The Press Released

RELEASE: The Press Was Released

2010-05-24T08:50:00.008+01:00

We've warned you before that all good things must come to an end but now it's absolutely true - if you want to keep up with our latest you'll need to check out our new project Want & Blog instead. You can also follow our blogger (and social marketing supremo) Jerry on Twittter or contact him through Facebook.

If you're just tuning into The Press Released for the first time, or even if you were there from the start and want to re-live the journey, here's some of what you missed:

We had a midlife (well 25th year) crisis and decided to rebrand ourselves.
We backed down on that due to 'current market conditions'.
We accidentally became Hip-Hop Shakespeare producers, then wanted to try something new.
We got to interview GANDALF (Sir Ian McKellen...).
We looked at how lock-ins probably weren't a good customer service idea.
We were surprised at how quickly Pepsi rebranded (halfway through lunch in fact).
We tried (not very hard... and pretty much failed) to rebrand the city of Santiago, Chile.
We published an incredibly concise travel guide to Argentina & Chile.
We celebrated a month and 1,000 hits by buying half of Brick Lane.
We moaned a bit.
We were nearly arrested by the actual fashion police.
We came to the official end of our Press Released Project, but still kept going a little longer...
We made it to Number 10 (but only because no one was at home at Number 11 Downing Street).
We stirred up wild internet speculation.
We saved money on a fancy, Lost-style finale by instead having one of those cheesey flashback episodes where we just use content we've already made - thanks for reading it and sticking with us this long!

Goodbye for now. See you at Want & Blog.

NEWS FLASH: Press Released website fails to deny 365 relaunch rumours

2009-12-09T14:15:00.002Z

Despite making a name for itself earlier in the year by issuing press releases on just about anything, thepressreleased.co.uk is remaining unusually quiet in response to rumours of its impending relaunch.

The web project, spearheaded by social marketing expert Jerry Daykin, was a 2 month experiment challenging assumptions on what really qualifies as news. Marking key moments in his life, including a personal rebrand to mark his 25th birthday, by releasing press releases the blog aimed to show that anyone's life could be made fit for print.

Interest in the project from local papers, the marketing press and London-based newspaper Metro saw over 2,000 unique visitors visit the site whilst the blog was active.

Internet rumours of a relaunch or reinvention for the project were sparked when a previously unknown Twitter account posted this message earlier today:

@pressreleased Testing, testing, 1,2,3! http://www.thepressreleased.co.uk

The comments are backed up by sources close to Mr Daykin who, as previously reported, indicated that he was keen to develop the next stage of the project and saw the obvious expansion being to use as many social media tools as possible - he also cryptically described the next chapter as a '365 evolution' leading many to believe it will be a full year project rather than the more short-lived trial run.

Hackers rooting through the source code found this snippet: "We're back! And using more social media than ever!!"

RELEASE: Press release blogger goes to 11 Downing Street, pops next door for milk

2009-10-31T19:11:00.003Z

The notorious East London 'press release blogger' has taken his issues straight to the heart of British power with repeat visits to Downing Street this fortnight.

Visiting 11 Downing Street to make final plans for NEET charity City Gateway's 10th Anniversary Reception, Jerry describes the welcome he received as 'welcoming and neighborly'.

"Having cleared rigorous security checks we were quite free to walk up Downing Street in our own merry time. Approaching the door of number 11 someone stuck their head out of 10 saying no one was in and we should come and wait in there for a while - it was as if they'd just popped out for milk or something, but very welcoming and neighbourly!"

The reception itself attracted over 100 guests from the political and corporate worlds and challenged them to look at how they partnered with the third sector to support the communities they're active in. Over the past few years City Gateway has halved local youth NEET (not in education, employment or training) figures against a backdrop of rising national statistics, working in close partnership with City firms and other charities.

"It was an incredible opportunity to organise such an event," commented Jerry "but I was also very relieved when it was over - luckily the floods of positive feedback made it worthwhile."

Jerry described the atmosphere inside as uniquely British, "It's a lovely building but they haven't gone to town. There's nothing to say what a mighty nation we are, a few picturs drawn by school kids in the 80s and even some of the portraits of former chancellors are caricatures!"

"I get the feeling that if I was hosting a reception in the East Wing of the White House Gordon Brown wouldn't casually walk past my cloakroom, Alastair Darling wouldn't send his wife upstairs to check out what the fuss was about and the 1st family probably wouldn't get their groceries delivered by Ocado at the end of the afternoon. Uniquely British."

Jerry describes the night as a once in a lifetime opportunity that he hopes to repeat and took the first of many photos in front of number 10, "Next time I'm there I'll have noticeably less hair but noticeably more policies!"

RELEASE: What's the real Costs?

2009-10-24T10:02:00.003+01:00

The launch of a new Costa coffee shop in Whitechapel has been met with considerable enthusiasm by local residents but a potential backlash is looming, warns press release blogger Jerry Daykin.

"I've been excited to see the shop on New Road take shape this past week and delighted to have been one of their first customers. Popping in for a hot chocolate and gluten free brownie I accidentally befriended half the staff who were all in for a training morning."

Yet despite resounding positivity over the new facility and the development of the area Jerry was cautious about the impact on local residents.

