Punch

GEKKOLinks First to Create Automatic Affiliate Links from Hotel References
Bloggers to Large Media Sites will see Significant Increased Revenue from their Travel Content

A new service launches in beta today that will remove the technical and practical complexities associated with creating revenue-generating affiliate links for publishers of travel content. Gekko (www.gekko.com), the personal shopping assistant for hotels, is launching GEKKOLinks, which will help thousands of travel publishers to create affiliate links automatically for hotel mentions on their pages. Gekko has already signed up one well known travel publisher to the GEKKOLinks beta programme and is in discussions with many more.

SMEs Face Growing Number of Challenges Managing Increasingly Complex Business Telecoms Landscape

Almost 40% of UK businesses have identified inbound nuisance calls, such as unwarranted sales enquiries, as a major daily irritant, according to Natterbox, a new provider of Voice SaaS (Software as a Service).

Service Will Help Users Collect Online Travel Snippets, in Order to Compare & Choose the Right Hotel at the Best Available Price

Gekko, the personal shopping assistant for hotels, which recommends ideal matches for each individual’s preferences, has today launched a new service designed to dramatically reduce the amount of time that travellers spend researching hotels, from the current estimated average of 30 sites visited over a one month period (*), to a single shortlist and as little as a single session.

Panvidea Integrates MainConcept MPEG-2 Reference Encoder Offering Enhanced Video Performance

mPOINT, a global leader in the on-demand preparation, processing, and distribution of entertainment and advertising content, has announced that it is re-launching as Panvidea, with an enhanced feature set focused on meeting the needs of professional media companies and several new clients, including A&E Television Networks, Fox Broadcasting Company, and Getty Images.

The re-launch positions Panvidea as the premier provider of professional broadcast encoding and automated post-production services. Panvidea is the only on-demand provider that supports a wide range of broadcast quality formats, post-production operations and video workflow tools. Along with this effort, Panvidea is releasing a new version of its service. Specific product enhancements include:

Republic,the leading multi-brand fashion retailer, has chosen online customer servicetechnology from Eptica, European provider of multichannel customer interactionsoftware (www.eptica.com) to manageincreasing demand as a consequence of its record breaking ecommercegrowth.  Despite coinciding with a Christmas surge in enquiries, Republic'sinvestment in improving online service for its customers has enabled theretailer to provide faster responses and increase First Contact Resolutionthrough its email channel to 90%.

England Rugby Union International Dan Hipkiss is to share the secrets of his sporting success with a view to inspiring commercial growth through the adoption of best practice in a business context, to a cross section of the business community at a number of events to mark the launch of the Competitive Arena Academy (CAA).

Specifically, these events will cover areas such as optimising individual and organisational effectiveness in developing and sustaining client relationships and how to move from transactional to relationship-based contact with customers.

voxclever, which is revolutionising SMEs'IT & telecoms systems to enhance working patterns and facilitate growth,has today launched its service in the UK to boost SME growth offering asolution to release constraints traditionally placed on smaller businesses.

Theavailability of mobile functionality in brand websites is essential in adigital era where browsing trends and methods are moving towards portabilityaccording to Reality Digital, the leading provider of whitelabel social network software forbrands and businesses.

Karacha.com, the online destination for quality musical instruments andaccessories, looks set to gain even more popularity in 2010 through extending the range ofaccessories it offers.

Around 15%of home owners fail to recognise boiler problems before they escalate according to Boilerguide, the UK's leading online resource for homeowners and heating engineersregarding all boiler-related issues.

Search andPR agency Punch Communications has chosen the media highs and lows of 2009 aspart of a round up of the year.

A recent report to have come out of the US inOctober 2009, detailing the latest demographic figures of social media usage,shows an evolutionary change as social networks mature to become a primarychannel for marketers according to Punch Communications, a specialist in Digital PublicRelations.

Home owners that make use of online tools to receive quotes for work on their heating systems are less likely to encounter poor tradesmen according to Boilerguide, the UK's leading online resource for homeowners and heating engineers regarding all boiler-related issues.

Boilerguide has indicated that the recommendation and rating systems often present in online quote tools result in those tradespeople with positive reputations and feedback being featured much more prominently, whilst those with poorer reputations and bad reviews are less likely to find leads.

The use and monitoring of social media in a brands marketing strategy can significantly improve its flexibility and reactivity to both positive and negative conversations on social networks according to Reality Digital, the leading provider of social network software for brands and businesses.

