#LFW demonstrates just how innovative digital PR can be

This may be a sweeping statement on my part, but we all know digital PR is rapidly becoming an essential part of any successful communications campaign. Long gone are the days of media relations churning out press release after press release; digital creates an opportunity to bypass traditional media to speak directly to your target audience online in a creative and sustainable manner, and more importantly, creating dialogue.

So, it’s no surprise that this year’s London Fashion Week followed suit and set the standard (excuse the pun, honestly it wasn’t intentional). The internationally-famous event saw 2014’s most creative campaigns yet, as fashion brands battled it out in a digital war that put the fight between Google and Facebook to shame.

In a recent article from PR Week, it was reported that 60% of shows during London Fashion Week (LFW) were live-streamed, and for one particular brand, mile high over the ocean. Taking to the skies was London’s upmarket department store, Harrods, who sought new levels of exclusivity by inviting a select 200 on board a British Airways Airbus A380 to a mid-flight fashion show, though not forgetting social media! Harrod’s head of communication reported they’d seen a ‘direct impact’ on traffic to their website from their social media activity during LFW.

Meanwhile, tech-savvy British luxury fashion house Burberry proved its reputation for the cutting edge by embedding digital chips into its apparel, so when fashionistas hovered their Smartphone’s over them, tailored content was made available to them. Clever Burberry – who knew innovation was just as important to them as their clothes!

So, advice for brands wishing to rule the catwalk and win the hearts of the digital nation next year? There is no better model than quirky fashion brand Topshop’s interactive, multi-platform fall campaign. Last year, they demonstrated just how digital PR should work, using soon-to-take-over-the-world Google+ to allow its fans to experience the whole buzz live – from sound check through to make-up – attracting a record-breaking 4 million views. However, not only did Topshop host a dynamic array of social experiences before, during, and after their show, they are now using the data from the Google Hangout app to help its buyers decide what they are going to actually bring to retail. 

The use of digital media to reach an audience beyond an event is slowly becoming more and more mainstream. Now comes the tricky task for brands to stand out from the crowd, think ahead in every area of innovation – whether that’s their clothes or the technology they use – and above all, it is as much about style and fashion as it is creative originality. 

Kalli Soteriou

Account Executive

A good Time to Talk

Today (Thursday 6 February) is the very first Time to Talk Day which aims to get people talking about mental health. It’s a focal point of the Time to Change campaign which is England's biggest programme to challenge mental health stigma and discrimination.

This week also saw Australia’s most decorated Olympian, Ian Thorpe, admitted to rehab. His ongoing battle with depression and alcohol, first revealed in his autobiography, had largely been hidden from those closest to him, even at the height of his swimming career. After being found disorientated outside his parents’ home, I was pleased to see the media report the story with empathy.

Rewind two months though and this was a far cry from the way in which English cricketer Jonathan Trott was treated by the same journalists, after he flew home from the Ashes tour with a stress related illness.
Now, some may say that given the historically fierce sporting rivalry between the Poms and Aussies, this was fair game, but I see it differently. One in four people will be affected by a mental health problem in their lifetime and while I’m all for a bit of banter, in my view Trott’s treatment over-stepped the mark.

Negative media representations of mental health conditions help fuel stigma, in this case one which is pretty deeply engrained. What I think is most worrying is the fact that the coverage around Ian Thorpe showed the Australian media are capable of handling mental health issues sensitively but in the case of Trott, deliberately chose to use it as a stick to beat him (and the rest of the England cricket team) with.

In the last year, media representations of mental health have come under fire; most notably the Hyundai ad which appeared to show someone trying to take their own life purely to illustrate the environmental credentials of a car, or The Sun for using the headline ‘1,200 killed by mental health patients.’

While the work of mental health charities including Rethink Mental Illness and Mind, who both spearhead the Time to Change campaign, has gone some way to helping remove some of the stigma surrounding mental health, there is still a huge amount of work to be done. It’s here I think the media has a huge role to play. Whether that’s steering clear of stereotypes, reporting on the issue sensitively or even just putting it on the news agenda in the first place.

Just because someone is an elite athlete, has reached the very pinnacle of their sport and seemingly has it all, does not mean they are any less likely to experience a mental health problem. It doesn’t discriminate and neither should the media channels, who are so keen to laud their achievements when things are going well.

Bethan Simkins
Account Director