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

As anyone in the PR world will know, having an ability to relate to the media is pretty much a prerequisite for keeping your head above water. But, in our ever- changing world where trends, technology and methods of communicating constantly reinvent themselves, the media has been forced to behave differently and therefore so have we.

Our PR Senior Account Exec, Emma Stanham shares her thoughts on relating to the evolving media.

With the rise of blogging culture and social media pretty much taking over the world, gone are the days when journalists used to be the only link between the news and the public. We live in an era where a powerful social influence prevails, defining or destroying brands at the drop of a hat and one where journalists and bloggers see the importance of monitoring Twitter for the very latest news. The fact that Michael Jackson’s death broke on Twitter whilst the traditional media were outside the hospital waiting for an official statement helps to put this into perspective.

Because of this shift, it’s no surprise that today’s PRs have had to adapt to become more astute than ever, using a multichannel approach to hunt down the very best opportunities for their clients, which is a tactic TK PR implements on a daily basis. It also makes sense, when appreciating the immediacy social media has brought to our lives, that the way we consume information has changed dramatically. Recent research shows we spend on average more than half our waking hours (8.8 hours exactly) consuming content through media devices. Scary huh?

So, putting theory into practice, staying on top of the news agenda, finding interesting hooks and angles, relentlessly refreshing and being a knowledgeable and reliable middle man has never been more important. With good intuition along with an inventive and proactive outlook, there’s no reason why PRs can’t roll with the changes and continue to secure fantastic coverage!

If you’re interested in reading more on this subject, here are a few slides .

After success across the UK in a number of shopping centres, it was time for GO Food to expand into London and undergo a major rebrand. One of our many talented designers, Paul Hainsworth , played an integral part in developing the creative to engage Spitalfields’ edgy and urban foodies, here he talks about the journey he’s taken with GO Food…

When we first started working with GO on its rebranding process, the main challenge was working out how to make this food outlet fit into the cool Spitalfields area of London.

To pull out the eatery’s edge we took inspiration from the pizza places of NYC and old-fashioned methods of advertising, along with using hand crafted typography with a letterpress texture to create idents. We implemented this throughout all of GO’s collateral and in-store messaging to create a cool and trendy customer experience. To create an independent and bespoke feel to the stores, we also used hand drawn typefaces to create the impression that everything had been written up on menu boards that day. Throughout this process we worked closely with Stiff + Trevillion which created the store’s amazing interiors out of copper, wood and other reclaimed materials. The feeling we always aim to get across through GO’s creative is industrial, urban and culture with a hint of Italy.

Along the way we have tweaked the brand and pushed it to the limit while keeping within the constraints we had created, at the end of 2012 we introduced imagery to the mainly typographic collateral with great success, arranging a photoshoot with Steve Sharp in the newly launched Chiswick shop . To really capture the quality of the food and communicate just how tasty it really is, we captured the images in-store just after they had been prepared by one of the staff. It was important to make sure each shot had captured the rustic atmosphere of the shop and a shallow depth of field was used to make the food stand out from a distracting background. We later added colour treatment, texture and light effects to give the image more depth.

We also introduced another design element and enhanced the idents by crafting them to represent vintage molded plaster signs.

For me, I enjoyed this project as it played to my strengths. I love typography and hand crafting little idents for things, and I particularly like the independent feel these techniques have given to the restaurant. It’s also nice to see that something we started almost two years ago is beginning to be accepted by bigger brands, just take a look at one of Sainsbury’s latest campaigns .

Here at Turn Key, we’re always partial to a bit of fundraising. Over the last few months our team members have run 10ks , played football tournaments , grown moustaches and hosted innumerable bake sales/ wear [insert colour/theme here] days all in support of some incredibly well deserved organisations.

This summer though, we’ve set ourselves one of the most ambitious charity challenges yet, the Great North Swim. Leanne S , Olivia N , Emma , Carl and Gina will be braving a turbulent two-mile swim across Windermere Lake on Sunday 16 ^th June.

We’ll be raising money for a number of different charities which are close to the team’s hearts – the Callum Hall Trust , Macmillan Cancer Support , Breast Cancer UK and The Stroke Association . Keep your eyes peeled for more news – training has started, wetsuits are being purchased and Just Giving pages are already doing the rounds, but we have a long way still to go!

Turn Key’s expert Digital Designer and UX Specialist, Oliver Harris , reveals all about a very exciting recent project…

At Turn Key we’ve been working with Head Resourcing , for a number of years. Our biggest and most exciting project to date for the recruitment agency has been designing and developing its website, which had to allow users to easily search and apply for job roles.

These days, the importance of having a fully functioning and easy-to-navigate desktop website cannot be overstated. However, what’s also important to consider is that more and more people are using their mobile phones to access web pages so sites need to be adaptable for multichannel browsing.

With this in mind, and having seen a 94% increase in mobile traffic to their website from 2012 to 2013, Head Resourcing asked us to design a mobile version of its website, allowing users to fully navigate the site on their phones and most importantly, have the ability to search and apply for job roles on-the-go.

The site navigation was quite in-depth so it was important for us to design a user-friendly interface that could be simply navigated. For instance, the navigation was designed and developed using the bootstrap system that both Twitter and Facebook utilise, but we took it  a stage further with sliding sub-level navigation items allowing users to access all the pages they could on their desktop. The site also contains other impressive elements including a clean and simple search engine to filter through all the job roles at the touch of a button.

