The Beast of Stroud

For more on developments in the eco-car world, see this article in the Guardian about the new 'Beast of Stroud' for Ecotricity. This is a rather different type of car to the 'Electra' but clearly an excellent piece of PR on behalf of the new car: have a think about what the press release that prompted this article would have looked like...

The BBC journalist Andrew Marr labelled bloggers as 'inadequate, pimpled and single' - yet I talk about the power of 7 Harry Potter bloggers to reach 250million people within 2 weeks... For more on the diversity, perils and value of bloggers read this week's PR Week and their article 'Know your Bloggers'. With valuable tips of who bloggers are and how to work with them, this expands well on the New Media lecture.

Creativity is King

If you want your PR to stand out, it's got to be creative: unique, mindblowing, original and exciting. Anything else will just get lost in the crowd. See PR Week's article on creative techniques - and watch out for the 6 hats technique in the Consumer Campaigns tutorial.

Andrew Marr blasts the bloggers

Is 'citizen journalism...the rantings of very drunk people late at night' as Andrew Marr claims, and are bloggers merely 'inadequate, pimpled and single'? Or do they have opinions and information of value to citizens, and therefore play an important role as part of the media? These are important questions when PR professionals decide whether to include bloggers in media relations, and if so, who? See PR Week's take on this in the Editor's column this week, as Danny Rogers asks whether citizen journalists need a thicker skin...

Murdoch monopoly?

Mark Thompson, Director General of the BBC, warns of the potential "abuse of power" if Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is allowed to buy the remaining 61% of BSkyB, achieving 100% ownership and a larger share in British broadcast media than the BBC. Clearly ascribing to a theory of liberal pluralism - which we will cover in the traditional media lecture - Thompson says this could lead to a "significant loss of plurality in our media market" and asks Vince Cable, the Business Minister, to block the deal. However such reference to power and dominance tends more towards theories of the political economy of the media and contextual analysis. See the media lecture for more explanation...

Fashion furore PR stunts

Mel B is the latest in a long line of celebs to use fashion to promote a product - sometimes it's themselves but in this case it's the London screening of her new reality YV show 'It's a Scary World'. The catsuit idea 'backfired' when it became see-through under the glare of flash bulbs - but Mel B's phenomenally fit body carried it off - resulting in a publicity coup for an event that otherwise may have gone unreported as 'just another launch event'. She follows in a long line of celebs using fashion to stand out from the crowd and generate publicity - as we see Matt Damon's pregnant wife Luciana Barroso sport a leopard print dress, or Halle Berry's famous Oscar's gown, or Liz Hurley's famous safety pin dress - or indeed, David Beckham's sarong

Shoot the Bear

Go to You Tube - look for Shoot the Bear. Do it. Great use of social media. And I know what will be the first word you type in...

At last - Alzheimer's lobbying pays off

I mentioned in my first lecture that I was heavily involved with a public and private lobbying campaign across the BBC and national press, but focussing on the Daily Mail. I was working on behalf of one pharmaceutical company, but in conjunction with other pharma companies, and the Alzheimer's Society, to change the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) decision to prohibit prescribing of Alzheimer's drugs until symptoms were advanced beyond the basic stages. Doctors, carers, patients and the clinical evidence argued that earlier prescribing would delay symptoms longer and allow carers and patients to come to term with the disease and make arrangements for their futures. Such lobbying has lasted 5 years.

Today, NICE finally revised their decision on this...

Pigeon PR

10 racing pigeons, each laden with a USB stick carrying a 5 minute video, flew the 120km from a remote Yorksire farm to Skegness before even a quarter of the same file had been transmitted via broadband over the distance. The PR stunt aimed raise awareness of lamentably slow broadband speeds in certain areas of the UK, supporting public lobbying to BT and the UK Government to live up to their promises of fast broadband across the UK. The event was reported across the BBC TV and radio news, and local press. A good example of creative thinking to point out an issue in the public eye.

While teaching this course, I've realised that social media is an area of significant disagreement. Some people think it's changing the world while others contend that it's simply a new medium for old relationship building techniques. In the wake of the general election, many reflect that this campaign was waged mainly on old media - in the newspapers and on TV (especially with the advent of TV debates). Radio 4 commentators concluded that social media did not play the role it did in US elections because of the short time span of the UK campaigns, and the relative disengagement of UK voters. Charles Arthur's article in the media section of last week's Guardian sees more of a role for social media as people watch the debates on TV and chat online: but considering the profile of the UK's voters, he also sees that this online debate would be dominated by a certain type (apparently a more liberal one - presumably younger and more communicative than many) - with old media still being the primary means of communication for more working class and older voters. This is the kind of discussion you might like to consider when preparing your revision...