"I have to walk past the shop twice every day on my way to and from work and my will power simply isn't strong enough to resist going in for one of their tasty offerings. Whichever way you look at it, it's a shortcut to financial ruin!"

Analysits warn that an individual in this situation could expect to spend a grand total of £1,300 over the course of a year, money that many simply don't have.

Costa have not commented on the issue, but then again we haven't asked them either.

RELEASE: Londoner Seeks Own Identical Twin For Pop Art Project

2009-10-19T08:17:00.006+01:00

An East London marketing manager, who previously masterminded a Hip-Hop Shakespeare project with Sir Ian McKellen, has today issued a call to find an identical twin for his next art project.

Whilst Damien Hirst's 'Twins', currently part of the Pop Art show at Tate Modern, involve a set of identical twins sitting in front of two different spot paintings, Jerry Daykin hopes to go one step further than the artist and find his own identical twin.

"When I was younger I was told that everybody had an exact twin out there somewhere and with over 6 billion people in the world it's easy enough to believe - whilst generations of humanity have had to make do wondering where their twin might be I hope to use the internet to actually find mine!"

If Jerry is able to find his twin he has plans for a new installation art piece where the two would play Wii Whilst surrounded by piles of unwashed red saucepans. Any tall, dark men who think they might be a match, or who are willing to consider radical cosmetic surgery, are welcome to get in touch with @jdaykin.

RELEASE: Everybody NOT in Love with Shallow JLS Promises?

2009-10-15T10:10:00.005+01:00

A new song by popular music group JLS promising interested individuals that they'd wait 'forever and a day' for them has been exposed by new research as a decidedly empty promise.

The shocking small print comes cleverly encoded earlier in the chorus where the group explain that: "Every minute's like an hour, Every hour's like a day" and that "Every day lasts forever."

Press release blogger Jerry Daykin, also renowned for his exceptional music taste, exposed the scandal pointing out: "If you work back through their maths you'll realise that by 'forever' they actually just meant a day, that by a 'day' they really meant an hour and that even by an 'hour' they're actually only referring to a minute."

"The bottom line is that at best they're only promising to stick around for about 90 secondswhich even in this age of Tweeting and mobile phones doesn't leave you much room for train delays or postal strikes."

The band is yet to comment but already fears are growing that this discovery will lead to repeat scenes like their original X Factor Live appearances which were overshadowed by crushes amongst stampedes of teenage girls. Whilst fans had originally been put at ease by the song's reassuringly laid back time frame this new report may force some of them into taking more drastic action.

Check out the song on Youtube now.

RELEASE: Nothing Lasts For Ever

2009-10-05T00:26:00.002+01:00

An East London marketing manager who created a blog entirely made of faux press releases has responded to criticism that his 'well of inspiration has dried up' by claiming the project was never intended to run forever.

Started on his 25th birthday back on August 6th the blog has active posts through until the 24th September [update: now the 5th October] but has not been added to since [update: except this article]. The blog stormed to 1,000 hits within its first month but has seen hits fall by roughly a 1/3 in recent weeks of little activity.

Responding to cries for more from his legion of fans, Jerry Daykin responded, "Nothing lasts for ever, when I created the blog I knew it would eventually have to end. I suppose I could claim that I ran it as a one month project and surpassed all expectations by almost going on for two months, but I wont."

Yet Jerry admits he isn't finished with the project yet, "I'm certainly not saying 'This Is It' because nothing says final words quite like that. I'm also not going to ask for anything extra interesting to happen in my life because the last time I tried that I ended up repainting half the roads in Whitechapel with white gloss paint."

In the meantime fans will have to wait with baited breath to see what his next move will be, internet rumors already suggest that content from his older '8 Simple Rules' blog might simply be repackaged with directors commentary and given an anniversary release date but this has been denied thus far.

One source close to the blogger, who for legal reasons wished to remain anonymous, commented "It's not so much that nothing's happening in his life as that he's too busy living it - there are grapes to harvest every morning and Monopoly streets to buy every evening, not to mention a hotly anticipated wedding video, filmed on the Harry Potter set in Worcester, to edit!"

BREAKING: Variety not the spice of life?

2009-09-24T14:10:00.002+01:00

Defying an age old assumption that variety is indeed the spice of life, fresh research by www.thepressreleased.co.uk has shown that it is in fact actually quite tedious and at times down right annoying.

Marketing manager, branding expert, all round good egg and press release blogger Jerry Daykin was today caught out by the dark side of variety:

"I bumped into Joel, an old colleague from East London charity City Gateway, earlier in the week and foolishly complained that a lack of variety had allowed my blogging ideas to dry up. Today I've come face to face with variety and sure wish I hadn't"

Jerry (@jdaykin) had confidently Twittered this morning about his excitement at the diverse working day ahead - a trip to B&Q and Ikea in the morning followed by an important presentation to a City law firm in the afternoon.

Passers by spotted the catastrophe when he stopped at traffic lights near his office - an entire tin of quick drying White gloss paint spilled inside and dripping down the back.

"The worst thing is I'd filled up with petrol just 10 minutes earlier and it had all been fine then - it must have happened just before I made it back. It didn't help that the sofa we went all that way to pick up turned out to be the wrong one too!"

