Tank News and Blog
Tank PR gets into bed with the Holiday Inn
18-05-2012 | Glen | Tank PR News
Tank PR has been appointed as the PR agency for The Holiday Inn Nottingham, Sherwood Park.
The Tank team will be working on a PR strategy to increase visitor numbers to the hotel and attract new customers to sample the fantastic offering at the Dakota Bar and Grill, situated within the Holiday Inn.
The campaign will focus on local and national media to help the hotel maintain its renowned status.
The Holiday Inn Nottingham joins Tank PR’s increasing leisure portfolio, which already includes Nottingham’s leading leisure and entertainment complex The Cornerhouse, We Are Nottingham, the Business Improvement District for licenced premises in the city centre and Lifestyle Living Group, the UK’s leading premium holiday park owner.
I have no idea
15-05-2012 | TankPR | Public Relations
I never wanted to be in PR when I first started work in a PR and ad agency. Advertising was cooler, with mad ideas, pretty pictures, sharp straplines, lots of drinking at work (it was 1998 or thereabouts) and lots of obscure creativity that only had to fight its way past the client to be used.
It was hard to be creative in PR I thought – as you had to not only get the ideas by the client, but then be used as news in someway after you’d convinced a journalist. Not an easy task.
It’s all changed now as, with social media, you can create the madness again and it will be used as: a. it’s somewhat expected and b. you create your own channels and aren’t restricted by someone else’s definition of ‘creative’ or ‘news’.
One thing that has always been relevant though is the need for whatever idea you create to inspire, educate or sell your client’s product or service, or simply raise positive awareness.
Good creative PR ideas are still hard to come by though. You often draw a blank if you have high standards (or just creative angst), trying to edge away from bought in celebrity, entertainment or pure staging. You want the idea to be simple and for people to just get it, print it, share it and take you up on it. You also want it to be extremely clever and to fill others with rage that they didn’t think of it first!
For me, I was truly inspired when judging a PR award recently – an idea called ‘Venison Ice Cream’ (Google it) was generated to push the hunting season in Scotland. I’m not mad keen on the idea of shooting Scottish beasties for fun, but the PR idea of crafting an ice cream to celebrate and encapsulate the idea was wondrous. I almost went for the blunderbuss myself when others suggested this wasn’t shortlistable – but good sense prevailed and the agency with the idea won.
So why is it good? It’s easy to explain to a journalist. It’s fun. It’s soooo simple. It works on many levels, linking with other aspects of the season. It’s memorable and it has a news hook, as it’s both interesting and an oxymoron.
So why am I writing this? We lost out on a huge pitch today as, on this occasion, the winning agency had better ideas. We didn’t come up with a ‘Venison Ice Cream’ idea, as we thought that a more straightforward, proven approach was required to drive steady footfall and sales for the client. We know our ideas would have worked, but creativity won on the day and I’m glad it did. It reminded me that my mouth, words and love of the media may have influenced my career direction, but it’s the ad man with his obscure ideas in me and the team that takes us the extra mile on occasion and gets us excited about what we do. He wasn’t there last week, but he will be back with a vengeance next week.
Trevor
Simon explains 4G on the Beeb
14-05-2012 | Glen | Tank PR News
Our very own guru on all things technical, Simon Allenby, was interviewed on BBC Radio Nottingham this morning to explain what the change to 4G mobile data services means for Britain’s consumers. Simon definitely knows his onions, so there was really no better person to put it all into plain English.
You can listen to Simon’s interview on Mark Dennison’s mid-morning show on BBC iPlayer here (at around 1:08:00 in the clip).
Louise swaps the arena for the cockpit
12-05-2012 | Glen | Tank PR News
Nottingham public relations agency Tank PR has announced the appointment of a new senior account manager.
Louise Stewart joins Tank after handling the PR and marketing for the Capital FM Arena Nottingham and the National Ice Centre. In her role as communications and marketing manager at the venue she has run PR campaigns for everything from the visit of the Dalai Lama to Lady Gaga.
