Neil conducts media training sessions for many of our clients so I recently went along to find out what it takes to be a great spokesperson. I thoroughly enjoyed the course and learnt a lot that I can apply when clients are faced with live broadcast interviews. It was a very practical course and my client was required to be interviewed ‘on air’ so that we could review and amend what would work best.

 A few snapshots from the session…

• Be enthusiastic, pro-active and energetic –but not too much! All movements on TV can appear to be exaggerated so make sure you are upbeat, sat up straight but keep your hand gestures low.
• Be prepared – interesting anecdotes examples and stories can really illustrate your response and build a picture for your audience
• The importance of a great key message. The message should be short, make sense entirely by itself, be a strong statement that demands attention and most importantly be of interest to the audience.

To find out more about media training and how we can help develop your key messages, get in touch.

By Siobhan, 18 June 2013

The internet has given everyone enormous power in terms of being able to create and publish whatever they want. This of course can be really clearly seen on Facebook and Twitter everyday (just think of Sally Bercow’s recent tweet that shows that sometimes publishing everything isn’t the best idea…) and has also given rise to thousands and thousands of fantastic blogs across the web.

I love reading blogs. For businesses a self-published blog has a number of really powerful benefits – it’s your own platform and you can talk about whatever you want. It’s a space to convey your messages, your USPs and your views.

Plus a blog is great content. Content marketing is a really powerful tool for businesses, and there has been a hugely important shift over the last couple of years as businesses have turned away from the idea of simply broadcasting sales messages to creating and publishing content that has real value to their target market.

What’s more blog content can be reused, and fuel other aspects of marketing and PR – be that social media, opinion articles, newsletters or education pieces. Supporting the creation of content like blogs is a great investment in your business, and putting finger to keyboard is a great way to develop your position as expert in your field.

Of course, as well as self-publishing the other side of the coin when it comes to PR and blogging is blogger engagement. Media relations have long been an integral part of PR, and over the last few years, blogger relations have become part of our day to day life too.

Working with bloggers is really exciting – and we’re lucky at CubanEight to work on some great blogger campaigns, with some really fantastic bloggers. The key is spending time really understanding each blog and blogger and tailoring the approach individually.

As digital becomes even more central to PR, the role of blogging is only going to increase. Whether it’s creating your own or taking time to engage with bloggers and digital influencers the benefits can be really positive for businesses.

As ever if you’d like to discuss how we could help you with your blog or digital strategy do get in touch.

-By Annabel 10^th June 2013

Just looking forward to the next four now…

By Sian 6th June 2013

This year we took to the waters and skippered our own boat down the River Thames in Oxford. Heading out from the Salter’s Steamers jetty we cruised down the Thames past some of Oxford’s  best known sights to the beautiful Port Meadow. A slightly tricky lock ensured we were kept on our toes but we enjoyed an otherwise leisurely journey compete with homemade cake from our resident baker Siobhan, and lots of laughter.

After mooring up, slightly soggy, we headed into Oxford to the spectacular Dining Room at the top of the Ashmolean museum. It’s an amazing space – with a very modern feel in such an historic building. The food was delicious and the view from the terrace was stunning – highly recommended if you’re ever in the area. All in all a great day out!

By Annabel 24th May 2013

For the first time this year, the PRCA have created a new breed of countrywide PR awards ceremonies which in their words “aim to bring a more senior level of appraisal than previously seen at regional PR Awards.”

Categories and clients we have been shortlisted for include:

• Marketing, Media and Measurement – Renaissance Learning
• Research & Results – Reinventing Direct Selling
• Effective Engagement – David takes on Goliath in Energy Debate (First Utility)

As always with these awards is great to receive industry recognition for our work…which in relation to all of these entries is testament to the collaborative approach that we have with our clients and all the hard work paying off from the teams.

By Sian 21st May 2013

Charlotte and Jo have joined the team as we continue to grow and expand, and bring with them a huge amount of experience in the PR industry.

What were you doing before you joined CubanEight?

Charlotte: I ran my own PR agency in London for 11 years and then I decided to give myself a gap year

Jo: I was an Account Director at London agency Kilpatrick PR

Best PR achievement ever?

Charlotte: The one that stands out was getting the new Walkers Crisps ad previewed on News at Ten. Unfortunately the client started to think that was normal.

Jo: Getting the cover and a 3 page feature on my client in FT How To Spend It Magazine – my heart still beats faster every time I think about it!

What are you most excited about in your new role?

Charlotte: Learning new things, particularly about new sectors and industries

Jo: A new challenge, a new direction and combining my approach with Cuban Eight’s – to hopefully create some great campaigns!

Favourite campaign you have ever worked on?

