Revolver PR held a ‘Bit of a Do’ in aid of Oxfam

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 10:00:57 GMT

Scotland’s leading digital PR agency, Revolver PR, celebrated the forthcoming 100th Annual International Women’s Day by holding a charity evening event to raise money in aid of Oxfam.

The celebratory charity event, organised by Revolver PR and sponsored by leading creative digital agency Bourne, was held last night, Thursday March 3, 2011, at the stylish Brunswick Hotel in Glasgow’s Merchant City. Party-goers were treated to visual installations composed by digital creatives, Yuva, great music and a fantastic selection of cocktails created by mixologists at the ever popular Brunswick Hotel venue.

Iain S. Bruce, MD of Revolver PR, spoke of the event.

“Oxfam is a great charity to support in any case, and some of our team really got behind the idea of supporting International Women’s Day so we agreed to celebrate the date by organising a gathering of friends, clients and peers at the Brunswick Hotel. It was an absolutely fantastic event, a relaxed atmosphere and a brilliant crowd.

“It was great to see everyone having a good time and being so generous with their donations - the total is still being counted but we managed to raise a significant sum of money for a really fantastic cause,” he explained.

In addition to a fabulous evening of digital audio and visual creative productions, the Digital PR outfit organised a raffle prize draw to raise money for the Oxfam charity, with prizes including a bottle of the highly sought-after Whyte and Mackay 30 year old blended whisky, voted the best blended whisky in the world. Those entering the raffle prize draw also enjoyed the chance of winning fantastic pieces by innovative Scottish female creatives including Julie Broadfoot, Lindsay Docherty, Angharad McLaren, Joanne Yeadon, who very mailgenerously donated pieces of their collections in support of International Women’s Day and Oxfam.

All proceeds of raffle ticket sales and individual donations added to the significant sum of money raised at the event organised by Revolver PR in aid of the Oxfam Charity.

Women of the Year Awards goes digital with Revovler PR

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 15:55:13 GMT

Revolver, Scotland’s leading digitally-enabled PR agency, has congratulated the finalists of the 28th annual Vitalise Women of the Year Luncheon and Awards at Birmingham’s Hilton Metropole Hotel on 15th October 2010, who have been announced today.

Selected to develop a multi-faceted strategy designed to maximise the impact of the awards, Revolver placed fresh emphasis on communications via digital platforms and the introduction of a social media campaign. LinkedIn and Twitter were employed to engage with a wider online network of successful women in business and to encourage the development of business relationships on and offline in advance of the official awards ceremony.

These methods were also used to release information regarding the array of sponsors including, British Airways, Jaguar, Harvey Nichols, Barclays Wealth, Hilton Metropole Birmingham, SCC and The Challenge Factor.

“Probably the best kept secret outside of London, the Women of the Year Awards are one of the major landmarks on the Midlands’ calendar and this campaign was focused on spreading the word about a truly outstanding event. Working closely with the sponsors, a series of Digital PR techniques were applied to attract talented female business leaders and source nominations from the friends, colleagues and families of inspiring women, and we’re delighted with the response,” said Revolver Managing Director Iain S Bruce.

The Award recognises the contribution women make to our economy and celebrates female talent, ability and achievement. It aims to create role models for the future and inspires other women to achieve success in their respective fields. Previous winners of this prestigious award include Hilary Devey, Asha Khemka and Karren Brady, currently assisting Lord Sugar in his search for a new Apprentice.

Bruce added: “The Revolver team wish the finalists the very best of luck and every success for the future. There are some truly inspiring stories to be told about this year’s finalists and it has been a privilege to play a small part as the event’s PR agency.”

Almondvale firm chooses Revolver PR

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 11:47:30 GMT

Revolver PR, Scotland’s leading digitally-enabled PR agency, has been selected by Almondvale Windows, Conservatories and Kitchens to handle its press and communications strategy.

