Context Public Relations

I don’t know if it’s just me but I get quite sick at A-level time. It’s not nerves or memories of my own exam results; it’s the toxic cocktail of hubris and devastation it ushers in.  The media fall in line to create hysteria and clinical depression in equal measure when we should all take a deep breath and get things in perspective. Universities are not the only game in town, (although personally my degree in Renaissance French literature has proved invaluable in high tech PR). In Germany students are encouraged to study technical course at technical high schools that enable them to build BMWs. We send our kids to uni and on endless gap years to equip them to serve decaf skinny lattes to visiting BMW executives. I welcome the new push on apprenticeships where you can learn really useful stuff, get paid and not be saddled with debt.

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Social networking- everyone’s doing it. And rightly so, after all it is a great way to get messages and campaigns across to your customers and key demographic, and keep up the profile of your company.

But while online social networking and social media is important to your overall PR and marketing strategy, we believe that good old-fashioned face-to-face networking is just as important.

Sending the quick tweet or updating your facebook page might be a good way to keep people updated on daily activities, but for times when a more in-depth conversation is needed, face-time with journalists is key.

We recently organised some media briefings for a couple of senior executives of one of our international clients who were visiting London. This gave editors and reporters of our client’s key trade magazines the opportunity for a one-to one. This gave them real insight into the business and in-turn generated a great deal of in-depth coverage in the titles which were important to our client.

So remember, while tweeting and blogging is great, it’s important to strike a balance. Put a face to your client’s name by getting them out and about and take your clients to events and briefings. Nothing beats face-time; it’s the best way for your clients to make an impression on the journalists who matter. 

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With England’s hopes of bringing the World Cup home now well and truly crushed, it seems both the players and manager Capello have some work to do if they want to regain the respect of the public and press.

But with most of the team avoiding press conferences and staying tight-lipped over reasons for their lacklustre performance, fans are getting impatient and refuse to welcome the team back with open arms.

That’s why in this kind of scenario, it’s even more vital that players think wisely about their next move and are seen to be doing the right thing, in order to win back the support of the press, but more importantly the people.

A start, at least, would be to forego any plans they might have to jet off on luxury holidays and not be seen flashing the cash at expensive hotels. After all, the public need an explanation, so seeing players drown their sorrows in 5-star luxury would only rub salt in the wounds of fans who have invested time and money supporting the team.

If players were to share some of this wealth with charities however, and appear to be doing the right thing by supporting worthy causes, it may give them an opportunity to regain favour with the press and their fans.

But more importantly, the public need an explanation. Rather than staying tight-lipped over their World Cup woes, the players should swallow their pride, hold their hands up and justify their poor performance to fans. Only then, will they stand a chance of getting the public back on side.

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Why do people keep saying that all publicity is good publicity? If ever you needed an example of when some publicity is very damaging look no further than the story of four star General Stanley McChrystal. 

A few weeks ago he was a saviour and now he has handed in his resignation after President Obama stripped him of his duties in Afghanistan. And why? All because of an unguarded interview in Rolling Stone magazine. 

It seems a lesson we just have to keep on learning. Senior people in any business or public office need to be media savvy as well as being good at their own job. No encounter with the media is without risk. It can be a risk worth taking but don’t expect journalists to advise you on the fall out from any loose talk. I guess the only positives we can take from this is that there is still a free press in the west and that mighty generals just like humble squaddies, when they step out of line, get slapped down.

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The new iPhone 4 has finally hit the UK and after queues at phone shops up and down the country (we are British afterall), customers have discovered that the latest version of their beloved iPhone has a bit of a glitch. Users are finding that if they cover the bottom left hand corner of the phone while on a call, they often lose signal as this covers the new location of the phone’s antenna. So, what have Apple got to say about this? Well, the direct quote from Steve jobs is: “Just avoid holding it in that way”. Not, perhaps, what many disgruntled customers were hoping to hear.

Apple did elaborate on this slightly, but while the advice was ultimately the same, the official statement from their PR department managed to provide customers with a solution. No, not an instruction on a better holding technique, rather that the problems of lost signal could be avoided by investing in a rubber case for the phone…strangely enough this was the first time Apple had issued such a phone case. They cost £25 each.

You have to hand it to Apple though. While the issues of signal loss have dominated many of the headlines since the launch, underneath this Apple has a brilliant product, which has also been recognised. Now along with strong demand for the iPhone 4, Apple is also seeing a sudden surge in sales of their new £25 rubber phone cases. So that’s extra revenue and even more exposure for the latest launch…not quite the disastrous launch many reviewers may lead you to believe. 

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A survey of technology trade and national press journalists has shown that twitter is the most popular social sharing site used by journalists, with over 50% sourcing their news from this social media tool.

