RBS stunt - Manchester & Warrington WDM groups

Inspired by Sheffield WDM's Tar Sands film the Manchester & Warrington groups decided to attempt something similar outside RBS's iconic offices on Deansgate in Manchester's "High Street".  Here are a few tips from them:

1. Get your regional journalist on board. When s/he gives you the brush off keep trying and accept that you may have to feed him/her more for a long time before s/he comes out of the comfort zone.
2. Get a photographer and get to know your camera! Have another activist taking quotes from passers-by.
3. Don't spread yourselves out too much along the street.
4. Watch the wind (placards can be blown away very easily).
5. Visual placards which can be secured (round neck as sandwich board) or at strategic angles facing oncomers in both directions work well.
6. Mildly quirky gear (bowler, 3 piece suit, and brolly, or boiler suit and hard hat with "RBS 'oyal Bank of Scotland" logo cut from a poster can work.
8. Have a young mum and baby - i.e. range of activists- not all wearing woolly hats!
9. If you are going to give out flyers, have LOTS - we ran out and were giving out cards, many of which won't be posted back.
10. When the regional press don't turn up, despite the action being about 75 yards from their offices (!) and you were blanked by the target, make a new story about that blanking for that paper and other stories for other local (commercial) and community (non-commercial) papers.  In addition take different photos for different papers, eg "Mum and Baby", "Local activist dresses up" .