Recruit a marketing communications professional... a day at a time.
Looking for an in-house communications professional but can’t justify the expense? Would you like to have a PR, Marketing or Communications expert working on your products but don’t want the associated HR and admin responsibilities?
If so, Freestyle may have a solution. Freestyle has just launched a new service whereby a senior communications professional can act as an in-house member of staff, for as little as £600 a month. Acting as a member of your own team, you can enjoy all the benefits of a permanent staff member but without the obligations associated with an employment contract. You can choose how many days a month you need assistance, without a contract. The days required can also be flexible to support your requirements for busy periods such as a product launch or big event. You may also be wondering whether you can justify a permanent marketing manager but want to assess the situation and workload first.
You may need help with:
- Media relations
- Developing a new website
- A new brochure
- A marketing campaign or project
What do you need to provide?
All you need to provide is a safe environment for the member of staff to work in and a defined brief! The odd tea and coffee would also not go amiss. That’s it, we can even supply all the IT necessary. The service is designed to be totally flexible and meet your specific requirements. All company information will be treated in the strictest confidence and the service can be stopped at any time.
If you would like to discuss the opportunity of boosting your marketing or communications team without risk, then contact Ed Watson - ed@freestyleuk.eu for a no obligation chat.
Three in a row for Freestyle clients
 Reed Business Information is one of Europe’s largest publishers of B2B press, and as a service to advertisers they offer a free survey of advertising effectiveness. This takes the form of an online survey of readers in relation to all the ads appearing in a particular issue of such Reed titles as Farmers Weekly, Caterer & Hotelkeeper, and Commercial Motor.
Recently, Freestyle clients have had good results in these surveys, as follows:
4 April 2009 issue of Caterer & Hotelkeeper – Lincat 1st for recall
11 June 2009 issue of Farmers Weekly – Amazone 3rd for recall
27 November 2009 issue of Farmers Weekly – Firestone 2nd for recall
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that our ads for three different clients have all performed well in research” said Freestyle Managing Director Ed Watson. “The way in which we approach the development of marketing communications strategy, backed up by our creative talent, tends to mean that our advertising messages get noticed by the target audience”
Freestyle starts to 'Cycle to Work'
Freestyle has recently signed up to the ‘Cycle to Work’ scheme. The government funded initiative is designed to encourage staff to cycle to work (surprise, surprise).
The employer technically buys the bike from a retailer that is part of the scheme. The company then ‘lease’ the bike to the employee and the employee pays off the bike over the period (usually 12 months). The company can claim back the VAT (if registered) and the money is paid back by the employee under the ‘salary sacrifice’ scheme ie payment is paid BEFORE tax and NI. The employer also saves on Employer NI contributions. An average tax payer can save 30-40% on the cost of a new bike and associated items eg lights, locks and clothing.
So far, 3 Freestyle employees have taken up the offer.
Paul Brook, Head of PR & New Media comments, “I only live 4.5 miles from work, yet the journey normally takes 25 minutes by car. It takes me exactly that long to cycle in. I’m getting more exercise, saving on fuel and feel far less stressed; I can predict within 2 minutes what time I will be arriving at work – you can’t say the same when travelling by car!”
The two other staff have got a much longer commute so have opted for folding bikes. They will drive into the outskirts of Nottingham and cycle in from there.
It seems like a win-win situation, let’s just hope we don’t have a wet winter!
Freestyle Pedal Power
Two team members from Freestyle cycled from Annesley to Skegness on Saturday 4 July – a total of 82 miles to help raise funds for Hayward House. Creative Director Tim Phillips and Account Director Richard Elliott set off at 6.30am and took a total of 6 hrs 30 mins to reach their destination.
Richard and Tim joined 60 others to raise funds for Hayward House Hospice. Hayward House is a Palliative Cancer Care Unit, a "hospice within a hospital". It is dedicated to relieving the suffering of progressive cancer which can be physical, emotional, social or spiritual, and involves both the patients and the family. Patients with motor neurone disease and their families also receive support from the Unit.
Tim comments, “The first 55 miles seemed to go by quite effortlessly, but the last ten miles were really tough – a head wind didn’t help as we neared the coast, but we made it and it was a great experience and a great day. The organisers of the bike ride are hoping to raise £5,000 in total. Individual donations already total £2,000 and E.ON will match the funding, so there is just £500 to go. All donations are greatly appreciated and anyone can help by visiting http://www.justgiving.com/haywardhouseskegnessbikeride/ whatever they can afford. Every pound will help this very worthwhile cause”.
Reducing your marketing expenditure?
Don’t reduce its effectiveness!
One of the easiest ways to reduce overheads is to prune your marketing budget. I believe it is termed as a ‘discretionary expenditure’ by financial directors.(Even though, as all professional marketers know, when business is tough to get, cutting the marketing effort can simply make it even tougher – as well as potentially opening doors to competitors). Nevertheless, we have to live in the real world and budgets will be cut – so how should marketers respond?
I think the answer lies in what the economist John Maynard Keynes is famously quoted as saying: “In the long-term, we are all dead.” (He certainly is). In other words, businesses need to be getting more than their fair share of sales opportunities right NOW; because without short-term income there will be no long-term future.
Marketers therefore need to review their spending and make adjustments. For example, now might not be the time for either lavish corporate entertainment (out of tune with the times) or sponsorship (feels good maybe but probably will have a limited short term return on investment). On the other hand, understanding your customers requirements has probably never been more critical, and indeed, properly conducted market research could reveal some opportunities for your business currently to take advantage of.
If you’re not doing it already, now should be the time to look at improving the effectiveness of your online marketing. By doing so, you may even find you can trim costs whilst generating increased interest in your products and services rapidly.
Online marketing takes several forms, each of which has its pros and cons. New techniques are being introduced all the time, but the main online routes to reach people are: online advertising on third party websites, enewsletters, and of course your own website – possibly with an ecommerce function, certainly optimised for the search engines and backed by analytical software to help you track your website interaction with visitors.
Ultimately, your approach to marketing during the recession and beyond will depend on the dynamics of your market and your business, but business is competitive enough already without weakening the effectiveness of your marketing!
Freestyle achieves EMDA Quality Assurance recognition
Freestyle Marketing Communications Limited has been awarded approved Quality Assurance recognition as a provider of marketing services under the EMDA Support Brokerage Service. The aim of this service is to help businesses and intermediaries find the right agency to provide them with marketing consultancy and support.
The Service, which operates online at www.embrokerage.co.uk is used by Business Link East Midlands and other business support organisations to find appropriate marketing input to meet their customer needs. “Now, clients who are recommended to us via Business Links will be eligible for possible match funding on their projects,” said Freestyle Managing Director, Ed Watson “and the fact that we offer an integrated marketing communications approach means that we can deliver a co-ordinated solution to achieve the client’s objectives”. |
