My time at Carswell Gould – Week Two

I am currently completing a three week placement at Carswell Gould, a marketing communications agency in Southampton. Now I have finished my second week in the office I have come back to tell you how it has all gone!

My first task this week was to present my comparative analysis of the use of social media by other agencies. I was quite nervous about doing my presentation, I have done a lot of similar tasks at university nut nothing really stops you getting nervous about how your research and hard work is going to be received

But...it went really well!

It was kept quite informal and I felt confident in knowing what I was talking about, thanks to the work I had put into each graph and point on the slides. I was expecting a ‘thank you’ and for them all to move on but each member of the team got involved in what I was presenting. A series of action points were made and tasks were shared out to help put these into action. I even got a few well done posts on Twitter which was really self-rewarding.

 To find out about what the GORE-TEX Arctic Challenge is visit: www.ribstothelimit.com

Early in the week my main tasks were to finish off the jobs left over from the week before, especially with RIBs to the Limit: GORE-TEX Arctic Challenge. It was one of the first tasks mentioned to me when I started this placement 2 weeks ago, but I was kept busy with other jobs with shorter deadlines. Focussed mainly on social media, I have uploaded some images on to Facebook as well as organising folders of images to be sent to the sponsors of the challenge.
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Part of the original task was to create a digital only marketing plan for the launch of a 20 minute film on the challenge, as well as the behind the scenes version to highlight the expanse and success of the integrated marketing campaign run by Ed (who was taking part in the challenge) and the team back in Southampton. I struggled early on with what this really meant and when I finally worked on it independently I found that I didn’t really understand the content of the video or the objectives of my marketing plan. A quick chat with Lisa and a briefing from Ed really helped me to understand the objectives and put the plan right back on track. More than being a piece of written work to sit on a pile they would also like me to follow out the plan in the final week of my placement, which will create a really great complete piece of work I can take back to university and include in my portfolio. The deadline for the plan is the end of today, so watch this space to see how it comes into action online!

My highlight of this week was observing the process of how the team works with a new client. A simple 30 minute meeting of all the staff sat on office chairs in a circle showed the way the CG office worked. Rather than clients being given the knowledge and skills from one person, the whole team is involved in providing creative ideas that fit the brief of the client. Time is taken to really explain to everyone what the target market, objectives and key messages of the campaign are, so to provide the best environment for everyone to get involved. The result was not what I expected – a group all pitching in ideas immediately of crazy PR stunts for the client to put their name to, but a more focused and objective response that I am sure will bring out some fantastic and practical creative solutions to help the client.

I would love that I am getting used to the 7 day week and early starts, but if anything they are getting harder. However, I am really enjoying my time so far at Carswell Gould and I am eager to start my third and final week as I feel I am leaning so much every day. I even have the company work experience placement, Emma Frost who started this week and is helping me make connections elsewhere.

Thank you all for reading,

Love Rie / Marie Malyon xx

My time at Carswell Gould – Week One

When people ask me what degree I am doing I always reply “Media Communications - it’s like a cross between advertising and journalism” and they often reply “oh right” with no idea what I am talking about. So when presented with the task of finding work experience I sat down and researched, asked friends, family but I was stumped. I was really interested in media communications but no one outside the industry seem to know what this really was. But with the recommendation from my tutor, the perfect place was right under my nose the whole time – Carswell Gould. 

Located in the centre of Southampton it is just minutes away from my university (Southampton Solent). It was the placement I was looking for! As a marketing communications agency, Carswell Gould encapsulates what I am trying to describe what my course is about, and so much more.

So now I have completed my first week in the office, I am excited to report back my first impressions!

Week One:

The beautifully decorated office houses a very friendly team. Warm smiles and handshakes greeted me on my first day and I was thrilled to hear everyone already knew my name (even if it has taken me a lot longer to remember all of theirs!) I couldn’t have been made to feel more welcome.

Top row : Graham, Laura, Gill, Ed and Scamp.
Bottom row: Tom, Lisa and Rob.

The Monday meeting left me with pages of notes about my tasks for the week and a real enthusiasm to get started. I have been given some really exciting tasks both to support the team’s work for clients, and generally help out around the office. Making tea and coffee is a very important job but much to my surprise is the smallest part of my temporary role in the office.  

One of my first tasks was to draft a comparative analysis of the social media used by competitors, and suggest ways Carswell Gould can enhance its social media presence. I jumped into the research and the task was soon upgraded from a report to a presentation for the following week’s Monday meeting. After a quick chat with Ed about my progress, he really helped me focus my research and gave me some good tips for increasing the value of the research I was doing.

