Different PR – Public Relations and Media Specialists

5 Valley House, Hornbeam Park, Harrogate, HG2 8QT
telephone 0845 389 2626 fax 01423 810 223 email info@differentpr.co.uk

Here at Different, we set ourselves apart in the field of public and media relations through our different way of thinking, different way of working …and different way of achieving results.

Here at Different, we set ourselves apart in the field of public and media relations through our different way of thinking, different way of working …and different way of achieving results.

Our team draws upon a rare blend of skills, expertise and media contacts to help our clients stand out in their own marketplace – however fiercely competitive it may be.

Think Different. Be different.

Services

Public relations

We work with – as opposed to for – all our clients, ensuring we contribute fully to their future success. We ensure PR and media support features at the heart of their decision-making process – from business development to crisis management, and everything in-between. We add an extra dimension to the way clients identify, meet – and beat – their business goals. We promote and protect their reputations.

Media relations

As former journalists now working within the PR profession, we draw upon the rare blend of insights, skills and experiences gained by working the media from both sides of the fence – and have the contacts book to die for. We have a nose for a good story, an eye for detail … and an ear listening out for opportunities for our clients.

Campaigns

We develop and deliver high-profile customer campaigns which capture the imagination of the press and public but, as importantly, contribute to the enhanced reputation of the company. Our personal experiences have included the marketing of tap water as a real alternative to bottled water through Yorkshire Water’s award-winning ‘Icytonic’ campaign; “Operation Fill and Carry” – an initiative aimed at encouraging customers to fill bottles with tap water as opposed to expensive mineral water; “Baywatchers” – an eye-catching environmental campaign to raise awareness of YW’s work on the East Coast; and various ‘sun safety’ initiatives designed to reverse the growing rate of skin cancer by encouraging more people to be sun aware…and sun safe.

Issues and crisis management

A good reputation is hard won …and easily lost. We specialise in safeguarding the reputation of a client when threats to its future success and development loom large. Product recalls, food poisoning, environmental pollution, job losses, court cases, industrial tribunals, the loss of a key customer – we have a wide range of experience of preparing, guiding and supporting you at times when you find yourselves thrust into the public spotlight.

Media training

What is news? How do the media work? What should I say to a journalist? Why bother with the media? How do I answer difficult questions? With our own ex-BBC presenter, we have developed a tailored package of media training sessions – ranging from a two-hour workshop to a day-long course in TV studios – which aim to demystify how the media operates, and equips you and your team with the skills and techniques necessary to handle the most difficult of interviews.

Community engagement and corporate social responsibility

Increasingly, we work with clients on programmes of activity which enrich the community in which they operate, raising their profile and enhancing their reputation locally as well.

Internal communications

Communicating with staff at different levels, working different hours, and based at different sites can be a huge headache. It is widely recognised that a well-informed staff has a better morale, fewer sick days and gives employers higher-than-average productivity. Different works with employers and employees to ensure that mechanisms are in place to ensure that effective, two-way communications are in place across the organisation.

Photocalls

Initiating the right subject for a strong media photocall, and then helping it be captured in just 1/250th of a second, is one of our key strengths. We maximise coverage for clients through stunning and eye-catching images with a difference. We work closely with some of the UK’s top photojournalists to ensure the words we write, and the photos they take, combine for the benefit of our clients

Event management

From eye-catching photocalls to celebrity launches, we handle everything on a client’s behalf – from developing the concept through to its execution.

Copywriting, design and print

Words are the nub of our business. We specialise in writing crisp, jargon-free copy to help get across your key messages in an effective way – whether it be for a leaflet, brochure, website, newsletter, annual report, press release, corporate video script. And we work with some of the most creative and successful designers and photographers in the business to achieve the highest visual impact

PROFILE

Yorkshire-based Different PR is a new agency – but one with a long history and track record of delivery.

Its two principals – David Simister and Richard Chew – boast more than 25 combined years working at senior levels with the media. First as journalists, and then as agency and in-house public relations specialists… reporting first-hand on major newsbreaks and delivering award-winning PR campaigns that hit the mark.

We are a journalist-led agency with experience of working in the media in all of Yorkshire’s most newsy areas, including spells on both the Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post. There isn’t much that we haven’t encountered in our careers – either as poachers or as gamekeepers in the media profession. And, as you would expect, we do everything differently ….

Why be different

Being different - and being seen to be different – is increasingly becoming a fundamental part of building a better business.

Latest research further strengthens the expert view that being different is good - and that the greater the difference the better.

Not just on paper – but in practice too. The fastest-growing companies, both in Yorkshire and nationally, are those who differentiate themselves from their rivals.

We work with our clients to identify ways in which they are different, and help them build a better business by making sure they stand out in their market, however fiercely competitive it may be.

Who we are

Richard Chew and David Simister sat next to each other at school. Now, two decades later, they have pooled their rare blend of skills and expertise, gained from award-winning careers in the complementary fields of journalism and public relations, to spearhead the team at Different.

Richard Chew

In his former career as a journalist, Richard worked on Yorkshire’s biggest newspapers – and newsbreaks. He interviewed everyone from members of the Royal Family and Prime Ministers to mass murderers serving life in maximum secure prisons. Once, he even spent an evening in Raquel Welch’s hotel bedroom.

Prior to spearheading the launch of Different in May 2006, he was a Director of one of the UK’s biggest provider of communications services to the public sector, working on a range of high-profile issues very much in the public, press and political spotlight.

His work has contributed to award-winning campaigns featured in print and broadcast media – from The Lancet to The Sun; and he has guided clients through crisis management situations ranging from Watchdog to Panorama.

A trustee of the Yorkshire Heartbeat Appeal, he is currently involved in helping the charity raise £150,000 towards the new cardiac unit at Harrogate District Hospital. He is also Vice Chairman of Bradford Relate and part of the team behind the Born In Bradford international medical research project.

David Simister

David’s last position was that of PR Manager with Yorkshire Water and its is recognised that he played a huge part in re-shaping the company’s PR focus, seeing the communications team twice being named Best Yorkshire & Lincolnshire In-House Team and for three years running being short listed for the national crown. His approach has been very un-utility in promoting Yorkshire Water and this unconventional, this different approach, will continue to use with future clients.

Previous to Yorkshire Water, David worked at the Yorkshire Post (picking up the News Reporter of the Year award in 1997) and before that with the Ackrill Group of newspapers in Harrogate.

For the last 15 years he has been a member of Harrogate Hospital Radio, presenting a regular weekend show, acting as the charity’s press office and served as its chairman for four years.

David also served for four years on Harrogate Borough Council and sat on its planning committee and was Vice Chairman of the Community Services Commission.