The City Gateway team got down on their knees to clear up the mess but it remains to see what the people at StreetVan will have to say about it. Ever the optimist, Jerry remained positive, Twittering "B&Q an unmitigated disaster. Presentation to law firm statistically guaranteed to succeed now, right?!?"

RELEASE: Press release blogger falls foul of the fashion police

2009-09-16T18:20:00.004+01:00

An East Londoner, who earlier in the year backed-down on a radical self-rebranding, was today stopped by police for wearing the wrong thing; he became famous for running a blog (www.thepressreleased.co.uk) which documents everyday events in his life in elaborated press-ready form.

Jerry Daykin, who escaped without a formal warning, was halted by a police squad car on Sidney Street, Shadwell, when his outfit matched the description of an individual wanted for a nearby attempted break-in.

"I had no external meetings that day so had chosen to dress down in jeans and a thin light grey jumper, the chill I got stepping outside the house should have been enough to send me back to change but sadly I continued as I was!"

The police officer asked Mr Daykin to kindly stay put until further details of the suspect could be extracted from the understandably upset victim. The 6 foot 4 marketing manager was immediately released when the suspect was identified as being approximately 5 foot 4 in height.

"The police were very polite and apologetic for the inconvenience and I reassured them that I was happier knowing they tried to stop criminals than let suspects get away to avoid annoyance - perhaps I'll think twice about dressing quite so casually again though!"

Margaret, a former work colleague of Jerry's, commented "Last time you go out in your sports casuals then. Gosh maybe the rest of you needs to be rebranded now?" Whilst elsewhere wild accusations that Jerry might have used stilts to cunningly disguise his figure have been outlandishly thrown about.

RELEASE: British society secretly incentivises moaning

2009-09-16T15:21:00.003+01:00

A bold new report into life in modern Britain has revealed evidence of a nation of complainers and a shocking tendancy to incentivise negative feedback across all aspects of society. The survey, carried out exclusively for press release blog thepressreleased.co.uk, asked a range of consumers for their opinions on life in modern Britain.

Asked about their customer service experience 75% of those surveyed admitted they only ever completed feedback forms after negative experiences. Yet the report found that the urge to complain is further encouraged by a universal willingness to reward bad feedback - of the instances reported 80% of negative complainers received some form of reward or compensation whilst a mere 10% of those who fed back positively received anything.

One recent traveller captured the sentiment perfectly: "I filled in both a complaints form and a compliments form on my airline's website after the trip to Argentina. My complaint was replied to within hours with a detailed response, some positive action and even some future discount. I haven't heard anything about the compliment!"

The survey suggested the experience was almost universal with a wide range of firms jumping to reward those who complain but having little to say to positive feedback. Customer relations expert Jerry Daykin added that, "on the face of it a customer can go onto a store's website, make a complaint and be immediately seen to - or they can fill in a survey of their positive experience and have a 1 in 10,000 chance to win an iPod!"

"It's a difficult situation for firms who are keen to protect their brand image but perhaps it's time they started doing more to reward customers who tell them what they're doing right! Identifying and rewarding positive brand ambassadors may be tricky but the end results could make it well worthwhile!"

The report's experts predict that if nothing is done to reverse this trend positive words such as 'good', 'impressive' and 'recommend' may fall completely out of usage within the next two generations.

The report 'A slice of modern British pie' went on to further report that the average queuing ability in Britain had fallen 20% over the past decade. They based their conclusion on a normalised index of consumer perceptions and a 10 minute observation in Whitechapel Sainsburys.

RELEASE: Man Celebrates One Month of Being a Living Press Release by Buying Half of Brick Lane.

2009-09-11T14:17:00.004+01:00

An East London Marketing Manager who chose to share his everyday life experiences in press release form is today celebrating the 1,000th visit to his site.

Jerry Daykin planned to mark his 25th birthday in August by rebranding himself and issuing a one-off press release but ended up launching an ongoing project when Twitter responses to his first post were so positive.

In its first month www.thepressreleased.co.uk received hits from 52 different countries including Canada, Argentina, New Zealand, India, Ukraine and South Africa. The blog is a light-hearted take on life in an exaggerated press release form with a particular focus on issues in marketing, branding & PR.

To mark the occasion Jerry has purchased Osborn Street (the lower half of Brick Lane) and the street he grew up on (in Pinner, North West London) in an online version of Monopoly. The Monopoly City Streets game which launched this week allows players to buy real Google Map streets, build on them and then sell them on to other users – the game’s winner will be announced in 4 months time.

When asked about the success of thepressreleased.co.uk Jerry commented: “To be honest I’m quite surprised! I’ve spent half of this month on holiday and haven’t been able to give it the attention I’d otherwise have liked to. I’m still not sure how long I’ll run it for but it seems that there’s still demand at the moment!”

Through the blog Jerry issues regular press releases about his life, following on from his initial rebrand topics have included an exclusive interview with Sir Ian McKellen, coverage of the FA Charity Shield, a look at Pepsi’s new branding, coverage of his trip to Argentina

“I’m delighted by the initial success and really hoping that one of the press releases gets picked up in the press – Otherwise my mum has suggested I turn my hand to travel journalism instead and try and find someone to pay for all my holidays!”

