We are currently running a pilot scheme for the Viva! QR Voucher System where you can benefit from the whole system at special rates, both set up price and ongoing monthly price.

Why?

As we approach launch time, I know we will need to make changes to display materials, require feedback from customers and generally need to ensure the live system is working perfectly.

As a pilot, you are allowing me to call or visit you to ask how it’s going and to allow for the occasional adjustments to be made.

Don’t get me wrong, the whole system works … we have had real people trying it out for over a year now.  The recent addition of the QR Code itself has simply sped the whole system up many fold.

Also, we need businesses to be all ready up and running on the system so that you can recommend us and give testimonials as to how well it’s working for you.

So, what better way than to offer you large discounts over the normal operating costs?

Call today and I’ll show you how to get started right away.

Martyn Brown, Consultant

Contact Viva! QR

This Strategy is the key document for professionals working to prevent and tackle bullying in Poole with children and young people. It builds on the good work already taking place in many schools and other organisations regarding bullying.

The conference followed on from Poole’s Secondary Schools Council Anti-bullying Forum held for young people in November. At both events young people were able to give their views on the impact of bullying and how to prevent and tackle bullying incidents.

There were two sessions in the day with almost 100  professionals attending the event. They were joined by 20 young people who helped to lead the workshops.

Delegates were welcomed to the event by Stuart Twiss, Head of Children and Young People’s Strategy, Quality and Improvement service. Councillor Janet Walton, Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People and Councillor Mike Brooke, Chair of the Children and Young People’s Health and Wellbeing working party, both spoke to delegates about the aims and vision of the Council in relation to Bullying.

Cllr Janet Walton, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People, Borough of Poole, said: "Events such as these highlight the impact issues such as bullying can have and how important it is that we tackle them. I hope that the new strategy and action plan will encourage young people to report incidents of bullying, and that schools feel well equipped to deal with them, with the support of the council."

The Strategy contains seven priorities . One of these is to encourage schools and other organisations to  report incidents of significant bullying or prejudice. These will all be recorded so that the nature and incidence of bullying in Poole can be identified and collective action taken.  The focus will be on good outcomes and sharing good practice across organisations.

Cllr Mike Brooke, Chair of the Children and Young People’s Health and Wellbeing working party, Borough of Poole, said: "Bullying can have a profound effect on young people and it is important all organisations involved with young people understand the issues and work hard to reduce the impacts. It is vital that children feel safe, especially at school.  With the adoption of this excellent strategy it should be possible for us all to  make a big difference to the lives of many of our young people."

Workshops at the conference included ‘Rights respecting schools’ and the regional adviser from UNICEF, Ed Waller attended to help run this with colleagues and young people from St Mary’s and Hamworthy Middle Schools. Longspee school led a workshop on the Restorative approach and Peer mediation, helped by pupils from Merley First and Longspee. Poole High school led a workshop on peer mentoring in secondary schools and young people from Poole High School helped to run a workshop about the use of ‘cards’ containing scenarios for discussion, together with the participation lead for Poole children’s services. Springdale school staff and pupils, led a workshop on Friendship work. Information stands included those from the Safer Schools and communities team, UNICEF, DEED, Family information service and the Parents Support Service. Information was available about all forms of bullying such as cyberbullyiing, homophobia, bullying based on race, culture or religion and disability.

The action plan in the Strategy will be reviewed annually by a multi-agency Anti-bullying strategy group  and reports will be submitted to Borough of Poole, the Children’s Trust and Local Safeguarding Children’s board. These groups will be monitoring whether the Strategy has the impact of reducing the incidents of bullying in Poole.

For more information and to see a copy of Poole’s Strategy and Action Plan please visit the Bournemouth and Poole Local Safeguarding Board website at www.bournemouth-poole-lscb.org.uk

This long-awaited project has been started thanks to a generous donation from the Friends of Upton Country Park.

Over the next four months the garden will be transformed into a space that can be used all year round with new pathways, benches and Purbeck stone entrances. Improved access from the tearooms to the garden via new doors and a patio area will ensure visitors can relax in the garden with their refreshments while overlooking new and existing floral beds.  Another new development will be an automated water feature that can be shut down as necessary to create a dry, level area for marquees and events.  The existing turreted rooms at the bottom of the gardens will be changed from storage to seating areas and refurbished throughout.

Cllr Judy Butt, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Public Engagement and Participation, Borough of Poole, said: "A huge thank you goes to the Friends of Upton Country Park who have been supporting provision for Upton house and garden for decades and are an absolute asset to the people of Poole. There are countless additions in the House and Park made by the Friends over time, The proposed enhancements are really very special and will ensure that Upton Country Park is even more accessible and interactive in the future. I look forward to seeing everyone at the opening set for later this year."

Work on the project is due to be completed on 1 May 2012. 

