MACLAURIN MEDIA BLOG
We’ve all got our TV favourites, but now it’s time for you to vote for yours!
Sep 25, 2012
It¹s been all systems go here at MacLaurin HQ, as we¹ve been gearing up to reveal the contenders for the 13th National Television Awards… And as you can see from the photo, Rania and I thought we’d pay tribute to one our personal favourites, Downton! (Actually a photo from our last Christmas party but thought it fitted well!)
If any of you TV, showbiz or entertainment addicts out there happened to grab a copy of the The Sun, Daily Telegraph, Daily Star or Daily Express on Saturday, you¹re more than likely to have cast your eyes on some pieces about the 2013 National Television Awards. Let me tell you something…. it¹s shaping up to be a hotter contest than ever before!
But as always, it’s the public who decide who takes home the silverware! In an exciting new addition to the show, The National Television Awards will present a Landmark Award to key members of London 2012 in order to honour our greatest Olympic and Paralympic teams in over 100 years. To accompany the presentation, the show’s organisers are calling on the public to select their favourite Olympic and Paralympic moments and submit them via the NTA website. We all loved watching the magnificent Mo Farah, and the unbelievably determined Ellie Simmonds triumph in their races. But was it an athletic moment that shone for you, or something a little more comical such as Her Majesty The Queen sky diving into the Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony that really stuck in your mind? Either way, we’d urge you to share your memories via the NTA website - http://www.nationaltvawards.com/landmark.
On to the battles within the categories, and this year is fierce to say the least! The highly contentious Talent Show category sees Strictly Come Dancing fight it out with The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent Show, and first time nominee The Voice. It’s the nation’s favourite period drama Downton Abbey up against the likes of Dallas, Parade’s End and detective dramas Scott & Bailey and Lewis in the Drama category. Chat show kings Jonathan Ross, Graham Norton and Piers Morgan are all nominated in the Entertainment category, but will the drama of the The Only Way Is Essex or tension of The Million Pound Drop win the viewers votes? And there’s no doubt that the Tyneside twosome Ant and Dec have got their eyes on the Entertainment Presenter prize again, but will they manage to scoop the gong for a twelfth year running? All the glitz and glamour of the show will be presented by the fabulous Dermot O¹Leary, from London’s O2 arena on 23rd January and will be broadcast live on ITV1 in prime time.
So in light of all this exciting news, don¹t forget you need to choose your winners! VOTE NOW free online at http://www.nationaltvawards.com OR call 0844 646 2060 for a voting form. Calls cost no more than 5p from BTlandlines, other networks may be higher and mobiles considerably more.
Voting closes at a minute to midnight on October 11th 2012. We’ll be keeping you up to speed with all the exciting NTA news as wecountdown to January’s show, so keep your eyes peeled for more TV tidbitsby following us on Twitter - @Maclaurinmedia!
By Katie Lassman
Filed Under News
Read More...NextGen Series
Jul 25, 2012
We started working on the NextGen Series a little over a year ago, and for someone whose life revolves around football, it has been an amazing project to be involved in. Starting with 16 of Europe’s finest clubs, the tournament captured the imagination of the fans and the media almost immediately and game by game, NextGen grew to become one of the most exciting competitions to grace the 2011/12 season. With MacLaurin colleagues I travelled Europe, following the games, getting a chance to see the behind the scenes action, and meeting some of the best football writers from the continent.
I genuinely believe youth football as a whole was scarcely written about before the NextGen Series and its arrival last season excited fans and journalists alike by giving them the chance to follow some of football’s rising stars. You could see people’s faces light up when they spotted the players that showed outstanding individual talent, and it got everyone debating who would make it as the “next Messi”.
After a hugely successful inaugural season, 9 new clubs, including Chelsea, Juventus, Arsenal and Dortmund, have signed up for next season’s tournament which is set to start again in mid-August. We are all very excited about the coming season, and I know the clubs and their players are eager to get onto the pitch and show the continent what they are made of!
Filed Under News
Read More...Seal the deal with an app by Anna Nalborczyk
Jul 16, 2012
Last week saw the launch of the Close My Deal web app by international negotiator Clive Rich.
This was a clever move by the 52-year-old trained barrister who has secured more than £10billion worth of deals for multinational companies such as Sony, Yahoo and Napster, over the last 25 years.
Despite his strong credentials it can be tricky to know how to promote the Clive Rich brand. Negotiation isn’t tangible. It can’t be touched or tasted. And because it’s a skill, it is a hard concept for consumers and journalists to understand.
The dilemma is identifying how to raise awareness of the brand – and the answer it seems is through modern technology.
Latest statistics show that 82% of the UK population has access to the internet via a combination of PCs, laptops, mobile phones and tablets such as the iPad. Close My Deal is a web app which means that it is available as a website, but is optimised for all mobile devices, making it a convenient tool for users.
In the app, Clive is able to offer tangible examples of how negotiation can be applied to everyday life – both at home and in the workplace. He also offers step-by-step guides and feedback and tips, which gives users a greater understanding of what negotiation is and raises awareness of his brand.
From a PR perspective the examples of various scenarios from buying or selling a car to negotiating a pay rise at work, offer targeted coverage opportunities in a variety of publications from national newspapers to women’s weeklies using different news angles and hooks.
And to increase his customer reach and improve brand loyalty, the app allows consumers to access Clive’s Twitter and Facebook accounts or his website for more information.
Being the first and the only one to offer a niche web app, is a deal-maker for Clive Rich.
Filed Under News
Read More...A Perfect Match by Firas Waez
Jun 26, 2012
Sunday saw cause for celebration as sprinter James Ellington made it into the fray for Team GB for London’s 2012 Olympic games having won the Aviva 200 metre final in Birmingham.
It’s not been an easy journey for the London boy who had to resort to putting himself on eBay to raise the cash required to dedicate the necessary attention and focus to his Olympic training.
The winning eBay bid turned out to be a hoax and James Ellington was left without the financial backing he so badly needed. That was until Will King of King of Shaves stepped in to save the day and give James the money he badly needed so he could focus on Olympic success.
Fast forward to June 2012 and James Ellington is now a bona fide member of the Great British team hoping to achieve Olympic gold in just a few weeks.
But this isn’t the first time that Will King has demonstrated an eye for talent. Way back in 2006 he sponsored John Terry, a time before he rose to prominence as England Captain.
The partnership lasted just over 2 years, at a time when Terry was still perfecting his craft and skills that would take him to Champions League success with Chelsea.
It’s clear that it can be a clever move for brands to support grass roots talent and align themselves with people they think they could have a fruitful partnership with.
As with James Ellington, he’s gone from struggling with the pressures of life to being able to focus all of his efforts on his training which has naturally led to an improvement in his performances. What’s more, as James grows, so does the feeling of unity and mutual admiration between brand and star and in this my friends we have a match made in heaven and one that brands are wise to open up to.
Here’s to Will King’s next find.
Filed Under News
Read More...