is busy!

• Latest coverage
• News

5^th January 2012

At Ethos public relations we have clients based across the UK with differing communications needs and aspirations. Some have stories that will be specific to local or trade media while others will be looking at getting their message out nationally.

No matter whether it is regional or national, we regularly arrange interviews for clients on radio and TV. While this kind of interview can be an intimidating thought for some people, it is useful in giving a face and a voice to an organisation.

In our resource centre - thePipzz - we have put together some hints and tips that will help you get your point across. Why not have a look - who knows when you might get your moment in the spotlight!

• Hints and tips
• Training materials

4^th January 2012

With new credit union powers set to come into effect from 8 January, we have been working with our client ABCUL – the Association of British Credit Unions – to promote the benefits these changes will bring to savers and borrowers.

The new powers have sparked great interest from a wide section of the media, with many journalists intrigued to learn how the changes could help individuals and community organisations. We have issued a press pack and are currently fielding calls from various media outlets.

Click on the links to find out more about the benefits of credit unions.

• ABCUL press release
• ABCUL

3^rd January 2012

With the Christmas and New Year festivities now behind us, it is time to look forward to the year ahead.

And, at Ethos public relations, we have hit the ground running, with releases from Contour Homes and the Association of British Credit Unions going out to the media. We are also busy blogging, tweeting and making plans for 2012.

Make sure you keep an eye on www.ethos-pr.com for up to date news and opinion from all of our clients - as well as the team at Ethos PR.

• News
• @EthosPR

1^st January 2012

The Ethos public relations office will be closed until Tuesday, 3 January 2012.

However, if you have any queries or questions and need to get in touch, you can email us on info@ethos-pr.com.

Everyone at Ethos public relations wishes you a successful New Year.

We look forward to working with you throughout 2012!

22^nd December 2011

Christmas shoppers have been filling the streets of Manchester this week which just goes to show how the British high street still plays a huge role in our communities.

Here at Ethos public relations, we believe it is important to support the high street and to buy British goods where possible, to help save British jobs and industry.

So if you are planning on doing a bit of last minute shopping, why not hit your local high street and buy British this Christmas.

• HometownPlus
  
• Sean's blog

22^nd December 2011

Last night, one of our Directors, Debbie, had the pleasure of watching housing history in the making when she attended the ballot result of a housing transfer in Rochdale.

76% of council tenants voted in favour to transfer their homes from an ALMO to the country's first tenant and employee co-owned mutual landlord-Rochdale Boroughwide Housing. It is fitting that this leading social housing model is being played out in Rochdale where the world was first introduced to the co-operative model in 1844.

Speakers last night were really passionate about the new company and Ethos public relations is delighted to have been a small part of the process. Well done to everyone involved in this exciting new housing model.

• RBH
• RBH news from Ethos

21^st December 2011

There is nothing quite like Charles Dickens’s ‘A Christmas Carol’, and our latest blog written by Shaun, one of our Directors, explains exactly why the festive season would not be the same without Dickens.

As part of next year’s bicentenary celebrations, Shaun has been volunteering for the Dickens Journals Online project, helping to edit the errors from Dickens's journals which resulted when they were scanned onto computer.

Why not have a look at Shaun’s blog and read more about the Dickens Journals Online project, and exactly why you should pick up a Dickens novel this Christmas.

• Shaun's blog
• Dickens 2012
  

21^st December 2011

Today sees many of the Manchester Christmas market sites shut down as the busiest year ever, with over a million visitors, comes to a close.

But if you have not managed to get down for a Glühwein yet or visit the vast array of international stalls, then do not worry as the main markets at Albert Square and St Ann’s Square are remaining open until tomorrow evening.

We will be sad to see them go here at Ethos public relations but we look forward to their return in 2012!

• Christmas Markets
• Christmas pictures

20^th December 2011

The team at Ethos public relations welcomed the news today that the UK is the ‘fifth most charitable country in the world,' according to a survey by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).

We were also pleased to hear that 28% of our nation volunteers their time each month, especially as this year we introduced our Community Day policy where we encourage employees to take time off to volunteer in the community.

It is certainly nice to see that the world is still a charitable place, particularly at this time of year.

• CAF Survey
• Community Day Policy

19^th December 2011

With only a few days left until Christmas and the New Year just around the corner, we have been looking back at the variety of 2011 guest bloggers on the Ethos public relations website.

We’ve heard from the BBC, Parliament, Inside Housing and the NUJ about all sorts of issues ranging from the local media, communications and the community, and we hope that next year will bring us even more food for thought.

So if you have got something you want to get off your chest then please get in touch to enquire about joining our guest blogger line up for 2012.

• Chris Morley blog
• Contact us

16^th December 2011

The team at Ethos public relations was delighted that X Factor finalist, Sophie Habibis paid a surprise visit to national disabled children’s charity, Action For Kids, at its Christmas party this week.

We echo Action For Kids’ thanks to Sophie for taking time out of her hectic schedule to attend the event and for helping to make it a night to remember

• Action For Kids
• Sophie Habibis

15^th December 2011

With the Christmas party season well and truly underway, many company party planners will be able to breathe a sigh of relief as all their hard work comes to fruition!

And while a few may indulge in a small sherry to toast their success, why not now think about letting someone else take the stress out of planning any future events.

One of the services we offer here at Ethos public relations is event management. From sourcing venues, arranging catering and booking entertainment – we have the expertise to create a unique event just for you.

So why not let us manage your event? Contact the team today!

• Event management
• What we do

14^th December 2011

It was recently announced that Manchester is one of 20 areas in the UK that will pioneer local television stations.

The plans, announced by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt MP, will be a further boost to media professionals in the city following the relocation of several BBC departments to MediaCityUK, in Salford.

The North West is increasingly becoming a creative hub for the communications sector and, as a Mancunian resident, we are delighted to be part of it.

The announcement is especially timely as proposed changes to local BBC radio stations was the subject of our latest blog – courtesy of CIPR North West.

• Local TV announcement
• CIPR blog

13^th December 2011

This year we have had a number of guests write a blog for the Ethos public relations website - on issues ranging from the local media, communications, the North West and the community.

The final guest blogger of the year is John Walding, honorary secretary of the CIPR (Chartered Institute of Public Relations) North West Group. In his blog, John calls on people to “help safeguard the potential threat” to BBC Local Radio before the consultation on BBC cuts ends on 21 December.

Why not read John’s blog now and we encourage you to make your views known in the consultation.

• John’s blog
• CIPR blog press release

12^th December 2011

One of our directors at Ethos public relations, Debbie Kelly, has been taking part in the Guardian Housing Network online discussion, regarding communication in the social housing sector.

Debbie, who works with a number of social housing clients, has been busy putting forward her views on communications and PR in the sector and everyone involved has been sharing good practice ideas.

See what has been said in the discussion by clicking on the links.

• Latest social housing news
• Guardian Housing Network
  

9^th December 2011

Many football fans in Manchester have been licking their wounds this week after an unsuccessful night in the Champions League. However City and United’s drop down to the Europa League could be a boost for the city.

Although the money on offer to the clubs may not be the same, the amount of money spent by new visitors in the city could increase. This is because ‘smaller’ European teams who often do not reach the Champions League and their fans will get the chance to come and visit Manchester instead.

The Manchester clubs and their fans may not be thrilled at the moment, but I can imagine the city’s bosses won't be too downhearted for long.

• Manchester City
• Manchester United

8^th December 2011

In the Ethos public relations office we were very interested to read about Europe’s fastest-growing tourist destinations in the news.

Not because any of us were thinking about our summer holidays – but because three North West cities were listed in the top ten.

While Trafford, Salford and Warrington may not immediately sound like tourist hotspots, they all do have their merits. Whether it is The Lowry, MediaCityUK or Old Trafford, we think each Greater Manchester destination deserves its place on the list compiled by the world’s largest travel site, TripAdvisor.

• Trafford
• Salford

7^th December 2011

With our commitment to contributing to local communities, the Ethos public relations team is enjoying working with our client, Co-operatives UK and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) on a new community buying challenge, which was launched today by Consumer Minister, Ed Davey, at Westminster.

We’ve been busy producing flyers to hand out at the event, issuing press releases about the ‘Buy Better Together Challenge’ and tweeting the story.

One of our directors has also been at the event in London today, to assist with any media enquiries.

Find out more about the launch by clicking on the links.

• Community Challenge launch
• Buy Better Together Challenge

6^th December 2011

With new figures out today from the British Retail Consortium showing that the UK has seen the weakest retail sales growth since May, one of our clients provides a great solution to help the high street.

HometownPlus encourages people to shop locally by personalising offers to local people from local suppliers in industries including retail, transport, business and leisure and its scheme in Wigan is a case study of what can be achieved.

Wiganplus was also in yesterday’s Manchester Evening News issuing a rallying call for people to ‘save our high streets and town centres’, which was a timely reminder about the important role high streets have to our communities.

• HometownPlus
• WiganPlus

5^th December 2011

Since we put our last blog online about buying British goods to help jobs in the UK, it is great to see Deborah Meaden of Dragons’ Den fame making the same point today on Twitter.

The responses to Deborah’s posting have been very favourable and it looks like a head of steam may slowly be building.

The run up to Christmas is a great time to think about buying British goods. Recently a manufacturer told us that they put "made in Britain" on their goods when they are, but nothing when they're not - which isn't very helpful to consumers. So why not look at the label on the things you buy and ask retailers to stock more goods made in Britain - and to clearly label the country of origin.

