Pitch Perfect

With sunshine and blue skies above me, it was wonderful weather for my first PR pitch with Target. Having only been with the agency for six months, fresh out of uni, today was a big milestone; contributing my two pence piece to the most important stage of gaining a new client...no pressure then.

I would always describe myself as an outgoing and confident individual but this is the first presentation where it felt like the outcome really, really mattered. And when you have a desired outcome that you’ve heavily invested your time and effort in, it’s only natural to be a little nervous (right?!), especially considering this was my first pitch in front of decision makers, not just the client but my CEO and Director also!

Although I’ve a fair experience of presenting, for the first time in a long while the experience felt a little daunting. It was as if I caught sight of the importance of this moment, not only from a business perspective but a personal perspective. This is my first permanent PR role, I want to impress and feel my peers can trust in my competence – so how was I going to do this...  

“PREPARATION!  PREPARATION!  PREPARATION!"

Obviously, like any other sensible and sentient being, I ensured that I was prepped, prepared and well rehearsed, following my own little ritual. So here are my beginner’s tips:

Plan – Regardless of how big or small your input is, being involved from the very start of the pitch process allows you to get a real in-depth understanding of the brief and what it is the company is looking for. From here you can really target your research and refine your ideas accordingly.

Preparation – Know every bit of the presentation, know and believe in the ideas you are projecting. Let’s be frank, if you’ve done the planning process thoroughly then you’re not going to be pitching something that has no relevance, therefore what you have to say is important and of interest, take confidence in this.  Rehearsing helps too – whether that’s to yourself, your boyfriend, your dog (all three are good I find) and of course your co-presenters, saying out loud what’s in your head or on paper is definitely a necessary part of the process.

Delivery – Honestly? Try and forget that you’re in a pitch situation and just concentrate on telling them what you really want them to know. Allow yourself to feel excited about the prospect of how you can work together to achieve this prospective client’s goals. Then it feels natural and starts to flow.

Then comes the hard bit of waiting to hear the outcome… my strategy for this is simple. Keep your fingers crossed.

Alex Underwood
Account Executive

How to mask-a-pony

“They’ve only just discovered the horsemeat in lasagnes because the cheese on top was mascarpone.”

The horsemeat scandal has given Twitter users much to laugh about this week and the national papers and broadsheets have been riding on the back of their jokes (sorry, I just couldn’t help it!). Even Downing Street tried to make a funny, with a spokeswoman describing horsemeat in lasagne as “very distasteful.” How hilarious.

What really is funny though is how each of the brands and suppliers caught up in the story have responded, causing a ruckus for the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and whipping up a political point-scoring storm.

When horse-burger gate struck last month, Tesco urgently withdrew the items from sale and immediately dropped its supplier, Silvercrest. Taking swift action sent a responsible message to its customers, good move. They also used press advertising to tell consumers about the actions they were taking and let their CEO take control of the supermarket’s official blog where he recognised that “trust is hard won and easily lost”. Again, a good move, showing a conscientious effort is being made to put things right.

Aldi’s statement to the FSA in Ireland said: “We take the quality of all of our products extremely seriously.” Phew, that IS good news. “Following the withdrawal of our Oakhurst Burgers in the Republic of Ireland, we have made the decision to withdraw three products from sale in the UK as a purely precautionary measure whilst we conduct further investigations. Any customers who wish to return the products in question will receive an immediate refund.” As a consumer, precautionary measures sound good to me, I like the thought that they are taking EXTRA care so overall this is an acceptable response.

So when horsemeat contamination reared its head again this week, what did Findus UK say? Some of its beef lasagne range was found to contain 100% horsemeat so come on, let’s make no beef about it, that’s a lasagne filled entirely with horsemeat. This, according to Findus, is not a food safety issue and they have withdrawn SOME products from its beef lasagne range. Bad, bad, bad Findus, you’ve given me the impression you’re not taking this seriously.

The FSA seems to have been slow on the uptake and is now in a flap, suspecting “criminal activity” is to blame rather than any regulatory incompetence. Meanwhile, the opposition is using the scandal to beat the Government with, accusing them of “pretending this isn’t happening”.

I don’t envy the many communications departments having to deal with all this. But while we’re all busy laughing about it, there will be benefits for the ones who deal with the fall out seriously and responsibly, and consequences for those who keep horsing around.

Seriously though, who’s considering becoming vegetarian now?

Rachel Meagher

Account Director

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

The resolve to succeed

Bitter economic chill, but are there blue skies ahead?

As we approach the end of the first month of 2013 there has been a lot of negativity in the media – with the prospect of a triple-dip recession, well known brands such as Jessops, HMV and Blockbusters failing to cope with the changes in technology, and the snow causing havoc for businesses.  It’s been rather tiresome watching endless reports from roadside TV crews telling us how bad the conditions are.

Have we heard all this negativity somewhere before? Well, yes we have. Cast your minds back to early Summer 2012 when we were told that the Olympics would be a disaster with transport chaos, security issues, problems with ticketing and lack of British success.

Last weekend, starved of my staple diet of Saturday afternoon National Hunt racing on Channel Four, I decided to watch a DVD of the 2012 Olympics. It really brought home to me what an amazing event it was and how the huge negatives were overcome to prove that it is possible to be successful, even when everyone tells you that you will fail! As Lord Coe said in his wonderful speech at the closing ceremony: “When our time came, Britain did it right”.

But why were the Olympics and Paralympics so successful, and how can businesses take inspiration in a difficult economic environment so that we too can look back in a few years and say “we did it right”?

It’s my opinion that the key drivers behind the success of London 2012 were leadership, organisation, planning, teamwork, public enthusiasm and a strong desire to make it work!

