A good day to bury bad news...

Well there’s nothing like a long-awaited royal engagement to capture the public’s attention is there?

It’s a few years ago now that a government press officer was hounded out of Whitehall for highlighting a forthcoming ‘good day to bury bad news’.

I can’t even recall what the bad news was, but the reaction was one of horror. As if a responsible government/organisation/business would do such a thing…

Well, sometimes press officers and PRs have a duty to release news that’s...well, not particularly good. And knowing how vicious the press can be, there are times when you really don’t want make the front page.

Openness and honesty are fine corporate values, but they cut both ways and sometimes you have no option other than to get on with it, and prepare yourself for the worst.

As spin doctors well know, it’s pretty rare that good news makes it onto the front pages and I’m sure the announcement of the royal engagement was carefully planned to lift the economic gloom.

And that made yesterday a very good day to bury bad news.

Playing the PR 'Long Game'

Norfolk’s flagship library at the Forum in Norwich has just been named as the busiest library in the country, for the fourth year running – with an incredible 1.4 million visitors through its doors between April 2009 and March this year. http://www.norfolk.gov.uk/News/NCC085659

Between them members borrowed a staggering 1,154,000 items – ranging from books to DVDs, console games and CDs.

Not bad, when the likes of Giles Coren (BBC 2: Giles and Sue Live The Good Life) describes modern day libraries as places ‘where lunatics go to shelter from the rain’. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00w08q9

To be fair, Giles Coren’s view of libraries is pretty typical – indeed many libraries are pretty uninviting and uninspiring places. So it’s credit to Norfolk that it has a library service that is loved by local people and looked up to by the rest of the library world.

And PR has certainly played its part – helping to change perceptions and raise awareness of how things have changed. Changing hearts and minds can be a lengthy process and to its credit the county council has been prepared to play the ‘long game’ – a strategy which is paying off.

Public services are prime targets for criticism and there have certainly been some storms to weather over the past years, but let’s hope Norfolk’s Library Service continues to go from strength to strength.

As ever – it’s a case of use it or lose it - so with free internet access, free membership, free book borrowing, low cost film and music loans, free events and activities (and a place to shelter from the rain) – what are you waiting for?

And the award goes to....

As I’ve said before I’m a big fan of awards. There’s a whole host of reasons why entering – and even winning – awards is good for business.

And I’ve just read some interesting research, (carried out on behalf of the British Quality Foundation and the European Foundation for Quality Management), in respect of their Excellence Awards:

• Three years after receiving an award, 120 European companies outperformed non-winners by an average of 17% (sales) and 36% (share value). Improved financial performance was already evident 12 months after the win.

• In the US, smaller award winning companies showed a 63% increase in operating income and a 39% growth in sales, compared with non winners.

So, heartfelt congratulations to Chiltern Woodland Burial Park www.woodlandburialparks.co.uk
which was this week named a finalist in the Thames Valley Business Magazine Awards 2010 (Best Company to Work For).

If the last thing you won was a goldfish at the fair then perhaps it’s time get back into the winners’ spotlight!

Why it's important to use your online news pages

When it comes to your website forget the old adage ‘no news is good news’. There’s nothing more saddening than to click on ‘company news’ and to see either no articles at all, or ones that are well out of date.

It’s like going into a flower shop and seeing dead plants.

Apart from anything else, search engines love fresh content – so by regularly updating your news pages you’ll be giving your page rankings a boost, providing of course the content is relevant to your key search terms.

Of course an easy way to update your news pages is to post recent press releases and case studies, which can be easily tweaked (optimised) to maximise their search engine appeal.

Alternatively, try a brief ‘news flash’ approach – short, sharp, snappy and to the point.

If writing really isn’t ‘your thing’ it might be time to consider using the services of a professional. Then, not only will you regularly have great content for your website, you’ll also have material to send to the press, customers etc.

Even if you are comfortable updating your site yourself, it’s essential that you make sure your copy is checked for typos and punctuation (don’t rely on spell check). Personally, I’d never buy from a company that couldn’t spell – and I bet I’m not the only one.

And if you really don’t have anything to say (hard to believe) - or are too busy to say it - then deactivate those news pages!

Why are my competitors always in the news?

Simple. They have a plan – and they probably nominate one person to manage that plan – typically their PR ‘person’.

Unless you’ve a large support team or the energy of a power plant then the chances are you’re too busy to turn your attention to PR on a regular basis.

Above all, it’s important to be proactive – journalists today don’t have the time to sniff out stories. And the more you can help them fill their pages/programmes the more likely they are to get in touch when they need help.

“But we’ve no news to shout about” – is a comment I hear all the time. In actual fact that’s usually far from the truth, it just needs someone with an outside perspective and a nose for news to root it out.

Before you know it you’ll have a list of things to shout about and publicise. Plot them on to a calendar and you’ll have the basis of a press release plan. If you’re outsourcing your PR then you’ll also have an expert to draft copy, consider deadlines, research distribution lists, liaise with the media and generally get the job done.

If the whole ‘PR thing’ is all a bit of a mystery then start with media relations – it’s a low cost way of getting regular exposure in key newspapers, magazines etc etc.

And if you’ve already had a go yourself and it hasn’t worked then perhaps it’s worth revisiting - with a little help from a specialist!

Happy Birthday Apple

It’s just a year since mega brand Apple opened its fabulous, shiny new Norwich store – an event that drew massive crowds to Chapelfield Mall, with the first fans lining up just after 7am.

There were no special offers, no tempting discounts, no celebrities – just a store full of impressive technology – and highly-prized special edition t-shirts for the first 1,000 through the doors.

I was in the fortunate position of handling local media relations for the launch and I have to say from a PR perspective, working with such a mega brand was an extremely interesting experience.

As a rule, big names such as Apple let their products do the work for them - they barely need PR. Build it and they will come.

So, they probably weren’t prepared for laid back Norfolk, where a good chunk of local media seemed distinctly unimpressed with the imminent arrival of a global blockbusting brand. Clearly it would take more than ‘the opening of a new shop’ to rock their boat (to make matters worse, the launch coincided with the end of the Norfolk Food Festival and some journalists seemed to think I was talking about the opening of a new fruit and veg shop)….

Thankfully Norfolk’s core of Apple fans needed no encouragement to get up at the crack of dawn for this momentous occasion – giving the local press some great pictures. The t-shirts were gone in an hour and the store’s been packed ever since.

Well, the morale of this story is that there are no certainties in PR – especially when you’re dealing with the regional media. PR might sometimes look like a doddle, but in common with most trades and professions, there’s usually much more to it than meets the eye…

Another Award Win!

Congratulations to the team at Epping Forest Burial Park, on their latest award win.

At the finals of the Essex Business Excellence Awards last night, the woodland cemetery was named winner in the fiercly competitive Innovation category.

No stranger to award wins, Woodland Burial Parks has amassed quite a collection over the years, all of which showcase their high standards, environmentally friendly ethics and committment to customer service.

www.woodlandburialparks.co.uk