| Topic | Summary |
|---|---|
| Talks & presentations | Advice on giving talks to community groups and schools |
| Target organisations | Lists and contact information of many organisations with local groups that may be interested to hear about ringing |
| Tower visits & open days | Practical advice on planning and running tower visits for non-ringers |
| Websites for non-ringers | Advice on the content and promotion of websites about ringing intended to interest non-ringers |
| Working with the media | Advice on engaging and working with journalists and broadcasters to interest them in ringing-related events |
| PR for ringing through nonringing bodies | Some ways ringing can be publicised by finding and promoting connections with other aspects of community life and history |
| Personal PR | Some words to encourage ordinary ringers to help spread understanding of ringing |
| Ringing myths exploded | Some of the many mistaken ideas of non-ringers compared with the truth |
| Measures of awareness | A comparison between ringing and other common activities in terms of very basic awareness |
| Role | Topics |
|---|---|
| Public Relations Officers | Working with the media PR for ringing through nonringing bodies |
| Webmasters | Websites for non-ringers |
| Tower captains | Tower visits & open days Working with the media PR for ringing through nonringing bodies Talks & presentations Target organisations Websites for non-ringers |
| Individual ringers | Talks & presentations Target organisations Working with the media Personal PR |
| Non-ringers, eg Church officers | Tower visits & open days Working with the media |
Ringing is almost always a very public activity, but we are normally hidden from view. Most non-ringers know little about ringing and nothing about ringers. Some even think the bells are rung by machine. The sound of ringing has a special place in most people’s minds, and there is a vast pool of potential goodwill for ringers to draw on, once we can get past the barrier of ignorance. We rely on public goodwill to continue to practice the art of ringing, we rely on recruiting from the non-ringing community, and we rely heavily on non-ringers for investment in the expensive equipment that we use.
Ringing PR is about communicating with non-ringers at all levels – individuals, groups, and the whole communities in which we ring. It is about explaining what we do, about sharing our rich heritage, and about engaging their interest. We should aim for ringing to be as well understood as any other sport, music or hobby, and for the skills and expertise of ringers to be respected as much as those of any other performers.
PR is not just the preserve of ringing societies and the Central Council. We can all do many things, as individual ringers and as local tower bands. We can all help to bridge the gap between the public and ringers.
These pages contain many ideas and suggestions to help you. If there is something you would like to know but can’t find, then please let us know. If you have a good idea or a resource that you would like to share, then please let us know that too.
