There’s a fascinating dilemma that crops up in public relations once in a while. It goes like this:
- If you can only promote the value of a product once that product is understood, how do you start promoting something that is not widely understood or even something completely new?
Mutual insurance is a perfect example and tackling the subject prompted me to write this blog.
The fascinating thing about the business centres of the Arabian Gulf – Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar in particular – is that they are so closely tied to international centres in Europe, North America and Asia.
There is no better way to start a new year than with a team away day. Downloading and assessing last year’s highs and lows (mostly highs), discussing plans for a successful 2012 and of course brainstorming ways to maintain service levels during periods of growth were key to our successful day.
2012 was an excellent year for FWD with the appointment of 4 new team members from a variety of background and the away day served us well as an opportunity to ensure the team develops together maximizing all of the variety of skills we are lucky to employ.
Of course there was pre-work for our day away from the office! Teams of 2 spoke offered insight into the different publishing groups, offering unknown details and shared experiences of working well with them. We then had a crash course in investor relations, including how to launch an IPO and why companies choose to.
Consumer PR was a key topic, and thanks to Annabel Dunstan (ex 3 Monkeys) for coming in and offering an external view on working creatively with business stories. To much delight of the team we also discussed compliance! Yes I am being sarcastic but actually it was a very important part of the day. It is essential for us all to be reminded that when working in the financial services market we need to be aware of what we are writing and that all facts must be sourced as outlined in the FSMA 2000.
We ended our day looking at what the future holds for PR, discussing top new media trends to look out for 2012 and how we can implement them into our work.
The day was very successful and we all got a lot out of it. It is easy to get caught up in client and carried away in daily life work that you don’t have time to sit with your colleagues and brainstorm. Getting away from the office for the one day certainly helped us achieve that. It also gave the team a chance to head out for a few cheeky drinks!
Today we celebrated the first Friday of December by putting up our FWD Christmas tree. This year, we are delighted to have a live tree rather than some plastic contraption. After all, no amount of Christmas-spice room spray can quite beat the smell of real pine needles. To help get everyone in the spirit of Christmas we thought we would share with you what each of us at FWD PR is looking forward to most this Christmas.
Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and waistline induced anxiety. To most Brits, these things bring Christmas to mind. Americans, however, have the privilege of going through the rigmarole of this holiday ritual twice a year. Throughout the years, I’ve had a few British friends ask me the purpose of having a Christmas-like meal with extended family just four weeks before Christmas. Is Thanksgiving merely a dress rehearsal for 25 December? An excuse for Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s to remind everyone that they only have a few weeks left to finish their gift shopping? Or perhaps a clever marketing campaign on the part of Turkey farmers?
Christmas, love it or hate it you can’t ignore it. M&S Christmas bags are all around, the Christmas sandwiches are in-store (hurrah), the red coffee cups are back and more of Leadenhall market’s Christmas decorations are appearing each morning.
So when this morning I announced, much to the irritation of my fellow colleagues, that following a successful evening on-line I had completed the majority of my Christmas shopping, the groans were audible across the office. I took the opportunity (pressure of shopping lifted) to sit back and look forward to the festivities.
Here is another new face on the PR team. Kaitlin Bergan has joined us as a PR Executive, straight from finishing her Masters at LSE. We managed to take 10 minutes out of Kaitlin’s busy schedule to find out all about her.
1. What brought you to FWD PR?
I was actually interviewing for jobs in financial marketing, which I worked in previously, but then came across FWD through a recruiter and decided financial PR might be even more interesting. And several weeks in I can happily say my instincts were right!
As promised – the next new face….. please welcome Andrew Lyons a new senior account manager for FWD. Andrew brings with him piles of agency and financial experience and we are delighted to have him on the team.
After 5 years of working in in-house PR (most of which were government agencies) I wanted to make the move to a PR agency. As much as I enjoyed working in-house I had always wanted the opportunity to work agency-side. Working in a PR agency allows you to work on a number of accounts which makes the work varied and exciting. Also working in an environment where everyone works in PR, as opposed to being in a small in-house team, is hugely beneficial as you can throw ideas at one another and learn from your colleagues.
The past few months have been an exciting and busy time for FWD Group, the parent company of FWD PR, and as Chief Executive of the group I am delighted to announce our acquisition of leading financial services communications firm, First Quartile. Read More…
