Here at AP&C we have always been very charitable over the years. We’ve done charity cycle rides, printed calendars and programs for charities, and even had employees dress up to do the annual pancake race in Newbury Town centre. 
 
Lockdown inspired us once again, and so we launched our first social charity campaign to start giving back to things our community finds important. 
 
Our first social driven charity campaign received a huge response. We asked you guys to choose which charity you wanted us to donate £500 to, in addition we were giving one lucky nominator a years’ free Netflix subscription. The chosen charity was the “French Bulldog Rescue GB” with a staggering vote. We are so pleased as this is a totally volunteer based rescue funded only by contributions. To find out more about the rescue please visit https://www.frenchbulldogrescuegb.co.uk/
 
Off the back of this campaign we will be running our next social competition but this time focusing on four charities from West Berkshire that are all local to our Newbury office. All of these charities received the most votes from our first campaign.
 
Swings and Smiles https://www.swingsandsmiles.co.uk/
West Berkshire Rapid Response Cars http://www.wbrrc.co.uk/
West Berkshire Mencap https://www.wbmencap.org/
West Berkshire Therapy Centre http://www.westberkshiretherapycentre.org.uk/
 
Hopefully we are coming to the end of a hard last 18 months with Covid-19. In the effort to add a little extra good to the world, it’s great to get involved with random acts of kindness to boost your mental health. Here’s a few top tips of the charities you could support:

1. Support what’s close to your heart. Personal experiences have a real impact, and you will feel good giving to a charity that will help future friends and family as you will have experienced it first-hand.
   
   
2. Choose local. There are hundreds of charities local to your area, donating to them will improve the community you live in, and potentially open a new community that you don’t know.
   
   
3. Find a charity that aligns with your company. Think about how the charity you’re supporting will match your company ethos, we’re not suggesting that this is a win for your business, but we are saying if you pick a charity the already matches your values, supporting it will be second nature, and what’s the harm in increasing brand awareness. For example, if you’re a local estate agent, how about supporting a local homeless charity?
   
   
4. Ask your team. If you choose a charity your team feels a connection with, they will feel more motivated in fundraising efforts and awareness, this will also make your team feel they are involved in something meaningful.
   
   
5. Vet your charity. Make sure the charity you choose will use your donation wisely

https://www.gov.uk/find-charity-information is a good place to start to check whether the charity is registered, don’t be afraid to ask questions if the charity is genuine, they will be happy to answer questions.

What Are The Best Promotional Items Your Customers Will Respond To?
 
More than 80% of consumers crave promotional items.
 
If 80% of your customers crave them, you need to ensure your brand is satisfying this craving! The last thing you want is to give away promotional items that are boring or don’t add return on investment.
 
Better quality promotional items that your customers appreciate are likely to last longer, create more impressions and generate a higher ROI. So our goal as marketers should always be to give the best promotional items that have a wow factor and build brand goodwill.
 
The best promotional items are the ones that:

• Your customers value and appreciate
• Are highly durable, long lasting, and used by customers for a minimum of 6 months
• Provide a great impression
• Are current, contemporary, and well designed
• Solve a real customer problem
• Are relevant to your current and future clients

 
So here’s our top 5 promotional items to give to your clients and prospects…