Quick update on the world of student PR:
It's reading week, and my oh my has it been a busy one! Monday consisted of an interview for a three month internship, as mentioned previously, so I won't go into too much detail about it. I can't believe that was only two days ago! I should expect to hear something back by the end of next week... it's going to feel like a long wait!! My fingers are still very much crossed!
Spent the last two days working at Eyes Wide Open (EWO) Communications and it's been very exciting indeed. I love working there, the people are just so nice and the projects are always so varied and nice to work on! I always look forward to it! I'm literally just filling in the blanks for client projects this week and it's been good; bit of database work going on, some competitor research, research and materials sourcing, social media research and not to mention I've just finished writing an EWO blog post, that is yet to be approved, but it will also be a post for this bog as well, so watch this space!!
Oh and as much I dislike to admit it- my lecturers were right! Research and insight are exactly what drives strategy and campaign ideas and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel that one of my modules is completely relevant after all! (I realised this through a day's analysis of survey results!)
It's been a busy but refreshingly exciting week so far and a little sad as it's my last day at EWO tomorrow and then Friday and Saturday it's back to my regular part time job at the garden centre. The company are doing really great and they've got some exciting prospects ahead of them in the near future and I'm very grateful for the opportunities they keep sending my way.
It's amazing how much you can actually learn, even from a few days here and there in companies. It just puts a real life spin on the lecture theory. It also adds variety to my life and I believe when completing assignments it can help input some fresh ideas and innovation. It's also good to practice working culture too, and get a feel for what sort of company you want to go into in the future. It's all about choices and the great thing about internships are you're not tied to them as you would be a job and you can mix it up a lot of the time. It's a great way to make industry contacts and to get some great recommendations for the future. For the first time in a very long time I feel the battle of completing a university degree is finally paying off!
Wednesday 20 February 2013
Monday 18 February 2013
PR Story #5
This week's instalment of my most interesting story from PR Week is focused on healthcare and in particular the new Change4life TV ad which homes in on alcohol and the health risks involved. I found this interesting because as part of the Edcom competition assignment last year, our group had to look into European binge drinking amongst the 18-24 market and assess what are the influencers and ways of preventing it from happening in future.
Although Britain's obesity 'epidemic' is not just down to drinking, it does play a major part in increasing waist lines. It is reported in this article that obesity costs the NHS around £5 billion a year, including vital surgery and free vouchers to support groups such as Weight Watchers, that often people don't actually use. There are also talks from doctors about putting tax on sugary drinks and not being able to advertise unhealthy foods before the watershed. Are these really all the answers to this problem? The short answer: no. Will these elements even make the slightest change in consumer behaviours? The short answer: unlikely.
Being a member of Weight Watchers myself the first thing they discussed in the new year was that we live in a food overloaded environment and temptation is all around us- VERY true! I feel any agency with this brief of getting across this serious message and trying to change consumer behaviour is going to be one of the toughest challenges they'll ever face! Everyone can be shocked for a few minutes by a television ad or stop and think about it for a second but are they really going to change their behaviours; I would guess very few actually cut down on food/ booze/ smoking and so on due to these and similar advertisements. I also seriously doubt that putting the prices up will change anyone's attitude too- as heard on BBC Radio 1 today, interviews with members of the public all agreed that they would still buy these foods anyway regardless of price, mostly because it still wouldn't be any more expensive than healthier alternatives.
So, what is the actual issue here... that unhealthy food and drink are to blame for Britain's weight problem or is it that healthy food and ways of exercising aren't easily affordable and accessible for everyone in society?
I feel that in order to change someone's behaviour it will take a whole lot more than a couple of TV ads and a higher purchase price. So let's think about it... when do people mostly change their attitudes? Well as a really rough assumption I find the people in my life tend to change their behaviours when they experience something themselves or if someone they know goes through something bad that could have been avoided. But obviously there is the issue of once they experience it, it's too late to be avoided, it still costs the NHS money and sometimes nothing can be done to reverse the damage. So what if people were given a real life negative experience but from a 'safe distance' (the theory behind our Edcom campaign entry).
From my own experience, it takes a whole lot more than reading an interview with a doctor in a newspaper, to change someone's behaviour; as though it were that easy to change habits of a lifetime! To lose weight and live a healthy life and more importantly to want to achieve these things, takes inspiration and motivation. So why not inspire a nation- we had the perfect opportunity with the London 2012 Olympics but the fascination seems to have faded fast for most people.
Why not take a more hands on approach to tackling this problem, for example set up pop up shops in high streets, starting with parts of the UK that have a high obesity rate; go to these area's schools and colleges, and so on and show them physically what unhealthy eating can do to them if they don't change.
