We’re fast becoming the PR specialist when it comes to unleashing exciting new apps to the world. With numerous high profile successes under our belts, including tubeexits, last week we were at it again with the launch of Buxter.

If you haven’t already heard Buxter is a Facebook application developed by ClickandBuy that enables people to send or recieve money within the world’s most popular social network.

Coverage highlights secured by our team include The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph, CNN Online, BBC Online and BBC Click.

Buxter is set to turn Facebook into an ecommerce marketplace as online businesses now have the chance to sell products or services to any of Facebook’s 400 million members.

But it’s not just limited to businesses. Remember that fiver you borrowed off your friend? Or the pizza you shelled out on last week when your boyfriend had no money? Well now you and your pals can settle every outstanding debt through Facebook ! You can even use it for altruistic purposes, such as collecting money for a charity run. The possibilities are limitless. To sign up for Buxter click the link http://apps.facebook.com/mybuxter

Apps really get our blood racing here at The PR Network so if you’re wondering how to launch a new app we would love to hear from you at directors@theprnetwork.co.uk

After a busy week of making the headlines for our clients, today we’re making them ourselves!

The Guardian’s Sandra Haurant has penned an excellent article in Saturday’s Work section, uncovering  how more and more companies are looking for services like ours. Services that offer clients a far greater degree of flexibility and agility compared to conventional business models.

The article also features our lovely client at Adobe, who says of us…

“We were looking for skilled, knowledgeable and motivated individuals… who could work directly with senior management within Adobe in the UK on a number of projects.”

Read the full article here http://tinyurl.com/yzswpe3

After a very successful project last year we’re delighted to say that The PR Network is going to be working throughout 2010 with ClickandBuy, one of the leading payment systems on the internet. ClickandBuy is growing fast year on year with a dynamic management team who we really enjoy working with. Our initial project involved traditional print media relations and an online PR campaign to promote the results of some specially-commissioned research. We have a great team working on the account and expect to deliver sterling results for the brand this year.

At last we can finally use the term ‘green shoots’  as the UK pulls itself out of The Great Recession. Only time can tell whether this is a false dawn or the real McCoy, but with January’s unemployment figures also heading the right way things certainly appear more optimistic.

Of course we can perhaps afford to be more optimistic than most, as alongside a truck load of interest in our freelance services, we’ve also been set loose on a number of exciting briefs for permanent PR positions.  Both in house and agency, all at the senior end of the market in line with our senior consultant focus.

So if you’re agency side looking to climb the ladder, in house and up for a fresh challenge or a freelancer that fancies a perm,  let us know by sending your CV and what you’re looking for to directors@theprnetwork.co.uk

Just when you thought it was safe to leave the home, the big freeze is back with a vengeance. And this time it means business. Literally.

According to the Centre for Economics and Business Research, Britain is on course to take a hit of €1.1bn from the harshest winter in decades (oh how us PR folk love a good stat…).

And it’s ‘snow joke’ (…and a well worn pun) in Europe either with the German economy predicted to lose up to €2 billion in lost activity - 0.4% of  GDP in Q1.

Thankfully there are a growing number of virtual businesses out there that are weather proof, and can work from anywhere at any time.  And the stalwarts here at The PR Network are living proof of ‘business as usual’ as we continue to busy ourselves whilst the rest of the UK skids to a halt.

Indeed, in my first week here at the PRN, I have certainly been encouraged by the number of new business leads and enquiries we have received in the opening weeks of 2010, across all aspects of our business.

Who knows, perhaps a sign that - whilst the roads, rivers and railways are frozen over - maybe, just maybe the economy is starting to thaw.

James

Happy New Year!

We wanted to share some positive news to end a rather cold, icey week in Blighty! The PR Network is expanding! We are pleased to announce the addition of a director to our team. This, combined with our ever expanding network of over 400 senior PR consultants with presence on every continent in the World, proves that 2010 is going to be an exciting milestone in PR Network history.

We are delighted to welcome James Read to our team. James is joining as a director and will work with me and Nicky to build The PR Network’s presence as a leading player in the virtual PR world. James will be involved in all aspects of our business and we are excited to have him on board.

Before joining The PR Network James was a Director at Citigate Dewe Rogerson. During his ten years at CDR James gained a reputation for his ability to interpret and deliver against a broad range of corporate and consumer briefs, giving him invaluable experience across multiple disciplines and sectors. His eclectic mixture of past clients include Santander, Halifax, LloydsTSB, TalkTalk, AOL, Fujitsu Siemens, Logica, EDS, Serco, Kwik-Fit and Halfords.