Buying British helps British jobs.

• Made in UK blog
• @DeborahMeaden

30^th November 2011

Do you remember reading a newspaper when Armstrong stepped onto the moon, or more recently when President Obama was elected as President of the United States? Today, it is almost impossible to think of news without also thinking of the internet.

Since newspapers started in their current form in the seventeenth century, they have been crucial to informing the masses and empowering citizens, a roll now being filled by blogs and social media too. Now, thanks to the British Newspaper Archive website, thousands of stories from pre-internet days can now be viewed online, with 40 million pages due to be digitised over the next 10 years.

So when you need a break from today’s news why not have a read of an eyewitness account of the ill-fated Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimea War or a 1854 tribute to Florence Nightingale - online!

• British Newspaper Archive
• Ethos PR news

29^th November 2011

The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement delivered some good news for the North of England (amongst other places) with help for major infrastructure projects, including the electrification of the railway between Leeds and Manchester.

As well as improving business efficiency in the long-term, infrastructure improvements can deliver jobs in the short-term, and jobs are certainly needed at present in the UK economy.

In our latest blog, Sean argues that consumers could have a major role to play in helping create more UK-based jobs.

• Autumn Statement
• Sean’s Blog

28^th November 2011

A charity that Ethos public relations has supported for a number of years has launched an ambitious plan to raise £300,000 to complete its fully accessible boathouse.

Rudyard Sailability offers disabled people the opportunity to enjoy the magnificent waters of Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire. Since its old boathouse was demolished, volunteers - some of them in wheelchairs and on crutches - have started to build the new boathouse themselves, rather than wait for all the funds to come in. 

Three cheers to all involved!!!

• Rudyard Sailability
• Donate

25^th November 2011

Friday 25th November marks the end of an era for the BBC – 35 years of broadcasting from their Oxford Road base in Manchester concludes as they relocate to MediaCityUK in Salford

The North West Tonight team, the last remaining group, will turn off the lights at their current studio as they join the rest of the 1,700 BBC employees in their swish new home.

Earlier in the year Allan Beswick, legendary BBC broadcaster, wrote a guest blog for us in the run up to the move. Why not relive his account of how MediaCityUK can heal the north – south divide.

• Allan’s blog
• MediaCityUK

24^th November 2011

Bespoke live/work units in Greater Manchester are now available to creative industries and small businesses.

Spark Studio has been part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and developed through a collaborative partnership with Salford City Council, University of Salford, Salford based Contour Homes, part of the Symphony Housing Group, and local developer Godliman-Watson Homes.

The scheme offers eight live/work units and, with a combined rent under £600, is set to provide a welcome base for start up businesses.

• Spark Studio
• Contour Homes

23^rd November 2011

Here at Ethos public relations, we love to hear about inspirational young people like Jonjo Heuerman.

Nine year old Jonjo has not only raised a staggering £37,000 for the Bobby Moore Fund but when he heard that kids in Rochdale needed football equipment to secure their free football sessions, he kindly provided footballs and kits. He also travelled from Kent to deliver them at a football tournament organised by the Freehold Community Group.

As a result the community group was able to announce the re-launch of its free Football Coaching Sessions to the Rochdale community.

• Press release
  
• RBH news from Ethos

22^nd November 2011

As experienced PR professionals we have to consider a number of things when helping clients with their communications. One of these is brand reputation.

The value of a brand is extremely important but Rob, one of our Account Executives, argues in his latest blog that football clubs are damaging their brand by rebranding their stadiums.

Has Rob’s argument hit the back of the net or should it be shown the red card? Why not have a read and see what you think.

• Rob’s blog
• All blogs

21^st November 2011

We are very pleased to announce that Ethos public relations has been handed the brief to raise the profile of HometownPlus, the organisation behind Wiganplus.

HometownPlus aims to improve communities and the well-being of their people and, as part of that vision, Wiganplus has been set up to encourage local consumers to stay and shop in the town.

The scheme has already signed up many partner businesses and thousands of card holders, and we are delighted to be working now with the team to further raise the profile of Wiganplus and increase its membership.

• HometownPlus
• Wiganplus

18^th November 2011

Everyone at Ethos public relations has welcomed the news that the National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Chi is to register as a political party for the forthcoming by-elections in Burma.

There seem to be real signs that the nominally civilian led government is taking some small steps towards democracy at long last. Although, there are still many political prisoners in Burma and many ethnic groups are disadvantaged.

Everyone who supports democratic change anywhere in the world will surely join us in hoping that real change in Burma can happen without the bloodshed seen in the Middle East.

Photo courtesy of Burma Campaign UK.

• Aung San Suu Chi
• Our Ethos

17^th November 2011

Last week we brought you pictures from the Christmas Lights Switch On in Manchester.

Today, sees the run up to Christmas going full steam ahead with the opening of the Christmas Markets in the city.

This year’s markets are bigger than ever before and are situated in eight locations across a square mile of the city centre.

The markets see stalls and visitors from across Europe and we, at Ethos public relations, heartily welcome them to our city...Wilkommen, Dobre Doshli, Fáilte, Bun Venit, Bienvenue, Welkom, Velkommen, Benvenuto, Bienvenido, Bem-vindo, Witamy, Üdvözöljük, καλώς όρισες, Sveiki, Tervetuloa, Välkommen, Vítejte, Tere tulemast, Merhba, Dobrodošli, Vitajte, Laipni lūdzam...

• Christmas Markets
• Christmas pictures

16^th November 2011

Manchester has always been a very important city. Since the Industrial revolution, it has become renowned for its culture, music scene, sporting achievements as well as being home to the world's longest-running TV soap opera, Coronation Street!

With MediaCityUK, the Children in Need Rocks Manchester concert tonight at the M.E.N. Arena and the 2011 Royal Variety Performance show at The Lowry Theatre on Salford Quays next month – Greater Manchester really is the place to be.

And with our office based in the heart of Manchester, Ethos public relations is perfectly placed to help many organisations across this great city, and indeed beyond, with their PR and communications.

Why not get in touch and see what we could do for you?

• Where we are
• What we do

15^th November 2011

At Ethos public relations we are regularly invited to a variety of events. Recently we attended a business networking event at Band on the Wall and next week we are going to the opening of a new restaurant.

As a communications based business we believe that face-to face-interaction – whether it be with clients or potential new business contacts – is hugely beneficial as it allows you to get across your message in the most direct way and keeps you in touch with your customers.

This is why one of the services we provide is event management. We have managed a number of events over the years – could we help with yours?

• Event management
• What we do

11^th November 2011

The Centenary celebrations of Holyoake House on Hanover Street in Manchester, home of our client, Co-operatives UK and where our Ethos public relations office is based, have gone really well today!

We helped Co-operatives UK with media relations around the 100-year anniversary and we were on hand to help co-ordinate photography of the event.

Look out for even more photos of Manchester’s Lord Mayor, Councillor Harry Lyons, cutting the ribbon to officially open the building’s brand new reception, transformed in time for the Centenary, in our resources section - thePipzz.

• thePipzz
• Holyoake House
  

11^th November 2011

Thousands of people turned out last night to see Nicola Roberts and Tinchy Stryder perform on stage at the now annual Manchester Christmas Lights Switch-on and Firework Finale.

This event is now firmly in the calendar as the start of Christmas in Manchester and this event didn't disappoint. As reported yesterday several of the team from Ethos public relations were there and we are now feeling festive – bring on the Christmas markets!

Here are some of our photos from the night. Enjoy!

• Christmas pictures
• MCR loves XMAS
  

10^th November 2011

Over the last few weeks, the team here at Ethos public relations has noticed that preparations for Christmas in Manchester are well under way.

And tonight a few of us will be wrapping up warm and bracing the cold to attend the Christmas lights switch on and Firework Finale at Albert Square, which marks the beginning of the festive season here in Manchester.

We are also very excited at the imminent arrival of the Christmas markets next Thursday, which are some of the best in Europe. Let the festivities begin!

• I Love MCR
• Lights switch on

8^th November 2011

With our commitment to contributing to local communities, the team here at Ethos public relations was pleased to work with our client – The Social Enterprise Loan Fund (TSELF) - on a positive story about a new clubhouse for Crowborough Rugby Football Club (CRFC).

Thanks to a £150,000 loan from TSELF and support from the Rugby Football Union (RFU), Wealden District Council, the club’s sponsors and patrons, the new CRFC clubhouse is very near completion and will soon be providing facilities for the entire community.

TSELF provides loans to social enterprises and charities. So if you work for a social enterprise or charity that may benefit from a loan, why not visit the TSELF website to find out more.

• CRFC
• TSELF news

7^th November 2011

Our latest guest blog has just been published and, as warned last week, it certainly pulls no punches!

Chris Morley, the National Union of Journalists’ Northern and Midlands Organiser, accuses “remote and irresponsible” local newspaper owners of sabotage and of being “divorced from the consumers they are trying to reach”.

The blog, the latest in a series for Ethos public relations, is definitely worth a read and why not make a comment and let us, and Chris, know what you think?

• Chris Morley’s guest blog
• National Union of Journalists

4^th November 2011

Recently we brought you news of our sponsorship of a beehive as part of our support for Salford Bee Collective.

The coverage we received in the local and trade media was really appreciated and our ‘snazzy’ photos of the jars of pure, local Salford honey really stood out.

