Shipping and Logistics Support Alliance welcomes Project PR

The Shipping & Logistics Support Alliance (SaLSA) has welcomed award winning Ipswich based PR agency Project PR as a new member of the alliance.



SaLSA, set up in April 2009, delivers specialist advice and services to the shipping and logistics industry under the umbrella of one brand. Each member of the alliance is from a different sector, but can boast experience in this unique industry.


Project PR will be represented on SaLSA by Account Director Helen Rudd (nee Sharkey) whose experience in the industry comes from her time in the Public Relations department at Hutchison Ports UK, where she undertook work for the Port of Felixstowe, Harwich International Port and Thamesport.


Project PR will aim to deliver specialist services in the areas of PR, Marketing and event management.


Chairman of SaLSA, Tim Ryan said: “We are delighted to have Project PR on board, allowing SaLSA to further expand the business support services that we can offer to the Shipping and Logistics industry.”


SaLSA is currently made up of the following members: Ryan Insurance Group, SOS-HR, DPS Technology Group, Larking Gowen, Lloyds TSB, Barker Gotelee and Suffolk Offset.


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Notes to Editors:



1. SALSA was formed as a non profit making alliance in April 2009 to create an alliance built around the unique attributes of each independent member. It is wholly owned and operated solely for the benefits of its members.


2. The principal objective of SALSA is to deliver specialist advice and services to the shipping and logistics industry through a programme of events and good communication from specialist providers.


3. The membership is currently made up of experts from a number of industry segments. The members are now as follows:


• Ryan Insurance Group (Insurance and Risk Management)


• SOS-HR (Training, HR and Health and Safety)


• DPS Technology Group (IT)


• Larking Gowen Chartered Accountants


• Lloyds TSB Commercial (Banking Services)


• Suffolk Offset (Design, plus Digital and Lithographic Printing)


• Barker Gotelee (Solicitors)


• Project PR (PR and Marketing)


4. SaLSA offers companies from the shipping and logistics industry improved trading efficiency, immediate access to a broad range of expertise, access to industry information and compliance, development of business opportunities and a good communication forum.


5. The SaLSA website is http://www.salsa.uk.net/

FOUR NEW CLIENTS IN FIRST FOUR MONTHS!

Ipswich PR agency Project PR has announced four new clients, which all have a Suffolk connection.
Independent cinema group Picturehouse Cinemas, which has just bought its first Suffolk cinema in Bury St Edmunds, animal bedding company Smartbedz based in Stowmarket, Ipswich based national social work company Sanctuary and cosmetic development laboratory Jarvis, based in Hadleigh, are new additions to Project PR’s client base.

Penny Arbuthnot, director of Project PR, commented: “The range of new clients we have won shows the extent of our flexibility and experience and sets our business up for a dynamic year.”

Project PR employs a team of six PR and marketing professionals and has built its success on delivering results for its many clients, who include Suffolk manufacturer Challs International, social landlord Havebury Housing Partnership, Ipswich Building Society, Christies Care and Ford Retail.

The company was recently named as 2009’s fourth most ‘awarded’ PR agency outside of London by The Drum magazine after winning six PR awards last year and a total of 16 industry awards since 2005.

See www.projectpr.biz

FAMILY FOCUS LEADS TO NATIONAL AWARD FOR IPSWICH OPTICIANS

27 April 2010 Ipswich based Kite Opticians has proved it’s the best when it comes to family friendly services, scooping the top national title of ‘Family Optician of the Year’ in the Opticians Awards 2010.



The award was presented at the London Hilton Hotel on Park Lane (17 April) by comedian Marcus Brigstocke when the whole Kite Opticians team was present to pick up the title.

The judges were impressed by Kite’s commitment to providing a quality service to all members of the family across the age range.


Adrian Kite of Kite Opticians, said: “The award is recognition for all of our staff and of the service they provide to our clients. We have always sought to provide personal care and attention to everyone who visits us, young or old, ensuring they enjoy the very best in eye care. I am delighted with this achievement.”


The developments at the practice and the care and attention for clients appealing to young and old alike helped increase the number of new clients by 50% in 2008 and 17% in 2009, despite the recession. Turnover has also increased.


In many cases three generations of the same family regularly attend the practice for eye checks and specialist services have been established such as a reading difficulties clinic to help families establish whether any eye problems are affecting their children’s reading. In particular Kite Opticians is a specialist in colour overlay testing and colorimetry which can identify visual stress (‘Irlen’ syndrome), an often overlooked cause of reading problems.

For elderly clients Kite Opticians has easy access and the latest technology to monitor eye health. Home visits are also provided for those who find difficulty getting out.