An English Literature graduate and trained journalist, Louise’s background spans both the newspaper and radio industries and includes the role of deputy news editor at Trent FM, (now Capital FM), where her news team was nominated for a Sony Award.
Louise’s background in both press and PR has helped her develop a wide range of skills and an impressive set of contacts.
As an account manager, Louise will be working with the team to develop and manage effective PR campaigns for the agency’s fast growing client list.
“Louise’s vast and varied journalistic and PR experience will stand her in good stead in an agency environment, and we are confident that she will add enormous value to our client base,” explains Trevor Palmer, director and founder of Tank PR.
Louise’s appointment comes after a highly successful second year of trading for Tank PR, which has seen the agency double in size.
Want an explosive job?
23-04-2012 | Glen | Tank PR NewsHappy clients keep recommending us in an ongoing conspiracy to fill up our fantastic new offices. This leaves us with the nice problem of needing another great person for the team.
Do you work in a PR agency? Have you been there for a year or more? Are you brilliant at what you do?
If you can answer YES! to each of these questions and you’re interested in being our senior account executive, then you should get in touch.
You’ll be passionate about your work, love nothing more than speaking to journalists, and you will have contemplated putting great coverage on the mantelpiece at home at least once in your lifetime.
If all of this is you, please email your CV and salary expectations to info@tankpr.co.uk
No agencies please – as you’d imagine, we prefer the direct approach.
Tank PR welcomes the Cornerhouse to client ranks
14-02-2012 | Glen | Tank PR News
Nottingham public relations agency Tank PR has been appointed to handle PR activity for The Cornerhouse, the city’s leading leisure and entertainment complex.
Home to a wide selection of bars and restaurants, a 14 screen cinema, a casino and a health and beauty salon, Tank PR will be tasked with attracting new customers to the complex, as well as potential new tenants.
Alongside traditional media, the campaign will also focus heavily on social media, with Tank PR developing strategies to help The Cornerhouse engage directly with customers via the likes of Twitter and Facebook.
Commenting on the appointment, Jane Barton, marketing manager at The Cornerhouse, said:
“We’re now entering our twelfth year of operation and, during that time, we’ve developed a strong reputation as one of the leading leisure destinations in the East Midlands. We wanted to engage a PR agency to help us maintain that reputation, take it to the next level and also to help us maximise our presence on social media.
“Tank PR has strong leisure industry credentials and impressive relationships with the media in the region, so were a natural choice for us. They also fit well with The Cornerhouse brand and, from what I’ve already seen, have the creative approach needed to achieve stand out coverage.”
Tank PR’s leisure portfolio includes We Are Nottingham, the Business Improvement District for licensed premises in the city centre, pub and restaurant operator the Ever So Sensible Group, and Lifestyle Living Group, the UK’s leading premium holiday park owner.
Further details on The Cornerhouse can be found at www.cornerhouse.tv.
Tank PR secures We Are Nottingham account
16-12-2011 | Glen | Tank PR News
Nottingham based public relations agency Tank PR has been appointed by We Are Nottingham as its retained agency following a three-way pitch.
As the Business Improvement District (BID) for licensed venues in the city centre, We Are Nottingham is committed to making the city a vibrant and safe place to visit. Tank PR will be tasked with promoting the BID’s work and key events as it approaches a crucial renewal vote amongst its levy payers next year.
Tank PR has previously worked for We Are Nottingham on a project basis, executing campaigns for both the Nottingham Food and Drink Festival 2011 and Purple Flag Week.
Commenting on the appointment, Sylvia Oates, chief executive of We Are Nottingham, said:
“Tank PR has a sound understanding of the way that we work with licensed venues in the city and the benefits that the BID brings.
“The team has achieved impressive results for us in the past and I’m confident that they have the experience to help us promote everything that we do as our levy payers begin to decide if they want to renew the BID for a second term.”
Martin Stone, account director at Tank PR, added:
“As a Nottingham-based business, we are true advocates for the city and working alongside We Are Nottingham is the perfect way to express this. The main objective of the account is to help move the BID into its second phase and we are more than ready for that challenge.”
