About Paul Kirby

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So far Paul Kirby has created 160 blog entries.

KFC dodgy dinner response was a PR no-brainer

When a story emerged in the national media about a customer who found a stomach-churning foreign body in his KFC box meal, it was clear to anyone in public relations that not even some seriously finger lickin’ PR would dig the fast-food chain out of this one.

According to several leading national newspapers, a customer popped […]

By |10th January 2013|Crisis PR|Comments Off on KFC dodgy dinner response was a PR no-brainer

Unwanted pressies make the perfect PR gift

For most of us, unwanted gifts are one of the more unwelcome aspects of the Christmas season. But for online auction website eBay not only are they proving a great money-spinner but also the perfect subject for a New Year headline story.

The highly successful online bidding site is talk of the PR world after it […]

By |4th January 2013|PR|Comments Off on Unwanted pressies make the perfect PR gift

Five festive fun PR favourites of 2012

As it is the season to be jolly, for our final blog post of the year we’ve decided to take a more light-hearted look at the PR stories that we’ve covered during the last 12 months with our festive roundup of five fun PR favourites from 2012.

Top totty beer ban makes mouth-watering PR

Back in February, […]

By |24th December 2012|PR|Comments Off on Five festive fun PR favourites of 2012

Saying sorry is a great way to defuse a PR gaffe

I’m so impressed with a lady called Sally for turning a right royal cock-up into a PR triumph – simply by calling me to say sorry.

I know it’s a small thing but I was well hacked off when my contact details appeared in the CC line of a round robin email by Sally’s company wishing […]

By |20th December 2012|PR disaster|Comments Off on Saying sorry is a great way to defuse a PR gaffe

Don’t destroy your online reputation this Christmas

Now that the Christmas season is upon us, the time has come for many of us to let our hair down and have a good old knees-up at the office Christmas party.

But before you log onto Facebook to upload photos taken while you were stumbling around in a drunken stupor, you may be wise to […]

By |19th December 2012|Facebook, PR, Social media|Comments Off on Don’t destroy your online reputation this Christmas

#IceIceSurrey the hottest PR tweet

A sense of humour is not something you would generally associate with the police. Yet one particular police force has just shown us that putting a jocular spin on things can sometimes help get the message across about a serious matter.

Surrey Police has just raised a big smile amongst its Twitter followers after it sent […]

By |12th December 2012|PR, Social media, Twitter|Comments Off on #IceIceSurrey the hottest PR tweet

Fans furious at O’Hara howler tweets

For those of you who don’t know much about me personally, I am a very proud and fanatical supporter of Wolverhampton Wanderers football club.

But I have to say that I was more embarrassed than proud when I recently heard that one of my beloved team’s players had made a monkey out of the club by […]

By |7th December 2012|PR disaster, Social media, Twitter|2 Comments

Stingy shops count cost of Christmas fund refusal

When three high-street chains made national headlines for refusing to contribute towards a festive appeal to help pay for the Christmas lights in a small Dorset town, it was clear to anyone in public relations that not only was their Christmas spirit lacking but also their PR sensibilities.

According to reports, the local branches of WHSmith, […]

By |27th November 2012|PR disaster|Comments Off on Stingy shops count cost of Christmas fund refusal

Insane calendar idea sparks tabloid mania

Some people would say you’d be mad to publish a calendar featuring 12 pictures of insane asylums scattered across the country.

But, as any PR practitioner will tell you, if you have a whacky product idea that has the potential to attract widespread media attention then the resulting publicity could be more than enough to make […]

By |22nd November 2012|PR|Comments Off on Insane calendar idea sparks tabloid mania

The worst hotel that makes the best PR

Back in June, we told you the story about a hilarious tongue-in-cheek Craigslist ad that showed you just what you could achieve with a bit of PR imagination – even if you’re trying to sell something as lousy as a clapped-out, sickly teal-coloured Pontiac AM GT.

Yet in a grubby Amsterdam hostel, which has grabbed worldwide […]

By |15th November 2012|PR, PR stunts|Comments Off on The worst hotel that makes the best PR

Budweiser flying high with boozy pilot PR

When we hear someone describe a particular person as ‘attention seeking’ almost all of us would consider it as a rather negative personal trait.

But as people of PR persuasion, when we hear the same words used to describe some kind of brand or business then we usually consider it as a compliment and a mark […]

By |8th November 2012|PR, PR stunts|Comments Off on Budweiser flying high with boozy pilot PR

How to f*** up your career prospects in marketing

This is a guest blog by Joanna Roberts who attended a seminar I gave to undergraduates at Keele University about getting into marketing.

I find it ironic that I hope to find a job in the marketing

industry, yet I’m not brilliant when it comes to selling myself. So when I found out about an event being held at my […]

By |31st October 2012|Marketing|Comments Off on How to f*** up your career prospects in marketing

Hurricane sale triggers online PR storm

If there’s one way better than any other to get people to stand up and take notice of your marketing campaign then being controversial has to be the riskiest yet broadly most successful strategy of all.

And as far as US clothing manufacturer American Apparel is concerned this is clearly a risk well worth taking, for […]

By |31st October 2012|PR|Comments Off on Hurricane sale triggers online PR storm

And so it begins!

This is a guest blog by Adwoa Brobbey who attended a seminar I gave to undergraduates at Keele University about getting into marketing.

One step forward…

As a marketing student and later, hopefully, a marketeer, anything that can help me gain knowledge and an edge in this exciting, competitive industry is always accelerating and walking to the presentation […]

By |31st October 2012|Marketing|Comments Off on And so it begins!

Campaign ban for telling porkies about ham

As part of our service, we often get asked by clients for advice about whether they should complement their PR with other forms of marketing such as TV and newspaper advertising.

On the whole, we positively recommend it, as more often than not advertising and PR work well together as part of a wider and more […]

By |26th October 2012|PR stunts|Comments Off on Campaign ban for telling porkies about ham