Read Kathryn Kneller account on attending her first national training event:

Bright and early on the first sunny Saturday of spring, 19 JCI members from up and down the country met in Sheffield for the JCI Marketing Academy course. Some were already professional communicators; others had marketing roles within JCI; still others were entrepreneurs keen to improve their skills: all were keen to learn how to market our products, services and brands more successfully. The weekend agenda was jam-packed, and I’ll admit to having my doubts about whether such an ambitious schedule could do more than scratch the surface.

But the mix of classroom-based teaching, round-table discussions, and practical exercises over the weekend, led by JCI Marketing and Communications Directors Kate Senter and Claire Evans was incredibly effective. The first session, on generating effective PR, was full of useful tips and takeaways on subjects from writing style, to good photography, to cultivating relationships with journalists and editors. We learned how to write a press release which gets read, makes it onto the pages of the publications your target market is actually reading; and, crucially, which generates the kind of buzz you want.

Local communications agency Oxyfire joined us to explain why communicators cannot afford to ignore video, especially in online marketing. In a nutshell, it’s because people remember 20% of what they see; and 30% of what they hear; but 70% of what they see AND hear. Their introduction to the language of the moving image was a real eye-opener for me: it was a basic introduction to different types of film shot; what each one communicates, and when you’d typically use them. It made me realise that I tend to over-rely on words, and got me really excited about the possibilities of using videos to tell stories in future in my own work. The term “branding” seems to be everywhere, and although we all agree it’s important, sometimes it can feel hard to pin down exactly what it means. The next session gave us some clear tips on how to be consistent, memorable, and credible in order to shape positive perceptions of your business, product or service among you target market.

JCI Trainer Lisa Price delivering a session on the Marketing Mix

Visiting JCI Trainer Lisa Price spoke about stakeholder engagement and the marketing mix. This session really brought home the importance of thinking strategically about marketing: which people will be key to your success? Who do you need to influence? What do you need from them? What do they need from you? In short : who is your market and what is the best way to promote your product, services and brand to them? 
Attendees chatted, shared ideas and caught up over pizza in Sheffield on Saturday night; it was a fairly restrained night by JCI standards as we had to be up early on Sunday.