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The pub saving toolkit – part 2<br />
It is amazing how much external media interest can be<br />
marshalled via such a platform. The internet is the first place<br />
journalists look now for a story. Your website need not be<br />
elaborate. A simple Wordpress blog will be quite sufficient.<br />
It is probably worth paying for a meaningful domain e.g.<br />
www.savetheroyaloak.org (a real life pub campaigning<br />
website; sadly there are hundreds!) or equivalent. These<br />
domains are not normally as expensive as you might think.<br />
Your website should be used for regular updates to your<br />
wider campaign and other followers. It is also your shop<br />
window for the media, planners, politicians, and of course<br />
the developer that you are battling. On that basis make sure<br />
it looks professional, eye-catching and stylish. Your website<br />
should be linked to your Twitter, Facebook and Instagram<br />
accounts where applicable. Find a friendly graphic designer<br />
to come up with a brand identity for your campaign and use<br />
this throughout. Corporate imagery can be very powerful.<br />
The same logo can then be printed on flyers, banners,<br />
placards, window posters, business cards and any press<br />
releases you put out from time to time.<br />
WEIGHT OF NUMBERS<br />
Having established your executive committee, brand<br />
identity, website and social media accounts, your next task<br />
is to rapidly grow your support network. You should always<br />
make contact with your local branch of CAMRA and ask to<br />
be put in touch with the pub protection officer or chairman.<br />
CAMRA loves to help campaigners who help themselves.<br />
We cannot be everywhere saving every single pub but we<br />
do have bucket loads of expertise to share. Your local<br />
branch can help with social media interest and at the very<br />
least we will gladly report details of your campaign in these<br />
pages. Any tweets in the early days should direct people to<br />
your website where it should be immediately obvious what<br />
it is you require people to do. Any pub lover will have<br />
natural sympathy with your campaign but most ordinary folk<br />
do not know what they can practically do in order to help.<br />
If you want people to object to a planning application, write<br />
to their Councillor or MP, or support an ACV nomination,<br />
you need to give them clear instructions.<br />
PETITIONS AND PITFALLS<br />
Petitions are ubiquitous these days, particularly online<br />
petitions hosted by change.org or 38degrees. They can be<br />
a useful tool but you need to be aware of their limitations.<br />
In objecting to planning applications, petitions hold limited<br />
value. Many Councils will treat a petition of 15,000<br />
signatures effectively as one objection. It is far better to get<br />
people to write short individual objections in their own<br />
words. Additionally, when people have signed a petition<br />
online, which takes around one minute, they believe that is<br />
their contribution made. Job done. Box ticked. Move on.<br />
But as a means of keeping in touch with supporters, they are<br />
very useful. Change.org allows the petition owner to post<br />
regular updates and as your list of signatories grows, so<br />
does your list of contacts. Be careful not to bombard<br />
supporters with updates too regularly. Only pester them<br />
with very significant news or a request when you need them<br />
to do something urgently. Try not to phrase a petition in a<br />
negative context. Avoid ‘the Council must NOT allow’ but<br />
OPEN<br />
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