UPDATE: Since this post was originally uploaded Jerry has gone on to purchase every street in the entire town of 'Daykin' in Nebraska and open a stadium, school and large hotel complex. How Monopoly has changed...

ADVERTORIAL: The Daykin Day by Day Guide to Argentina (and Chile and Brazil)

2009-09-09T09:13:00.005+01:00

From traditional squares to cutting edge restaurants, from snowy mountains to barren deserts, from business districts to cowboy ranches and from wine lodges to boutique hotels, Argentina has something for everyone.

It's also pretty huge so if you haven't got months to spare you may need to pass up on the Tierra Del Fuego, Gaucho Wetlands or even the Iguazu Falls to be a little more focussed...

One: Set your 'out of office' reply, pack your bags and head to the fine piece of modern architecture that is Terminal 5.

Two: Stop off for an hour or two in Sao Paulo, Brazil - the weather's great, as is the view from the plane. Get accustomed to your hotel and Pepsi's new branding.

Three: Do the tourist thing round the old part of town. If squares get too much try Eva Peron's grave or the recently redeveloped Puerto Madero docklands.

Four: Discover Palermo! Who knew lovely streets, cafes and shops were such a short tube ride away? You should be on your fifth steak by this point.

Five: Delight in half a day of travel agents trying in vain to persuade someone to answer the phones at Argentina's biggest ski resort. Head off in style on a 'suite class' night bus and save on accomodation whilst you're at it!

Six: A quiet and relaxed day in the town of Cordoba. Visit churches, watch some tango, drink Coke Light in cafes and then eat more incredible steak.

Seven: Take a day trip round some beautiful (artificial) lakes and soak up the atmosphere (or lack there of) in a German themed village. (Some travellers might prefer to omit this).

Eight: Arrive by night bus in Mendoza, travel to Cavas Wine Lodge in the foot hills of the Andes and then simply do... Nothing.

Nine: A wine tasting lunch at Bodega Ruca Malen, followed by horse riding and a red wine bath should hit the spot. Top off with steak.

Ten: Take a bus through the beautiful Andes pass to Chile, via a Soviet-style border control shed. Arrive in Santiago in the hustling & bustling arty district.

Eleven: Move to a hotel in a quieter part of town. Spend a morning walking through rather deserted streets before a trip up the 'Funicular' and a more pleasurable daytime visit to the arty district.

Twelve: Go skiing! Why not? You're surrounded by mountains! On the ride there discover the other end of Santiago is a bustling modern city with a fairly New York feel. Oops.

Thirteen: Bus yourself back to Argentina but then hire a huge pick-up monster truck to drive up to San Juan. Get there in one piece and the Del Bono Park Hotel & Casino await you as an oasis in a literal desert.

Fourteen: Return the car to Mendoza before you scratch it or run over a wild dog. Have more incredible steak for dinner and try and bump into a lovely American couple you met at your wine lodge.

Fifteen: Enjoy the wide streets and plentiful squares of Mendoza. Then enjoy the pool & bar at your hotel. If you managed to meet up with anyone Americam go for Italian together, if not get some steak alone.

Sixteen: Fly back to Buenos Aires, stay at Home in Palermo. Waste no time, there are hundreds of amazing cafes and restaurants of a very high Standard. Buy a soufle dish in Oui Oui.

Seventeen: With so many amazing cafes you'll need to invent a meal between brunch and lunch - Dulche de leche meringues fill it perfectly. End on a mind blowing high at the Hotel Faena + Universe - La Luli fuse Tarrantino and Lady Gaga before your very eyes.

Eighteen: You should have packed already (and had 30 or so steaks) so resign yourself to a flight home. Stop over in a wet and horrible Brazil.

Nineteen: Arrive in Blighty at boring old Terminal 5. Get home to your credit card bills. Unpacking is only for the brave.

Twenty: Work and the real world await. Avoid steak, it will only depress you. Rent Evita.

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Look out for the full range of Daykin Day by Day guides coming soon.
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RELEASE: Santiago in need of a (re?)brand

2009-09-05T13:01:00.004+01:00

A recent survey of travellers to South America, which showed that less than 50% of them knew Santiago was the capital of Chile, has left tourists and branding experts calling for the City to do more to develop its international identity.

Paul, a traveller visiting the City for just 2 days during a trip to neighbouring Argentina, didn't have high expectations: "We only came because the Las Lenas ski resort in Argentina was unable to offer any skiing options. We'd been, rightly, told that the views on the bus over the Andes were stunning but I figured Santiago itself would be a pretty samey and possibly slighly run down City!"

Yet nestled in the foothills of the Andes Santiago is booming and is now arguably one of the top destinations on the continent. Chile's uniquely 'Jalapeno' shape means the City is both a short drive from ski resorts to the East and from coastal villages to the West.

"We didn't really know much about the City and didn't even get a chance to read a guidebook until we found a bookshop at lunch," commented marketing and branding expert Jerry Daykin. "In fact we spent the morning walking through a rather dismal downtown looking at slightly generic churches."

"The fennicular railway up the city's central mount was a literal high point of the day and the town's infamous smog gave way long enough for some good views. The cafe lined streets at the foot of the hill were pleasantly fresh and full of life."