Lothian-based Almondvale Windows, Conservatories and Kitchens is quickly becoming a leader in its field, requiring a PR strategy to reflect its business development. Managing Director of the company Tony Tester, made the decision based upon Revolver PR’s unique approach to cross-platform, full cycle PR, which integrates a complete range of print, online and broadcasting techniques to deliver campaigns.

“My decision to choose Revolver PR to deliver a communications strategy for Almondvale was based upon how impressed I was by the team’s expertise and innovative approach to public relations, together with the manner in which they displayed a clear understanding of my business objectives. I look forward to working closely with the agency and using the company’s unique reporting facility to measure the results of their services,” said Tester.

Initially focused upon the sale of windows, Almondvale quickly expanded its interests into conservatories and, more recently, kitchens, providing customers with excellent service from the initial planning stages through to final installation. The firm believes in the value of considered planning of any installation, together with the contracting of local craftsmen, suppliers and manufacturers for a professional service which abides by planning and building regulations and draws upon the latest technologies available.

The core Almondvale team consists of 8 individuals holding over 150 years of experience in the business between them, each of whom can demonstrate critical expertise in their respective field.

Founded by former European Entrepreneur of the Year Steve Leach and award-winning journalist Iain S Bruce, Revolver PR has a growing client list that includes technology transfer institute iSLI, Coventry Airport and Sir Peter Rigby's SCC - Europe's largest independent technology solutions provider.

Revolver PR’s Managing Director Iain S. Bruce added: “Almondvale is a great client for us. The communications strategy we have proposed draws upon the experience and entire skill set of the team ranging from Digital PR to print, broadcast and social media communications, targeting both industry peers and the public through various media platforms. This is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate how our approach can help deliver B2C clients’ business objectives.”

Ends

Contact

Helen Reid
Email: helen@revolver-pr.co.uk
Tel: 0845 130 8992

Revolver PR signs Boyd as Head of Social Communications

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:15:07 GMT

Revolver PR has appointed Annie Boyd to the newly-created role of Head of Social Communications.

Formerly Head of Social Media at D8 Digital, Boyd takes on a varied role that will include advising clients on the use of digital communities in public relations strategies and taking on responsibility for various aspects of Revolver's marketing. Previously founder of online dating and events company The Beluga Club, she will be tasked with bringing her experience of using social networks to build businesses to bear on the agency's cross media campaigns.

"As one of the few candidates in Scotland with proven expertise in using social media to promote events, push messages and sell services, Annie was in a class of her own when it came to looking for someone to fill our social communications role. We're delighted to have her on board, and look forward to working with her on client campaigns that deliver results across every channel," said Iain Bruce, Managing Director of Revolver PR.

Founded by former European Entrepreneur of the Year Steve Leach and award-winning journalist Iain S Bruce, Revolver PR has a growing client list that includes the technology transfer institute iSLI and Sir Peter Rigby's SCC - Europe's largest independent technology solutions provider. Scotland's leading Digital PR company has also recently forged partnerships with award-winning online agency Line and the digital signage design house Yuva.

"Revolver PR's brand of digitally-enabled public relations is really starting to make its mark on the industry. In recent months we've seen the company sign its first US client, and given the cost-effectiveness, the impact and the international reach of Digital PR there's clearly tremendous scope for growth both domestically and abroad. When the opportunity to join that kind of team comes along, you grab it," said Boyd.

"I'm looking forward to the challenge of taking clients beyond the hype that surrounds the social media and showing them how it can be used to enhance their press campaigns. Applied effectively it can be a powerful tool for developing relationships, building brands and connecting businesses with consumers."

About Revolver PR
Revolver PR is Scotland's leading digitally-enabled PR consultancy and is geared to deliver results across the print, broadcast & digital media. Combining key press and public relations consultancy skills with leading-edge understanding of Digital PR, internet news distribution, social media, events PR and video marketing, the agency offers a full range of corporate communications services designed to deliver twice the value of traditional PR.

http://revolver-pr.co.uk

Revolver PR challenges local authorities to use digital media as route to accountability and efficiency

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 12:21:35 GMT

Digital PR experts Revolver have called upon local authorities to embrace the digital media if they are to achieve set targets of measurability and improved performance.

