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Another Pay Per Click advertsing account win for Bigfork. We are delighted to be working with Windsor Waste Management and look forward to improving their Google Ads campaigns.

NORWICH, Monday 20th January 2014 – Need help planning your 2014 getaway? Norwich International Airport invites you to attend their annual Travel Show on Saturday 25th January 10am-3pm in the airport terminal building. The Travel Show is open to everyone with free entry and free parking for all visitors in the short stay car park. Come along for some holiday inspiration and chat with the experts. There will be over 20 tour operator, airline and local business representatives offering first hand destination and product advice on their departures from Norwich International throughout 2014. Historically this day has always been a huge success with people eager to book and this year any holidays booked on the day will receive free holiday parking at Norwich International plus receive a booking discount of up to 5%. Don’t miss your chance to win one of the fabulous prizes on offer in the prize draw which will take place at 3pm. Prizes include; return flight tickets, Helicopter pleasure flight, flying lessons and much more. Additional free to enter competitions will be taking place on individual stands throughout the day with many more great prizes to be won. We look forward to seeing you there!

A series of free seminars aiming to empower businesses to take control of customer experiences is set to take place across Norfolk and Suffolk.

In the eighth year of the popular Accelerate programme, 2019 looks to strip back to the essentials of multi-channel marketing to generate improved results.

Delivered by Archant, publisher of the Eastern Daily Press and East Anglian Daily Times, the seminars will focus on marketing buzzword “omnichannel” – a cross-channel marketing approach that helps builds brands and convert potential customers into actual customers.

 “It’s all about making sure customers have a fantastic user experience, no matter what channel they use,” explains Jamie Brown, head of digital knowledge and development at Archant, who will be delivering the seminars.

“So whether it’s a high street shop, the staff who work there, the mobile-enabled website, Google reviews, social media, emails or texts, the idea is to create a cohesive approach to all the different elements so that they reflect the whole.”

It can be hard for SMEs to keep on top of all these channels, but Jamie says all businesses need to get to grips with if they want to be successful and grow.

“Even if a product or service isn’t bought online, the purchasing process still revolves around the website, the Google reviews, the posts on social media,” says Jamie. “Infrastructure has changed – businesses must have a website and they must be visible online.”

The seminars will include a presentation covering the idea of omnichannel and a real-life case study of a business customer that has completed the journey, including visuals of before and after content, and the analytical results it has achieved.

Attendees can then speak one-on-one with experts who will explain how they can take the same approach, utilising the services, products and audiences that Archant can offer.

“People attending the seminars can take advantage of our 360-degree solution to marketing,” says Jamie. “We can provide the advice, infrastructure and audience that businesses need to be successful.”

Accelerate sessions will take place on Tuesday, March 12 at the Cliff Hotel in Gorleston; Wednesday, March 13 at Carrow Road, Norwich; Thursday, March 14 at West Suffolk College in Bury; and Friday, March 15 in Ipswich at Suffolk University. For more information and to book your space visit www.archanthub.co.uk/ACCELERATE

We are very pleased to announce that the Maids Head Hotel is an accommodation partner with the new English National Park Experience Collection, which has been supported by Visit Britain and Visit England through the Discover England Fund. 

More than 70 experiences, encouraging people to get hands-on in the English National Parks are featured in the Travel Trade Buyer’s Guide, which was launched at the end of January.

Paul Dickson, our resident tour guide has an experience in the collection – Rails, Trails & Sails, which links Norwich with the Broads National Park at Reedham. The tour begins with stories at the Maids Head, followed by a walking tour of the Cathedral Quarter. Then it’s a short stroll to the railway station to catch the train to Reedham, where Paul covers the story of the railway in the Broadland town and the history of the wherry trading vessel. There are also visits to Reedham Church, built on the site of a Roman fort and Humpty Dumpty Brewery.

Other Broads National Park experiences include ‘Capture the Broads’ – photography with Helen Storer, the Broads by kayak or paddleboard with Norfolk Outdoor Adventures and a romantic yacht adventure with Oliver’s Sailing Holidays.

Independent consultancy, Risk & Policy Analysts (RPA) has become one of the first organisations in the region to be awarded a Living Wage Employer Accreditation. The company, which is based in Loddon, Norfolk, currently employs a team of 30, including some of the top economists, environmental scientists, chemists and ecologists in the area.

