Mayor gets his teeth into PR

Swansea Lord Mayor
Richard Lewis in today's
South Wales Evening Post

Richard Lewis is usually happy to be in the limelight.

And that's good news for Swansea Council and the city in general.

It means that his 12-month stint as Lord Mayor is proving to be far from dull.

The councillor has enjoyed a colourful political career spanning several decades and has an eye for the media.

Soon after his May inauguration he was pictured with knotted hanky headgear to applaud Gower's beaches.

Today he's due to visit a conference at the Liberty Stadium, tomorrow an exhibition at the Grand Theatre.

Vampire

And this morning he makes the front of the South Wales Evening Post ... all made up and dressed as a vampire.

On page three, reporter Jason Evans tells us that the County Hall figurehead swapped the council chamber for the crypt to host a Halloween event.

The cellar of his official residence was transformed into a dungeon as around 70 guests enjoyed a fancy dress fund-raiser for charity.

Mood

A funeral home lent the Lord Mayor a coffin and Grand lighting experts helped create the mood.

Charities to benefit included the Air Training Corps and Splash, a project to build a swimming pool for children with special needs.

Happily, the Evening Post praises the effort.

In an opinion piece, they say: "In these austere times, questions are asked about the role and cost of the civic mayoralty. Councillor Lewis is providing some convincing answers."

Gower Getaways featured in Swansea What's On

Good luck to new business Gower Getaways, featured in the latest edition of glossy mag What's On in Swansea.
The holiday lettings agency is run by former architectural illustrator Andrew Hilton and has the makings of a fine addition to the South Wales tourism scene.
Andrew hired Effective Communication to write copy for his What's On feature and he should get good results from the splash.
From local people he's looking for high-quality properties to let. To visitors he offers great accommodation and an innovative concierge service.
The first few sentences of Andrew's What's On feature follow.

Unforgettable Gower Getaways
A FAMILY renowned for capturing the Swansea areas's glory on canvas has launched a new holiday lettings agency, Gower Getaways.
The new enterprise delivers a full management service to the owners of beautiful homes across Swansea and Gower. What sets Gower Getaways apart is its concierge service, an innovation which will greatly enhance the experience of visitors.
Andrew Hilton, who heads Gower Getaways, says: "There are many wonderful things to do on Gower but a lot of visitors don’t have the time to find out about them before they travel and find that the activities they’d like to do are fully booked when they arrive .
“Our concierge service addresses that issue. It allows visitors to make the most of every minute here, helps tourism businesses and encourages repeat bookings for our property owners."
Gower Getaways is based at Mumbles Fine Art Gallery owned by Ron and Mary Banning, the parents of Andrew’s wife Arwen. Ron is one of the peninsula's most respected landscape painters, Arwen is renowned for her paintings of figures.

May 25's Swansea Bay Media Highlights

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For all those interested in & working in the Swansea Bay media
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Print Western Mail Click
Dylan in words – Friends and admirers of Dylan Thomas have rushed to his defence after historian Paul Johnson dismissed him as a "liar and a rotter" in his memoirs.
Dylan in pictures – Photo of the day: A sand sculpture of Dylan Thomas has been created as part of an exhibition in Weston-super-Mare.
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Broadcast Bay Radio Click
Editorial – RNLI lifeguards have had a busy few days as the sun sends bathers to Gower's beaches. There have been rescues at Rotherslade and Port Eynon.
Commercial – An excellent advertising featuring on the Bay Radio website flags up Shop Gorseinon Week in conjunction with traders such Top Notch Bargains, The Old Mill Health Store, Gorseinon Pet & Aquatics Superstore and Swallow Taxis and Minibuses. Click
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Online South Wales Evening Post Click
Editorial – Dozens of South West Wales patients have left hospitals across the region suffering with malnutrition, according to new findings uncovered by AM Alun Cairns. Click
Commercial – Key home page ads include: PlusNet, Nurofen, Littlewoods, Virgin Media.
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Links Twitter | Website
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March 9's Swansea Bay Media Highlights

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For all those interested in & working in the Swansea Bay media
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Print Western Mail Click
Lead story – The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) says it has no sympathy with striking civil servants.

Key opinion – Wales is over-governed and doesn’t need 22 directors of social services, let alone 22 council chief executives. With money tight, now is a good time to rethink the way we run and pay for local authorities.
Promo power – “Get in early” is the WRU’s new mantra ... a page one ad plugs pre-registrations for tickets to the June 5 Wales v South Africa clash.
Top tales – The Western Mail’s top commented-on website stories at present include: Delve gets Wales squad call Click, Claims of financial abuse may close Communities First fund Click, Cardiff City fans protest Click
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Broadcast Scarlet FM Click
Key local story – An initiative to train Carmarthenshire police officers and council staff in basic sign language has been such a success that it could be set to grow.
Promo power – Handy tip to business: you can request a Scarlet FM ad quote online – just click here.
Police hunt - Click here to see a Post Office visitor wanted by Llanelli police in connection with a robbery.
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Online Swansea Council Click
Key local story – Officers from the council have held talks with Swansea Tennis Centre users about the future of the attraction. Click
Publicity power – Swansea will join thousands of other communities across the globe on March 27 at 8.30pm when the lights go out for an hour in council locations to mark nature conservation charity WWF's Earth Hour. Click
School budgeting – Plans to create two new Swansea primary schools could go out to consultation this month. Officers recommend creating new English and Welsh establishments. Click
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Community Radio Tircoed Click
News - Firefighters tackled a series of grass fires including two on Gower.
Interviews - Phil England talks to Kerry Lynne, of Diabetes UK Cymru, and Meilyr James in the regular herbal spot.
Website – New attractions on the events page, plus details on how to advertise.
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Make every penny count! Andy Pearson can guide your business through the media minefield. Phone 07758 745 240. Email andy@andypearsonpublicity.co.uk
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The Links Twitter | Website
What’s missing? Tell us what you’d like to see in these bulletins - email moreplease@andypearsonpublicity.co.uk
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March 1's Swansea Bay Media Highlights