Further details of the development, plans and an artists impression of the finished garden can be viewed at www.leisureprojects.net/walled-garden.htm

THIS MONTH:

Viva! Radio Diary: Page 6
Chequers Inn Goes Country: Page 7
NEW! Garden View: Page 8
Tom Scott; Memories of old Poole: Page 10
Moaning About Moben?: Page 11
Children’s Page : Page 12
Puzzle Page; Crossword & Sudoku: Page 13
NEW! Viva! Amazing Offers!: Page 14
COMPETITION!; Win £25.00 of M&S Vouchers: Page 14
NEW! Instant Ads: Page 16
Rose & Crown are having a laugh: Page 17
NEW! Spotlight On! Get The Fog Out: Page 20
On The Beat; Current priorities: Page 19
Alec Wills; Cartoon fun: Page 19
Puzzle solutions: Page 20
What Are QR Codes?: Page 21
Community & What’s on in Poole: Pages 22
The Courtyard Centre, Lytchett: Page 23

The new Poole Trail, inspired by Poole Museum Service, reveals stories, pictures, audio and films about the town’s remarkable heritage and historic buildings, natural environment and wildlife, attractions and public art.

More to Explore interpretation and way-finding panels are sited on pedestrian signposts at 11 locations, centring on Poole Quay and the Museum precinct. Each one tells different stories about what can be seen around each location. In addition, those with smart phones can access more stories, pictures, films and audio using the latest technology QR codes.

The Mayor of Poole, Councillor Graham Wilson will be launching the trail at 12 noon on 31January. He said: “As Mayor of Poole, I’m really supportive of this valuable addition to our tourism offer which provides easy access to some intriguing facts about our historic town for all our residents and visitors.”

Councillor Judy Butt, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Public Engagement and Participation, Borough of Poole, said: “The new trail enhances the wealth of information which is available in Poole Museum.  Now we have the opportunity for everyone visiting Poole to discover some amazing tales about the town’s remarkable heritage.”

The digital technology provided by City-Insights creates a practical way of making information available to the person in the street, by linking street signage, information panels, and a simplified street map, a mobile-friendly website and an expandable behind-the-scenes database of archive material.

Poole Trail is a series of related locations that you can visit in any order you wish, at any time you choose, coming across stories as you discover the town. Stories cover a range of fascinating topics from notorious smuggling gangs to Britain’s first Boy Scout camp on Brownsea Island. One signpost in Lagland Street includes community stories which originate from local residents in the area.

Michael Spender, Museum Manager, who devised the Poole Trail, said: “The creation of the Poole Trail has been a collaborative effort of colleagues in Poole Tourism, Leisure Services, Arts Development, Transportation and Planning Services. Special thanks are also due to Poole Pottery for their invaluable support.”

Poole Trail is funded by developer contributions from the Planning Obligations Fund and Heathland Mitigation Fund through Borough of Poole Leisure Services.

Viva! have launched an exciting new marketing system that uses QR codes (Quick Response Codes) over and above the usual use of scanning the code with your smartphone (iPhones etc.) to go to a website, collect business card details or receive a sales message.   Marketing Bugle, the parent company behind Viva! Publications have in place a unique QR Code system that captures the email address and name of customers or potential customers as soon as they scan a promotional QR Code, wherever it is displayed.   Example QR Code

The Viva! QR system builds a database or subscriber list of all those who scan the code using their smartphone so that any business that uses the Viva! QR system can keep in touch so, when the subscriber is ready to buy, they buy from that business.

Example of use

Viva! QR Code is set up to vend voucher codes or printable vouchers. Let’s say that you run a restaurant, for example, and are offering a free dessert on the current customer’s next visit. The Viva! QR Code is displayed on every menu, point of sale and in the window. As soon as the customer scans the code and presses ‘Send’ on their smartphone, they are on the system and will stay on the system so that the restaurant manager can email them about other or future offers, hence, keeping in touch and letting them know when to come in to take advantage of the offers. The restaurant manager doesn’t have to spend time sending out to his entire list of potential customers, it’s all done automatically by our system. Think about it, every time you have a special offer, you’ll get customers in via the QR Code system. If the restaurant is normally quiet on Wednesday evenings, then why not have a Wednesday offer promoted via the Viva! QR Code system? There’s more to Viva! QR Codes than you think The above will work for any business of course where the subscriber list will grow and grow over the weeks and months. However, to ensure it grows as fast as possible, Viva! QR have linked the system to Facebook so that YOUR pages will have to be ‘Liked’ (promoting your business online big time) and also enabling the end user to ‘Share’ your voucher. The results can be mind-blowing. The average number of ‘Friends’ for each person on Facebook is 117. So, a customer with your voucher can share it with all those friends at the click of a button. All those who scan the shared code are also put onto your customer database so you can build a relationship with them and get them into your restaurant or buy from your shop etc.. Just 10 people sharing will result in 1170 others seeing your QR Code … think about the power of that. Your list is more likely to have 100 people on it so, when they share your voucher, that’s 11,700 others who will also see your QR Code. Remember, once they scan it, they’re on your database. As most people have friends that live local to them, the restaurant manager will be pretty pleased with the resulting busy Wenesday nights, I’d say.

YOU Could Benefit Right Now!

