Tuesday, April 28, 2009

And the winner is ...

Congratulations to Juliet Hutton-Squire, designer goldsmith and winner of a year's free membership on findaTVexpert.com.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

WIN A YEAR’S FREE MEMBERSHIP

To celebrate the start of a second successful year in business, www.findatvexpert.com is giving experts who want to be considered for TV&Media opportunities the chance to win a year’s free membership worth £100.

”Britain’s Got Experts and I want to help promote them to TV researchers, development producers and commissioners who are hungry for ideas, inspiration and the next ‘big thing’,” says Claire Richmond, ex TV producer and founder of findaTVexpert.com.

Everyone with the skills, training and qualifications to prove they’re an expert in their field of business can enter the competition, from architects to zoologists and all the experts in between - handymen & historians; wildlife, survival & adventure experts; sportsmen, business men & tradesmen; dentists & designers; scientists, sociologists, etc – because you never know what the industry will be looking for next.

So if you think you could be the next Hairy Biker, Kim or Aggie, Handy Andy, Jamie Oliver, David Attenborough, Jo Frost, Tanya Bryon, Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen, etc, here’s what you have to do for your chance to win a year’s free membership on www.findaTVexpert.com.

Email the following to info@findatvexpert.com by 6.00pm on Monday, 27th of April, 2009:
1. A paragraph of no more than 100 words explaining who you are, what you do and why you’d be a great TV Expert.
2. A current photo and contact number (daytime & evening).
3. A copy of your CV (or similar) outlining your employment history and the training/qualifications that prove you’re an expert in your field of business.

The competition opens on Friday, 17th of April and closes at 6.00pm on Monday, 27th April 2009. Completed entries will go into a draw and one winner will be picked at random and announced here and on the findaTVexpert twitter page on Tuesday, 28th April 2009 – the start of findaTVexpert’s second year in business.

”If you’re an expert and you want to get on the industry’s radar, this is the competition for you,” says Richmond. “In the 12 months since findaTVexpert launched last year, experts with a wide range of skills have been found and booked for TV&Media interviews, screentests and appearances including Doctors of Clinical Psychology, Pharmacists, Personal Finance experts, Property Developers, Debt Doctors, Fashion Stylists, Stockbrokers, Career Strategists, Scientists, Historians, Online Shopping Experts, Horticulturalists, etc – and you could be next,” added Richmond.

Terms and conditions apply:
1. The competition opens on Friday, 17th April and closes at 6.00pm on Monday, 27th April 2009. Entries received after that time will not be considered.
2. To be eligible you must be an expert in your field of business with the skills, training and qualifications to prove it; over 18 and a UK resident. And you must not have any previous criminal convictions.
3. Proof of age and eligibility may be required.
4. By entering this competition you agree to comply with these terms and conditions and you agree that your entry may published in all media, adapted, in whole or in part at the Promoter’s sole discretion.
5. All eligible entries must be received via email and contain a paragraph of no more than 100 words explaining who you are, what you do and why you’d be a great TV Expert; a current photo & contact number and a CV (or similar) outlining your employment history and the training/qualifications that prove you’re an expert in your field of business.
6. All eligible entries will be entered into a draw on the 27th of April 2009 after the closing time. One winner will be picked at random and announced on the 28th of April on the findaTVexpert twitter page (http://twitter.com/findatvexpert) and the findaTVexpert blog
7. findaTVexpert bears no responsibility for entries which don’t make it into the draw because they’ve been blocked or identified as junk email, spam, etc.
8. findaTVexpert will not acknowledge receipt of any entry that is sent in.
9. Entries that fail to meet the eligibility criteria or otherwise fail to meet these terms and conditions will not be entered into the draw.
10. The prize is a year’s free membership on findaTVexpert.com, which gives experts the chance to create a searchable Profile & CV and be promoted to the TV industry.
11. The winner will have until the 15th of May to register their details on www.findaTVexpert.com. Failure to do so will result in forfeiture of the prize and findaTVexpert reserves the right to award the prize to the next eligible entry picked at random.
12. There is no alternative prize or cash equivalent and the prize is non-changeable and non-transferable.
13. The winner may be required to participate in publicity relating to the competition.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Britain's Got Experts - the results

Broadcast is going to publish my 'article' in this week's issue, which is great news. Ok, so it's not the two page spread I was hoping for, but since they only asked me for 400 words that was never going to be the case anyway. My thoughts are going in as a Letter on the Comment page - but all publicity is good publicity, right? I'm being featured and more members of the media will register as a result, which will benefit the experts. I just know it!

