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

“The role of imagery has always been central to PR”

That line comes from the recent rising power of images article on PRWeek.com and those ten little words have given me much food for thought over the past few days.

It’s safe to say that images have had a close relationship with many communication disciplines over the years: not just PR, but marketing and advertising too; semiotics has always played an important role in influencing public opinion and reinforcing brand recognition.

In fact, here’s a quick pop quiz to reinforce that point. Take a look at the following images – I’d eat my hat if you didn’t get all of them correct.

What’s more, with the advent of social media, the bond between images and public relations has grown even stronger. It began with Facebook and Twitter as the sharing sites of choice, but as consumers’ need for simplicity has expanded, so has the number of platforms available with Tumblr, Instagram and Pinterest fast becoming big contenders in the ‘content is king’ boxing-ring.

But “what does this mean for PR practitioners?” I hear you say. It means now is the time to become even savvier when spreading the word - or sharing the picture. We’ve all heard about the rise of the citizen journalist, but what about the rise of the citizen paparazzo? According to The Daily Telegraph Picture Editor, Matthew Fearn, “Ten years ago, The Daily Telegraph received about 5,000 images a day. Now, it can receive up to 50,000 on a busy day”.

This speaks volumes about the public’s need to interact and be a part of the news stories that are generated on a daily basis. PR practitioners need to embrace this and realise the benefits of having an even bigger capability than before to spread awareness about a particular brand or product.

This is something that we at Target PR have taken on board and used as a PR tactic for our client Specsavers in a competition called ‘Life Thru the Lens’. The competition, which has been running for many years, sees both print and online newspapers across the country teaming up with Specsavers to invite members of the public to capture the essence of their hometown - whether it’s the sun shining on a local landmark or simply capturing the local hustle and bustle – entries continue to flood in year on year, with a host of prizes up for grabs for the cream of the crop.

So, as you can see, there is huge room for added authenticity by engaging the public, but the onus is on PR practitioners to provide the credibility while ensuring imagery remains the focal point of this marvellous mix.

Zainab Rahman

Account Executive

P.S. Logo answers: L-R Reebok, Nike, BMW and Levis. I hope I don’t have to eat my hat!

What’s PR for and how can we tell if it’s working?

This question is more pertinent than ever when organisations of almost every kind are under pressure to perform at their highest despite the economic climate.

Here’s how I see it.

PR strategy must contribute to organisational success.

Except it’s not all that simple. Measuring the value of PR has been a bugbear for our industry, well, forever really.

In the past, the weight of the cuttings book seemed a fair indicator of a campaign that had done well, and this ‘volume’ metric evolved into the pseudo-science of AVEs (Advertising Value Equivalent) in which we argued that the value of each piece of ‘free’ editorial was worth one/three/name-your-figure times the price of the media space if it had been purchased for an advert.

More sophisticated ways of measuring the quality of coverage, however, are a step forward. By tracking our success in reaching specific audiences with key messages designed to influence the way we view the organisation, we can begin to assess the success of a campaign. Balancing qualitative and quantitative measures is important. But these are still ‘outputs’ – what we need to try and do is measure ‘outcomes’. Are we having the intended affect? Are we contributing to a change in opinion or behavior?

The great and the good of the international PR community, including the CIPR, got their heads together in 2010 and came up with seven key factors which should shape best practice. These are known as the Barcelona Principles:

1. Importance of goal setting and measurement

2. Measuring the effect on outcomes is preferred to measuring outputs

3. Effect on business results can and should be measured where possible

4. Media measurement requires quantity and quality

5. AVEs are not the value of public relations

6. Social media can and should be measured

7. Transparency and replicability are paramount to sound measurement

Success starts with excellent planning and strategy. A wise and successful businessman I know, Stewart Barnes, explained that “Strategy is doing the right things. Tactics are doing things right.” True of business planning, true of PR planning too. There’s little point in delivering an amazing PR campaign (doing tactics really well) if it doesn’t meet the objectives of the client.

So here’s my top seven, the Bryars’ Principles of PR planning and measurement:

1. Understand as much as you can about what success means for each client

2. Create a strategy that will support the journey to success

3. Be specific

4. Execute your plans and tactics brilliantly

5. Stay focused on outcomes

6. Don’t get lost in tools – measurement is a discipline, not a single metric

7. PR rarely functions in isolation – own your part, share the success

What’s your version?

Sarah Bryars

Chief Executive

People power

The global brand that is Starbucks took a bit of a battering at the end of last year as they came under fire for not paying ‘enough’ UK corporation tax. Under huge pressure from its customers, the coffee giant agreed to pay £20m in tax over the next two years. 

When the story first broke, protests outside Starbucks shops were reported, and its scores on YouGov’s BrandIndex plummeted to a four year low. This was clearly something the public felt very strongly about and wanted their voices to be heard. 

So it was no great surprise when Starbucks announced its ‘Monday promotion’ offering any tall latte for £1.50 before 11am on a Monday from 7 January – 18 February. Although this is by no means the first promotion Starbucks has run, it is a first for the coffee corporation to communicate an offer via a TV ad in the UK. Paired with precision timing and slick execution, this is surely a clear indication that Starbucks is trying to build bridges with its customers.

For PR professionals, the importance of audience is one of the earliest lessons to learn, and when your audience can have such a significant impact on your brand, it’s essential to listen to them.

From what was a crisis situation, Starbucks did indeed listen to its audience and acted quickly to prevent the story escalating further. Kris Engskov managing director of Starbucks in the UK, in a speech to the London Chamber of Commerce, sums it up perfectly, ‘We've learned it is vital to listen closely to our customers – and that acting responsibly makes good business sense.’

Hear, hear!

Bethan Simkins
Account Manager