Autumn 2009

Impact
We are delighted to be working on a second project for IMPACT this year. From October to November we will be rolling out a major advertising campaign that targets both the general public and the union membership with a number of key messages on transforming the public sector and challenging the government's current policy. We undertook a number of campaign tasks for IMPACT including message research and development, national opinion polling and media planning and buying. We also developed a series of viral videos to support the campaign. You can watch the first two below. For more information go to impact.ie

NCBI Fundraising
It's our first time working with NCBI and it has been a very rewarding experience. This initial project saw us developing and producing a fundraising direct marketing pack. This involved working closely with their senior leadership in strategising, researching, branding, writing and designing the pack.

Dolphin Decides was a truly unique and exciting project. PCC won the tender to assist the community of Dolphin House, the largest inner city flat complex on Dublin's southside, to define and present their informed vision around their own regeneration. PCC partnered up with Community Action Network and the task involved best-practice community consultation, strategic communications and the drafting, editing, design and print of a suite of key communications tools including branding, newsletters, flyers, point of display and publications.

Our Lady's Hospice, Harold's Cross and Blackrock
In July we produced an Annual Report for Our Lady's Hospice, Harold's Cross and Blackrock. The client was anxious that the content and tone of the Annual Report would take a significant step forward. They wanted it to reflect the positive and complex ethos and values of their multi-layered work while also being respectful and empathetic with the residents of the hospice. PCC is very proud of our work with this fantastic organisation assisting with the content, editing and the overall design and photography.

We recently completed a new visual identity for GLEN, the Gay and Lesbian Equality network. We've also produced a range of communications tools and publications. We're also delighted to be advising them strategically. Their new website which we designed with our partner ThinkTwo will also be
launching shortly.

The Children's Medical & Research Foundation
Our latest donor development appeal for CMRF has just been launched and will run for the next 4/6 weeks. It is designed to raise funds for their new A&E department which will significantly improve services and reduce waiting times. The new building is already half way there and the appeal is aiming to raise the final money needed to complete and equip it.

Death of Giancarlo Ramaioli

Our dear friend and colleague Giancarlo Ramaioli died on Tuesday 26 May 2009, after fighting a long illness.

Giancarlo was a hugely important person in our development being a co-founder of both Graphiconies Design Studio in 1989 and subsequently Public Communications Centre in 1995. His unique personality, skills and self-taught but remarkable design style contributed hugely to our reputation in those pioneering days. Along with Jole Bortoli he wove a winning and exotic Italian strand into our creative and organisational DNA. Ah, those wonderful meals. Those amazing Christmas parties. Those thrilling Ireland-Italy world cup matches.

Gian was one of the first designers in Ireland to foresee and understand the importance of the internet and new media for NGO’s, charities and not-for-profits. In the early days of PCC he developed activelink.ie and Community Exchange, which he later further developed with Hyperlink after leaving us in 2001. Of course his contribution was not just professional. He was a beautiful man in so many ways, kind and caring to all. Those who had the thrill of playing basketball or soccer with him witnessed his amazingly warm and joyful spirit which his natural shyness sometimes kept hidden. All of us will testify to his graceful physical skills, abhorrence of conflict and enormous generosity to those of us who were less adept on court or on the pitch.

Though we didn’t see nearly enough of him lately, Gian was, and continues to be, a significant influence on all of us who worked with him and were lucky enough to have him as a friend. Gian, you will remain an angel at our shoulders.

may 2009

New website for the Equality & Rights Alliance which was designed and produced by our new media partners ThinkTwo. The site uses the inContext content management system, which we will be using to drive our own site in the near future. We are also currently working on two new projects with ThinkTwo that use this system to provide easy to manage, design independent content management services for our clients.

If you would like to know more contact Daragh.

We attended the National Fundraising Conference in Croke Park on Thursday the 26th of March. While we were there we conducted a quick poll to gauge the mood of fundraisers. You can download a PDF of our findings here.

We just finished a series of short motion pieces for the window of Fighting Words. We had lots of fun playing around with these and trying to learn After Effects! Look out soon for more of these by ourselves, Martello Media and friends.

This is a promotional piece we produced on our fundraising work. It's printed on a recycled card and paper. If you would like a copy just send us an email and we will pop one in the post to you.

February saw us working on several projects including a set of full page adverts for IMPACT. These adverts were targeted at the unions members and other key stakeholders and are part of their national lobbying campaign against the recent public pension levy. The adverts were very successful generating national media coverage and hundreds of responses. You can look at the full versions of the ads here and here.

We are also working on a new projects for the National Drug Strategy Team, GLEN, the Higher Education Authority, the Irish Hospice Foundation, Crumlln Children's Hospital, the Teen Parent Support Programme and the City of Dublin Youth Service Board.