The real time nature of social media means that brands and businesses must constantly monitor exactly what the populace is saying about them and why. This monitoring holds great potential for brands, as it not only offers them to chance to nip any problems or negative conversations in the bud, but also the opportunity to jump on positive conversation and make the users providing it feel valued and engaged by the brand.

Home owners can increase the saleability of their property by creating features from attractive and practical brickwork, according to Ratedpeople.com, the UK's largest match making service for home improvers and recommended tradesmen.

The use of a stylised form of brick in outdoor features such as barbeques or flower beds can mean that an ordinary container for flowers or a grill can be easily, and relatively cheaply, converted into a focal point within a garden. The same applies to patios, with brickwork helping to achieve patterned or rustic effects.

Midlands based PR Agency, Punch Communications, has been hailed as the most proactive agency currently working in the automotive sector by renowned automotive freelance journalist Richie Barnett.

Richie Barnett has been an automotive journalist for over 15 years and his informed opinion is one of the most respected in the industry. Formerly Deputy Editor of Car and Accessory Trader (CAT) magazine, Richie is now a freelancer writer and regularly contributes to Automotivation as well as CAT.

If theUK doesn’t continue to invest in apprenticeshipschemes, the country is going to have one of the lowest basic skill levels in Europe once the recession passes, according to Perspective, a leadingauthority in distributed learning and Learner Management Solutions.

Homeowners looking to invest in a boiler replacement or indeed a new central heating system altogether should research the benefits of different boilers in relation to their requirements before committing to a purchase according to Boilerguide, the UK's leading online resource for homeowners and heating engineers regarding all boiler-related issues.

Boilerguide has indicated that homeowners frequently make boiler and central heating decisions without being properly informed, and therefore don't think about what is the right kind of boiler for their home.

Advancements in the technology of central heating boilers has resulted in there being many different types of boiler available, and many homeowners first instinct is a tendency to lean towards the cheapest option. This, as Boilerguide points out, is the wrong way to go about a boiler purchase.

Companies should be utilising a hosted social network in order to reap the benefits of improved communication, both internally between employees and externally with their consumers according to Reality Digital, the leading provider of web community software for brands.

An online community can be used to facilitate internal interaction and communication, in an environment where files can be shared and used with ease. A social network presents the possibility for internal horizontal influence, whereby almost every individual within the enterprise enjoy the same level of influence within the network.

Consumers Look To Online Voucher Codes To Maximise Cost Savings Against High Street Purchases

77.5% of British shoppers research many of their electrical, lifestyle and luxury purchases on the High Street only to later buy online at a cheaper price, according to new research conducted by WowVoucherCodes.co.uk, a website dedicated to offering online shoppers the best promotional discounts available from both well known online and High Street retailers.

PR Company Punch Communications has been appointed by the global leader in presentation effectiveness, m62 visualcommunications, to handle PR and SEO activity for the brand in the UK.

m62 visualcommunications creates leading edge presentations for clients involving the unification of images, sound, animation and psychological techniques to convey key corporate messages to audiences in an engaging, memorable and effective way, boosting recall levels and increasing conversion rates.

Youniverse Users Discover Perfect Partners With Unique Love Test.

How do you picture your perfect partner? How can you be sure that the good looking stranger who likes the same books, movies and shares many interests with you is really your dream date? Imagine if you could find out their inspirations, motivations and personality traits before that crucial first date?

Discount codes website visitors rise as shoppers become more savvy

Matt Lovett, founder of internet marketing company, Wow Media UK, has seen visitor figures to his voucher codes website WowVoucherCodes.com soar since January as a direct result of the recession. Lovett recently won the teen category at the National Enterprising Young Brits Awards presented by Alistair Darling for the WowVoucherCodes.com concept, which offers shoppers discounts from a whole host of High Street and Online retailers.

Job candidates need to be wary of the image that they portray of themselves to the outside world via social media sites when looking for PR jobs, according to technology PR agency Punch Communications.An increasing number of candidates, particularly graduates, are unaware that the social media profiles they have created in the past may still exist, despite not having been updated in some time and potentially displaying the candidate in a negative light.

With social media currently a hot topic and ever more businesses looking to understand how to integrate web 2.0 into their campaigns, Punch is helping clients to understand how to create Twitter PR, amongst other activities.

PR Company Punch Communications has been appointed by Qype, the UK's largest local search and recommendation site, to undertake a PR campaign and specifically to represent the UK site to consumer, business and trade media both on and offline.

Qype, which launched in the UK in September 2007, was founded in Hamburg in 2005 and is now the Europe's largest local search and recommendation website, with more than 7 million unique users per month, 700,000+ public reviews, and more than 15,000 European towns and cities covered.