At Ethos public relations we are proud of our support for the local community and would encourage all businesses to put it at the heart of everything they do. Being ethical really is the best way to bee…

• Honey press release
• Pictures

3^rd November 2011

With the New York City Marathon taking place on Sunday 6 November, we have been working with students from Loughborough University who are taking part to raise money for national disability charity, Action For Kids.

By targeting the students’ local media with stories about their charity challenge, we’re hoping to secure some regional press coverage for Action For Kids and help each of the runners reach their fundraising targets!

Collectively, the 15 runners taking part hope to raise £21,000 for Action For Kids. Everyone at Ethos public relations wishes them well!

• Student stories
• Action For Kids

2^nd November 2011

Today we have been finalising details of our latest guest blog, which will go live early next week. The idea behind having guest blogs on the Ethos public relations’ website is to provide a public platform for a range of PR, marketing and social issues.   

So far this year we have welcomed guest bloggers from the BBC, Parliament, Inside Housing, the United States and Marketing Manchester, all of whom have  provided engaging and thought provoking pieces. We think our next blog will really get readers talking! If you missed some of our earlier guest blogs, then why not visit the links below?

• Hazel Blears blog
• All blogs

1^st November 2011

Anyone who uses Twitter knows that what they tweet can quickly be seen and responded to by thousands of people. For businesses, this means it is a great way of finding out – and dealing with – customer issues.

As an example, one of our directors recently tweeted about not getting a promotional offer deducted from his grocery bill. Within hours the retailer in question had responded via Twitter and suggested a way of resolving the problem. This left the director with a nice warm glow that he had been listened to and the retailer took the issue seriously.

So what are you doing to monitor and respond to your customers’ concerns on Twitter, Facebook etc? Ethos public relations manages social media for a number of clients, so we’re a good place to turn for advice on such matters.

Don’t put your head in the sand – talk to us about social media strategy today.

• @EthosPR
• Twitter

31^st October 2011

Along with hundreds of other volunteers and people involved with the local community, we were invited by the Lord Mayor to a ‘Thank You MCR’ event on Saturday.

Held in the magnificent Great Hall within Manchester Town Hall, Lord Major Councillor Harry Lyons paid tribute to everyone who had contributed to the cleanup after the riot in August. He described how there is evidence that more people are becoming involved with their local community following the disorder.

He also told guests that it is the people that make a city and that community involvement helps make a city ‘work’. That’s something Ethos public relations certainly agrees with.

• Manchester Town Hall
• We loves MCR

28^th October 2011

The news that Manchester City Council’s planning committee has approved FC United of Manchester’s plans for a community stadium in Moston, north Manchester, was well received this morning in the Ethos public relations office.

The news was especially pleasing as we played a very small part in helping the club realise its dream of getting its own home. The club is a co-operative which used community shares to raise some of the cash to fund the stadium and we worked with our client, Co-operatives UK, to help promote the scheme to local people.

We look forward to following their development as building work starts on the new ground and cannot wait to see all the community benefits that the new stadium will bring.

• FC United
• Community shares

27^th October 2011

As part of our continued commitment to our local community – plus the fact that we all have a bit of a sweet tooth here at Ethos public relations – we have sponsored one of Salford Bee Collective’s urban beehives.

We decided to pledge our support to the Salford Bee Collective as we have a real interest in promoting local, sustainable food and are keen that more people understand where their food comes from.

As part of the deal, we recently received a number of jars of pure, local Salford honey – as beautifully modelled by Sean in the picture – which has certainly created a buzz in the office!

• Salford honey story
• Honey pics

26^th October 2011

We couldn’t agree more with the ideas behind Conservative MP Chris White’s private member’s bill, which would make councils, government departments and the NHS consider the ‘social value’ in any contracts awarded. But it's a shame that it requires legislation to make the public sector take 'social value' into account.

At Ethos public relations – which is a private company and so wouldn’t be covered by the proposed legislation – we have always tried to consider the social impact in what we do, as well as the cost.

Maybe Chris White MP, and everyone else in government, should also be calling on all businesses to consider their buying power as a way of bringing positive social and economic change. How different might the economy look if businesses bought from local suppliers, used UK manufacturers and renewable energy, avoided oppressive regimes and supported fair-trade and higher welfare food standards?

• Public Services Bill
• Our social report

20^th January 2012

One of the services that Ethos public relations has offered consistently over the years is full-service magazine production.

We have produced an array of publications for our clients over the years managing the whole process from design concepts through to photography and copywriting.

Recently we have been busy putting together proposals and schedules for a couple of magazines. With copywriting, design, proofreading, print sourcing and distribution to think about it is a big process – but thanks to our experience, one we can help you with.

• Publication Production
• What we do

24^th October 2011

What do you think of your supermarket?

In our latest blog Sean suggests large supermarkets would offer even better customer service if employees got together and learnt more about the products.

In marketing it is always good to be able to offer clients a view based on as much knowledge of that client as possible, so should supermarket staff have the same level of knowledge about the products they sell?

Would supermarkets be even more ‘super’ if they took on Sean’s recommendation? Have a read of his blog and let us know what you think?

• Sean’s blog
• All blogs

21^st October 2011

Friday 21 October was Apple Day - and one of our clients pinpointed a great way to celebrate it.

Co-operatives UK published a new guide on setting up a cider co-operative at work! With an estimated 179,000 tonnes of uneaten apples thrown away every year in the UK we think that this is a great idea.

We are only sad that there will not be an Ethos public relations staff cider co-op in the near future as our lack of gardens and apple trees rules it out.  But for those that do it is a great way to make use of all those apples that go to waste.

Cheers – oh and please enjoy cider responsibly.

• Cider co-op release
• Download the guide

21^st October 2011

Debbie was invited to attend a red carpet award ceremony at the Imperial War Museum North which marked the hard work and generosity of Contour Homes and Peak Valley residents and tenants.

Thanks to the superb venue and the fantastic entertainment provided by 'Spanner in the Works' it was a 'reet good do'!

It was equally pleasing to note that even in these austere times, contractors working with both companies very generously sponsored the entire night. Our congratulations go to all the award winners!

• Contour Homes
• Peak Valley

19^th October 2011

Christmas might still be more than two months away, but at Ethos public relations we have been getting ready for some time.

Lifestyle magazines are eager to find festive products and this gives us a great chance to promote Frith Rugs’ merchandise to them while we also look for appropriate opportunities to promote all our other clients too.

Yesterday, the weather in Manchester seems to have turned a bit colder and rumour has it it will snow before the end of October.

So now we have started to feel Christmasy it is time to crack open the first mince pies of the year!

• Frith Rugs
• What we do

18^th October 2011

Our newest recruit, Emma Baylis, has been with the team for nearly a week now and she has certainly hit the ground running!

We all know that communications is a fast paced and ever evolving business and Emma has got straight into her work with drafting and issuing press releases, calling up journalists, organising photography and dealing with clients’ social media.

She has learned a lot about her clients already and has adapted to our way of working very quickly.

Welcome to Ethos public relations Emma!

• Say hello to Emma
• Emma’s blog

17^th October 2011

A couple of weeks ago we brought you news (and pictures!) of the building work going on in Holyoake House - where Ethos public relations is based.

The work is now complete and what a transformation! Out have gone the separate reception and slightly dated seating area and in has come the newly-revealed marble floor, a central reception and a swish new seating area. Add to that the new lighting and paint job and the results are amazing.

The work is in preparation for the building’s 100th Anniversary, which is taking place in November.

Plans are still coming together for the celebrations but be assured that we will bring you any news as soon as we have it.

• Pictures
• Stepping into the future

14^th October 2011

Keeping in touch with clients and abreast of their developments is an essential part of PR, which is why several members of the Ethos public relations team are currently down in London.

Yesterday they met up with Action For Kids, a national charity dedicated to helping transform the lives of children and young people with physical and learning disabilities across the country by removing barriers to independence, to discuss how to develop communications with the public and other funders.

And today, they have been discussing social media, amongst other things, with the team at The Social Enterprise Loan Fund (TSELF), a charity that provides loans to social enterprises, at their new offices.

• Action For Kids
• TSELF

13^th October 2011

Today, we have welcomed our newest recruit, Account Executive, Emma Baylis, to the Ethos public relations team.

Leeds-born Emma has joined us to work closely alongside one of our directors, Debbie Kelly, on a number of consumer, business and housing accounts, to take over from Sarah Dawson, who recently left the agency for pastures new.

Emma, a Journalism graduate, brings great enthusiasm to the team and a strong desire to learn. Equally important, she has bought in with her some chocolate treats to share with the team as part of National Chocolate Week!

This is a great start for Emma – as we all do have a bit of a sweet tooth here at Ethos public relations. To find out more about Emma, why not have a read of her blog?

• Emma’s blog
• The Team

12^th October 2011

Good news today that Manchester has retained its place as the UK’s ‘second city’ after London in terms of business competitiveness, despite slipping down a Europe-wide table of rankings.

Ethos public relations has been in the centre of Manchester for many years and we just love the city and all that it has to offer.

The fact that a report on Europe’s major business cities by commercial property firm Cushman & Wakefield, said Manchester had dropped four places to be ranked 16th of the 36 best cities in which to locate a business, having been overtaken by Stockholm, Geneva, Zurich and Hamburg, won’t make a slight bit of difference!

And with the fantastic Christmas Markets – which do rival many of those in Europe - just around the corner, there’s even more reasons to love Manchester.