Scotland's leading digitally-enabled PR consultancy claims that a stategically managed digital media plan is the most efficient and cost effective method of continually measuring performance and carrying out sentiment analysis of local authority services and initiatives. The agency believes the amalgamation of digital media into existing methods of measuring and reviewing local authority performance would provide a fast and effective route towards achieving the efficiency savings demanded of many councils in Audit Scotland's February report.

"Scotland's local authorities are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Under attack from one side for failing to provide services with due efficiency and transparency, from the other they are being compelled to drive through cost savings that make a near impossible job ten times harder," said Iain Bruce, Revolver PR's Managing Director.

"With budgets uncertain and even greater demand likely to be placed upon council services in the short to medium term, the use of digital media for monitoring council activities, competitively benchmarking services and disseminating information will be central to the evolution of local authorities in the coming months. Like it or not, Digital PR is about to become central to what they do."

Competitive tracking and benchmarking performance using digital methods - together with the strategic online management of local authority communications - are increasingly recognised as the most cost effective ways of monitoring performance, sharing services and developing fresh initiatives within local government. Following comments from Deputy Auditor General for Scotland Caroline Gardner that "difficult decisions and new approaches will be needed to find other ways to increase efficiency and reduce public spending," a raft of recent reports have suggested that the public sector needs to take on fresh approaches to improving services rather than simply cutting spending.

Revolver PR's call to action echoes the findings of the 2009 Arbuthnott Review, which urged local authorities to justify their spending and improve services to local communities through regular performance reviews and improvement strategies. Providing a lead to a public sector which has not been entirely enthusiastic in its approach to the digital media, the Review also recommended that authorities should improve engagement with their local communities, prompting Deloitte's Keith Leslie to tell the annual conference of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE): "The biggest thing to be done is to be very clear about what you are doing and to communicate much more than you think is conceivably necessary".

"Enabling online interactivity is key to the community engagement plans proposed in the Single Outcome Agreements of the Arbuthnott Review, because not only does any reaction to the performance of services enable local authorities to carry out sentiment analysis of their services, but it also enables stakeholders to be seen to be dealing with issues in a direct, open and accountable fashion," said Bruce.

"Many local authorities dread negative feedback, but it is an unavoidable fact of public life. Rather than avoiding unpalatable truths the public sector needs to embrace them, because the successful online management of negative views and complaints will both directly improve community engagement and help move towards creating a more effective and efficent local autho

Revolver PR ups its Game

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:21:54 GMT

Revolver, Scotland’s leading digital PR agency, today launched its brand new Interactive Entertainment division, headed by games industry veteran Brian Baglow.

The new division will cover all aspects of the rapidly evolving Interactive Entertainment sector, from the mainstream console market, through to the emergent social gaming, casual and independent (indie) markets, as well as the high growth iPhone and iPad platforms, the online, mobile and massively multiplayer and everything in between.

Brian Baglow has worked in the games industry since 1995, cutting his teeth at Dundee’s famous DMA Design, where he worked on the notorious Grand Theft Auto. From there he’s gone on to work with almost every single Scottish games company, founded the industry news site Scottishgames.net, helped organise events such as the Edinburgh Interactive and North East of North digital arts festivals and generally stuck his nose into anything games related the length and breadth of the country.

Iain Bruce, Managing Director of Revolver PR, says, “The games market is an area that has weathered everything the global recession could throw at it – and is still growing - in all sorts of interesting and unusual new directions. Scotland alone has over 30 development studios, covering all of these new platforms, market segments and routes to market. However, it requires a great deal of specialist knowledge understanding to provide credible support to these companies. Brian has worked across all of these areas and with all of these outfits over the last 15 years. So when the opportunity arose to bring his expertise and experience on board, it made perfect sense to grab him and give Revolver instant access to the whole of the games market.