Yet away from the traditional tourist downtown area, and old financial centre, Santiago is booming with contemporary high-rise blocks, shopping streets and modern restaurants which bring traditional cuisine back to life.

"The town already has some new signage up marking the country's own 200th anniversary in 2010 so here's hoping their tourist office is taking their branding and marketing challenge seriously." Jerry revealed.

"It might still be a slight overstatement to call it Latin America's New York but who wouldn't want to visit a town with a "Jerry's" fast food franchise?

RELEASE: Man takes advice to soak up wine region literally

2009-09-02T01:57:00.003+01:00

A tourist to the Mendoza wine-producing area of Argentina has taken tourist advice, to soak up the vineyard culture, literally by bathing in warm red wine.
Jerry Daykin, a charity PR expert, confesses he is anything but a wine buff but wanted to make the most of his short stay in what is becoming one of the world's foremost wine regions.

"I tried a few wines at a tasting over lunch in a nearby vineyard but, as I confessed to our horseback riding guide, I didn't particularly prefer the expensive options over the house plonk!"

The Cavas Wine Lodge, a rather luxury high point on Jerry's recent tour of South America, is famed for it's service and was keen that its guests get a chance to relax and soak up the atmosphere in the shadow of the Andes.

"I asked myself 'Who am I to let them down?' and did my best to appreciate as much of their wine as possible. My real inspiration struck whilst sitting in the bath, looking out over the vineyards and pondering a trip to the spa"

Rich in polyphenols, grapes help combat free radicals which (presumably alongside time) are responsible for 80% of ageing. Combined with organic essential oils a bubbling Bonarda (red wine) bath would stimulate the circulatory system as well as refreshing the skin.

"I left the details to the experts," added Jerry. "Afterall I wanted to soak up the atmosphere not stain my skin permanently red!"

RELEASE: Pepsi rebrand finally arrives, mid lunch

2009-08-26T23:40:00.007+01:00

Announced to much fanfare a year ago, the much talked about Pepsi rebrand has finally hit the streets - half way through a light lunch in Buenos Aires.

***
UPDATE 27th August: Since this article was posted Coke has said 'hello' to Pepsi on Twitter... Not long later the 'hello' came back. What does this new friendliness mean for the future of soft drinks and am I the only one who thinks the FCC or someone should investigate them for collusion now they 'follow' each other?!
http://amnesiablog.wordpress.com/2009/07/01/end-the-twitter-standoff-between-pepsi-and-coke/
***

Whilst the Coca Cola logo has remained almost unchanged for most of a century, Pepsi has consistently tweaked its image every decade - as Britney once kindly demonstrated through her 'through the ages' Superbowl commercial. Whilst the Tradition Vs Freshness branding debate may never be truly resolved, Pepsi remains the world's second biggest soft drinks brand.

Yet Pepsi definitely takes consistency seriously, a fact underlined by a sizeable leaked document outlining the complex historic analysis and geometric thinking the branding company was paid millions for. There's also a strong argument that the new logo is the same as the old, turned slightly to the right and made to 'smile' different amounts depending on how many adatives are in your bottle.

"I've been looking out for the new brand in the UK for months," commented charity branding expert Jerry Daykin, "but what really took me by surprise was not just that Argentina has the new look before us, but that they rolled it out halfway through a light lunch!"

Jerry had an old Pepsi Light and a medium steak in a Buenos Aires cafe this week and was taken by surprise when his second bottle had a completely new look.

"Comparing the two really made it clear why the rebrand was necessary- the old one's a chaotic mess compared to the simplicity of the new one. It's great how the sub-brands are unified but still unique."

"Since leaving that cafe the posters for the new rebrand have been everywhere, did they really put them up all at once? Pepsi - for those that think young!"

RELEASE: In the land of gluten can the Coeliac be king?

2009-08-25T15:32:00.005+01:00

Prolific press release blogger and media manager Jerry Daykin is a seasoned coeliac traveller but almost met his match in Argentina.

"Normally the mention of gluten on the front of packaging is a great thing as it's proceeded by 'no', but down here just about everything likes to boast that yes, indeed, it does contain gluten."

"I'm not sure if they add extra gluten to their bread or if the country has a sad history of being forced to eat gluten free bread against its will but there's no prouder sales claim in these parts than 'con gluten'!"

Yet there is hope for Coeliac's visiting the country famed for fine steak and football.

"Dinner's never a problem as long as you're happy with a big chunk of meat and a few papas fritas!"

Coeliac visitors to the country take note! Whilst supermarkets may stock a few biscuits a town's dietician is the way forward. 859 Viamonte is a particularly good find in Buenos Aires, you'll be amazed at the things that can be made without gluten.

"I'm now carrying so much gluten free stuff around it's everyone else who's left struggling for food!"

RELEASE: Man overwhelmed by PR success flees country

2009-08-19T09:38:00.005+01:00

An East Londoner, who setup a press release blog to record key moments of his life in elaborated detail, has today revealed that his overwhelming PR success at work is now driving him out the country.

"Two and half years ago when I joined City Gateway there was a sense that PR wasn't really worth the effort but by persevering with a gradual development strategy we're now able to have influence far beyond our Tower Hamlets remit."

In recent days when Sky News, the BBC and ITN wanted national coverage on the 'NEET' issue all three ended up coming to City Gateway.

