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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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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There has been some debate around whether the methods which helped Barack Obama into the White House will arrive here and transform British political campaigning.

Will it be a Twitter or Facebook election, and will candidates abandon old-fashioned practices like knocking on doors in favour of sending the voters a ‘poke’ or Youtube video?

Ok so it may not quite come to this, but a survey conducted to gauge public perceptions and attitudes towards the use of social and digital media by the leading political parties in the run up to the election has shown that more than three quarters of electors would choose to vote online.

Social media wasn’t really an option during the last election as the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Youtube either didn’t exist or weren’t yet popular, but with social media now being the number one way people communicate, politicians are seeing the importance and benefits of online communications, and are making the most of channels such as as Facebook and Twitter to convey their message.

So with many believing this will be the UK’s first Internet election, will you be making your vote online?

Tags: Uncategorized by Priya
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It’s that time of year again when businesses need to start thinking about preparing for upcoming trade shows and exhibitions.
 
As well as allowing exhibitors to promote their products and services, reaching new customers and generating new sales, these specialist market places also provide business people with the opportunity to network and make useful contacts with other people working in their industry.

Therefore attending or exhibiting at a trade show can prove extremely worthwhile. But to reap the full benefits of a show it’s important to make sure you are fully prepared.

However, as well as keeping potential customers up-to-date on what you have to offer, trade shows and exhibitions also give the visiting press the opportunity to find out about the latest products and industry innovations. So in addition to checking whether the equipment is working before you go ‘live’, or making sure you have plenty of promotional leaflets for visitors, you need to ensure you get noticed by the press.

But how do you do this? Get your PR agency involved from the outset.

Firstly they will be able to work with the event organisers to identify the press attending. Once they have a list they can get started on pitching to journalists, offering them an interview with a company spokesperson, or demonstration of the product – all proactive methods of helping to ensure your business grabs the headlines instead of your competitors.

Secondly, to get a good write up, it’s important to have relevant information about who you are and what you are doing available at your stand or in the press office. Your PR agency will be able to develop a good press pack with press releases of any new products and services you are launching or want mentioning. Keeping press releases informative yet concise will help keep a journalist’s attention.

So if you don’t yet have an exhibition strategy in place why not get in touch to find out more about how PR can help you stand out from the crowd to make the most of your presence?

Tags: Uncategorized by Priya
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Effective PR doesn’t just mean putting your own news and opinions out there in press releases, articles and interviews.  There are newsworthy incidents happening all the time that are related to your business, that you can use to your advantage — if you’re willing to offer a pithy, relevant comment.  All it takes is a little planning, an eye on breaking news that’s relevant to your organisation, and the ability to deliver a rapid response.

One of the staples of journalism is including comments from expert industry observers into a breaking news story.  The comments help to explain the story, and to balance it by giving the point of view of a third party.  It’s natural to think that these comments come from the journalist’s established contacts, built up over years of lunches.

That may have been the case a few years ago - but not any more.  Journalists are under real pressure to deliver a quota of news stories per day, so time is a key factor.  They’ve got maybe 90 minutes to get the story finished before moving onto the next one, and if you can offer a quick comment that fits the story and the journalist’s needs without too much editing, you’re in.

What are those newsworthy events?  Well, it depends on what industry you’re in.  For example, if you’re in the IT security sector, either as a vendor or a service provider, incidents such as data leaks or virus outbreaks (such as the recent infection on Greater Manchester Police’s networks) are ones to watch out for. 

What’s more, these breaking stories tend to be syndicated to other news outlets, spreading the story quickly across the web, giving you a big footprint on Google, and positioning you as an industry expert to boot.  Why not contact us to find out how you can get your points of view across?

Tags: Uncategorized by Priya
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‘Tis the season to be jolly and all that, but unfortunately that doesn’t mean that you can put a hold on any crisis until January. Take British Airways, for example. The news of their cabin crew’s decision to strike is causing endless disruption for thousands of passengers, which is being eagerly followed by every news channel and publication in the UK.

A cabin crew strike is inconvenient for passengers at the best of times, but a cabin crew strike at Christmas is a passenger nightmare and guarantees a media frenzy. In order to ride out the storm, British Airways need to be openly communicating with the press to ensure that all affected passengers are aware of what is going on, as well as trying to limit further damage to their reputation.

