The elected mayor would also share some powers with the council. He or she proposes the council’s budget and its policies on such areas as education, youth justice, crime and disorder reduction, children’s services and local development. Elected mayors act as natural ambassadors for their cities by becoming a more high-profile figure, having an advocate like this attracts investment and promotes a sense of strong leadership. This is certainly the case for Boris Johnson, the elected mayor of London. Without knowing too much about the politics of it all, recent surveys have shown that people are twice more likely to identify their mayor than other council leaders. If this has worked in London, there is no reason why such success cannot be replicated in the second city.

Under a new mayoral system, the general public would have a say on who runs the city council. This would be a major advantage for Birmingham as an elected mayor will be seen to best represent the needs of the City by having a proper understanding of the key concerns. With a shift of responsibilities from Whitehall to an elected mayor, Birmingham can benefit from a strengthened, more empowered, council with a cabinet who are better able to lead in their communities with plans, budgets and vision.

Here at Big Cat we are supporting the Yes campaign and will be voting to bring in a new mayoral system and an elected mayor. If you’d like to find out more information on the ‘Yes to Birmingham Mayor’ campaign, you can visit the dedicated Yes Campaign website.

If you’re unsure about where your closest polling station or would like some information on the council elections, please visit the Birmingham City Council website.

Facilitated by Aston Business School, Nick completed a variety of modules ranging from M&A and growth strategies to sustainable entrepreneurship and business finance information. This was the first time this programme has been held in the Birmingham area and Nick fought off fierce competition to secure his place. With the programme being heavily oversubscribed, our CEO was put through a rigorous application process which saw almost 85 applicants for the 25 places.

Nick said, “Personal development is something Big Cat prides itself on, no matter where you are on the career ladder. The 10,000 Small Businesses programme was an enlightening experience which enabled me to explore new methodologies which will greatly benefit Big Cat’s continued growth strategy. I’d highly recommend people apply for next year’s cohort.”

With these new skills in our arsenal, Big Cat keeps ahead of the competition and invests in the future of the business as we continue to look for M&A partners.

Last week saw Big Cat pick up the Community Engagement Campaign of the Year award at the glitzy Golden Hedgehog Awards, beating off fierce competition from a number of top national agencies. We also came top of the class at the NOEA Awards, taking home the Community Event of the Year award.

The Big Cat team with with award for Community Engagement Campaign of the Year

Rob Dudley from Big Cat accepting the NOEA Award for Community Event of the Year

Both awards were won for Big Cat’s work on Jamaica Live, a 1-day Caribbean festival created on behalf of Punch Records in July last year. The event saw Big Cat transform Victoria Square in Birmingham into a Caribbean oasis featuring real Jamaican food, arts and crafts, storytelling, spoken word poetry and face painting. The event witnessed over 30,000 people enjoying the tropical climates of Birmingham whilst soaking up the authentic Caribbean atmosphere.

A huge well done to everyone who was involved on the project.

Over the past 4 years more than 16 million people from across the UK have taken part in or attended performances as part of the Olympiad. You may well have attended one of these, one of the largest in Birmingham last year was Jamaica Live, which Big Cat helped organise with Punch Records.

The event this week though was to officially launch the West Midlands programme for the months leading up to and during the London 2012 Olympic Games. Packed to the brim with stunning dance movements, live music concerts, diverse art installations and interactive workshops the West Midlands is certainly in for a treat over the coming months.

Particular highlights include The Voyage, an outdoor dance production of mammoth proportions set in heart of Birmingham’s Victoria Square; Boys Dancing, a series of films exploring the themes of masculinity, strength and sensitivity around boys dancing; and Spill, a dance piece touring playgrounds and parks across the region.

Locations for these events include the iconic Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site, Much Wenlock (birthplace of the modern Olympics), Coventry Cathedral and Birmingham Symphony Hall.

One of the largest events in the calendar is the world premier of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s ‘Mittwock aus Licht’ (Wednesday from Light) performed by Birmingham Opera Company. The performance will feature four helicopters, two choirs, solo instrumentalists and live electronic and acoustic music. A pretty big show if you ask me and one not to be missed.

The Olympics is so much more than a sporting event, it is a celebration of multi-culturalism, heritage and unity, all of which will be demonstrated through the Cultural Olympiad’s programme.

If you’ve never known where to start when it comes to dance and the arts, this festival is the perfect way to be eased into it, especially as the majority of the programme is free.

I think a road trip will definitely be in order to go and see some of the performances, so who’s in?

Not content with simply promoting the event, Big Cat are jumping right in and sending two of our own out onto the streets to complete the 23KM Big Brum Walk on 30^th March. Anthony Tattum and Chris Brown will ramble with an estimated 150 other participants through various historic locations right across the city.

In a bid to drum up sign ups from in and around the city, Big Cat will also be securing key influencers from Birmingham to be known as “Brand Ambassadors”.

If you’d like to support Big Cat on the walk and help raise money for The Big Issue Foundation and the homeless, please donate on the Anthony and Chris’s Just Giving pages.

