Tag Archive for: rural marketing

STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS – FIGHTING FOR FARMERS

The high standards of British agriculture will be heralded at a London rally organised by the NFU in a bid to make the Government think twice about allowing food into the UK which is produced to lesser standards in any trade deal.  By undertaking a programme of effective stakeholder communications, the farming and food community is set to raise awareness and deliver the results and assurances they need.

The rally, on March 25 at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre, Westminster, aims to secure a commitment that UK standards will be safeguarded in trade deals to be negotiated this year with Europe and the rest of the world.

It will feature speeches from environmental and consumer spokespeople, animal welfare professionals and farming leaders. The message is that UK farmers produce safe, traceable food and this excellence must not be sacrificed in the necessity to strike free trade deals.

MPs will be invited and the event will undoubtedly put pressure on Government to avoid kow-towing to other countries. The Conservative manifesto also pledged to not jeopardise UK animal welfare standards; further influence comes from a letter to the Prime Minister signed by over 60 groups including the RSPCA and Soil Association urging the protection of food standards.

Campaign publicity

Farming is not generally an industry which takes to the streets of the capital to make demands. There’s a swathe of public support for maintaining our food standards and not allowing items such as chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef into the UK. The unpalatable history of big landowners receiving the largest subsidy payments is now receding, which may also generate support for the industry as it adjusts to provide public goods in return for subsidy payments: this bedrock of support lessens the potential for cries of self-interest to be levelled at farmers.

The publicity campaign surrounding the rally has already succeeded in highlighting the standards of UK farming and coverage in the weeks before the event could add further weight: the power of the campaign will undoubtedly exert pressure on Government.

For advice on successful campaigning and strategic PR, contact the team at Source PR.

MORE PR ‘SOURCERERS’ JOIN THE TEAM

We’re excited to announce that four new PR ‘Sourcerers’ have joined the team to meet client demand and to grow the business through a new specialist Rural Division.

The new appointments include Janet Hare who joins as client director, Gill Broad who joins to head up the company’s new Rural Division, Sarah Larkin who joins as an account manager and Jessica Pardoe who also joins the team to meet the growing demand from clients for social media management and digital PR campaigns.

Janet is an experienced PR professional having previously held senior media positions with BT, The National Lottery and The Millennium Dome.  Janet joins the agency and takes responsibility for client management, managing the growing team and overseeing the successful delivery of client campaigns.

Gill Broad has been appointed to head up Source PR’s newly created Rural Division.  The division has been specifically created to provide strategic communications, PR and marketing advice to rural and agricultural businesses or those seeking to engage with the sector.  Gill joins from Fisher German and prior to that worked as a senior reporter for NWM Media.

Sarah Larkin joins the team to manage the company’s consumer team.  Sarah has extensive experience having previously worked as marketing manager and Kings School Chester and with Marks & Spencer Money where she managed a range of financial services products.  Sarah also founded So Baby, a range of organic baby food that was sold in Waitrose, Tesco and Ocado.

Growing Team

The team has also been bolstered by the arrival of Jessica Pardoe who joins as a PR & Digital Media Executive.  Jess joins from Techmark and will now support the Source PR teams with digital PR, content marketing and social media management.

Louis Hill, Managing Director of Source PR, says: “These are exciting times for Source PR as we grow the team with some senior appointments and launch a new division specifically targeting those operating or looking to influence the rural sector.  We are well positioned for continued growth and to support our client’s ambitions.”

Source PR, located near Chester, is one of the region’s leading PR, marketing and digital agencies.  The company operates across the property, manufacturing and professional services sectors with clients including; Meadow Foods, Miller Homes and British Pipeline Agency.

If you’ve got a positive can do attitude and are looking for a career in PR or social media, contact us today.