• Report
• Manchester Markets

11^th October 2011

Today’s news that four Internet Service Providers are co-operating to give greater control to block web content has led to much debate on internet sleaze, both in the Ethos public relations office and online.

But behind the ‘sleaze’ headlines is news of the launch of ParentPort which will “set and enforce standards across the media to protect children from inappropriate material”. As one of our team said in our discussion, “surely responsible media and advertising companies would know what’s acceptable and should ensure their adverts and content are only seen by the appropriate age groups”.

More responsible behaviour from such companies would have made ParentPort unnecessary and might have stopped people fearing this is the start of increased internet censorship.

What do you think?

• Parentport
• Our ethos

10^th October 2011

News of a report that we are not as rude or impolite a society as we think was welcomed in the Ethos public relations office today.

Of course it’s very easy to be cynical (isn’t that half the problem?) and it’s the rudeness that we remember most, not the good manners, but we think most people are civil most of the time.

It might not be very scientific, but a quick straw poll of our office shows that our team think that society as a whole is just as civil as it was 10 years ago.

So, next time someone pulls out in front of you in their car, pushes past you in the supermarket or nearly knocks you off your bike don’t let it get to you – keep calm and carry on…!

• Young Foundation report
• Our ethos

7^th October 2011

Our clients are always thrilled to be 'on air' and today was a particularly special day for Contour Homes personnel Shanine Meadowcroft and Liz Douglas.

Not only were they interviewed live on BBC Radio Manchester this morning - but they were one of a handful of external guests who are able to say 'I was there on the last day the radio station broadcast from its Oxford Road studio.'

The BBC Radio Manchester team will be joining their colleagues at MediaCity next week and so we wish them all very well in the move and all the best in their new home.

Hopefully you caught Shanine and Liz earlier talking about how Contour Homes and the Roots Project has inspired young people on the Pungle Estate in Bolton. But if not, why not listen to them again on the iPlayer.

• Contour Homes
• Contour Homes news
• BBC Radio Manchester
• iPlayer

6^th October 2011

With Twitter increasingly becoming a rich source of news and with more and more people tweeting these days, we thought we would give you a gentle pointer to our Twitter account.

@EthosPR has already amassed over 1,110 tweets about us, our clients and many general issues. Whether it is the latest press release from @bandonthewall, useful information about @actionforkids’ work or musings from Sean – @EthosPR has it covered.

We are also in the process of populating Twitpic - meaning you will have even more of a reason to follow us.

So why not join us – or the birdy gets it…

• @EthosPR
• Twitpic

4^th October 2011

Although most of our work at Ethos public relations is for clients in the UK, often what we do has an international dimension.

For example, we recently put together a press release for our client, Co-operatives UK, welcoming the fact that the Polish parliament has rejected laws against co-operatives which threatened to turn them into shareholder companies.

This highlights the fact that public relations these days is rarely restricted by geographical boundaries and is just one of the reasons we have a strategic partner in the United States. A link up with Public Relations for Business, Inc., which specialises in business-to-business communications, has allowed us to extend our physical presence to the North American continent, enhancing our ability to promote our clients around the world.

Why not check them out to see what they (and indeed we) can do for you?

• Public Relations for Business, Inc.
• The team

3^rd October 2011

Here at Ethos public relations, it’s not just the media we communicate our clients’ good news stories to. We also liaise closely with stakeholders. And that’s what we’ve been doing recently for our client, The Social Enterprise Loan Fund (TSELF).

TSELF wanted to communicate to North West Social Enterprise Networks and Enterprise Departments at universities that it had been awarded money by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which is available to North West social enterprises with innovative business ideas - as part of the Government’s ‘Solutions for Business’ scheme.

We worked closely with TSELF and the ERDF to produce copy which we then sent to key contacts at the Social Enterprise Networks and university Enterprise Departments and we expect to see the story in their newsletters, e-bulletins and on their websites over the next few weeks. From this communication, it is hoped that TSELF will receive more enquiries from regional social enterprises with innovative business ideas in need of funding.

• TSELF
• ERDF grant story

30^th September 2011

Friday saw one of our Account Executives, Sarah Dawson, leave Ethos public relations for pastures new.

Over the past two years Sarah has worked tirelessly promoting clients and her passion and creativity has ensured plentiful positive coverage in a number of sectors – namely for her clients in the consumer, business and housing sectors.

She has also helped Ethos public relations go from strength to strength and all of the team wish her well in her new position.

So Sarah, it's not goodbye – it’s au revoir!

• Sarah’s final blog
• The team

29^th September 2011

We were interested to read recently that Large Publishing, the publishers of Large Manchester and Large Students, have ditched printed copies of their magazine in favour of the online version only.

It seems many publications such as Accountancy Age and Social Enterprise are going the same route and indeed one of our clients, NACO, has also taken the decision to make its member’s newsletter online-only.

At Ethos public relations we can see the pro's and con's for both a printed publication and online versions. Online is obviously much more cost effective - but then again you can't beat having an actual hard paper copy in your hands to peruse at your own leisure.

Perhaps keeping both versions is the way forward? That way you continue to appeal to both the modernists and traditionalists among us. It would be great to know which version you prefer.

• Large ditches print
• Publication Production

28^th September 2011

Good news from Mars, the makers of MALTESERS, as they announced yesterday that the sweets are to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark in UK and Ireland from 2012.

Mars Chocolate and Fairtrade International made the announcement on the same day that Ed Milliband made his first speech as Leader to Labour Party Conference talking about the importance of praising good companies and getting away from ‘short-termism’ in business.

The Mars announcement is to be welcomed all the more as increasing commodity prices are already an issue for consumer products. The Fairtrade premium shows a commitment to the farmers and to long-termism.

As Fiona Dawson, President Mars Chocolate UK, said:  “We do believe you can do good and do business. It is not just around short-term sales but long-term investment in our cocoa supply chain.”

Hear, hear!

• Mars Chocolate UK
• Fairtrade Mark

26^th September 2011

Ethos public relations is based in Holyoake House, which will be celebrating its 100th Anniversary in November of this year.

Over the past couple of months the building, which is in Manchester City centre, has been undergoing a mini make-over and the latest phase of redevelopment is nearing completion. Visitors to the building will soon be greeted by the newly uncovered and re-polished marble floor.

Co-operatives UK, the landlord, tenant and our client, will soon be announcing plans to celebrate the buildings centenary. Keep an eye on our press releases for more details.

• Farina Group
• Co-operatives UK

23^rd September 2011

Our Ethos public relations staff away day today at thestudio in Manchester’s Northern Quarter has been a great success!

The modern, innovative and contemporary city centre venue was the perfect place to reflect on a busy year as well as share ideas, good practice and look forward to 2012.

Christina and Rob provided two thought-provoking presentations about traditional PR and social media, while the directors of Ethos public relations gave an insight into the business as a whole.

We will let you know more about the event over the next week, but in the meantime we would like to thank thestudio for their hospitality.

• thestudio
• Event management

22^nd September 2011

Last year Ethos public relations held its first ever staff away day.

The event took place at Chester Zoo and no we didn't 'monkey around' - we shared good practice and reviewed our priorities for the year.

This year’s staff away day is taking place tomorrow at thestudio in Manchester city centre. With a busy year behind us and new clients joining our portfolio we certainly have lots to talk about. Top of the list will be to continuing to ensure that we continue to provide the top quality service we are proud of.

We will let you know the highlights of the 2011 event next week.

• First ever staff conference
• thestudio

21^st September 2011

Every year, 21 September marks Peace Day.

This year it falls on the day that the Palestinians are looking to the United Nations to recognise their state. No decent human being can be against the concept of peace and of living in harmony with their fellow citizens, yet it seems to be so difficult for people to achieve.

As a PR agency, we're not sure we can massively help build peace in the world, but the one thing we can do is support socially responsible business wherever we can. This won’t save the world or bring about the creation of new states, but it's a small step that everyone of us can take to make the world a better, more harmonious place.

• Peace Day
• Twitter: Peace Day

20^th September 2011

Ethos public relations is very proud of the long lasting relationships we develop with our clients - not least because we get to see major projects through from start to finish.

We were appointed when Peak Valley Housing Association was created five years ago and we have watched as the company acted as the catalyst for a multi million pound regeneration of Hattersley in Tameside.

As a lead in the public/private partnership, Peak Valley's ambitious masterplan for the area is becoming a reality and creating employment opportunities locally.

One of our team is attending at Peak Valley to help co-ordinate an event that will mark another milestone in the transformation of the area.

• Peak Valley
• Peak Valley news

19^th September 2011

You will know that we were ‘in the thick’ of the disturbances in Manchester last month and you may also know that we helped kick start the campaign to show the good within Manchester. This ultimately became the ‘I love MCR’ campaign. Now, today sees the opening of nominations for the Be Proud Awards 2011.

If you know someone who strives to make Manchester a better place to live and contributes to the lives of the people who live here, then why not nominate them for an award?

Nominations can be made by clicking the link below. Here you will find all the information you need on this year’s categories and how to nominate.

• Be Proud Awards
• I love MCR

15^th September 2011

Today’s after-lunch speaker at the Co-operative News’s 140th anniversary celebrations was Daily Mirror journalist Paul Routledge.

Speaking at the celebrations to mark the anniversary, Paul spoke about his time in journalism. He reminded the audience that the News was set up in the same year that trade unions were made legal in the UK.

“Journalism is a trade – I hate to call it a profession” he said and he also told the audience that it was a privilege to be part of the Westminster Lobby, which reported on the ‘Mother of all Parliaments’ – and sometimes gave the ‘mother of all headaches’.