If you fancy joining the cause, and burning off a few calories in the process, you can sign up here,
http://www.bigissue.org.uk/event/big-brum-night-walk

The first win is a fantastic new campaign with Birmingham Hippodrome providing PR and social media support for its major cultural project, The Voyage. Kick starting the London 2012 Olympic Festival in June, the project will see over 140 performers telling the story of a passenger liner travelling across the continents on a spectacular boat that will be built in Birmingham’s Victoria Square. The Voyage will set sail on June 21^st-24^th, so make sure you pencil it into your diaries.

Big Cat is also working with The Big Issue Foundation, to promote its first ever Big Brum Night Walk. A 23KM walk that will find its participants exploring Birmingham by night with all raised funds going directly to support homeless and vulnerable vendors in the Birmingham area. Two of our own have jumped at the opportunity to take part on the walk. Read on how you can support Chris and Tat on their mammoth task.

Our latest win is Tails, a luxury cocktail brand. Bursting with authentic flavours, the cocktails come pre-made in a bar-esque shaker, with the user only having to add ice. Big Cat will be providing PR, social media, design and event support to some key milestones in the Tails calendar.

So as you can tell we’ve got a busy couple of months ahead, please spare a thought for us with our late night office hours.

This month marked the launch of National Poverty and Homelessness Action Week, a campaign which aims to raise awareness of those living on the streets and without a permanent residence.

Did you know:

• According to Council figures released in 2011 Birmingham saw a disturbing 140% increase in homelessness between January and June 2010, with between 800 – 1,000 people now being housed in B&B’s across the city.
• There are 243,000 people out of work in the region
• There has been a 9,000 increase in the past 3 months
• 9.2% rate of unemployment
• There are nearly 18,000 households registered as homeless in the city (1.75m nationally; 157000 regionally)
• More than 350,000 people are on Social Housing waiting lists in the West Midlands; 1 in every 14 households
• 18,000 new households are expected to form in the West Midlands each year to 2033, but just 8,250 new homes were built in the region last year

Big Cat has been working closely with Birmingham YMCA over the past few weeks to raise awareness of the scheme and how the general public can get behind the scheme.

I was lucky enough to spend the day with the team from Channel 5’s Live with Gabby the other week who came to Birmingham to film a piece on the city’s homeless crisis.

They were blown away with the work and support the YMCA offer and what they were doing with such limited resources. The piece aired last week and as you can imagine the entire team were found crowded around the TV watching it.

Alan Fraser, CEO of Birmingham YMCA took on a leading role as he depicted the situation the city is facing and what people can do get involved. This was closely followed by interviews with past and present residents about their situation and how facilities like the YMCA’s Orchard can help those in need.

A few days later, Alan was asked to appear on BBC WM’s breakfast show to further elaborate on the situation

Although Action week has finished now, the problem is still very real and organisations like the YMCA are battling hard to help those in need. If you’d like to see how you can show your  support, perhaps with a donation of either time or money then drop the YMCA a line on  0121 477 4644

The pair are of course trying to keep it on the down-low, something we don’t do at Big Cat so we thought a mention in the Big Round up was more than adequate.

Many Happy Returns to both Rob and Antony. Here’s to many more years of your escapades.

Well today Phase 1 of the controversial project has been given the green light by the government. Whilst many people are shouting from the roof tops about how fantastic this is, what exactly does it mean for Joe Bloggs and the region? Does it just mean that that weekend away to London can start 30 mins earlier? Far from it, infact the benefits to the West Midlands are rather significant.

• Will boost the West Midland’ economy by £2.5 billion
• Up to 10,000 new construction jobs
• Up to 2,000 operational and maintenance jobs
• £35.3 billion in economic benefit to the West Midlands region
• Up to 60 – 70,000 local jobs by 2040 as a result of relocation of jobs from other areas in the UK
• Reduced carbon of up to a million tonnes a year by 2055

*Source http://www.go-hs2.com/News/NewsListings.aspx

As with any argument though there are said to be some downsides to the development.

• The new HS2 trains will use x3 more power than traditional trains
• Will increase carbon emissions
• Benefits will mainly go to London; more people travelling to London than to other regions
• Will prove detrimental to small towns and villages along rail route

*Source http://stophs2.org/facts

What are your thoughts though? Will HS2 help uplift the economy or will it destroy our countryside?

PR agencies are now looking to go direct to the consumer, and so PR 2.0 was born. Although it may sound like some bizarre acronym, PR 2.0 is just the combination of traditional PR methods with social media and digital tools. The aim is still the same, to communicate with influencers and the consumer audience, it’s just the means that have changed.

The idea of PR 2.0 has been around for some years now, but following the recent boom in digital and social media technology, the PR industry has had to learn to evolve in order to stay ahead of the game, and inturn ensure clients are one step ahead of their competitors. More and more companies are using platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to interact with their markets, jumping traditional print formats completely. When articles are issued to papers now, all company names are hyperlinked and sometimes the releases contain video content. All of these tools enhance the user’s experience.

