Thanks from the Stallard family

Mae Stallard

Just a quick note to thank all of the people who sent cards, gifts, messages and emails of congratulation to Amanda and I. You will never know how much they were all appreciated. After a couple of weeks being cared for by the amasing staff at the special care unit for babies at Frimley Park (my charity of choice) Mae is home and doing fantastically well.

Also a massive thanks to all at Berkeley PR for their wonderful support and for ensuring that the clients barely knew I was away.

You are all stars

I’m a Dad!

Mae Stallard

I will be going off line for a while while I spend some valuable time with my wonderful wife Amanda and our amazing and beautiful little daughter Mae who was born on Friday. As a result I won’t be posting much here but will be checking in from time to time on Twitter.

Just off for another (proud) cry.

TechCrunch Punked by Facebook

Punked

TechCrunch showed what good sports they were by putting their hands up and admitting those guys at Facebook punked them. Funny story.

Student Gems

Source: www.studentgems.com

In our office we have been blessed with the presence of Lewis Wright, a communication student who wanted to gain some work experience during the summer with a PR agency. We are normally a little reluctant to offer work experience as it can take up an enormous amount of time and energy to train someone to do a job when you know they won’t be here in a week’s time.

That said, rather than have someone milling around for a few days doing all the filing we wanted him to have a real life experience and offered to put him on the books as a paid trainee exec for the summer. The benefits to us as an agency have been superb as he has brought some excellent ideas to the table and shown a determination to get the job completed right, first time. He has really become a part of the team and we are already feeling sad that he will be heading back to university in two weeks time and dearly hope he stays in touch.

I thought about the experience Lewis has had with us over the past two months building his portfolio after a conversation we had with Student Gems this afternoon, a company with a concept so simple and brilliant it will make you wish you thought of it. We need some graphic design work for a new mailing we are working on and were interested to hear what they had to offer. The company basically provides businesses the opportunity to take advantage of skills that students have or are training for at a reduced rate.

For example, if you need someone to take some photography but don’t have the budget for a professional photographer it will pair you up with a photography student who will be more than capable of taking the head and shoulders shot you require for a brochure at a fraction of the fee. The bonus for the student, (other than they get paid) is that they can start to build a portfolio straight away.

Genius. Take a look at their site and if you are interested in any of their services why not say hello to either Joanna or Sue – they are very nice and should be able to help. Please note that Student Gems isn’t one of my clients although I would dearly like to do the PR for this company….so maybe one day.

Do you still love an ex?

Ian Holloway

I was reading the football gossip column on the BBC this morning and saw the following comment from Blackpool boss Ian Holloway about leading his new side into battle with former club QPR. “If you met your ex-missus in a pub, would you have feelings for her? Of course you would,” he said.

I felt exactly the same this week when I saw a feature opportunity which was more than perfect – almost written for – one of my ex-clients. It is the ex part of that phrase which made seeing the opportunity so painful.

It is a part of life that clients change agencies but when you work agency side and you spend so much of your time working with a client it is hard not to feel an affinity with them. When I saw Ian’s comments I could relate them to my scenario this week and I don’t mind admitting that I was more than happy to contact the former client and present them with the opportunity. Maybe in a hard nosed world which dictates that they are not paying us so don’t bother, I shouldn’t have but I still have feelings for the company and want it to do well. Is that wrong?

Fun FORE all at the BPR golf day

Berkeley PR golfers

Tuesday was Berkeley PR’s chance to claw back some pride after coming last in an annual charity golf day we sponsor but how did we get on? Read my blog on the corporate blog to find out.

The two Paul Stallards

Source: Photos by Paul Stallard

I had an interesting one last week when I saw a name appear in my inbox. Obviously I am not the only one to have this name but I have never actually met another Paul Stallard or spoken to one.

Paul was introduced to me by one of my colleagues who had thought it was a wind up when be phoned one of the Berkeley PR offices. Anyway, Paul is a PR photographer who has worked for the Western Daily Press as their district Wiltshire photographer and has now decided to set up working for himself supplying photography and video for companies, PR outlets and of course also doing portraits and weddings.

Paul is currently working on his website and as soon as it is live I will upload a link so you can see his work but in the meantime if you are interested in speaking to or getting Paul’s contact details please feel free to drop me a line and I will pass on his details.

Thanks Berkeley PR

Source: Paul Stallard

If you follow me on Twitter you may have seen a couple of rather excited posts a few weeks ago. The reason being that I took delivery of my new company car and after spending a couple of weeks driving around I am delighted to confirm that I absolutely love it. Who wouldn’t? Look at the photo above – it is beautiful.

Thanks to the gaffer at Berkeley PR. Lifts to meetings are on me.

Losing an account….

During these difficult times no one wants to lose an account and winning new business has taken on an even more crucial dimension to our every day lives. That said, when I have been unfortunate enough to lose an account or a new business pitch I haven’t ever quite been moved so much as to rant about it on You Tube. I stumbled upon this clip on Stephen Davies’ blog and it did make me chuckle.

London Marathon

Good luck to all those taking part in the London Marathon on Sunday, unfortunately this will be one of the first years for a while that I have been unable to go up and cheer everyone on. That said, a number of my colleagues will be there cheering the heros on.

One such hero is freelance journalist, Mark Dye who is running for Laureus and you can sponsor him on his Just Giving page.

In case you didn’t know, Laureus celebrates the universal power of sport to bring people together as a force for good, passionately embodying the very spirit of sport – the pursuit of excellence, overcoming challenges, celebrating achievement and excellence, and winning against the odds.

It uses the power of sport to help tackle pressing social challenges through a worldwide programme of sports related community development initiatives funded and supported by the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.

Laureus attracts groups of people who share a belief in the power of sport to break down barriers, to engage with others and to change the world for the better. It seeks to inspire hope and positive change for children around the world using sport as a unique social vehicle.

Good luck Mark, hope the blisters aren’t too bad.