Make it interesting by turning it into an interactive event that doesn't talk down to people but encourages them to educate themselves by having:
- consultants giving free confidential advice,
- a free interactive healthy living quiz and show the results percentages on a large screen for all to see,
- goody bags with recipe cards, exercise regimes, money off a visit to the local gym and freebie healthy alternative foods- everyone loves something for nothing, even if they just take a goody bag from the event and nothing else it's a start!
- have hosts and staff that aren't size 6 or 8's- there is nothing worse than feeling like you don't match up and sometimes people give up before they even try; have real people showcasing realistic options for the public,
- mass dance and exercise classes to disperse that feeling of embarrassment and give the opportunity for local businesses to make their mark on the campaign and attract more customers,
- get a company sponsorship such as Weight Watchers and have their personalities make guest appearances and run Q&A sessions,
- have live cookery classes by television chefs or local restaurants on how to make healthy meals and hand out tasters...
- create games such as swapping unhealthy foods for healthy alternatives and highlight the benefits or get the public to guess which food package has the most calories/ fat content/ sugar content. Have a plastic organ system and swap unhealthy and healthy body parts for the kids and highlight how to make these changes possible....
Literally the possibilities for this are endless!
Also on the same note, I know exercise is free, technically speaking, but at home fitness methods aren't for everyone, sometimes people prefer to swim or do Zumba for example but can't afford it. Local councils could set up free exercise classes within the local community and recruit local community members to keep on running these; these could be a part of the 'Big Society' they are so keen to run and see take off?
From what I'm learning at university and from what I'm experiencing in life people like to be engaged and interactive and it's the best way to learn something important. To influence someone is to take a leaf from your own book and practice what you preach. If there is enough regular local encouragement to be an advocate of these opportunities, it is likely to make a greater impact on behaviours. There will never be a way of stopping the unhealthy food brands, for one there is too many of them and secondly they have to make money as well to survive too and it's unfair to take that away from them.
At the end of the day everyone has a choice, it just depends whether it's one that's a move in the right direction. I don't believe a single advertisement, tax increases or legal changes in advertising will make much of an impact on their own, but when teamed with something interactive and local to the people, it could have a much greater impact.
As always I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, please comment on this post.
Although Britain's obesity 'epidemic' is not just down to drinking, it does play a major part in increasing waist lines. It is reported in this article that obesity costs the NHS around £5 billion a year, including vital surgery and free vouchers to support groups such as Weight Watchers, that often people don't actually use. There are also talks from doctors about putting tax on sugary drinks and not being able to advertise unhealthy foods before the watershed. Are these really all the answers to this problem? The short answer: no. Will these elements even make the slightest change in consumer behaviours? The short answer: unlikely.
Being a member of Weight Watchers myself the first thing they discussed in the new year was that we live in a food overloaded environment and temptation is all around us- VERY true! I feel any agency with this brief of getting across this serious message and trying to change consumer behaviour is going to be one of the toughest challenges they'll ever face! Everyone can be shocked for a few minutes by a television ad or stop and think about it for a second but are they really going to change their behaviours; I would guess very few actually cut down on food/ booze/ smoking and so on due to these and similar advertisements. I also seriously doubt that putting the prices up will change anyone's attitude too- as heard on BBC Radio 1 today, interviews with members of the public all agreed that they would still buy these foods anyway regardless of price, mostly because it still wouldn't be any more expensive than healthier alternatives.
So, what is the actual issue here... that unhealthy food and drink are to blame for Britain's weight problem or is it that healthy food and ways of exercising aren't easily affordable and accessible for everyone in society?
I feel that in order to change someone's behaviour it will take a whole lot more than a couple of TV ads and a higher purchase price. So let's think about it... when do people mostly change their attitudes? Well as a really rough assumption I find the people in my life tend to change their behaviours when they experience something themselves or if someone they know goes through something bad that could have been avoided. But obviously there is the issue of once they experience it, it's too late to be avoided, it still costs the NHS money and sometimes nothing can be done to reverse the damage. So what if people were given a real life negative experience but from a 'safe distance' (the theory behind our Edcom campaign entry).
From my own experience, it takes a whole lot more than reading an interview with a doctor in a newspaper, to change someone's behaviour; as though it were that easy to change habits of a lifetime! To lose weight and live a healthy life and more importantly to want to achieve these things, takes inspiration and motivation. So why not inspire a nation- we had the perfect opportunity with the London 2012 Olympics but the fascination seems to have faded fast for most people.
