International Guest Speaker

Today in our PR lecture we had a visiting lecturer from Poland talk to us about the polish practice of PR and Marketing. Dr Anna Sobczyk-Kolbuch, from the School of Economics in Katowice, talked us through a general overview of Poland and mainly gave us a case study and asked us to analyse it. She also had a quiz prepared to see if we recognised Polish brands that were actually sold here in the UK and specifically in High Wycombe supermarkets and pubs, which was fun. I also learnt of a cosmetics company that doesn't use TV advertisements... The Body Shop... I've never considered this before but it's actually quite interesting- least to say when Anna asked us who, I thought she was proving a point that you needed advertising but clearly not.

The main case study was focused around the salt mine in Wieliczka.

The aim of the project was to:

- Increase tourists the attraction and to the Grand Sal Hotel, which is often commonly looked up alongside the mine online
- Change the perception that the attraction is 'boring' and 'not modern'
- Create desire to visit outside of holiday periods also.

The campaign consisted of finding casting for a legendary treasurer's wife and children and also a game was created for Facebook and was so successful that it is now on the actual salt mine page and is an app also for mobiles and tablets.

A task Anna set us was were the media relations used enough and how could you target other age groups.

Firstly, clearly the media relations were sufficient because the end result seemed positive on the case study paper, however measurement of financial figures would prove this better. However, there would probably have been no harm in using additional social media resources such as Twitter to drive traffic to the Facebook page for the game and to the actual salt mine page for further information. The Twitter feed would also act as an ongoing tool to help remind customers of the attraction and to run regular competitions and events. They have a regularly updated YouTube channel which is positive as many companies don't utilise or update this properly as a communications tool to their publics.

Another form of media relations could be a potential sponsorship deal. I'm unsure whether they do currently sponsor anyone- from the website there is no mention however, but sponsorship is never really considered often I find. The use of sponsorship for the salt mine could be good as it will act as an endorsement, helping to create a more entertaining brand if the brand in partnership has an uplifting, active and entertaining reputation. If the sponsorship is selected carefully they could see an influx of new customers of all age groups and backgrounds. Having never been to Poland and not knowing much of other brands there, I wouldn't like to suggest who a sponsorship deal could be negotiated with, however, I feel this could be an option waiting to be taken for the brand upon first impressions.

Secondly, another form of campaign to engage older people? Again being that it is in Poland my ideas may not necessarily translate but we can generally assume (although this will need to be proved) that older people will be:

- Looking for more of an adventure/ experience to gain
- They don't shy away from educational value like many younger people
- They potentially have more disposable income than families or younger people
- They have more time on their hands to visit outside of holiday periods
- They are likely to come for themselves or bring the family along for a day out
- They like some peace and quiet in their day but also some excitement- relaxed and at their own pace
- Although numbers are increasing, a form of communication to avoid is social media/ online although some advertisement can be strategically positioned on sites that tend to have visitors of the target group.

Therefore some potential ideas could be to run special packages in the salt mine such as special tours that incorporate different elements such as having a calm specially prepared lunch on site- incorporated in the price and offer group tours to give them a chance to meet other people their own age.

As older people may not be able to climb the stairs or stand on their feet for a long time a special shorter route, incorporating a short educational presentation, could be formulated as part of a weekend package- which includes an overnight stay at the hotel and meals and so on. Much like the Thorpe Park + Hotel deals except they can choose exclusive age group specific features to include in their package and pay for it all up front. The ability to tailor a package would not only appeal to the older target group also but to a wide variety of target groups too.

A competition could also be run but gets imaginations going and into the mood for an adventure. People could send in a photo of themselves (following the previous competition) and on the back write no more than 50 words on what would be their greatest adventure of all time with their name and telephone number also. The address could be free-post and could be advertised at specifically targeted groups for older people, places older people would typically go, even a television advertisement or radio? The prize would obviously be an overnight's stay at the health resort and a day at the mine.

The winner can also be the face of the newly created packages on promotional materials. A special feature in a relevant magazine could also be done detailing the winner's entry and their experience at the salt mine as their prize- acting like an endorsement to other people of similar ages and so on.

Seriously, I think I could go on forever with potential ideas but I'll stop there! Please let me know what you think- I'm always keen to learn, whether you have suggestions to build on my ideas or know of why these may not work in Poland?