We’ve been utilising PR 2.0 at Big Cat Group for a number of years now. All of our press releases are supported by digital technology; it just depends on the nature of the client and their needs. We understand the importance of creativity. Just because something is text based doesn’t mean it can’t be engaging and be supported by additional content such as videos.

PR 2.0 isn’t a subject that is stationary. Every day a new website or social media platform is released and we make it our job to ensure our clients utilise them to their advantage. We do our research and we understand what works. Just because your competitor is on Myspace and Bebo doesn’t mean you have to be too. To stand out of the crowd you need to be different and that’s what we do best.

After months of grueling training in rain storms and heat waves and even signing up to a military fitness camp, the pair completed the course smashing their previous records.

The race wasn’t just about male ego though and seeing who could run the fastest. The pair pledged to raise money for The Prostate Cancer Charity, something which is close to both of their hearts.

Altogether they raised a total of £490.

A huge congratulations to Nick and Anthony for all their hard work. It must have paid off as we’ve seen them wearing suits which clearly haven’t been out of the wardrobe in sometime.

If you haven’t sponsored either of them yet, there’s still time. Just click the link below and enter your chosen amount

http://www.justgiving.com/anthonytattum

http://www.justgiving.com/nickbigcatmorgan

The whole country across all sectors has felt the pinch of the credit crunch. Many businesses have fallen at the wayside but others have come out fighting. After 11 years, Big Cat Group has seen one of its most successful years in 2011. Whereas many companies have had to unfortunately make staffing cuts, Big Cat has continued to grow, hiring new members of staff in its events, marketing and digital departments.

With more staff comes the possibility of a greater capacity for clients. All departments within Big Cat have seen a broad range of new clients come on board from a variety of sectors including hospitality, professional services, charity, government bodies and entertainment to name but a few. The clients themselves have again ranged vastly from the launch of Bournville College’s £66million campus, a Jamaican music festival, a Birmingham based auctioneer and a digital festival.

To coin the famous telecommunications tag line, the futures bright, the futures orange and here’s to another 11 truly fantastic years.

Happy Birthday Big Cat!!!!

Working alongside humanitarian charity, UNICEF, Dulex are offering people the chance to purchase a colour and donate money to charity. The average Smartphone can display 16.7 million colours, so if all of these colours were purchased for just £1, think of the difference this would make to the lives of those less fortunate.

Big Cat took up the challenge and purchased their highly symbolic shade of orange. When this blog was written, over £58,000 had already been donated since the launch of the campaign one week a go. What an amazing achievement this is for Dulex, not only for the lives they are helping to save, but also the running of a successful social media campaign.

There are so many companies launching campaigns at the moment which haven’t been thought through fully. The ‘Own a colour’ campaign is a perfect example how social media can not only raise brand awareness but also help the less fortunate.

Dulex is a household name in the UK. How many other paint suppliers can you think of off the top of your head? So surely this wasn’t just about raising brand awareness, there had to be a deeper meaning. By utilising their USP of the paint colour palette, Dulex have created a fantastic campaign which was spread like wildfire across Facebook and Twitter, every Digital Director’s dream. People can donate as little as a pound with every single penny helping.

Well done Dulex for this fantastic campaign.

Would social media and digital content really put the nail in the coffin of the good old press release though? Personally, I don’t think so. Agreed, press releases have had to become more advanced in delivering key messages by utilising hyperlinks and alt-tagged images; however from the conversations I’ve had with journalists they still prefer receiving and initial press release (as long as it’s relevant of course – but that’s a whole other blog).

This week I read in the CorpComms publication about how Japanese car manufacturer, Nissan utilise a rather extensive ‘Newsroom’ on their site which incorporates images, video, text, sound and social media sharing. If they have a story to tell, no matter what the format, it goes up on the Newsroom. The idea of this is to tell the story behind the brand rather than a monotonous release. If an article is considered ‘boring’ though, surely that’s down to the author and the topic?

Does the digital Newsroom remove the need for the old fashioned sell-in? Again, I don’t think so. Back in my freelance days, if a company wanted their good-news story telling I’d prefer that they send it me rather than me having to trawl through a site. Many of my journalist friends don’t have the time anymore to do indepth research unless it’s a ground-breaking story which is a real shame as this is where the real gems come out, but with how the industry is at the moment, time is incredibly precious.

Nissan’s editor-in-chief, Dan Sloan commented: “Nissan is not putting an end to traditional ways of promotion and advertising; it’s more a recognition that innovative messaging and delivery is the main objective, and on occasion cheaper than traditional methods.”

The Newsroom method does seem to work for international brands such as Nissan though, especially when a head office may be in the UK however the audience is in Japan for example.

The future of the press release still seems to be uncertain at the moment; however one thing is for sure, audiences are demanding more from their news via a variety of mediums and it’s our job to ensure they get what they want.