Why not take a more hands on approach to tackling this problem, for example set up pop up shops in high streets, starting with parts of the UK that have a high obesity rate; go to these area's schools and colleges, and so on and show them physically what unhealthy eating can do to them if they don't change.
Make it interesting by turning it into an interactive event that doesn't talk down to people but encourages them to educate themselves by having:
- consultants giving free confidential advice,
- a free interactive healthy living quiz and show the results percentages on a large screen for all to see,
- goody bags with recipe cards, exercise regimes, money off a visit to the local gym and freebie healthy alternative foods- everyone loves something for nothing, even if they just take a goody bag from the event and nothing else it's a start!
- have hosts and staff that aren't size 6 or 8's- there is nothing worse than feeling like you don't match up and sometimes people give up before they even try; have real people showcasing realistic options for the public,
- mass dance and exercise classes to disperse that feeling of embarrassment and give the opportunity for local businesses to make their mark on the campaign and attract more customers,
- get a company sponsorship such as Weight Watchers and have their personalities make guest appearances and run Q&A sessions,
- have live cookery classes by television chefs or local restaurants on how to make healthy meals and hand out tasters...
- create games such as swapping unhealthy foods for healthy alternatives and highlight the benefits or get the public to guess which food package has the most calories/ fat content/ sugar content. Have a plastic organ system and swap unhealthy and healthy body parts for the kids and highlight how to make these changes possible....
Literally the possibilities for this are endless!
Also on the same note, I know exercise is free, technically speaking, but at home fitness methods aren't for everyone, sometimes people prefer to swim or do Zumba for example but can't afford it. Local councils could set up free exercise classes within the local community and recruit local community members to keep on running these; these could be a part of the 'Big Society' they are so keen to run and see take off?
From what I'm learning at university and from what I'm experiencing in life people like to be engaged and interactive and it's the best way to learn something important. To influence someone is to take a leaf from your own book and practice what you preach. If there is enough regular local encouragement to be an advocate of these opportunities, it is likely to make a greater impact on behaviours. There will never be a way of stopping the unhealthy food brands, for one there is too many of them and secondly they have to make money as well to survive too and it's unfair to take that away from them.
At the end of the day everyone has a choice, it just depends whether it's one that's a move in the right direction. I don't believe a single advertisement, tax increases or legal changes in advertising will make much of an impact on their own, but when teamed with something interactive and local to the people, it could have a much greater impact.
As always I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, please comment on this post.
Weekly Update
Just a quick update on the world of student PR as I'm aware the past couple of weeks I haven' been blogging as much as I normally do due to assignment deadlines and other happenings. So here's the run down of everything that has happened lately in a nutshell:
- I had an interview today for a PR agency internship. I'm hoping it went well (I've not had many interviews, especially for internships, and don't really know what to expect), I'm keeping my fingers crossed as I' really keen to find an internship to follow alongside the rest of my second year in order to get some real hands on experience.
- This week is Employability Week (Reading Week) for my course and although there are some workshops going on at university I've been asked to fill in at Eyes Wide Open Communications where I interned over the summer as they need an extra pair of hands temporarily, so I'm excited to be doing that this week as I loved being there over the summer!
- I've handed in two more assignments which technically means I'm half way through my work load for the second year! (Where has the time gone!!).
-And finally, on a personal note, if you read my 'Happy Holidays' blog post you'll recall I wanted to lose weight as a new year's resolution and set myself the target of losing 2 and a half stone by next Christmas in order to be the appropriate BMI weight for my height. As of today I've lost 11 lbs and am so pleased, more because I've proved to myself I can do it and I can feel the difference already!!
Plenty of exciting times are to come and I can't wait!!
- I had an interview today for a PR agency internship. I'm hoping it went well (I've not had many interviews, especially for internships, and don't really know what to expect), I'm keeping my fingers crossed as I' really keen to find an internship to follow alongside the rest of my second year in order to get some real hands on experience.
- This week is Employability Week (Reading Week) for my course and although there are some workshops going on at university I've been asked to fill in at Eyes Wide Open Communications where I interned over the summer as they need an extra pair of hands temporarily, so I'm excited to be doing that this week as I loved being there over the summer!
- I've handed in two more assignments which technically means I'm half way through my work load for the second year! (Where has the time gone!!).
-And finally, on a personal note, if you read my 'Happy Holidays' blog post you'll recall I wanted to lose weight as a new year's resolution and set myself the target of losing 2 and a half stone by next Christmas in order to be the appropriate BMI weight for my height. As of today I've lost 11 lbs and am so pleased, more because I've proved to myself I can do it and I can feel the difference already!!
