Celebrating 23 years of helping our clients grow their businesses

PRIME MINISTER David Cameron is at war with supermarkets over cut-price booze deals that are turning town centres into the “Wild West”.

According to the Daily Mail, Cameron says high-street deals are now so low that a pint is less than 50p. Cheap alcohol fuels a “pre-load” mentality where drinkers get drunk before going out, he adds.

So how do government and drinks industries work together? Initiatives of the drinks industry to sell and market alcohol responsibly include:

Are high street booze deals the only cause of "Wild West" town centres?

➢    The Portman Group [www.portmangroup.com]

“We work with drinks producers to raise standards of alcohol marketing.  We challenge companies to be socially responsible and inspire them to achieve best practice.”

➢     DrinkAware

Drinkaware provides consumers with the facts about alcohol to make informed decisions about the effects of alcohol on their lives and lifestyles. Our public education programmes, grants, expert information, and resources help create awareness of alcohol and affect positive change.

[www.drinkaware.co.uk]

➢    The Responsible Drinks Retailing Awards

Launched by Off Licence News in 2003, the Responsible Drinks Retailing Awards and Conference have become established as one of the most credible initiatives for the drinks industry.

This year’s conference and awards will be taking place on Wednesday 10th November at The Sheraton Park Lane Hotel, London.

[www.responsibledrinksretailing.co.uk]

Responsible winners in 2009
Pub Company: JD Wetherspoon
Pub: The Globe Inn, Chichester, West Sussex
Independent Retailer: TheDrinkShop.com
Supermarket chain: Asda

BRITS are set to be hit by a price hike in bread, biscuits and pasta  – the highest monthly increase in 37 years.

The worst droughts for 130 years in Russia, one of the biggest producers of wheat, have stemmed a surge in global grain prices of up to 50%.

Wheat crops on fire in Voronezh, south of Moscow, Russia

Neil Saunders, consulting director at retail analysts Verdict, said: “With wheat prices so elevated, suppliers and retailers will have to pass across costs to the consumer, and it’s not just in bread”

The price of a tipple of wheat-based drinks, such as beer and spirits, could also rise.

The news follows stats by the Office of National Statistics which says last year food prices in the UK were 8.9% up in 2009.

IF YOU’RE not a sponsor of 2012 then mind how you market your products at the Games

The London 2012 Organising Committee has warned UK companies, who are not sponsors of the London Olympics, that associating their brands with the Games could result in court action.

Firms cashing in with marketing jargon related to the London Olympics or Paralympics – in ads and press releases – also face paying out hefty compensation for breaching the rules. (more…)

WILLIAM MURRAY, the No1 PR and communications agency for foodservice and hospitality, has launched three fast-track steps for businesses to embrace social media. The three stages form a social media strategy to position your company for growth.

Used on their own, each step targets different areas of your online strategy – without duplicating the work of your marketing or web team.

What are William Murray’s new services and how will they grow my online business?

1.    The online report
This bespoke report is for companies keen to engage with potential customers on social media sites but need help defining the right audiences. Extensive, behind-the-scenes research identifies these target groups for you and recommends the key messages you should be communicating about your brand.

2.    The social media workshop
This half-day workshop helps your staff communicate commercially on social media sites. We’ll devise guidelines to avoid staff damaging your brand while helping them stay true to the chatty spirit of Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

This hands-on, practical social media course will give your staff the tips and tools to attract new business. Potential new customers will be directed to your website and not to a competitor or third party. We work with your web team to optimise social media.

3.    The engagement plan
This monthly strategy will target and engage with your potential customers on social media sites. It includes a combination of SEO (Google AdWords where necessary), relevant blogs for your industry, hands-on social media and contact with online influencers. Other elements include:
•    Reporting the changes to your search engine rankings
•    Writing and syndicating news and blogs to press distribution services
•    Creating quality links to your website to increase your Google presence.

To discuss how social media helps business, and other online marketing queries, please call Bernadette Costello, digital & social media director at William Murray, on +44 20 8256 1360.

Or email: bernadette@williammurray.co.uk
LinkedIn: Bernadette Costello

“The biggest challenges facing businesses are being found in search engines by the right target audiences – but then working out what to say to their customers,” said Bernadette Costello, digital and social media director at William Murray.

“Companies are under increasing pressure to make their marketing budgets work harder – social media is a cost-effective way of doing this. William Murray’s three new steps will identify where your target groups are talking about your brand. We also work flexibly with your team to reposition your business for growth.”

Then come and work with William Murray and you’ll be rubbing shoulders with the crème-de-la-crème of chefs.

An award-winning PR and communications agency, William Murray runs trade and consumer campaigns across all media platforms. We’ve worked with Hell’s Kitchen stars including Marco Pierre White and Jean-Christophe Novelli, as well as chefs Michel Roux Junior and Glynn Purnell.

Work with masterchefs like Jean-Christophe Novelli

We are now looking for a senior account manager with an eye for detail, ideas by the dozen and a passion for food, drink and hospitality.

You’ll work on a range of major accounts for print, trade, consumer, TV and social media. In return for your previous experience as a PR account manager, we promise you a fast-track career progression in a top 100 agency.

Interested?
Persuasive?
Great writing skills?
Organised?
And above all, fun to work with?
Then we’d like to hear from you.

To apply for the role of senior account manager at William Murray:
Please send us an email telling us your proudest PR achievement to date, along with your CV and salary expectations to Judith Williamson: Judith@williammurray.co.uk
For further questions call +44 (0)20 8256 1360.

William Murray location
William Murray’s office is in East Croydon -  just 15 minutes from Victoria and London Bridge and with some of the best shopping facilities in the South East.

Package
We offer a competitive salary, on-going training and flexible benefits.

According to Robert Tate, membership director of Business in the Community (BITC), the current challenging economy isn’t a reason not to continue.

“We believe that responsible business practice isn’t just a nice to have, it’s essential for winning business and establishing a good reputation in today’s socially conscious world. To our members, putting social, community and environmental projects on hold until the economy fully recovers is not an option.  Once the negative impact of the recession is over, the companies that maintained these commitments will surely reap the rewards.”

“Values, integrity and responsible business practice are not just for the good times. In fact, BITC was founded in 1981 to reinforce the responsibility of businesses to play their role in counteracting the social depression of the time.  In a recession, social problems are heightened and environmental issues certainly won’t wait until it’s over.”

Step 1
RBP should be an integrated part of your business strategy, not bolted-on as a nice to have. Think about how you can use it to underpin and build on your company’s values.

Step 2
Invite input from employees. Involving your workforce in creating and updating your RBP strategy creates a sense of working together to achieve an aim beneficial to all. This has worked well for Wetherspoons, which introduced a ‘Tell Tim’ (Tim Martin, Wetherspoons’ founder and chairman) employee suggestion scheme. Receiving twenty submissions a day, the scheme financially rewards suggestions with merit and considers a selection to introduce.

Step 3
Make sure there is something for everyone by covering Business in the Community’s Four Pillars of RBP:  Community, Workplace, Marketplace and the Environment.

Step 4
Acknowledge that results are gradual and that small actions can make the greatest difference overall. Grass-roots initiatives such as turning off lights and equipment when not in use can be just as effective and credible as costly, one-off gestures

Step 5
Appreciate that solid and all-encompassing RBP initiatives are what consumers and other companies want to see when looking to do business. The challenge lies in how you communicate your position in a way that gets across your commitment to RBP and added value as a business.

If you would like more information about how to set up and communicate your responsible business, please call Anita Woods on 020 8256 1360 or email anita@williammurray.co.uk