Stuff that PR consultants just do
25th April 2023
Women in bikinis – a guaranteed PR winner
Death and taxes top the list of life’s certainties. Coming a close third it seems is the fact that any marketing or PR campaign featuring women in underwear, bikinis or very little else will be a sure-fire hit.
We can debate the rights and wrongs of this until the cows come home, but never has the […]
Sexism on the buses – PR hit or miss?
A new bus campaign featuring topless models holding signs saying ‘Ride me all day for £3’ has sparked outrage and hit the headlines.
The topless pictures of both a man and a woman were featured on the back of ten of New Adventure Travel Ltd’s (NAT) buses being driven around Cardiff as a ‘tongue-in-cheek way’ to […]
Top five tips for successful PR
University of Derby student Callum Bilton has been working with us to gain valuable work experience and here’s the five things he’s learned about PR.
As my time at university comes to an end, the question of “what next?” looms ominously. Studying Professional Writing at the University of Derby for the past three years has allowed […]
What journalists want, and how they want it
Very few media outlets have the time to spell out what they want and how they want it to PRs and other organisations.
It’s an unwritten rule that good PR people should do their homework on each and every media outlet they are targeting.
The story about the junior PR who rang the Daily Star and asked […]
Planning PR campaigns
This is a guest blog by Tayla Bertans, a second year at the University of Derby studying Professional Writing with Creative Writing who attended a seminar I gave to undergraduates about planning PR campaigns.
I enjoyed an incredibly insightful lecture from Paul Kirby yesterday at the University of Derby on how PR fits into the current working world. He […]
PRGripes masterclass – part 2
Derby Telegraph’s business reporter Oliver Astley is back and bashing bad PR again with his hashtag #prgripes. His first few niggles were gems and, once again, his frustrated tweets have become the perfect refresher course for both wannabe and long in-the-tooth PR managers.
Oliver is clearly crying out for someone to come up with a press […]
Is it OK to be unsociable on social media?
I nearly peed myself laughing when I read a tweet by @write_online along the lines of “what do you do if you’re on social media but you’re unsociable?” I’ve known Kevin for years and that question is so typically, acerbically him – which is why it was so hilarious.
When I stopped laughing, I realised he […]
You can always bet on Paddy Power’s PR stunts
Paddy Power has pulled off quite possibly one of the best PR stunts of all time.
The Irish bookmaker placed a case containing a waxwork dummy of Sir Alex Ferguson outside Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground with a branded note on the glass which said ‘In case of Emergency Break Glass’.
The stunt poked fun at the […]
Tis the season… to be worried about your firm’s reputation
We’ve all seen those “the dos and don’ts of the office Christmas party” articles that appear in the media each year – and I must confess I’ve written a few of them in my time, as it’s a great PR tactic.
You know the ones:
– don’t photocopy your arse
– don’t slap your bald boss’s head
– don’t […]
A lesson in results-driven PR
I constantly strive to demonstrate the return on investment that PR can generate and I’ve just had a great example that’s very close to home.
Since my partner became head teacher of a primary school over in Leicestershire, I’ve become her PR lackey. It’s an unpaid role but, hey, the boss is great!
Anyone in the education […]
Journalist’s #prgripe tweets are a PR masterclass
I’m not sure that one vexed journalist has twigged that his irked tweets are proving to be an inadvertent PR masterclass.
Over the last few weeks, Derby Telegraph’s business reporter, Oliver Astley, has been taking to Twitter to bemoan examples of bad PR practice.
It’s clear that some companies and their PR people have hacked him off […]
So you want to be a marketeer?
This is a guest blog by Elizabeth Wallace, who attended a seminar I gave to undergraduates last week at Keele University about getting into marketing.
As a marketing virgin with aspirations of making it big in the world of PR and posters, I attended Paul Kirby’s talk on “Three Things You Need To Know To Get […]
Sky Bet’s wedding woe is PR gold
Sometimes, the only thing you can do is marvel at a brilliant piece of PR.
Step forward the PR team at Sky Bet, who pulled something very special out of the bag after turning one football fan’s woe into unadulterated bliss.
In the run up to last weekend’s Sky Bet League One game between my team Wolverhampton […]
Victim of a press hatchet job?
An organisation I’ve started working with wants to publicise a big industry accreditation it has won – but it’s worried about another hatchet job by the local press.
Why? Well, the last time it publicized a similar award, the coverage that appeared in local media wasn’t the triumphal article it was hoping for. In fact, it […]
How many press releases does a journalist receive each day?
It always fascinated me to know how many press releases a journalist receives each day and, from that, how many actually get published.
So I asked that question when I had a coffee with the managing and associate editors of an online news website in Lincoln that has become hugely influential in the city.
In a little […]