Plenty of exciting times are to come and I can't wait!!
Following on from last week...
Following on from last weeks PR Story #4 about Radio 1, I found it fascinating listening to the Matt Edmondson show yesterday morning. He claimed he'd had a meeting with the 'Big Bosses' of Radio 1 and they showed him data and graphs on how they monitor each show and determined what appealed to their target audience via likes, comments, shares, and so on via social media.
So, on the show Matt Edmondson announces that he wants to 'confuse' big bosses at Radio 1 by getting a large amount of coverage on something that is really random. He posted a picture of Ian Beale from EastEnders on to Facebook and asked listeners to like, share and make over the top silly comments such as 'I love Ian Beale, he makes my life complete' and so forth- see here for the post. As of this morning the post got approximately three and a half thousand likes, two thousand comments and nearly one hundred shares! This is an insane amount when compared with their other posts that on average reach around two hundred likes.
This got me thinking (as it always does) this can't be to play an elaborate prank on the BBC bosses, as much as listeners may want to believe they are all in on the joke, I doubt the wool can be that easily pulled over their eyes. My theory is that this was a way of indicating how many viewers are influenced or even engaging with the radio station at that time. Quite clever- but who is really being pranked here? Although I don't quite fully see how this is helping the radio station, I'm sure it is a way of engaging with the viewers and possibly being able to profile who is listening to that show. It will be interesting to see if anything similar comes up in other Radio 1 DJ's shows.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!
Watch this space for PR Story #5 to be posted later on today!
So, on the show Matt Edmondson announces that he wants to 'confuse' big bosses at Radio 1 by getting a large amount of coverage on something that is really random. He posted a picture of Ian Beale from EastEnders on to Facebook and asked listeners to like, share and make over the top silly comments such as 'I love Ian Beale, he makes my life complete' and so forth- see here for the post. As of this morning the post got approximately three and a half thousand likes, two thousand comments and nearly one hundred shares! This is an insane amount when compared with their other posts that on average reach around two hundred likes.
This got me thinking (as it always does) this can't be to play an elaborate prank on the BBC bosses, as much as listeners may want to believe they are all in on the joke, I doubt the wool can be that easily pulled over their eyes. My theory is that this was a way of indicating how many viewers are influenced or even engaging with the radio station at that time. Quite clever- but who is really being pranked here? Although I don't quite fully see how this is helping the radio station, I'm sure it is a way of engaging with the viewers and possibly being able to profile who is listening to that show. It will be interesting to see if anything similar comes up in other Radio 1 DJ's shows.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!
Watch this space for PR Story #5 to be posted later on today!
Monday 11 February 2013
PR Story #4
Fourth instalment is a little late this week- sorry! It's been a crazy busy weekend but it's all starting to settle down again which is good! So let's roll on with last Friday's PR week magazine's most interesting story (in my opinion).
This week's story is focused on Radio 1 loses more listeners. I found this story interesting, even though it only had a small column dedicated to it, because it made me think about the changing world of media formats and platforms. The story outlines that even though Chris Moyles has left the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show the number of listeners is still falling. Moyles and his team were hit with criticism that they attracted an older audience than the radio station wants to target. According to the BBC website, the show aims to target 15-29 year olds and possibly even younger for some programming (BBC).
The show has a weekly listening reach of around 6.69 million, down from 6.73 million since the last quarter and is currently at it's lowest audience level in 7 years. However, this got me thinking... is it just Radio 1 or is this the future of our media landscape? Is it that radio is dying?
It's important to consider that the internet and software such as iTunes makes radio even easier to access than an old stereo player or car radio however, it's not really ever the medium that springs to mind when wanting some entertainment.
I must admit that personally I like Radio 1 but I only ever listen to it when driving in the car because an hour's commute can get boring and it does provide some decent entertainment for the drive. However, I've never and probably won't ever seek it out via the internet or on iTunes or any other radio station for that matter and I'm fairly certain that is the case with most people in the BBC Radio 1's target market (of course with some exceptions because that is a massive generalisation).
The BBC website says it aims to provide Radio 1's programming to bridge the gap for children who are too old for CBBC but too young for other BBC programming. I can see where they are coming from but then again the jump from television to radio doesn't make sense and isn't an entirely logical step. Most teenagers are probably more familiar with an in car iPod dock these days rather than listening to the radio on the way to school. I believe that the media landscape is changing and is beginning to phase out radio.
