Equestrian & rural business blog posts

Blogging has been so beneficial for my business. I enjoy it too. I started off in copywriting and, for me, this blog is a great way to share equestrian and rural businesses as well as PR, marketing and social media advice. All posts have been written to inspire, educate or to share something that is important to me, my business, or my customers.

The blogs you’ll find in the category are likely to be varied in content. Yes, there will be an equestrian, rural or country connection in them (mainly because that’s just who I am!), but be prepared to see a range of subjects. From business profiles, sharing information about the people behind the brand to social media know-how and how to promote your equestrian and rural business more effectively, you’re likely to find it in here.

What John Lewis (and a lovable Boxer dog) can teach us

The 2016 John Lewis Christmas advert was nothing short of a triumph – in my world, it’s the official start of the festive season and it was brilliant. But it’s brilliant in ways you might not imagine. See, as much as I love to see a Boxer called Buster and a load of woodland creatures have a great time on a trampoline, the complete campaign was nothing short of a work of genius. Actually, I loved it so much, I made a video about it…

What the John Lewis Christmas advert can teach us

On face value, the advert ticks all the boxes – it’s relatable (putting up trampolines is hard. Really hard), it has product placement (everywhere), it was funny (who doesn’t love a bouncing hedgehog?), it had an unexpected twist (who knew Boxers were so good on trampolines). The soundtrack was lovely, the #tag was lovely, everyone was talking about it….tick, tick, tick, tick, TICK.

Now we delve deeper.

Did you know that a whole product range was created around the ad and that 10% of sales from the cuddly toys went to The Wildlife Trusts? That they employed Oculus technology in some of their stores to allow people to explore Buster’s garden using virtual reality? That they had Snapchat filters created for Buster’s garden? That they worked with The Wildlife Trust to allow us normal folk to get a better understanding of what’s going on in our back gardens and, to do this, they products a shed load of free resources on their website? No? It’s more than a bit clever. It’s genius.

I read that the John Lewis Christmas advert cost £1million to make the ad at that by the time the ad campaign ends, they will have spend £6million on it. If you don’t have that kind of spare cash in your back pocket, fear not, there are many, many things you can still take from it. The link between the TV ad and the product range, the collaboration, the additional resources, the way they’re pushing it all across social media using the #bustertheboxer hashtag on Twitter and the Snapchat filter. John Lewis has joined all the dots and created a campaign that works across so many different areas of their business. And that’s what clever. And that’s what you can do. Depending on when you read this blog, you might think it’s too last for Christmas (or too early), but it doesn’t matter, don’t limit yourself to the time people bring on the tinsel, think of how you can create joined up campaigns at other times of the year…yep- it takes more thought than shoving an ad in a magazine, but could yield a far greater ROI when you put a little bit more time into it…

I made a video all about the John Lewis advert – have a look at it on my Youtube channel here.

/0 Comments/by

Want to be someone’s sponsored rider? Have a look at our top ‘don’ts’ video!

Getting approached about sponsorship is a daily occurrence for many PRs and the companies they work with. We all appreciate that people want support, and that’s fine, what isn’t fine is how some people choose to ask for this help. Well, I say ask…it’s often more of a rude demand made in the wrong way! If you’re looking for some tips when it comes to help to approach companies about sponsorship, have a look at this video about rider sponsorship don’ts. It might just help.

 

 

 

/0 Comments/by

How to survive a horse trials!

I was planning to write this blog before Badminton Horse Trials but, with a number of clients exhibiting at the event and lots of exciting things to tell the press about, as normal, my blog got knocked down the priority list! That said, this blog, all about how to survive a horse trials, is now written with a fresh appreciation of the kit you really should pack in your bag to ensure you have the best time possible.

Now, just to be clear, although the title may suggest I’m not a fan of horse trials, it couldn’t be further from the truth. I love going to horse trials with Badminton and Blenheim definitely at the top of my list. They’re quite different to each other, so I’m not saying which I like the most…it wouldn’t be fair (!).

Onto the serious matter of how to survive and thrive at a horse trials…here are my top tips.

1. Get organised. In order to arrive at a reasonable time without stressing yourself out, it’s best to get organised at least the day before. This year I took my dog Jam with me, so in addition to tickets, money, maps and more, I also had to remember her breakfast, her two leads, poo bags and waterproofs in case it rained.

2. Maps. Not just for getting there, but for the show itself. I had a number of clients to see at Badminton, so I printed out a map of the tradestands and marked where I needed to go. This may sound a little too organised, but some of these tradestand villages are HUGE, and if there are some stands you really want to see, it’s worth printing out a map, finding the stand numbers and marking on where you want to go. Honest.

If you’re planning to walk the XC course, especially on a non-XC day, consider printing out a map of here too. I didn’t this year, walked a good way…and realised I’d missed most of the XC course. Not a huge problem, but a little annoying!

