Huge response to Flagship Consulting’s business start-up PR competition
- New Year celebrations for two winners chosen from over 200 small businesses -
04 January 2012: Flagship Consulting will award two business start-ups with the prize of a tailored public relations package to kick off the New Year following a competition hosted by its specialist small business division the Communications Studio and business network Women Unlimited.
Over 200 small businesses entered the competition which asked entrants to explain how they could benefit from PR. The two winners who will now receive start-up PR support are fashion company ‘Not Pink’ and riding club ‘Shetland Pony Club’.
Managing Director and Founder Julie Hall of Women Unlimited, a 5,000 member strong business network said: ‘We had the highest response rate ever for this competition. It was clear from the responses that PR and marketing was seen as a crucial tool in helping our members take their businesses to the next level.”
CEO of Flagship Consulting Diana Soltmann said: “I was so impressed with the level of entries. There clearly is a whole hidden economy out there which really needs promoting. These hugely entrepreneurial women are identifying gaps in the market and just going for it. My team is really excited about helping them achieve their goals through the work that we do with the Communications Studio, our PR for start-ups division.”
Winners of the competition are:
Not Pink - A revolutionary Berkshire based fashion company which provides fabulous clothes for girls who don’t want to dress in pink.
Founder Melanie Tucker said: “PR support would mean so much to me. I originally thought of the idea when I was trying to find clothes for my daughter that was not hideous shades of candy floss pink. To me pink stinks! I also did not want my seven-year old daughter dressing in what is basically miniature stuff for adults.
“I work as a childminder during the day and at night scour the internet for UK based children clothes designers. All the clothes I sell are unique, different and not pink. My aim is to be able to focus on the business full time.”
The judges said: ”What impressed us about Melanie was her approach and determination. She has the courage to take on the big commercial retailers who basically set the trends. We believe that Melanie has the tenacity to give parents and children the right to choose individual styles as opposed to running with the herd.”
Shetland Pony Club – A Surrey based magical company which allows small children to spend time indulging in pony heaven together with their parents.
Founder Rosemary Gibson set out to recreate the nostalgic carefree moments she had as a child when she and her mother would spend time together in the Surrey countryside riding a Shetland pony. She says: “Time with your children is so precious and I wanted to counter the dump and run culture that seems to have evolved. We now have 17 Shetlands and can take children from two and a half years onwards.
“The expression of awe and delight on the little toddler’s faces when they first sit on the ponies gets me every time. The fun parents have when they take their children out is also very rewarding”. Rosemary now wants to move her business to the next stage and get professional input on how to really raise Shetland Pony club with social and traditional media.
The judges said: Rosemary’s concept of creating time for parent and child to really enjoy a really enchanting time with each other, whilst fulfilling every child’s dream of riding a little pony is really powerful. We really liked Rosemary’s desire to create an opportunity for children to be outside away from electronic games and television and spend quality time with their parents.
ENDS
For more information about Flagship Consulting, please contact:
Kiren Pooni kiren.pooni@flagshipconsulting.co.uk 0207 886 8442
Rebecca Dunstan Rebecca.dunstan@flagshipconsulting.co.uk 0207 886 8446
Flagship Consulting is an award-winning corporate and brand public relations consultancy with expertise in areas including media relations, crisis management, social media, reputation building and event management. With a proven track record of helping organisations of all sizes achieve their communications goals, Flagship prides itself on delivering creative campaigns that drive results and get people talking. Established in 1999, Flagship has a 15-strong team of PR professionals based in London’s West End and a sister office at Flagship South West’s base in Exeter. To find out more visit www.flagshipconsulting.co.uk.
The Communications Studio
The Communications Studio is a subscription based club that allows members to choose the services they most need from a selection of affordable PR and marketing packages, designed to help them target key audiences, generate new business leads and raise their profile in ‘traditional’ and new media. And all members will also be able to purchase a range of add-on services, including: copywriting (for press releases, articles, speeches, etc.), crisis and media training.
Aside from selecting a Silver (£2,000), Gold (£3,500) or Platinum (£8,000) package of support services, all Communications Studio members will be part of a LinkedIn community, with access to a range of benefits including:
- ‘How to’ guides – PR, Social Media, Branding, Direct Marketing
- Quarterly Group Training – including crisis management, media training and SEO
- Annual networking event
- Bi-monthly newsletter
- Access to creative brainstorming
http://www.flagshipconsulting.co.uk/expertise/services/the-communications-studio/
