Stuff that PR consultants just do
25th April 2023
Every business needs a bit of Sherlock
If, like me, cold calling new business prospects strikes terror in your heart, then maybe we can both learn a thing or two from Sherlock.
The Sherlock in question is actually a fella called Mark Hessey from the Irongate Group.
I got an email from Mark one Friday afternoon that essentially asked if I was the Paul […]
Olympic sleep pods an ‘overnight’ PR sensation
With newspapers gearing up for a deluge of Olympics-related public relations stories during the countdown to the London 2012 games, the competition is now steadily hotting up between PR practitioners to come up with the most imaginative and eye-catching Olympic story.
And the pick of the bunch that we’ve seen so far has to be data […]
One shell of a way to crab media attention
If you’re a frequent visitor to our blog then you’ll be familiar with the many PR stories that we have covered about Danish toy manufacturer Lego – including the Lego Christmas tree and Lego album covers.
The prolific PR team that helps to promote the company’s line of children’s toys, video games and theme parks, seemingly never tires of […]
It’s official: I’m one of the Top 50 Freelancers in the UK
To say I’m chuffed is an understatement.
Today the Drum magazine has unveiled a list of the Top 50 Freelancers in the UK and my name is amongst them.
The magazine holds an annual poll to find the best marketing freelancers in the industry and the 2012 list has been unveiled in a special supplement.
It’s the second […]
Technology firms believe in power of online PR
When it comes to giving your website a welcome boost in the search engine rankings, as public relations professionals we’ve long been aware of just how important online PR is to your search engine optimisation.
But, according to the results of a new survey, it would seem that public relations and search engine optimisation consultants are […]
Fruity text-speak slogan a triumphant PR ‘offensive’
It’s a dilemma that every one of us in PR has to face from time to time. You’re sitting on a campaign idea that you know is going to upset a few people, but it’s simply just so good that you feel you really have to run with it.
This is exactly the issue that the […]
Top Totty beer ban makes mouth-watering PR
You’d think that MPs of all people would’ve learnt the very fundamental public relations lessons by now.
Yet after a story emerged from the Palace of Westminster, in which the House of Commons banned a beer called Top Totty from its members bar, it would seem that for many politicians the PR penny still hasn’t yet […]
Toddler-inspired giraffe bread grabs PR ‘spot’ light
Any media story showing that you deliver great customer service and that you listen to your customers is undoubtedly amongst the best PR you can ever have.
So grocery chain Sainsbury’s must be particularly delighted with the way the national press has picked up on the story of how it renamed its 75p loaf of Tiger […]
The Twitter campaign PR McDisaster
It is perhaps fair to say that in virtually all forms of marketing, with PR being no exception, some campaigns just don’t go according to plan no matter how well conceived they are.
Sometimes it’s a case of the right campaign, but at the wrong moment.
Sometimes, particularly in PR, you’re never quite 100% sure what you […]
Is Blue Monday fact or PR fiction?
At Octopus PR, we often see stories in the media about results of research or surveys into current lifestyle trends and wonder just how much of them is fact and how much is just plain PR fiction.
Take, for example, the story that appears at this time every single year about a study which claims that […]
Tourism minister puts bungee jump reputation on line
As PR practitioners, we’d like to say that there’s little we wouldn’t be prepared to do to help preserve or improve the reputation of our clients.
But we’re not entirely convinced that we’d have the courage shown by Zambia’s tourism minister, Given Lubinda, who helped his country out by doing a PR stunt in the very […]
Provocative Playboy chair makes positive PR impression
One of the most valuable skills that any public relations practitioner can have is the ability to spot the positive PR potential in virtually any unfavourable situation.
So you can imagine how impressed we were by a Sussex printing business, which has just turned a police complaint about a pair of £95 vintage chairs on display […]
Following in the footsteps of Saatchi & Saatchi
I’d love to take full credit for adopting tactics favoured by PR and marketing legends Saatchi & Saatchi in getting one of my clients some fantastic coverage this year.
However, it’s as much to do with my client’s eleventh hour approach to approving press releases which has inadvertently resulted in such prominent coverage.
Let me explain.
Saatchi & […]
‘Tis the season for festive PR
In virtually any form of marketing, one of the most effective ways to capture consumers’ attention is to tie your campaign into prominent calendar, seasonal and news events, such as a royal wedding, Halloween or the summer holidays.
So it is good to see that many companies are currently taking advantage of the opportunity during this […]