In January Susan attended the recent IDMA seminar on how best to survive in the recession - she was there to see how the commercial sector is coping and what ideas they are testing. John, Susan and Charlie will be attending the Fundraising Ireland Conference on March 26th where PCC are sponsoring the morning teas and coffees (which means our clients get extra biscuits).

The CDYSB Good Practice Guide toolkit provides a clear and accessible blueprint for best practice in youth work and is designed to be used in all aspects of youth work delivery ranging from voluntary clubs and groups to regional youth services with employed staff. We designed the pack, materials for the launch and also provided copywriting services for a number of the policy development guides.

We’ve had the pleasure of producing YNOW for our bright and creative friends in the City of Dublin Youth Service Board and frankly it’s a labour of love. This is the fifth issue and it’s really making a huge impact in the youthwork sector. For us, it’s especially fulfilling as we were charged to develop the initial structure, format and tone of the magazine. We also sit on the editorial/commissioning team with Gerry and Mary in CDYSB and we subedit, design and layout the entire publication.

Dial to Stop Drug Dealing
Dial to Stop Drug Dealing is an innovative direct marketing campaign aimed at tackling drug dealing in local communities around Ireland. Minister of State with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy and Community Affairs at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Mr John Curran TD launched the campaign on September 29th last.

Dial to Stop Drug Dealing is a freephone number that can be called at any time of the day or night. It provides a safe, confidential and completely anonymous way for individuals to pass on information on drug dealing in their local community. The individual is never asked for their name, their address or any other information which might identify them. The information gathered is passed on directly to An Garda Síochána. Altogether fifteen local campaigns will be run over nine months in three phases, five campaigns per phase. Phase 1 ran from October to November and generated over 800 calls. Phase 2 is scheduled to launch in mid February.

Christian Aid Ireland - Christmas Stocking Appeal
Last summer Christian Aid commissioned the development of a new Christmas schools appeal. We undertook qualitative research with school children and teachers and on foot of the findings developed the Christmas Stocking Appeal. The 2008 appeal is a test project and we targeted 250 primary schools. If successful the appeal will be rolled out and developed in 2009 and 2010. Early results indicate that the appeal is going well and final results will be known in February.

Since September we have developed two successful appeals for The Children's Medical & Research Foundation (CMRF).

The first appeal was a tax effective appeal and CMRF aimed to target their donors who are Republic of Ireland PAYE tax payers, who have given €250 or over in any one year and who pay tax at either or both the standard and higher rate. CMRF have audited their donor base and have identified thousands of donors who are eligible for the appeal. Donors were written to and asked to complete and return a revenue form so that CMRF may claim the tax back on the donation. The appeal is on-course to reach its target.

The second appeal was developed and launched at Christmas and involved two mailings, one to donors and another to possible new donors. Ireland's Littlest Heartbeat Appeal is a committed giving ask and aims to upgrade once off donors to regular giving and also to acquire new regular and once off donors. The appeal is set to exceed its target of raising hundreds of thousands of euros for vital services and equipment.

Fighting Words is a new creative writing centre inspired by 826 Valencia in San Francisco. The centre helps students of all ages to develop their writing skills and to explore their love of writing. PCC helped out with signage, web and various bits and bobs. Working with the very talented team at Martello Media we also developed a nifty projection-based 'shop window'.

If you are an Illustrator and are interested in the project have a look at this?

www.fightingwords.ie

FOMACS - Moving Worlds: Cinemas of Migration
The Forum on Migration and Communications (FOMACS) is a collaborative public media project, producing film, photographic, digital storytelling, radio, animation and print stories on the topic of immigration and integration in Ireland, with the aim of reaching and engaging diverse audiences. We designed material for the Moving Worlds Film Festival in late 2008 and are currently helping to develop a new educational resource pack.

We were very happy to help design and write the first ever Annual Report for Christian Aid Ireland in late 2008. You can download the full report from www.christianaid.ie

PCC designed this Annual Report to help mark the centenary of the Probation Service in Ireland. As part of this project we worked with the Service to create a visual timeline that illustrates the history and development of probation alongside significant events in the history of the state. www.probation.ie

youngballymun PCC has been commissioned to work with youngballymun on the implementation of an extensive programme of communications activities over the next three years. youngballymun is a completely unique, ambitious and locally-rooted initiative to transform the learning and wellbeing of children and young people in the area. It works with local, national and international partners offering six new crucial services to children and young people from pre-birth up to 21 years. PCC will be assisting youngballymun in producing key communications materials and in planning and organising a number of important events. www.youngballymun.org

Dolphin Decides is a truly unique and exciting project. PCC won the tender to assist the community of Dolphin House, the largest inner city flat complex on Dublin's southside, to define and present their informed vision around their own regeneration. PCC partnered up with Community Action Network and the task involves best practice community consultation, communications and the drafting, design and print of key communications tools.

NEWS ARCHIVE - CLICK HERE