Gold Cup: One PR's relations with the public

Photo: Telegraph.co.uk

Cheltenham Gold Cup Festival: Are we going to the races...or going to the dogs?

Last year’s Gold Cup Festival broke attendance records, with 235,125 race-goers descending on our town over the four days. Good fun I’m sure was had by all who attended and many in the town (mainly the bars of course) were all the more prosperous for their visit.

However, for this Cheltenham resident, all the hordes brought with them was misery and mess, evidently leaving their manners behind wherever they had come from.  It’s this memory that made me look forward to Gold Cup 2014 about as much as being hit by a bus, and saw me making plans to escape for the duration of the week that Cheltenham actually goes to the dogs rather than the races.

Yet my best laid plans didn’t quite come off, so I’ve found myself here, staying put at home near the train station, the first and last stop (or more likely pint) for thousands of race-goers.

But I’ve been pleasantly surprised. Cheltenham race-goers have improved their public relations, in the most literal sense.

Last year we saw many pavement pizzas, quite a few fights and a ridiculous amount of aggressive behaviour when trying to stop men-old-enough-to-know-better from doing unmentionables on our street and neighbours’ doorsteps.

This year, people have been really friendly, even apologetic for crowding the top of our road where there’s a rather popular race-day pub. And this time, when my partner was stopped on his way home from work to be asked directions to a particular watering hole, rather than being sworn at like last year, he was invited for a pint of the black stuff.

It seems to me that 2014’s race-goers have been of a much happier and friendlier disposition. Even #Cheltenham tweeters have been on good form.

 So my first hand experience of this annual event has been much improved and made me think twice about reaching for next year’s holiday forms already in a panic.

Cheltenham Gold Cup 2014 should be proud; its visitors have earned it some good PR just through good old human interaction.

 Rachel Meagher

Account Director

Evolving PR: Team Target reports on what we believe 2014 will hold for the industry?

As we enter another new year, the question of 'what will this year hold for the industry?' naturally arises. Here are a few thoughts from some of the team on what we feel working in this industry will be like this year.

"In 2014 boundaries between disciplines will continue to blur, and great ideas will be king.

Great ideas that help to grow bottom-lines will be the king of kings.

It won’t matter very much whether those ideas come from PR, digital, social or advertising agencies. The client won’t mind so long as they deliver results that move their business forward a step towards their goals for success; whether that’s cash on the balance sheet, or, well, come to think of it, cash on the balance sheet.

Which means we’ll continue to search for meaningful ways to evaluate the power of PR to build reputation, increase engagement with customers, change perceptions and measure its fiscal impact. We’ll probably never cease in that quest.

We may also find that the briefs we receive become looser. After all, when boundaries fall the question posed becomes at once less specific, more complex and more direct “Can you help?”

2014 holds great possibility and an exciting opportunity to create economic growth, client by client, one step at a time. Now, thinking caps on, let’s see how we can help."

Sarah Bryars
Chief Executive

"It’s been pretty tough working in PR over the last few years during the economic downturn. When looking to make savings it is often sadly marketing and communications budgets that are cut. However, there are signs that things are on the up and hopefully 2014 will be the year things continue to improve. Whilst previously we have noticed a trend towards more project work rather than sustained press office/campaigns functions, I’d like to think that this year there will be more scope for ongoing briefs. If the last few months of 2013 are anything to go by this will definitely be the case! As Newspapers and magazines also felt the squeeze, and paginations reduced, there appears to have been a shift towards more online coverage which I think will only continue to grow. Content is king and with limitless amount of online ‘space’ to fill this can only be a good thing for us PRs!"

Bethan Simkins

Account Director

"We have already seen a shift in the way we present and communicate information, and in my opinion this change in approach will become more apparent and widespread in 2014. We will see organisations targeting media in a more bespoke manner, using methods best suited to the individual/sector/audience they are trying to reach. As mentioned in a previous blog, I believe the press release is, and will remain, a classic communication tool, however, you can’t deny that communications is evolving. Readers are receptive to broader information and far less detail; 140 characters rather than 600 words, an infographic rather than a word document, an app rather than a brochure, the list is endless.

In 2014, digital marketing and social media will be at the fore of many successful campaigns; however we are still finding our feet through the adolescent period of digital growth. As Anthony Simon, head of digital communication for the PM and Cabinets’ office said, it’s not just about tweeting or blogging – but about ‘engaging, listening and responding’ effectively to deliver online campaigns just as well as traditional offline campaigns. Social media is and will remain a low-cost, highly effective digital tool, however we are still only just tapping into what the various platforms have to offer. Watch this space!"

Kalli Soteriou

Account Executive