UK nightclub marketing and promotions get a helping hand

PRESS RELEASE
26th June 2008
Basingstoke, England

UK nightclub marketing and promotions get a helping hand

Nightclubs, late night bars and restaurants, cue sports bars and live music venues are all facing a difficult time as the UK economy falters.

Basingstoke Public Relations consultant, John Hicks of Headline Promotions, Press & PR (http://www.headlinepromotions.co.uk/), deals with this particular sector and is confident that effective marketing and promotions will enable them to keep their head above water until times get better.

Back in 1969, John established an on-line resource site for owners, operators and managers in the hospitality and entertainment industry. This offers advice and information about all aspects of the business sector, from marketing through to the use of celebrities for special events.

John’s background is that he has worked in public relations, marketing and promotions for many years, across many sectors. He specialises, however, in the leisure, internet radio broadcasting, hospitality and entertainment sectors.

He formerly operated a busy 750 capacity 24/7 snooker and pool hall, Chinese restaurant, sports bars and live music venue in the south of England - in addition to previously being a national promotions manager for a division of Europe's leading late night venue operator and a promotions manager for a global drinks manufacturer.

Now, John has re-launched the Nightclub Marketing website with a new-look design, in the format of a book with chapters on specific topics including new developments such as “running your own radio station”.

The re-launch coincides with the introduction of his new Mentoring Scheme.

The mentoring programme, allows for a venue management team to have in-depth support from John for a week. During that time, they will work together to devise a SWOT and competitor analysis, a marketing and PR programme, training needs analysis and a customer relations strategy.

After the week, John will remain available for telephone support for a period year for the management team. This transfer of knowledge will enable the team to manage their own destiny and help prepare newer staff for future management roles.

Of course, effective marketing and promotions will not ensure business success on their own. They have to accompany high standards of customer care and service. The new website and John’s unique mentoring service will give them the edge however.

Further details can be found on John’s re-launched website http://www.nightclubmarketing.co.uk/

ENDS


Further information can be obtained from:
John Hicks
Headline Promotions, Press & Public Relations
Basingstoke, England
john@headlinepromotions.co.uk
Mobile: 07771 575 654

You can read John’s occasional blog at: http://www.headlinepromotions.blogspot.com/


John has worked in public relations, marketing and promotions for many years, across many sectors. He specialises, however, in the leisure, local radio broadcasting, manufacturing and entertainment sectors. He formerly operated a busy 750 capacity 24/7 snooker and pool hall, Chinese restaurant, sports bars and live music venue in the south of England - in addition to previously being a national promotions manager for a division of Europe's leading late night venue operator and promotions manager for a global drinks manufacturer.
John also writes for several UK and US newspapers and blog sites as well as having contributed to a number of published works. He has also acted as an occasional advisor to City funds and investment banks with interests in the UK leisure sector.
His principal business is Managing Director of Headline Promotions, Press & PR but he is also heavily involved in internet radio, a performer management agency and leisure property development. Not much time then for his passion for live music!


Keywords: nightclub marketing, late night bars promotion, John Hicks, advertising restaurants, promoting cue sports clubs and live music venues, internet radio stations, mentoring for nightclub managers, Headline Promotions

This press release has been distributed by the Press Release Writing Service

Gaining free publicity from a company anniversary

A client asked me for small business public relations advice for his retail store in relation to their 10th anniversary of trading. I thought that I could usefully share my thoughts with you.

Whatever the nature of your organisation, company, small business or retail store the fact that it is celebrating its 5th, 10th or 20th anniversary it is important to you so, naturally, you want the world to know. But if all you do is call the reporter at your local newspaper and announce the anniversary, don’t be surprised if the reporter says, “Who cares?” You need a clever hook to get free publicity if you're celebrating an anniversary.

Here are several ideas to get you started:

1 Sponsor a contest in honour of your anniversary. A men’s clothing store can have an Ugly Tie Contest, put the entries on display and ask customers to vote for the ugliest tie. Create your own day, week and month of the year.

2 Call the local radio station and donate prizes for their presenter to give away. Tell them they can have the prizes to give away however they wish, as long as they mention your store and your anniversary.

3 Take a poll or survey and announce the findings on your anniversary date. A bookstore, for example, can poll readers on the one book they would most like to have with them if they were stranded on an island.

4 Sponsor a free class at your store. A gourmet food store can invite patrons to a free class on cooking with wine. You might even invite a local celebrity chef to be the teacher. Be sure to hand out free samples of the food.

5 Ask customers to explain in 50 words or less the most unusual or outrageous way they have used one of your products or services. The winner gets a cool prize.

6 Team up with a local school or charity such at the homeless shelter, and donate products or services they can use. Ask them if they will work with the media to try to get free publicity for the donation.

7 Try and tie-in any anniversary announcement with news of a successful bid for new work, or get a testimonial from a long-standing customer (especially if that customer was with the business right from the early days!).

