BusinessGiftUK.com has been involved in the charity mugging of the Right Honourable Seema Kennedy MP, BBC North West Tonight presenters Diane Oxbury, Roger Johnson, Steven Saul and BBC Radio Lancashire’s John Gilmore, as they have all been subjects of #PrestonMugShots on Twitter this summer.
How did this come about? Steve Ward, Director, BusinessGiftUK.com was browsing Twitter three months ago and became aware of an unusual Twitter account @PrestonPhoneBox, which caught his eye because, when he started trading 33 years ago, it was as contractors for advertising in BT phone boxes in the North West.
On Twitter, there was a lot of banter between other local “inanimate” accounts and a hashtag emerged for the seven icons as #PrestonInanimateObjects, comprising of @FishergateBllrd, @PylonPenwortham, @Lostock_Henge, @PR1Thermometer, @LeylandTank, @Swingbridge2 and @Prestonphonebox. The concept of the Magnificent 7 was developed and appealed for someone to print some mugs. BusinessGiftUK.com stepped in and offered their free services, suggesting they should be sold in aid of the Rosemere Cancer Foundation and Galloways Society for the Blind.
The first batch sold out within the first week, with great support from Gilly at BBC Radio Lancashire, after the Phone Box, the Penwortham Pylon and Steve got some airtime after being interviewed at the Guild Hall on Gilly’s 30 Days of Summer.
The hashtags went viral and stocks were kindly sold by outlets Brew and Bake, Sheridan’s Bag Stall and Adrian Livesey Butchers on Preston Market, the BB4B networking group in Leyland and the Preston Marina café.
BusinessGiftUK.com immediately commissioned a second batch and once again fully funded the production. That, together with the fact that all sales have been done without charge or commission by the volunteer outlets, means that the charities will receive 100% of the proceeds, in the region of £500
