Punch

Philip Keightley

We have been talking in some depth about social networking this week and the specific benefits that a social network can offer a brand in terms of its customers and indeed its employees, by forming communities of shared information. Whilst we will soon be able to announce news of some pioneering work in this sector from one of our clients YouMeO, I thought it an opportune moment to paint a more detailed picture of the Punch team.

I have long been interested in what brands say about people, and the strength or people's associations with brands. As such I've asked everyone to detail their top five brands in order to give you, dear reader, a further insight into the Punch dynamic. I think brands say a lot about people but I'll let you draw your own conclusions from the list below:

Phil: The Guardian, Waitrose, BBC, Jeffrey West, Diesel

Pete: Landrover, Carhartt, Bose, Molton Brown, Punch

Emma: Clarins, Audi, Furla, Wallpaper magazine, Nikon

Kath: Smirnoff, Bench, Simple, Walkers, Silk Cut

Abbie: Clinique, Topshop, Jacob's Creek, E4, Tesco

Ben: Converse, Fosters, KEF (Speakers), Derby County FC, Rega (Amps / CD Players)

Claire: Benefit, Tigi, Topshop, Hotel Chocolat, Kettle Chips

Claire MacDonald

Punch Communications is on a crusade to get to the top spot on google...

As a result of this, I am now living and breathing three letters...SEO.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation and for those of you yet to discover the brilliance of it, (Ok, I'll admit it; I'm a fully fledged geek!) getting to grips with SEO and understanding what it entails can really make a significant difference to the business.

Over the past two weeks, I have spent time finding out about how to make the most out of html links, researching press release distribution sites, reading blogs and noting down the best link up sites.

In light of my research and the results it has produced, I've learnt that Effective SEO is one of the most successful ways of generating new business, keeping up with our competitors (oh I love a bit of healthy competition!) and telling the world what we are up to.

At first, I was pretty daunted by the task as it all sounds pretty complicated but once you get the hang of it, great things happen, by becoming more visible online our business is benefitting already.

All this helps to ensure that we are, as always, a step ahead in providing great service.

So, in a nutshell, we are at number three but stay tuned, the crusade continues!

Abbie Upton

With the Olympics now in full swing in Beijing, Punch client Fitness Footwear has unearthed the fact that 65% of sportsmen and women wear the wrong type of shoes for their chosen sport. Ideally, you should have a different pair of sports shoes for each sport i.e. a pair of tennis shoes for tennis, a pair of running shoes for running etc. etc.

This got me thinking, the last time I bought a pair of trainers was in 1999(!) and despite the fact that they are now at least one size to small, I wear them for playing badminton, running, washing the car and walking the dog – oops, although I’m not sure whether washing the car and walking the dog can be counted as sports?

A quick survey of the office (quick being the operative word, there are just three of us in today with Pete, Kath and Phil out at meetings) tells me that the average number of pairs of trainers owned is, wait for it, one.

I will be planning a team trainer shopping trip in the not too distant future!

Philip Keightley

Well it has been a big week for Punch, as other blog posts will have alluded too - we are now five and celebrated with cake and champagne in our new boardroom which was splendid (although I am lobbying hard for future celebrations to be marked by real ale and pies), and of course we are now based on a beautiful farm in the idyllic Northamptonshire countryside.

Next week looks set to be yet another big week for Punch with the news that, having barely stopped to breathe, we welcome our latest member of staff Claire MacDonald , who joins Punch as an Account Executive. Claire is keen, tenacious, highly motivated and we are all convinced will be an excellent addition to the Punch team. I am especially delighted to note the pertinence of Claire's surname given our new office location and look forward a long initiation period of and jest and tiresome teasing, particularly from me. Welcome Claire!

Emma Goold

Well I'm feeling a little misty eyed this morning given that Punch is celebrating its 5th birthday today. Daughter Annie has just announced that we simply must have cake, balloons and maybe some party hats so I don't think they know what's about to hit them over at the office!

And just where did all the time go? I have to admit that when we were sitting at our first office space, just the two of us in Brighton down on the sea front, I hadn't envisaged that 5 years on we'd be a 7 strong team, up in the wilds of Leicestershire.

It's funny to see how much it's all changed. We've had the pleasure of working with over 40 different clients, moved through 6 offices to accommodate the growth and a relocation, lost countless hours sleep developing 2 websites and had a lot of fun working with some lovely peeps along the way, so I suppose its time to say a big thank you for all our special company friends including James Ryder - a website whizz; Clive Davis - a design hero; Steve Haskew - who puts up with a lot; all our current team in alphabetical order, Abbie, Ben, Claire, Kath and Phil and of course to Pete at the helm...Happy Birthday.

Pete Goold

Punch Communications is five years old today!

Our move into the new offices last Friday marks the end of our busiest year to date which has seen the company quadruple turnover, add six new team members and win no less than twenty-four new clients, a figure I find almost hard to believe.

Somehow we seem to have found the magic balance of being able to manage our growth whilst enabling me to still do the job I love, which is PR (not HR - or indeed accountancy).

Here's to the next five...

Katharine Parker

You may have heard...Punch Communications moved offices last week and now that we are based in an office surrounded by beautiful farmland, with a genuine working farm just around the corner we are getting the odd visit from the farm dogs. These little visits got us all talking about pets and even better, pets names!

My little rabbit Miffy lived with my guinea pig Thumbelina and I have been the extremely proud owner of Jake, Ellwood and Murphy the cats (see the Blues Brothers connection?).

Abbie’s dog Maddie is absolutely beautiful, she had Levi and Rebel the guinea pigs - “because that’s what Mark Owen called his” - mice called Bubble, Squeak and Polo and hamsters called Thelma and Louise.

Phil has had a rabbit called Rabbit, a mouse called Mouse, a newt called Newt and a farm dog called...you’ve guessed it...no you haven’t...Cleo!

So what would this PR Agency have as a pet and what would we call it – well the general consensus was Punch (not kick) the dog.

Abbie Upton

Thanks to the recent hot weather (yes, a British summer where we actually see some sun!) we are getting seriously hot feet here in the office, and with temperatures set to be hotter than average this summer keeping your feet cool could be tricky. Luckily, Punch client Fitness Footwear is on hand to offer some top tips on keeping your feet cool until the heat wave subsides.

Did you know that you can buy antiperspirant for your feet? Or that filling your shoes with baking soda will absorb any moisture and keep your feet smelling sweet? Neither did I, the things you learn working in PR!

Pete Goold

Just three weeks after having decided to move and following an extremely intense 48 hour period during which we're packed, bought, assembled, drilled, lifted and, to be frank, sworn quite a bit, we're now in situ at our new offices. 

Our new number is now live: 01858 411600  and the new address is The Steadings, Sutton Lodge, Sutton Bassett, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 8HL, or you can use our contact form.

Pete Goold

Although this site is already awash with case studies, I'm a firm believer that testimonials are second only to first-person recommendations in terms of reinforcing a business' ability to achieve it's stated goals.

I think it's vital that we continually strive to add more and more, so we have just drafted an additional four - and several others are already in the pipeline.

Not only is it clearly beneficial to tell the world what we're doing and with whom, but case studies are an excellent way of making the sometimes intangible field of PR slightly easier to grasp.

Whereas some clients have dedicated in house PR teams and/or experience in the area, that is not always the case and besides, it's surely best practice to be able to describe in straightforward, bite-sized vignettes how we have succeeded in assisting other businesses?