3. Drinks. Yes, make sure you take a bottle of water with you/be prepared to buy at the show and drink it! It’s very easy to forget to drink when you’re taking in what’s going on and having fun…but the headache you’ll get and general feeling of being less than 100% that follows isn’t ideal. I’m not saying you should only drink water as there are some fab drinks places around the shows, and this year the lovely Hiho Silver offered their customers tea or coffee on the stand in stunning Doris & Co mugs. Very well received by everyone.

4. Food. Yes, you’re going to have to eat! You can tackle this in a few ways: 1) you can stop at a supermarket and take advantage of a meal deal 2) you can pack a lovely picnic of your favourite things 3) you can make the most of the food stands and tents and sample all the delicious food available. I tend to do a mixture of one and three, just because then, when it’s 10.30 and I’m starving and in the middle of something, I can eat the food I have stashed away…ready to enjoy the food tent later.

5. Comfortable boots. It’ll depend on the weather, obviously, but boots are good…and for god’s sake make sure they’re comfortable. If you’re thinking of wearing heels (it’ll be in a field, come on!), flip flops (seriously?!) or anything similar, THROW THAT IDEA AWAY. YOU’VE LOST YOUR MIND. Even on a warm day, you’ll be dealing with long grass (if you walk the XC) and maybe mud/dirt in the shopping village. And you’ll be deal with other people. When someone in their size 12s treads on your foot, you’ll be pleased you’re not wearing beach wear!

6. Ready for all weathers. I was very, very lucky at this year’s Badminton, but it can often be a mixed bag, If it’s warm, put a lightweight waterproof in your bag and, if it’s cold…make sure you coat has waterproof qualities. Or take a brolly…but be aware of taking people’s eyes out as everyone runs for cover in the shopping village.

7. Car parking. I always take a picture of where I leave my car – obviously including some point I can refer to (not just the car). Having temporarily lost a car in a large car park once before it’s pretty important for me!

8. Backpacks. They might not be the most elegant of bags, but a backpack can be worth its weight in gold. As I said, I took a dog this year, and it was very useful being ‘handsfree’…well, from the bag at least. It also means that you’ll stay balanced, as I’ve been unbalanced with bags before, and it really does make everything ache after a while!

 

I’m sure I’ve missed some tips, but these are definitely the top ones that come to mind. Obviously the whole point of going to events is to have a good time…and the tips about should help you do this!

/0 Comments/by

It’s 2015! Happy New Year, etc. etc…

Yes, it’s 2015…and my ‘Happy New Year’ post is a bit, well, late…so sorry about that. Rest assured that although late by some 12 days, it’s a heartfelt Happy New Year!

The New Year, I think, is an interesting time. I’m not talking about New Year’s Eve when people seem to seize the opportunity to drink their body weight in alcohol and make a complete fools of themselves, I’m talking about the hopes and ‘resolutions’ that people make for the New Year. I’ve actually given this a lot of thought recently, not just as the clock struck 12 on 31st December, but in the following weeks too. I was chatting to my niece about New Year’s Resolutions at the weekend. She’s 10, but actually speaks quite a bit of sense (not all the time, just in case she’s reading this!). Her resolution was to ‘be more generally awesome’, and I have to say I kind of like that. An all encompassing ‘be a better version of you’ seemed rather good and uncomplicated. I didn’t follow up with the next question, that I’d ask any friend or even client, which is ‘and how are you going to do that then?’. See, that’s the interesting bit of the puzzle, isn’t it. The how. And, another interesting point, what stops us from ‘being more generally awesome’ on any other day of the year? Is it the thought that we can’t, or the thought that we might not, or the memories of previous things that stop us from just kicking on? New Year is a good excuse to have a vision, a plan, not just for ourselves but actually for our businesses too. But so is the start of any other day of the year. It’s a new day as much as the 1st January is a new year, isn’t it?

So, now for the how. How are you going to achieve your resolution. Let’s just take the ‘being more generally awesome’ example…because, let’s be honest, it’s a pretty great resolution to have. How can you be more awesome? How can your business be more awesome? And what does that mean to you? Would being more awesome involve stressing less? Getting more done in day? Having a plan? Being less tied to the desk and more free to enjoy your life? Is it getting the work/life balance fixed? For your business is it getting more people to know about you? Is it having a plan for your social media? Is it going to more events? Is it selling more product? When you’ve narrowed down what you want to achieve, it’s easier to pull out the threads and see how you can achieve this. If you need help, in whatever aspect of your life or business, whether this is PR support or even how to make your iPhone receive emails when you’re out and about or how to manage your stress levels, then crack on and do it. We all need a little help sometimes. It might be that a Youtube tutorial fixes it. It might be that you need to employ the help of an expert or consultant in some field. It might mean that you have to change habits and form new ones…and that takes some doing.

So, here’s to a New Year where we can all be more ‘generally awesome’…

/0 Comments/by