Monkey!
This christmas 2012 we'll be seeing the cult icon 'Monkey' (most famously known for his role in PG Tips advert with Johnny Vegas) in many of our high street shops being marketed as Christmas Presents! I know I personally love this little guy and think he's hilarious! I think he'd be a great stocking filler for any age as everyone has seen him on TV and know he's a cheeky funny character that kids love but due to his clever crude satire that kid's don't understand he's become a popular icon for adults too.
When I was looking at 'Monkey' and how he came about. I noticed that there was an interesting story in how he became Comic Relief property. The character was actually previously involved in a legal dispute between advertising agency Mother and ITV Digital; they both claimed to have created 'Monkey'. The dispute was finally resolved when they both agreed to donote 'Monkey' to charity. Good idea!
In 2003 the rights of 'Monkey' were given to Comic Relief and they have finally decided to make him a bigger deal this year! A Huge PR agency has been hired to take this challenge on marketing this little guy as the perfect xmas present to help increase comic relief by creaing campaigns and making the cheeky 'Monkey' the star! Not only will he be putting a smile on everyone's faces (hopefully mine hint hint) this chirstmas by being a fun gift in our stockings. He's also hopefully going to be helping Comic Relief earn lots more money this year! Fingers crossed Comic Relief!
Jade X
Film's play a major role in our lives as we are constantly buying the latest releases on DVD's and spending our free nights at the cinema so it's no shock that many of the big names are using film to give exclusive opportunities in the film industry to their customers. Orange started the trend with their ever popular 'Orange Wednesdays 2 for 1' allowing their customers to see the latest releases and get a free ticket for their friend. Now Natwest have put their mark in the film world.
When I was in my local bank last week I noticed a pile of photographs sitting on the desk. When I had a closer look I found they were an invitation to all Natwest customers to come and attend an old fashioned outdoor screening of top new films like One Day and Jane Eyre. I think this is a brilliant idea! When I watch the old 50's films and see everyone sitting in the parks and the drive through I've always thought I wish we had those in London. Maybe it would have been better in the spring as opposed to September... but still never the less.
It's a nice idea but what's the catch I hear you ask? .. drum roll.... You have to pay for your ticket with your Natwest debit card! That's a nice little touch by Natwest there. Your £12 ticket also includes a nice disposable seat to make you extra comfy on the night and everyone is welcome to bring blankets and a picnic... :). Natwest also donate every £1 of the tickets into a local community cinema fund to help provide and support access to film clubs and societies to areas which do not have convenient access to cinema multiplexes. Well they've got to give something back when their gaining themselves some nice publicity and probably some new customers! London's screening has been and gone but Manchester and Cardiff's is still to come.
Follow the link here if you would like to learn more: http://filmfirst.natwest.com/outdoor/
Every time anyone asks me what I study after they receive my answer I always get a blank stare... 'Communications?!'. 'Is that computers and stuff'? 'No... It's..'. and that's just it... I never know how to explain my own degree! this is slightly worrying, I mean I KNOW what my degree is, it's just so hard to explain in a sentence? so I decided to look up it's official definition.
Good old Wikipedia states 'Communication studies is an academic field that deals with processes of communication' Well obviously.....
'Communication studies encompasses a wide range of topics and contexts ranging from face-to-face conversation to speeches to mass media outlets such as television broadcasting.' Now 'wide range' is definitely a term I would use to describe my degree! 'Communication studies, as a discipline, is also often interested in how audiences interpret information and the political, cultural, economic, and social dimensions of speech and language in context'. This last part pretty much sums it up in a sentence for me! We have modules on politics, culture, sociology and most importantly .. Media! If you mix all these ingredients up in a big bowl you have Communication Studies!
Now didn't mean to bore you with all that but I thought seeing as my blog is called 'Diary of a COMMS girl' thought I'd better explain what it actually is.. I always thought I'd like to try PR for a career so I bet your wondering why I never chose to take a Public relations Degree? Well I don't have an answer... is the answer. Basically I thought I'd like to take a broader degree which covers lots of different things. When I finished secondary school I didn't have a solid idea of what I wanted to do.. all I knew was I liked reading and writing so I looked into English, then media, then I looked into English combined with Media... and came across Communication Studies. To be honest this was the first time I had looked at even considering it, but the module breakdown looked very interesting to me and to be honest it was the best decision I made.
Now as an second year at University I'd realised I was pretty sure of PR as my career choice, but after taking on my first work placement for 6 weeks this summer I am certain of PR as my choice! I had an amazing time at the PR agency in London and even had the pleasure of being invited back to work in the press office at V Festival 2011! AMAZING! I have to say it's hard work (Very hard work) but wow.. the plus side of PR is pretty cool! Backstage pass walking past the dressing rooms of all the acts and bumping into a few on the way to catering... was my idea of a dream! It wasn't all lounging around backstage hoping to catch a glimpse of someone famous. It was long hours and a lot of running around (which I still throughly enjoyed). Mainly I helped with the pit runs which is pretty much what it says on the tin.. running to the pit under the stage and back with the photographers so they can take pictures of the first 3 songs for each act. It was quite a daunting task to walk out in front of thousands of people ...I mean look at them: pretty scary walking out in front of these lot especially in the evenings when every ones had a few drinks.....
I had alot of drinks and inflatables thrown at me (hmm also underwear in some cases...) but on the plus side I probably had THE best possible view of the act.... :)
Then to top each day off we all indulged in a nice beverage and a little dance(wellies on and all) in the VIP bar. This was fun as it was after a long hard day of work but to make it even better..... oh to my right theres mark ronson.... oh and to my left eliza doolittle... oh and next to them some band members from good charlotte and the hurts....so as you can imagine I'm thinking can someone pinch me... this can't be real.... oh but it is.. and here's a picture with Mr Ronson to prove it!....
It's a picture of a picture so sorry for the blur! you can see Mr Ronson in the middle there and me on the far left :)
It was an amazing bit of PR experience the hard parts were definately worth it with all the great press we gained :) and I look forward to many more experiences like this when my career begins! :)
Jade X
So I guess my first blog should be about why I have decided to write a blog in the first place? Well... I'm just about to start my third and final year studying communications, and I'm pretty certain I want to have a career in some form of PR. So I thought what better way to practise writing about the subject I love as well as improving my writing skills than writing my very own blog! So if you haven't already guessed the 'Coms' in the title stands for 'Communications' as this is what I study at university.
Ok.. I admit the title isn't doing any wonders, but I promise I'll change it if i can think of a better one! :) Hmm.. I'm not even sure anyone will actually read it (except maybe my friends) but hey.. it's a good way to get things off your chest and lets face it.. it's cheaper than a therapist. Atleast my friends now have a choice whether to listen to me chattering on about a latest campaign I read about as I understand it's not everyone's cup of tea. Hopefully, this blog will interest someone and if not then it's just a bit of fun for me! :) Look forward to posting lots in the near future
Jade X