"We did get a little carried away and had a bit of a Black Adder moment to avoid double booking ITN and BBC on the same day but you only live once eh?"

Last year young people involved in the charity chatted through the issues they face with Prime Minister Gordon Brown whilst just months ago David Cameron highlighted the charity as a path out of the recession. Local resident Sir Ian McKelken has helped make international news through hip-hop Shakespeare workshops and by launching their new bite sized volunteer scheme.

"We've worked to keep our website updated and built on local coverage - supported Google advertising means journalists see us come up on many key searches. We try and respond to journalists who publish relevant stories and at the end of the day a lot of our team's work is simply quite innovative and news-worthy."

Yet Jerry Daykin stresses he's a marketing manager first and foremost and that having spent recent days on the phone talking to journalists about new youth unemployment figures he needs to find time to do the rest of his job.

"Can you be too succesful? I won't knock it because my boss likes it! On Monday we've got an England footballer coming down to the youth club though so I figure it's about time to get out of here..!!"

Jerry will be spending the next couple of weeks in South America, a holiday he booked 8 months ago showing incredible foresight for how his PR campaign would develop.

RELEASE: 'Lock-ins' the latest tactic in customer retention?

2009-08-15T23:40:00.004+01:00

A man, who earlier in the week criticised a popular car club on social media site Twitter, has today hit out at new customer retention policies after being held in an underground car lot for almost half an hour.

"Not being able to book a car at short notice is one thing but trapping your customers in with the cars doesn't seem like the solution - I've heard of loyalty cards, no claim bonuses, 24 month contracts, exclusivity deals but this is the first time I've heard of 'lock-ins' being used outside of the hospitality industry!"

Whilst Jerry recognises the incident was a rather unfortunate mistake caused by a faulty locking mechanism he says it hasn't done a huge amount to improve his brand perception. "The difficult thing is that a year ago I was a real positive brand ambassador, telling everyone I knew how wonderful the service was. In fairness their customer support team were very supportive when I finally managed to get out and get mobile phone signal but it is however getting harder and harder to sing the service's praises the more it traps me places against my will!"

Jerry sold his car after moving to East London because he couldn't justify the high insurance premiums for how little he used it. "In many ways the service is an absolute godsend, giving me access to cars, or even vans, whenever I need them and letting me use them for the occasional short bursts I want, though in recent months I've started having to plan further and further ahead to guarantee getting one."

"I use the cars both for pleasure and for work, but when you're hiring by the hour timing is everything so it hasn't helped that in 2 out of 3 recent personal hires the previous user returned the car late - just not cricket! It's a lot harder to make customers than keep them so I'm hoping they're working to make real improvements, they do seem to offer decent user credits when the service lets you down."

Asked earlier in the week about the difficulty of finding cars in the Shadwell region of East London @streetcarhq replied, "Where abouts are you based? We watch that ratio very closely, but there can be some regional and seasonal variations."

RELEASE: Blogger Interviews Magneto, Gandalf, King Leer, Iorek Byrnison and Number Two all in one go. Talks mainly about volunteering.

2009-08-14T17:26:00.009+01:00

Words couldn't do this justice, but in writing a really long title to this post I tried...

--ends--

Notes to editors:
Press Released is a project to tell a life story fit for print. It'd be shameless self promotion if we didn't work so hard to make it entertaining.

We more than encourage the attributed reposting or printing of content from this site... Just let us know if you ever do!

RELEASE: Hillary Holds out as NHS Marketing Team to Take 6 Month Sabatical?

2009-08-13T20:29:00.004+01:00

NHS spokespeople were unable to comment on growing rumors that their entire marketing team was having a right field day and planning a 6 month sabbatical off the job. Web gossip is suggesting the team have created a simple programme to randomly repost positive Twitter feedback about the NHS on the organisation's website every hour instead of adding any genuine updates to the site.

Having been the top trending topic on Twitter for over 48 hours #welovetheNHS has now been Twitted almost as often as the word 'Iran', surely delighted in the publicity the team couldn't be blamed for wanting a break.

Branding expert Jerry Daykin spoke out, "for an institution that does tend to get a bit of a beating in the press it must come as a wonderful relief to be bad mouthed over in America, many reality TV stars would kill for less. The huge public pouring of affection only serves to underline that however 'Orwellian' it might seem the general public prefers to keep both legs when involved in accidents than having to pick between the two."

Jerry Daykin himself worked hard to get a short letter in the Evening Standard and an article in the local paper today, both promoting the charity City Gateway that he works for, and to have one of his own Twitter posts retweeted.

"I've always been a fan of Hillary Clinton's and was dissappointed when her own health reforms failed during Bill Clinton's presidency, I can only hope Obama sees through the NHS anti-hype and pushes through the change which only serves to hurt the rich and powerful drug companies! It's nice to see people come together around a cause, perhaps we can all Twitter our way out of youth unemployment and the credit crunch next?"

--ends--

Notes to editors:
Press Released is a project to tell a life story fit for print. It'd be shameless self promotion if we didn't work so hard to make it entertaining.

We more than encourage the attributed reposting or printing of content from this site... Just let us know if you ever do!