But listening in on Gill, Lisa and Laura’s PR meeting on Wednesday morning has been my favorite time so far in the office. I learnt a lot about press releases, selling in stories (which means persuading a publication to run a story and nothing about money exchanged), press parties, mailing lists (and cleansing them) and loads more. I wish now I had made more notes, but really looking forward to the opportunity of learning more about PR.

I am really looking forward to next week now, and am so pleased that I have got this opportunity to pick the brains of experts in the marketing comms industry.

Look out for next week’s update to see how I am getting on!

Thanks for reading,

Love Rie / Marie Malyon xx

Oh Genre!

Hey all :)

I hope you have enjoyed the last few reviews. I have really enjoyed working with Sam and Flo and hope I can get a few more people involved in reviews when I am busy. Sam already has a book waiting for him when he gets home that he has promised me he will review!

So much for my summer off! I have managed to get my self into 3 jobs and reading has been segregated to only train journeys and at bedtime.Thus the slow progress on my very exciting 'to read' pile.

I am currently reading a very different genre than I normally go for... Historical Drama. Science fiction, fantasy, crime drama, a lot of teen vampire flicks are normally what I spend the most of my time reading, but I have really fallen in love with "Queen of Silks" by Vanora Bennett.

I inherited this book from my Dad's late godmother (RIP London Mary) with a selection of other books that she had in her home. She was a passionate reader and we had shared books with her for a number of years. This one however doesn't look like it has ever been read before, but I hope in her final weeks she had lots of other great books to read.

The book was originally published as "Figures of Silk" back in 2008 but I am reading the paper back version printed in 2009. As I have already mentioned I haven't read any historical style novels before so I wasn't expecting the rich content (I wouldn't know if it was accurate!) mixed in with more recognisable themes of ambition, feminism, romance and adultery.

If it doesn't really sound your thing, I wouldn't blame you! I only picked this book up to read first as it was the smallest (mainly because it is a paperback) and would be lightest to read on the train. However I have been drawn into it, and found myself sat at Portsmouth Harbour station, sat on the train, reading speedily to reach the end of the chapter before I have to get off so the train can go back in the other direction!

Look out for the review when I have finished it! I would love for you guys to give a new genre a try as you never know - you might find a real gem!

What genre is your favourite normally? Have you been surprised by a new genre?

Please comment and let me know, I would love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading,

Rie xx

Marina and the Diamonds - 'The Family Jewels' Album Review by Florence Parrack

I present to you a bit of a different blog review today from school friend Florence Parrack (who normally prefers Flo).

I invited her to write a review for the blog after she said she liked reading mine, and would love to be able to write more reviews herself.

The album has been out since 2010 but is still a cracker and well worth a listen. I have included the links for you to go and have a listen on YouTube as well.

So please make Flo feel welcome and don't forget to comment and recommend any more artists / albums you think we both might like.

Marina and the Diamonds - 'The Family Jewels' Album Review

Lately I have been a musical bored slob, for want of a better phrase – all the stuff I already have is overplayed, and I’m too lazy to branch out and find new music to add to my collection.

Well, imagine my surprise when I discovered Marina and the Diamonds, and didn’t have to listen for long before I fell in love!

Marina Diamandis, her real name, comes from Wales and found her unique musical style after dropping out of four different universities. She claims such influences as Gwen Stefani and Britney Spears, but has been compared to a much more diverse selection of artists including Regina Spektor and Elvis Costello.

I stumbled across the music video for ‘Hollywood’, and watched it twice straight away. Marina, dressed as a variety of American stereotypes, sings a biting commentary on Hollywood culture and the way it dictates how we should live our lives. Her voice is beautiful and unusual, and her songs actually have depth and meaning so often neglected in pop music.

‘Obsessions’ deals with conditions such as OCD and eating disorders, ‘Girls’ is a feminist anthem that criticises the stereotypes we are constrained by, ‘Hermit the Frog’ tells the story of a damaging relationship. Her songs are catchy and often upbeat, but they also contain a social commentary.

I like to think that it’s singers like Marina who will go on to influence future generations, rather than the many female singers in the charts who promote dangerous messages about the importance of receiving male attention and looking beautiful at any cost.

So, she’s got a gorgeous voice, she’s witty and clever, and she’s insanely cute *swoon* - her 2010 album ‘The Family Jewels’ is available on iTunes and several of her videos can be found on Youtube. Go and listen to her – you won’t be disappointed (well let’s hope not!)

You can also buy her album off the website by clicking here.

Love Rie and Flo xx

Roadside Crosses by Jeffery Deaver - A Review

I am a bit behind on reviewing this one, as it was released back in 2009. The author has since released 3 other books that I intended on reading and reviewing before the summer was out, but I just wanted to write a little something about this one.