If listeners are falling then the BBC need to be out there gaining a wider reach of audience as well as trying to maintain the children who have previously watched CBBC. The BBC need something current that will attract their audience's attention and make them think of BBC Radio 1 in a different way; a lot of their strategy outlined in the BBC link above is very heavily based on programming but that will only work on those who do listen already. They have a lot of good content on their shows but the trouble is not many people know about it unless they happen to catch it on the way to work and so on.
BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend is a good move for them and very popular but the issues here is that it is a one off, seasonal event. There needs to be a more consistent outreach to potential audiences via other mediums such as the BBC television programmes itself or through social media.
One idea could be for the radio station to get their target market's attention on another level of interest such as promoting a trainee/ internship scheme where the target market can get involved in the different departments of the radio station? It would allow individuals to get inside and behind the scenes and feel they can get to know what the station is all about. The target market for the radio station is typically generation Y-ers and I know I keep going back to it but understanding what we're about will go far for a brand! We love being interactive, having those amazing opportunities open to us and we love two way communication. By getting the target market interested in a work scheme it would promote the need to have knowledge of the radio station therefore listening to the shows and getting to know the programming. It would also look pretty good for the BBC's CSR too by helping young people get work experience, encouraging creativity and helping to achieve their aspirations. It's not a massive leap either as I recall a year or two ago they ran a CV workshop when statistics came out about the youth unemployment being at an all time low, if I remember correctly? Why not take it a step further?
The moral of the story here I believe is that for the radio to compete with other forms of media communications and fight to stay alive, they need to go above and beyond for their target audience. Really get inside their heads and find out what really interests them and integrate the insight into a strategy; at the end of the day everyone is interested in celebrities and showbiz one way or another, but is that enough to maintain and grow a radio station's reach?
Comments/ suggestions/ ideas on this topic will be appreciated!
This week's story is focused on Radio 1 loses more listeners. I found this story interesting, even though it only had a small column dedicated to it, because it made me think about the changing world of media formats and platforms. The story outlines that even though Chris Moyles has left the BBC Radio 1 breakfast show the number of listeners is still falling. Moyles and his team were hit with criticism that they attracted an older audience than the radio station wants to target. According to the BBC website, the show aims to target 15-29 year olds and possibly even younger for some programming (BBC).
The show has a weekly listening reach of around 6.69 million, down from 6.73 million since the last quarter and is currently at it's lowest audience level in 7 years. However, this got me thinking... is it just Radio 1 or is this the future of our media landscape? Is it that radio is dying?
It's important to consider that the internet and software such as iTunes makes radio even easier to access than an old stereo player or car radio however, it's not really ever the medium that springs to mind when wanting some entertainment.
I must admit that personally I like Radio 1 but I only ever listen to it when driving in the car because an hour's commute can get boring and it does provide some decent entertainment for the drive. However, I've never and probably won't ever seek it out via the internet or on iTunes or any other radio station for that matter and I'm fairly certain that is the case with most people in the BBC Radio 1's target market (of course with some exceptions because that is a massive generalisation).
The BBC website says it aims to provide Radio 1's programming to bridge the gap for children who are too old for CBBC but too young for other BBC programming. I can see where they are coming from but then again the jump from television to radio doesn't make sense and isn't an entirely logical step. Most teenagers are probably more familiar with an in car iPod dock these days rather than listening to the radio on the way to school. I believe that the media landscape is changing and is beginning to phase out radio.
If listeners are falling then the BBC need to be out there gaining a wider reach of audience as well as trying to maintain the children who have previously watched CBBC. The BBC need something current that will attract their audience's attention and make them think of BBC Radio 1 in a different way; a lot of their strategy outlined in the BBC link above is very heavily based on programming but that will only work on those who do listen already. They have a lot of good content on their shows but the trouble is not many people know about it unless they happen to catch it on the way to work and so on.
BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend is a good move for them and very popular but the issues here is that it is a one off, seasonal event. There needs to be a more consistent outreach to potential audiences via other mediums such as the BBC television programmes itself or through social media.
One idea could be for the radio station to get their target market's attention on another level of interest such as promoting a trainee/ internship scheme where the target market can get involved in the different departments of the radio station? It would allow individuals to get inside and behind the scenes and feel they can get to know what the station is all about. The target market for the radio station is typically generation Y-ers and I know I keep going back to it but understanding what we're about will go far for a brand! We love being interactive, having those amazing opportunities open to us and we love two way communication. By getting the target market interested in a work scheme it would promote the need to have knowledge of the radio station therefore listening to the shows and getting to know the programming. It would also look pretty good for the BBC's CSR too by helping young people get work experience, encouraging creativity and helping to achieve their aspirations. It's not a massive leap either as I recall a year or two ago they ran a CV workshop when statistics came out about the youth unemployment being at an all time low, if I remember correctly? Why not take it a step further?
