What I’m Really Thinking

One of my favourite columns in Saturday’s Guardian is the ‘What I’m Really Thinking’.

Each week an anonymous member of the public gives the reader an insight into … well, what they’re really thinking!

The personal ones are usually very sad – the jilted wife, the abandoned child, the grieving mother – you get the picture.

However the professional ones are often the best. The dustbin man, the stripper, the beautician, even professions you’d normally have little empathy for, in my case the traffic warden, are quite thought provoking.

Recently, one from a plumber struck a cord with me.

His profession has a reputation of ‘charging through the roof’ for what most of us consider pretty unsophisticated water works!

His point however is not just the hours ‘on the job’ you’re paying for – but also the many years of expertise he has accumulated which makes him more effective and efficient.

Employ someone less qualified and they might have to try two or three different ‘fixes’ before they stumble upon the solution.

I too get the ‘how much a day?’ questioning from some new clients. Yes you can probably get somebody less experienced do the job cheaper. Whether they have the writing skills, media contacts and wider understanding of ‘what makes news’ to take you straight from A to B, is questionable.

It’s not just the contractor’s man-hours that’s costing you money – your time needs to be factored in too!

So whether it’s holding hammer for an in-experienced plumber or re-writing a press release for a straight-out-of-uni PR, pause to consider ‘Are you flushing money down the toilet?”

In Fashion PR – Big Is Now Beautiful!

The fashion industry is finally waking up to the truth … yes women want inspiration in their fashion feeds, but they are also looking for achievable – and that’s where Silverburn came up trumps this weekend.

Size 16 / 18 women and ladies over 50 strutted their fuller forms alongside their skinny sisters – and they looked magnificent! 

It can be difficult to get coverage on fashion events – so many shopping centres are doing them.  The key is finding a human angle – models are a good place to start and thankfully the larger / older models became my news peg.

Linking this to a fashion movement – thanks Mary Portas & Boots – and you have a news line that may make a Monday morning press.

Wish me luck!

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Silverburn opts for bold not bland

Silverburn understands big is beautiful!

The Art of Perfect Pitching

Rejection is hard to take but as a PR it is something you have to cope with or you’ll not last in the job.

Journalists fed up with pestering PRs are a dab hand at the perfect putdown. Unfortunately when a client a looking for positive exposure, crawling under the nearest stone is not an option.

Here’s how to pitch

Journalist:  There’s nothing new in that product. I’ve seen lots written about this type of thing before.

PR: Yes I have seen you write about (topic) before.  That’s why I thought you would be interested in this – it is different because of x, y & z.

Journalist: Still not convinced

PR: I know you want something that’s new that’s why I have commissioned some new research which demonstrates that while there are (x) already in the market, they are not satisfying the need.

PR: I could give you exclusive access to this if you were interested.  Shall I send it across now?

The art of selling-in is very much to anticipate the negatives and be ready with an answer.  Always, always know the journalist’s area of interest and make sure he knows you know it too.  Try and remember that journalists need something that’s new and regional press need a local angle.  If you’re not successful then at least you have been given valuable feedback – perhaps you need to rework your release or look for another angle.

It’s easy to become intimidated by journalists, but remember you’re a professional too so if a story is not strong enough – don’t waste his time or yours!

 

 

PR – A Lifestyle Career!

I attended an industry event recently where we were presented with industry stats showing that PRs work pretty long hours, don’t take all their holidays and are on call pretty much 24/7.

Now I’ve worked with some pretty committed individuals and we all go the extra mile as and when the situation dictates it.  When I represented Paul Green in the Wendy Alexander donations scandal it was pretty full-on and during the Highland Show I don’t get much sleep, but some of that is down to socialising in the bar!

But I can’t say it is a regular thing and I am thankful for that.  Ok so news is 24/7 and nobody would turn down the opportunity of a Radio 5 Live interview on Wake Up to Money, but clients have to sleep too!

What shocked me most was that there seemed to be a general air of acceptance, even pride, amongst my peers.  Like it was the accepted norm to work all these hours with one PR even going so far as to say PR is a ‘lifestyle career’.

I don’t think it’s one I would be aspiring to.  Good PRs are well rounded individuals with interesting lives who can draw on their experiences to deliver creative campaigns.

When a recent work experience girl asked me what I loved most about my job it wasn’t that I can bung a few G&Ts on expenses as I ‘entertain’ clients or journalists.  It’s that I work with interesting people who do interesting things and I think that’s what clients are looking for in their agency also!

Now who’s round is it?

Second trapped miner found – handling the fallout

As I write, the bodies of two miners have been located at Gleision Colliery and to put in the words of the police spokesman, the families are said to be suffering ‘extreme grief’.

With the clock ticking, the search and rescue teams are working full on to recover the remaining men.  Yet with the eyes of the world watching, the police and fire and rescue acknowledge the need to keep the media informed – even when there’s nothing new to say.

Watching live updates when spokespeople have had to communicate the grim news that so far two men have died, it is clear that they are effected.

And that’s OK. 

We know that everything that can be done is being done – we also know it is a tough job and when hopes are dashed, it is difficult not to show emotion.

However the messages are clear and consistent.  This is an ongoing search and rescue operation.  The processes are in place to ensure it is carried out correctly and the police and fire and rescue are working hand in glove.