RPA Director, Meg Postle commented “We value each member of our team’s input into making RPA a success, and one of the most significant ways we can demonstrate this is by making sure that everyone is paid the Living Wage”.

The Living Wage is an hourly rate which is set independently and updated annually, based on the cost of living in the UK. An independent study of the business benefits gained found that employers recognised an enhanced standard of staff output, a reduction in absentee levels and a significant impact on recruitment and retention within their organisation as a result of implementing the Living Wage policy.

Rhys Moore, Director of the Living Wage Foundation said “The benefits the Living Wage brings to staff and business are clear. I welcome the leadership shown by RPA on this important issue”.

To find out more about becoming an accredited Living Wage Employer visit www.livingwage.org.uk

RPA provides expert advice to both public and private sector clients around the world, assisting decision makers with the development and implementation of sustainable policies. The Company’s main clients include the European Commission, European Chemicals Association, UK Government bodies (such as the Environment Agency, Natural England and Defra) and major EU industries.

www.rpaltd.co.uk/https://twitter.com/RPALtd

Norwich Puppet Theatre is an inspirational centre for the development and celebration of puppet theatre and an outstanding cultural venue in the East of England. It is a registered arts charity, founded in 1979. The theatre opened its doors in December 1980, situated inside a converted Medieval Church at St James, Norwich, being one of only three building-based puppet theatres in England. It is the home of a ‘family’ of puppets, some of whom have ‘lived’ there for almost 40 years!

Back in 1979, the pressure was on to convert the redundant church, temporarily a night shelter, to a fully equipped live theatre specially designed for the art of puppet theatre.  Then as now, Funding was a pressure. From that time, Tony Ede, Steering Group chairman talked about “another jewel in the crown of Norwich”.  Then, as now, he said that a great deal of time and hard work had already been put into the scheme. All that he asked for was £15,000 (“not too much money at that time”, he said) from business and the community as well as time energy and moral support to bring original professional puppet theatre to Norwich.

Then, as now, the Puppet Theatre toured nationally and internationally carrying the name of Norwich as an ambassador representing our fine city and all our sectors and communities.

We are working on a “£40k for 40 Years of Puppet Theatre” campaign for our birthday in 2020.  We are very keen to speak to partners who can help us raise the money we need by sponsorship, partnership, energy and goodwill. We are often told, “I have so often passed by but never been in.” Please contact us and arrange a visit if you’d like to discuss opportunities to work together, or simply look at https://puppettheatre.co.uk/whats-on and come to one of our events. The charity provides an excellent introduction to the magic of theatre with original shows, activities, workshops and master classes for all ages and abilities. Our touring has a trusted and popular national footprint, taking live professional puppet theatre all over this land! Our creative learning work mainly operates from our base in Norwich, and the main beneficiaries are in Norwich and Norfolk.   Contact me, Chair of Trustees on [email protected] or our lovely team on [email protected] or 01603 615564 To support us online https://puppettheatre.co.uk/support-us/donate

Open Academy, a Gold Young Chamber Member, are looking for businesses willing to take young people for work experience.

Their Year 10 students have their Summer Term work experience week 8th – 12th July and employers would need to be able to accomodate the students for the whole week.

If you would like to help the students gain the experience they need to succeed in the workplace please contact Caroline Davies at [email protected]

A brief look ahead at some of the key employment law developments expected in 2014.

The start of another year brings a range of significant new employment law developments for employers to be aware of. The key changes expected in 2014 are as follows:

• Amended TUPE Regulations come into force on 31 January 2014 (see our news item);
• Various changes resulting from the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 take effect on 6 April 2014: o Mandatory pre-claim Acas conciliation introduced; o Employment judges given the discretion to impose financial penalties on employers who lose at a tribunal hearing; o Discrimination questionnaires abolished.
• The right to request flexible working is due to be extended to all employees with at least 26 weeks’ service (not limited to those with caring responsibilities) on 6 April 2014 (NB latest indications are that this is likely to be delayed and will take effect later in the year);
• Abolition of the current rules on Statutory Sick Pay record-keeping (6 April 2014) and the introduction of a new approach to sickness absence management is expected in spring 2014;
• New Regulations expected during 2014 giving tribunals the power to order employers to carry out equal pay audits, if they are found to have discriminated in relation to contractual or non-contractual pay.