Brian Baglow, the new head of Interactive Entertainment for Revolver, says, “There’s a growing need for focused and expert PR and communications within the games sector. There are more companies, creating more games for more platforms than there’s ever been, yet most of the creators and development studios have little or no option in the PR companies they approach. Revolver has shown that it understands exactly what interactive companies actually need when it comes to PR. The games market is an exciting, enthusiastic and passionate place to work. Revolver’s a perfect match for it. I am thrilled to be back in the game again.”

Revolver PR is a digitally-enabled public relations consultancy, geared to deliver results across print, broadcast & digital media. Combining key press and public relations skills with leading-edge understanding of Digital PR , online news distribution, social media campaigns and video marketing. The company offers a full range of corporate communications services designed to deliver twice the value of traditional PR.

Brian can be reached at: brian@revolver-pr.co.uk or 07747 792247. If you’re involved in videogames in any way, you’ll be hearing from him shortly.

Revolver PR champions newsroom approach to online video

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:58:46 GMT

Revolver PR has called upon over-charging film production companies to fundamentally change their approach to producing online video as a Digital PR tool.

The call follows a marked increase in the popularity of online video, with the Association of Online Publishers predicting a 90% growth in online video revenues in 2010 and numerous reports indicating a likely boom for producers of filmed content this year. Yet despite video becoming an increasingly relevant PR tool used to populate multimedia press releases and provide resource hungry broadcasters with stock footage, the vast majority of production companies remain too slow and too expensive to meet the market's demands.

"The commercial video production industry has to adjust its headset and adopt a newsroom approach to film. In the web age there's no time to mess about with story boards, recruit full production crews and spend weeks in post production, because so far as its use as Digital PR collateral goes, video needs to be fast and affordable," said Iain Andrew, Broadcast & Production Director at Revolver PR.

"If traditional film production houses want to capitalise on the growth of online video they've got to embrace the efficiencies of the internet age. They have to re-tune their operations and provide multi-skilled one-man crews capable of shooting news quality footage, editing it for the web and distributing relevant stock footage around the broadcasters' newsrooms in a matter of hours."

Digitally-enabled public relations consultancy Revolver PR has found that with the YouTube generation likely to be put off by videos they perceive to be too corporate or slickly produced, promotional films backed by big budgets do not not necessarily perform well online. The company, which produces filmed collateral for a number of its Digital PR clients, believes that online video is at its most effective when produced in quantity and at a low cost.

"It's a matter of horses for courses. If they're looking for full-scale television adverts or promotional films then naturally the audience expects high quality and solid production values. When it comes to producing content that's going to be viewed online at 72dpi, however, speed and cost-effectiveness are the key criteria. That's something the video industry is going to have to come to terms with if they plan to prosper in the digital era," said Andrew.

Revolver PR urges caution over use of Twitter for Digital PR

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:44:29 GMT

Revolver PR has urged brands to adopt a more informed, moderate approach to the use of social media tools for Digital PR.

With enthusiasm for the social media phenomenon reaching epic proportions, Revolver PR has noticed a growing tendency for organisations keen to initiate online PR strategies to set up accounts on platforms like Twitter without considering the potential implications for their profile. The digitally-enabled public relations consultancy says that while online networking platforms can provide companies with a powerful toolkit for buzz monitoring and promotions, campaigns that use such channels inappropriately are a waste of time and resources.

"Too many PR practitioners seem to be in a panic over social media and are responding by rushing to set up client accounts on Twitter, Facebook and any other service they find vaguely recognisable. These are powerful tools and many of our clients do use them to great effect, but they are not a universal public relations panacea and simply will not work for every company," said Revolver PR Managing Director Iain Bruce.

