If you're talking audio, talk to us

We're delighted to say that our newly refurbished ISDN radio studio, in the heart of London's Covent Garden, is now available for hire. Look out one window and you see Covent Garden Market, look out another and you see the front of the Royal Opera House. 
 
It's light, bright and very modern and we'd be delighted if you wanted to have a look round it. The sound booth comfortably sits two spokespeople round a table. They can look out of the booth towards the producer and sound engineer desk.  
 
Large comfy sofas in the control room mean there's plenty of space to relax there, or in the adjoining green room. Technically we can link up to radio stations across the country, or indeed the world. We also have facilities for producing podcasts, promos, commercials, talking books, radio media training and radio programmes. 
 
The studio is available for dry hire, or alongside any of our other services.  
 
We're having an open day on Tuesday 27th July - feel free to drop in to try out our hospitality. But if you can't make that date call Jamie on 0207 240 7382 to arrange a time to suit.

FREE PLANNING DESK TRIAL

Do you ever feel you're not completely aware of what's running in the news each day? Or are you ever in need of a fresh injection of ideas? If the answer is yes then you may well benefit from our new planning desk service.

Once you've signed up to the service we'll give you a minimum of 5 ideas or stories a month, suited to your brand or company. These could be stories already in the news agenda that can be "hi-jacked", or creative ideas we know will be of interest to broadcast journalists.

The Shout! planning desk is headed up by director Catherine Bayfield. In a previous life Catherine was Head of Planning at GMTV and Central TV in Abingdon.

The planning desk service launches on 1st September 2009. We're offering a free one month trial for the first ten companies that contact us. The service is free for retained clients and costs £200 a month (minimum 6 months) for everyone else.

Shout! are pleased to announce our latest free broadcast PR training courses available to industry professionals.

We have a training session running most weeks but starting on 27th August we have two new courses to add to the mix. Making the Most of Celebrities and 3rd Parties looks at how you can maximize coverage on radio, television and online using additional spokespeople.

Our other new course, Maximising Coverage on Radio, looks at how to best reach a wide audience through radio. We'll discuss how you can reach your target audience as well as effective ways of communicating your messages. The radio industry is in a continual state of flux and we'll tell you the implications of this for broadcast PR.

To receive regular updates about our ongoing free training programme - or to book a place on a course please email Ashleigh@shoutcommunications.co.uk.

Shout! Communications is proud to present the Pitch Package and Highlights Reel!

In today’s trying economic climate the pitch is as important as ever. The Pitch Package will ensure that it is your pitch that is the most vibrant, memorable and above all, effective.

Bringing presentation quality video into your pitch can showcase your company, your work and your values as you intend to, whilst ensuring you stand out from the crowd.

Whether it’s a concise sound bite or a controversial opinion, Shout! will make your voice heard.

The Highlights Reel

When the campaign’s all over and the client is happy, the Highlights Reel shows the successes of your campaign. Showcasing your hard work and the campaign’s coverage, the Highlights Reel concisely summarises your achievements.

The Highlights Reel is available for both Radio and Television campaigns. 

Below is an example campaign highlights reel for the launch of Thorpe Park's Saw Ride:

Writing for Broadcast

Shout! are pleased to announce our latest broadcast PR training course:

Thursday 23rd July 0930-1230

Shout! Communications was set up by former broadcast journalists. This practical course will explain how to write press releases that will secure coverage on radio, television and online.
Our trainers have written for News at Ten, the Today Programme and GMTV. At Shout! we regularly hear our words coming back over the airwaves!
We'll look at:

• What makes a good story and how to ensure you get maximum coverage for your campaign.
• Guidance on tailoring your writing style to suit a particular broadcast news audience.
• Advice on editing client releases.

Please bring a lap top (let us know if you don't have one)
Cost £200 plus VAT

 Shout! Communications Charity Competition Winner

Last year Shout! Communications ran a charity competition offering £2, 500 worth of broadcast media relations as the top prize. It was won by AYME, the Association of Young People with ME. AYME recently took up their prize, to support a campaign raising awareness for young people who suffer from the debilitating and often misunderstood disease. The campaign was a huge success and interviews, featuring AYME's patron Esther Rantzen, were secured on BBC Radio Five Live, BBC Radio Radio 4 and 12 top tier regional BBC radio stations.

Meet the Journalist - Kevin Murphy and Jim Grice

We have recently hosted two journalists lunches with Kevin Murphy from the IRN Business and Money desk and Jim Grice from PA Multimedia.

 Kevin stressed the importance of making sure that any spokesperson is always available when they say they will be. 5 in the morning means 5 in the morning in the fast paced world of news. He also gave us an insight into the changes that are taking place now IRN is becoming part of Sky News Radio, with an increasing amount of the radio news content coming from Sky's television arm.

Jim's team at PA Multimedia is extremely interested in content. For us this means B-roll and VNR packages. If you're unsure what B-roll and VNRs are, come to our next free production course. Email lisa@shoutcommunications.co.uk for details of the next one.

