Leveson: A Warning for PR Professionals

The Leveson enquiry has thrown up some areas for serious consideration as far as the conduct of PR professionals are concerned. Some disturbing behaviour has been highlighted, and although this may not be etiquette for all in the field, there is room for reflection by all. The warnings regard correspondence with the media, and they come following threatening emails sent by London Mayor Boris Johnson's Chief of Communications to the BBC. The emails composed by Gutto Hari, regarding coverage of the Mayor, warned the BBC to back off or face having the media turned against them, he also hinted towards friendships within No.10. In later correspondence he also threatened "a huge public fight" aiming to dissuade.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/may/27/guto-harri-press-campaign-against-bbc

It has also been revealed that a video of a similar nature between Downing Street Communications Director Craig Oliver and reporter Norman Smith was leaked onto Youtube. The less than flattering revelations are a bad example and give conscientious representatives a bad name. A profession based on reputation, yet many communications professionals will be losing theirs.

Many of the incidents that are coming to light regard the tenuous nature between Torie agenda and the peoples' BBC, due to the nature of Leveson. The email Will Wealden, BBC Westminster news editor received from Harri begins as follows,

"Dear Will. We are all sick of this at City Hall, and increasingly at Number 10. BBC London is in danger of causing real problems to all of us."

Clearly politics is centred around these issues coming to light. However, the fact that seemingly safe emails of a blackmail nature are being uncovered is a cautionary tale for anyone in PR. As the country moves towards a more open and public stance as regards professional exchanges, not just surrounding politics, but the media and communications in general, it is best to err on the side of caution when pondering over tactics that protect your client.

Diamond Jubilee Teddy Bears Picnic in Whitstable

The home town of Spitfire Recruitment, will play host to a Diamond Jubilee celebration fit for our most special friends! It is to be held on Sunday 3rd June at:
Whitstable Castle, Tower Hill, Whitstable, Kent, CT5 2BW

Revellers are to bring along tea, a picnic and of course, a teddy bear. Dress your favourite teddy for a Royal Garden Party, enter him/her by noon and a selection of the best dressed bears will win a prize.

There will be music between 2pm and 4pm. A limited supply of tickets at £1.50 per child are available from reception.

Call Kathy for more details 01227 281726

http://www.heart.co.uk/kent/events/your-diamond-jubilee-weekend-events/

QR Codes in PR

In previous blogs we have looked at the good, the bad and the ugly uses of QR codes. They continue to appear in more and more places and as a tool they really should be considered as part of a PR campaign. The beauty of QR codes is that they have the power to direct straight to a campaign page. However to ensure maximum effect, how this is done should be carefully designed. Some sites for example focus on QR code generators whilst others provide updates and social media benefits. A PR campaign should be designed so that it is suitable for mobile. As most codes are snapped with mobile phones, the site that the snapper is taken to should have a mobile version.

Now to think about the mobile page itself. What is it you want from the campaign and how can you provide a link to the campaign on a long term basis? The answer is to ensure that you have user friendly link buttons for 'following' on Twitter and 'liking' on Facebook. This will keep an audience engaged and a line of communication for those all important up to date PR messages. Perhaps even a subscription of some kind can be added to the website.

Providing recommendations, offers and coupons are also an excellent way to interest an audience and ensure future uses of QR codes. To go further, social media interaction can offer even more. A lot can be learnt from the the example of Starsky Robinson, who, '"currently manages all of THQ Inc Kids, Family and Casual digital social campaigns. This includes the uDraw GameTablet, the Biggest Loser, Marvel Super Hero Squad, You Don’t Know Jack, Costume Quest and Voltron. His position at THQ Inc. involves managing website development, influence campaigns, and developing engaging social media initiatives."

Interactive initiatives in the gaming world have obvious benefits because of their nature. But this can be translated into other realms of marketing. The key is to provide some kind of reward to the QR snapper, something that will encourage future visits. This is something that is best tailor made for a campaign. The danger with QR codes at the moment is that monotonous agenda pushing will discourage the consumer. Codes that automatically upload details to the users mobile phone are fine, but this must be communicated prior to the snapshot.

PR Week's League Table and Sarbanes Oxley

So PR Week's top 150 league table has been a hot topic for the last couple of weeks. Our previous blog discussed the dubious nature of viewing the table in context. It is also important not to take the statistics at face value. Anyone on the UK that is involved in company auditing will be familiar with the Sarbanes Oxley Act 2002. Although this is an American act, named after its sponsors, Senator Paul Sarbanes and U.S. Representative Michael G Oxley, it of course has wide reaching ramifications for international business transactions and businesses with a second listing in the US. The act was intended to restore investor confidence following scandals such as were found evident at Tyco International, Adelphia, Enron, WorldCom and Peregrine Systems. To protect against inside trading and falsified accounts, the act holds CEO and CFOs strictly to account for annual reporting, risk assessment and internal auditing with hefty fines and/or a prison sentence for negligence or non-compliance.




"Consider Sarbanes-Oxley (Sox), the US legislation hastily passed after the Enron and WorldCom scandals in 2002. Sox is now thought in many quarters to have been a disaster, increasing frictional costs and bureaucracy and providing a field day for legal and accountancy firms, without changing the behaviour which causes the problems." Simon Caulkin.