We’re really happy with the finished product and so is the client. Ross Coverdale, Marketing & Communications Executive at Head Resourcing said of the site:

“As well as making things easier for mobile users to access information on the move, we needed to make sure that we were engaging with candidates more effectively from a recruitment perspective.

“The mobile site covers both of these really well, with a clever interface that is in-keeping with our brand. We’ve also elected to use ‘Apply with LinkedIn’, enabling people to apply for roles on the move, with no lengthy registration process – anyone with a LinkedIn account can apply for a job in seconds, literally. Thanks to Jenny and Oli for their dedication and patience with the project!”

Check out the site for yourself on the designs above or visit www.headresourcing.com on your mobile phone!

Last week saw the launch event for one of our newest (and cutest!) PR clients, Cootchie-Coo , an adorably chic childrenswear boutique situated in Leeds’ decadent Victoria Quarter.

Our PR team was tasked with managing the event, inviting key media and the region’s favourite mummy bloggers, whilst ensuring the evening ran to schedule and champagne glasses were filled! With some gorgeous nibbles supplied by in hand, guests were encouraged to wet their appetites for the store, spending some time browsing the beautiful designer ranges including a bespoke collection of christening garments created by the region’s favourite wedding dress designer, Anita Massarella . Guests were also shown around the boutique’s unique children’s photography studio, which is managed by Joseph Photography.

As no event is complete without a celebrity or two, Emmerdale stars Kelli Hollis and Natalie Robb also stopped by to show their support for the store, as well as Apprentice finalist and new mum, Claire Young.

As guests left with a balloon and cupcake, it was clear to see the evening was a great success, uncovering Cootchie-Coo as one of the city’s newest hidden gems on the independent retail scene.

You can keep up with all things Cootchie-Coo by liking the boutique on or following the store on . You can also view the full gallery of from the official launch event.

Here at Turn Key, we love a good party. Not too long ago we weren’t just invited to a good party, but a great one. In fact, it was bloomin’ spectacular! Our longstanding client and UK events specialists, Dine , was celebrating its 15 ^th birthday and boy did they put on an event to remember.

Guests were promised a lavish evening full of surprises and it was certainly that! As we arrived at The Mansion in our ‘glamorous’ attire (this was the theme for the evening) we were handed Rhubarb Kir Royales to drink as we mingled in the Collonades Room. As we chatted to some of Dine’s lovely clients and suppliers, waiters worked the room with some of Dine’s inventive canapés that even Heston Blumenthal would have been blown away by!

We munched on Wild Mushroom Arancinis, sipped back Treacle Cured Scottish Salmon & Oriental Dressing, injected sweet chilli sauce into our prawn tempuras and picked Wild Garlic & Carrot Veloutes from an edible ‘Roundhay Park’ garden.

When one of the waitresses began to sing in the middle of the room, we were a little confused, however what followed was a surprise flash mob performed by a very talented group of dancers and singers disguised in Dine uniforms!

As Harry Gration (yes, you read right, Harry Gration!), called us through to dinner, we ascended the staircase with impatience. We were seated in the beautiful Mansion Room and served a delicious four-course meal of local food and a specially chosen wine per course. As the meal drew to a close, we sipped on our ports as X Factor singer, Carolynne Poole, stood up to perform. Harry Gration then took to the microphone to kick off the charity slave auction, calling our very own MD Nik to the stage. After a very close bidding war, Nik accepted the bids of two very generous businessmen who have each won an in depth marketing workshop at our HQ!

Dine’s birthday event raised a whopping £16,540 for charity, which is being split between the Leeds Community Foundation and the MS Society . A big thank you to the Dine team for inviting us along to celebrate and support and to Joel Skingle Photography who took gorgeous food photographs below.

Our studio team abandoned their Macs last week to head over to Small Town Ink . Turn Key’s Junior Art Director, Jac , explains what the day was about and the insights the team took away from it…

The Small Town Ink Traditional Print Day took place last Wednesday (24 ^th April) in the Grass Studio at the University of Leeds. It was a celebration of and an education in traditional print techniques, giving young designers (and some ever so slightly older ones) a chance to get their hands dirty and ask questions with those who work with traditional print on a day-to-day basis.

The Traditional Print Day provided the TK studio with a much needed excuse to step away from our computers and see what some of the more experimental printers are doing with letterpress and other print techniques. Letterpress is a traditional relief printing technique in which the printer creates the print plate using individual type that is locked in place (see image below). The printer then rolls ink on the plate and presses the plate on to the page to transfer the ink.

There was some fantastic work on display including a varied offering of zines (small circulation magazines using low tech printing techniques) from Footprint . We were very lucky to make it in time for talks from The Print Project and Richard Lawrence , who were both inspiring and educational. Richard Lawrence gave an exceptional talk on the intricacy of traditional print which was very useful especially as letterpress has recently been making a much-deserved comeback!

A big thank you to Small Town Ink for a brilliant day, we’ve picked up a few tips that will make life easier for our printers and add value for our clients. We also spotted a few unusual techniques that create visually interesting print and will help to complement our work. Here’s a few of the photos we took on the day…