Pitch Consultants

World Cup Fever

ollie — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 13:59:09 +0000

With the world cup just around the corner, English expectations are already reaching fever pitch. All of which means you need a way of being able to keep up with who’s playing who, and when. We’ve scoured the web looking for the nicest possible match calendar and have found this beautiful example, so it would be rude not to share it with everyone. Find it here: http://www.marca.com/deporte/futbol/mundial/sudafrica-2010/calendario-english.html

IAB unveils white paper discussing what we can learn from the ‘digital’ election

ollie — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:00:49 +0000

This is the fifth Election since Tim Berners-Lee invented the web. More significantly though, it is the first UK election since facilities like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have been firmly established.

Such developments have made it easier for all of us to comment on (and influence) key aspects of modern society. So what impact has this has had on the 2010 Election?

The IAB has assembled a selection of digital and political experts to provide a commentary on how the technological developments that we’ve lived through in the five years since the last election have affected both our collective experience of the Election and the individual parties’ attempts to win our votes.

Download the digital election report here.

Stuff we like - March 2010

ollie — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:19:18 +0000

It’s been a while since we posted a link to work that’s really caught our attention but we’re back. This week a certain lager brand have hit industry headlines for a stunningly creative PR campaign which not only achieved the often unachievable - it got blokes to go to a classical concert instead of watching a very important football match - but it also achieved a huge amount of press coverage. Hats off to Heineken and to JWT Italy for coming up with the idea. Genius.

Full details on this remarkable campaign can be found here.

Watch the campaign video online.

Are you LinkedIn?

ollie — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:36:55 +0000

Like many people we have dabbled in the use of LinkedIn as a business networking tool. And like many people, we’re perhaps not making best use of the opportunities it offers. So how do businesses and individuals benefit from LinkedIn and can using it half-heartedly damage your brand? We’re not experts, but thankfully the people at the Drum know someone who is. And he’s written a very interesting blog on this very subject. Check it out here.

To sign off, it would be remiss of us not to invite you to link with us. So please do:
LinkIn with Ollie
LinkIn with Rob

Awards Season

ollie — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:23:45 +0000

Take PRide
With buzz words like ‘cutbacks’ being often used this year, many of the usual calendar events have sadly had to rein in costs. Not so at last Friday’s Midlands CIPR Awards at Birmingham’s ICC. With over 300 people from agencies and in-house teams no downturn was going to stop these PR professionals from showcasing their excellent work from the last 12 months.

As always Pitch were keen sponsors giving away some great prizes in keeping with the circus theme, including a weekend in London to see Cirque du Soleil. Well done to Nicky from Willoughby PR!

And congratulations to all the winners, this year’s Chair Sarah Burton and to the CIPR for putting on a fantastic show. Here’s to 2010!

For some less ‘formal’ shots of the evening have a gander at our flickr page.

Creamed it
Sticking with the awards theme, we popped down to the new format Cream Awards at the Jam House on Wednesday night. The set up was informal; canapés and a well stocked bar, with everyone stood up chatting as the awards were handed out. In fairness it was a good night, very sociable and a chance to catch up with industry friends. It was a very successful social but was it ‘awards do’ material?

Whatever you might think of the format, it didn’t take anything away from the quality of the work on display. RBH, Big, Checkland Kindleysides, Taxi Studio, ASHA, KLM, Purple Circle, Rave, Milton Bayer and Unsuitable all picked up their share of gongs, but the night went to Golley Slater who scooped the Grand Prix. Well done to all!

Light, Tunnel

ollie — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:11:20 +0000

As an interesting year comes to a close, we’re starting to see the industry return to form. In fact, since September activity has been gradually picking up, and with pitches being won and budgets being announced, clients are finding themselves back up to full staffing capacity. We’re also seeing a new raft of candidates, keen for a new challenge in what is hopefully a market on the up.

December is not looking like a wind down to Christmas for Pitch, instead we’ll be challenged with fitting interviews and meetings around people’s holidays and Christmas parties. So if you’ve got that project starting in January, it’s best to get in touch sooner rather than later. So it’s business as usual, although we’ll still manage to sneak in the odd PACE Xmas lunch and office party along the way…

Looking Daft for Charity

ollie — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:15:36 +0000

Pitch Director, Ollie Purdom, is taking part in ‘Movember’ and growing a ‘mo’ (moustache) to raise money for prostate cancer research. You can follow his progress and if you’re feeling generous, donate to the cause. It’s for charity after all.

November Newsletter

ollie — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:19:07 +0000

Award wins, B-Hive 2010 launch, charity moustaches and more…

The Bees Knees

ollie — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:45:47 +0000

It’s official: B-Hive 2010 is live. Marketing Birmingham are now official partners with Pitch on the B-Hive project and via this partnership we’re delighted to be offering twice the number of categories and placements for next year’s competition. To support this, the shiny new website has just launched, along with a beautifully crafted ad which appeared in a recent graduate supplement (pages 10 & 11) in the Birmingham Post. So with some fantastic employers already on board, we’re off to seek out the best talent across the city’s Universities.

With the success of B-Hive 2009 and the momentum already behind 2010, it proves that great talent is still in demand and worth its weight in gold. Even if you’re not involved in B-Hive or from Birmingham, this hopefully reassures you of our dedication to sourcing the best skills in the industry. We apply the same values, selection process and passion to B-Hive as we do to sourcing your vacancies.

Digital & Freelance Talent

ollie — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:39:46 +0000

At Pitch we’re inundated with digital work for suits, creatives and developers. As well as looking for permanent stars, we’ve also been busy beefing up our freelance pool. As a result, we are representing some incredibly talented professionals covering Account Management, Project Management, Technical Architects, Flash Designers, CSS/HTML Web Designers, Digital Heads… and plenty more – no matter where you are in the country.

With (dare we say it) green shoots appearing, many clients are seeing their workload pick up, taking them nearer to full capacity. However with some projects perhaps still unsure, caution must exercised before recruiting permanently. This is where freelance becomes a great way to expand cautiously in the short term. Yes digital is big but isn’t the only discipline where short term contracts or freelance are being considered more than usual.

What Pitch can do is offer you impartial advice on how to source the right skills in the most cost effective way. Whether it be for 5 days or 5 years.