Despite best intentions, the act with affects trans-Atlantic business transactions has been criticised by many, including the Turnball Review Group. It is unnecessarily costly and requires detailed auditing even at low levels. Many companies announced a move to delist from the US in a bid to avoid the 'SOX' burden, including British Airways, back in 2007. The UK gained its own act for control, The Companies Act 2004 and this took some lessons from the 'SOX' problem on board. The knock on effect however is that flotation on the US stock market became highly unattractive, many brokers heading to the London Stock Exchange, and many UK private equity companies cleaning up at the expense of others. In addition, a spaghetti junction of rules and regulations from two separate governments who regualrly trade with each other, has meant that many feel thay cannot enter their figures. Instead data has been estimated by mirroring figures from companies of a similar size, which apparently is achieved by a rigorous formula. But how sure can we be of what we are missing and are the league tables truly accurate?

2012 PR Week's top 150

Figures In Context

The figures are in and they show an encouraging increase of pre-recession aggregate income fees for companies rated in PR Week's top 150. £900m compared with £858m back in 2008. The industry is buzzing despite the economic downturn. This has been accredited to the mounting respect for reputation in PR and also to the skill in the evolving ditital age of communication in which PR professionals have naturally excelled. http://www.prweek.com/uk/go/top150/
The top 15 are as follows:

1. Bell Pottinger Group
2. Brunswick
3. Webber Shandwick
4. Edelman
5. FTI Consulting
6. Freud Communications
7. Hill and Knowlton Strategies
8. RLM Finsbury
9. Grayling
10. MSL Group
11. Ketchum Pleon
12. College Hill
13. MHP Communications
14. Citigate Dewe Rogerson
15. Ogilvy PR


But are we viewing these figures in context?

Matthew Freud, chairman of Freud Communications said, "I have always liked lists and charts, but we should remember that they usually depict a relative hierarchy. For decades our industry has been close to the bottom of the marketing food chain. PR Week's Top 150 then has traditionally been an annual ranking of the tallest dwarves. " He makes an excellent point, the celebration of growth should be understood in full context. As Freud identifies, there have always been few seats for PR professionals at the advertising table. However as media is now available through more devices than ever, damaging press is more detrimental as a consequence. Newspapers no longer die at the hands of the waste paper basket and can be accessed online, at anytime. Reads can be recommend, posted and blogged about. Not only this but bad press can go viral at super speed. The same is true for positive however but it is the PR professional that deal with mitigating damage to reputation. The quantification for services of a protective shield is still tricky, yet increasingly it is a necessary cost. Growth of course is important in itself but I think that Freud is right, the work of PR professionals is becoming more valued everyday and it is time to seize this long awaited day.

Furby Christmas 2012

Yes 2012 will see the release of a new and improved Christmas favourite. Pipped to be the must have seasonal toy, again, Furby lovers will be frantic for the release of the made over version. The toy which resembles and owl and a gremlin first flooded the market back in 1998, around forty million units were sold world wide within in the first three years. Made by Tiger Electronics, the endearing interactive family pet was in such high demand that the units could be resold for three times their original £24 price tag. Capable of speaking their own language, responding to touch and the ability to learn the language of their owner over time, the toys were either a hit or an extreme annoyance within the home. Since their original fame, revamped furbies have been released but the hype will differ this time around. So far one solitary picture is all there is to go on, and it will drive the curious insane.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2144825/Furby--Christmas-craze-1998--returns-bid-2012s-present.html?ito=feeds-newsxml 

The advanced digital age of online social media, forums and blogs alters the game entirely. According to a Facebook page, 2012 will be the year of 'Furby World Domination'.

Speculation about LCD eyes and the ability to connect the Furbies to other Furbies via the Internet are already hot topic. And online discussion will only cause the hype to snowball. Just how Tiger Electronics will attempt to prevent leaks before the launch is questionable. Not only this but it will be extremely interesting to see how sales and marketing compares in our digital age to 1998 where buyers headed to shops to fight over the boxed toys. With online shopping, eBay and Amazon being more highly developed than they were 14 years ago it is an entirely different ball game. The cute little guys won't only be a hit with children; but there are a few of us that missed out the first time around and adulthood will not be a viable excuse for parents not to come up with the goods this time around.
Parents, to be forewarned is to be forearmed!

Advertisers to Face Stricter Contols Over Children's Televison

Last week Helen Goodman was at it again. The Labour media shadow minister was urging the consideration of curbing television advertisements aimed at children, between children's programmes. Goodman identified that many parents become frustrated by constant requests by their children for merchandise that they just cannot afford. In an economic crisis such as this it can be disheartening for low income parents to have to say no every time.

If this any indication of the direction of children's advertising, what will that mean for merchandisers trying to communicate their products? Even tougher competition first and fore mostly. Goodman cited the advertising of children's quilts an unnecessary and excessive use of advertising.

"Speaking as a parliamentarian I am not enamoured of ideas to liberalise rules and allow more product placement and merchandising. Governments are also responsible for preventing the economic exploitation of children,"

And there are other issues with television content aimed at children. The projection of a healthy self image has long been debated. Goodman urges the government to discuss potential funding in this area.

The development of such ideas are in their infancy and it is difficult to guess exactly what would replace the majority of prime time slots. And there in lays the main obstacle. An independent adjudicator to oversee all decisions for children's television and advertising is essential. With cuts though this currently looks unhopeful.

It was the contention of Nigel Pickard, former BBC controller of children's television, that the government should be establishing a commissioner position for children's television content through lottery funds. The difficulty however is the long list of other worthy causes tugging at the funds.

A commissioner would be able to provide unbiased controls over content and assure that children are better protected. They do not have adult sensibilities and are therefore vulnerable and extremely susceptible to the television that they are viewing. Tighter controls would drive advertisers to be much more considered in the content they produce.