The moral of the story here I believe is that for the radio to compete with other forms of media communications and fight to stay alive, they need to go above and beyond for their target audience. Really get inside their heads and find out what really interests them and integrate the insight into a strategy; at the end of the day everyone is interested in celebrities and showbiz one way or another, but is that enough to maintain and grow a radio station's reach?
Comments/ suggestions/ ideas on this topic will be appreciated!
Guest Speaker of the week
This week in my PR practice and skillset lecture we had Paul Stallard of Berkeley PR come to talk to us about his experiences, what life is like at his agency and to also gives us a couple of briefs that were previously live for practice.
Firstly we were told that everyday is different- a lot of speakers say this- but that's good because that's what we like to hear and the more people say it the more believable it's becoming. None of us want to be committed to desk tapping away five days a week! We want to be out there and really involved with brands and campaigns and just learning how to become a great PR person!
We also discussed what makes a good story and in Paul's opinion it's bad news, human interest, topical and a great story has all three!I'm going to mentally bookmark that bit of useful information for when I start working! He also told us that to create a great press release and also include the above tips (obviously you don't want to be spending bad news about clients) is that you have to position your client as the solution to a bad situation where possible. So do some research, find out market statistics that aren't so great or are a cause for concern and then bring in your client's company as the hero to the problem- it sounds so simple and actually really straight forward, but I've never of it like that before or heard it in those exact words- it suddenly made a lot of sense to be honest!
The brand that our group got was a shopping centre (not sure if I'm allowed to name names so I won't) and they wanted to get more traffic into the shopping centre and make it attractive to children and families over the summer holidays. Our team came up with the idea of having weekly themes for the shopping centre such as an underwater theme (Finding Nemo), the zoo (Madagascar), a beach theme (Little Mermaid), and so on. Each week there would be an array of activities that matched the week's theme such as face painting, story telling, small rides, a mini beach. Shops would help out too such as Waterstones conducting the story telling and the Disney store have staff dress up as themed characters, and so on. It sounded like a pretty exciting campaign to be honest, we got so carried away with it it was hard to remember that it was all theoretical!
Every time a speaker comes in it really inspires me to go out there and start working already! I've got an internship interview next Monday, keeping my fingers crossed!
Firstly we were told that everyday is different- a lot of speakers say this- but that's good because that's what we like to hear and the more people say it the more believable it's becoming. None of us want to be committed to desk tapping away five days a week! We want to be out there and really involved with brands and campaigns and just learning how to become a great PR person!
We also discussed what makes a good story and in Paul's opinion it's bad news, human interest, topical and a great story has all three!I'm going to mentally bookmark that bit of useful information for when I start working! He also told us that to create a great press release and also include the above tips (obviously you don't want to be spending bad news about clients) is that you have to position your client as the solution to a bad situation where possible. So do some research, find out market statistics that aren't so great or are a cause for concern and then bring in your client's company as the hero to the problem- it sounds so simple and actually really straight forward, but I've never of it like that before or heard it in those exact words- it suddenly made a lot of sense to be honest!
The brand that our group got was a shopping centre (not sure if I'm allowed to name names so I won't) and they wanted to get more traffic into the shopping centre and make it attractive to children and families over the summer holidays. Our team came up with the idea of having weekly themes for the shopping centre such as an underwater theme (Finding Nemo), the zoo (Madagascar), a beach theme (Little Mermaid), and so on. Each week there would be an array of activities that matched the week's theme such as face painting, story telling, small rides, a mini beach. Shops would help out too such as Waterstones conducting the story telling and the Disney store have staff dress up as themed characters, and so on. It sounded like a pretty exciting campaign to be honest, we got so carried away with it it was hard to remember that it was all theoretical!
Every time a speaker comes in it really inspires me to go out there and start working already! I've got an internship interview next Monday, keeping my fingers crossed!
Tuesday 5 February 2013
Event Management Assignment
Update: Well it's been a stressful week in the world of Student PR and university but actually quite enjoyable. Aside from my computer deleting all the work I did on my event management PR assignment last week, I have successfully managed to catch up and more over the past few days; luckily I'm a quick typist and somehow I was able to remember pretty much all of the ideas I brainstormed!