Breakfast update briefing – date for your diary

For more information on these and other recent and forthcoming employment law developments, please join us at the next employment law breakfast briefing, which will be held on Tuesday 11 March 2014, at the Barnham Broom Hotel near Norwich.

Look out for further details and information about how to book your place, which will be available very soon.

We are delighted to announce that our new website is live. 

Our new site is full of information regarding our products and services, as well as our very latest news, case studies and careers. 

Andrew McKay-Atkinson, Managing Director says ‘We specialise in industry leading products and efficient and professional washroom services, and our new website is a reflection of our professionalism as a business.’ 

Visitors to the site will have access to information on Active Washrooms products and services, including informative product descriptions and images as well as a quote request facility too. 

Visit the site at https://www.activewashrooms.co.uk/

Norse subsidiary, Devon Norse, has been awarded the contract for the cleaning of five NHS sites in South Devon.

The sites, all in the Torbay area, including two office buildings, two community resource centres and a carers centre.

Steve Jones , Cleaning Operations Manager at Devon Norse said that the contract, which covers internal building cleaning, is a further example of the company’s continuing success in the South-West .

The contract is worth around £40k a year and takes the annual value of Devon Norse’s NHS contracts to over £400k.

Advertising production company JMS Group are embarking on a new 2019 strategy to encourage more businesses to advertise online, on radio and on TV.

The creative experts have enlisted fellow Norwich-based company Full Mix Marketing to deliver a new campaign to help more businesses take advantage of lower costs for TV and on demand advertising.

“It’s now easier than ever to target highly specific audiences with TV, radio and on demand video advertising” says Francesca de Lacey, Managing Director of JMS Group. “With costs falling, we want to help even more companies in the East and beyond to burst onto their customer’s screens.”

Established in 1983, JMS Group have produced TV and radio advertising for a wide range of local, national and international businesses, including TaxAssist, Crisp ‘N’ Dry and Volkswagen. Founded by former BBC executive and ‘Breakfast Time’ presenter, John Mountford, they now create more than 200 TV commercials and 1,000 radio commercials each year for UK and European broadcasting.

With the rise of on demand TV services and social media, the production company have chosen recent award-winners Full Mix Marketing to help them make more businesses aware of new lower cost ways to use TV commercials and video to drive sales.

“We’re delighted to be helping JMS find the right mix of marketing to spread the word” says Sarah West, Managing Director of Full Mix Marketing “Costs have tumbled as on demand services let advertisers target individual viewers by factors like age, location or life style. With all their experience, expertise and facilities in-house, JMS can quickly deliver fantastic advertising for ambitious businesses.”

Full Mix Marketing have worked with the production specialists to develop a strategy which more directly targets new clients and reduces their focus on digital marketing alone. The JMS Group are keen to increase awareness of their services and realise a greater return on investment from their marketing budget. Following successful completion of the strategy, delivery has begun with Full Mix Marketing building a soon to be unveiled new website to showcase JMS Group’s impressive experience and portfolio.

“It’s fantastic working with Sarah and her team on our next exciting chapter” states Francesca de Lacey. “They’ve already helped us rediscover all the ways we’re different and how we go that little bit further to help our clients get the most from TV, radio and video. We look forward to a successful relationship as we both continue to grow.”

Established in 2016, Full Mix Marketing have gained a reputation for helping businesses across the region achieve success through strategic, digital and offline marketing. Founder and Chartered Marketer, Sarah West, was named the Institute of Director’s 2018’s New Director of the Year in East Anglia for her leadership of the results-focused marketing agency.

For more information on JMS Group visit www.jms-group.com. For more information on Full Mix Marketing visit www.fullmixmarketing.co.uk

The Maids Head Hotel in Tombland, Norwich, has completed work on its latest suite, which has been named Catherine of Aragon.  Louise Norfolk won a competition on the hotel’s Facebook page to name the suite and suggested Catherine of Aragon. Her prize is a night’s stay in the suite.

Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536) was the first wife of Henry VIII. She visited Norwich in 1520 and stayed with the Prior of the Benedictine Monastery (Norwich Cathedral). During her stay, she was entertained at the Maids Head Inn.