Ant and Dec meet The Royals
PR lead the drive to reposition and re-launch Royal Quays Outlet Centre following the Centre's £12million refurbishment programme.
After an eight-month re-construction programme during which the Outlet Centre at North Shields remained open, the build-up to re-launch was led by the opening of key anchor tenant, Marks & Spencer. We organised competitions, offers, balloons and entertainment which was repeated for each new tenant opening throughout the summer.
Official re-launch date was set for the first Sunday of the school half term and who better for the celebrity opening than Geordie boys, Ant and Dec. We chose the golden pair because of their mass appeal, from Grans to young teens and children. Detailed planning involved the Kinghorn-Davies team working closely with Police, Council, Ambulance, First Aid and a private security team.
First task, to calculate how many would turn up, and how many could the enclosed Centre hold, and then prepare a detailed contingency manual. PR for Quay Celebrations, as the week long event was called, involved editorial coverage, reader offers, special Website with programme details and competitions, posters, specially painted buses, leaflet drops at the Great North Run and in key shopping areas by a team wearing branded t-shirts, caps and sweatshirts.
A full branded metro train launched in September - even roping in the Royal Family - or so everyone thought! We hired look-alikes for the Queen and Princes Charles, Andrew and Harry, who rode the train chatting to people and giving out leaflets and autographs. A radio phone-in competition offered a daily prize of a free week-end in romantic places to reflect the publicity theme "You’ll love the new Royal Quays" and the whole activities were supported by radio, TV and press advertising.
Launch day dawned to the heaviest rain of the year!...but thanks to the contingency planning, out came special branded Royal Quays golfing umbrellas! A 7.00am start ensured we had everything in place for the 10.00am opening. All Police, security and St John's Ambulance were fed and in position, with 2000 balloons blown up and ready for release and Ant and Dec on their way. Our team had organised everything from on-stage competitions with Ant and Dec and a Steps Tribute Band, to prizes, security and catering.
Clowns, face painters, bouncy castles, jugglers, Punch and Judy and much more were drafted in making the day a fun event for the whole family. Century FM DJ "Goffy" kept the crowds entertained throughout the day. Ant and Dec made our "I Love Ant and Dec" competition their own, on stage for 40 minutes counting down to the official opening heralded by glitter canons exploding to the sound of "Celebrate Good Times", then moving on to forty minutes of autograph signing. A staggering 12,000 people braved the torrential rain to celebrate the re launch far exceeding the target of 7,000. Celebrations lasted a week and featured a fantastic fireworks display to mark the start of late night shopping, when once again the centre was packed with standing room only.
A word on Plagiarism
Plagiarism in education is a growing problem. Students are no less honest now but there is greater pressure on their time so temptation can give way to 'cut and paste' from the internet.
But if they, or anyone else, does not reference correctly, or if they 'pass it off' as their own original work, that's plagiarism. Northumbria Learning manage the JISC Plagiarism Advisory Service and provide a range of digital education services across Europe. They are also exclusive European distributors of the electronic detection system Turnitin and work with over 65% of UK Universities on the problem.
Kinghorn-Davies was appointed to promote their services and handle media relations for a 3 day International Plagiarism Conference. 175 delegates from all over the world attended The Sage Gateshead, to hear an array of international specialists on the subject. We undertook pre-conference promotion to gain media coverage, set up and manned the busy press office, dealing with world-wide media requests, scheduled interviews for regional and national press and radio, and issued news briefings and comments throughout the Conference. This culminated in BBC TV Breakfast News broadcasting five live broadcasts from the Conference and BBC News 24 carrying clips throughout the final day of the Conference.
Total printed conference coverage reached over 20 million people with a space value in excess of £240,000 with TV, radio and internet extra.
Leading Edge Technology
Who doesn't claim that these days! But Electrokinetic Limited truly can claim to be leading the way by pioneering the development of innovative drainage and ground consolidation technology, known as EKG.
Electrokinetic Geosynthetics was originally developed by a team from the University of Newcastle. The experienced Business-to-Business PR team at Kinghorn-Davies wrote specialist technical articles making this advanced technology comprehensible to the non-academic. These were placed in the leading American and UK publications in this field. Sales support included launching a new website, planning a sales strategy for each of the targeted markets and writing and producing personally tailored powerpoint presentations for the boffins who created the technology to sell the concept.
Our work has included design and production of sales and presentation tools for the specialist management of sports turf - never again need sports fixtures be cancelled because of waterlogged pitches!
Bigger, better and growing
For nearly 200 years John Lilley & Gillie Limited, based by the shores of the River Tyne, have been servicing the marine market. You could be forgiven for thinking they are in a dying market. But not a bit of it.
They are one of only two manufacturers of magnetic compasses in Europe. Every ship over 150 gross tons has to carry a magnetic compass and shipowners are recommended to keep it fully serviced (just think of the fun that causes with all the magnetic materials around!) Following the astute purchase of Thomas Walker, the marine instrument maker of Birmingham, and a 50% share in PC Maritime of Plymouth, Lilley & Gillie offer an increasing range of aids to marine navigation.
