Turn Key Blog. Things we've done and the things we love.

Most of you may already know but we’ve been working with Thai restaurant group, Chaophraya , for a while now. As brand guardians for the chain, we were delighted when it revealed plans to re-launch its flagship Leeds restaurant. The venue has undergone a complete refit, taking over the downstairs space which has been transformed into an extended restaurant area and brand new Palm Sugar lounge .

Leading up to the VIP re-launch event, we quickly got to work designing and printing all of the required menus and marketing collateral. Our PR team began inviting the region’s media and lifestyle bloggers and the RSVPs soon flooded in. We couldn’t wait to discover Leeds’ newest hotspot and neither could the other invitees!

On the day of the event, Twitter was abuzz as guests tweeted their excitement and we soon found out that they had reason to be. The re-launch was absolutely Thai-riffic. There was a Pad Thai station, a monk blessing guests, Thai hand massages, dancers and even a bit of boxing – how’s that for entertainment? We munched on delicious Chaophraya canapés (although Samara didn’t fully appreciate the banana and cheese spring roll) and sipped Palm Sugar cocktails until the early hours with some lovely clients and journalists.

Here’s a selection of photos from the event and a sneak peek of our new favourite Leeds watering hole! For a full gallery of images, visit Chaophraya’s !

We’re all heading to see our Senior Account Manager, Rachel , grace the stage this week in Duets at the Carriageworks. Read all about her love of the spotlight in her very first TK blog…

Some children dream of being rock stars. Some astronauts. Others authors. Me? I always wanted to be on the stage. Fast forward a couple of decades and it’s less ‘name up in lights’ and more ‘name in a nice gold foil finish on a TK business card.’

Don’t get me wrong, I love the buzz of agency life and the big characters you get to work with on a daily basis, not to mention the adrenaline rush and excitement when a fantastic creative campaign comes to life. But my love of the stage has not disappeared.

So I thought I would take action (the ‘lights, camera…’ sort) and a few months ago I auditioned for a play, – a modern comedy/drama about love, loss and laughter, not too far removed from my daily existence! Cast as a dizzy, hedonistic soon-to-be-divorcée on a cocktail-fuelled evening in Spain with her soon-to-be ex-husband, it was a part made for me, and over the past couple of weeks I have been rehearsing hard for the opening night.

All this “am-dramania” has reminded me that, even though my childhood dreams of an acting career never materialised, they have actually stood me in good stead, helping me in my marketing career. Here’s a few examples of where they’ve come in useful:

• Presentations

To some a nemesis, to me a chance to satisfy some of that performance hunger.

• People skills

The huge range of characters you collide with in an amateur dramatic environment can be overwhelming. From the 90 year-old five times divorced women with a penchant for whisky to that almost-famous Sunday Times journalist who mined theatre groups for unsuspecting young and impressionable females. Interacting with these people has given me the skills I need to communicate with anyone and everyone.

• Confidence

There is nothing more scary than that moment before going on stage – you know you are about to bare your soul to the world and quite likely forget your lines and therefore be subject to a more-than-excruciating period of panic. Overcoming this fear has only reinforced me to face the trials of everyday working life.

So, my advice to others would be, whether your childhood dream was to be a rock star, author, astronaut or celebrity chef, pick it back up and go for it – you never know what it might teach you and where it could lead!

If you’d like to come and support Rachel in her next theatrical production, Duets by Peter Quilter is being stated this week at the Carriageworks Theatre. Starting at 7:30pm, performances will take place on Thursday 25th October to Saturday 27th October. To book tickets, click !

Here at Turn Key, we love a good cake and we’re very lucky to have an expert baker in the team. Our very talented Business Manager, Vikki , is a dab hand in the kitchen and is always bringing in sweet treats for us to try. As it is National Baking Week , we thought it would be a fantastic opportunity for her to share one of her favourite recipes – enjoy!

When I heard that National Baking Week was coming up, being slightly obsessed with my old faithful Hummingbird Bakery book, it seemed only right that I should get my bake on!

I chose the Chocolate Guinness Cake recipe which just so happens to be my personal favourite. It’s a little bit special, easy to make and delicious with a nice large glass of Malbec (the wine of course is optional but highly recommended)!

I’ve made this cake four or five times now but we still can’t get enough. It certainly went down a treat with my boyfriend’s brother, Callum and his girlfriend, Ailish.

At first glance it may just appear to be a chocolate cake, but after one bite you can definitely taste the not-so-secret ingredient. The cake is so dark in colour and moist, like the body of Guinness, and the icing is white and sweet like the head – pure genius!

So all you chocolate and Guinness lovers out there, this is one cake you are going to want to try. Here’s how to make it yourselves:

Ingredients

For the cake:

250ml (9fl oz) Guinness

250g unsalted butter

80g (3oz) cocoa powder

400g (14oz) caster sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla essence

140ml (5fl oz) buttermilk

280g (10oz) plain flour

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

¼ tsp baking powder

For the frosting:

50g (1 ¾ oz) unsalted butter softened

300g (10 ½ oz) icing sugar

125g (4 ½ oz) full fat cream cheese (such as Philadelphia)

Cocoa powder for dusting (optional)

You’ll also need one 23cm (9 inch) diameter spring form cake tin – I recommend the silicone ones!

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 170°C (325 F) or gas mark 3 and lightly grease your baking tin/silicone mould.