Paul outlined how political journalism had changed over his lifetime and how news has no respect for time. He also proclaimed that that the trade union movement and the co-operative movement shared a great ‘spirit’ and ambition for the future – ‘one I am glad to be part of.’

• Paul Routledge
• Co-operative News

15^th September 2011

As a PR business, we’re used to seeing our news in the press. So, for a change, we thought we’d feature the press in our news…

Today the Co-operative News is celebrating its 140th anniversary and we are joining them at their Birthday Party. We’re proud to have worked with them regularly over the last 14 years, and indeed one or two of our Directors have worked with them a lot longer than that.

The News is the voice of the co-operative sector and provides a wealth of information about co-operatives and co-operation.

Even today, in the internet age, the two weekly printed edition of the News is eagerly awaited by many of us and is still the first port of call for news on the co-operative movement – and long may it remain so.

• Co-op News

14^th September 2011

With news breaking over the past couple of days that Trinity Mirror is ending its naming rights deal of the Manchester Evening News Arena, it got us thinking about who the new sponsor could be.

While the Ethos Arena has a certain ring to it, we may just be priced out of any deal! But we did think that the Arena, which is just around the corner from our office - and which attracts over one million visitors each year - should have a name with a local feel.

With the ‘I love MCR’ campaign catching people’s imagination maybe the Arena owners, SMG Europe, could show their love for the city by renaming the venue the ‘I love MCR’ Arena. Just a thought…

• M.E.N Arena
• I Love MCR

13^th September 2011

Equality is one of the cornerstones of a fair and just society and we welcome today's launch of the Kaleidoscope Diversity Trust. This new UK-based charity has been set up to help support gay and lesbian people who experience persecution around the world.

The last 10 or 15 years have seen the UK make huge strides in terms of 'gay rights' but that development has not been followed in many other countries.

The Kaleidoscope Diversity Trust says it is going to work with local gay rights campaigners and lobby for equal rights within the Commonwealth.

The new organisation already has the backing of many prominent people and today's official launch is being held at the House of Commons.

12^th September 2011

Account Executive - Temporary Contract - Six Months - £16,000 pro rata

We have an immediate vacancy for an account executive to work with our small, but perfectly formed, team.

The contract is for six months and your main role will be to support one of our Directors in the home, construction and property sector. Duties will include writing and issuing press releases, liaising with clients and journalists on a daily basis, updating client websites, and other social media activities, providing accurate administrative support and occasionally attending events.

Experience of working in a PR agency is desirable but not essential and a current driving licence would also be beneficial. To apply, please email your CV and a covering letter to info@ethos-pr.com.

9^th September 2011

Since Ethos public relations opened its office in the centre of Manchester there have been enormous developments all around. But the recent release of new images of The Co-operative Group’s £800m NOMA redevelopment scheme, show that this promises to be amongst the biggest.

It is going to be fascinating to watch how the Manchester skyline is transformed over the coming years, with the NOMA scheme opening-up a 20-acre plot near Victoria Station, with a mix of hotels, office blocks, apartments and shops.

We will be keeping a close eye on the progress of NOMA and look forward to being in the heart of it!

• Where we are
• NOMA images on BBC
• I Love MCR
• We love MCR!

8^th September 2011

Great to see that our longest standing client, national disability charity, Action For Kids, has been teaching some of the Paralympic sports, being showcased at the International Paralympic Day celebrations in London’s Trafalgar Square today, to students on its recent summer holiday programme.

The Action For Kids’ programme included Paralympic sports, such as boccia, volleyball and tennis to help build excitement and anticipation among students ahead of the Games and now all staff and students are counting down the 356 days until the 2012 Paralympics!

Tickets for the 2012 Paralympic Games go on sale at 9am tomorrow (Friday 9 September) – good luck if you are applying!

• International Paralympic Day 2011
• Tickets for 2012 Paralympic Games
• Paralympic Movement
• Action For Kids

7^th September 2011

This morning Sarah and Debbie from our property team were with our social housing client, Contour Homes and their partner Bramall Construction – to assist with a VIP site tour of the St Mary’s development in Oldham. We helped choreograph the photography and liaised with journalists from the local press who attended.

The event culminated in lunch at Oldham Art Gallery where guests could also browse a Contour Homes exhibition entitled ‘Photography for Change’ which featured art work from various local communities and their residents.

• Contour Homes
• Bramall Construction
• Oldham Art Gallery

6^th September 2011

As you may have read last week, Sarah, one of our Account Executives, has been away supporting her partner Tom Fitton, on his charity bike ride from John O’Groats to Lands End and it is her first day back in the office today!

Following Tom along his journey in a Volkswagen Campervan, Sarah made her way through various counties in England and Wales, including Shropshire, Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. Staying in Ludlow, Taunton, Bude and finally St. Ives.

After just nine days of pedalling, Tom completed his challenge, to raise money for the road safety charity, Brake, reaching Lands End on Saturday 3 September at 3pm – and what a proud moment it was! Even the heavy rain, gales and fog couldn’t dampen his spirits and after a few photos were taken at the Lands End sign, the champagne was flowing and a few Sheppy’s Scrumpy ciders were opened - a little treat Sarah purchased from a cider farm in Somerset!

Huge congratulations to Tom from all of us at Ethos public relations and well done to Sarah for doing a great job supporting him – excellent team work!

• Brake
• Tom's Justgiving page
• The wheels keep turning
• Community day wheels in action

5^th September 2011

With many schools re-opening to pupils this week, we thought what better time to remind you about our own public relations training courses?

We are always happy to pass on our marketing expertise to help businesses manage their PR and communications. We offer bespoke training on a number of PR-related subjects – from writing a press release to how to prepare for a media interview.

We recognise that budgets are tight which is why our training courses are delivered to meet the specific objectives of your business requirements - you only pay for what you need.

So get in touch with the team here at Ethos public relations and find out what we can do for you? Don't worry, there won't be any detentions!

• Training courses
• Training materials
• Other resources
• Contact us

2^nd September 2011

With the ‘I Love MCR’ campaign creating waves – as has been well documented on this very website – we are pleased to announce that one of our clients is getting involved and doing their bit for the campaign.

Legendary music venue, Band on the Wall, on Swan Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, is one of many businesses taking part in ‘N4 Loves You’ - a free two-day music festival which will host 30 live bands and DJs, on three different stages - this Saturday and Sunday from midday until 9pm.

And Band on the Wall’s very own resident Mancunian DJ, Mr Scruff, will be there to entertain the crowds at the free street party, to celebrate the city's fightback from the riots.

With more than 5,000 people expected to attend, ‘N4 Loves You’ promises to be a fantastic event, and as it’s just around the corner from our office, we may well pop down to have a drink at one of the pop-up bars and to look around the vintage market!

• Band on the Wall
• Facebook: N4 Loves You
• EPR loves MCR
• Facebook: We love MCR

1^st September 2011

As you may have read yesterday Sarah, one of our Account Executives, is away at the moment supporting her partner, Tom Fitton, on his charity bike ride from John O’Groats to Lands End.

Currently in Hereford, her next stop will be in Taunton, as Tom attempts to cover a gruelling 120 miles a day to raise money for his chosen charity Brake - the road safety charity - which campaigns to stop road deaths and provides help and support to victims.

Sarah, in the support vehicle, will be assisting Tom throughout the day with his touring needs, providing food and refreshments and will be on-hand in case of any emergencies or problems with the bike.

And she will continue to provide support over the next few days until Tom reaches Lands End on Saturday (3 September) where champagne will most certainly be flowing, and Tom’s legs will get a well deserved break!

• Brake
• Tom's Just giving page

31^st August 2011

Hot on the heels of Sean, the first member of the Ethos public relations team, to take time off to volunteer in the community as part of our Community Days policy, Sarah, one of our Account Executives will head off for her volunteering challenge tomorrow!

Sarah is going to support her partner, Tom Fitton, who is currently two thirds of his way through a nine-day charity bike ride from the most north easterly point on Great Britain, John O'Groats, all the way to Lands End.

The money is being raised for Tom’s chosen charity Brake - the road safety charity – which campaigns to stop road deaths and also provides help and support to victims, in loving memory of his sister, Beth, who was killed in a road accident in July 2007, aged just 23.

Sarah will be following Tom in a support vehicle as he cycles over 100 miles a day and, all being well, the pair will arrive in Ludlow, Shropshire tonight and will be sending us regular updates tomorrow via our website and Twitter.

• Brake
• Tom's Justgiving page

30^th August 2011

At Ethos public relations, we take pride in helping our clients effectively communicate their news and we are pleased to be telling a positive story about the success of a recent event hosted by our client, Contour Homes.

Last month, Contour Homes hosted ‘The Big Chin Rub,’ an annual event which encourages people to use philosophical enquiry as a new and exciting way to engage with the community.

The event was a great success and saw around 100 people from schools, community groups, businesses, registered social landlords (RSL’s) and pub philosophy groups from across the North West, debate the question, ‘What does it really mean to own something?'

We managed to secure some great media coverage about the event across print, online and radio and now, we are working to encourage more organisations to get involved and host their own Big Chin Rub events!

• Read the press release
• Very Philosophical

26^th August 2011

A couple of weeks ago we brought you news about the ‘I Love MCR’ campaign – a joint initiative by Marketing Manchester and the Manchester Arndale to boost civic pride in the wake of the Manchester riots.

