News and views from Beam Agency, London http://www.beamagency.com/beamblog/ Leading gadget and gift retailer, RED5 has appointed Beam Agency to handle the PR for its e-tail division, RED5.co.uk. Beam has been assigned to help define the online brand offering, build awareness and drive traffic and sales. The first RED5 store opened its doors in 2005 and already has 15 standalone physical stores as well as established concessions at Hamleys and Selfridges. The website was launched in 2006 in response to rapidly growing customer demand. While online traffic has grown ... http://www.beamagency.com/beamblog-post/?post=182 To keep up to date with all the latest information about Beam Agency, please follow us at http://www.facebook.com/Beam.Agency http://twitter.com/beamagency ... http://www.beamagency.com/beamblog-post/?post=180 We’re on the look-out for smart, creative, hardworking and enthusiastic PR people – with a genuine passion for our industry and the sense to cut through the PR nonsense. At Beam, you’ll find a team of straight talking individuals who are passionate about their job. We’re currently on the lookout for an Account Executive and an Account Manager. The Exec should have at least 18 months PR experience and a genuine interest in social media. The Account Manager will ... http://www.beamagency.com/beamblog-post/?post=179 We’re delighted to confirm that the leading camera brand Fujifilm has appointed Beam to handle the launch of the company’s latest 3D digital camera to the UK market. The campaign will focus on a targeted influencer and education programme, which will span across all media incorporating print, TV and online channels. It will also support activity focused around Christmas. Beam’s Associate Director Charlie Morgan is leading the campaign. Charlie says, “This year’s technology news has been dominated by the promise ... http://www.beamagency.com/beamblog-post/?post=178 To all the Apple lovers on this side of the pond: ever feel like you’re missing out on the action? When the iPhone 4 was finally announced yesterday, did you wish for a seat in the San Fran conference? To be honest, with so much fantastic coverage from UK media, we don’t see that you’d need to be anywhere other than Blighty, tucked up with your laptop and a cup of Darjeeling (or something). The number of British tech sites bringing ... http://www.beamagency.com/beamblog-post/?post=177 The sun was shining on British audio technology brand Orbitsound yesterday when their brand new range of home entertainment products – including the T12v2 sound bar and T4 Radiopod – was launched. At a glittering event in the Mayfair Hotel’s penthouse suite, they proved to journalists and industry leaders that these products could change the way we listen to music at home or on the move. The response was fantastic. Macworld and Electric Pig kicked off the press coverage, with Gizmodo ... http://www.beamagency.com/beamblog-post/?post=176 At 8am this Friday, a throng of press and gadget lovers will descend on Apple’s Regent Street store in time for the arrival of 2010’s hottest product: the iPad. It’s set to be bonkers. And if you’re not already excited enough, Griffin Technology will be there to make the morning even sweeter. A pop-up press office just off Regent Street will be on hand to supply press not only with piles of fantastic iPad accessories, but also with coffee, wi-fi and ... http://www.beamagency.com/beamblog-post/?post=175 We like gadgets that look cool. Gadgets that look cool and are eco-friendly are even better. But, gadgets that look cool, are eco-friendly and can improve both your health and your bank balance? Well. We absolutely love them. And that’s why we’re so proud to be working with the talented team at Gocycle. A true piece of good old-fashioned British innovation, Gocycle is a lightweight - and extremely stylish - electric bike designed for busy urbanites like us. The cycle combines ... http://www.beamagency.com/beamblog-post/?post=174 2009 has been a media maelstrom. Twitter went mainstream. Gordon Brown bombed on YouTube. Myspace didn’t die, and David Cameron took a few direct hits on mumsnet. The Evening Standard went free, while thelondonpaper and London Lite disappeared altogether. Rupert Murdoch scrapped with Google (well, quite a few people scrapped with Google, about everything from Street View to their Digital Books project) and the future of free news online looked doubtful. And still some PR agencies maintained a divide between ... http://www.beamagency.com/beamblog-post/?post=173 For tech fans across the UK, this midwinter will be bleaker than ever. A cloud will be cast over the Christmas dinner. How can we be merry, they will all ask, when the New Year brings with it the demise of TV information service Teletext? Today, the residents of Jersey will bid farewell to one of Britain’s remaining analogue dinosaurs, and the rest of us will follow suit in January. No more package holidays through the telly, no more garish 888 ... http://www.beamagency.com/beamblog-post/?post=172 There are great PR stunts. There are poor PR stunts. And then there are PR stunts that leave you feeling as if your dad has just announced live on TV that he has a fetish for skinny dipping. See the latest from often-slightly-grumpy magician Paul Daniels. Not for the first time, he is getting his kit off in a David Beckham style for Closer magazine: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/6815213/Paul-Daniels-poses-in-underwear-as-tribute-to-David-Beckham.html In the 1947 film The Hucksters, Sidney Greenstreet’s ad agency despot spits on a table in front ... http://www.beamagency.com/beamblog-post/?post=171 Obviously, we at Beam love our gadgets as much as the next technophile. But we were pretty disappointed to read this morning that some people are so attached to their mobile phones that they won’t put them down even when they’re behind the wheel. According to the Transport Research Laboratory, ‘more drivers are using hand-held mobile phones than before tougher penalties were introduced two years ago’. