The last Friday of every month, the Bayswater team likes to come together at the end of the day for something called ‘News & Booze’.  Someone in the company volunteers to do some kind of ‘educational’ presentation (usually interactive, always fun, and a great way of bringing everyone together), we share department news and enjoy a beer or a glass of wine.

For our last ‘News & Booze’, myself and Sarah thought it might be fun to mix things up a little and raise some money for a good cause, and so we arranged the ‘Blooming Big Bayswater Tea Party’.  A fundraising initiative of Marie Curie Cancer Care, we decided to take up the challenge of baking some confectionary goodies for our fellow workmates and encourage them to give to a good cause.

The surprise hit of the tea had to be the jam tarts (a retro classic), while the wheat-free brownies (Sarah’s creation, herself wheat allergic) went like…well, hot cakes.  Or hot brownies.  You get the picture.  Pots of teas made and cake eating underway, the challenge was put to the Bayswater Team (and the team does love a challenge), to decorate a ‘blank canvas cake’ (oh okay, a Victoria Sponge covered in white icing) inspired by our company ‘Bayswater’.

The results were simply astounding.  No really, they had to be seen to be believed.  Mark, Lucy and Marilaina were inspired by our Editor-in-Chief’s recent filming of the Finish Dishwashter Tablet advert.  They created Alison from left over cupcakes ingeniously using plastic forks for arms.  The Editorial Department, Nadia, Mike and Stephanie, upheld their creative reputation by creating a rather dazzling sparkling cake, again focusing on our Editor-in-Chief, Alison Cork, and her bargain hunting principals of finding ‘value and quality’.  Jon, Lisa and Gabby decided to focus on our ‘Bargain Hunter’ column which appears every Saturday in the Telegraph, icing the ‘T’ of the Telegraph masthead rather beautifully in blue on top of the cake.  Finally, Rupert, Laura and Steph went for a slightly more unusual route.  Inspired by the JLS hit, they iced the phrase ‘The Club Is Alive With The Sound of BGAS’ (BGAS stands for Bargain Guide Autumn Special).

Everyone’s a winner of course but the award for best cake went to Team Editorial (it wasn’t a fix, honest!), and a great time was had by all.  Good to know that tea and scones can have such a positive result in raising money for a great cause like Marie Curie Cancer Care.

We are currently looking for driven and ambitious graduates or “second jobbers” looking to cut their teeth in the world of marketing. The position is to work on B2C and B2B campaigns across our print, online and mobile products , reporting directly to our Head of Marketing. The role would suit someone looking to gain hands on experience and take on genuine responsibility at an early stage in their marketing career.

If you’re interested in applying or for more information on the role, click here.

There are exciting developments in the pipeline for Homes & Bargains - details are firmly under wraps until the launch date of 20 June 2010 - keep your eyes peeled for the new site and its fantastic new features later in the month.

www.homesandbargains.co.uk

After the phenomenal success of the Bargain Guide Spring Special, the Bargain Guide Summer Special is released on 26 June 2010 exclusively with the Daily Telegraph. The Summer Special promises to be our be our best issue ever, with deals and discounts for every room in the house, exclusive competitions as well as celebrity interviews with Linda Barker, Phil Spencer and our very own Alison Cork.

Homes & Bargains are pleased to announce the date of it’s next online auction so make a note of the date - FRIDAY 26 FEBRUARY and remember to log on at 12 NOON to bag your bargain.  

NEW AUCTIONEER

This will be our third auction and it’s shaping up to be bigger and beter then ever before with over 50 lots up for grabs.  And we are also delighted to welcome our new auctioneer in the form of the very lovely and witty Bill Buckley, ex ‘That’s Life’ present, veteran radio and TV broadcaster and an experienced chairty auctioneer.  And of course our own Bargain Queen Alison Cork will also be on hand providing her own irrevent style to the proceedings.

SAVE UP TO 70% OFF RRPS

We’ve got some great Star Lots in these auctions, including a rather gorgeous leather tub chair and Castglioni Arco style lamp, scroll below to see other top picks.  Browse the full catalogue , and you’ll find a whole host of other fantastic lots including original oil paintings, dining tables and chairs, lighting, sofas, sideboards, coffee tables and much more –all at up to 90% off the RRP.

So make sure you put a reminder in your calendar, get a cup of tea ready and log on at MIDDAY ON FRIDAY 26 FEBRUARY

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE FULL CATALOGUE

We get a lot of PRs contacting  our editorial team -  but what’s the best way to ensure your message gets through to them?  It might be a case of what you should be doing, but instead what you shouldn’t be doing.   Here’s our top five tips on what not to do when selling in to a journalist:

1.  Using the wrong publication name

It might seem like a small thing and it’s obvious that PRs are selling in hundreds of publications every day.  However, there is something quite off-putting to receive an email pitch that mentions a title you don’t work on.  It’s easy to forget changing the publication name when pushing out email after email to pitch a product but that double-check is well worth it.

