Working with Sketch House so we can all Sparkle!

Posted on December 15, 2020 by Categories: Uncategorized

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Working with Sketch House so we can all Sparkle!

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“Sketch House’s raison d’etre is to make you laugh – or more specifically, to make your clients laugh. We create bespoke sketch comedy videos for PR and event companies and advertising agencies.” – Sketch House

I saw a sketch these guys had done on LinkedIn about business networking face to face and the habits people exhibit. I just loved it and wanted to know more.

So, I talked to them about how this type of PR might work for me. We talked about various things in business where a more ‘disruptive’ vibe might work using humour in order to capture my audience and grab their attention – because after all, comedy really is one of the most powerful tools for marketing and PR.

You get what you pay for:

 Getting in the experts means putting your hands in your ‘deeper’ pockets. To be fair, I had a realistic view of the budget because I’ve worked in television (now it’s much more ad hoc) for the last 25 years so I know how much things cost.

Remember, this is not a small investment – so you need to be very clear what you are doing and how you are going to use this asset. If you cannot commit a four-figure sum, move along.

You can’t live a champagne lifestyle on a lemonade budget, and this is very similar; you can’t expect incredible results in a short turnaround if you are only willing to pay peanuts.

Signed on the dotted line:

 After the housekeeping was sorted and the deposit was paid, we discussed possible subjects that could work for me. Here are just a few of the ideas we played around with:

  • Sector ills– things I dislike about the sector I’m working within which drive me mad. I could base this on my 25 years’ experience – so I have seen a lot! From pet hates, cringe moments to full blown faux pas! You can imagine how some of these would be pretty juicy subjects…
  • Myths– the myths would-be clients hold on to when it comes to PR what it is and what it is not. The top one being around marketing vs PR, and this quote sums it up well: “If a young man tells his date how handsome, smart and successful he is – that’s advertising. If the young man tells his date she’s intelligent, looks lovely, and is a great conversationalist, he’s saying the right things to the right person and that’s marketing. If someone else tells the young woman how handsome, smart and successful her date is – that’s PR.” – S. H. Simmons
  • Stories– whether a business can’t find stories in their business or have an inflated idea of how interesting a story is. This is something that happens more than you think – some stories need to stay internal, some can be used only in the right circumstances and some need never be mentioned for fear of putting the audience to sleep.
  • Questions– no question is too stupid for a journalist. Why? Because they will keep asking questions. It’s like Groundhog Day – you can even ask the same questions but in a slightly different way.

Putting the ideas to work:

 These ideas were discussed alongside my goals. How would I use these sketches? I have several goals with this, because a plan without a goal is just a dream and I wanted this to have real impact:

  • Something funny for social media when we need a laugh – comedy sometimes really is the best medicine (especially in times of moaning and bad news)
  • Something which will resonate for many in the creative sector – when someone writes something you can relate to, you instantly feel the author has targeted you and this will make you smile or hopefully talk about it to someone else.
  • A conversation starter.I give talks on an almost weekly basis and when you talk a lot, you start to get creative with ways to break that ice. It’s great to have a few stories up your sleeve that you can pull out when needed.
  • A funny way to start a keynote talk – because I’m increasingly being paid to talk about me and what I do, even during lockdownand having this in my back pocket this will be invaluable.

Lights, camera, action:

 This discussion led to the Sketch House team coming up with some scenarios which could be funny and filmed. I selected one which is the one you I published on my social media channels and YouTube this month.

I then had another virtual conversation with the team ready for them to write a script and I learned that if you get all of these steps right and take the time at this point, the project delivery turnaround is very short.

When the script came it was so hilarious to read, I couldn’t read it without laughing into a coughing fit because I’ve experienced so many similar things  – though not to this comic degree. We made two small changes to that script, and that was literally all.

You get what you pay for; a top quality service, delivery and a quick turnaround. Everyone is happy.

Final steps:

The next thing for me was the delivery of a draft film. It was incredible, the making all happened without me and I was totally aware of when and where things were happening without needing to be involved (the dream)!

That draft film was fantastic. I made no changes at all, we simply discussed logos. It’s not always like this, but the whole project took less than one month which I was delighted about. I really take my hat off to the Sketch House, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and really recommend more people consider utilising tools such as this to stand out from the crowd.

 If you feel you need a dose of honesty or comedy, why not book a virtual power hour with me in the new year for £99 plus VAT during January, rising to £150 plus VAT from February 1. Drop me an email on 

You can watch the sketch here: https://youtu.be/J9ANHmfLn8I

You can find Sketch House here: http://sketchhouse.net/who-we-are.php

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