Stuff that PR consultants just do
25th April 2023
The power of PR in SEO
We in the public relations industry have long been aware of the importance of using PR methods to increase a website’s search engine ranking.
But now, it seems, Google has taken the concept one step further by introducing new functionality that takes comments posted to websites via social sites, such as Facebook and Disqus, into account […]
Protesters do Shakespeare fraud film a PR favour
Why do so many people fall for the same-old PR trap of giving someone or something publicity just because they say or do something that flies in the face of convention?
But if you have anything to do with Colombia Pictures, the company behind a new film portraying William Shakespeare as a fraud, it’s unlikely that […]
Getting permission for press releases
Obtaining permission to include mentions and quotes from third party companies in your clients’ press releases or case studies is a fundamental part of the PR person’s lot. It therefore took me by surprise this week when a client was so amazed that it was even possible, let alone standard practice.
I’ve been working with a […]
A question of PR principle
Recent reports of sophisticated public relations attacks on current affairs programmes, such as Panorama and Dispatches, will inevitably lead to questions within the PR industry about the morality of such practices by the agencies behind them.
So what exactly has been going on?
According to a report in The Guardian, companies and public sector bodies that have […]
Success in social media needs know-how
To virtually any business with an online presence the PR value of social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, should be pretty obvious by now.
And this is clearly reflected in the number of organisations that are now using social media in some form or another as part of a wider marketing strategy.
Yet there is […]
A chance comments turns in to great publicity
Here’s a great example of why I love PR.
Something that appeared to be so run-of-the-mill that it only got mentioned as an after-thought at the end of a marketing meeting actually turned in to great publicity for a client.
Amy from Heywoods happened to mention that children from a local primary school were due in the […]
Obnoxious Ozzie retailer pushes its PR luck
Is all publicity is good publicity?
Us PR peeps often say it with a pinch of salt, even though there is a strong element of truth behind it.
Yet an Australian clothing retailer appears to have taken the famous PR proverb quite literally with what could possibly be one of the worst cases of customer service in history.
During […]
Don’t neglect your internal PR
If new research by the Charted Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is anything to go by then its findings should serve as a much-needed wake-up call to PR practitioners who have been guilty of neglecting their internal communications strategies.
The results of the study will be presented at the forthcoming CIPR Inside Annual Conference taking place […]
Stop selling and start talking to me again
There are a couple of folks I follow on Twitter because I genuinely want to hear what they have to say because they’re interesting and thought-provoking.
But, just recently, they’ve gone into sell, sell, sell mode and their pearls of wisdom are being drowned out by the constant din of their sales messages. It’s getting so […]
Sportswear riot comment a PR winner
When high-street sportswear retailer JD Sports published the costs of the damage caused by last month’s rioting, it finally dared to make the remark that many PR professionals were surprised it hadn’t made sooner.
When the company announced a loss of £700,000 in stock as a result of the August riots, JD Sports chairman Peter Cowgill […]
Jurassic PR-ark: M&S smiley dinosaur sketch a monster PR hit
It can only be what you’d describe as ‘smiles all round’ amongst the PR team at Marks & Spencer after they turned the artistic talents of one of its customer service advisors into a headline-grabbing news story.
When a disgruntled customer made a cheeky request for a drawing of a smiley dinosaur in compensation for being […]
Give journalists what they want
The primary objective of any public relations press campaign is to raise awareness of your client, their products or their services by securing positive news coverage that is relevant to the target audience you are trying to reach.
But the problem for many PR agencies is that they are coming under increasing pressure from CEOs and […]
Recall gives Nurofen a PR headache
What PR lessons has consumer product manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser learnt from the embarrassing saga, in which it was forced to recall tampered packs of its Nurofen Plus pain formula from the chemist and supermarket shelves?
On first impression, you’d probably think that the PR profession would sympathise with the company, given that sabotage rather than something […]