Charlotte: There have been many, but most recently it would be the campaign I ran to launch Sharwood’s Kashmiri Chilli chutney – we persuaded Joanna Lumley to put her name to the product and gave profits from each bottle to the Gurkha Welfare Trust. At the risk of sounding like a gushing school girl, Joanna Lumley was easily the nicest celeb I have ever worked with. She was contracted to do a couple of magazine interviews at the launch and in the end did over 20. She phoned the next day to thank us for organising such a great event – a lesson in charm!

Jo: Too many to say, as a fashion and beauty addict I have had the luck to work on countless amazing brands… John Smedley is very close to my heart as we did a huge amount of brand progression work with them

What area of the industry are you most excited about at the moment?

Charlotte: All the new ways to get good stories out there

Jo: I am continually impressed with the growth of digital media and wonder what its future will hold

And finally, so we all know, how do you take your tea?

Charlotte: Well stewed, lots of milk, no sugar – I don’t know the pantone reference but American Tan is probably quite close

Jo: Milk (skimmed please!) and no sugar, thank you…

By Annabel April 2013

Here in the CubanEight office we all love good food, so we decided to set up our own lunch club. Every Monday one member of the team cooks up a feast for the rest of us. This means a load of free lunches, plus endless lunch time inspiration from our colleagues.

So, in the spirit of foodie bloggers we thought we’d share a round-up of the first few lunches this year…

Annabel’s rice salad with feta, apricots and rocket

I went for a cold rice salad with a mixture of brown rice and risotto rice, topped with a dressing made of balsamic vinegar, and added feta cheese, sunflower seeds, apricots and rocket.

Siobhan’s gluten free pasta salad with home-made bread and chocolate brownies

Siobhan impressed up all with her delicious pasta salad with chickpeas, sun-dried tomatoes and feta along with possibly the nicest bread I have ever eaten – a home-made sundried tomato loaf.  Plus she really spoiled up with chocolate brownies – perfect with an afternoon cup of tea!

Sian’s spicy veggie soup

Sian whipped up a divine spicy veggie soup with butternut squash, carrots, celery and lots of other healthy goodness. It was set of with cardamom and coriander seeds which gave it a perfect spicy kick. Full recipe available here: http://www3.sainsburys.co.uk/littleones/pregnant-mums/recipes/item/spiced-sweet-potato-and-lentil-soup

Rachel B’s spinach, feta and sweet potato frittata

A lovely low-carb lunch which came with a green bean and garlic salad. I loved the combination of chunks of feta with tasty veggies.

Can’t wait for next week!

By Annabel 8th April 2013

For our take on the story read Annabel’s guest post over on the B2B PR Blog – http://b2bprblog.com/blog/2013/04/an-app-ealing-take-on-the-acquisition-story-summly-and-yahoo

By Annabel 2nd April 2013

The evening started well, with CubanEight’s First Utility team scooping the silver award for Best Use of Media Relations for our campaign entitled ‘David takes on Goliath in energy debate’, a campaign which saw the UK’s largest independent energy company challenge the lack of competition in the UK’s energy market.

Unfortunately we weren’t so lucky in the Corporate and Business Communications and Outstanding Young Communicator categories,  but we finished the evening on a high, scooping one of the most prestigious awards of the evening as we were named Outstanding Small Consultancy for the second year running!

The CIPR noted, “CubanEight is clearly an ambitious and hard-working agency that dares to think big. It is good to see their strategic approach is balanced with tangible deliverables and a lot of great coverage. This was a well-presented entry, with a great example of a campaign they are proud of.”

Add to this the excitement over the fabulously indulgent dessert and, all in all, a great evening was had by all. Our thanks go to the CIPR for organising such a great event.

By Annabel November 2012

The case study piece showcased our current campaign which was launched earlier this year to raise the DSA’s profile and modernise perceptions of the UK’s direct selling industry whilst supporting the Association’s member recruitment and retention strategy.

Using the DSA’s latest data and through leveraging various ‘bigger picture’ news topics such as an increasing focus on entrepreneurialism and the challenge of the traditional jobs market, the campaign uses a variety of stories in order to appeal to a broad range of media. Another key success factor is the use of the DSA’s ‘virtual PR group’, through which we’re able to gather numerous case studies and opinions from the Association’s members, providing the press with relevant information and spokespeople. This allows us to highlight key trends in the industry such as the growing number of people joining the industry through the recession as well as specific trends such as growth in over 50s and men within the sector.

The campaign has achieved more than 100 pieces of coverage to date, including articles in The Financial Times, the Sun and on BBC Breakfast, all prompting improvement in key metrics such as the DSA’s web traffic, which increased by 92 per cent, demonstrating the campaign’s successful delivery of its objectives with clear, tangible results. Watch this space for more on this campaign over the coming months!

By Rachel, 9^th November 2012