Anonymous online research carried out by Communication Science student Corinne Avis, in which 188 journalists took part, has shown that Linden & Barbosa is a well-known brand name. Our agency was the second most cited after The Publicity Company. The PR Company came in third place. Radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, free local papers and websites all took part.

The most important results were as follows:

- The questions regarding the journalists’ news sources showed that 85.1% usually got their news from press releases. Other sources named (80.7%) were own research, Internet sites and tips via e-mail.
- With 94.4%, the preferred method of receiving press releases was by e-mail, followed by through the post.
- 82.6% also preferred to receive invitations to press conferences by e-mail, again followed by through the post (49.1%).
- Newspapers prefer to receive the invitation 7 days in advance of the event; magazines require a period of months with a maximum of three.
- 68.9% of journalists decide whether or not to go to a press conference depending on the location. Journalists usually prefer a location in the Randstad (51.4%), somewhere accessible by public transport (36%), and somewhere that suits the subject matter (23.4%).

The respondents were positive about the information provided by Linden & Barbosa. 51.3% sometimes use our press releases, 26.3% regularly, 13.2% often and 2.6% very often. With regard to content, 68.4% of the journalists assessed this as “good” and 3.9% as “very good”.

Last Thursday 3 November, Linden and Barbosa organised a special event for journalists. The purpose of the outing was to see and speak to each other in a completely different setting for a change. Those in attendance included journalists from FHM, Metro, Het Parool and SBS Shownieuws. Under the professional guidance of ‘The Fabulous Shaker Boys’, we were taught the finer points of cocktail shaking in the trendy Njoy bar on the Korte Leidsestraat. Everyone learned how to make 3 different cocktails just like the professionals, including the mojito and the strawberry martini! You really need a bit of muscle to do it... It was a very successful and entertaining evening and definitely something we should do again!

Announcement of the winner of the ‘Inspiration for integration’ contest

The Inspiration for Integration event took place on Monday 24 October at te ‘de Baak’ Management Centre in Noordwijk. The meeting was opened by Prime Minister Balkenende. On the day, highly qualified bicultural talented members of the community introduced themselves and the event was also attended by professionals from the world of politics as well as the Dutch business community. For instance, Roel in ‘t Veld, Mickey Huibregsten and Samira Abbos discussed multicultural issues in a fishbowl forum. In addition to this, Sezayi Zanlier, along with his team-mates Saida Nabibaks and Samir Azahaf, was proclaimed winner of the ‘Inspiration for Integration’ contest by Ivo Opstelten, chairman of the jury.

13 finalists were selected from a group of highly qualified bicultural members of the community, who now have the chance to implement their ideas for projects promoting integration. Sezayi moved up from VMBO level [lower secondary professional education] to University and in the last few months inspired many VMBO students to continue studying. His motto: ‘Nothing is impossible for VMBO students. Learn together, work together, and live together!’ The purpose of this event, initiated by Yesim Candan, was to emphasise the positive aspects of life in a multicultural society. Linden & Barbosa were responsible for publicising these unique proceedings.