Orchard Cakes, originally uploaded by Orchard Pics.
Friend of Orchard Rachel made us these brilliantly branded cakes to celebrate the move to our new home!
They were delicious and disappeared all too quickly.
February 3, 2010
February 1, 2010
New headquarters for Orchard
There is big news at Orchard HQ. We have a new home, a new office and a brand new space to make our own and it’s only a hop, skip and a jump away from our old premises.
The old office was pretty handy. We would chat to reporters from Channel TV while making our coffee in the morning and the BBC was just the other side of the kitchen door.
However, as the business and our expert team grew, the room became just a bit too squashed for our needs. In line with the rebranding last year, it was time to invest and inject new energy into the space in which we spend our days.
The new office is open-plan (all the better for internal communication) and large enough to accommodate our growing team and some. The Orchard personality is evident with a green and red theme and we are even cultivating an in-door lawn in the reception area.
What’s more, we are still located in the thick of the media hub, having just transported ourselves across the car park!
To see more pictures, check out our gallery…
January 11, 2010
Want a career in PR or event management?
Then look no further.
Very exciting times at Orchard HQ – we have vacancies and are looking for bright minds to add to our PR and events team. So if you are a budding media guru, or if perhaps you want to get into the world of event management, then we want to hear from you.
We’re recruiting a PR Account Executive and an Event Manager. If that sounds like it should be you, have a look at our careers page, and get to work on your CV!
January 6, 2010
These boots were made for…
Heavy (for Guernsey) snow blanketing (no really!) the island at the moment. Business as usual at Orchard Towers of course. Takes more than a bit of snow and ice to stop us intrepid PR folks.
It does mean that the range of footwear in the office is slightly (only slightly) more unusual than normal.
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
Tomorrow we’ll round up the unusual head gear…
January 4, 2010
2010 – our resolutions for the year
Here at Orchard HQ we take the turn of the year (decade even) very seriously. It’s a good time to think about our industry, our business and ourselves.
What will we achieve in 2010? Well, we’ve made some resolutions…
This year, we at Orchard resolve:
- To plan reasonably far ahead.
- To win more clients!
- To take a lunch hour
- To be even more strategic
- To phone journalists sometimes instead of emailing them
- To use less silly business jargon terminology
- To enter a team into the mud and fun run
- To give out more business cards than our MD Steve!
- To eat an apple a day – we are an Orchard after all
- To drink more (water)
- To appear less in the GBG and Guernsey Now galleries
- To investigate (even) more financial journals
- To clearly explain to the world the difference between ‘advertising’ and ‘PR’
- To learn a new word a day
- To completely ban the word ‘delighted’ from Orchard news releases.
- To pay more attention to social media.
So – what have you resolved to do this year?
December 17, 2009
‘Tis the season to be jolly!’
Looking around the office we can spy bits of tinsel next to sparkling fairy lights and even a jaunty ‘chimney’ hat with Father Christmas’ legs sticking out from the top. Plus, the inevitable boxes of chocolates. It is officially Christmas!
As we approach the end of the year and the inevitable 11th hour deadlines, we’d like to thank our clients for their loyalty and friendship through challenging times for many of us.
From everyone here at Orchard to our clients, journalists, suppliers and colleagues in Jersey, the Isle of Man, London and Guernsey – we wish you a very happy Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year!
December 8, 2009
Upbeat PR industry in the Channel Islands
Some recent research by the CIPR has highlighted the resilient mood of the PR sector in the Channel Islands, showing that the sector is still growing, despite the recession.
The ComRes survey of some 2,000 Chartered Institute of Public Relations members highlighted that the greatest growth has been experienced in digital PR, followed by reputation management, crisis management and strategic planning.
Chair of our local CIPR group, Jason MacKenzie, said in a statement: “This is definitely the time when PR practitioners will be concentrating on the value they can add to the businesses they represent. Like many other professionals we have to work harder, proactively and more flexibly during a wholesale squeeze on budgets.”
