Priory TV advert receives lots of responses

Graham writes.....the TV advert we produced for The Priory was screened in the South East of England this week. It has received an excellent response with Priory helping numerous people via its helpline. The advert took a great deal of time to be cleared by the advertising regulators. We needed to convince them that it did not break the very strict codes for services to help people dealing with a drink problem. The rules forbid 'products' to help tackle alcohol dependency. The reason is to prevent people thinking that they can have a drink then take a 'miracle cure', thereby neutralising the responsible drinking message. At first, the regulator sought to apply this rule to this advert. However, after further submissions and documentation, the advert was cleared in time for this important period in the run up to Christmas.

PRASHAD WIN MAKES ME CHEERFUL

Graham writes.....Blogs should be filled with universal good news and this post has some bad to balance the good. we have had marathon run at the business. Since August we won slightly more work than we lost, then this week Rok plc went under - I am owed £7k and lost a significant contract. If I hadn't done the hard work to win the new contracts it would have been terrible, as it is we'll be fine. I'm just angry that a relatively small supplier (recognition) was not paid for three months and the money is lost. The CEO apologised personally. For other clients it means I'll be extra focussed on collecting outstanding monies more quickly.

However, to balance this, the day after this news we made the list for four new pitches and one of our most reliable clients - Wensleydale Creamery made it to the finals of HSBC business thinking competition.

But nothing beats having a new client that everybody gets ethusiastic about, this is the case with Prashad Restuarant in Bradford. This family owned Asain Vegatarian establishment made the finals of the Gordon Ramsey Best Restaurant show on Channel 4. In my view they won the programme, coming across as skilled, fun and authentic (just the type of place I like to dine) but were pipped to the title. Caroline Walker has been working on this new account and is bubbling with enthusiasm. So lots of reasons to be cheerful.

Graham writes……it has been an eventful few weeks at Recognition. Firstly, I have completed a deal with Frances that sees her exit the business to follow some exciting new challenges in her career. Next, I have promoted three talented people to join me in the partnership: Caroline Walker who specialises in crisis management; Jamie Collis who gives so many of our clients access to top national media spots; and Paul White who has developed new ways of working in the new media environment. The results have been brilliant – we have won four new clients including the renowned Wensleydale Heifer Hotel; Beyond Digital an fascinating technology business; Prashad an Asian restaurant featured on Gordon Ramsey’s best restaurants; and Montpellier Developments a specialist developer in the healthcare sector. We are also advertising on TV with a special package to attract new smaller businesses to try our services for a one-off introductory offer see the advert in the video box. So plenty of action at the new look Recognition and thanks to all the clients who have supported me through the ownership changes.