Fruitbowl - Fresh Ideas from Hawke's Bay

I met Sarah Alexander-Willcox this week, MD of public relations consultancy, PR ink - the new kids on the block in the Hawke’s Bay marketing scene.

And I asked her to tell us a bit about herself:

"We’ve been in the PR industry for years so our team are very experienced and “pretty damn good” – as our clients keep telling us. We are passionate about communications and have a wide portfolio of large and small clients, but are always interested in meeting new people and helping solve their PR challenges. I have recently relocated from Auckland to Napier, but still have a number of senior consultants based in Auckland. We are experts in PR and focus on delivering superior communication solutions and outstanding results for clients.

I must admit, when I first moved to the Bay I was a little apprehensive about how my existing clients, which includes; Hilton Hotels, skinfood, Lockwood, spaceships, Gourmet Garden, Nordic Naturals, and M2 magazine to name a few, would respond to me not being in Auckland. Thanks, however, to modern technology (especially skype!) the transition has been seamless. I get the best of both worlds: living and working in sunny Hawkes Bay, and the odd trip up to Auckland when needed.

So how can we help your business? With experience across international, national and local campaigns, we’ve gained a diverse range of skills over the years.

We provide businesses with strategic advice on their communication goals, objectives and design, and we implement campaigns that are effective. Our team are experts in creating high profile brand campaigns that persuade, motivate and influence consumer perception and behaviour.

We provide expertise in the following:

• News generation
• Key messaging / positioning
• Media liaison
• Copy writing – from news releases, newsletters to website’s and brochures
• Media famils
• Media monitoring and response
• Profile raising
• Commentary
• Media partnerships
• Competitions and subscriptions
• Media briefing
• Reputation management
• Events

Our strength not only lies with our great media contacts, but also with our ability to come up with relevant, creative concepts that engage audiences; whether it be through the media or direct with consumers. For example, a great recent project was handling M2 magazine’s (NZ leading men’s lifestyle magazine) PR for their M2 Best Awards. This came as a referral from the editor, who said he liked our style and loved our work.

Earlier this year we handled the PR for Bike On, and launched the ‘Bikes in the School’ initiative at St Mary’s School in Hastings. We managed to secure some great media coverage for this local initiative, including; Close up, TV3 news, Newstalk ZB, The Dominion Post and Hawke’s Bay Today.

We’d love to work with more businesses in the Bay so feel free to give me a call on 021 400 458 to chat about your needs; especially if you’d like to learn more about what PR entails and how it can help your company. If you have a moment, also check out our website, www.pr-ink.co.nz.

Go the Bay!"

Sarah is a great girl - def worth catching up with for a coffee.