Competition for the Optician of the Year Award was fierce and there were four other shortlisted practices from across the UK and Ireland for the ‘Family Optician of the Year’ title. Comedian Marcus Brigstocke is known from ‘Have I Got News for You’ and ‘QI’.


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Photo Caption: Marcus Brigstocke, Christopher Kite, Dorothy Chilvers, Julie Parker, Christine Phasey, Adrian Kite, Darren Skipp (Commercial Director, Sight Care Group - Award Sponsor), Chris Bennett (Editor, Optician Magazine).







Notes to Editors


1. Kite Opticians is at 38, Berners Street, Ipswich IP1 3LU.
Telephone 01473 255250.
2. It is a family owned and run business established by Christopher Kite in 1977.
3. Adrian Kite (son of Christopher Kite) joined the business in 1999 after training at Cardiff University and Boots Opticians.
4. Adrian’s qualifications are BSc, MCOptom. He has 9 years' experience at Ipswich Hospital Eye Clinic (including the Childrens' Vision Clinic and specialist contact lens fitting).
5. Kite Opticians prides itself on providing a personal service to clients and has invested heavily in the latest technology for assessing eye health and visual ability.
6. Specialist services provided at Kite Opticians include digital retinal imaging, colour overlay and colorimetry testing and the prescribing of precision tinted lenses for those diagnosed with visual stress ('Irlen syndrome').

Public vote 3 to 1 in favour of 'Abbeygate Picturehouse' - live opera from The New York Met on 1st May

The new owners of Bury St Edmunds’ oldest cinema say they have been ‘overwhelmed’ by the enthusiasm of the local community in voting for the name of their cinema in Hatter Street, which by popular vote will be called Abbeygate Picturehouse.

The cinema will re-open this week-end (30 April) after Picturehouse Cinemas completes the first stage of its major refurbishment programme, with a live opera performance by satellite from New York’s The Metropolitan Opera on Saturday 1st May. In a complete reinvention of what cinema goers usually expect, the group has installed luxury recliner seats and plush sofas in the two completely refurbished auditoria, with new digital screens and 3D.

Lyn Goleby, Managing Director of Picturehouse Cinemas, says: “We had over 200 replies to our request to help choose the name and three to one voted in favour of Abbeygate Picturehouse. We’ve now completed stage one in our transformation of the cinema and are thrilled to be screening live opera this Saturday which cinema goers can enjoy in the comfort and style of luxury new seats.”

Armida will be broadcast live by satellite in high definition direct from The Metropolitan Opera in New York at 6pm on Saturday 1st May at Abbeygate Picturehouse, Hatter Street, Bury St Edmunds. Tickets are £25. For bookings and details of membership offers telephone 0871 902 5722 or book online at


www.picturehouses.co.uk

Stage two of the refurbishment programme will focus on the café, foyer and exterior of the cinema. The café will be created in the adjacent Number 4 Hatter Street, with an upstairs private function room giving direct access to the cinema screens for parties and private events for members.

Apart from the luxurious comfort and style of the new Abbeygate Picturehouse, cinema goers will be able to enjoy a new range and variety of films and alternative arts including independent, foreign-language and art-house films from around the World.

Members of Picturehouse Cinemas will enjoy a range of offers and privileges. Lyn Goleby added: “We are delighted that people are already joining even though the cinema is still a building site.”

Renée Fleming stars in the title role of Rossini's version of Armida, the mythical story of a sorceress who enthrals men in her island prison. She stars opposite no fewer than six tenors including Lawrence Brownlee, Bruce Ford, José Manuel Zapata, Barry Banks, Kobie van Rensburg. The conductor is Riccardo Frizza.

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Luxury for cinema goers: Local boys try out new sofas destined for Abbeygate Picturehouse in Hatter Street, which re-opens after refurbishment on 30 April.

Press Invite

You are invited to a re-opening party on Thursday 29 April starting at 6pm. At 6.45 pm there will be private screenings of The Hurt Locker (15), Winner of Best Picture and Best Director at the Oscars and The Secret in their eyes (18) winner of Best Foreign Language Film.

Further press information

For further press information about Picturehouse Cinemas in Bury St Edmunds please call:


Penny Arbuthnot, Project PR Tel 01473 326401 (07885 238374)

Penny@projectpr.biz

Or Amy Bullard, Project PR Tel 01473 326401

Picturehouse Cinemas Press Office: contact Gabriel Swartland on 020 7292 2165 or gabriel.s@picturehouses.co.uk.

