Copywriting - 2006 - The Corn Exchange, Wallingford

The Corn Exchange theatre and cinema is situated in Wallingford's historic Market Place. Registered charity The Sinodun Players created the theatre and cinema from the derelict shell of a Grade II listed building, through the voluntary efforts of members and friends. The Corn Exchange continues to be run entirely by volunteers.

In 2006 The Sinodum Players at The Corn Exchange approached Nicola, wanting assistance with some important letters they had written. They desperately needed a great sum of money to enable them to realise some grand plans that they had for the refurbishment and updating of The Corn Exchange's interior, both of which would allow this fine building - already a cornerstone of local arts and leisure - to offer even more to the local community.

Nicola took the letters which had already been written and turned them around, retaining the heart and soul of the copy but making it wow the heads of local business for whom they were intended. The end result was a punchy set of letters which refused to be ignored. As a result, the letter which targetted small local businesses has pulled in over £1000 to date, and the letter which was read by Wallingford branches of national chains has rendered £1500.

Chris Harris of the Sinodun Players says:

"Nicola has been a tremendous help to us. We assembled some information for potential business sponsors, but it was turgid and, we felt, doomed to be binned on sight. With remarkable speed, Nicola transformed this letter, heading it up with eye-catching questions and making the whole thing sexier. We have since received over £2,000 from local businesses and are hopeful of more. This pleasing result owes a great deal to Nicola's prompt, friendly and very professional help.

"The letters are a great improvement indeed, and we're both most thrilled and grateful."