Want to hit the headlines?

Do it first!

Pizza Express is basking in the glow of the media spotlight today, following news of their new ‘pay now’ i-phone app.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2004167/Pizza-Express-diners-use-iPhones-pay-walk-out.html


Contactless technology is of course big news and for Pizza Express customers the new app means no more waiting to pay at the end of their meal.

Regardless of how successful the trial is, it’s a great bit of marketing by Pizza Express.

Be creative – take a look at what you do, give it a topical twist and see what you can come up with. It might just lead to some great PR!

Get On TV!

The Dragons are hungry - and on the lookout for invesment opportunities.  If you've got the nerve then why not apply for the next series?

Regardless of what happens in the den it'll be great experience and could help you get your name out to millions of TV viewers. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/apply/

Story of the Week: The Record Breaker

Get Me To The Church On Time!

What a great story – a Yorkshire vicar who has just set a Guinness world record with the fastest motorcycle hearse.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1385793/Like-bat-heaven-Vicar-claims-world-record-fastest-motorcycle-hearse.html

Nicely timed ahead of Dying Matters Awareness Week it’s fantastic PR for the entire funeral industry.

As well as profiling the availability of alternative forms of funeral transport (and believe me there are quite a few), and raising the profile of ‘heaven’s angel’ Rev. Biddiss and his Triumph Rocket, the story also makes the point that funeral professionals enjoy life just as much as the rest of us.

(The hearse even has it’s own facebook page). http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rocket-Motorcycle-Hearse/186681858017304

And of course the story is a sub-editor’s dream….’the faster pastor’, ‘bat out of heaven’, ‘god speed’, ‘meet the ‘rev’ vicar’, ‘the quicker vicar’….


A lot of people spend an awful lot of money on PR and can only dream of achieving this sort of coverage. It’s worth remembering that sometimes the simplest ideas are the most effective. Could you attempt to smash or set a record to raise your profile?

When the unthinkable happens...

The morning after a Bank Holiday weekend and news of at least two theme park tragedies are making headlines.

Of course it has to be a visitor attraction’s worst possible nightmare. There’s no going back and nothing they can do to turn back the clock. The best they can hope for is that they had a plan in place to cope.

We hear a lot about business contingency planning – how you’ll manage if your IT system blows up etc – but PR is often overlooked. But what would you do if you suddenly found yourself the centre of unwanted media attention?

Shrug it off and say all PR’s good PR or take it seriously and work hard to come out with your reputation intact?

Regardless of whether you are a manufacturer or service provider you need a crisis management plan - much the same as you need insurance.  Sadly things do go wrong – so prepare for the worst and expect the best.

Free Advertising in the Daily Mail

Blooming Cheek!

Hats off to Essex businessman Robert Blyth, whose daffodil display has led to some great PR and press coverage.


When local Town Hall officials caught sight of his 13,000 daffodil display - commissioned to promote his car boot fair business – they saw red. Even though the flowers were on his own land, Robert was accused of illegal advertising and ordered to dig up his display or face an escalating fine.

But days before the deadline the council backed down and Robert’s roadside daffodil display was granted a stay of execution.

So, while it might have looked as thought the stunt had backfired – the council helped Robert make it into the nationals – ensuring that millions of people now know about his car boot fairs.

I’d call that a great PR result!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1375663/Blooming-cheek-Businessman-ordered-dig-13-000-daffodils-arranged-companys-deemed-illegal-advertising.html

April Fools!

This coming Friday is a great opportunity to have some fun – and get some great PR!

 

The British press has a long tradition of teasing readers with April Fools’ stories – and savvy brands can get in on the act.

 

The trick is for your story to be as believable, fun - and photogenic - as possible. Last year’s gems included stories about:

 

• Virgin Media using ferrets to help lay broadband cables
• AA patrolmen testing ‘rapid response’ James Bond-style rocket powered jetpacks
• The Queen opting to travel by Easy Jet to save money
• The Sun’s new edible newsprint (warning: May contain nuts)
• Development of a new body odour absorbing shirt (Gillette)
• A new Google feature to translate animal ‘speech’
• Colour coded bonnet badges for BMW’s – aligned to your political allegiance
• Launch of a left handed sandwich
• A new WD 40 aftershave

 So get your thinking cap on – and have some fun this Friday!

 

PR for Dummies!

Random acts of kindness…
...are one of the key ways brands will thrive in a connected economy, according to leading trend watchers.

Yes, it seems that virtual living is all well and good – but what customers really want is to feel that someone cares.

Generation G consumers (G for generosity not greed) are apparently disgusted with big, arrogant, sloppy, out-of-touch institutions. They want interactions with brands to be genuine and enjoyable (financial institutions, utility companies etc take note).

So if you’re on the lookout for some low-cost PR, consider how you can incorporate some random acts of kindness into your daily dealings with customers.

Go on - make someone’s day!