Meet the Journalist - Jonathan Swain GMTV

Join us for a free and informal meet the journalist event with GMTV's Senior Correspondent and presenter Jonathan Swain at our offices in Covent Garden on Friday 16th January at 1300. It's all change at GMTV. They've re-branded and just appointed a new face on the sofa , ex Sky News business presenter Emma Crosby. During his 7 years working for the breakfast broadcaster Jonathan has covered a host of major stories from the current Gaza crisis to the disappearance of Madeline McCann and the ongoing credit crunch. But GMTV also covers some PR generated stories and this is your chance to find out how PRO's can package their stories to attract the eye of GMTV's producers and planners.

Festive Fun as Shout! 'Queen' steps into the limelight

Click here to see her 2008 Christmas Message

Season's Greetings from the Shout! team to all our clients.

Shout! Communications Charity Competition Winner

We're delighted to announce that the winner of our charity competition is the Association of Young People with ME. They win a broadcast media relations campaign worth £2, 500.   

Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter the competition. We had a great response, and the judges (including President of the CIPR Lis Lewis-Jones and Director General of the PRCA Francis Ingham) felt the standard was very high.

Runners up are the British Heart Foundation and Riding For The Disabled.  

Any charity that entered the competition is entitled to claim a 25% discount on any media relations campaign they commission us to do, until 1st December 2009.   

Understanding Radio Course

 Have you ever wondered what goes on during a radio day?

Shout! Communications are running an Understanding Radio course on Wednesday 17th December. You'll find out how a radio studio works and get the chance to experience your own interview first hand as well as finding out what makes a successful radio campaign.

For more information please contact Claire on 020 7240 7121 or claire@shoutcommunications.co.uk

 Managing Crisis course

PR is all about creating and maintaining a good reputation. But what happens when you're the centre of publicity you DON'T want? Learn how to handle a crisis, limit the damage and rebuild a brand.

Shout! Communications was set up by formal national broadcast journalists. They'll tell you how radio and TV news organisations will react to a "bad news" story, as well as what you can do to hold on to your reputation.

We are running this free course on Thursday 18th December at 5pm in our Covent Garden offices. To book a place, please contact Lisa on 020 7240 8852 or lisa@shoutcommunications.co.uk

Shouting about wine...

Joe Wadsack, one of the brightest talents in the UK  wine world and a former Wine Communicator of the Year, served up some of the insider secrets at a Shout! wine tasting event in November.

Clients enjoyed a free evening of expert tuition from the wine whizz from BBC One's Saturday Kitchen and the Richard and Judy Show.

By the end of the night we knew our Chardonnays from our Sauvignon Blancs and we were knocked out by the 15.5% Spanish Rioja.

Thanks to Cube Communications for providing the wine and the Clydesdale Bank for their fab venue.

Shout! prove they have the X Factor in supporting Simon Cowell's mother's charity Against Breast Cancer

The charity celebrated its fifteenth birthday with a big party at Bafta and is leading the way in new fields of breast cancer research. Shout! produced a B-roll of the celebrity filled Splash of Pink event marking Breast Cancer Awareness month. Coverage included London Tonight, PA Multimedia and ITN ON.

Julie Cowell is a survivor of breast cancer and she was joined by her son Simon, Ben Shepherd, Duncan Bannatyne and a host of other stars.

Breast cancer is now the most common form of cancer in the UK with 1 in 9 women developing the disease.

Free Campaign Up For Grabs.

Shout! is inviting any registered charities to take part in a competition we're running as part of our pro bono initiative. Every year we chose a charity to support, put forward by one of the team. In the past this has included Breast Cancer Campaign, the Victoria Cross and George Cross Associations and Hearing Dogs for the Deaf. This year we've decided to widen the net and are inviting interested charities to take part in a competition.

First prize is a media relations campaign (radio, TV or online) worth upto £2,500. All you have to do is tell us, in 300 words or fewer, why you'd like your nominated charity to win.

A panel of judges, including CIPR President Lis Lewis-Jones and PRCA Director General Francis Ingham, will decide the winner. 

All charities that enter will also be eligable for a 25% reduction off our rate card for a period of 6 months.

Free Media Training Taster Session - Thursday 6th November 2008

You've watched your client appear on television from the comfort of your desk but do you really understand what you've put them through??? 

We're inviting you to come to our Covent Garden office for a mini media training session, and experience a television interview for yourself.

During the session you'll learn about the different sorts of television interviews you might encounter - from one-to-ones and lives, to door stepping and press conferences. You'll then get the chance to do a TV interview yourself, see it played back and have it analysed by an expert.

It's a friendly and informal session lasting just an hour with up to 4 delegates in each session.

For more information about session availability please contact Amy on 020 7240 7375 or amy@shoutcommunications.co.uk

The Law Society Pro Bono Week

For the 3rd consecutive year Shout Communications! are working with The Law Society to publicise Pro Bono Week. Last year we secured nationwide coverage across radio, television and print for the annual week of voluntary work that many barristers, solicitors and legal executives do.

To find out more, click here.