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For Catherine Bedford, the founder of Dashel Cycle helmets, keeping the costs low on her small business was essential. When she heard Chantal speaking about PR at a Virgin Start Up meeting, she liked what she was hearing, and she knew she had found the right fit for her company.

It had taken me five years to get my business off the ground and I had already used a mixture of my own attempts at media publicity and a few PR firms along the way. I soon realised as the company grew that I couldn’t do it myself as I couldn’t spread myself that thinly and my experience with other PR companies hadn’t been that great, so I was looking for a good PR.

I was really impressed listening to Chantal on her take on the industry and I liked how she runs her company, so at the end of the meeting I approached her to see about us working together.

And I haven’t been disappointed. Working with Panpathic has been really cost effective for Dashel as they offer really good value for a small business. We only pay for the months when we get coverage. In the past when we have used other PR firms, we found we were paying high fees every month for a retainer even when some months we weren’t getting anything back for it.

As a company that makes recyclable cycle helmets, I was drawn to the ethos of Panpathic as I know they are totally on board with sustainability. We were a good match. I like that you pay for what you get which does tend to work really well both ways. For us it means we are not paying out unless we get coverage and it also means Chantal and her team are not resting on their laurels. It is in both our interests to promote Dashel so if we ever do go quiet, Chantal and her team are brilliant at chasing us up to be proactive. It’s a good incentive on both parts.

But what I really love about Panpathic is its clarity and transparency. You always know exactly where you are and what to expect. Chantal is very straight-talking and she makes it quite clear what she can and can’t do. By managing expectations really well no-one is in any doubt about what they are paying for. She follows through all her suggestions and delivers what she says she will deliver.

I have loved dealing with Panpathic. From the start they got us some great coverage in the national press in some significant newspapers and magazines such as The Guardian, The Observer Magazine, Stella, Absolutely, Vogue, Wired, The Telegraph, BBC Radio 4’s Today programme and the Financial Times.

It’s difficult these days to quantify how much business comes direct from media coverage, nothing is the golden egg for sales anymore, but I feel we have had some great exposure across a broad spectrum and Chantal and her team have also been particularly good at getting us on to the podcast platform.

That level of exposure is not just good for the business going forward but it has a huge impact internally too. When staff see our brand out there it reinforces the success of the company. It gives us value in the marketplace.

One of the things I have appreciated the most while working with Chantal and her team is the personal touch. We have always believed that Panpathic is invested in us, it has been a lovely relationship. Some of the bigger PR companies can be a bit faceless. You start off talking to one person and then every conversation you have after that is with someone you haven’t spoken to before. It makes it hard to build the same rapport as we get with Panpathic.

Although we haven’t got any big campaigns on with Panpathic at the moment, as soon as a project comes up in the future there is no doubt, they will be our first choice.

I highly recommend Chantal and her team. They provide good value; they are good at what they do and they do what they say they will do. And that goes a long way in business.

ABOUT DASHEL
Dashel offers a range of slim, ventilated, lightweight cycle helmets designed and manufactured in the UK. With a classic design Dashel Helmets have low impact at the point of manufacture and produce very little waste at the end of life. The helmets are portable, sold packaged in a handy rucksack that means there is no superfluous packaging. They come in an array of classic colours. Choose from Black, navy, sage green, sky blue, red and white, Dashel helmets start from £79 and available from all good cycle shops and online at Dashel.co.uk.

Website: dashel.co.uk
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