David Cameron became the first western leader to visit Burma since Aung San Suu Kyi’s success in parliamentary by-elections in the country. The prime minister described the Burmese pro-democracy campaigner’s efforts as inspirational and used the opportunity to urge the international community to suspend sanctions against the country. Read more …
This week’s media round up
By Daniel Saunders on April 20, 2012 | Category: Blog | Tags: Burma, David Cameron, media round up, One Direction, Sudan, Syria, William Hague | No CommentsPinterest: Google but better?
By Holly Sutton on April 19, 2012 | Category: Blog | Tags: clippings, Google, Hawaii, pin board, Pinterest, retro, visual, Wedding | No CommentsWe’ve been blogging a lot about Pinterest here at Journalista HQ. Partly as it’s so addictive but mainly as, for me, it’s the first social media channel that does something entirely different from Facebook.
Like all the best inventions, Pinterest performs a task that I was already doing but does it much, much better. My wallet, Moleskine notebook, handbag pockets and sometimes even jean pockets are stuffed full of pages ripped out of magazines, newspapers and leaflets. They comprise pictures, quotes, websites, products and concepts that I like and want to record and share. My dream house has always been designed with a massive cork board on the study wall to capture these clippings and link them all together. Read more …
Work together or die alone? Only collaboration can save struggling print media
By Oscar Holland on April 17, 2012 | Category: Blog | No CommentsDiminishing advertising rates, plummeting circulations and shrinking newsrooms – we’re well aware of the problems facing newspapers in the UK. But how can the industry work together to streamline operations and protect scarce sources of revenue?
At last week’s Gorkana briefing (where PRs like us go to discover how not to irritate journalists) business hack James Ashton touched on the sort of collaboration that is helping to drive efficiency on the titles he works across – Evening Standard, Independent, Independent on Sunday and i.
This week’s media round up
By Daniel Saunders on April 11, 2012 | Category: Blog | No CommentsThe race to become London’s next mayor stepped up a gear as tensions between the two leading candidates, Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone, grew. After a number of intense debates the conflict reached new heights after a heated confrontation in a lift where the incumbent was accused of launching a four-letter rant at his opponent.
Full-time controversy magnet and occasional footballer Mario Balotelli was behind the headlines for three completely different reasons. His week began with a tabloid confessional about his relationship with an escort, his second in as many weeks, which he followed up by crashing his £140,000 Bentley before rounding off by being sent off in his team’s match against Arsenal on Sunday. Read more …
Top 3 most transparent PR stunts
By Oscar Holland on March 20, 2012 | Category: Blog | Tags: marketing, PR, public relations, Ryanair, stunt, stunts, Thorpe Park | No CommentsWhen well executed, publicity stunts are a great way to create excitement around your brand and show that you can do something fun as well. They can be feats of creative genius that engage the public and add a little colour to the news cycle.
From FHM projecting a naked Gail Porter onto the Houses of Parliament to Prince changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol, the PR industry has found some truly ingenious ways to get people talking.
However, PR teams have occasionally strayed from headline-grabbing creativity towards sheer fabrication and are rightly exposed by the media outlets they are trying to court. Here’s my list of the top three not-so-subtle stunts that test the old adage that ‘all publicity is good publicity’.
