Being thrifty with a budget, providing value for money means allocating funds to the right things. We spend client money wisely. Planning the launch campaign for a development of 60 homes included leaflets, banners, door drop campaigns, press advertising, radio, sponsorhip, ad vans, PR, photography, copywriting and creative design.

I call this playing the long game. Developing a business (or a brand), Market Sense will look at positioning, personality and prospects –who are you, what voice do you speak with? Where do you want to go, how long to get there and what do we need to do along the way. Sounds simple, but it’s so important to KNOW who you are, define what you want and how to get there.

Which side of the fence? I’ve watched magazines and papers try to sell rates and I’ve also watched Media Buyers in action – cutting cost of space to the bone. I try to replicated their tactics to get the best deals for clients whenever possible. Rate Card?! Advertising does still has its place, so acting as a Media Buying Agency means I can get the best possible deals for clients – if it’s on brief.

Be that a new robot for the nuclear industry or developing a brand of eggs for a supermarket – we’ve had our fingers in many product development pies. This is where general management, marketing, communication skills and common sense really come into their own. Turning products into brands and growing the market is very rewarding. Read about work we’ve done at the Lakes Free Range Egg Company or the coffee experts at Carvetii or talk to the team at Eden Housing Association.

Words are fantastic and talk in the voice of the client, product or service – or they should. I’ve written countless newsletters about staying at Lake District Hotels “as Jack Frost stretches his fingers across the Lakeland landscape”, have talked about 360 degree continuous orbital welds, decifered documents to make them easy for ‘the public’ to understand. But the hardest thing was to find a voice for my own website. If you’ve read any of this so far, you should get my style by now. The proof is in the words.

Making the most of your opportunities, finding the hooks, the angles and getting journalists and press photographers to take an interest. I’m no Max Clifford, nor am I a member of the Ab Fab Sweetie Darling team (showing my age). But I do seem to be able to find angles that get clients noticed for the right reasons. Fishing with Jack Charlton, cooking with James Martin, lemurs making pancakes, riding bikes and hugging hearts. Or Sellafield Ltd representatives at the opening of a new manufacturing facility in Workington… or appearances on the radio and TV – not every day work for us, but we can make it happen.

There are very few marketing communications consultants that can include photography in their repertoir. I love photos and learned to take pictures that the media would use. Some can be a bit arty, others are more general, but most submitted do get used. But I know when I need more and that’s where great photographic partners come in handy. I’ ve used James Walker, George Carrick, Linda Bussey and Jo Leary, in the most recent years – each with the ability to take great shots.

The very first website I worked on was for the dairy farmer market – selling bulls. The second was for antiques and furniture house ‘John Young Furnishings of Keswick’. It was a great opportunity to work on branding, photography, copy, SEO and to work with web designers. The site has been running for a number of years and still looks timeless – but as always with Google, there’s work to do. Market Sense can help prepare the brief, find the right designer and support with Search Engine optimisation. Words matter – so do pictures – so does Google!

Do I have the best job in the world? I have on several occasions been asked to mystery shop – to get a feel for the competition, for clients, their customers and their products.  You need common sense, an eye for detail and a gut reaction. I’ve checked out skip hire, cafes, independent retailers and national retailers too. And of course food and drink. This is where apprecaition of quality ingredients comes in. A foodie farmers daughter that gets to test some of the field to fork –  when it comes to food products, I’m in heaven.