Andy Giles Associates: Perfect PR
Andy Giles Associates (AGA) offers an extensive ‘menu’ of client services. We work with the majority of our clients on a long-term contractual basis – the best way to build and sustain high-quality results. However, we are happy to discuss short-term projects, too; our solution is always tailored to the requirements of each client.
Click on any of the headings below to go straight to your chosen topic:
Introduction: Why PR Works
Some people see PR as being all about ‘spin’. In truth, good PR is simply about effective communication. It is about taking key information and transmitting it with clarity to ensure accurate and widespread media coverage, thus raising public awareness.
Journalists are under constant deadline pressure; we’re here to help them fulfil their requirements, by delivering high-quality information, images and product samples to the right place, at the right time.
PR is one of the most cost-effective ways to promote a company and its products. By investing in AGA’s expertise, brands gain editorial coverage in high-profile media for a fraction of the cost of advertising.
Editorial coverage is widely recognised to be three times more effective than advertising as a means of promotion. Readers engage with editorial news, reviews and features in a way they don’t with advertising – and that’s a fact.
With technological change revolutionising the way information is consumed, effective PR has become even more critical. AGA cuts through the media clutter and finds the best platforms from which to engage with audiences.
At AGA, our job is to ensure that our clients and their products/services are consistently ‘top of mind’ for journalists, and ultimately for consumers. Consistent exposure across targeted media, from specialist magazines and websites to national press and broadcast media, has a massive and measurable effect on brand and product awareness. We work as an extra arm to our clients’ businesses, helping them to seize opportunities, overcome challenges, reach their targets and achieve their goals.
An effective PR strategy requires more than simply distributing occasional press releases and responding to incoming media enquiries. It takes time to build momentum and establish a reputation, and an extensive, consistent and sustained communications strategy is required. Below are some of the services offered by AGA in order to deliver a complete PR solution.
What We Do: Media Relations
Media relations activity is the most critical component of any PR campaign and lies at the heart of AGA’s client services. We communicate using press releases, one-to-one e-mails, digital networking, phone conversations and face-to-face meetings to keep all relevant media informed and up-to-date.
We target our media relations activity on a case-by-case basis, tailoring our communications to suit the client’s message, and also the media at which it is aimed. Our extensive publishing experience helps us to ensure maximum effectiveness when promoting our clients’ products and services.
Target Media
AGA delivers results (far) beyond the specialist press. From Esquire, Wallpaper and the Financial Times to Nuts, Zoo and The Sun, cutting for cutting, we can compete with any agency. Our comprehensive media database is continually updated and contains thousands of contacts in areas including:
- Specialist consumer technology magazines
- Gadget magazines
- News and technology websites and blogs
- Computing press
- Men’s lifestyle and fashion magazines
- Interior design magazines
- Luxury press
- Style and design magazines
- Woman’s magazines
- Music and movie press
- Teen magazines
- Targeted customer and business-to-business magazines
- National and regional newspapers (tech pages and supplements)
- Technology and gadget-related broadcast media
Press Releases
As former journalists, AGA’s four principal partners know how to communicate information with clarity and enthusiasm, to deliver key messages in a way that demands attention. Whatever the story, AGA press releases generate excellent results.
One-to-One Communication
For AGA, compiling and distributing a press release is only the beginning. One-to-one communication by phone, email and in person is critical to the process, with bespoke communications tailored to the individual recipient’s requirements. AGA’s personal touch is a vital component of the service we provide.
Entertaining
Our primary focus is to provide an efficient service to help journalists deliver effective copy within given timeframes. However, appropriate entertaining is an important part of the relationship building process, and the AGA team is well versed in this area.
Event Management
AGA can plan and organise events of sufficient calibre to attract key writers and opinion formers, and deliver palpable results.
Reporting Coverage
From specialist news and reviews to coverage in the mainstream media, we keep our clients informed about the publicity they are achieving and the media in which it is published
What We Do: Media Buying
The size and strength of the AGA client portfolio enables us to purchase advertising space at highly competitive rates. We also have excellent contacts at every major publishing house, and our in-depth media knowledge allows us to place advertising in the most effective locations.
What We Do: Media Production
Our publishing experience enables us to deliver highly effective media production services, from copywriting and proofing for advertisements, brochures, newsletters and websites, to comprehensive management of print and digital media projects.
We also work with a select network of photographers and graphic designers, with whom we are able to secure preferred rates and guarantee excellent results. These include London-based design agency MHM Grax, who’s team put this website together (click here for more information).
The Result: Perfect PR
The above compilation of AGA activities is by no means comprehensive and other services may be delivered as and when appropriate. We can, for example, consult on product design, drawing upon our extensive experience as product reviewers. We are also able to consult on all aspects of the UK consumer electronics market – our knowledge and insight in this regard is valued highly by our clients.
Our public relations strategy takes all aspects of communication into account, fusing everything into a cohesive and dynamic whole. AGA’s collective experience, flair and expertise enable us to deliver a complete media communications service that is unique in its field.
To find out more about how Andy Giles Associates can help your company meet its objectives, contact us at: headoffice@andygilesassociates.co.uk