Sebastian Coe was a brilliant middle distance athlete and a double Olympic gold medal winner in 1980 and 1984. He was involved in the London bid from the start and took over as the chair of the bidding committee in 2004, playing a huge part in the successful bid in July 2005. Coe then became chairman of LOCOG and has shown himself to be an outstanding leader and was a major reason for the success of the Games. Every business needs leaders who are able to provide focus, motivation, inspiration and provide solutions to problems as well as a strong resolve to get things done. That’s something that my Board has considered closely this last year, prompted by my colleague Sarah’s participation in LEAD, the unique leadership development programme run by QuoLux.

Of course Coe could not do everything himself. He headed up a strong LOCOG team to make sure that the organisation was in place to execute the extensive plans. Construction of Olympic sites was based on redevelopment with an emphasis on sustainability. The major redevelopment was the Olympic Park built on a former industrial site in Stratford, although existing sites were also used. The construction programme came under the authority of the Olympic Delivery Authority and the success of two large organisations working together emphasises the need for having a clear vision and mission with succinct plans, clear milestones and regular reviews.

The final cost of the Olympics is estimated to be around £9 billion, which also emphasises that any strategies must be accurately budgeted and re-forecast. While it would be unlikely for most businesses to have a project of this scale, it does highlight the need to look at your business, consider areas where growth is likely to occur, and look at areas that are not so profitable. The recent collapse of the high street stores shows how they have been slow to react to change and their businesses have been severely damaged. It helps to have good financial direction to ensure that it is possible to achieve product and customer profitability, as well as the ability to regularly update profit and cashflow forecasts. This message has been at the heart of my career as a Financial Director, and one that I’m keen to share with other small businesses, which is why I have become an Associate Director of SouthWestfd.

The volunteers, police and military were a huge success displaying great enthusiasm and making sure that everything ran smoothly on the days of competition. The uniforms of the Games Makers became very iconic. These were the workers who made things happen; they were fully aware of what was expected of them and ‘lived’ the vision to make the Olympics a huge success. We can make sure that all our employees are motivated by taking an interest in them, letting them know what is expected of them and how we can help them to develop. Teamwork is a key component in making businesses successful, as well as delivering the vision for the future.

The huge public enthusiasm for the Games meant that sports not normally in the limelight were in the headlines. The success of our British competitors helped and also gave a tremendous feeling of national pride and optimism.  Let us hope that there will be a lasting legacy for the Games and we can encourage more people to participate in sport.

So as the sun filters through the clouds at the end of a snowy week, are things as bad as the media would have us believe? Well, it is certainly a challenging time to be running a business. But if we can take inspiration and learn from the success of London 2012 and have a strong resolve to succeed, there is no reason why we cannot say in a few years: “we did it right”.

Colin Spencer
Chairman, Target PR

It's a dog eat dog world

HMV 1908 – 2013, read it and weep.

But first, let’s rewind some 105 years to the birth of a brand that went on to establish more than 400 stores worldwide and provided a hub for music enthusiasts to unite through their love of lyrics.

The origins of the brand name ‘HMV’ were founded upon the title of a painting ‘His Master’s Voice’ which pictured a dog listening to a wind-up gramophone; it was this image that later became synonymous with the brand among loyal customers who devoted their hard-earned money to purchasing CDs at their local high street store.

Fast forward to the year 2000 and, ironically, it was those customers who became savvy to the cost-cutting ways of online downloads, fuelling a digital music revolution and leading to the demise of the master and his dog.

But why was this allowed to happen? Why didn’t someone take a long hard look at the business model and realise that buyer behaviour was evolving in the same way man has done since time began? With the advent of the internet HMV’s alarm bells should have been ringing as the battle for survival of the fittest had begun.

The downfall could have been prevented with a strong stakeholder management strategy supporting the organisation’s overarching mission to sell music, while creating positive relationships both internally and externally. Unfortunately for HMV, 80% of the public pipped them to the post as customers’ attitudes towards online downloads had made the transition from latent, to aware and then active. The public evolved, while HMV sat and watched.

Just as we highlighted in last week’s Starbucks blog post: the golden rule of reputation management is to always listen to your publics and tailor your message accordingly – the same can be said for any business model.

From telegrams to texts, books to ebooks and blogs to vlogs; the world has evolved and it’s time for brands to listen and adapt or get left out in the cold.

Let’s hope that future business models hit all the right notes.

Zainab Rahman
Account 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

Back to the Future

The new year is often a time when you find yourself reflecting on the previous twelve months; whether it’s the highs or the lows, the people we met on the way, or the monumental events that took place. Some may say we can learn from the past and face next year’s opportunities with a new perspective. But is there something to gain from reflecting back 100 years ago...to 1913?

Technology and censorship

On the 1st January 1913, the British Board of Film Censors (later to become the British Board of Film Classification, BBFC) was given the authority to classify and censor films. Like the press, it endeavoured to become a self-regulating industry, and it is a structure that successfully remains in place today.

As cinema became a ‘socially powerful mass-medium’, governments once feared its effects as some nations famously produced propaganda films. This is a fear that can easily be related to the present day usage of social media. The current mass-medium tool which has no official regulator, policing system or governmental control, other than ‘The Twitter Rules’, continues to instil fear in some.

The ever tricky tightrope act between ensuring freedom of speech, without breaking the law or abusing its power, will more than likely be a debate we continue to see trending in 2013. However, from a system that was put in place 100 years ago and still remains as effective today, we can perhaps derive some hope that this debate resolves in a fair, just and ethical way, contributing positively to the changing face of 21st century PR.

Alexandra Underwood
Account Executive