Ever heard of Twixtmas? Apparently, 'Twixtmas' is the five days between Christmas and the New Year holiday and PR consultant Andy Green wants to use it as a period where everyone would ideally do five small things to make our world a better place.

The Twixtmas campaign has been developed by the Flexible Thinking Forum, a not-for-profit organisation promoting flexible and creative thinking skills in business and the community, encouraging people to challenge set ways of thinking.

Andy, who is a member of the Forum, says it's not money making in any way, it's being done because it seems a good thing to do.

Although we live in a 'time-poor' age, during Twixtmas many people will be bored, fed up with sitting in front of the telly or shopping so five small things shouldn't be too strenuous should it?

But what sort of thing is being suggested? Each of the five days of Twixtmas is themed to offer a way of making the most of each day where people are invited to celebrate themselves, do something unselfish by celebrating others, and do something for a friend, for the planet, or for their future.

Check out www.twixtmas.com for ideas or partner organisation www.helpfromhome.org which shows you how to carry out home based micro volunteer activities and "change the world in just your pyjamas"!

Is it too late to do anything? It's never too late and as anthropologist Margaret Mead said: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

Happy Twixtmas to you.

Jackie Sinclair
Account Manager

Business people do some funny things in a recession. All of us need to cut costs and eliminate waste – but sometimes it’s hard to fathom the logic.

Where does the axe often fall first? On the marketing & PR budget! The average spend is down 15 per cent so far this year, apparently. It’s hard to understand. You cut your marketing budget to save money and then fewer potential clients and customers notice you. It can accelerate a downward spiral.

But there is a different way, and it’s all to do with spending smarter. You could divert some budget to non-traditional approaches – ones that get you talked about. It’s all about New Media. There are great opportunities to reach audiences via low cost films and podcasts that reside on your website, and even on YouTube.

A short but well-crafted film can get your message over brilliantly. It is inexpensive, long-lasting and brings a human touch – and also helps people think they know a bit about you. And if you make it entertaining, your video can spread like wildfire. Remember Cadbury’s viral of a drumming gorilla? A huge success.

More modest budgets may focus on simple case studies showing what you can do, like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEd3ls-BwIY

Or this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP7cqhVgEfM&feature=channel

And if you want to get your message over in a totally different way, you could take this approach:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0DEq94KYV0

And you can back these up with well-designed ezines, podcasts and blogs. But that’s another story.


- By Wynford Emanuel, Director of Warwick Emanuel PR