Penny Haywood Calder (PHPR Ltd)

PHPR gets businesses noticed online and in the media.

30 years of results-led PR, on and offline from an Edinburgh PR agency that serves clients throughout the UK. Led by Penny Haywood Calder, who launched the world's first online bank in 1985 for Bank of Scotland, we have broadcasting, journalism and editing experience behind our PR success for clients.

Plus PR coaching to help small businesses to use social media, online PR and media relations to get on the free publicity ladder. 

Valuable media coverage is like an award: once won,  you can quote for evermore on your website and email signature "as seen on/on XXX magazine/newspaper or TV/radio station).

We help businesses create a balanced spread of publicity  to boost the sales pipeline:

• PR (raising your profile online and in the media).
• Marketing (emphasising benefits you bring to customers) and
• Sales (systems and processes to convert sales enquiries into sales by meshing customers' needs with your offerings (if appropriate) plus great aftersales to retain custom and encourage referralsl).

We also take your own communications preferences into account so that you can give the publicity programme your best shot, with our help.
And if you really hate all forms of verbal communication, we can help you sort that out too with communications and presentation skills training.

About PHPR

PHPR is an innovative and small-but-perfectly-formed on and offline PR agency personally led by Penny Haywood Calder, author of the best-selling book: DIY PR, the small business owner's guide to 'free' publicity (pub Batsford paperback), written on the back of running DIY PR courses for 10 years for 1,000s of small business owners. They shared their best publicity practices and Penny showed them PR skills and the value of a planned approach to publicity, so we bring all that shared experience to your business. 

Penny is on a mission to boost businesses brilliantly on and offline and regularly gives 4sights around the Edinburgh area offering tips on publicity.

You'll also find free PR tips on the website, and in Penny's blog.

PHPR mainly works with B2B clients including financial services and technology sectors, but includes forestry, biotechnology (industrial pollution), property, CCTV regulation, food and hospitality clients.

PHPR has run PR campaigns throughout Europe, the US and the Middle East and has great contacts if you need local support on the ground in several countries.

PHPR is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations in the UK.

Plus we green your supply chain.

PHPR is a VIBES finalist - which means that the business has been judged by experts and recognised by the Scottish Government and multiple agencies: "to have demonstrated exceptional environmental performance". VIBES is the top environmental awards for Scottish businesses. PHPR is a member of the Green Business Network. We have had an environmental policy in place since 1986 and we sequester the carbon produced by our business travel and energy use by planting trees through the Carbon Neutral company and more recently with Trees4Scotland.

Our Services

PHPR supplies the following services for business:
Public relations, PR, online PR, digital PR, media relations, press relations, media training, crisis communications, editing, copy-writing, web content, case studies, newsletters, DVDs, events, seminars, presentations, speech-writing, clear communications, writing, technology PR, IT PR, PR for financial services, PR consultancy, PR coaching, PR launches, DIY PR support, DIY PR training, press releases, press lists, media lists, news releases, media research, online video, and finding the right name and domain name for both on and offline businesses or products.

Penny Haywood Calder heads up Edinburgh-based PHPR, bringing you award-winning online and offline public relations - PR - and social media focused on getting excellent results on the bottom line, from one-off launches to ongoing flexible PR support and crisis communications.

We also provide training to help you clarify your key business messages and communicate them on and offline, on video and to the media.

Penny is the author of the best-selling business book, DIY PR and provides DIY PR training and ongoing DIY PR support and coaching by telephone and email for individual small business owners, including publicity planning and social media strategy.

Penny is married to fellow 4N member, David Calder, of BitWeb.tv. David has 30 years broadcasting experience and provides media training and online news videos.

With an MA in logic & metaphysics from Edinburgh University, Penny is good at clear thinking. She often works with innovators and technical companies, extracting clear PR, sales and marketing messages from complex processes, writing web copy, case studies, white papers and expert guides to boost SEO content and generate sales leads for business online.

PHPR's online PR and social media work regularly gets clients' names and their key search terms onto the front page of Google search results: results that persist.

Penny was an early adopter of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations' Excellence CPD scheme (http://www.cipr.co.uk) and as a result is accredited by her peers.

She is among the top 1500 in the world tweeting on PR and has a blog incorporated into the PHPR website.

As a best-selling author she is in demand as a public speaker and she is in the Edinburgh Speakers' Bureau .

Penny's 4sights

Penny is currently giving 4sights on using online PR and social media to boost business.

Past 4sights include:

"7-9 nudges up the sales funnel - why you need diversity in your publicity" piloted at Haymarket, Edinburgh

"30 Free & Low Cost Ways to Boost Business" unveiled at a 4Sight at 4N in Leith, Edinburgh

"How to write a news release" - was first delivered after struggling through deep snow in December at 4N Edinburgh Park.
A news release is a basic building block that can then be adapted into a blog piece, an e-newsletter, a microblog post and status update for Twitter and other social media, plus online bookmarking sites like Digg. Or you can start the other way round and write up a short post into a blog and news release.
Either way, you need to answer 5 key questions to write a professional release.