Bold Ambition - October 2024
Welcome to the latest edition of our newsletter - Bold Ambition.
Whilst it may be Halloween today, our October was filled with only treats for the AmbitionPR team. It’s been a busy month attending Frankfurt Book Fair, launching two fantastic new books and securing impactful coverage for clients.
In this month’s newsletter,? you can read more about what we’ve been up to, our? recommendations from talented Black creators in the Arts Exchange and what factors influence non-fiction book purchasing decisions.?
So let's dive right in!
Ambition News & Events
Frankfurt Book Fair
A couple of weeks ago, Jenna Owen and Hannah Cary headed over to Germany for their first ever Frankfurt Book Fair. Checking out what the event has to offer, catching up with some of our valued partners and building new connections, it was brilliant to be surrounded by people who love publishing just as much as us.
It’s difficult to pick just a few highlights from such a productive and inspiring event, but here are some of their standout moments:
The power of books to make a tangible difference is alive and well and the AmbitionPR team is so proud to be playing a role in helping those messages reach new audiences.
Jenna and Hannah are already looking forward to going back next year!
Meeting with Austability
Earlier this month, Millie Norton-Tinmouth , Grace Edwards-Massie and Steve Pantelli headed into London to meet Austability 's new VP of marketing, John Thompson , at the Royal Society of Arts for lunch and campaign strategising.
It was great to be able to welcome him to the Austability team in person and to get him up to speed on our comms project to date. It’s always a pleasure to catch up with our clients face-to-face, and we look forward to working together on lots of exciting things.
Wolfy’s Opening
October saw the grand opening of Wolfy’s - the brand new cafe from our founder Jenna Owen and her husband Martin (known to most Wolfy!).
They’ve had a busy first few weeks, with lots of visitors, and even a visit from BBC Radio Norfolk and the Evening News.?
If you’re in Costessey, Norwich, make sure to pop in and say hello!
Client Success?
October was a month full of valuable media coverage for our clients, with pieces featured in a wide range of target publications:
Which Factor Influences You the Most When Choosing a Non-Fiction Book?
At AmbitionPR, we’ve seen firsthand how the right combination of strategies helps authors boost their visibility and connect with eager readers. After learning that 80% of readers say they’re more likely to buy a book based on strong reviews, we thought we’d put the question to our audience: which factor influences you the most when choosing a non-fiction book?
In line with this research, a large proportion of people (57%) base their decisions on reviews and recommendations. However, others answered that they choose their next read based on the author’s credibility, cover design,? title, subject matter and clarity of the book’s promise.?
It really shows there are lots of factors to be aware of if you want to attract as many different readers as possible.?
Check out the full results of our poll below, as well as insightful comments from several authors and publishing experts!
Ambition Arts Exchange?
In honour of Black History Month, we decided to focus on Black artists and creators for the latest edition of the Ambition Arts Exchange.
From their favourite music, to must-read books and a play, the team has shared a selection of things they've enjoyed recently from some of the most talented Black creators around - make sure to let us know if you give any of our recommendations a try!
If you haven’t already, check out the team’s picks below:
Must Reads
This month we were privileged to support the launch of two fascinating new books.
OpenHR - Jeremy?Blain and Dr. Rochelle Haynes
Jeremy Blain and Dr. Rochelle H. ’s brand new book, ‘OpenHR -The human capital framework for a blended workforce’ offers a comprehensive argument for the urgent necessity of fundamental people management transformation to embrace the blended workforce and builds the case for OpenHR and the framework to support it.
With more individuals than ever choosing to freelance and work flexibly, the workforce is changing fast, and many organisational teams are now made up of both full-time and independent workers.?
This insightful read delves into the new challenges this presents for organisations, with traditional structures and ways of managing human capital needing an upgraded framework from which to build, manage and support a multidimensional workforce of the future, now.
ReThink Resilience - Beth Benatti Kennedy, MS, LMFT, CDI.D, Songmao Zheng and Karthik Venkatakrishnan
In ‘ReThink Resilience: 99 Ways to Recharge Your Career and Life’, authors Beth Benatti Kennedy, MS, LMFT, CDI.D , Songmao Zheng and Karthik Venkatakrishnan combine their diverse perspectives to provide 99 actionable and practical suggestions for boosting resilience that can be readily integrated into your work and life, as well as inspiring stories from 16 Resilience Champions.
The book aims to help people develop the resilience to adapt to changing circumstances, remain productive and engaged, and find greater life and career satisfaction.
World Mental Health Day
The 10th October was World Mental Health Day, and this year's theme - “Mental Health at Work" - was the perfect reminder to consider the critical connection between mental health and work.
Recent reports have found that over 80% of adults feel stressed at least one day a month, with figures increasing year-on-year - showing how important it is for team members to support one another to stamp out stress in the workplace.
The Ambition team marked the occasion with a Tea & Talk in the office. Over a plate of biscuits and rocky road (made by our very own Rebecca Austin), we talked about what we admire in each other, how we've been feeling recently and shared techniques for tackling stress at work.
We enjoyed our Tea & Talk so much that we're going to be making it a permanent fixture in the Ambition office. If you'd like more information and ideas for activities that you could implement, make sure to check out the Mental Health Foundation.
PR TIP
This month’s PR tip is from Katie Leech :
“Don’t be afraid to think outside the box
Topical links are important to getting journalists to care about otherwise evergreen topics. However, when working on a project that has a very specific theme it can be a challenge to relate it to mainstreams things happening in the news. If you can find a link, even if it is a little less direct, it can be worth pitching the idea to see if it has potential. Of course this does not mean shoehorning your ideas into every story, but instead offering a new perspective on topical stories adjacent to a client's expertise. The more unique an idea the more interesting it often is, and the less likely it is to have been done before. Journalists want to be finding new, less-trodden stances or things challenging conventional wisdom. This is something that I think our Head of PR (non-fiction and professional services) Hannah Cary does particularly well, possessing the ability to see a topical link even when you don’t think there is one at face values. This is why it's important to think outside the box - you never know what results an idea could yield unless you try.”
Vice President, Head of Clinical and Quantitative Pharmacology (Adagene)/Co-author for book “ReThink Resilience: 99 Ways to Recharge Your Career and Life”/Affiliate Associate Professor(UW)/Adjunct Assistant Professor(UF)
4 个月really lovely to see a broad spectrum of news update ! thanks for highlighting our book!
Head of PR (Non-fiction and Professional Services) ????????
4 个月There are always exciting things going on and November is already shaping up to be just as great!! ??