Context Public Relations

This morning’s news spoke to a GCSE student who had got 15 GCSEs at A or A* level – a great achievement in anyone’s books.  But the question being asked is - are exams being dumbed down, and what does this mean for British business in the future?

PR is one industry that is attracting growing interest from students, and we often get asked how people can get into it.  The truth is that good PR needs dedication, commitment and a lot of hard work to get results – it’s not an easy, glamorous option.  The focus has to be on the client and achieving press coverage that generates business – that way it becomes a win-win partnership.

To do this a PR professional has to not just be good with people, but needs to understand business – yours and ours; we also need to be creative to identify opportunities in the market, after all very few things today are brand new; writing skills are obviously key; but we must also be committed to embracing new technology to maximise the results for our clients.

In short, there’s no single subject that opens the door to PR.  Finding the best people for the job can be difficult, but whether they study sociology, English, or science, it’s the combination of their skills and professionalism that become key to building an award winning agency with long term clients and a word of mouth reputation.

Tags: Uncategorized by Rachel
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In the current climate, communications budgets have been under much scrutiny. There are those who think that scrapping PR in a recession will help ease a company’s financial situation. However, this is only in the short term and offers no long term benefits.

As reported recently in The Scotsman, the Scottish police force is spending £75,000 on a new PR campaign. This may seem like a lot of money, but once you consider the cost savings that can be made through the campaign – by improvements to planning and resource management, it doesn’t seem that much. Careful calculations will have provided the Scottish police with figures to show how much previous campaigns have cost and by comparison, how much they have saved them in the long run.

The same applies to any business – you have to look for the long term rewards. Think about the benefits of keeping up your profile – securing new business, customer reassurance, brand recognition, etc. – and then consider the cost of slipping off the radar altogether.

You may not have the option of spending £75,000 on one campaign, but whatever your budget, think carefully about how this should be used to gain maximum exposure through carefully planned and targeted campaigns and you’ll be in a strong position to take advantage of the long term benefits.

Tags: Public Relations by Debbie
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In this tech savvy day and age it’s hard to believe people still hold grudges against online coverage but the way news is published is changing.

I have to admit that I’m not always the most techie of people but I read all my news online, a lot can happen in a day, so even by getting tomorrow’s paper it’s hard to stay in the loop.

Online sites allow the news to break 24/7; articles are up-to-date and fresh with today’s opinions. They are also becoming the preferred option for media as print publications are seeing a sharp drop in circulation figures. With the availability of e-books as well, clients still get the ability to see their feature in a magazine without old copies taking up space on their desks.

No one is disputing the achievement of receiving printed coverage but online sites and e-books are certainly catching up as the new direct method of getting news and features out to the required audience.

Tags: Uncategorized by Megan
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A great way for any client looking to promote themselves as an expert in their field and get noticed as a key player in their industry is through a thought leadership article. Unlike case studies or press releases, which promote particular goods or services, thought leadership articles look to offer opinions and expertise on a particular industry sector and give advice for common industry concerns. It’s a great way for clients to start getting their names out there and establishing themselves as industry pundits.

But with clients looking to appeal to as many market sectors as possible at once, what’s the most productive way for PR agencies to target the maximum number of vertical sectors?

Well in this case the saying less is more is definitely the way to go.

If you’re offering advice on a topic, which is an issue for businesses in a variety of market sectors, your thought leadership article can be tailored to suit a multitude of vertical sector markets. By “topping and tailing” – changing the intro and conclusion – and altering the odd word here and there, a fairly generic article discussing an issue applicable to several industry sectors can easily be modified to suit a number of very specific key audiences. It saves you time as you don’t have to approve 10 different articles and it gives your PR agency more time to get on with the important task of getting the article into your key publications!

Tags: Public Relations by Priya
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I had a few days without home Internet access and landline last week. Landline Schmandline…. but no Internet!? It was like that episode of South Park where the Internet is broken. They try heading to Starbucks but no joy and eventually all end up on a refugee camp rationed to 40 seconds Internet per day. Having witnessed “broken” Internet I find this episode, far from being funny – it’s the stuff of nightmares.

