What is First Friday Club?

Quite simply, once a month, 15-20 editors from the leading UK engineering magazines get together for a lunch in London. Representatives from three or four of the companies they write about on a daily basis can attend too. Before lunch, the companies get a chance to make a 15 minute presentation on their current activities. They also get the facility to distribute press information, and, if required, the chance to have one-to-one discussions with editors afterwards. Of course, there's also the chance to socialise over lunch in a relaxed atmosphere. The presenting companies share the cost of the event, which for 2007 is £1080 each, a fraction of the cost of hosting a 'press event' individually, with none of the organisational concerns!

Who runs the First Friday Club?

The club was set up by the editors themselves, and they appointed PR consultant John Fisher of Fisher Marketing to handle the organisation.

Why has it been set up?

There are two main reasons. Firstly, to save time. All editors receive dozens of invitations to company 'product launch' press conferences each month, but pressure of work and reducing staff numbers mean that it is becoming increasingly difficult to justify a whole day out each time.

Few editors attend more than one or two each month. In fact, we know that because of falling attendance, many companies no longer organise press conferences. The First Friday Club is more attractive to editors as it makes it possible to hear from several companies in different fields at a single event.

Secondly, we know that some companies avoid holding press conferences because it can be such an expensive and time consuming exercise. At the First Friday Club, on the other hand, the expenses are shared and there's no organisation to be done so it attracts companies which editors normally never meet face-to-face.

What sort of companies attend?

Up to four companies attend each lunch, usually to present their new products, but sometimes to introduce new management or to make a business announcement.

The first companies to attend, in 1998, were Erwin Sick (safety components and sensors), SMC Pneumatics (pneumatic components), Infranor (drives and controls), Mannesmann Rexroth (automation components) and Rockwell Automation (control systems). We ensure that presenting companies are from different fields.

What do the companies have to do?

As the venue is fairly intimate, two people can attend from each presenting company. All you need to do is to prepare a 15 minute presentation and printed material for distribution afterwards. A projector screen is available so visual aids may be used, but as the presentations are reasonably informal, these may be unnecessary. The Club undertakes all other organisation.

Where and when is the event held?

The Club meets on the first Friday of each month (except August and January), at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, Fleet Street, London.

Which Editors attend?

This can vary slightly, depending on the areas of business of the presenting companies (please tell us if you'd like certain specialist magazines to be invited), but about 15-20 editors are likely to attend on each occasion. They come from the main titles in the engineering, design engineering, process engineering, drives, controls and instrumentation press sectors. Please contact us for the full list.

How do I reserve a place?

Simply call John Fisher on 01959 564987 or e-mail club@fishermarketing.co.uk to discuss available dates which Editors are likely to be attending, and how to make the most of the First Friday Club. We look forward to hearing from you!