8 Ask your local newspaper if they will feature a competition for which you will supply the prize. If you are a club or bar, call a party! That is what you are good at so invite your regulars and get a supplier to sponsor some product to give away. It always worked for me!

9 One of my favourite stunts was to celebrate the anniversary of a restaurant. Chef baked an enormous cake and iced it in the shape of the company logo. We then took large chunks round to the local elderly persons' homes - the press loved it and we received great newspaper and local radio coverage

10 Invite a celebrity in to sign a few autographs. It costs a little but is worth every penny! There are loads of agencies you can contact or I can always put you in touch with one (see my e-mail address below).

In terms of free space in the local newspaper, you could always consider a special feature where your suppliers are all contacted and asked to support an advertising feature. The newspaper then provides you with editorial coverage and a photo. I am sure you have seen the sort of thing I have in mind. Newspapers call these “advertorials” and, basically, the suppliers pay the costs. A good photo and a good supporting photograph can make these very readable and interesting. Poor copy and a poor photo will consign your advertorial to the dustbin of history so consider spending a few pounds with your local PR consultant to make sure this is a success.

One final pointer is to remember to plan well ahead. You need to talk to suppliers well in advance, especially if they want to be involved in launching one of their new products in association with your event. Also, you need the time to make sure your advertising and marketing budget allows for special initiatives and special offers to tie-in with your anniversary.

I hope this is helpful. You are welcome to send me further ideas and, maybe, copies of your media coverage for your latest anniversary. My e-mail address is john@headlinepromotions.co.uk and you can read my blog at http://www.headlinepromotions.blogspot.com/

This article was first published on the Amazines dotcom article database - June 2008

SEO Top Ten Tips to maximise the impact of your Press Release

If you have gone to the trouble of writing a press release and want to maximise the on-line potential then think about how search engine optimisation can help you.

I was recently consulted by a client, Asset Fencing (http://www.assetfencing.com/) who specialise in protecting UK businesses’ assets with perimeter systems - through physical deterrents, detection and monitoring systems with the supply, installation & maintenance of industrial, commercial and security fencing, barriers, CCTV, access controls and the like.

They wanted to initiate a press release campaign on the web over a number of months. Their question was how to maximise the impact of a press release on the Internet.

Here were my top ten suggestions to help them and I thought it would be useful to share my thoughts.

1. Choose and use your keywords. Think like your reader. What words are most likely to be searched for by people looking for what you want them to find in your release? Choose/use those words multiple times. By the way, do remember to name your images on your website and in press releases after one of your keywords; a simple tip often forgotten.

2. Use bold, italics, headlines and subheads to make key phrases and keywords more visible. Emphasized text may help your release stand out and can positively impact search engine results.

3. Keep your headlines short. Google recommends headlines between 2 and 22 words for optimum visibility and search results. And Google results display only the first 63 characters of each headline.

4. Keep it readable. While your goal is to appear high in search engine results, don't miss the mark by writing copy that's overly repetitive, spammy or unreadable. You want search engines to find you and for readers to click through to your text. Strike a balance.

5. Be careful with puns, innuendo and double meanings. Search engines, spiders and robots have no sense of humour. Keep this in mind when trying to attract their attention.

6. Write timely content that provides useful information to readers. Provide tips, advice, or analysis in your press release that is relevant to your industry or your customers' interests. Search engines are more likely to include releases that are honestly useful in their results.

7. Utilise hyperlinks and anchor text, but don't overdo it. Too many links can flag your release as spam and get you kicked out. One link max per 100 words is recommended. Choose relevant links that direct traffic to the specific pages you are promoting rather than generic company links.

8. Be consistent. Some words have multiple spellings— such as "t-shirt" and "tee-shirt," or "email" and "e-mail." Stick with one spelling to avoid appearing illiterate, preferably choosing the more frequently searched spelling.

9. Keep it fresh. As releases age, they tend to drift lower in the search engine results pages. A campaign of several releases is more likely to drive results than a single press release.

10. Publish on your own website. Be sure to publish releases to your own website also. Since links are like votes, link to them. And work with your web team to make sure your site is optimized. Make sure you copy them to your local media – newspapers, radio, internet radio stations and TV stations.

I would wish you “good luck” but, in business, you make your own luck.

Finally, if you are struggling to produce a professional press release then ask a professional PR consultancy but ask for a price first. Many, like my own company (Headline Promotions, Press & PR) have a fixed fee – ours is £99 which represents value for money and just a small investment as part of your overall marketing strategy.

About the author:
Award winning PR and media relations consultant, John Hicks is a member of the Institute of Direct Marketing and writes for several US & UK journals and magazines. He is a Director of Headline Promotions, Press & PR (http://www.headlinepromotions.co.uk/) which specialises in “PR with a marketing edge” for UK businesses, especially those in the leisure & entertainment, facilities management outsourcing, nightclubs, retail, local & internet radio, manufacturing and security sectors.

John can be contacted direct at john@headlinepromotions.co.uk