The support for the campaign has been phenomenal and it is fantastic to see the people of Manchester coming together today to celebrate ‘We Love MCR Day’!

Thousands of people and many businesses across the city are doing something special to mark the occasion, and we must say what a fantastic contribution from The Co-operative Group, which has draped a giant, 56-metre high ‘I Love MCR’ banner over the top of the Co-operative Insurance (CIS) building!

We went along to take a ‘before and after’ snap of the building – which can now be seen on thePipzz.

We Love MCR!

• thePipzz
• Facebook: We love MCR

25^th August 2011

We have recently introduced a Community Days policy where we encourage all our employees to take time off to volunteer in the community whilst still being paid.

Sean has been the first member of the Ethos public relations team to take up this offer. He volunteered for a week on board the Oakmere GMC boat where he helped young people foster a sense of teamwork and help build their confidence.

• Sean’s blog
• Community Days

16^th February 2012

At Ethos public relations - as well as providing day to day communications support for a number of organisations across a wide range of business sectors – we also offer training courses in a number of PR-related subjects.

Not only can we offer copywriting and press release writing ‘masterclasses’ drawing on our decades of experience but we can also work with outside training providers to tailor courses that meet your needs.

Courses we have provided in the past include Preparation for Broadcast Interviews, an Introduction to Grammar and House Style and What Makes a Great Press Photograph.

• Training courses
• Training materials

23^rd August 2011

Last week we brought you news about The Star Inn, in Salford, Britain’s first and only urban co-operative pub, and the work we were doing to help publicise the Beer Festival that was taking place over the weekend.

The pub, was bought by its locals as a community-owned co-operative in January 2010, after it was given three weeks’ notice of closure, and the team at the pub organised the event to celebrate its success.

By working closely with our contacts at The Star Inn, we managed to secure some great media coverage about the festival across radio, print and online and, as you can see from the photo, everyone who attended the event had a good time toasting The Star Inn’s success!

• The Star Inn
• Salford’s good news story

19^th August 2011

Concern for community is one of the co-operative principles, which is why at Ethos public relations – a co-operatively run business – we were disappointed to hear that yet another high street bank is restricting access to cash machines for nearly a million customers with basic bank accounts.

It’s also the reason we’re pleased to be promoting the Credit Union Current Account (CUCA) on behalf of our client ABCUL – the Association of British Credit Unions. The Credit Union Current Account is a fair and affordable alternative with full ATM access.

Credit unions are financial co-operatives owned and controlled by their members. As they are managed locally and have no outside shareholders to pay, credit union members know their money stays in the community. So why not join your local credit union today and show some support for your community?

• Read the press release
• CUCA

18^th August 2011

As you may have read earlier in the week Sean is volunteering on Oakmere GMC, a sail training vessel based in Liverpool. Currently on route to Anglesey from Ireland, the trip provides young people with the opportunity to meet new people and to visit new places.

Activities like this are an important way for young people to learn the skills that are essential to them playing a part in their communities.

• Picture
• Part of the community

17^th August 2011

At Ethos public relations, we take pride in helping our clients effectively communicate their news, and we are delighted to be telling a really positive story about Salford for our client, Co-operatives UK, after the rioting we saw in the city last week.

The Star Inn, Britain’s first and only urban co-operative pub, which launched last year with help and advice from Co-operatives UK, is hosting a Beer Festival this weekend for the local community, to celebrate its success.

We’ve already got interviews lined up with local media and we are looking into linking the success of The Star Inn to ‘Village SOS’ – a new six-part documentary series on BBC1 – which tonight sees villagers in Wiltshire take over their local pub.

The Star Inn is a fantastic example of how people-power can help to bring back the hearts of local communities and we will be tuning in tonight to see how the people of Wiltshire get on!

• The Star Inn
• Co-operatives UK

2^nd February 2012

At Ethos public relations, we work hard to secure great media coverage for our clients to help promote their work and to help them maintain a dialogue with their key audiences.

And, although it seems obvious that excellent media coverage will result in more enquiries and additional hits to clients’ websites, it is always good to actually see this in action.

Recently we have seen hits to Action For Kids’ website double due to a TV appearance and ABCUL have seen visits to their findyourcreditunion.co.uk website increase tenfold due to our PR campaign promoting new powers for credit unions.

Some say that the value of PR cannot be measured, but we think that this sums up perfectly the value of a strong public relations campaign.

• Media relations
  
• Media coverage
  

15^th August 2011

Ethos public relations has always seen itself as being part of the community and this year we introduced a Community Days scheme, allowing staff paid time off work to volunteer with recognised charities and community organisations.

This week Sean, one of our Directors, has sailed aboard Oakmere GMC to Ireland to pick up a group of 12 young people who will be experiencing teamwork and co-operation while sailing around the Irish Sea.

Sean will be providing us with updates during the week via our website and Twitter, so come back again soon for the latest news...

• Pictures
  
• Community Days

12^th August 2011

Following the riot scenes we witnessed earlier in the week, it is fantastic to see real Mancunians coming together to take back the streets of Manchester.

From a marketing point of view, we are delighted to see Manchester’s tourism chiefs, Marketing Manchester, joining forces with Manchester Arndale to launch the ‘I Love MCR’ campaign! ‘I Love MCR’ will not only help to boost civic pride in the wake of the riots on Tuesday, but it will also help to put Manchester back on the map for all the right reasons, and will incorporate a ‘We Love MCR day’ on 26 August.

As a community minded business, we will be doing our bit to show our Manchester pride. And you can do yours too by visiting the ‘We Love MCR’ Facebook page and help to further promote the campaign.

• Facebook: We love MCR
• Clean up pics

11^th August 2011

For anyone in PR, a good proofreading ability is an important skill and, at Ethos public relations, we think we’re usually quite good at spotting mistakes in magazines, press releases or online. Now Shaun, one of our Directors, is going a step further by volunteering for the Dickens Journals Online project.

As part of next year’s Dickens bicentenary celebrations, the project is putting online a weekly journal edited by Charles Dickens in the 19th century. Shaun is helping to edit the errors from the journals which resulted when they were scanned onto a computer.

So if you want some proofreading done, you know where to come, as our team clearly can’t get enough of it!

• Dickens Journals Online
• Publication production

10^th August 2011

Yesterday we said that the news of the rioting must be disheartening to everyone who believes in creating a better society. This was especially true from a city centre flat in Manchester, where it was possible to follow much of the ‘action’ in real time.

Writing this feels like writing a war report and from the city centre last night, that’s a little bit how it felt. The overhead helicopter and countless police sirens provided the sound effects while a blaze just yards from the flat provided the smell of something really happening. But the difference between this and riots of the past, or demonstrations in the Middle East, or even a war zone is that this is simply about acquiring goods. No-one is campaigning to improve the lot of anyone, or to improve the lot of their nation. It is simply ‘aggravated shoplifting’.

The city centre is in the process of getting back to normal now. The rain cleared up early this morning and as the sun tried to shine on Manchester, 100s of people met to help in the clear-up.

• Forensics pic
• Volunteers pic
• Thomas Street pic
• More pictures

9^th August 2011

Today’s domestic news is inevitably being dominated by riots in London. Luckily, none of our clients have been caught up in the problems, apart from one in North London that closed early yesterday to ensure everyone was able to get home.

The news of the rioting must be especially disheartening to those people who, like us, are interested in building a better society, as it demonstrates just how far some sections of society fall behind the level expected of decent citizens. But amongst all the violence and lawlessness we have seen great deeds by the police, fire-fighters and the public, including those inspired on Twitter through #riotcleanup.

Let's hope that common sense prevails in the coming days and that there's space in the media for some good news too - like the article in today's News and Star about an outdoor learning centre in Cumbria, which is doing a great job helping people get closer to nature and which recently received a social enterprise loan from one of our clients. Maybe we all need to give a bit more support to positive news stories like this?

• Twitter: Riotcleanup
• TSELF press release
• Twitter: EthosPR
• BBC News

8^th August 2011

We were delighted this weekend when we managed to secure some great national media coverage for our client FrithRugs.

After learning that The Independent on Sunday was producing an Art Deco feature for the 7 August issue, we made sure that a geometric Tibetan rug from our client featured prominently in the piece.

If you haven’t seen it yet, the ‘All hands on Deco’ article is on page 37 of the New Review and is also on The Independent website.

• FrithRugs
• FrithRugs news

5^th August 2011

At Ethos public relations we have always believed in an ethical approach to marketing and public relations. We believe that press releases, adverts and marketing material should be honest and accurate and we never aim to mislead through our copy. This ethical PR approach is certainly not unique to us but if you are looking for a PR agency how can you tell whether you like their ethics or not?

Many businesses have a corporate social responsibility plan or even a whole department and this is often a good place to start. Ethos public relations though, tries to amalgamate CSR into everything it does and by publishing a Social Report each year, we are able to demonstrate what our policies are, and more importantly readers can then decide how well we are doing.

We have just started compiling this year’s Report, so watch this space and in the meanwhile, take a look at the last report.

• Our ethos
• Social Report 09-10

4^th August 2011

Here at Ethos public relations, we have always aimed to liaise with journalists in the best way that suits them and best represents our clients. Christina has just written a blog about the changing face of communication, which stresses the importance of personal contact.

Currently, we are looking at trialing a new version of a media database – an all-singing, all-dancing super system, where we can access the contact details of every single journalist and media contact we might ever want to talk to. But whatever system or database used, we will not forget that the basis of good communication is personal contact at the right time with the right message.