RELEASE: Amateur wedding photographer faces up to bride's fury

2009-08-13T12:42:00.003+01:00

An amateur photographer who last month did the duty at one of his best friends' weddings is today prepared for the possibility of bringing the bride's most honeymoon glow to a sudden halt.

Travelling down to London to Cambridge tonight the bride will get her first glimpse of any of the official wedding photographs as well as the Bob Book album Jerry Daykin has prepared for her.

"It's not that there's anything bad with the photos, in fact I'm quite happy with them, it's just there's nothing officially good about anything at a wedding until the bride says so!" he commented.

His Twitter update this morning showed a slight chink in his armour of confidence @jdaykin commented “This is one of those make or break moments in life huh?!” and when pushed Jerry admitted he had a few butterflies, “the bottom line is it’s one of the most important days of her life, the day itself was pretty much perfect so hopefully the photos will have captured that – otherwise I could be facing up to her fury!”

If all else fails there is however a backup plan, hailing the dawn of the Wedding 3.0 Jerry pointed to the good quality wedding shots already up on Facebook. “In this day and age the days of the wedding photographer may be numbered, surely all a bride needs are a few photos taken on guests phone and tagged online?”

Hopefully we wont be reporting any extra cases of domestic violence this time tomorrow as Jerry is already lined up to do the video at another wedding later in the year.

--ends--

Notes to editors:
Press Released is a project to tell a life story fit for print. It'd be shameless self promotion if we didn't work so hard to make it entertaining.

We more than encourage the attributed reposting or printing of content from this site... Just let us know if you ever do!

RELEASE: Accidental Hip-Hop Shakespeare Pioneer Seeks New Crossover Project

2009-08-11T08:16:00.005+01:00

One year ago this week Jerry Daykin, a marketing manager at an East London charity, arranged for Sir Ian McKellen to visit the City Gateway Limehouse Youth Centre; he arrived at the centre as a well regarded actor and left as a pioneer of Hip-Hop Shakespeare. Now Jerry is launching the search for a new face to head up his next crossover project.

Sir Ian, himself a local resident to the club, had come down to launch a community art competition but found the enthusiasm of the staff and young people too much to resist.

He said: “What they did there was great. Shakespeare is all based on beat, rhythm and rhyme, and all those things that rappers deal with. I don’t think you should think of places like this as just a way of keeping kids off the streets. Every young person has a right to develop their potential.”

Despite the culture clash Jerry says the Shakespearean actor felt right at home in the clubs hip-hop studio, "Our producer Randy invited him in and he was immediately encouraging the young people on the mic, he didn't take too much persuading to have a go himself! He chose a classic sonnet and it was our idea to put it to a beat. We gave him a CD to take away with him but didn't think too much more of it."

The project however snowballed, from early local coverage it was featured in a Radio 2 debate with rapper Tricky and then picked up around the world. "A Tower Hamlets councillor holidaying in India came back and told us of his huge surprise to read about his local youth club in the Calcutta Times." Jerry added.

When Mobo award winning hip-hop artist Akala and his sister Ms Dynamite wanted to start an educational Hip-Hop project they approached the City Gateway team as established experts in the field and ended up launching a national BBC Blast workshop tour together.

This week Sir Ian is back as Jerry oversees the launch of the charity's latest scheme, to encourage Canary Wharf workers to volunteer locally in their lunch breaks or straight after work. The Lord of the Rings Star felt strongly about the subject "Companies have a duty - they’re lucky to be here, in many ways they’re the outsiders in this community. They can be stuck in all of this new development and around them, if they just looked out of their windows, on the street level there are people who need help through no fault of their own. City Gateway clearly can be the link."

However whilst some people might see bankers and volunteering as chalk and cheese Jerry felt differently: "Most of the companies we work with have well established volunteering schemes and long histories of supporting their communities. I wish I could say this was my new crossover project but really we're just developing ideas that are already there - that's why I'm launching a search for the next big thing!"

Anyone with ideas of radically different ideas they'd like to see come together or who wants to support whatever the next big thing is should e-mail thepressreleased.co.uk@gmail.com, they are particularly interested in any well known personalities willing to give something new a try.

--ends--

Notes to editors:
Press Released is a project to tell a life story fit for print. It'd be shameless self promotion if we didn't work so hard to make it entertaining.

We more than encourage the attributed reposting or printing of content from this site... Just let us know if you ever do!

RELEASE: Manchester United's unlikely Eurovision bid

2009-08-09T17:30:00.000+01:00

New research, by press release blog www.thepressreleased.co.uk, suggests that over 75% of professionals believe UK news desks are so overwhelmed with the number of releases they receive that they are now forced to judge them by title alone.

An industry source who refused to be named dismissed the relevance of the claims "most of our readers make similar decisions based on shorter titles or even pictures. We've got to think the same way our customers do!"

The report, to be published in September, was carried out largely over Facebook & Twitter. It warns that press officers shouldn't ever expect anymore than their first two paragraphs to be read unless a major celebrity is involved.

Jerry Daykin, author of the blog, urged the PR industry not to go down the slippery slope of ever more sensationalist copy to try and get noticed, arguing that the end result would be detrimental to all involved.

Concluding his press call on a lighter note he joked, "we'll see a lot of changes in the media industry over the next 12 months and today we've seen Jade Ewen kick off at Wembley but it's unlikely we'll see the Manchester United squad make a bid for Eurovision anytime soon.."