Qype, the European leader of local online reviews, today announces the appointment of Stephen Taylor, former Yahoo! Regional Vice Presid

Boxwish, the source of movie inspired shopping suggestions has teamed up with Digital PR Agency Punch Communications - to promote consumer awareness of the website and reach the fast-growing realm of shoppers online in the all important run up to Christmas 2008.

Online shopping is a growing phenomenon and recent figures show that more and more shoppers are turning to the internet to make their purchases. Boxwish provide the shopper with easy access to finding the most covetable items presented in films.

Punch is hiring once again - potentially for several positions.

Rather than specific roles with specific job specs and salaries, we're looking for interesting individuals, preferably with demonstrable PR experience, of all levels. Ideally we'd like Account Managers, ie 4+ years of experience in an appropriate position. However, the net is being thrown as wide as possible. The position/s (and salary) will ultimately be commensurate with experience.

Landmark August Birthday Marks Year Of Rapid Growth

Midlands-based PR agency Punch Communications has celebrated its fifth full year in business with a move to prestigious new office accommodation in the rural countryside. The move marks the end of Punch's busiest year to date, which has seen the company quadruple turnover, add five new team members and win no less than twenty-four new clients.

The recent announcement that Slide is coming to London courtesy of Punch client and digital media property developer Monetise, has rapidly spread across the web, with coverage across the digital media both on and offline.

Due to a number of significant recent account wins, Punch Communications is on the lookout for two or more dynamic new additions to the team.

Midlands based PR agency Punch Communications has won a four way national pitch to provide launch and ongoing PR support for Sportingo, a web 2.0 sports media company which empowers sports fans to become expert pundits through creating and sharing opinions.

Punch has delivered nationwide coverage for new client Sportingo, which empowers sports fans to become expert pundits through creating and sharing opinion.

Punch Communications is to feature in January's issue of Real IR Magazine thanks to a recent case study on Crisis Management.

Real IR, Europe's leading and most widely read investor magazine is researching the effects of reactive and proactive crisis management in light of recent issues with Northern Rock and Cadbury's.

Punch Communications was approached by David Parsley at Real IR with regard to the crisis PR plan created and implemented during the Activ4 crisis involving FIFA World Cup Tickets in June 2006. By being proactive and managing the spokespeople, dealing with the media, controlling the message and ensuring full disclosure of the available facts, Punch was able to control the issue in a professional manner.

The Real IR article, to include the Punch Communications interview, will be available to subscribers from more than 20 European countries and many of the Continent's largest, most respected companies.

Punch Communications' recent new business achievements have again hit the news pages of the UK's foremost Public Relations magazine, PR Week.

Midlands PR Specialist Wins Major Campaign To Promote Brasserie Launches For Paramount Restaurants

Punch has once again been recognised for its innovative traditions and lateral approach to work, this time in the National press. The article in The Daily Telegraph (Thursday 4th October) highlighted ways in which social networking sites, such as Facebook, can be used not only as a source of interaction but as a source which can assist in moving businesses forward for very little outlay.

Two of Punch Communications' long standing clients have been nominated for three prestigious awards within a matter of weeks. Email and web management specialists Email Systems has been nominated for 'Security Vendor of the Year' at the Computer Reseller Awards (CRN) and the 'Service Category' at the Channel Network Awards. Simultaneously, PPLparty.com, the online social networking site for party goers, is potentially in line to receive up to £5million in funding.

Adify Corporation, a pioneering advertising infrastructure company, has appointed Punch Communications to launch the brand in the UK to marketing, advertising and publishing audiences, as the initial phase of a pan-European roll-out.

Punch has delivered two pieces of outstanding national coverage for clients in a week, with a combined advertising value of more than £53k.

Punch Communications has won two new clients in recent weeks - social networking site PPLparty.com and groundbreaking new marketing concept The Golden Jigsaw.

Punch has raised more than £1,000 for two charities in recent weeks.

Punch Communications MD Pete Goold will be participating in the nationwide Swimathon to raise funds for the Marie Curie Cancer Care charity on 22nd March 2007.

Midlands based PR and communications consultancy Punch Communications has unveiled a brand new corporate identity, replacing the logo, identity and branding which has served the company since its incorporation in July 2003.

Marketing-savvy SMEs across the UK are rapidly waking up to the benefits of a niche form of online advertising that can both boost their profile online and attract customers, according to PR and marketing specialist Punch Communications.