"If there's a natural home for a corporate Twitter account it's with the client services department, where they need to make themselves immediately and easily available to customers. The case for marcoms involvement is less clear. Quite apart from the obvious potential dangers of getting into live, two-way and very public discussions with members of the public, the fact remains that for many business sectors these networks are simply not the right place to push sales."

Irrespective of the particular platform, Revolver PR's approach is to plan Digital PR strategies using a blend of key press and public relations skills. The agency's team are experts in both the traditional press and online media, and ensure that all print and broadcast activity is accompanied by an appropriate multi-platform digital strategy tailored to meet each campaign's individual goals and target audience.

"Digital PR is not about promising prizes to the person who retweets your promotional link the most or commanding junior account executives to beg people to sign up to Facebook fan pages. It's about using tried and tested press techniques, modifying them where necessary, and using a blend of analysis and strategy to promote them across the channels appropriate to their target audience," added Bruce.

Revolver PR and YUVa launch digital signage project

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:39:19 GMT

Revolver PR and digital signage specialists YUVa have announced they are to develop a range of real-time digital products designed to deliver online press and promotional campaigns at street level.

Already underway, the collaboration has begun with the phase one development of a media mapping system that creates visual representations of the news and information landscape for a range of industries. Once completed the technology will be adapted to deliver a raft of real-time media monitoring, promotional and advertising applications to clients in Scotland and the UK.

"There's increasing demand for cross media PR and marketing campaigns that can be deployed on every channel from the online media to outdoor displays and we're delighted to be working with YUVa on a series of applications designed to explore the possibilities on offer," said Iain Bruce, Revolver's Managing Director.

"Out of home advertising is no longer a static medium and as such has enormous potential for public relations consultancies looking to run 21st Century strategies that can make an impact everywhere from your favourite news sites to the High Street. From outdoor displays that encourage consumers to interact with them via social media services to lighting and projection installations that turn city landmarks into highly visible campaign centrepieces, the range of possible options is almost infinite."

Digital signage experts YUVa's system will enable users to publish almost any digital asset while overlaying custom information to a display. Resolution independent graphics automatically mix and match to different screen resolutions while a separate web application manages all media assets, playlists and schedules and distributes content to multiple displays. The core application is extensible via custom quartz compositions that can visualise internet data as realtime 3D graphics or take advantage of numerous bluetooth enabled input devices to create interactive displays.

"Brands are beginning to demand a joined-up approach to corporate communications that sees their core message deployed across every possible channel in an integrated manner. Retailers are currently the primary consumers of the technology, but it is also increasingly being explored by banks, hotels, travel hubs, car dealerships, corporate offices and public sector organisations that need to run dynamic campaigns around events like Glasgow's upcoming Commonwealth games," said YUVa founder Dan Roy.

"Our system will target customers that need an affordable, easy to use solution that will work in the most varied of public environments. These range from dynamic wayfinding signs to digital posters, menus, maps, realtime info-graphics, transport schedules and twitter streams."

YUVa - whose clients have included BBC Scotland, The Lighthouse and the Scottish Symphony Orchestra - will work with Scotland's leading Digital PR agency on delivering a number of proof-of-concept and practical digital signage applications for clients. According to many reports the market for out of home digital advertising is set to grow rapidly over the next few years, with once recent analysis predicting that the global market will enjoy an annual growth rate of over 26.8% between now an 2013.

Revolver PR calls for end to overcharging for Digital PR services

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:11:20 GMT

Revolver PR has criticised the raft of major PR consultancies launching standalone Digital PR divisions for fundamentally misunderstanding the significance of the emerging channel.

Responding to a rash of recent announcements from public relations agencies indicating that they intend to set up separate divisions providing clients with online PR services, Revolver PR believes that many in the industry have failed to understand the challenge presented by the digital media. The digitally-enabled public relations consultancy says that unless the sector is prepared to stop treating Digital PR solely as a sales opportunity, it stands in danger of severely failing its customers.

