Bigging up Bertie for Trebor Bassett

At Biss Lancaster, along with co-founding their youth marketing division BL Alternative, I managed three very enjoyable Bertie Bassett campaigns, all of which won industry awards. These included Re-turn Bertie (PRCA commendation) and Bertie Goes to Sotheby’s (PRWeek Best Promotional Campaign).

A little later I compiled a programme of events publicising a huge Bertie-shaped hot air balloon which culminated in persuading Southwark Council to allow us to tether the 155ft tall balloon on a key route at the London Marathon. The balloon featured prominently in TV coverage of the race, reaching 33.5 million people and equating to an ad spend of £350,000. Bertie Bassett Flies High won us the PR in Food MarketingBronze award from Marketing magazine.

I was delighted to have carried out numerous media interviews including Radio 4’s Start the Week as ‘Bertie’s Business Manager’.

Pictured above is a stunt I staged outside the Chelsea Harbour Club for a piece in the Daily Star: Bertie is pictured with a mystery blonde…

“Thank you very much for the huge amounts of effort which I know have been invested, and for sticking with one of the most difficult of all tasks – a year round campaign….the client will have been suitably impressed.”
David McLaren
Chairman, Hill and Knowlton

“…we have established a new level of awareness of the ACF among journalists – we couldn’t have done it without you – many thanks.”
Brigadier John Neeve
General Secretary, ACF

“Bill is one of the most creative people I know. Give him any project and he’ll come up with a range of ideas for PR campaigns, some of which are unusual, yet will always create awareness, capture the imagination and are do-able. Bill has an amazing mind and can look at a problem like no-one else I know. He is totally in tune with current trends and thinking. Oh, and he’s a great guy and fun to have around as well!”
Elaine Swift
Head of Press & PR, Nikon

“Bill is a delight to work with. He is creative, committed and a true team player. You can always rely on Bill to produce imaginative plans and execute to deadline and budget. He’s a great motivator and has a high work ethic. I’d be delighted to have the opportunity to work with Bill again.”
Gladys Elia
Managing Director, Cohn & Wolfe and International Communications Adviser

“Bill was talking all things digital long before most of us knew our blogs from our tweets. He has that rare knack of combining great creativity with compelling execution. I had the pleasure of working with Bill at Cohn & Wolfe and quickly realised that he was a rare talent indeed. Catch him while you can.”
Paul Maguire
PR & Integrated Communications Consultant

“Bill you are amazing, do you know you stand out among all those I work with, you’re conscientious, nice and professional; and you go way beyond the call of duty. You have really restored my faith in people.”
Amita Mukerjee
Author & Founder, Revenge Ink

“…an ability to come up with creative ideas that are not only quirky and original but also workable makes him a very unusual and valuable PR person. Bill is persistent, communicates well and has developed some close relationships with influential journalists.”
Virginia McLean
Professor of International Public Relations, Syracuse University

“Bertie was a heroic campaign – fun, targeted and very effective. This campaign generated great exploitation of a human interest idea.”
Beverley Kaye
Chief Executive, The Rowland Company

“Bill has his finger on the pulse. His imagination is and drive are rivalled by few. Anyone who has the opportunity to work with Bill is very lucky. He is an asset to any team or company.”
Julia Hanley-Gordon
Engagement Manager, Equal Experts

“Venerable publishing house Penguin Group … made a tech-savvy move through a partnership with teen-oriented community site Piczo.”
CNET.com

“The stunt was judged to be an unprecedented success by Trebor Bassett and the media. It captured the imagination of the media, fitting in well with the requirements of news desks for light stories.”
Hilary Freeman
PRWeek Magazine

“Bill’s ‘practical creativity’ has hugely impressed me. He consistently comes up with interesting, imagination-grabbing ideas. His ability to combine big thinking with practical effectiveness strikes me as pretty rare.”
David Taylor
Head of Thought Leadership, Siren Communications

“Many thanks for all the great work you have done for us. If we are able to come back to you with more work as a result of new account wins we will do so immediately.”
Sally Fearfield
Founding and Managing Partner, Starfish Communications

“…one of only 20 decent PR people in the industry.”
Tricia Phillips
Business & Careers Editor, The Mirror

“You played an important part in creating ‘Get Some Attitude’. You showed great determination, for this I am immensely grateful.”
Lt Steve Thomas
Marketing Officer, ACF

“Thank you for all your hard work on Simply The Best CITV. I and the team especially appreciated your enthusiasm and ideas, and it was a pleasure working with you.”
David Alpin
Editor, LWT

“I want to say a big thank you for the excellent work you have done in gaining such quality coverage for Bertie at Sotheby’s. It just goes to show what hard work, persistence and a belief in the character can achieve.”

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“Congratulations on the excellent coverage achieved with the balloon during the London Marathon. I believe the media value alone would have more than paid for the cost of the balloon.”
Bruce Burnett
Marketing Director, Trebor Bassett

“Bill really showed initiative and refused to be beaten (by me or the system) and found a way…the result was the most brilliant branded TV coverage. A delighted client – even their MD noticed it and was enthusing.”
Pippa Sands
Managing Director, Sandpiper Communications

“Lovely to work with you and you’ll certainly be top of my list for any future freelancing.”
Wendy Akers
Managing Director, Wendy Akers PR

“Bertie at Sotheby’s was an excellent piece of opportunism, showing an originality usually lacking in PR companies. The idea to hold live radio interviews with ‘Bertie’s Manager’ was in a different league to press releases.”
Ian Jowell
BBC Radio Sheffield

“I was intrigued and amused by your ‘flannel’ promotional pack … it has certainly registered.”
Patrick Barrow
Managing Director, Public Relations Consultants Association

“The beauty....is it is a PR agency that has the balls to address our industry’s bull. When more agencies and independent PR pros start doing the same, we can fall out of the police lineup and into the bank line.”
Editor
Cornerbarpr.com