Friday 16 August 2013
The Changing Face of PR
Freestyle's Managing Director, Alan Boyden, recently contributed to a round table discussion for Midlands Business Insider magazine.
Alan and other PR professionals from around the region discussed the changing face of PR, including the use of outside agencies, social media and budget constraints.
When asked about social media and its potential to broadcast unauthorised information outside of the company's key marketing messages, Alan commented:
An overview of the round table can be found on the Midlands Business Insider Website and the full discussion is printed in the September issue of the magazine."That's the danger with treating social media as a separate channel. If anyone sent out a traditional press release without it being signed off there would be real anger. But that's exactly what you're doing with a blog or Twitter post created without guidelines."
Labels: Alan Boyden, Business, Business Insider, Freestyle, Freestyle Marketing, Managing Director, Midlands Business Insider, PR, Public Relations, Social Media
# posted by Freestyle PR : 15:53
Wednesday 14 August 2013
Tennis Runs In Our Blood!
If you’re a fan of tennis, then you’ll easily
recognise Babolat’s ‘Tennis Runs In Our Blood’ slogan. As the leading French
manufacturer of tennis rackets, sports clothing and footwear, Babolat is now
one of the biggest brands in the world of tennis, and is favoured by top
players like Rafa Nadal, Andy Roddick, Li Na and Wimbledon semi-finalist, Jerzy
Janowicz.
When it comes to all things
tennis, Freestyle’s Creative Director, Tim Phillips is something of an expert.
Having picked up a racket at the tender age of 10, Tim is also a qualified
professional tennis coach. He just represented Nottinghamshire at Eastbourne , in the inter-county over 35’s tournament
beating rivals Oxfordshire.
Given his dedication to the sport, it's unsurprising
that tennis is very much a family business. His daughter Charlotte, once ranked
in the top five under 18’s, is now studying for a degree in sports management
on a tennis scholarship in Houston , Texas
 |
| Freestyle's Creative Director,Tim Phillips, has been able to bring his love of tennis to his work on projects with Babolat |
Tim has been able to bring his love of the game to his work at Freestyle, particularly over the last three years where he’s led the creative team on projects with Babolat to create major promotional campaigns, tactical marketing and online advertising material across the
 |
| Charlotte Phillips is playing the game she loves, while studying for a degree in sports management |
Fresh from his success at
the recent inter-county tournament, Tim explained why this project was
particularly meaningful, “One of the most important and often difficult
decisions that highly talented, top ranked junior tennis players have to make
is whether to further their education or whether to turn professional. It was
important to me to help guide these players and provide them with solid
information to help them plan their future. The Careers in Tennis campaign
material enables them to make informed decisions. Financial, personal,
educational, and professional development goals have to be considered. There is
no simple answer, and the reasoning is different for each player. There are
some great things you can do within the game. Our goal is to make sure that
their love of the game continues and they stay within the tennis scene.”
Labels: Andy Roddick, Babolat, Freestyle Marketing, International Tennis Federation, Jerzy Janowicz, Lawn Tennis Association, Li Na, Loughborough University, Rafa Nadal, Wimbledon
# posted by Freestyle PR : 13:00
Tuesday 30 July 2013
Feasting On A Spaghetti Western
Freestyle’s
PR team was recently presented with an opportunity to develop a creative brief
for – wait for it – chocolate spaghetti! MidlandsBusiness Insider, a regional magazine planned to showcase the best and most
creative campaigns by local PR agencies, and suggested that we could adopt a
different but light-hearted approach to tackling ‘The Chocolate Spaghetti Test’.
Our
brainstorming session was a team effort which involved PR, marketing and the
creatives. It was a great way for us to do some ‘Freethinking’, to let our
creativity run riot…and that was how our spaghetti western theme was born.
‘The Good, The Bad and The Chocletti’ was our fun way to wrangle up some
cowhands for this super-fun cowboy themed
launch party!
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Of course, the theme itself is a light-hearted nod to the spaghetti western, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly starring
the great Clint Eastwood. We agreed that our chocolate spaghetti or Chocletti would
target children primarily, as an energy-boosting meal to power them through
their day but we also wanted to show that Chocletti is fun! Turning Alan Boyden, Freestyle’s Managing Director said, ‘We all understand the importance of a good creative brief and we saw The Chocolate Spaghetti Test as a great way to flex our grey matter. Our aim was to create a solid campaign with proper messaging, appropriate visuals and memorable design. Some of the ideas that the team came up with were truly imaginative, and the exercise itself enabled the passion, pride and professionalism of the entire team to shine through… plus we had a bit of fun too!’
