The Word - April 2006

Welcome to the sixth issue of The Word, which brings you the latest news from Word Association

Tired of trying to juggle all the stresses that work and life throw at you and your workforce? Find out how to reach the right balance at the national Work / Life Balance & Flexible Working Conference 2006.

As the first marketing consultancy to be awarded the national Work - Life Balance Standard, Word Association is hosting this Conference on Friday 7th April at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London.

It’s been specially designed for all public sector senior managers and human resources personnel who’ll gain a whole host of valuable advice from the experts on getting the work / life balance right. Find out more about working from home, creating more flexible working and motivating your workforce.

A top line-up of speakers includes Mark Thomas, Chief Executive of Word Association, Peter Thomson, Director of the Future Work Forum, Tony Wareing, Director of WiseWork and Jon Watkinson from London Borough of Lambeth Housing Association. Plus, Jill Mortimer from the Employers Organisation will be unveiling the findings of the national survey into flexible working within local authorities in England, Northern Ireland and Wales.

To book your place at a cost of £95, click here or call 01455 614333.

A NEW IDENTITY

Is your corporate identity recognised far and wide? If not, it could be time for a revamp.

We’ve recently created an
eye-catching corporate identity for Liverpool Mutual Homes, the new housing association set up to manage properties in Liverpool if transfer goes ahead this Autumn.

Two figures form the letter ‘M’ to represent the people delivering the housing services and the tenants benefiting from them, emphasising that tenants are leading the way at LMH.

Bold red and blue link with Liverpool’s two football teams and symbolise the transfer from one side to another.

The logo appears over an image of the Liverpool skyline showing that LMH is at the heart of the City.

To find out more about our corporate identity service, click here to email Mark Thomas or call him on 01455 614333.

NEWS IN BRIEF

DIAMOND SERVICE
With a proven track record of raising the profile of East Midlands Housing, Word Association was asked to help the organisation celebrate its 60th anniversary this year. We designed an eye-catching diamond jubilee logo and a commemorative brochure which reflects on what EMH has achieved to date and looks ahead to the challenges in the future.

Jason Penn, Word Association’s Creative Director, explained: “EMH was set up to provide affordable homes for penniless ex-servicemen and coal miners in small communities. The logo’s black background represents the coal - coal is carbon and diamonds are made of carbon. The number 60 is created in diamond styling to illustrate the anniversary. Diamonds are also multi-faceted, which represents the wide-reaching work of EMH.”

SHARING EXPERTISE
Word Association Chief Executive, Mark Thomas, has been sharing his expert knowledge with organisations UK-wide. During the past year, he’s been giving presentations at a variety of conferences and workshops. Having lead specialist sessions on dealing effectively with the media at the CIH’s ‘Communications in Housing’ seminar, he ran more general workshops for housing management staff at national conferences in York and Bournemouth.

Public sector human resources professionals learnt more about getting the work / life balance right at the Housing Quality Network event in London, while Mark discussed ‘Housing inspection – communicating results’ at the National Housing Federation’s specialist Communications and Marketing Conference 2006. As a result of his CIH sessions, the Centre for Sheltered Housing Studies has asked the CIH to run full day training courses on ‘Spread the Word – Effective Marketing for Today’s Sheltered Housing’. Three sessions have already been agreed in Leeds, Birmingham and London.

Word Association is an award-winning full service public relations and marketing consultancy which works to change people's lives through the power of communication. The consultancy provides specialist communication advice and support for a wide range of both public sector organisations including councils, housing associations and regeneration initiatives, and private companies. Services include Advertising, Corporate Identity, Events, Exhibitions, Marketing Strategy, Media Relations, Publications, Research, Training and Website Development.