Social media is already something that is being heavily utilised by businesses to get messages and campaigns across to their customers, as it’s a quick and simple way to target their key demographic. But it now seems that it’s also a good way to get news and messages across to journalists and create even more exposure for your stories.

More people are starting to see the value in social media, not just for recreational purposes, but also for business, and the majority of consumer-facing companies will now have either a facebook or twitter account.

So although journalists will probably still expect and rely on traditional press releases for your latest news, integrating social media into a pitch by tweeting the latest customer win or product launch may be worth a go.

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The chaos caused by the volcanic eruption in Iceland and subsequent closure of UK airspace has highlighted the opportunity for excellent public relations in a midst of a disaster.

Thousands of travellers have been stranded abroad and airlines have seen profits plummet as volcanic ash moved across Europe causing severe disruption.

The travel operators have been the first to react to this disruption offering discount rates to the masses of stranded travellers. Between last Thursday and Sunday, an estimated 50,000 people travelled by Eurostar, up 30% on normal passenger numbers.  Car-hire suppliers have also seen a rise in one-way car hire, those stranded preffering to drop the hire car at a different location as they tried to get back home successfully. Taxi drivers have also seen profits from those taking ridiculously long journeys across Europe. John Cleese took a taxi from Oslo to Brussels costing £3,300. Not bad for a day’s work.

Many travel insurers have also confirmed that they will reimburse travellers as a goodwill gesture for travellers who have incurred the cost of the disruption.

So now it’s over and UK airspace has finally re-opened, airlines are reported to have lost at least £1bn as a result of the ash cloud; with the full cost to the economy yet to be calculated. Many are crediting British Airways, Chief Executive Willie Walsh with ending the travel fiasco. Whether or not this is true; British Airways has clearly got a PR boost from the affair. It couldn’t have happened at a better time for the airline as it tries to control the negative impact resulted from the strike action.

By reacting to the chaos many companies not only increased profits but also gained positive exposure, engaging with target audiences through the media successfully. In any disaster, in order to profit, companies must act quickly in order to ensure maximum impact. 

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There has been a bit of a divide in opinion on who came out on top following the historic TV leaders’ debate last week where Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg went head to head for 90 minutes discussing issues on the political agenda.

While the media have focussed on Nick Clegg’s TV performance, PR/Comms experts seem to have identified Gordon Brown as the victor, saying they thought he had received the best media training.

For any spokesperson regularly facing the media, media training is a must. Talking to the media represents a fantastic opportunity to get your message across to your customers, partners, or the general public. Get it right and your message will come across in exactly the way you want it, but get it wrong and it could seriously affect the reputation of your business or organisation.

During an interview it’s easy for journalists, who are looking for a story, to steer the conversation to suit them. Good media training will help ensure their aims do not get in the way of yours, giving you the confidence and tools to get the message you and your company want to convey across.

Remember good spokespeople are a huge asset to an organisation. To find out more about media training and how it can benefit your organisation why not get in touch?

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The importance of communication in the midst of a crisis is vital. A plan must be in place to make sure everyone knows their duties and what courses of action to take. It is important that the following questions are answered – who is the designated spokesperson?  Who are the key audiences? What are the media policies and procedures? If handled correctly the damage can minimise the threat to the integrity or reputation of your company.

The one thing to remember is that it is crucial in a crisis is tell it all, tell it fast and tell the truth. If you do this, you can significantly help minimise any potential damage. To react as fast as possible it is beneficial to have prepared a template press release including prepared statements from CEOs.

What not to do in a crisis has been recently highlighted by Tiger Woods and his associates. He chose not to put a statement out or address the press in a conference which resulted in the media coming to their own conclusions. It has now been reported recently that Tiger Woods is understood to have hired former White House press secretary Ari Fleishcher as an adviser to help with his return to golf. A PR plan needs to be created carefully that will allow him to rebuild his reputation over time.

Crisis communications can be vital to securing the success of your company. Chances are your company will experience some kind of a crisis at some point in the future. It is how you handle that crisis with the media which determines whether the crisis builds or damages your company in the long term.

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It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of Guy Kewney today. Without doubt the most influential IT journalist of a generation he taught me and my clients a lot about his subject and how to be a decent bloke. Always passionate but never unmeasured, I will never forget what great company he was on press trips, especially visits to US Robotics in Chicago in the 90’s. He, Tony Dennis and Steve Gold stood at the back of the plane most of the way there drinking beer, sharing jokes with the cabin crew and helping me with my patchy knowledge of MNP error correction protocols. When my half-assed travel plans went awry he was always the first to look on the positive side and find the humour in living on a bag of bagels for four hours on an internal airline en route to Comdex in Las Vegas. When he asked when breakfast would be served he was told in the brusque mid-western riposte of the flight attendant: ”Buddy, this is a cheap airline. I can get you another bag of pretzels.” 

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