As mentioned previously I really enjoy the buzz of working towards deadlines and trying to make the work the best I've ever produced. The assignment I'm working on at the moment is about content creation, specifically events. We have to theoretically organise a UK smartphone product launch- a follow on from our last assignment. We have to include copies for an internal briefing, press release for all UK media and a storyboard for a video crew. We have to include a budget sheet, schedule and report explaining the overall event. It's a lot of work, and the appendix items are really time consuming but it's quite fun and thinking I could potentially doing things like this everyday as part of my career is an exciting thought and one that I can actually seen myself doing. It makes me think I would really like to go into event management PR. It's something that has always been at the forefront of my mind but I want to keep my options open to other types of PR careers also.
There are still a lot of concepts that I have had to research to do with PR and there are some things that a book just can't teach you, it has to come from experience. I'm really lucky to have a cousin that I'm quite close to already graduate from university and work as a marketing account manager. She's been able to advise me on things from her experiences for this assignment and she's a great source to reference also.
I'm now at the stage of writing my assignment, having done my background research and report outline and I'm already excited to see what grade I get for this assignment. Watch this space!
As mentioned previously I really enjoy the buzz of working towards deadlines and trying to make the work the best I've ever produced. The assignment I'm working on at the moment is about content creation, specifically events. We have to theoretically organise a UK smartphone product launch- a follow on from our last assignment. We have to include copies for an internal briefing, press release for all UK media and a storyboard for a video crew. We have to include a budget sheet, schedule and report explaining the overall event. It's a lot of work, and the appendix items are really time consuming but it's quite fun and thinking I could potentially doing things like this everyday as part of my career is an exciting thought and one that I can actually seen myself doing. It makes me think I would really like to go into event management PR. It's something that has always been at the forefront of my mind but I want to keep my options open to other types of PR careers also.
There are still a lot of concepts that I have had to research to do with PR and there are some things that a book just can't teach you, it has to come from experience. I'm really lucky to have a cousin that I'm quite close to already graduate from university and work as a marketing account manager. She's been able to advise me on things from her experiences for this assignment and she's a great source to reference also.
I'm now at the stage of writing my assignment, having done my background research and report outline and I'm already excited to see what grade I get for this assignment. Watch this space!
Friday 1 February 2013
PR Story #3
Is it that time of week again already? This is the third in the series of (in my opinion) the most interesting story in the PR Week magazine. For the previous posts in this series look through my post history on the right hand side and select 'PR Story #1' and 'PR Story #2'.
This week's focus is on Ryanair's new Head of Communications Director (dubbed worst job in PR by Ryanair itself) and his shock statement on the brand's forth coming communications strategy.
Robin Kiely has been quoted saying that Ryanair would not be using social media as a part of it's communications strategy. Whilst other big name airline companies have utilised social media as a part of their brand, Kiely intends to use traditional media to get Ryanair's message across. One of the ways, he explained, was through the Ryanair website and have a dedicated area where journalists can get more information from Ryanair themselves. This is an attempt to prevent false claims about the airline as The Sunday Times wrote before Christmas that Ryanair had broken safety regulations 1,201 times in Spanish airspace. Kiely added that social media is a 'two way tool' and maintaining a Facebook or Twitter account would mean hiring extra people just to sit at a computer all day.
So, smart move? Being a student, and taking into account everything I have learnt so far, I'm going to say... no! Airlines bigger than Ryanair can manage their social media accounts, and yes they probably do have people on their payroll 'just sitting at a computer all day' but this is how the modern generation communicate!! I feel that Ryanair need to start embracing social media quicker rather than later as they could see a slide in their customers and sales pretty soon as the summer period is coming up!
Social media is a two way tool but it's a good thing. As much as you may get some bad comments, particularly if you're not one of the very top airlines, customers like to feel that they can be interactive with their brands. Sending an email or letter or even phoning up isn't enough any more- customers no longer want that feeling of being pushed from pillar to post, between departments and being put on hold. Social media gives customers the power to make brands react and keep them on their toes; social media allows that instant reaction from the brand, giving customers a solution to their problems. Even if you choose not to be on social media sites... that doesn't stop people from posting or tweeting about the brand. One of the first things I learnt on my course is customer feedback is key to improving and constantly reviewing your business and by having an online presence you can see what people are saying. This was proved yesterday that journalists get their stories just as much from social media and they do from the actual brand itself (HMV Twitter Account Hijacked).
Consumers these days are pretty demanding creatures, especially since the back end of Generation Y is fast approaching 18 years old and believe me if you thought we were difficult children and teenagers, we are going to be nightmare adult consumers!! But the truth of the matter is, if brands don't engage with us now, they're going to find it twice as hard to know how to target us for the future.