How could YOUR business benefit from having a database of potential customers who scanned your QR code and, therefore, must be interested in what you have to offer. Having a good starting offer and then regular other offers, you will sell more of your products or services than you ever believed possible. The system is great for regular items like restaurants, hairdressers, gyms, pubs, clubs, shops, take-a-ways or anything you can think of.

Benefit even more from Viva! QR Codes

Imagine using your QR Code in ALL your advertising … just a small area in the corner of each advert. This would really enhance your subsriber list building. Place the code on posters, flyers, leaflets, business cards, in the window, stationery, magazines, on your products, by the till, on your name-badge … the ideas are endless. Having a notice above the code stating ‘Scan Me For Free Dessert With Any Meal On Your Next Visit!’ will ensure that those with smartphones (the scanning app is downloadable and free of charge) will scan right away.

What, no ‘phone?

Millions of people now have smartphones and this number is growing on a daily basis. QR codes are popping up eveywhere you look … websites, magazines, on TV, invoices, infantory etc. etc. But Viva! QR uses the code for this unique and original purpose … to bring you more REGULAR repeat customers whenever you want them. However, suppose there is no signal or the customer hasn’t got that type of ‘phone (yet)? Well, under the code is an email address. By the customer sending a blank email with ‘coupon’ in the subject heading, the same thing will happen. They’ll join your subscriber list as soon as they press ‘Send’ on the email. It couldn’t be easier.

Join us now

By getting in now and setting up your Viva! QR Code account, you’ll be beating your competitors to the most amazing system ever created for getting more paying customers through your door. Other advertising mediums may be falling but mobile ‘phone advertising is GROWING FAST every single day. Getting in today means you’ll have a head start on everyone else who still use expensive conventional vouchers or those ‘other’ vouchers that give a free product (normally a meal) but then you never see the customer again because you can’t keep in touch.

How do I get an account?

Call Martyn on 01202 620998 or 07710 904 558 to book a free consultation. email: VivaQR@vivapoole.co.uk  

Just a quick update to let you know that Viva! Radio will be broadcasting a programme on Christmas day and Boxing day.

An extra programme will be broadcast on New Year’s day.

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http://www.VivaRadio.co.uk

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Christmas Day: 12 noon

Boxing Day: 7pm

New Year’s Day 12 noon

Merry Christmas to you and a very happy New Year!

Martyn Brown, Editor

Testing on Viva! Radio is going well. We have a regular slot on Monday evenings 7pm with extra programmes, featuring your radio commercials of course, in place for Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Boxing day is a Monday so we’re live on air from 7pm to 10pm.

The station runs 24/7 with music and continues to play Viva! advertisements.

Our next programme is Monday 19^th at 7pm.

I have started running music competitions to test reaction where it does increase listener interaction even though there is no hard prize … they just enjoy taking part.

You can tune in to Viva! Radio’s test channel at www.vivaradio.co.uk and www.vivachat.co.uk to chat to me during the programmes.

We give a free 30 second commercial to anyone who has an advertisement booking in the magazine that is for 4 months or longer. Do get in touch to feature your business. 01202 620998 email: admin@vivapoole.com

Merry Christmas,

Martyn Brown

Internet Radio Station: www.VivaRadio.co.uk

People who register and pay for the green bin collection service before 31 March 2012 will reduce their payment for the first year to only £21.70 for each green bin ordered rather than the standard charge of £31.

Residents who have not had the green bin service will be guaranteed to have their collections start at the beginning of March 2012 provided they sign up for the service by 31 December 2011.  People who miss that deadline have until 31 March 2012 to benefit from the 30% discount but will not see the service start until June 2012.

The fortnightly service will run from the beginning of March 2012 to the end of November, an extension of two months to the current service.

Payment lines opened on 1 December and residents can pay for the service online at boroughofpoole.com/apply/garden-waste or contact 261700. More than 500 residents have already signed up since lines opened.

Residents with an Access to Leisure and Learning (ATL&L) card will receive an on going 50% discount on the regular £31 annual charge, making the cost £15.50 for the first bin ordered per household. Additional bins will be charged at £21.70 before 31 March.

Cllr Xena Dion, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for the Environment, said: "This is a very popular service and I would encourage people to sign up by 31 December to ensure they receive collections from the beginning of March. People in areas with small gardens or who generally do not generate a large amount of garden waste could consider sharing a bin with neighbours. The most carbon neutral or environmentally friendly option, of course, is to compost at home."

Those currently with a green bin will benefit from collection from the beginning of March but will need to have paid by 31 March in order to continue with the service for the rest of the year.
From March 2012, garden waste will no longer be accepted in large black refuse bins. If you choose not to take advantage of the service you can compost at home, use the Mobile Recycling Points or Household Waste Recycling Centre.

Borough of Poole is introducing a chargeable collection service due to significant reductions in Government funding for local services unfortunately we cannot afford to extend the garden waste service to all residents without introducing a charge for collections.

To register and pay for your green bin, visit boroughofpoole.com/apply/garden-waste or contact 261700. A letter, explaining the garden waste collection service, is being sent to every householder.  Please visit boroughofpoole.com/gardenwaste for the latest information.