Britain's Got Experts

I've just sent Broadcast magazine my promised 400 words re Britain's Got Experts. I don't know what will happen next - if anything - but I said I'd do it, so I did. Dream outcome? I get featured in Broadcast, more members of the industry register on findaTVexpert and more experts get contacted and booked for interviews, screentests, etc. In other words, we all win!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Britain's Got (deluded) Talent - but is that a bad thing?

I absolutely loved the start of Britain's Got Talent on Saturday - what a great show. But I can't decide whether to admire the deluded talent or question their state of mind. Articles in newspapers and glossy magazines are always encouraging us to 'give it a go', 'break out of our comfort zones' and 'go after our dreams'. President Obama is a big fan of the 'Yes We Can' club and Nike believes we should 'Just Do It'.

But should we? Really? Even when all the odds are against us? Even when we want to break the record held for the number of Ferrero Rocher chocolates eaten in a minute knowing we can't manage more than 5? (The record's 7, by the way.) Or when we want to be the next Fred Astaire even though we can't lift our feet off the ground?

I wouldn't have the courage to do what some of the talent did on Saturday (and would like to think my friends and family would prevent me from getting anywhere near an audition) but here's to all the people out there who throw caution to the wind and go ahead regardless. Because they enjoy it and as a viewer, so do we!

Friday, April 10, 2009

More success stories

Exciting to see that findaTVexpert is helping to bridge the gap between the professionals and the programme makers. Here are some of the latest success stories:

1. Richard Fenton, Debt Doctor: has done some filming for the new series of Channel 4's Property Ladder.
2. Nick McGregor, Stockbroker/Financial Services Expert: as above (Property Ladder).
3. Nyokabi Musila, Holistic Pharmacist: featured in the Mail on Sunday.
4. Sue Atkins, Parenting Expert: chosen as the expert for the pilot of new ITV lunchtime programme.
5. Sue Firth, Psychologist + Business, Stress, Behaviour: analysed behaviour of bankers who said sorry for online Panorama piece.
6. Abigael San, Doctor of Clinical Psychology: doing a talk at Unilever and quoted in a feature for Bliss magazine.
7. Malcolm Tullett, Safety Consultant, ex Firefighter: booked by BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine show to comment on the Doncaster fire last week.

And the following experts have all been contacted in the last month by TV production companies to discuss programme ideas: Linsey Evans, Garden Designer; Stephanie Moore, Nutritionist + Health & Stress Coach; Roy Bolton, Art & Architecture; Mindy Gibbins-Klein,The Book Midwife - getting a book out in 90 days; Lynne Allbutt, Landscape Gardening & Design + Countryside Issues; John Lees, Career Strategist & Redundancy Advisor; Lucinda Slater, Personal Image Consultant.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

The pond is getting smaller

Great to see that a casting director from RDF USA (a TV production company) has registered to search findaTVexpert.com. That's great news for the experts - and for the business.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Congrats to experts Nick McGregor & Richard Fenton

I've just heard that two of the experts on findaTVexpert.com - Nick McGregor & Richard Fenton - are going to do some filming for C4's Property Ladder. That's great news for me, for them - and for the business!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

The Moment of Truth!

All the marketing & business books I've read highlight the importance of finding out what your customers think of your service, what they'd like to see more of, etc. So I've just sent out a survey to the TV&Media industry to find out what I'm doing right and how I can improve findaTVexpert in year two. I'll be surveying the experts next!