Labels: Chocolate spaghetti, Clint Eastwood, Creativity, Freestyle, Midlands Business Insider, spaghetti westerns, The Good The Bad and The Ugly, Wild West
# posted by Freestyle PR : 10:26
Monday 24 June 2013
Hats Off To Our Heroes
Nottingham will proudly host the UK's fifth Armed Forces Day National Event this summer. The event which will take place on Saturday, 29th June at the Victoria Embankment, will celebrate the work and outstanding contribution made by the men and the women of the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force, plus reservists from all three services.
The event, which is part of a week-long programme of celebrations across the country, will feature a great line-up of activities and entertainment for the whole family to enjoy.
Freestyle is proud to have played a key role towards
this historic event. Working on behalf of the Nottingham City Council, our
creative team developed the creative concept behind the campaign, and devised
the now familiar “Hats Off To Our Heroes” theme. The theme, and
graphic featuring a trio of military service dress hats, have been adopted
across the city and can be seen on banners, posters and tram wraps. Together,
they form a powerful symbol highlighting the importance of the men and women
who serve the nation.
Alan Boyden, Freestyle’s Managing Director said, “Once in while you get the opportunity to work on a project that not only satisfies your professional appetite for creativity, but also feeds your emotional needs. Promotion of the national Armed Forces Day in partnership with Nottingham City Council was one such project. Here at Freestyle, we are delighted to be associated with an event of such national military importance and are proud to take our hats off to these heroes.”
City
Centre:
- City Centre parade
- Drumhead service
- Flypasts
- Past and present
military vehicles
- Exciting live and
static displays
- Live entertainment
- Armed Forces
through the ages
- Veterans marquee
Labels: Armed Forces Day, Army, flypast, Freestyle Marketing, Hats Off To Our Heroes. Military, nottingham, parade, RAF, Royal Air Force, Royal Navy
# posted by Freestyle PR : 14:26
Wednesday 19 June 2013
Off the Eaten Path
New Freestyle recruit, Shirlene Campbell Ritchie shares her thoughts on what she misses most about sunny Singapore!
Wanting to make the best of the sunshine last week, we had some friends round for tea in the garden. Like me, Su Lin is a Singaporean married to an Englishman. And, as Singaporeans do, we started talking about the things we miss most – at the top of the list was food! My husband says that when Brits gather, they seem to talk about nothing but the weather, but when Singaporeans are together, they can’t stop talking about food – and Singapore has the most amazing variety of food so we have lots to talk about!
Culinary adventurers will be aware that
 |
| Hearty Prawn Noodles |
No one
in Singapore Singapore
I’ve
often wondered if we can make Singapore
It’s
always fun to go to Old Market Square Nottingham
that you’d like to tell us about?
Now that sounds like
some food for thought.
Labels: Chinese, food, Freestyle Marketing, hawker centres, Indian, Malay, nottingham, Old Market Square, Singapore, street food, World Street Food Congress 2013
# posted by Freestyle PR : 16:26
Wednesday 12 June 2013
History of Marketing Infographic
HubSpot have put together this fantastic infographic charting the development of Marketing since 1450. The 'digital age' has totally transformed how brands communicate and build relationships with customers.
Labels: Agency, Design, Digital, Freestyle, HubSpot, marketing, nottingham, Outbound, PR, Print
# posted by Freestyle PR : 14:40
Tuesday 4 June 2013
Serving up a laugh!
Freestyle’s Art Director, Dave Slaney has lent his artistic skills to illustrating a new book about the comical trials and tribulations of a fictional tennis club.
Off The Frame – The Lighter Side of Tennis is collection of short stories, poems and sketches,
written by Alistair Higham and Ronald Carter, based around the fictional ‘Long
Shott Tennis Club’ in ‘Spin
Valley
Dave’s witty cartoons feature throughout the book and depict a range of comic characters including ‘Rocket’ Eastwood, the tennis player with canon-ball power (but no backhand), and Cedric Ballsworthy, the partially-sighted umpire, in some very amusing situations.
Dave was thrilled to be
involved in the project, especially as it meant he got to sharpen his pencils and
open his sketching pad once again:
“It’s great to step away from the Apple Mac and get some good old-fashioned hand-drawing done now and then! Alistair and Ronald’s stories and poems are brilliantly entertaining and it’s been a pleasure to bring their characters to life in the book.”
A ‘Meet the Artist’ video
from the Off The Frame website shows
Dave hard at work:
Off The Frame – The Lighter Side of Tennis is available through Amazon and on Kindle now. An Audio book is currently in production and will be available in the coming months.
Labels: Alistair Higham, Art Director, Artist, Cartoon, Dave Slaney, Freestyle Marketing, Illustration, Off The Frame, Ronald Carter, The Lighter Side of Tennis
# posted by Freestyle PR : 12:05
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