Here’s to a really successful 2010 for all of our associates from the ever expanding PR Network team!

We’ve just finished a three month project for price comparison website www.PriceGrabber.co.uk, which aimed to get media coverage for the website during the Christmas gift buying season. We put a great team of consumer PR specialists on the account, who together had lots of experience promoting online brands including other leading price comparison websites.

The campaign ran from Oct - Dec and the team delivered some fantastic results including coverage in the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mirror, Sky News and C4. This is traditionally a highly competitive space but through a creative approach and constant interaction with journalists and bloggers we made sure that PriceGrabber.co.uk enjoyed a significant share of the coverage opportunities available.

We’re now doing some more work this month to keep up momentum, and talking to PriceGrabber.co.uk about an ongoing relationship. Our client had this to say about the campaign:

“The PR Network delivered an impressive PR campaign for us during the critical Christmas shopping season. Their team of three senior PR consultants came up with creative story ideas on a weekly basis, allowing us to tap into consumer shopping trends and keep ahead of our competition. On the strength of the project results, I’m hoping to engage their services on a retained basis throughout 2010.”

Michelle Kane, Public Relations Director, PriceGrabber.com

A great start to the New Year for The PR Network!

Nicky

London, 30 November 2009 – Ashridge Consulting has given The PR Network a project to promote its Virtual Working practice group across Europe. The PR Network’s freelance associates will run a print, online and social media campaign in the UK, Germany and Scandinavia in 2010. The objective is to position Ashridge as a pioneer in the field of virtual working consultancy, and educate business leaders regarding the business benefits of introducing virtual working in their organisations.

Ashridge Consulting, the consulting arm of Ashridge Business School was attracted to The PR Network concept, which is based on delivering PR services through a network of 400+ talented senior PR consultants. The PR Network is a virtual business run by a small core team and its campaigns are enabled by smart use of the latest technology including Apple “MobileMe”, iPhones, Skype and Webex. Clients from blue chips to start ups benefit from The PR Network’s high value business model.

The campaign will be managed from a UK hub led by a PRN associate who specialises in HR and workplace management. She will direct the activities of the PRN partners in Germany and Scandinavia, with Sweden and Denmark representing the key Nordic markets for Ashridge.

Toby Roe, Corporate Communications Director at Ashridge commented, “The PR Network understand the approach we take to virtual working as they practice what they preach and so were a natural partner for this work.”

About Ashridge Business School

Ashridge Consulting is a subsidiary of Ashridge Business School, providing innovative consultancy to organisations (private, public and charitable sectors) from around the world that are undergoing organisational development and change. Based on ongoing research, Ashridge Consulting works with global teams and leaders to improve their virtual working and leadership practice. In most cases, the consulting work is carried out 100% in the virtual space. Recent clients have included Alfa Laval and Danfoss.

www.ashridge.org.uk/virtualworking

96% OF FREELANCERS ENJOY BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE

Freelance PR consulting network The PR Network conducted a survey of its freelance associates in November 2009, to support National Freelancer Week. There is a trend towards freelancing that extends across industries, and the survey results give some insight into the rationale behind this:

Headline findings:

• 96% of freelancers say their quality of life has increased since they started freelancing

• 53% believe social media and its impact on communications will have the biggest impact on their future freelancing career

• 48% say what they love most about freelancing is the flexibility it offers them, with 40% enjoying the fact they are their own boss

• 77% earn the same or more than before they started freelancing

• 69% say that their freelance career would be improved still further if there were less peaks and troughs in terms of workflow

“Our associates are all senior consultants, many of whom have 15 years+ experience working in-house and for leading agencies before going freelance,” says director Georgina Blizzard. “As the survey shows, most associates have a very positive experience of working for themselves or as part of one of our freelance teams. It’s about being able to pick and choose assignments and deliver first class work - without the constraints of set working hours in an office.”

The PR Network works with blue chip, SME and select agency clients to plug team gaps with senior consultants, and to deliver PR and communications consulting services through specially built freelance teams. Founded in 2006, over the past four years we’ve seen clients become a lot more receptive to working with freelancers. This trend is set to continue through 2010 and beyond, as virtual working becomes an even more established and progressive way of working life.

Our clients include Disney, Adobe, Experian, Deloitte, MasterCard and NEC.

-Ends-

We were in yesterday’s Sunday Times in a piece on the rise of virtual working - check out http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article6872691.ece