Good crisis management relies on a stream of open communication that is well planned, covering the facts of the situation and telling people what is going to be done to improve things, which when done well can save your company’s reputation, but when done badly can become a complete disaster.

Unfortunately, sometimes there is little that can be done to avoid a crisis, but if one should happen to your business, don’t add fuel to the fire – have a crisis management plan in place and be proactive about speaking to the relevant media. If you have no experience in crisis management, then seek advice from those who do…a crisis is no time for improvising.

Tags: Uncategorized by Debbie
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It’s that time of year when reality programmes and talent shows go into overdrive. From singing and dancing to eating bugs in the Australian jungle, the ratings for these shows are as high as ever, with producers having figured out a winning formula.

Now that’s not to say that the shows don’t vary each year, with new contestants, judges and twists, but the underlying format is the same – because it works so well. The same approach is true of a good PR campaign.

Creating fresh news angles and campaigns is vital to any company’s success, but these should be delivered through a PR and marketing strategy that suits the individual needs of any company, using a selection of targeted activities that have been proven to deliver the best results. While these may not necessarily gain you prime time TV coverage on a Saturday night, they will deliver the best ROI for your business.

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When was the last time you refreshed your website? It’s often one of those tasks that companies keep meaning to do but just somehow don’t get around to.

However, the key is to a good website is to refresh content frequently. By taking the time to ensure your company’s website is updated with the latest news and views you can make a big difference to the appeal of the solutions and service you have to offer.

Keeping your website fresh, dynamic and regularly updated makes your website more engaging, and the two best ways to do this are to upload latest press releases and to keep a blog.

Regularly adding the latest press releases, case studies and testimonials to your website will help ensure that your potential customers get to see the best of what you have to offer, whilst linking out press releases from your website to media coverage will boost your Google footprint and enhance your search profile.

Blogging is key to giving continually refreshed content and a great way to feed news snippets and updates.  Having a blog demonstrates to

 your potential customers that you are proactive and “on the ball” with issues affecting your industry sector, at the same time as optimising and boosting search rankings. And if you don’t have time to blog twitter is a quick, easy and very effective way to build SEO and publicise new products or events free of charge.

Here are some examples of blogs that we’ve helped our clients with:

http://www.sandisk-enterprise.com/blog/

http://www.ardentia.co.uk/blog/

http://www.v-sol.co.uk/blog/index.php

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With another postal strike currently in full swing there are concerns about whether people’s Christmas mail will start becoming affected by the growing backlog. But it’s not only delayed Christmas cards which should be of concern, people who subscribe to magazines may also start to notice a missing copy or two of their weekly or monthly read.

With a majority of PR material being placed in business and consumer magazines there’s a real chance that the press release, article or case study your PR agency took time and effort to place may not get read any time soon - which is not great for your business!

It’s just as well that many magazines have an online format too. This is advantageous in several ways, not only do they help improve your SEO, helping your Google ranking, online magazines - which are completely unaffected by postal strikes - can make sure your stories get out to your potential customers, now rather than later. In light of the recent strike action some magazines are actually offering an online version to their readers to overcome the problem.

So although online coverage doesn’t always seem as glamorous as print, the truth is it is just as valuable - and sometimes even more so!

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Whether you’re meeting with a client, a journalist or a partner agency, making the effort to build rapport is a vital part of any meeting. This part of a meeting can often be overlooked as polite necessities, but in actual fact, this is where you can glean some of the best information and is vital for building relationships long term.

Discussing topics unrelated to the meeting agenda allows you to find out more about a person and what else is going on in their lives. Don’t restrict yourself by asking a string of closed questions – keep questions open and try and gather as much information as possible.

For a client this may be the chance for them to tell you all about a new business project they are thinking of starting, that you may not otherwise have touched upon. Equally with journalists or partner agencies, this is a chance to find out a bit more about what interests them – allowing you to find areas of common interest, helping to build a strong, long-term relationship.

So, next time you head out to a meeting, don’t be in such a hurry to skip straight to the agenda – who knows what you could discover beforehand.

Tags: Uncategorized by Debbie
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