2.  Calling the journalist by the wrong name

This is one my colleague and I get a lot as our surnames can also be used as first names, so people do tend to get them mixed up.  However, it is somewhat depressing to get a really friendly, familiar email addressed to completely the wrong name, or worse to get a call when you’re on deadline to your direct dial and then be addressed by the incorrect name.  My personal favourite was the email I got with the salutation ‘Dear David’. . . I’m a woman by the way.

3.  Making an assumption

We get a lot of product pitches that assume that we will automatically include them as a competition prize or reader offer.  We really like to think about what would fit with the readers best and give them the most benefit, so assuming something can just go on the page is always a little off key.

4.  Sending massive images

Having someone send images of massive sizes which you hadn’t asked for is a nightmare not least because it tends to clog up our computer systems.  Much better to catch our eye with low res images  than crash our systems with jpegs of 5MB.

5.   Responding to enquries with information which doesn’t fit

When we send out requests for information to PRs we are usually pretty specific so it’s good to stick to those criteria as that is the brief we are writing to.  If we need sales with a minimum of 50% off and we receive info which is 20% off we are not going to be able to use it.

Bayswater Media Group has announced that the 8th edition of The Bargain Guide on 27 March 2010.

After the fantastic response to its Autumn issue, a-16 page Spring Special has been confirmed for release at the end of March. The title will include the latest trend information as well as exclusive Reader Offers for readers with savings of up to 50% on a wide range of homeware, furniture and accessories.

For information on being included, email Kate Mooney - kate@bayswatermediagroup.com

Bayswater Media Group is delighted to announce the launch of a syndicated column across Archant Life’s portfolio of regional lifestyle magazines. Archant, the is the UK’s largest independently-owned regional media publisher, produces four daily regional newspapers and around 60 weekly titles with a combined circulation of 2.25 million copies every week.

The column will appear in 21 of its monthly magazines:

South East

Berkshire & Buckinghamshire Life

Essex Life

Hampshire Life

Hertfordshire

Kent Life

Surrey Life

South East Life Magazines (all)

South West

Cornwall Life

Cotswold Life

Devon Life

Dorset Magazine

Somerset Life

Worcestershire Life

Midlands

Derbyshire Life

Warwickshire Life

Herefordshire Life (digital edition, media pack unavailable)

Shropshire Life (digital edition, media pack unavailable)

North East

North East Life

North West

Yorkshire Life

Lancashire Life

Cheshire Life

For information on running a reader offer, contact Kate Mooney on 020 7499 0098 or email kate@bayswatermediagroup.com

Homes & Bargains now has over 45,000 newsletter subscribers with a new subscriber signing up every 9 minutes. To celebrate this milestone we’re offering a special discounted package for sponsors of our newsletter which includes coverage on our page in the Daily Telegraph.

Newsletter Sponsorship:

• 1 x Banner in 1 issue of the newsletter (45,000 subscibers)
• 1 x Skyscraper in 1 issue of the newsletter (45,000 subscibers)
• 1 x Editorial Feature in the Homes & Bargains Newsletter.
• 1 x Dedicated article on Homes & Bargains including up to 2 images and up to 6 links
• 1 x Homepage Tile (1 week)

Price: £450 + VAT

What’s more, order before 30 November 2009 and you’ll also receive:

• Inclusion in the Daily Telegraph Style File on 26 December 2009 (normally £250)
• 1 x directory entry on the site (normally £75)
• 10,000 ad impressions (normally £65)

Quote XMASOFFER when calling Sarah Sole on 020 7499 0098 or email sarah@bayswatermediagroup.com

Click here to download the Homes & Bargains Media Pack

Homes & Bargains celebrates the launch of its first live auction

Friday 13th November 2009 saw the launch of Bayswater Media Group and ATG Media’s first ever Homes & Bargains Live Auction. Offering up to 80% off fantastic quality homeware, the auction was exceeded expectations with 77% of products on offer selling for over their reserve price.

The first auction was a lunchtime event and offered savvy homeowners the chance to pick up brand name clearance furniture at bargain prices by taking part in a live online auction with real auctioneers. Hosted by TV’s Alison Cork and expert auctioneer Nicholas Somers, the auction featured 40 lots from dining tables to sofas, beds to coffee tables, lighting to accessories and even art.

What’s more, Alison Cork hand picked her personal star buys – some of which carried NO reserve whatsoever, including a 3-seater leather sofa, a solid oak dining chair and an oriental cabinet.

Popular items included a Leather Arne Jacobsen-style Chair which smashed its reserve price of £105 with the hammer coming down at £370 after 15 bids. Other successes included a French-style Sleigh Bed which went for almost double its reserve.

Interest for the next auction is building rapidly which is set to be even more successful, with a longer running time, more lots and even more bargains. If you’re interested in featuring any of your products, contact alison@alisoncork.com.