His comments came as Manchester United lost to Chelsea in the FA Charity Shield, despite a last minute equaliser by Rooney. Fans who left before the end missed an exciting penalty showdown and the real conclusion of the match.

--Ends--

Notes to editors:
Press Released is a project to tell a life story fit for print. It'd be shameless self promotion if we didn't work so hard to make it entertaining.

We more than encourage the attributed reposting or printing of content from this site... Just let us know if you ever do!

RELEASE: Man aims to tell entire life story through press releases

2009-08-07T16:48:00.003+01:00

A 25 year old who believes his first quarter of a century alive was not adequately captured by the World's media has this week launched a project to rectify the situation. Press Released is a blog that aims to 'tell a life fit for print' by covering everyday events in his life in press release form. Ultimately the project hopes to cross over and have its biggest impact on other forums.

Whilst everyone is buzzing about micro blogging and self published content Jerry Daykin, a marketing manager for an East London charity, has his eyes firmly set on traditional media, an industry he believes they could learn a thing or two from the online space: 'I wouldn't begin to question that there's a place for real journalism in the press but there are lots of papers and even more pages to fill and if the internet has taught us anything it's surely that there's a definite demand for stuff that's just bit more day to day.'

'If printed media is going to stay relevant it needs to respond to developments on the Internet - how long can it really be before we see Youtube flick books or the best of Ashton Kutcher's Twitter printed next to the Telegraph crossword.'

'I'm just trying to keep ahead of the curve but until I can break into print media I'm just a follower in this crowded online landscape. I'm looking to capture the highs and lows of real life in a media digestible form- almost like Big Brother reinvented without the increasingly desperate shock factor and complete ambivalence towards personal privacy.'

Press Released is a project aimed at recording one man's life entirely through press releases and print-ready articles. It's early days for the project but the aim is clear - to get media coverage, a regular column in a newspaper or somehow use it to blag into a reasonably A-list film premiere.

'My mind is like a secret collection of new Michael Jackson records, if it's a slow day on the news front I've got a quarter of a century of unreleased material to fall back on. Earlier this week I pulled a huge U-turn on a radical self rebrand but I wouldn't like to say I was going through a midlife crisis as I hope to live beyond 50.' Jerry concluded.

--Ends--

Notes to editors:
Press Released is a project to tell a life story fit for print. It'd be shameless self promotion if we didn't work so hard to make it entertaining.

We more than encourage the attributed reposting or printing of content from this site... Just let us know if you ever do!

RELEASE: Branding expert backs down on birthday rebrand, blames ‘current market conditions’

2009-08-06T08:24:00.005+01:00

Jerry Daykin, a 25 year old marketing manager at an East London charity, woke up today one year older but with the same name and wardrobe despite plans published earlier in the week to completely rebrand both. Jerry, who was a featured commentator in the Independent following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, pointed the finger of blame at the credit crunch itself.

Speaking exclusively to anyone who will listen, Jerry responded, “Early, pub-based focus groups had been very positive about the suggested changes. When the news broke to a wider audience we were taken by surprise by the public outcry, at best we’d hoped the change might have jogged the memories of a few distant relatives.”

“In these current market conditions the public takes a cynical view to rebranding efforts – even fairly inconsequential ones such as using your full name and buying new clothes.” He went on to admit that their early calculations had underestimated the shoe leather costs of hand delivering ‘change of name’ notifications to all 750 of his Facebook friends.

A source close to the story, who chose to remain anonymous to protect their credibility, told us, “I don't see why everything needs to be rebranded these days, some of the biggest success stories in history are people who simply nailed their brand and stuck to it- people like Jesus will always outlast name changers like Norwich Union.”

Managers at the Hollister store in Westfield were unavailable to comment but were presumably delighted that he could now continue to shop from their wide selection of similar polo shirts, items which would otherwise have been blacklisted under new branding guidelines.

Asked if the whole rebranding was in fact a cynical publicity stunt to launch his new ‘press release’ blog www.thepressreleased.co.uk Jerry was surprisingly adept at avoiding the question.

“The experience has opened my eyes up to what I already have - I've only just become an Uncle so it's an irresponsible time to start changing anything except nappies. If the Royal Mail can resist switching its name to Consignia then keeping mine the same shouldn't be too hard. I’d hoped that blaming it on the credit crunch would have tapped into a general public acceptance that nothing works anymore and that would have been the end of it.”

Our own investigations however suggest that public reaction to the story has been indifferent at best, a hassled looking banker that we managed to stop as he arrived at Canary Wharf Station this morning summed up the sentiment, “I’ve never met the man, or even heard of him. Why should I care less if he uses a nickname or his full name?”

@jdaykin refused to comment on whether he was saving his middle name (Francis, which he prefers to shorten to Frank) for a more radical rebranding come 30. '5 years is a long time for anyone in this industry to look ahead, will we even be using full names then or just referring to one another by our Twitter IDs?'

---Ends--

Notes to editors:
Press Released is a project to tell a life story fit for print. It'd be shameless self promotion if we didn't work so hard to make it entertaining.

We more than encourage the attributed reposting or printing of content from this site... Just let us know if you ever do!