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For all those interested in & working in the Swansea Bay media
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Print South Wales Evening Post Click
Lead story – A teenage student has died in a tragic accident at cliffs in Southgate, Gower.

Top photo – The timely St David's Day look from the weekend's Get Welsh in Swansea event (pictured)
Key opinion – Six pubs in the area go up for auction this week; it seems that new landlords face many problems.
Publicity power – Features writer Chris Peregrine shines his light on new book When We Were Miners, by Ian Isaac; it tells a personal South Wales story of the 1984-85 miners’ strike.
Don’t miss (& still on the issue of miners) – Page 25 has a lovely 1983 photo of colliers at Aberpergwm Colliery.
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Broadcast The Wave Click
Key local story – Headmasters across Carmarthenshire have been telling The Wave about their concerns over possible funding cuts due to the county council budgeting.
Promo power – Well done to the Llanelli teenager who’s managed to get the support of Dannii Minogue and David Beckham in her Help for Heroes fund-raising effort.
You heard it here – Scientists have made a new breakthrough in the treatment of breast cancer.
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Online Andy Pearson Publicity Click
Key local story – Online up, print down as Swansea Bay newspaper chiefs consider figures. Click
Publicity power – How the Swansea eco-media can help your cause. Click
Recommended – Swansea Bay leisure market gets media savvy. Click
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Community Radio Tircoed Click
Website – Happy St David’s Day ... and the Radio Tircoed website has had a makeover for today only. Also on the site – new local events added to the events page.
Programmes - Caroline Carpenter is playing plenty of Welsh artists on The Morning Show to 11am, Phil Thomas has a special Weekday Live from 11am-2pm.
Health - On The Get Together with Phil England, its week 8 of the Diabetes UK Cymru chats.

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Make every penny count! Andy Pearson can guide your business through the media minefield. Phone 07758 745 240. Email andy@andypearsonpublicity.co.uk
...
The Links | Twitter | Website
What’s missing? Tell us what you’d like to see in these bulletins - email moreplease@andypearsonpublicity.co.uk

Recession fight aided by Swansea Bay media savvy

With official calculations suggesting that the UK's Recession is over (http://bit.ly/7VwS1m) perhaps Swansea Bay business can look forward to brighter times.
And, if the South Wales Evening Post homes supplement is anything to go by, this hint of optimism may be well founded.
After its traditional festive season lull, Find a Property has bounced back. Today it weighs in at a chunky 60 pages.
The usual suspects are there - Parker Baker, Elan, John Francis, Oakleaf, Barratt, Redrow, Ashley Jones, Peter Alan, Astleys, Rees Richards, Clee, Dawsons, Darlows, Simpsons - and there's the usual range of properties. The cover features a £415k sea-view place in Sketty, inside you'll find more affordable gaffs such as a £40k auction lot in Cefneithin. It's in need of a little toil.
Congratulations go to the Evening Post's property writer Kay Byrne for she has unearthed a beauty in Gower. Parkmill's 150-year-old Green Cwm Cottage has an asking price of over £500k at Astleys; it has bags of land, a woodland setting and the bluest of covered swimming pools.
Kay, a northcountrywoman of great journalistic repute, describes the place as a "gingerbread-style" cottage. Tasty.
Anybody wishing to sell other Swansea Bay gems though the media should phone me for a chat - there are lots of innovative and fun, low-cost ways to publicise your property. I'm on 07758 745 240.

Swansea Bay success as site hits the top spot

Brilliant news for Swansea Bay website Gower News - http://www.gowernews.co.uk/.
Their Google search ranking for the term "gower news" is number one! Not bad for one of the freshest faces to emerge on the Swansea Bay media circuit.
They also clock top 10 rankings for the terms "gower tourist information," "gower," and "gower peninsula swansea."
A big help here is that the website's linked directly from Mumbles Tourist Information as the centre's main source of Gower-related information.
Average article views on Gower News is 250/day, with a total of 30,500 article views since October.
Top content by topic includes nature, history, beaches, camping, events and what's on.
Success like that, I love!

Gower News is Swansea Bay media's new kid

New things are happening all the time at grassroots level on the Swansea Bay media landscape.
And it's nice to be able to welcome a refreshing-looking website - www.gowernews.co.uk.
This Tuesday, Andy Pearson Publicity is due to meet up with the fella behind it and we're looking forward to hearing about his vision.
The site's in its early stages but is already showing signs of ambition and an indication that it'll be useful to fellow businesses as the months and years pass.
www.gowernews.co.uk has sections for a lot that's handy to all who love the peninsula, including Beaches, Books and Maps, Camping, Castles, Caves,
Churches, Community, Nature Reserves, Tide Times, Walks, Water Sports, What's On and Woodlands.
Pay it a visit ... and contribute if you can.