I feel Kiely thinks that if he dismisses social media it means that social media dismisses Ryanair and it doesn't work that way. Social media and the web is our future, even if you don't like, it's happening!! Even the fact that being on a university course in PR and Marketing, if you don't have a Twitter account, LinkedIn profile, some sort of personal website or blog and knowledge on how to utilise all of these you're behind in the runnings for a career!! Having a dedicated area on the website may be a good idea but as part of a wider initiative maybe.
Journalists (well everyone really) know that brands are only going to promote the good things about their brand, but good news doesn't always make great news, sometimes a bit of scandal can go a long way. If you're a brand that have an amazing crisis management team and react to negative things in the right way, you can gain more credibility than a brand that simply ignores it or wishes it to stop.
I'll agree I know a lot of people that would laugh at the idea of people being hired just to sit on a social media site all day and get paid for it but you have to think of them as an extension of the marketing team I suppose? But if this is the future, no matter how much Ryanair try to break the mould, they are eventually going to get left behind.
I'm looking forward to seeing how this all plans out for Ryanair and if it works then it's a lesson for us all not to be so over obsessed with social media. But currently I just can't see it working, can you?
This week's focus is on Ryanair's new Head of Communications Director (dubbed worst job in PR by Ryanair itself) and his shock statement on the brand's forth coming communications strategy.
Ryanair Airlines
Robin Kiely has been quoted saying that Ryanair would not be using social media as a part of it's communications strategy. Whilst other big name airline companies have utilised social media as a part of their brand, Kiely intends to use traditional media to get Ryanair's message across. One of the ways, he explained, was through the Ryanair website and have a dedicated area where journalists can get more information from Ryanair themselves. This is an attempt to prevent false claims about the airline as The Sunday Times wrote before Christmas that Ryanair had broken safety regulations 1,201 times in Spanish airspace. Kiely added that social media is a 'two way tool' and maintaining a Facebook or Twitter account would mean hiring extra people just to sit at a computer all day.
Robin Kiely- New Head of Comms at Ryanair
So, smart move? Being a student, and taking into account everything I have learnt so far, I'm going to say... no! Airlines bigger than Ryanair can manage their social media accounts, and yes they probably do have people on their payroll 'just sitting at a computer all day' but this is how the modern generation communicate!! I feel that Ryanair need to start embracing social media quicker rather than later as they could see a slide in their customers and sales pretty soon as the summer period is coming up!
Social media is a two way tool but it's a good thing. As much as you may get some bad comments, particularly if you're not one of the very top airlines, customers like to feel that they can be interactive with their brands. Sending an email or letter or even phoning up isn't enough any more- customers no longer want that feeling of being pushed from pillar to post, between departments and being put on hold. Social media gives customers the power to make brands react and keep them on their toes; social media allows that instant reaction from the brand, giving customers a solution to their problems. Even if you choose not to be on social media sites... that doesn't stop people from posting or tweeting about the brand. One of the first things I learnt on my course is customer feedback is key to improving and constantly reviewing your business and by having an online presence you can see what people are saying. This was proved yesterday that journalists get their stories just as much from social media and they do from the actual brand itself (HMV Twitter Account Hijacked).
Examples of the many social media sites available for brands to utilise
Consumers these days are pretty demanding creatures, especially since the back end of Generation Y is fast approaching 18 years old and believe me if you thought we were difficult children and teenagers, we are going to be nightmare adult consumers!! But the truth of the matter is, if brands don't engage with us now, they're going to find it twice as hard to know how to target us for the future.
I feel Kiely thinks that if he dismisses social media it means that social media dismisses Ryanair and it doesn't work that way. Social media and the web is our future, even if you don't like, it's happening!! Even the fact that being on a university course in PR and Marketing, if you don't have a Twitter account, LinkedIn profile, some sort of personal website or blog and knowledge on how to utilise all of these you're behind in the runnings for a career!! Having a dedicated area on the website may be a good idea but as part of a wider initiative maybe.
Journalists (well everyone really) know that brands are only going to promote the good things about their brand, but good news doesn't always make great news, sometimes a bit of scandal can go a long way. If you're a brand that have an amazing crisis management team and react to negative things in the right way, you can gain more credibility than a brand that simply ignores it or wishes it to stop.
I'll agree I know a lot of people that would laugh at the idea of people being hired just to sit on a social media site all day and get paid for it but you have to think of them as an extension of the marketing team I suppose? But if this is the future, no matter how much Ryanair try to break the mould, they are eventually going to get left behind.
I'm looking forward to seeing how this all plans out for Ryanair and if it works then it's a lesson for us all not to be so over obsessed with social media. But currently I just can't see it working, can you?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)