Property companies Falque Land and Property and Cardea Property Consultancy are among the latest companies to have joined Bees Knees’ expanding client list.

Falque Land and Property Ltd is a land and development consultancy and specialises in optimising land and development outcomes. Meanwhile Cardea Property Consultancy, are a team of Chartered Building Surveyors operating in the commercial and residential property market.

Rosie Hamilton, Bees Knees Founder and owner says ‘I’m very pleased to have acquired these two new clients recently. In common with many SME business owners, the founders of these companies need support with their content, messaging, market position and overall strategic direction. So far, excellent progress has been made with both clients’

James McKenzie, Founder and Managing Director of Cardea says ‘ Rosie has played a key role in developing our content and messaging, encouraging us to move away from safe, generic language and towards communication that is more confident, human and authentic’

Rosie Hamilton, the founder of Bees Knees Marketing, is celebrating success having been awarded Chartered Public Relations Practitioner status. The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is the only professional body for public relations and Chartereship represents the highest professional standard in the industry.

‘I’m absolutely delighted to have achieved Chartership status’ says Rosie ‘Assessment day itself was a rigorous process and consisted of three one hour sessions during which Assessors – who are leading experts in public relations – put us through our paces on ethics, leadership and strategy

In today’s uncertain world, it’s very important that business owners are working with PR Consultants they can trust. As an Independent Practitioner, it’s crucial that I uphold professional standards, demonstrate strategic leadership and behave ethically. Having worked in the PR industry for 25 years now, it is great to have my work recognised in this way’

A report published by PARN (Perception of Professionalism) in 2020 found that 71% would trust a Chartered Practitioner more. Currently, there are fewer than 1,000 CIPR Chartered Practitioners globally, although the CIPR has plans to grow this number significantly.

A Chartership Assessor who assessed Rosie during the session on leadership said ‘When it came to leadership, Rosie had a really strong session. She shared great case studies on providing strategic, informed and expert challenges to clients, sometimes on ethical grounds. She also provided an excellent answer on the importance of diversity in our work, using a case study and research from her CIPR Diploma related to ethnicity and vaccination. She was also very strong on business literacy, environmental scanning and regulatory developments’

Alastair McCapra, CIPR Chief Executive says ‘Members decide to seek chartered status for a wide range of reasons…for those who have already built a successful career it is a validation of their experience, professional judgement and capability. In 2026 we will see our 1000th Chartered Public Relations Professional, and chartered status will increasingly be the norm for senior roles in the future’

Bees Knees founder Rosie Hamilton Bees Knees has gained two national awards in the 2025 Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Volunteer Recognition Awards. Rosie is delighted to have gained this recognition for her work as Social Media Manager for the CIPR’s Crisis Communications Network. Together with fellow Committee members, Rosie shares best practice in crisis communications and crisis management.

Rosie’s two CIPR Volunteer Recognition Awards -which are peer-nominated -recognise her work in advocacy and leading practice development. Rosie is one of only 5 volunteers in the UK to gain the advocacy award which recognises volunteers who have been a powerful advocate for the PR profession .The leading practice award recognises volunteers who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in advancing best practice within public relations.

Rosie said ‘Far from being a chore, it’s incredibly rewarding working for the Crisis Communications Network. Sharing best practice in crisis communications and crisis management is hugely beneficial for businesses. Especially at a time when there seems to be a fresh crisis every day. Businesses are aware of the recent crisis faced by M&S which has already cost them £30 million. Knowing how to communicate effectively with your stakeholders during a crisis is crucial to your long-term survival and restoration of your reputation’

Rosie was also named as a contributor to the CIPR’s Crisis Communication and Social Media Best Practice guide published in October 2024.

For further information about the CIPR’s Volunteer Recognition Awards see https://shorturl.at/sQf4I

We are very proud to announce that Rosie Hamilton, our Managing Director has been awarded the Chartered Institute of Public Relations Professional Practice Diploma. This is a Masters’ Level qualification which covers advanced understanding of professional practice, including PR strategy and planning, content management, media and engagement, measurement and evaluation, and PR leadership.

During a recent meeting with a client I was reviewing some of their marketing literature. They were already aware that their leaflets weren’t working i.e. not  having the desired effect on their target audience. So I started asking them some questions:

• Who is your target audience?
• Where are they/how old are they/which other brands are they engaging with?
• What is your call to action?
• What are the 5 key points you’re trying to get across?
• Are the pictures you are using appropriate for your target audience?
• What’s your distribution strategy for these leaflets?

As it turned out the this client’s previous marketing agency hadn’t asked them any of these questions which is why, 3 years later, they were having to rewrite them all over again. Whether it’s for newsletters, direct mail campaigns, leaflets, brochures, social media content, blogs, case studies, annual reports you need to think about these key marketing objectives before you start writing. It does seem to me also that many companies both large and small write copy that’s all ‘me, me, me’. This is what I do, sell, produce, make, provide. The most successful brands turn the whole situation around and make it all about the customer and manage to do so in a funny and entertaining way that engages the audience from the get-go. Brands such as Ben & Jerry’s, Pret and Innocent are prime examples.

If you would like to chat about how Bees Knees Marketing can help with your copywriting and marketing communications please give us a call on 0777 9299860

What makes a good copywriter? Being able to write well is the obvious answer to the question but beyond that, having good listening skills would definitely be at the top of my list.

Ultimately, whether you’re writing copy for an article, case study, blog, advert or website, any copywriter worth their salt needs to start by asking the right questions. Questions such as ‘Who’s the target audience?’ ‘What makes your company different?’ ‘What’s your tone of voice?’ First person or third person? ‘Do you use humour as part of your brand?’ (Who can forget KFC’s brilliant FCK response to the chicken crisis, courtesy of advertising agency Mother?)

Another favourite question of mine is ‘What’s the call to action? If it’s an advert and you want the respondent to call a number, have the reception team been briefed? Do they have a call script? Are they recording the number of enquiries/sales? If you want people to go to your website, is there a specific URL for this project? Or a dedicated area of your website? Are you set up with Google Analytics so you can measure traffic/ecommerce? You would be amazed how many companies get this so wrong and yet it’s a key part of the campaign metrics!

I’ve found from experience that the answers to these questions form a really useful framework for the project, save time and significantly reduce the chances of the client wanting to make major changes to the copy.

This week I was proof-reading some terms and conditions for a client and I came across something that made no sense at all. It referred to a set of clauses which were non-existent within the document and I was really confused. The client hadn’t spotted it and asked if I thought it was important? My response: ‘Yes I think it’s important to clarify this because if the customer reneges on the contract and extricates themselves because of that particular point you’ll be kicking yourself.’ So it went back to the lawyer and lo and behold, they had left something out of the terms and conditions.

To be clear, proof-reading is just one of the services I provide, along with PR, copywriting and digital marketing, but when a client asks you to edit and tidy up document before they send it out, it makes sense to read it through carefully. Hopefully I’ve saved them a lot of hassle and money!