The silly season that keeps on giving

It’s August. The MPs had scarpered off to their holiday homes and the school gates were securely padlocked, leaving press rooms up and down the country able to indulge in the season of silly stories.

Many comms professionals have been debating whether silly season is still in existence – a credible argument considering the drivel that makes the print and digital pages on a daily basis, not just during the summer holidays. Incidentally, I've found myself sifting through some right corkers, laughing heartily before becoming pretty damn cross that maybe all of this is undermining the meaning of news and hindering the practice of quality public relations.

Despite myself, I feel compelled to present you with some of the frolicsome news stories that made the cut:

Is this the biggest chip in Gloucestershire?

Any real potato-lover will be able to recall a time when an extraordinarily large crisp, chip or wedge appeared in their packet or on their plate. However, one Gloucestershire resident was in such awe of an enormous chip she had been served, that she actually took a picture and sent it to the Gloucestershire Echo. And yes, The Echo did indeed feature the cooked vegetable. The lady in question also told the paper she will be researching into whether or not it has broken any records. We wish her all the best with her future chippy endeavours.

Cloud atlas: Britain flies high

When Amy Adams took a picture of a cloud formation, which remarkably resembled the map of Britain, it was no real surprise that it made its way into her local paper, the Coventry Observer. However, it was a complete shock to not only snap-happy Miss Adams, but also Matt Bates, the paper’s editor, when it appeared on the front page of the Guardian’s Weekend Edition!

Are big cat tracker’s socks the oldest in Gloucestershire?

Another belter from our home county. Frank Tunbridge, a big cat tracker from Gloucestershire, who spends most of his time following up leads on big cat sightings in the area, is sadly mourning the loss of his trusty socks. The socks, which had triumphantly served a comfortable 25 years service, have finally seen better days; a good innings we say.

However, we are pleased to inform you that Mr Tunbridge will continue his quest to find big cats in Gloucestershire despite the absence of his socks...and big cats.

Alexandra Underwood

Account Executive

Other recommended reads:

Man caught shooting marijuana-laced arrow into jail was ‘hunting for squirrel

Swiller!

Suspected smoke over Colsterworth turns out to be a cloud

Sharapova plans name change to Sugarpova for US Open

Is UK plc really on the road to recovery?

It may have been a long time coming but the latest economic indicators certainly suggest that there are genuine green shoots and the start of a recovery. 

We have seen GDP grow in the first two quarters of 2013, reduced unemployment, rising house prices, increased new car sales and even a sense of optimism replacing the gloom and doom of national commentators!

People seem to be generally happier this year buoyed by the sunny summer, royal baby and the continued British sporting success following on from the Olympics in 2012. Victories for Justin Rose, The Lions, Andy Murray, Chris Frome and England’s cricketers thrashing the Australians have certainly added to the feel good factor; even England’s much maligned footballers got in on the act beating Scotland, but tougher challenges lie ahead for them!

So how is the perceived economic recovery affecting small businesses, who are the life blood of the UK economy? Well as a small business owner myself, I can say that there certainly appear to be more opportunities presenting themselves, although the market place remains very competitive.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve had a number of conversations with professional advisors from banks, lawyers and accountants and there is a general consensus that a lot of the companies they look after are now hoping to move their businesses forward, and away from the survival mode they’ve been in for the last few years.  

However, expansion and growth gives fresh challenges to businesses, as history tells us that more businesses start going bust as we leave a recession because it’s easy to overtrade and run out of cash. This emphasises the need to have good solid operational and financial controls and procedures in place, making sure that any growth is controlled and any cash requirements flagged up well in advance.

So what do the next few years hold in store for UK plc? The announcement from the Bank of England that interest rates are going to be kept at a low rate for the foreseeable future gives a great sense of security for business. Hopefully this, allied to the improved economic figures, will give businesses more confidence to start spending money on projects they have put on hold, which will then filter through to the SME market and help boost the economy further.

It has certainly been a long hard road to recovery but I remain optimistic that the current signs show a recovery is underway. A nice steady upwards growth curve over the next few years for UK plc will do nicely, thank you very much! 

Colin Spencer

Chairman

Image courtesy of thanunkorn

/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

“It always seems impossible until it’s done” – Nelson Mandela

As thousands of students found out their A-Level results this week, I can’t help but reminisce over my results day. It seems like only yesterday that floods of tears were streaming down my face as I read my results, which meant my mother thought that I had failed. How wrong she was!

Compared to 2012, the number of students scoring an A or A* has fallen by 0.3% but there was a rise in the number of students taking what are considered to be more academic subjects. This doesn't surprise me as much as the news that the number of people going to University is rising, despite the £9,000 tuition fees.