I have been a big fan of Deaver since I got hold of a copy of ‘The Vanished Man’ which was released back in 2003. Any good crime drama seems to need to sexual tension, some chemistry between the protagonists; the lighter side of all the death, science and cop work, and Deaver accomplishes this in all his books. I worked through the Lincoln Rhyme series of his books quickly, gathering them from libraries, charity shops, and borrowing them from family, as the characterisation of the quadriplegic Lincoln Rhyme, and the lingering chemistry between him and Amelia Sachs was a great read.

This book, however, focuses on the protagonist Kathryn Dance. She is a body language, or kinaesthetic expert: think the female version of Dr. Lightman from the American television show ‘Lie to Me’. I am a great fan of anything body language related and I’m really surprised I hadn’t picked up on this series earlier. In fact I only picked up these books in my local library for my mum to read, as I am more into my supernatural fiction (addiction?) but I picked them up after she has finished and have had to renew them so I could finish them!

‘Roadside Crosses’ promises to be an exploration of the synth world, blogging and MMORPG’s in the author’s note, but I feel it does this in a detached sort of way. Although it does explore how damaging the anonymity of online behaviour can be, and how it affects our lives I was expecting more action online.  Instead it started off as a more than standard crime book and at times I thought I might just put it down and read something else. However I am glad I stuck with it as the easy to read but complicated constructed narrative was a real treat to read.

I have always loved the way Deaver writes in the way that I never think about it. Some books are so badly written, with too much or too little action I find myself criticising the way it is written, but these are seamless page flickers that suck you in. The second half of the book in particular is a really good read. The characters are well rounded and show weaknesses that allow many red herrings to lead us as the reader down many dead-ends.

There are many shock victims, and suspects along the way, and the weaving of the personal life of Dance and the case presents shocking conclusions. I always like to try and guess how the book is going to end, and having an easy suspect only halfway through the book is always a giveaway to a change in direction, but the narrative took me on a blind journey the whole way to the end, and I loved the end.

4/5 (extra browning points added for the supporting material your can discover online)

I have now ordered 2 copies of Carte Blanch (1 a first eddition signed copy and another to read) as well as a paper back of Burning Wire so look out for the reviews of those coming up soon too!

Thanks for reading,

Love Rie xx

Pre-ordered :D

I have officially pre-ordered Kelley Armstrong's new book: Spellbound!!

I cannot tell you how excited I am to read this new book, Waking the Witch was good but this one promises to be soooo much better.

It will be with me early August so look out for the review!

Thanks for reading,
Love Rie xx

Chris Carter – The Executioner. A Book Review by Sam Crossley

 I met Sam at school and we have been close friends since, particularly in College. He has been a big supporter of my blog and is also a fan of reading. So when he mentioned he had a bit of time of his hands and a pile of books this weekend I asked if he would like to write some reviews.

And this is the result :)

Please enjoy and comment your opinions on this book, and I look forward to hosting more of his reviews in the future.



Chris Carter – The Executioner

This book is thriller, and it’s not scared to go into detail! A detective in LA, specialising in serial killers, his psychological background making him perfect for analysing the evidence and working out the motive of “The Executioner”. His name is Robert Hunter and unfortunately this is the second book in the series, I have a feeling I have the first book at home, unread, which is a pain because although the other book is only briefly mentioned once or twice and has no effect on the plot of this one, it would lend something deeper to the characters in this book. It’s obvious whatever happened in The Crucifix Killer had a dramatic effect on the main characters.


Anyway, it’s a very easy read; the writing style is very fluid, coupled with the incredibly short chapters it keeps thesuspension up whilst giving you plenty of places to stop. If you feel inclined that is. I didn’t and finished this 472pg, 142 chapter book in 6 hours. Throughout the book you gain more and more knowledge about the main characters, Hunter and his partner Carlos Garcia. Towards the end you are even able to guess comments made before you read them. Their partnership is very fluid, although my only criticism is that the partnership is very one-sided with Hunter the wealth of knowledge and Garcia the less experienced sidekick who is sometimes ignored in my opinion.

The author, Chris Carter, was a criminal psychologist before he took to writing; this really shows in this book. You really get a feel for the type of person the detectives are facing as they slowly unearth the clues from each horrible crime scene to the next. Each thought up with detail that’s slightly more sinister and cruel than the last.

I feel that reading the first book would have given you a better understanding of the characters and possibly solved a few of the odd niggles I felt about the partnership, but other than that a very enjoyable read. One of the first things I intend of doing upon getting home is read the first one.

I give this a 3.5/5

Love Rie & Sam xx