Client & media endorsements

Garden Trade News Xtra, (Easter, 2013): “Congratulations should go to the GCA and their PR company, Porcupine, for achieving these unprecedented levels of TV and Radio coverage for our trade. It’s just a shame the good old British weather couldn’t even deliver us a ‘normal’ weekend!” http://goo.gl/iF2AO

Norma Moore, General Manager of Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre, which is a family-run garden centre based in Monkton Heathfield near Taunton (www.monkton-elm.co.uk), said: “We have received PR support from Porcupine PR for six years now. The team is extremely efficient, passionate, creative and helpful and has generated a lot of media coverage for Monkton Elm Garden & Pet Centre.

“Porcupine PR has helped raise awareness of the garden centre within the media, the horticultural industry and our local community during this time.

“The PR support has extended to social media assistance and it has also enabled us to cut back on our advertising spend dramatically. We’re now much more focused in our approach to marketing and achieve much better results.”

Matthew Appleby, Deputy Editor of Horticulture Week (www.hortweek.com), said: “Porcupine is the go-to PR company for garden retailers. Nothing is too much trouble for the team.” 

Lara Berry, Deputy Editor of Your Home, said: “Porcupine PR is a great, proactive agency – they are always on hand to help wherever they can and have gone the extra mile to help me out when planning a shoot.” 

Frances Shepherd, Administration Manager at Bar des Arts in Guildford (www.bardesarts.co.uk), said: “We run a variety of events at the bar and have tried different methods to publicise these. We have paid for advertising in the past but it became clear very quickly that it wasn’t very effective or good value for money.

“The Porcupine PR team writes media releases about our events that our local media are quick to use. The team also spreads the word about what’s going on at the bar by uploading social media, via our website and by blogging. Social media in particular has helped connect us directly to our customers. Keeping them informed via this medium in an informal yet professional manner ensures they keep coming back to us.”

Helen Linford, former Editor of Garden & Hardware News, said: “The Porcupine PR team are always a pleasure to deal with. They are very proactive, sending the latest news and generally keeping us well informed. Their press releases are always clear and engaging and are often supplied with great illustrative images. They always respond promptly and go out of their way to help in any way they can.”

Katie Cleary, Shop Manager at The Old Railway Line Garden Centre, which is located at Three Cocks near Hay-on-Wye (www.oldrailwaylinenursery.co.uk), said: “In September (2012) Porcupine PR helped us officially launch our new extension.

“They were a huge help to us throughout the planning process and really helped ease the stress of launching a new building. They sourced and booked garden designer and TV presenter David Domoney to cut the ceremonial ribbon and host a talk on the day. We also wanted to tell local people and the garden centre industry about the new build and Porcupine PR made this happen.

“The launch day was a huge success. We had cars queuing to get in. People were parking on the road side too as the car park was full to the brim.

“We were delighted with how smoothly the day went and how much media coverage the garden centre received before and after the event. The Porcupine team were very efficient, easy to work with and professional at all times. It was fantastic to have them on board. Saleswere up 30% on the launch day too.”

Sarah Ford, Chief Writer at Somerset Life Magazine (www.somerset.greatbritishlife.co.uk), said: “The team at Porcupine PR are head and shoulders above many other public relations consultants that I deal with.

“As a busy writer working under the pressure of tight deadlines I know that I can rely on them to respond to my requests extremely quickly.

“I am always confident that Porcupine PR will be happy to supply me with useful contacts and essential information for my articles, reliable and well-written, entertaining press releases and high quality images.

“I can honestly say Porcupine PR has never let me down, nothing is too much for them and they have saved my bacon on many occasions when I’ve had a deadline to meet.

“I have always found every member of the team to be extremely efficient and courteous and it is a pleasure to meet them in person at various functions around Somerset.”

Rowena Dean, Head of Marketing and Communications at SignHealth, the national healthcare charity for deaf people, (www.signhealth.org.uk), said: “Porcupine PR has been looking after our Twitter and Facebook accounts for the past two years and does an excellent job.

“One of our Twitter followers recently told us that our feeds were among the best they followed and that they are informative, well-written and concise.”

Phil Grabham, Managing Director of Solar Systems (www.solarsystemslimited.co.uk), which specialises in the design and installation of solar photovoltaic and thermal panels,said: “It is a pleasure working with the team at Porcupine PR.

“What really shines through for us is their attention to detail and their writing style. We started working with the company earlier this year and have since gained lots of positive coverage in a number of publications. We are delighted with the results.”