Pour the Guinness into a large saucepan, add butter, heat gently until the butter has melted, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sugar & cocoa powder. In a jug, mix together the eggs, vanilla essence and buttermilk and slowly add to the mixture. Sift the remaining cake ingredients (flour, bicarb and baking soda) into a large bowl or freestanding electric mixer. Using a paddle attachment or handheld whisk, set on a low speed and add the contents of the pan and mix thoroughly.

Pour your batter mix into the prepared cake tin/mould and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, use an electric whisk or freestanding mixer to create the frosting. Mix the butter and icing sugar together until there are no lumps and it’s fully combined (should be a sand-like texture). Add the cream cheese and mix on a low-medium speed and beat until it’s a light and fluffy texture.

Once the cake is baked & cooled top with your cream cheese frosting and decorate with a dusting of cocoa powder – delish!

It seems a long time since our action-packed company away day, so we decided to arrange a team outing to spend some time together out of the office. Rather than our usual team-building bootcamps and group spa days, this time we decided to go for something a little more retro!

So off we headed to Hollywood Bowl and after a well-deserved pint each, we made our way (in our very fashionable shoes) to the lanes. Splitting into two groups, our team captains were the über competitive, Rich and Mike.

All determined to win, TK’s competitive streak reared its ugly head once again and we began a bowling battle – Mike, Carl, Tess, Leanne B and Gina against Rich, Emma, Nicole, Paul, Olivia and Jenny. None of us are particularly experienced bowlers; there were several falls, a few paddies and one of us (not naming any names!) had to resort to using the frame. Nevertheless, we scored a few strikes between us resulting in high fives all round.

After a tough first game, Rich’s team were leading on points, much to Mike’s annoyance. But for the second game, team ‘Mike the Strike’ pulled it out of the bag resulting in an impressive draw and lots of happy faces.

We’ve been working closely with Eden shopping centre in High Wycombe since early 2011. One of our main objectives has been to excite and inspire shoppers within the centre, as well as promote sections of the centre such as the entertainment area.

It’s been a great opportunity to use the empty shop hoardings for the creative and we have designed eye-catching messages, both directional and campaign-led. We’ve also designed the store finders, digital screen videos and plenty of posters and leaflets to grab the attention of shoppers.

Last week we were lucky enough to see some of our designs in action as we visited Eden, here’s a little look at some of the marketing merchandise we’ve created:

This summer Turn Key has been inundated with requests from savvy students eager for work experience opportunities in the creative industry. We were more than happy to have them on board, giving an insight into the worlds of marketing, PR, design, digital and business in general!

As well as Rich , Tom and Sacha who joined us earlier in the year (click on the name to read their previous blogs) we welcomed Lauren, Hugh, Greta and Katie who impressed us with their enthusiasm to get stuck in and bolster their CVs for the future. Lauren joined our PR team for two weeks whilst Hugh, Greta and Katie spent a week each assisting in every team, getting a taste of how an integrated agency operates and what our marketing, PR, digital and design teams do on a day-to-day basis.

Here’s what they had to say about their time at Turn Key:

Lauren Coles, PR student at Leeds Metropolitan University:

“Turn Key is an agency full of genuinely talented, imaginative and creative people. They truly care about their clients and show a real sense of understanding and appreciation for them. The attention to detail and true flair for what they do makes them really stand out from the crowd.

“I have never come across such a genuine and welcoming team! Everyone is so happy to be a part of Turn Key. But can you blame them? There’s not a single person who’s not got the bubbly TK personality and to top it off the new HQ is just lovely – how many offices do you know with trees, giant beanbags and union jack chairs?”

Greta Gilman, English Literature & History student at the University of Nottingham:

“Everyone in the office is really friendly and confident. No task seems to be too much of a challenge and they take everything in their stride, this attitude definitely boosted my confidence in my own abilities when set tasks. The ideas and thoughts they have come up with over the week are really innovative and led me to think more outside the box and not be afraid in my own abilities, I felt like part of the team straight away.

“I have always thought PR would interest me but had never really given it too much thought. After working at Turn Key I am 100% sure I am going to pursue it as a career after university. I feel like I fit in really well and have enjoyed every part of it, the only problem is the time has gone too quickly and I feel like I have so much more to learn. Watch this space!”

Katie Broadbent, Graduate in French with German at the University of Nottingham

“What I found most inspiring about the TK team was the way in which they interacted with each other. The team obviously get on well and it is clear their relationships are not only work-based. The environment is relaxed, yet busy and it is obvious that there is a strong work ethic.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed the whole week and working with the TK team has been a pleasure, everyone has been very warm and welcoming and enabled me to settle in right from day one. I especially enjoyed working on Google Analytics with Jude . It was really interesting following the evolution of a website and the effects a press release or feature can have on visitor numbers to it.”

Hugh Clegg, Sixth form student from Winchester

“It is obvious that the whole TK team really enjoy what they do and work very hard on projects! My week here has narrowed my future career focus down to graphic design and the art side of advertising and promoting companies. Shadowing Carl and then Paul made me realise how much work I’m going have to do to become as professional as those two. Everyone works so fast and hard yet still with so much precision and even with a smile on their faces!”

A big thank you to our summer interns for all their hard work. If you’d like to follow some of them on Twitter, you can find them at and .