Why not take a closer look and read more about this on Christina’s blog?

• Christina’s blog
• What we do

3^rd August 2011

Public relations agencies pride themselves on writing good stories for their clients and most of them also realise the importance of a good image to accompany the story.

This is becoming increasingly the case as more and more stories are published in digital format on the web in the form of blogs or online news.

Recently, we used this photo to illustrate one of our clients, Action For Kids, and we think this photograph is worth a thousand words.

• Read the press release
• Photography

2^nd August 2011

We're just looking at the photographs from the formal opening of new accommodation at charity Rossendale Trust, Macclesfield last week.

Guests included President of the Trust Sir Nicholas Winterton, David Rutley MP as well as personnel from our client Contour Homes.

The residents of the Trust now become Contour Homes tenants and in his speech Rossendale Trust Chief Executive Mike Frost described the relationship between the Trust and Contour Homes as 'a partnership that is setting new standards.'

Local radio and press chatted to guests and residents and we all enjoyed afternoon tea including home made scones, jam and clotted cream!

• Read the press release
• Rossendale Trust
• Contour Homes
• Contour Homes news

2^nd August 2011

Keeping up to speed with clients' needs is important and recently we met up with the team at Action For Kids in London.

We found out about the latest developments at the charity and, no doubt, we will be sharing some of these with you very soon.

• Action For Kids
• Action For Kids news

29^th July 2011

The rain held off as one of our clients helped formally open new accommodation at The Rossendale Trust in Macclesfield on Friday afternoon. The new accommodation supports people with learning and physical disabilities to lead the very best lives they can.

Ethos public relations provided media support for the event, which celebrates the new home for 16 tenants who previously lived in communal residential accommodation in the older part of the Hall which was no longer fit for purpose.

Our client Symphony Housing Group was responsible for securing £1.4 million in grant funding to develop the new housing and the local media joined us for a tour of the new accommodation.

• Rossendale Trust
• Symphony Housing Group

28^th July 2011

We have recently been working with Disability Magazine on behalf of our client, Action For Kids, to put together a feature article about the national disability charity, ahead of its 21st anniversary next year.

Feature articles are a great way to get a message across and allow readers to get more in-depth information on a subject than in a news article. The article, for the magazine’s Charity Talkback page, is out this week, and thanks to Disability Magazine, you can view it by clicking on the link below.

Why not have a look for yourself and find out more about Action For Kids’ ‘family’ ethos? And if you are interested in subscribing to Disability Magazine, you can subscribe today and get nine issues for just £25.

• Read the feature
• Disability Magazine

27^th July 2011

It is not often that drama on TV features public relations, Absolutely Fabulous aside, so the BBC’s Torchwood mention of PR and the devil was worthy of note.

At Ethos public relations we have been showing for over 13 years that PR is not a dark art and in our latest blog Sean argues that high ethical standards are good, not only for the PR industry but also for newspapers and online news sources.

• Sean’s blog
• Our ethos

25^th July 2011

Since joining the social media phenomenon that is Twitter, we have tweeted news about ourselves, our clients, our new homepage and many other things that we feel may be of interest to our loyal followers.

We have now broken the 1,000 barrier mark. There were no balloons or streamers but we do hope every tweet brought you news that enhanced your knowledge of what we do and why we do it.

Ethos public relations AKA @EthosPR may not (yet) have 9,320,926 followers like @BarackObama or tweeted 8,953 times like @StephenFry but if you do not already follow us, why not add us to stay in touch?

• Our Twitter
• About Twitter

22^nd July 2011

As a PR firm it is our job to advise clients on what makes a good news story. We encourage our clients to have something new and interesting to say and sometimes a survey can do that.

We work for 'green energy' companies including solar PV and wind farms - both of which sometimes attract criticism for the way they look. It's such a subjective issue - very Marmite - you either love them or hate them. A quick poll here in the office found we all have different views about wind farms. Debbie said they were 'romantic' and Christina said they were 'futuristic'.

Help us make the news and fill in a very quick survey about your views on solar PV.

• Solar Direct Savings
• Energy4All

21^st July 2011

One of our Directors is attending a client marketing meeting today. She will be there representing the public relations strand of the marketing mix and also in attendance will be a creative agency, a web design agency, a media buying agency and an internet marketing agency.

Not everyone has such a cohesive approach to their marketing but we believe that in order for a strategy to be effective it's important you do deliver a seamless marketing approach. It's good to know where the next advert is - we could get some editorial; we can offer our input to the creative's and suggest an editorial campaign to back it up and we could work with the web team to keep social media high on the agenda.

• Marketing
• Advertising

20^th July 2011

One of the services we offer at Ethos public relations is copywriting.

Obviously news releases and feature writing are the traditional services you would expect from a public relations agency but other writing genres have been introduced over the last few years including websites, tweets and blogs.

At the moment Debbie is currently working with several of our 'homes' clients to revamp their websites. While the ‘tecchies’ advise on key words and Google ratings and the like, clients still look to us to provide consumer friendly copy. As the shop window for many consumer clients, the website is a vital selling tool and so this provides yet another way we can help improve your bottom line.

• Copywriting
• Website management

19^th July 2011

We’ve had one of those days today where contacts from across a variety of media have been in touch!

We’ve had an enquiry from a television production company planning a potential new series and they want to involve one of our clients. It's very early days yet but it’s an issue we need to discuss in great detail if we are even to progress it to the next stage. TV can be an exciting prospect but it’s our job to consider the cons as well as the pros.

This morning we've sorted out a quote for a national newspaper and we've also spoken to a housing trade press looking for a client comment for a forthcoming feature.

We deal with many media enquiries on a daily basis for all our clients, while continuing to develop new story ideas for them. All in a day’s work!

• Media relations
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18^th July 2011

We have been working closely with our client, The Social Enterprise Loan Fund (TSELF), to put together case study press releases about a variety of social enterprises in the UK who have recently benefitted from TSELF loans.

TSELF aim to support social enterprises with the provision of loan finance. Any social enterprises looking for loans should contact TSELF to see how they could help.

• TSELF
• TSELF news
  

15^th July 2011

On Friday morning Debbie was with our social housing client Symphony Housing Group - and partners Bramall Construction - to welcome people on site at St Mary's in Oldham.

This residential scheme is a gateway site for Oldham and the biggest for Symphony Housing Group. We are currently working on a major marketing plan that will see us through the 18 month lifecycle of the site.

• Symphony Housing Group
• Bramall Construction

14^th July 2011

Ethos public relations has been supporting our client, Energy4All, as the team has been hosting public events in Devon this week, to talk about plans to develop a new Devon Community Wind Co-operative in the county.

We secured some great media coverage in the Devon press ahead of the events, and have been speaking to the local press today to try to arrange live interviews from the event.

Watch this space!

• Energy4All
• Other Energy4All news

11^th April 2012

One of the advantages of using a PR agency is the fact that we have a wide range of expertise and experience.

As you will see from our news section our clients cover a wide variety of areas from charity to housing and from co-operatives to renewable energy.

At first glance it might not seem that these areas have anything in common but more than once we have been able to use experience gained in one field to help get the message across in another.

• Econoloft press release
• ABCUL press release

11^th July 2011

It has been yet another productive day in the Ethos public relations office today. We have been busy drafting and issuing various news releases for our clients.

Contour Homes is gathering support for for its Big Chin Rub. A fundraiser from Crouch End has completed the Extreme 5 Challenge for Action For Kids and it has also been the official launch of North Wales Credit Union today.

Watch this space because we will soon have news for you from Band on the Wall and Co-operatives UK too!

• Read Contour Homes press release
• The Big Chin Rub 2011
  
• Read Action For Kids release
• Read ABCUL release

11^th July 2011

This week journalists at the News of the World office will be clearing out their desks while journalists elsewhere will surely continue to analyse the fallout of the phone hacking story.

We cannot help but feel that if all journalists signed up to the NUJ’s code of conduct - especially points 5 and 6 - then 168 years of publishing history might not have gone to the wall.

• NUJ's code of conduct
• NUJ Website
  

8^th July 2011

We were invited by Viva magazine to a summer penthouse party on the 15th floor of The Light Boutique ApartHotel, in Manchester city centre, this week.

From changes to shopping patterns, the development of new iconic buildings and the recent arrival of MediaCity, the view from above really does provide a superb vantage point to see how Manchester has developed over the past 20 years or so.

Everyone at Ethos public relations has been wondering what it will look like in another 20 years time...

• High res version
• Viva Magazine
• The Light Boutique ApartHotel
• Manchester
  

7^th July 2011

Social enterprises, like all businesses, can need access to external funding. Recently, the Social Enterprise Loan Fund provided a loan to Liverpool-based Social Enterprise North West Ltd (SENW), which represents social enterprises across the North West.

If you would like to find out about loans available specifically for social enterprises, then the TSELF website is a good starting point.

• Read the press release
  
• SENW
• TSELF
• Other TSELF news
  

7^th July 2011

As strong supporters of co-operatives it was interesting to discover that our client, Co-operatives UK, predicts that the UK will soon see more people in the UK being members of co-operatives than direct individual shareholders of private companies.

With co-operative membership expected to grow by 10% by the end of 2012 it shows that the values and principles of co-operation are experiencing something of a renaissance. That is good news during Co-operatives Fortnight.

