Art & Framing For You update

Journalist Simon Redley, the Fine Art Trade Guild's publicity specialist, jumped in at the deep end in January 1997 to help kick off the long-awaited trade consumer awareness initiative, Art and Framing For You, which is sponsored by, among others, Slater Harrison. As Media Relations manager, Simon's task is to create media 'noise' about quality framing services and fine art. Here, he tells In The Frame about the campaign's success stories and future aims.

I'm delighted to be able to say that 20 months after the programme began, the Guild and its members get talked about in the right places! Professional framing issues are a topic of conversation for radio and television broadcasters, and fine art, prints and framing techniques often find their way into the pages of major national and regional newspapers and magazines.
What's more, listeners, viewers and readers alike respond by visiting their nearest Guild member gallery or framer and spending their hard-earned cash.
Journalists now know what the Guild is, that there is a professional journalist able and willing to respond efficiently to their requirements and it is no longer all one way traffic - me calling them to place articles. The Guild is slowly but surely becoming the first stop for information, help, advice and assistance to the media in art related matters.
Guild members are also doing their bit in building upon the hard work put in by myself, the Guild's managing director Rosie Sumner and the Art and Framing for You steering committee, chaired by Shropshire galleries owner and Guild Commended Framer, Trevor Davies. We get telephone calls, letters, faxes and e-mails from members all the time telling us they have gained valuable new business as a direct result of publicity generated by the campaign.
Members from the retail sector regularly contact me to ask advice on how to maximise their PR efforts, often with spectacular results.
Our successes to date include:

• A five page framing feature in Antiques Trade gazette - including a page about why this campaign was launched.
• A segment for the evening television news programme "Granada Tonight" on what makes a good frame.
• Several BBC radio broadcasts on limited edition prints and framing, including BBC Scotland. Additionally BBC Gloucester took an outside broadcast unit to the Harlequin gallery in Cheltenham as a preview of the first ever Guild artists' exhibition.
• A double page spread in the Guardian on professional framing.
• A double page spread in the Express on setting up an art dealership.
• Major features on framing fabric art in most of the national consumer needlework and crafts magazines.
• Extensive consumer press coverage of this year's Guild Business Awards.
• A monthly art feature in the national magazine, Prestige Properties
• A regular, art-related section in the interiors magazine, "Home" - including most recently an interview with wildlife supremo David Shepherd.
• A one page article on the Guild in the June issue of Leisure Painter magazine.
• A crafty piece of product placement in the BBC TV drama series Dangerfield shows a character as an art critic reading Art Business Today!

This should not be just about what has been achieved for, whilst the campaign is both reactive and proactive for short-term activity, it has also has a long-term strategy. Plans are well advanced for what will probably be the most exciting event for our industry for many years, linking with five household name personalities, and guaranteed (a word I rarely use in the context of my role!) to give art and the Guild credible and extensive press exposure throughout the UK. To find out more you must read November's issue of Art Business Today magazine, when the mystery project will be unveiled to the trade.
Extra support for retailers includes the distribution of consumer leaflets, which are currently awaiting final agreement on framing standards definition.
But whether it is responding to an approach by a regional newspaper for advertorial, reacting to the news of a new launch consumer magazine, assisting journalists putting together an art feature or instigating and writing an article for a national magazine, none of it would be possible without the financial support and enthusiasm of the initiative's trade supplier sponsors.
Slater Harrison and their colleagues deserve recognition for their generosity in putting something back into the trade and investing in the high profile and prosperity of this industry in the future. It is very much appreciated.

Andrew Branton Comments

Our new hotline number is a great success, with calls every day from framers all around the country, asking for samples or advice.
One of the most regular calls we receive is a request for chevron sets. As far as we know, everybody who has asked for chevrons has now received them, but often framers need two sets, one for the sales area and another for the workshop. To accommodate this need, we are introducing another new initiative in sample design - mini chevrons. At under half the size of standard chevrons, they are ideal for the workshop and they are still printed on the reverse with all the relevant information. For your free set, call our hotline on 01625 576505.
Since the last issue of In The Frame, we have installed a new laminating machine which has doubled the production capacity for Colourmount. This enables us to keep up with the increasing demand for Colourmount from both stockists and framers alike. You will see elsewhere in this issue that more and more distributors are now stocking our white core acid-free 300 Series. Acid-free board, with a white core, is becoming more popular, with one colour already making a regular appearance in our top ten sales chart!