The We Are Nottingham account win rounds off a hugely successful year for Tank PR, which has seen the agency’s client portfolio grow significantly. Earlier this month it was announced that Tank PR had also been appointed as the retained agency for retail credit and loyalty specialist Ikano Financial Services.
Further details on We Are Nottingham and its work across Nottingham city centre can be found at www.wearenottingham.co.uk.
Ikano appoints Tank PR for national brief
14-12-2011 | Glen | Tank PR News
Nottingham based public relations agency Tank PR has been appointed by Ikano Financial Services as its retained PR agency.
Ikano is one of the UK’s leading specialist providers of loyalty and finance solutions to the retail industry, and Tank PR will be working to increase Ikano’s profile in the retail sector and raise awareness of the brand to UK consumers.
“In the tough market conditions of the past few years, we have provided our retail clients with products and services to help them increase sales and customer spend. We now think that it’s time to increase the understanding of our offer in the retail and consumer markets,” explains Sarah Murphy, Ikano communications director.
“We had been considering agencies for some time and selected Tank PR, as aside from of it’s strong retail and financial experience, we felt that the professional and ethical nature of the business was a good fit with our own.”
Trevor Palmer, director of RAR accredited Tank PR, says of his company’s latest account win:
“Ikano is a respected name in retail and finance, and we feel that with a solid engagement strategy with its target media and some creative seasonal campaigns, it will achieve the exposure necessary to increase its presence on the UK high street.”
The Ikano account win follows Tank PR’s appointment of Helen Shepherd to its team, and the company’s shortlisting for Midlands Outstanding Small Agency of the Year at the CIPR PRide Awards.
For more information on Ikano, visit www.ikano.net
Tank announces new recruit after successful year
23-11-2011 | Glen | Tank PR News
Nottingham public relations agency Tank PR has announced the appointment of a new account executive.
Helen Shepherd joins Tank PR from The Galleries of Justice Museum after spending some time in between to assist with a production company merger in Los Angeles and on a Tim Burton film set in London, acting as London coordinator.
In her role as PR and marketing manager at the Galleries of Justice Museum, Helen gained international coverage for the attraction and its charity, the National Centre for Citizenship and the Law, with TV appearances in numerous countries, including the USA, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and Brazil.
With a degree from Nottingham Trent University and a CIM professional certificate in marketing, Helen has quickly put her skills to good use, being instrumental in organising hugely successful events for Tank PR clients.
“Helen is a fantastic addition to an already thriving company,” commented Trevor Palmer, director and founder of Tank PR.
“I recognised her people skills immediately and knew that she would become an asset. Since then she has proved herself to be a very valuable member of the team”.
Helen’s appointment has come after a highly successful year of trading for Tank PR, resulting in the agency being shortlisted for ‘outstanding small consultancy’ at the CIPR Midlands PRide Awards 2011, the results of which will be announced in early December.
Dynamite PR account manager sought
19-10-2011 | TankPR | Tank PR NewsBrilliant PR account managers aren’t easy to find, but if you are one or know one, don’t keep it to yourself. We’re working with a client portfolio that’s ever growing and increasingly dreamlike, and so we’re keen to add to our number.
The successful candidate will be passionate about clients’ businesses. They will generate coverage in their sleep, ooze professionalism, think digital as naturally as traditional and be ready to burst into their new role within the team at the most talked about PR agency in the region.
They will have at least five years hands-on PR agency experience and a driving licence. Obviously and most importantly, they will also have the ability to woo clients and journalistic folk with their undisputed writing talents.
Prizes may be awarded for the most ingenious way of delivering the necessary job yielding propaganda scripts into Tank HQ.
No agencies please – as you’d imagine, we prefer the direct approach.
Email your CV and salary expectations to info@tankpr.co.uk.
Position now filled.
Contact us
Tank PR19 Stoney Street,
Nottingham,
NG1 1LP Tel: +44 (0)115 958 9840
Mob: +44 (0)7889 014 861 info@tankpr.co.uk
