Awaken-comms.co.uk

Solving marketing challenges for small to mid-sized businesses
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Putting the Fizz back into the Fireworks

Since 2013 Awaken Communications has focused its charitable efforts on sport in the local community, principally through the reformulation and repositioning of the annual fireworks event, taking place each year at the cricket club. The event, which has been running for over 50 years now, is a vital contributor to the funds need to maintain a facility which in addition to cricket, plays host to Hockey, Lacrosse, Tennis, Running and a host of kids and fitness camps. An event in decline Eight years ago, this event was in decline. Visitor numbers were trending down as the lustre of paying a few quid to stand on a sports field on a cold and quite likely wet evening, was steadily fading. Moreover, most parents had fallen out of love with the adjacent travelling fairground, which rocked up

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Making the most of Google advertising grants

How charity attractions can emerge from lockdown on the back of Google funded advertising With lockdown restrictions due to ease in the coming months, now  is the time for those leisure attractions who enjoy  charitable status, to make sure they are taking advantage of the Google Ad Grants programme. What is Google Ad Grants? The scheme gives qualified organizations $10,000 per month in Google Ads spend to be used to promote their business via the world's no.1 search platform. To qualify, attractions must go through the application process and demonstrate they meet the qualifying criteria. These are as follows: The attraction must be a registered charity or have the visitor side of it's operation run by a charitable trust.Acknowledge and agree to Google Grant’s req

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Managing expectation: the key to coming out of lockdown successfully

In his book Alchemy, Vice Chairman at the advertising giant Ogilvy, Rory Sutherland argues powerfully that doing the obvious is not always the right thing to do. It is certainly not the way to make breakthroughs, change paradigms or differentiate yourself from the competition. To do that you need to be creative. As anyone who has had the benefit of listening to him knows, Rory is a master of creative thinking. Customer insight As marketing agencies and practitioners begin to help their clients emerge from lockdown, I’ve had my own simple lesson in how doing the obvious thing is not necessarily the right thing. Europe’s largest golf driving range, World of Golf London, was among the first consumer leisure venues to get business moving again, when they opened their doors on May 18

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Copywriting – stick to the rules

There's at least a couple of our team members who would claim to be decent copywriters. People who understand some key rules, such as: Write for your audience Avoid overlong sentences Have structure Be human - show some personality Edit and Edit again Thoroughly proof… Clients even pay us to do this. So, its with some risk that I make the following confession, albeit in my volunteer capacity as Chairman of Tring Park Cricket Club. Like all cricket clubs we rely heavily on the goodwill of sponsors and at the end of the season, it is only right and proper that I should convey a sincere thank you for their generous support. However, when doing so, it's probably not a great idea to start the correspondence: Dear Fiends….. Yes, it's a true story and fortunately one that our sp

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Marketing tips from the Edinburgh Fringe

Hello My heart goes out to fledgling Edinburgh Fringe performers. With artists attracted by ‘the dream’ from all over the world, competition for the bums is intense and every marketing decision is a big one. Reflecting on my visit this year, it’s becoming ever clearer to me, what good Fringe marketing looks like. A great flyer/poster design Whilst it’s hard not to worry about the amount of paper on display (some serious recycling required), there’s no doubt that a cracking poster design can help grab attention. The design needs to smack the reader in the face with the core proposition – for a stand up comic this can be as simple as a top notch, creative mug shot – suitably compelling proof points such as review stars and quotes, and the essential details of whe

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