• Read the press release
• Co-operatives UK

6^th July 2011

As a business with a number of charity clients, we are always interested to see the different ways people raise money for charity.

Our latest press release for Action For Kids focused on Jo Peasland from Wimbledon, who raised more than £5,000 for the charity by selling car-parking spaces in her driveway to tennis fans recently. An easy but rather ingenious way to raise money for a good cause.

• Read the press release
• Action For Kids

5^th July 2011

We have worked with client Action For Kids to supply copy to Disability magazine.

The article explaining the philosophy behind the charity will appear in the print edition, out on 22nd July. Why not subscribe?

• Disability magazine
• Action For Kids
  

5^th July 2011

Ethos public relations has helped one of our clients, Band on the Wall, to launch an online ticket store with a difference.

Ticketwall, which is the first of its kind, will raise funds to support music education and participation projects. When tickets are purchased on the website, 3p from every £1 spent will go on a number of projects throughout the UK.

• Read the press release
• Ticketwall

4^th July 2011

Our client Co-operatives UK is looking for stories for its online Little Book of Sharing. Launched as part of Co-operatives Fortnight, the book will be a record of how people and organisations have shared.

If your business shares, why not upload your story now?

• Little Book of Sharing
• Co-operatives UK

4^th July 2011

To celebrate American Independence Day on Monday we thought what better day to publish a guest blog from Bob Giuliano of PR for Business Inc., our strategic partner in the US.

PR for Business Inc. works with Ethos public relations in the United States, so if you're looking to talk to UK or US trade media, then why not come and talk to us?

• Read the blog
• PR for Business Inc.

1^st July 2011

Debbie Kelly, one of our Directors, attended a fascinating talk on Friday given by Eric Allison, ex bank robber turned Guardian correspondent.

The event was hosted by Dovetail and Reason Digital, two Manchester based social enterprises and is part of their Lunchworks seminars - a series of thought-provoking talks for socially motivated organisations.

We love networking events that provide a chance to meet new people, provoke stimulating discussion and are value for money. Lunchworks ticks all our boxes.

• Lunchworks
• Event management
  

1^st July 2011

Our Director Debbie Kelly, who heads up our Housing Team, has added her support to Inside Housing magazine's 'Get on Our Land' campaign.

The UK needs more homes and the campaign wants to have the backing of at least 100 companies committed to increasing the supply of land, develop a charter which outlines ways of easing housing land supply and will ask councils to take part in a CLG scheme which identifies surplus public assets.

• Sign the petition
• Find out more

30^th June 2011

At a reception held by one of Ethos public relations clients – ABCUL - as part of the credit union sector’s contribution to Co-operatives Fortnight celebrations, Iain Duncan Smith MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, announced that credit unions need to be supported and strengthened. He also said that the Government is making a £73 million fund available that will support suitable credit unions to expand and become financially sustainable.

• Read the press release
  
• ABCUL website

14^th November 2011

We are all for renewable energy, that is why we are proud to work with Energy4All - a not-for-profit social enterprise, which facilitates and supports community ownership of renewable energy generation in the UK. The Ethos public relations website server is even powered by renewable energy.

If you are interested in renewable energy and, more specifically, community-owned wind turbines, then why not visit Energy4All's website and find out a bit more about them and their work.

• Energy4All website
• More Energy4All news

29^th June 2011

Our client Band on the Wall is holding a fundraising event at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall on July 25th.

Manchester Confidential is offering a chance to win a pair of tickets to see the giant of American popular music Al Jarreau. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness the seven-time Grammy Award-winner performing his greatest hits with full backing band. The concert takes place on Monday 25 July and is part of the Manchester Jazz Festival.

• Win a pair of tickets
• Al Jarreau event

29^th March 2012

Media relations is often about sending written releases out to media organisations, usually by email. But for some projects or stories it is more useful to speak directly with editors or producers to see how they think a particular story can fit with what they are doing.

Ethos public relations firmly believes that you should target what you say to the audience you are addressing, so what better proof of that than asking the media what they want?

We do this with all of our clients - but especially so for our housing and lifestyle businesses, such as Econoloft and FrithRugs.

And it does work – we have lost count of the times a nudge from us has resulted in coverage.

• Media relations
• What we do

24^th June 2011

We have been talking to local and trade media to let them know our client’s event - Co-operative Congress - is taking place this weekend at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole.

Ethos public relations always recommend that clients target their information for differing media to ensure it is relevant and appropriate to the audience. Working with our local and trade media contacts, we have secured some good coverage already.

Our advice would be to never overlook local and trade in your media strategies!

• Co-operatives UK
• The Newspaper Society
• Co-operative Congress 2011
• Media Relations
  

23^rd June 2011

Debbie, in the Ethos public relations social housing team, has pledged her support to a campaign from the National Housing Federation which is against unfair benefit changes which could cut the income of housing association residents by around £728 a year.

As a company that likes to do its bit for the community we encourage you to lend your support to this campaign too.

• Show your support
• Our Ethos
• National Housing Federation
• BitesizeHousing
  

22^nd June 2011

Having issued a FrithRugs press release yesterday Ethos public relations has already had a number of enquiries regarding the new personalised rugs range and a Midlands newspaper is planning on covering the story.

Watch this space!

• Read the press release
• Personalised rugs
  
• FrithRugs
• Other FrithRugs stories
  

21^st June 2011

Ethos public relations often helps organise and co-ordinate media relations around events for our clients.

Recently we have been busy inviting the national, trade and regional media to one of our client’s biggest events – Co-operative Congress 2011 in Birmingham. Could we help you with media relations for your events?

• Event management
  
• Other services
  
• Co-operative Congress
• Co-operatives UK news
  

20^th June 2011

We often advise clients that a customer competition on their website or in a publication is a good way to get their services and products better known.

So it was great to recently win a bottle of wine in a reader competition.

Reader offers like this are much more powerful than simple advertising copy (and often better value for money) as they get your product or service directly in front of new customers.

Old Spot Red is now a recognised brand in the Ethos public relations office.

• Competitions
• Other services
• Pig in a Poke
• Hospitality and Catering News

16^th June 2011

Congratulations to our client Housing e-Academy which has recently expanded into the Scottish market. Cairn Housing Association has signed up to a Bronze Membership training package. Ethos public relations looks forward to helping Housing e-Academy raise their media profile north of the border.

• Read the press release
  
• Housing e-Academy website
  
• Cairn Housing Association website

15^th June 2011

One of our clients - Band on the Wall – has just been voted the North West’s Best Small Venue by readers of national music magazine NME.

They now go forward to contest for the accolade of Britain’s Best Small Venue.

We like to think that tweets from Ethos public relations encouraging people to vote for them, contributed to this success! Good luck Band on the Wall!

• Read the press release
• Band on the Wall
• Ethos’ Twitter
• NME

14^th June 2011

One of the many services we offer clients is website management.

Well, we like to practice what we preach. Recently, we gave this homepage a new look so that we can bring you more stories, more often, on everything that is happening here at Ethos public relations and with our clients. We'd love to know what you think of the new homepage, so why not get in touch and tell us.

• Website management
• Other services

9^th June 2011

At Ethos public relations we encourage our employees to volunteer and recently we introduced a ‘community days and sabbaticals’ policy.

The policy is quite timely as a recent survey stated that only 14% of employers encourage volunteering and 13% actually forbid it!

• Read Shaun’s blog
• Our Ethos

9^th June 2011

Have you been hit with the recent price hikes in energy?

One of the clients of Ethos public relations, Solar Direct Savings (SDS), may have the answer - solar PV.

A green solution to a worrying problem!

• Read the press release
• SDS website
• Other SDS stories
• Solar energy

7^th June 2011

Over the years we have written, edited and proof read numerous publications for our clients.

Currently we are working on three separate publications. Could Ethos public relations help you write yours too?

• Publication production
• Other services
• Example of our work
• Can we help?

6^th June 2011

Workers from across London will be swapping their suits for their sports gear this Friday when they compete in the third annual City Beach Volleyball Championships, to raise money for National disability charity, Action For Kids (AFK).

• AFK website
• Other AFK stories

4^th June 2011

Have you ever seen a picture on our website you like and want to download? Well you can by visiting our resources section – thePipzz.

Here you will find images from us and our clients as well as magazines we have worked on, videos we have made and a number of training materials.

thePipzz

16^th April 2012

Public relations is about maintaining a dialogue between you and your key audiences whoever they may be - the general public, shareholders, the media, local politicians or employees.

We use a wide range of communication tools to help your organisation get the profile it deserves and tailor a PR strategy that is right for your business and your budget.

• What we do
• Do you need PR?

4^th June 2011

Band on the Wall have been shortlisted for an NME award for UK's Best Small Music Venue – but we need your help to make them win.

We need you to visit Band on the Wall’s website, follow the instructions and vote. It only takes a few seconds but be aware that voting closes on 10 June!

• Band on the Wall
• Register your vote

4^th June 2011

Following the McNulty Report Sean has questioned the price of train tickets – but not the way you may think. He thinks that some are too cheap! The office here at Ethos public relations is divided on his argument - but what do you think?

• Read the blog
• The McNulty Report
• GOCO
• Other Ethos blogs

4^th June 2011

At Ethos public relations we like to make a difference to the community around us - and this is an ethos we share with our clients.

One such example is Rochdale Boroughwide Housing’s (RBH) recent work providing real employment opportunities to unemployed young people in Rochdale.

• Read the press release
• RBH website
• Gareth Swarbrick
• Other RBH stories