How the Stars Aligned in 2019!
This year has brought lots of changes for the Shooting Star team. Not only have we expanded our agency by adding four new members to our team, making us the biggest we’ve ever been, but we also entered our 13th year and Senior Account Manager Emma welcomed a shooting starlet into the world!
Here are just some of our most memorable moments:
January
We kicked off the year by welcoming our 11th Charity of the Year, Help Me, I’m Fine (HMIF) – a suicide prevention charity, set up by Helen Cousin after her 16-year-old daughter Maisie took her own life in 2017. The team voted unanimously to support Helen this year, after being touched by her story. We’ve spent the year supporting Helen with free PR and marketing and achieved national coverage for the charity across multiple platforms such as the Daily Mail, the BBC and ITV.
We also welcomed Digital Marketer Sam Clarke to the team. Sam has already run some successful online advertising campaigns for our clients while studying for a Chartered Institute of Marketing qualification in his spare time!
February
Valentine’s Day called for office cakes and the chance to thank our staff by showing our appreciation and gratitude for the work they do for Shooting Star and our diverse range of clients.
March
International Women’s Day arrived in March! We paid tribute to our team of wonderfully strong females and dedicated the day to celebrating their achievements!
April
In April, we took a big leap and expanded our offices to the historic town of Newark. Senior Account Manager Kerri moved from our Lincoln office to head up operations in her hometown, taking a trio of new clients with her. Over the past eight months the Newark office has gone from strength to strength, recruiting a second member of staff and taking on even more clients.
May
Throughout May we supported lots of students by providing valuable work experience. Kerri and Sam also delivered a series of workshops as part of the University of Lincoln’s Spark Accelerator programme on PR and marketing.
June
June arrived, the heatwave hit, and we bought multiple office desk fans! While surviving the heat, we hosted a table of local businesspeople at the 135th
Lincolnshire show. We also managed the PR for the launch of Visit Lincoln’s Taste of Lincolnshire initiative which included pre and post-event news releases as well as filming interviews with the key people on the day including Jane Tomlinson from Redhill Farm Pork and Colin McGurran and Gareth Bartram from Winteringham Fields.
July
In July we welcomed two new Rising Star interns to the team, Amelia White and Tatiana Davey. Both 2019 graduates, the pair have been a great addition to our agency, working alongside account managers Kerri Saxby and Zoe Lamb. Amelia graduated from Sheffield Hallam University in November with a degree in Media Communications, while Tatiana graduated from the University of Lincoln in September with a degree in English Literature and Journalism.
This month we brought Google Digital Garage training to Newark, thanks to a joint event with Google, Invest Newark and Sherwood and Newark and Sherwood District Council. Ann-Marie Ivanova, from Up Skill Digital on behalf of the global internet giant, delivered three sessions covering social media strategy, an introduction to digital marketing and guidance on getting a business visible on Google, to more than 80 people at the Everyday Champions Centre in Newark.
August
As part of a team away day we undertook a top-secret training mission at Si5 Spymissions in Nottingham which tested our mental and physical capabilities and our ability to work as a team. Afterwards we regrouped for lunch and took part in a workshop on making your presence felt and communicating with impact, led by leadership coach Susan Ritchie.
September
September marked our 13th year in business! To celebrate our birthday we thanked our clients old and new for their support and our fabulous team for all their hard work and dedication.
We also welcomed Senior Account Executive Melissa Orchard to the team. Melissa made the move from an agency in Leicestershire, to cover Emma’s maternity leave.
October
More celebrations were in order in October, when a tiny starlet joined the Shooting Star family at the beginning of the month. Senior Account Manager Emma welcomed her first born Olivia into the world! Huge congratulations to Emma, husband Jacob and their lovely pooch, Hugo!
Our Account Manager Zoe was also shortlisted for The Lincolnite’s 30 under 30 in October. Zoe, who is fondly referred to as our ‘unofficial office manager’, was nominated for the award by the team for her dedication to her work, her attention to detail and her willingness to go above and beyond to get the job done!
November
Quiz, Chips & Mushy Peas season was upon us in November! This year we raised an amazing £1,321 for our Charity of the Year Help Me, I’m Fine. Our annual quiz night sold out in record time and, for a third year running, filled The Elite Fish & Chip Company restaurant in Lincoln. 80 local businesspeople joined us to raise funds for the charity, where prizes included a voucher from the Elite staff for the best team name, a luxury hamper for the winning quiz team and a £200 paintballing experience for 12. The evening was a great success and raised a generous amount of money for a very worthy cause.
At the end of November our hard-working team was nominated for two CIPR PRide Awards in the Arts, Culture or Sport and Low Budget Campaign categories. We’ve been a contender for at least one PRide Award every year since 2010 and we’re proud to have won four awards previously!
December
Our offices have now received a festive overhaul and the mince pies have made an appearance. What a wonderful year it has been for our team. As we begin wrapping up 2019 and start planning for the new year, among other exciting things, applications for our Charity of the Year have now opened for 2020 and we’re seeking our 12th
charity to champion! Are you a non-profit charity or organisation that could benefit from 12 months of free PR and marketing support from an award-winning agency? If so, we’d like to hear from you!
Email us at hello@weareshootingstar.co.uk to request an application form.
Applications close on Wednesday 18th December 2019.
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