When you lose Internet you realise how it is woven into the fabric of our lives. My kids feared becoming social outcasts through lack of Facebook. I couldn’t work from home as intended during the school holidays because I couldn’t access our server. I had to go to Starbucks (in a spooky art-imitates-life way) to book cinema tickets and check my bank account. Worst of all I had friends up from the South East who just had their worst “trouble at th’mill” prejudices about the North of England confirmed.

I consoled myself thinking it was about time I read The Guardian in full and yet every article I read urged me to go online for more information.  It seems pointless talking to clients about online PR strategy. How do you separate online PR from offline PR?

Tags: Uncategorized by Frank
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Wookey Hole has a new witch.  Reported in The Times, over 3,000 applicants applied for the post, with the recruitment process getting impressive media attention in television, online, radio and the print press.

This well planned media campaign successfully put the West Country tourist attraction firmly on the map, and is arguably a better piece of PR than Queensland tourism’s best job in the world campaign.

Wookey Hole excelled in its market awareness, and in the timing of the campaign: in these difficult economic times, record numbers of families are choosing to staycation in the UK, and this campaign raised awareness of a low-cost UK alternative, during peak holiday season and in the middle of the school break, generating public awareness of the venue at just the right time.

With any PR and marketing campaign, timing and a solid understanding of your target market is crucial, in order to ensure maximum effect.  Partnering with a PR agency, you’ll benefit from our knowledge of what works, to ensure you are going to the media at the right time, and with the right message, to make sure you really deliver.

Tags: Marketing Mix, Public Relations by Luke
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We all know that blogging is top of many companies agendas but the big questions we are asked all the time are as follows:

• How often should I write a blog?
• What should I write?
• How much should I write?

The answer to all of these questions depends on your business, but we do have a few rules of thumb that you may wish to follow.

How Often?

How often you blog depends on what you are trying to say and what sort of business you are. If you’re talking to consumers then the frequency of your blogs should be high (daily at least). This is because search engines no longer look just for content but also review the number of hits you have on your site and also the relevance of the content. On the other hand if you’re dealing mainly with businesses you don’t need to blog daily, once or twice a week will do and this will help improve your SEO and site stickiness.

What should I write about?

Please keep it relevant. There is nothing more off putting about a blog than seeing content that has nothing to do with your business. You may be a fan of a certain football club but if it has no relevance to your business don’t write about them. Keep it informative, and make sure you have a point.

How much should I write?

Blogs do not need to be essays. If a blog is too long it won’t get read and also the style should be more chatty than formal.

If you follow these simple rules you should see a great deal of benefit from your blog with greater traffic and some of your blogs appearing top in some online searches.

If in doubt you can always give Context a call.

Tags: SEO by Rob
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Twitter:  like it or loathe it, can you afford to ignore it?  A lot of businesses are simply wondering how they can use Twitter to their advantage, either to spread a positive message, or to counter negative feeling.

Here’s an excellent article from the Wall Street Journal on how several massive corporations – including Ford Motor Co., Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Southwest Airlines – are using Twitter as part of their overall PR strategy. 

It includes some strong case studies on how these companies have listened to the buzz on Twitter to gauge consumer feeling, and have used their Twitter profiles to respond directly to issues, averting PR problems almost before they happen. 

It’s well worth a read.  If you’d like to know more about how Twitter can become part of your comms strategy, contact us.

Tags: Marketing Mix, Public Relations, Technology by Craig
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It may be holiday season, but in the current climate few companies can afford to sit back and relax.

While it may seem that much of Britain has their ‘Out of Office’ message flying around, the reality is that much of the preparation for your autumn and winter PR and marketing activity should be taking place now.

This autumn we’re already planning for a major press launch in October, which will see a number of well known names attending, plus plans are well under way for a range of national campaigning events for our clients.

While everyone looks forward to a summer holiday, it’s important to maintain the momentum of your business, particularly at the moment.  Before you head off for the sun, make sure you’ve taken the time to organise and delegate for the coming months.  Look at the key events in your industry and ensure your PR and marketing activities are well underway to strengthen your profile in the future. 

So enjoy your holiday, but also look forward to the return when you should be well placed to take advantage of activity over the coming months.

Tags: Uncategorized by Rachel
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