Christmas has come early - very early

Designed to hit at the end of the summer's 'silly season' (a time of year when the UK parliament is in recession and there is very little 'actual' news) Asda have stolen the march on other superstores by starting their Christmas promotion early...4 months early. They have opened 17 grottos, complete with Santas, across their 540 stores, just as we head into a predicted heatwave. Reported in newspapers as diverse as the Guardian, the Daily Mail, and the Daily Star, and in many local papers, the news is designed to encourage shoppers to use the Asda Christmas savings card.

The articles also show another PR tactic, of using 'research' to promote coverage, as they declare more mums are worried about the costs of Christmas this year than in 2011.

Complex media habits = complex PR campaigns

As we warm up for the new term and I start prepping lectures, it's a good time to see how the world of media is changing. Ericsson's ConsumerLab survey confirms that 'old media' is still the backbone of media activity, with an overall increase of consumer spend on television viewing BUT there are emerging trends in how we watch TV. More of us, across the age groups, are sitting with a tablet, laptop or phone - or maybe a selection of these - while watching television. Anecdotally, the Olympics was a fine example as people Facebooked and texted their emotions with friends, perhaps also watching two sports simultaneously or using the red button on the TV, and while googling obscure sports on their tablets (how does the 'kierin' cycling work anyway? Why is there an old guy seemingly pedalling very slowly and holding them all up?). These complex media consumption habits require complex PR campaigns, designed to provoke dialogue across media, in real time. This presents new challenges in how to engage consumers, monitor ongoing discussions, handle discussions that get out of control and evaluate the impact of PR across so many media.