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8407142.stm It seems that drivers are undeterred by the threat of fines or points on their ... http://www.beamagency.com/beamblog-post/?post=170 As a new TV series discusses how the rise of ‘stranger danger’ changed the way children played in the streets (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8399749.stm), a new ‘safety code’ for the internet launched today aims to protect youngsters from online threats. A code of conduct designed to ensure that sites such as Facebook and Myspace limit young users’ exposure to bad language, inappropriate advertising and antisocial behaviour, this national strategy urges children and their parents to Zip It, Block It and Flag It. http://tinyurl.com/yjatfwo Doesn’t roll ... http://www.beamagency.com/beamblog-post/?post=169 According to a recent survey of almost 1,500 office workers, Twitter is costing Britain’s economy nearly £1.4 billion in lost productivity. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8325865.stm Research from IT consultancy Morse shows that 57% of employees use social networks for personal use when in the office, spending an average of 40 minutes a week posting personal tweets. It might not sound like much, but over the course of a year, this adds up to a whole week out of the year. Sounds dramatic, yes? But let’s not ... http://www.beamagency.com/beamblog-post/?post=168 PR is about communication. Whether through press releases, case studies, fantastic photography or face-to-face contact, our job is to help our clients communicate their brand message in a way that is effective, engaging and exceptional. It’s about understanding perfectly our clients’ offerings, and helping their target audiences to understand it too. Which is why the Beam team found themselves yesterday driving around the streets of London in a motorised bed. Yes, really. Allow us to explain. Iwantoneofthoseexperiences.com is a brand spanking new website ... http://www.beamagency.com/beamblog-post/?post=167 The award for most over-achieving PR department today goes to consumer watchdog Which?, who have managed to get three different news stories in the national press this morning. Firstly, they revealed that as little as 6% of the money spent on charity Christmas cards actually goes to good causes – those covering the news included the BBC, the (suitably outraged) Daily Mail and the regional Metro: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8319302.stm http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1222036/Charity-Christmas-cards-just-6-good-causes.html Next, the Telegraph reported on page 2 that Apple’s new Shuffle came last in a Which? ... http://www.beamagency.com/beamblog-post/?post=166 Tomorrow night it’s curtain-up on the third annual T3 Gadget Awards and, with almost 140,000 votes cast, it’s set to be quite a night. With TV and radio favourite Johnny Vaughan at the helm, much-coveted prizes from Tech Brand of the Year to the prestigious Gadget of the Year will be presented at a central London ceremony filled with representatives from some of the biggest tech brands around the world. T3’s Gadget Awards are renowned throughout the industry for their emphasis ... http://www.beamagency.com/beamblog-post/?post=165 We’ve been meaning to highlight a recent PR Week article from editor Danny Rogers. In it, he argues that companies mustn’t ‘make the same mistakes with this new, youthful incarnation of public relations, as they did with traditional media relations’. And we’ve got to say, we couldn’t agree more. http://www.prweek.com/uk/news/opinion/942148/Danny-Rogers-Firms-need-measure-digital/ Only this week I took a phone call from a company providing a social media monitoring service. Them: ‘Hello. I just wondered who looks after your digital and social media services?’ Me: ‘Erm... all ... http://www.beamagency.com/beamblog-post/?post=164 Some interesting news from PR Week today – according to the Oriella PR Network European Digital Journalism Survey 2009, a result of the digital revolution is that ‘journalists increasingly rely on PR’. The research suggests that, under pressure to produce more content than ever thanks to the requirements of the digital world, journalists are turning to PR content to fill the gaps. http://www.prweek.com/uk/news/938606/Oriella-PR-Network-survey-finds-journalists-increasingly-rely-PR/ In April last year, I attended a rather lively debate which pitted Lord Bell, chairman of Chime Communications, against ... http://www.beamagency.com/beamblog-post/?post=163 Beam Presents will take place on 9 September 2009 and is the agency's first multiple brand showcase event. It is an opportunity for a selection of fantastic brands to put their products and services in front of a whole host of key media. Journalists from glossy mags to national newspapers, top blogs to TV shows, will all be in attendance to check out some of the latest, greatest gadgets and news from the techsphere. Taking place at the stunning ... http://www.beamagency.com/beamblog-post/?post=162