Notes to Editors

Local poll to choose cinema name

The cinema, in Hatter Street in the heart of Bury St Edmunds, was to be called The Hatter Street Picturehouse, but an art gallery across the road is called just this, so the owners asked people to give their preference on one of two names for the cinema, either Bury St Edmunds Picturehouse or Abbeygate Picturehouse, due to its proximity to the town’s historic Abbey Gate, which dates from the 14th Century.

Background on Picturehouse Cinemas

1. Picturehouse Cinemas in Bury St Edmunds is at 4 Hatter Street Bury St Edmunds IP33 1NE. Telephone 0871 902 5722 or see www.picturehouses.co.uk or www.twitter.com/picturehouses

2. Screen 1 seats 120 and Screen 2 seats 70 and both auditoria have been completely refurbished in stage 1 with luxury recliner seats, sofas, 3D digital screens, new carpets and sound walling.

3. The adjacent Bingo Club is not affected by Picturehouses acquisition of the Hollywood Cinema.

4. As well as the Hollywood Cinema, Picturehouses has purchased number 4 Hatter Street, which will become a café, delicatessen and bistro.

5. This is Bury St Edmunds oldest cinema and there have been several owners since it first opened in 1924, most recently Hollywood Cinemas.

6. Picturehouse Cinemas is owned and operated by City Screen and is Britain’s largest circuit of independent cinemas.

7. Formed in 1989 to challenge the multiplex model, City Screen provides cinemas in city centre locations to serve local communities and offer a diverse choice of films and events.

8. City Screen runs 19 cinemas and programmes a further 30 independently operated venues, drawing on over 18 years’ experience in tailoring diverse and commercially successful content spanning arthouse, independent, classic, world and Hollywood cinema.

9. Each cinema is programmed in response to its local audience, and most venues have mainstream blockbusters and quality crossover titles in the mix.

10. City Screen prides itself on being at the forefront of digital cinema and other business and technological developments. These have included live cinecasts of filmmaker Q&As, comedy, music, and productions from the New York Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House and the National Theatre, broadcast to audiences throughout the UK.

11. The group opened its first cinema the Phoenix in Oxford which was bought as a going concern when the previous owners retired. In 1992 it opened its first custom-built cinema, Clapham Picturehouse, and since then has grown steadily through a mixture of new builds and acquisitions, particularly in university cities such as Oxford, Cambridge, London, Brighton and York

12. Central to the company philosophy is maintaining the individuality of each cinema.

13. Other features are:

a. building architecturally interesting cinemas in city centre locations

b. providing cafe-bars as an integral part of the cinema going experience

c. employing staff who are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about film

d. providing printed programmes and online communications which inform, educate and encourage planned entertainment

e. running a cinema membership scheme and clubs involving diverse groups such as children, new parents and the elderly

f. generating and partnering on educational work and courses which develop appreciation and understanding of film

PROJECT PR RANKS WITH THE BEST IN THE UK

08 April 2010: Suffolk PR agency Project PR has been recognised as one of the best PR agencies in the UK after national industry magazine The Drum named it as the fourth most awarded PR agency outside of London in 2009.


Project PR won four Gold and two Silver awards in the annual Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) PRide Awards for East Anglia in 2009, more than any other agency in this region. The company’s success led to its high ranking amongst PR firms nationally. Over the past five years the agency has won a total of 16 nationally recognised PR industry awards.

“It was quite a surprise to us and a fantastic accolade for the team here that we were ranked alongside some of the world’s largest PR agencies such as Weber Shandwick, who were placed third. Winning industry awards has certainly helped us to gain recognition for our PR work both locally and nationally and we very much look forward to further success with our clients in 2010,” said Penny Arbuthnot, Director at Project PR.

Project PR employs a team of six PR and marketing professionals and has built its success on delivering results for its many local and national clients, who include Ford Retail, Suffolk manufacturer Challs International, Ipswich Building Society, social landlord Havebury Housing Partnership and live-in care agency Christies Care.

In the CIPR Pride Awards 2009 Project PR won Gold, the top award, for four specific categories: Consumer PR; Best Use of Social Media; Not for profit PR and Outstanding Young Communicator which was awarded to Project PR’s Account Director Helen Sharkey. It won silver in the ‘Outstanding Public Relations Consultancy’ and ‘Best Use of Media Relations’ categories.

The survey by Drum Magazine looked at all the industry awards schemes entered by agencies outside of London in order to identify 2009’s most decorated agencies. Project PR was ranked fourth for the number of PR awards won. See www.thedrum.co.uk/mostawarded/2010

For more information about Project PR see www.projectpr.biz

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