Its five years since my results day and I’d like to think I have a better understanding of my career path, than I did back then. During my school years, I hadn't the faintest idea what I wanted to do but fortunately through work experience and University I have come to discover my strengths. If I could give advice to 18 year old me, I would probably say:

‘Don’t worry about not knowing what you want to be in the future. You are most definitely not alone. Take everything in your stride, enjoy yourself, join University societies and with time, you’ll discover a bubbly, creative, confident side of you that you never knew about.’

If these past five years have taught me anything, it’s that life isn’t black and white. Yes, thousands of students go to University but there are other options too. Apprenticeships are a fantastic way to learn on-the-job. In Germany, students who don’t plan on going to University are offered a two to three year work placement – something similar to what is slowly being introduced in the UK.

This week I’ve been very fortunate to have been working at Target PR, helping me gain an insight to the world of PR. From day one I knew this was a sector I’d enjoy. From drafting press releases to editing a newsletter for the UK’s most trusted opticians, this work experience has certainly broadened my understanding of PR. I am extremely grateful to the team for welcoming me in and showing me the ropes.

To all those A-Level students worried about what awaits them, I cannot emphasise enough the importance of networking and researching. Talk to people, look on the web or visit your local Jobcentre and slowly but surely you’ll come to know what you want to do after studying.

A huge thank you to the Target PR team for this fantastic opportunity!

Lourizza Ball

Intern

Adverts – you either love them or hate them

This week, Marmite’s new ad campaign, which features jars of the product being ‘saved’ by rescue teams from the back of consumers’ cupboards, has caused outrage from some viewers, leading to the Advertising Standards Authority receiving almost 400 complaints.

Described by complainants as being in ‘poor taste, deeply offensive and trivialising the work of animal welfare charities and child protection agencies’, it joins a list of ads that have offended consumers.

Despite this, it’s actually far from the most complained about ad, which for 2012 went to the Go Compare adverts, with almost 2,000 complaints.

As a result, we have seen Marmite’s PR team leap into action and show the PR world how to respond to listen to consumers and respond to a crisis in the right way. They could have just issued a statement to clarify its relative metaphorical humour, however they have taken it one step further and decided to make a donation of £18,000 to animal welfare charity, the RSPCA. For me, this shows professionalism in dealing with the situation and it’s a great result for the RSPCA too.

This is a strong example of the power of the consumer and emphasises the need for every PR or marketing campaign to be executed with precision and compassion. Get it right and you can win the hearts and minds of consumers, but get it wrong and you can severely damage your reputation.

But, with animal cruelty among one of the top themes which is likely to provoke a complaint, I did ask myself why Marmite would even run the risk of causing offence among viewers and ending up with a potential crisis.

Well, whether you like it or not, it has undoubtedly been effective at creating conversation about the product. The advert is obviously designed to be light hearted, and it sits well with the brands strap line, ‘love it or hate it’.

And let’s face it, there will always be someone who disapproves or takes offence, but as with anything in life unless you take the risk you will never achieve anything.

Hannah Dudek

Account Executive

“It is better to be alone than in bad company” - George Washington

So Saturday 27 July was PR National Awareness Day but (yes, you’d be right to sense some irony here) who knew? At least the 127 people who liked its dedicated Facebook page did. 

The other person who knew about our industry’s dedicated day was Benjamin Webb, Managing Director of his own PR agency, who had a (fairly) interesting bylined article in the BBC’s online magazine. Now that’s quite a coup, and I’ll happily put my hand up and admit I’m quite jealous, if that was me I’d consider that a high-point in my career (just me? I don’t think so).

Anyway, my point is that PR National Awareness Day is surely about enhancing the industry’s reputation. Great. Then why must ‘people’ always mention Ab Fab Edina or Malcolm Tucker? Yes I know it’s funny and yes I know most PR professionals will have encountered every type of PR person along the sliding scale between our two most infamous ‘ambassadors’, but surely by their very name-check PR’s reputation continues to be self-perpetuating?

But does it really matter? It’s an interesting debate.

As PR professionals, we can’t all be thrown into the same boat. There are different types of PR and we use many different tactics to engage with a range of media types to enhance the reputation of our clients. That’s what we do.

In his BBC article (yep still jealous), Mr Webb used his piece about the challenges of managing the industry’s reputation to suggest that the writing is on the wall for the traditional consumer-focused public relations model, saying: “The deluge of badly-written press releases, silly events and photo stunts, "news stories" without news value, and meaningless "campaigns" have come to irk journalists and bore an increasingly cynical general public.”

I disagree. Using traditional tactics is not what earns us a bad reputation, it’s using the wrong tactics for the wrong media and reaching the wrong audience that earns PR a bad reputation.

Therefore, I believe enhancing the industry’s reputation can only come from the credible work we do, using the right tools for the job of growing client reputations. Surely it boils down to good old-fashioned hard work and know-how?

Rachel Meagher

Account Director