Our work has included trade press advertising, literature, excellent trade press editorials and the complete design and construction of a stand for the SMM Exhibition, the shipbuilding, machinery and maritime technology international trade fair held every two years in Hamburg.
Miners campaign attracted over 100 registrations a day
Thompsons Solicitors, the UK's largest personal injury law firm, asked Kinghorn-Davies to devise a campaign to encourage past miners and their families to apply for their right to compensation under the Government's compensation scheme.
The closing date for registrations was three months away - so we had no time to lose. Thompsons had impressive credentials in this most competitive of market-places. They had been involved in historic legal decisions, as one of the legal firms who brought and won the early test cases. Thus the Government's Miners Compensation Scheme for miners affected by Vibration White Finger, Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema was born. The legacy of the nation's industrial heritage. The scheme, administered by the DTI (Department of Trade & Industry), attracted the attention of the 'Claims Companies' and the not so scrupulous solicitors. By the time we were briefed the market-place was over-crowded and the message very confusing for the target mining families.
Kinghorn-Davies recommended a straight forward heavily branded press campaign majoring clearly and simply on the USP (unique selling proposition) placed in all the leading local paid-for and free newspapers, a straight talking 30 second TV campaign using evocative images of miners and atmospheric traditional music and placing beermats in working men's clubs and pubs in former mining areas. All of this was supported by maximising editorial coverage in the local media. The campaign, directing people to a free helpline was so successful in the North East, that it was repeated in South Wales with equal success.
Other work for Thompsons included the launch of two new offices in the North East, where posters and window displays were added into the marketing mix and a personal injury campaign aimed at those exposed to Asbestos, using press advertising, PR and the distribution of half a million copies of a specially produced newspaper into those areas at highest risk.
Kinghorn-Davies match up with Develop
After a two-way competitive pitch, Kinghorn-Davies
were appointed
to handle strategic marketing and public relations for the Develop group
of companies.
Develop are the UK's leading technical skills training company in the gas and water sectors, and a leader in the personal development sector, with six residential training and conference centres. They wanted to expand into other regulated and non-regulated industry sectors. An early project was to create a new name and corporate identity for the Apprenticeship and Training Scheme known as Develop Academy.
Other projects included a new corporate positioning brochure for the Group, literature, corporate advertising and a recruitment campaign for new executives to drive the company to meet the ambitious sales targets, as well as a PR campaign to raise the profile of the company across all sectors.
Let's shout about our CONNEXIONS
Kinghorn-Davies launched the second teen support
partnership
with a Shout!
Following the success of our work for Connexions Tyne and Wear, the Government's support scheme to improve learning and jobs prospects for young people aged between 13 and 19 years, we were appointed by Connexions Northumberland to launch their activities. Northumberland had very different problems to those we had dealt with in the city. The rural area and lifestyle, long distances between schools and communities and an area not well serviced by the media had to be taken into account.
The campaign launched with 20 two-hour Roadshows in 15 High Schools and Community Centres. Using pop music, competitions and games, the core message was presented to staff and pupils. Designated areas in each school were branded; many by the pupils themselves taking up paint brushes, and the Personal Adviser network was supported by posters, leaflets and displays. Parents were targeted with a four-page 'Shout' supplement in the weekly press and a quarterly newsletter keeps all partners and stakeholders up-dated. Parents and teachers were themselves targeted by a special roadshow explaining the complexities of the new 14-19 curriculum, which promoted vocational learning, personal choices and individual learning plans.
Marketing the Marketers
Kinghorn-Davies have long supported the Chartered
Institute
of Marketing and have handled local press editorial in the North East
for the past five years.
Results, including a monthly marketing column in the leading business newspaper, so impressed other branches of The Institute that Kinghorn-Davies were appointed to handle local press media relations for all five of the branches in the north from the Humber, through Yorkshire and up to the Scottish borders. On a separate contract, we were engaged to write and produce two separate versions of a quarterly magazine for members in the North of England.
Looking Good
The smart new way to buy spectacles today is to
buy direct
from out-of-town factory locations.
Kinghorn-Davies worked with new client SightDirect to advise on marketing strategy, corporate identity, shop signage and hard sell advertising. A mixture of press advertising and door to door distributions was employed to build and retain business and a new website is due to be introduced into the marketing mix.
Luxurious alternative to hotels
It's not very often an Advertising Agency gets the chance to launch a whole new concept to an unsuspecting public, but that is what we have done for Week2Week.
The service is a cross between the freedom of short term lets and the flexibility, style and luxury of a top class hotel. Week2Week were the first in this new field. The ideal replacement to the company apartment. The advertising campaign was supported by direct marketing and intensive editorial coverage, including persuading a journalist to stay overnight to experience the luxury first hand.
Retirement Luxury
This was a new specialist market for the team
at Kinghorn-Davies.
Our campaign to sell luxury apartments to the 55+ market included
direct marketing to a costomised database and local press advertising.
Situated on the outskirts of Blyth in mid-Northumberland, Cromwell Court is close to the local amenities with beautiful countryside and nearby spectacular North East coastline. Following the direct marketing and press advertising campaigns, these competitively priced, secure apartments were soon attracting buyers.