And while we wait with bated breath – praying that the remaining miners are found safe and well – we applaud the professionals who today are doing a very important job

 

 

 

Writing For The Media

Learning the art of press release writing is never an enjoyable experience.  Less so when your teacher is a sceptical journalist whose first reaction is always ‘so what?’

Oh how I suffered at the hands of that hard taskmaster with his red pen and sharp tongue.  What’s the story is always the starting point, write the headline and expand from there answering who, what, where, when, why and how.

Twenty years on I felt I had it pretty much sussed. So how come when I revisited a recent release I found myself reading waffle worthy of an intern?

This is a particularly tricky release – not because of the subject matter – no that’s pretty straight forward.  It’s because it has been around the houses so many times with the marketing, social media and finally the web agencies tweaking it to within an inch of its life.  Why pray tell?  For ‘web optimisation’ of course!

What?  That was never part of my training.  Basically folks what this means is that if a journalist prints my release word for word then the client website will receive a larger number of hits.

Slight problem.  The blooming release is awful no self-respecting journalist would read it, not to mind publishing it!

So I’ve done what I should have done from the very start.  Stripped it back to deliver a compelling piece of copy which will engage the journalist and give me a fighting chance of generating meaningful coverage.

Now how to break it to the client!

PR Photography – Put Your Best Foot Forward

My trusted photographer list is akin to my extensive shoe collection.  Yes you could get away with one well-fitting pair – similarly a good photographer could see you through most situations – but will you stand out?

I approach my choice of photographer with the same attention to detail as I do my shoes.  Will he/she suit the occasion, make my client look great and go the extra mile despite the pain?

With staff photographers on the pics desks dropping like flies, there’s never been a better time to get your picture featured.  

However, as we all know every picture is worth a thousand words so competition to appear is fierce.

Regional press needs a well-known face – on both sides of the camera!  By using a local snapper you have a better chance of getting the picture used, but remember just because it’s regional doesn’t mean they will use any old stuff.  Be guided by your photographer on the extent of the branding – too much and it will end up in the bin!

For product shots lighting is everything.  My product photographer has a number of tricks up his sleeve to make the product pop. Consider a mix of lifestyle and cut-out shots.  Often lifestyle press – and online channels – require images on white backgrounds which they can cut out for use in product round ups.  There’s nothing more frustrating then getting your shot rejected because it can’t be cropped.

And then on to the nationals – this calls for the Jimmy Choo of the shoe world.  Glitz, attitude and bang-on-the-trend-button is what is called for – there is no room for mistakes! Approach this as a stylist would.  What is it we want to say? What are the various elements that are needed to communicate this and what will pull them all together, creatively?

Finally what are the pitfalls – remember Julia Roberts and the unshaved underarms? 

As with fashion, there are some golden rules to successful PR photography.  My top tip is pay the most you can afford … it hasn’t let me down on either shoes or snappers!

Retail PR – Giving Consumers What They Want

Retail PR – Giving Consumers What They Want

The highlight of my week is Tuesday.  That’s the day my Grazia arrives and I can legitimately read it – yes in full view of my colleagues.  No hiding it behind the FT either, I am happy to flaunt my frivial side.

The reason?  Silverburn. Each week I get to write a fashion e-newsletter which picks new season’s trends, highlights flash sales, dishes up discount vouchers and generally shares a little shopping heaven!

Is it of value?  Absolutely.  Shoppers love it – yes they can get Grazia’s guidance … well from Grazia – what makes our e-newsletter different is that we focus on what’s in stock as well as in season.  And as every style savvy shopper knows – that’s worth its weight in gold and as every

Believing in your own PR

Energy is the big buzzword in business just now.  Alex Salmond has confidently positioned Scotland as the “hi-tech workshop of the world” and the world – believe it or not – is beginning to believe it!

A client of ours has just returned from a visit to China where government officials were keen to discuss how they could learn from Scotland’s energy expertise.  We are clearly building a belief that Scotland is leading the way in energy innovation.

Yet with big targets to achieve – 42% reduction in emissions, 130,000 jobs generated in the low-carbon sector and the ability to generate all of Scotland’s energy needs from renewables … by 2020 – are we in danger of talking up a good story without being able to deliver it?

Communicating your vision with passion and conviction – especially if ambitious – is a good way of generating coverage.

However the problem with the published word, is that it can come back to bite you.

Essentially PR is about building trust and one sure-fire way of dashing that hard-earned trust is by not delivering on your word.

Alex is a sound-bite master and fingers crossed he might just pull this one off – I for one am doing my bit by recycling my newspapers proclaiming Mr Salmond’s green gospel!

Is Sampling Worthwhile?

A client of mine is in the food business and swears that sampling is the best way to get people to part with their cash.

Little squares of cheese fly off the plate with the vast majority of nibblers going on to buy great big hunks of the stuff. So I got thinking – perhaps this could work with PR.

When at my next new business meeting the prospective client suggested a ‘taster’, I was slightly more up for it than in previous occasions when I have been known to be quite rude!

It wasn’t a huge job – a quick release to my friends on the agricultural desks – and five cuttings later I was pretty pleased with my day’s work.

And the potential client?  Well I have yet to hear despite me sending on the coverage with a very nice ‘aren’t I clever would you like to hire me’ letter.

I am told cheese has a long shelf life, I on-the-other-hand can get ripe fairly quickly so watch out Mr freebie, something smelly might arrive on your desk if you don’t pick up the phone fast!