Coconut Creatives Franchise Marketing Workshops go down a storm!

With just under a week until the next Coconut Creatives franchise recruitment marketing workshop (which is fully booked), on the 27th July, the timing for franchisors to get involved in future workshops could not be better.

The next workshop, held in Bracknell, is fully booked with a wide range of franchisors which span across industry sector and also in size. The content on the workshops is suitable for both new and established franchisors and covers the key areas of how to recruit more franchisees through marketing techniques, advertising, PR, copy writing, branding and utilising video in getting key messages across.

Sophie Brooks, Managing Director for Clive’s Easylearn Pop Music Schools attended a franchise marketing workshop a few months ago and now is working closely with Sarah on a specially devised mentoring programme. After winning the EWIF Franchisor of the Year Award, Coconut Creatives have been helping Sophie get booked up rwith activity ready for the show season ahead and ensure that she stays on track with marketing her franchise.

“I found the franchisor marketing workshop hugely beneficial, I have already been able to implement some great changes and improvements based on the advice and information given at the workshop. I found the one-to-one sessions with the experts very helpful as they were able to give specific advice on your business. Since attending the marketing workshop I am now working closely with Coconut Creatives in mentoring programme. This has so far helped us to look in more detail at our marketing campaigns, work on improving these, generating more leads and getting better results. The advice and support provided so far has been exceptional. I am really looking forward to continuing to work with Sarah and Coconut Creatives to build our business and would have no hesitation in strongly recommending Coconut Creatives to any franchisor,” Sophie Brooks, Franchisor for Clive’s Easylearn Pop Music Schools.

 

Coconut Creatives Franchise Marketing Workshops run monthly in different locations around the UK. Contact info@coconutcreatives.co.uk for an agenda and booking form or visit coconutcreatives.co.uk for a full list of published next dates and content.

Franchise recruitment marketing workshop, with guest speaker Nick Strong in June 2011.

Coconut team with Linda Whitney to offer media training

Coconut Creatives has teamed together with the Fleet Street freelancer, Linda Whitney, to offer press and media training to its clients. Linda, whose franchise columns have appeared in the Daily Mail for over a decade is now offering this unique training opportunity in a response to help combat media nerves, commonly suffered by business owners and managers. Linda will be offering ‘one 2 one’ training to help individuals understand what journalists are looking for.

“We are really excited to be offering these services to our clients and we can not think of a better person to deliver them, other than Linda,” explains Sarah Cook, founder of Coconut Creatives.

Packaged in a compact one-hour telephone conference with Linda Whitney:
·    A ten minute briefing session explaining how to prepare, what journalists want to know and how to relax before starting.
·    Then after a break for preparation, Linda will call again and conduct a ten minute mock interview, focussing on the kind of information journalists want from you.
·    Ten minutes of feedback, highlighting what comes across well and explaining how you can improve any area that needs polishing up.
·    Another ten minute interview allowing you to put into practice what has been learnt, followed by a final ten minute feedback session.

All interviewees receive a summary of the points made in the session by email within an hour of the session ending, which provides useful notes to refer back to in the future. The system has been on trial for a while and the response has been fantastic. The insight it has provided business owners and franchisors into the mysterious world of journalism is valuable.

“Anyone who undertakes this training will gain media communication skills that they can use for the rest of their professional career,” adds Sarah. “For just an hour on invested time, it provides a great result!”

Linda explains further “All business owners, franchisors and key staff will deal with the press at sometime. Getting it right can boost your business. Getting it wrong can have incalculable consequences.”

To find out more about media training with Linda Whitney, visit http://ishouldcoco.wpengine.com/services/press__media_training/ for full details.

Coconut Creatives goes greener with GreenerLiving Magazine

Every day, on the radio, in newspapers and on television, we’re being extolled to go green, reduce carbon emissions, eat more healthy food and use fair-trade suppliers – in fact, just live a better lifestyle. GreenerLiving magazine is there to help make sense of all the conflicting advice, by giving balanced information on each subject, allowing readers to make the right choices for themselves.

More than 30,000 copies are distributed free every two months through supermarkets and point of sale promotions and readers can subscribe and receive a personal copy delivered to their door.

Working with Dorset-based Coconut Creatives marketing house, Greener Living magazine will soon be launching the GreenerLiving Club, a loyalty scheme giving members access to discounts from a wide range of companies offering ‘greener’ products and services, as well as a regular e-newsletter packed with even more club promotions and information on greener solutions.

“We’re really excited about launching the GreenerLiving Club,” said Sarah, Partner of Coconut Creatives. “We’ve been working with Peter Batt, GreenerLiving’s editor for a few months now and the magazine has been really well received so far. We have big plans to for its continued success over the coming months.”

To coincide with the club launch later this year, GreenerLiving is also launching a special corporate Partners and Affiliates programme. With a number of options, ranging from a simple business listing to a high-profile case study, and coupled with website and e-newsletter banner advertising, the programme will offer businesses the opportunity to promote their ‘green’ products and services to consumers who really want to buy.

For more information about GreenerLiving Magazine or to download a back copy go to www.greenerliving.tv

theICEBREAKER: Online Dating Redefined by BU Graduate and Coconut Creatives

Since graduating from Bournemouth University in 2005, Tariq Ebrahim has had big plans to redefine the online dating market with a brand new concept; theICEBREAKER.

Launched on the 1st December 2006, with national newspaper and radio coverage, the business concept had a great start towards hopeful success.

What makes theICEBREAKER different from other online dating sites is that the real magic doesn’t happen online. Once registered and armed with cards, you could be absolutely anywhere, even stuck in a crowed public place where traditional ‘chat up’ lines just wouldn’t be appropriate.

Tariq explains “You sign up, order your cards and start giving them out. Then, next time you’re at a party, on a train or even at work and you see someone you’d like to get to know better, just give them a card… they go to our website and look at your profile and if they like you, they click to accept the date!”

Tariq also happened to give a card to Sarah Dyer at Coconut Creatives and began a new type of relationship… a professional marketing one.

Since it’s conception, Coconut Creatives has helped www.theicebreaker.co.uk make affiliations with Bournemouth University, Islandoo (owned by the Channel 4) and the BBC to help raise awareness of this unique online dating phenomenon and increase its growing online membership base.

A Strategy for Local Food at The Stocks Inn

Coconut Creatives seems to be attracting clients with a strong ethical stance. Maybe because they can see we really care about making a difference to their business. The Stocks Inn pub in Furzehill, Dorset was no exception…

However, many recent projects have a very serious undertone and we hope that by helping these companies achieve their goals, we’ll also be supporting and advancing awareness of the issues they are so passionate about.

An identified ’people issue’ today surrounds diet and fitness. This is not just due to lack of physical activity, but the increasing temptation to eat naughty foods! Now, everyone knows how nice chocolate can be, or curry on a Saturday night. But for many people, fast food has become more than an occasional treat, what’s more, its hassle free and cheap.
This in tern has damaged many local producers of good quality, natural foods as many have struggled to stay in business under the shadow of empires like McDonalds and KFC and of course the supermarkets convenience and economies of scale.
Coconut Creatives latest marketing adventure took the shape of turning one down trodden, mass microwave, slash, frozen meal pub into an up market, locally respected establishment providing high quality meals using entirely local produce – supporting all the local little suppliers!

By thinking ‘outside the box’ partnerships and friendships were established with small local producers, to enable a magical transformation for The Stocks Inn to become a classy, caring and sharing type place.

If you want to take advantage of their all day Sunday Carvery you’d better book a fortnight in advance and start queuing at 10am! And I can say for sure that their exotic food night is definitely an eye opener!