PR U p d at e Is s u e 2 0 – M a r c h 2 0 1 0
For c ir c ula tio n to a ll s t a ff
We lc o m e to th e fir s t P R U p d a t e of 2 0 1 0! The last few months of 2009 saw all dealerships take part in the first set of group-wide PR initiatives, designed to streamline PR across the group and generate some positive publicity for each of you in your local areas. September’s ‘Brake’ road safety initiative was once again positively received with selected staff from dealerships stepping up the campaign from previous years and taking time out to visit a local school to give a talk on road safety. Despite a few nerves(!), dealership representatives did a fantastic job at their chosen schools, with some standing up in front of up to 300 children! The wristbands were a hit with the children and head teachers, so a big thank you to everyone who stepped out of their comfort zones to represent their dealership…
‘Brake’ was closely followed by the annual ‘Shoebox Appeal’ in support of national charity Samaritan’s Purse. This popular appeal helped bring some much needed ‘Christmas Cheer’ into showrooms and together, dealerships collected thousands of present-filled shoeboxes for underprivileged children across the globe…
N e w s in Brie f…. “Striving for pole position in national F1 in Schools Challenge” Dagenham Motors in Potters Bar sponsored a local school, Dame Alice Owens, in their F1 in Schools Challenge. They supplied them with automotive paint and contributed towards their race shirts.
“A ‘worthy winner’ of a year’s free motoring” Five year old Jessica Kelly, who has congenital nemaline myopathy, was presented with a cheque for £2,500 at Dagenham Motors in Edgware after being selected to win back her Motability allowance for a year.
“Dagenham Motors brings the X Factor back to town!” 2 0 1 0 so f a r… So far this year, the PR has got off to a great start with February’s ‘Healthy Heart Week’ in support of the British Heart Foundation. Some fantastic initiatives took place in showrooms up and down the country, ranging from a ‘wake up and shake up’ morning at St Helens, a Wii Sports day at Plaistow and a ‘sit up and push up’ contest in Birmingham – to ‘wear red’ days and biking / rowing challenges in Yorkshire! Here is just a selection of some of your photographs from your own ‘Healthy Heart Week’…
FORD and X Factor finalist Stacey Solomon – two of Dagenham’s greatest exports – finally came together when the singer made an appearance at Ripple Road this January.
“St Helens team the best in the UK for customer service” St Helens topped a national league table based on surveys completed by Ford customers. They beat off competition from 550 other Ford dealerships across the UK!
We w a nt your n e w s!
C a ll u s o n 0 1 4 7 3 3 2 6 4 0 4 or e m a il u s a t fordr e t a il@proje c tpr.biz
U p c o min g Gr o u p P R for Q 2
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“Easter Egg Appeal” | 22nd March – 2nd April This popular campaign is a quick and easy way for you to endear your dealership to your customers and achieve positive local press coverage. Taking part couldn’t be easier – Project PR will help identify a local children’s hospice or charity if you don’t already have one in mind. We can also supply you with promotional material to display in the showroom. All you need to do is encourage your staff, friends, suppliers and customers to donate an egg, hand them out to your chosen charity and pose for a great PR photo!
“Castleford shows it’s ‘support’ for Yorkshire Air Ambulance” Polar Ford, along with the Rotary Club of Normanton, spent the last few months urging local women to give up their old, unwanted bras and donate them to the Bra Campaign in aid of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
O th e r u p c o min g e v e n ts…
free of charge.
You may also like to take part in the following activities:
“Kitemark achievement for Dagenham Motors ”
“Sport Relief” | 19th – 21st March Are you Mile ready? With hundreds of Mile events taking place across the UK on Sunday 21st March, you can secure your own place at the start line or host your own event to raise money for Comic Relief. (www.sportrelief.com)
Dagenham Motors’ in Alperton, Barking, Ponders and Plaistow are celebrating after recently achieving the BSI Kitemark for vehicle body repair.
“Prostate Cancer Month” | 1st- 31st March. Raising awareness of Prostate Cancer can take place throughout March giving you plenty of time to help raise money for this great cause. In 2008 Dagenham Motors SW raised over £1200 through an inter-dealer quiz. (www.hiddencancer.org.uk)
In-h o u s e p h o to g r a p h y
C o m m e r c ia l P R s torie s…
However, after careful deliberation the prize has to go to Ray Leung at Alperton for this photo of their BHF ‘Wear Red’ day. He took some fantastic creative shots to illustrate the day and really did take the standard of photography across the group up a level! Well done!
N e w s in Brie f c o n tin u e d...
“Brunel Ford to the rescue!” Brunel Ford came to rescue of local doctors from Weston General Hospital this January, during the heavy snow that “Ford Retail Volunteer Corp” | March – May almost brought the town to a standstill. They set out in a Following along the lines of Ford’s own ‘Volunteer Corp’ this Ford Kuga to collect several doctors from Bristol and is all about ‘giving back’ to your local community. Working drove them safely to the hospital for work. with other dealerships in your region, dedicate a couple of “Heartlands Ford sponsor local school van” hours of your time and help out with a worthy local cause. Whether this be volunteering at a community event, Heartlands Ford commercial centre becoming a driver for the day or building a playground for in Erdington recently helped out local children, you can check out opportunities in your area Topcliffe Primary School with the by visiting www.do-it.org.uk and conducting a postcode purchase of a new school van search. which they also had sign-written
We are always on the look out for stories which have a commercial angle for use in press releases and regular motoring editorials. Whether this be based on new investments, staff achievements, Motability, new deals, trade events or aftersales, we want to hear about it. If you’re not sure whether something is newsworthy, just ask!
C o n t a c t info:
Choosing a winner (who receives a bottle of bubbly) for the in-house photography competition has been very difficult this time round - we have had some fantastic photography submitted over the last three months.
Penny | 01473 326401 | penny.arbuthnot@projectpr.biz
A n d fin a lly…
Charles | 01473 326402 | charles.arbuthnot@projectpr.biz
We are always happy to receive feedback or suggestions from any member of staff regarding PR opportunities. So whether you are a manager, work on the shop floor, in the workshop or ‘behind the scenes’, please don’t hesitate to pick up the phone or drop Project PR an email!
Aisleen | 01473 326404 | aisleen.marley@projectpr.biz You can also email us at fordretail@projectpr.biz