"What large parts of the industry apparently fail to understand is that rather than being simply another opportunity to sell clients add-on services, Digital PR is in fact a challenge to the entire public relations business: either get to grips with this increasingly important news and information channel or face losing some very disappointed clients," said Revolver PR Managing Director Iain Bruce.

"Too many agencies out there seem to have suddenly woken up to the existence of the online media and responded by rushing to charge clients extra for doing something they should have been on top of all along. Any PR strategy that's worth its salt should feature an approach to digital alongside its print and broadcast campaigns as a matter of course, and charging extra for doing so is frankly taking the mickey."

Revolver PR's approach is to combine key press and public relations skills with leading-edge understanding of Digital PR, online news distribution and video marketing. The agency's team are experts in both the traditional press and online media, and ensure that all print and broadcast activity is accompanied by an appropriate multi-platform digital strategy that greatly increases the reach of their clients’ PR.

"Public Relations consultancy is changing fast. The old school press skills that the industry grew up with are still as valid today as they ever were but they must now be applied across the rapidly evolving world of online media - because news on the web is still news and clients' reputations are just as important to them online as they are offline. These are the facts of digital life, and agencies that fail to recognise them will suffer in the long term," said Bruce.

Revolver PR calls for investment in Digital PR training

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:11:22 GMT

Revolver PR has called upon companies to invest in Digital PR training for young entrants to the industry.

Responding to recent calls from industry figures for the range of qualifications available to both aspiring and current public relations practitioners to be more digitally orientated, Scotland's leading Digital PR agency has challenged communications firms to invest more heavily in training staff on the job. The company, with offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh, believes that organisations must be prepared to put time and resources into providing staff with the support required to get to grips with the digital media.

"While there is a need for existing PR qualifications to encompass digital issues in order to meet the growing demand from agencies for digital PR practitioners, there is a limit to what you can expect such course to achieve. The digital media moves at the speed of light and is in a constant cycle of evolution and change, meaning that formal course materials are at risk of falling out of date before they've even been written," said Revolver PR Managing Director Iain Bruce.

"In our experience new staff benefit far more from on-the-job Digital PR training than they do by following a course-based syllabus. While this requires more time and resources to be focused upon each individual, it's a process that ultimately produces far greater returns."

A number of industry commentators have recently stated their belief that young people need to be more digitally oriented in their qualifications in order to meet agencies growing demand for trained digital PR individuals. They suggest that recruitment consultants are now struggling to find suitable candidates and have call for potentials employees to be formally taught the foundations of digital knowledge.

Revolver PR, conversely, calls for employers to invest in youth through a process of in-house digital PR training, whereby employees are given instruction on the job as opposed to studying through external educational institutions.

"There is far too great a number of wasteful media courses out there that do not prepare young people for the future as it is" says Bruce. "On-the-job training is much more beneficial when considering that public relations companies require young individuals who pay attention, are keen to learn and who take direction without hesitance."

Whilst the benefits of this are disputed somewhat within the industry, Revolver is of the opinion that internal training in digitally enabled public relations consultancy and social media usage benefits the company just as much as the individual.

Line and Revolver PR forge digital PR partnership

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:35:58 GMT

Award-winning digital agency Line and Revolver PR have agreed a partnership deal to provide a range of online PR services geared to help businesses maximise the returns on their internet investments.

The deal, which will see Revolver PR partnering with the leading digital agency on a number of projects, reflects Line's strategy to expand the business-focused, 360 degree service offered to its roster of blue chip clients. In addition to supporting the expanding creative agency's online initiatives with a range of digital PR and social media campaigns, Revolver will also provide public relations consultancy and advice to staff at Line's offices in Edinburgh and London.

"We're delighted to announce this partnership with one of the rising stars of the online media sector. A core part of our growth strategy is to build both the company and its offerings through industry-leading partnerships that help our clients drive profit through digital channels, and Revolver's status as proven experts in digital PR made them the ideal choice for this role," said Ross Laurie, Managing Director at Line.

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