Here’s our latest copywriting and design project – a new leaflet and website for Walter’s Rural, one of Lincolnshire’s best known chartered surveyors.
It was work experience week at Branston Community Academy in Lincoln, and we had the honour of welcoming a funny and talented young lad to the office throughout the week.
His name was Oliver Jackson, and here’s what he had to say about his week working with Lava:
I really enjoyed my week at Lava. From the second I walked in the door, I felt welcomed by all the staff.
I was thoroughly taken through all the safety precautions and felt safe throughout the whole week. I have always been a PC person, however, I learned the basics of an iMac in the first day due to the support the company offers.
Also, I am into photography, so Lava dedicated a day in which I could take pictures of products Lava had made. I had never done this before, so I was taken through how to compose the images to a professional level. I really enjoyed taking the photographs because I enjoy photography.
I also learned how to use the hole punching and binding machine to make company credentials, which are used to send to businesses that might be interested in working with Lava.
Finally, I also did research into the Balcan Bell and found some ways to advertise it, then I put my presentation skills into place by collating my ideas into a Powerpoint that I presented to the office. I have had a really good time at Lava, and it has inspired me to work hard and communicate in a working environment to achieve the best I possibly can.
Best of luck in the future, Oli!
If you have a Growth Voucher and need marketing advice, we can help!
We’ve been approved as a Growth Voucher Adviser and, because have Chartered Institute of Public Relations members within our team and have Professional Indemnity Insurance, we can now accept ‘Marketing & Customer Service’ vouchers.
You can exchange your voucher for up to £2,000 of strategic advice on how to market your business.
Find out more here about how you can use the voucher to gain a marketing advantage but be quick as the scheme ends on 31st March 2015.
Announced in the 2013 Budget, the Growth Vouchers programme is a £30 million fund that will enable small business to access expert advice. The Government will match your investment, so you can turn £2,000 into £4,000 of help and support. It’s worth noting you can invest more or less than £2,000 but the Government’s top contribution will be £2,000.
You can find out more about Growth Vouchers at enterprisenation.com and www.gov.uk/apply-growth-vouchers
Madonna and her now infamous plunge this week got everyone in the office wondering the same thing: why has Madonna’s gaffe gotten loads more media coverage than anything else having to do with the Brit Awards – including the winners?
After a bit of a discussion, we concluded that media simply love a bit of drama and unexpected controversy. This isn’t new news, though. We know this because we’re all blessed with seeing Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s faces in print and online on a near daily basis.
What makes the Brit Awards different is that it in itself is an extremely newsworthy event and a PR generator that all of the nominees and winners were likely banking on to provide a bit of a boost for their own publicity.
Instead, after a quick search on various websites for ‘Brit Awards’, we found that all of the top-of-the-page articles included Madonna’s fall in the headline – and when we clicked to read the stories, text about the fall was at the top and the winners were way down at the bottom of the page.
Yes, Madonna’s fall was part of the Brit Awards, but it was a five-second blip of a two hour long event, yet it got the majority of the headlines in the end – as well as several follow-up stories about her cape being tied too tight and experiencing a bit of whiplash, which have kept her name in the headlines in the run up to her new album’s release.
So what can we learn from this blunder? It’s that it doesn’t matter if you lose the competition, or even if you take a bad step or say the wrong thing. You can still ‘win’ if your mishap helps you stand out from the crowd at an event.
**Lava does not condone or take responsibility for injuries acquired as a result of trying to make your presence known at an event.
Love is certainly in the air amongst Lincolnshire businesses says one of the county’s leading marketing agencies.
In the run up to Valentine’s Day, Lincoln based Lava asked marketing managers and directors what they look for in their ideal marketing agency.
The results of the 50 interviews show that Lincolnshire businesses look for creativity, value for money, honesty, relevant previous experience and ‘chemistry’ between the agency team and their in-house team.
“We’re not surprised with the top five answers to what people seeking to find their ideal agency are looking for,” says David Wright, Lava’s Business Development Manager, who undertook the research. “When we compared the findings to the working relationships we have with our clients, we found all five characteristics shone through. The survey was a bit of a tongue in cheek exercise if you like but I think the results speak volumes and explain why so many client –agency relationships break down.”
As well as asking what marketing budget holders love to see in their future partners, David also investigated what the biggest turn offs are. Unexpected costs, poor results, lack of proactivity, not working with the pitch team after awarding the work and repeatedly missing deadlines were the top five sure fire ways for an agency to be dumped.
“As with the turn ons, the ways in which a client can fall out of love with their agency are not a complete shock,” adds David. “We know that, just like romantic relationships between people, the client relationships thrive on keeping things fresh, regular communication, open and honest dialogue and if things do start to niggle, then getting things out in the open as quickly as possible, resolving the situation and moving on, are vital.”
Integrated marketing agency, Lava was established in 2006 and offers design, digital, public relations and social media marketing support to clients across the private, public and third sector. Find out more about them at www.wearelava.co.uk or @WeAreLava.
The media are loving our 2014 Christmas Card, which comes with two make-your-own reindeers!
Last year our Christmas Card contained everything people needed to make their own Christmas Penguin. We were inundated with photos of orange and black penguins, including one of Jeremy Vine in the BBC Radio 2 studio.
Like you, we know that Christmas penguins are so last year. That’s why this time around we included not one but two make-your-own reindeers. And, once again, the media have raved about our creative approach to celebrating Christmas.
BBC Radio Lincolnshire really got into the festive feeling with Nicola Gilroy challenging her Lunch Bunch panel to make the reindeers we sent her. She even took to social media to share her enthusiasm and posted a video onto BBC Radio Lincolnshire’s Facebook page.
