Context Public Relations

With Easter coming up thousands of travellers will no doubt have made plans to go abroad over the break- especially as it’s the school holidays. However for many it may be a time of uncertainty, as once again strike action by British Airways cabin crew is threatening to ruin many peoples’ trips.

A cabin crew strike is inconvenient for passengers at the best of times, but a cabin crew strike at Easter is a passenger nightmare. It is estimated that around one million passengers could see their travel plans ruined if the union organises a 12-day strike during the school holidays in April. Unsurprisingly  the situation has been attracting a great deal of media attention, especially after the much publicised BA strike announcement over Christmas. 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 being done to improve things. When done well crisis management can save your company’s reputation, but when done badly it can become a complete disaster.

Unfortunately, a crisis can’t always be avoided, so 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…it could be crucial to the reputation of your business.

Tags: Public Relations by Priya
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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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Establishing trust has always been important, but now more than ever politicians need to regain the public’s trust. Throughout the current political campaigns leading up to the election, the evidence of public mistrust has been evident.  You don’t even have to mention expenses to the public without engaging in a heated debate.

Building trust is more important than ever in increasing a good reputation, so why haven’t the political parties realised this fundamental element to success. There has been a significant public relations effort under Cameron that has sought to modernise the Conservatives image, but by not discussing the party’s policies and being transparent will hardly win over the masses. David Cameron himself proclaimed the Conservatives will bring back ‘openness and trust’, but by trying to discredit Gordon Brown will he achieve this?

Meanwhile the PM is having to answer questions about bullying and the Iraq war, having a negative impact on his public relations campaign.

The importance of trust in PR is crucial to success, from building trust and managing relationships you then in turn gain credibility with your audience.

The two fundamental steps to building trust:

• Be open and honest in business practices

• Communicate more clearly and honestly

These steps are the basics of any good public relations. It’s about time the political parties started putting them into action and there wouldn’t be a need for crisis communications, as a result of huge amounts of negative publicity.

Tags: Public Relations by Jenny
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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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