Tiger Woods - not out of the woods yet?

According to Danny Rogers in PR Week, Tiger Woods' apology won't convince all audiences with his recent apology, despite his somewhat desperate attempts to salvage his career and all the sponsorship that goes with it - and until Tiger is once again seen as an al round 'good guy', the consumer and B2B PR initiative which have paid him millions will be somewhat wary of getting him back on the books. Read this article for more on how individuals handle crisis and the PR involved, but also think about the implications for the people who sponsor them.

10 Social media campaigns that Rock! (apparently)

Stealing from another blog (ThoughtPick), here are some US social media campaigns that 'rock' according to the author - the advice down the bottom is pretty useful for PR professionals....

BP vs. Exxon - a tale of two crises

As BP's chief exec Tony Hayward speaks to the BBC to make it clear that the huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is "not our accident but is our responsibility to deal with the leak and clean up the oil" it is interesting to contrast this to the response of Exxon to the Exxon Valdex disaster 21 years ago - often called the worst response to a crisis in PR history. Their chief exec at the time refused to acknowledge responsibility and did not go to the site of the accident. Note as T0ny Hayward (BP)talks slowly, without notes, and clearly about collaboration, innovation and the scale of the response - citing the coastguard and other US authorities as credible sources to back up his claims. Great press training and a useful case study for crisis management.

Is Cameron chicken?

In an age old PR tactic, David Cameron has been the latest victim of chicken-stalking. The man in a chicken suit, who has been following Cameron for a week, was sent by a national tabloid to generate PR for the paper and pose some questions to the potential primeminister. Cameron hugged, then beheaded, I mean removed the mask of, the chicken. Chickens have also stalked Winston Churchill and George Bush, accusing them of being too 'chicken' to engage in certain issues.

Knickers for Andrex

According to PR Week, 'the media in general do not want to write about toilet paper'. So Andrex had to create something newsworthy for the launch of their new Andrex Shea Butter bog roll. And they did. It was knickers. With shea butter lotion incorporated into a back panel. There were obviously photo opportunities (see photo) with the typical 'blond girl in pants' images, but they've also sold 350 pairs of the knickers, found endorsement from a psychologist who is a specialist in underwear(!), and celeb Atomic Kitten and Celebrity Masterchef winner Liz McClarnon was the bottom of the campaign. A pretty standard consumer PR campaign. So if I see any of you slipping off your seats in the lecture I'll know what you're wearing...

Ben de Lisi is redesigning hospital gowns while the Design Council is updating hospital beds as 'pods': the latest PR inititative by the Department of Health to update its image as a souless institution which doesn't care if it embarrasses its patients. Generating coverage on the BBC, in the Times, Guardian and Independent, on fashion websites such as FabSugar, and around the world. Click here to see the original press release as an example. What make this a success? Famous names in unusual surroundings, human interest and the chance to publish photos like this one.

Last week's Cheltenham Gold Cup was an example of PR extroardinaire. Efforts to lure punters back to the bookies and the race course, and expand these audiences to women and younger race goers, included creating a newsworthy story around the epic battle between the two front runners Denman and Kauto Star - in an attempt to create emotional connection through the narrative of the race. Thousands of beermats featuring the two superhorses were distributed to get people talking in pubs, but press releases also went to women's lifestyle magazines and other titles not known for their love of horses. Charity celeb races (including the ladies' race featurng Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of media-mogul Rupert and wife of PR man Matthew Freud) were also included for more free PR. This Guardian article tells you more about the PR behind the races - but doesn't tell you that, in the end, the race was one by neither of the two favourites but by 7-1 option Imperial Commander.

We talk about corporate reputation management, we talk about the rise of activism, we talk about how activists can best leverage new media: here's an example from Greenpeace against Nestle, focussing on the 'killer' KitKat and its use of palm oil, which allegedly destroys rainforest through extensive monoculture. Consider this in light of Nestle's recent decision to make KitKat fairtrade. This and other examples are the kind of thing you can use to illustrate points in your exam answers. Watch the Greenpeace video that the ManagementToday article above links to - do you think Greenpeace have taken the right route?