The wider survey did also identify areas of shrinkage, with sponsorship a key theme.
The Channel Islands might be a special case here. Sponsorships are still very much on the agenda for many local businesses, and at Orchard we haven’t seen a wholesale abandonment of support inititiatives – it is true however, that businesses are looking for more value from their sponsorship deals: sticking a brand name on something definitely isn’t enough any more!
So what have we learnt from the survey? Principally that PR, like any industry, is a moving feast. Adapting your business to circumstances, keeping pace with technology and media consumption trends are vital – flexibility is key to survival indeed!
via IFCFeed.com
and cipr.co.uk
Posted by Chris
November 24, 2009
Panoramas
Friend of Orchard Chris George has just popped into the towers to show us the results of his new toy – a 360 degree camera rig. The kit takes panoramic photos with total coverage – side to side up and down – if you can see it – it takes a photo of it.
Some great examples over on Georgie’s website.
Posted by Chris.
November 16, 2009
Fabulous night…
It is the first and only time I have ever begun a news release with the word ‘sex’.
Orchard was involved with a Sex and the City themed party last week, raising money for the Dyslexia Day Centre.
We had been asked to think of ways to jazz up a jumble sale as a fundraising idea. We thought girly, we thought beauticians, clothes, jewellery and handbags. It had to be Sex and the City, combining glamour and clothing with the ultimate girls’ night out.
I think that Carrie and the girls would have been proud. Clobberbox, Joy and Freelove very kindly donated some of their wares and Guernsey’s fashionistas contributed top second-hand designer togs to the cause.
Tracey’s Jewellery had a stall of pretty shiny things and a team of beauty therapists from Shezam painted shoppers’ nails as they sipped their complimentary cocktails.
So the evening was a chance for women to chat, pamper and browse for bargains. And it was a chance for men to enjoy complete dominance over the remote control.
I can’t remember the last time I have seen so many women together. Guernsey Press photographer Steve Sarre and freelancer Chris George both came (at different times) and stuck out quite conspicuously amidst so much oestrogen.
So many women came in fact, that the car park over spilled and people were parking at home and walking back to the Bella Luce.
There had been a few worries. Anyone who has witnessed the mayhem that takes place at the Next sale knows how messy a group of women can get when presented with discounted clothing. But I was impressed with the gracious way ladies went about their shopping. There wasn’t an aggressive elbow in sight
All in all there was a fantastic buzz about the evening and we raised almost £2,000 for the DDC.
Fabulous.
Posted by Sam.
November 4, 2009
Now, that was a good idea . . .
Is it something in the sea air (particularly full of sea at high tide in this morning’s gales), that gives Guernsey people the drive, ambition and determination to succeed? Or something buried deep in our entrepreneurial heritage?
Last night’s “Schroders Bright Ideas – The Final” event was a tremendous opportunity to celebrate the enterprising spirit that surrounds us, perhaps disproportionately for a community of 60,000 or so on 24 square miles of rock.
What makes a busy surgeon spend his precious leisure time as an inventor – striving to find a way to bring pain relief to patients in an innovative, non-invasive, way? And, why does an accountant with a young family work into the early hours each night perfecting his LegBefore.Com online cricket resource centre?
It’s part of that tenacious Guernsey donkey “Je ne sais quoi” that one comes across again and again in the island.
Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Ranjan Vhadra won the £5,000 prize last night but there were no losers among the seven finalists.
All of them had a 10 minute elevator pitch in front of an audience of 500; they, without exception, credited the mentors who have taken time to help hone their ideas; they all attended workshops with leading business advisers in various fields and they have benefited from the word of mouth endorsement and media coverage that the competition has attracted.
For the audience it was an evening’s entertainment. For the entrepreneurs it was a further step towards realising their dream and achieving ultimate success.
Well done Schroders for prompting this latest outburst of entrepreneurial energy. Orchard was proud to be involved and we look forward to more of the same next time . . . .
Posted by Steve.
For more photos of the event, see our gallery of bright ideas.
