72 Point Blog National News, PR and Market Research Specialists…

Where Are All The Boozy Lunches?

I’d heard the old rumour.

The one that says PR is all about the long boozy lunches.

I have to say that just doesn’t tell the whole story… because there are the brunches, the dinners and the glitzy award ceremonies too of course.

Eight weeks into my career in PR, I’ve learned the old cliché doesn’t really ring true – but less glamour doesn’t mean less fun. I hope you’ll join me in the coming weeks as I attempt to make sense of this crazy PR game.

I’d always thought I had a good knowledge of the media – I’ve got a degree in media communication which cost an arm and a leg so I must do, right?

Nope.

The news is obviously constructed, angled, shaped and reported to fit certain biases and agendas, but when it comes to brands and consumer news, it just didn’t occur to me how much of what you see, hear and read has been so carefully fed in.

It takes a bit of adjustment. Are we all walking around in one big interactive advert? Is every space occupied by someone with a plan clamouring for your attention?

Do you want beans with your tea Rick?

Oh I see how it is Mother! I suppose Heinz put you up to this didn’t they? Didn’t they?!

Once you wake up from The Matrix, you adjust to being inside the industry – and what a genuinely exciting one it is.

In my first eight weeks at 72point I’ve felt the addictive highs of securing coverage. It’s simple, there’s nothing like it.

But before that comes the worry.

The constant agonising over whether a story will make in the papers. The late night and early morning googling, scouring the web for any bites, sniffs, semblance of coverage, playing the conversation with the client through your head again and again and praying it will be a happy one.

Luckily, I’m in a place that knows how to get those happy conversations better than anyone - trained by a team of experienced news and PR professionals you simply couldn’t top.

‘Ok, I see what’s going on’ you’re thinking, ‘the new guy has been asked to write a blog post and he’s trying to kiss the arses of his co-workers in order to get in their good books.’

Perhaps, but I’ve been in the industry just eight weeks and from watching and learning from these guys, I’ve already been lucky enough to have a few highlights.

I’ve seen the words I typed at my desk appear on the front page of the Telegraph (“Rick, are you still carrying that paper with you everywhere you go?!”), listened to Steve Wright debate the exact things I’d chatted to my co-workers about on his radio show and watched Holly and Phil natter over my client’s story on This Morning.

I’ve watched another of my stories discussed on Australian TV, had a co-worker on holiday in New York spot my project featured on Good Morning America and even taken a spin in a brand new Ferrari (ok, so maybe there are a few glamorous touches).

A normal job this ain't, but I think I’m going to like it.

By Rick Maughan (AKA New Boy)

Top 13 Most Annoying Client Comments

Ah clients….

They pay us the lovely money so we can't be too mean about them...but sometimes they make us want to saw our heads off.

Here is our list of the most common, idiotic and maddening client comments we hear on a regular basis – and what we would LOVE to answer them with - if they didn’t pay us the lovely money...

1. “We really need this to make” – Oh, OK thanks for telling us because before you mentioned it, we weren’t planning on trying very hard.

2. ‘“Which papers are going to use the story?” – Um - whichever papers decide it’s OK and that they’ll use it?

3. “Do you know what the news agenda is like for June?” – Hang on a second *looks into crystal ball for updates on future murders, natural disasters etc*

4. “Sorry but the release can’t be sent unless the brand name is in the intro paragraph” - OK fine, let’s get absolutely no coverage for you whatsoever. Not any. Not even a Sun Spot.

5. “Do you guarantee coverage?” – Um, No. If you want guaranteed coverage - pay for an advert.

6. “Can you give me a reason WHY the story didn’t make?” Not unless I call every national news desk in the country and ask them directly, which will make us both look like complete tools.

7. “How many papers will the story make it into? – Hang on a second *looks deeply into crystal ball for updates on future murders, natural disasters etc*

8. “It’s what the brand people want, the story has to stay like that” - Grow a pair and tell them it’s crap – and then do your job by telling them how it’s actually going to work.

9. “Can we send the journalist a free gift to coincide with the story being distributed?” - Are you insane?

10. “Can you send this picture of the product out along with the story? - Are you COMPLETELY insane?

11. We need more information in the story about where you can buy the product? - Have you lost every single one of your marbles?

12. “We need to make sure we get page leads with this one” - Oh, OK – could you just hand me that silver wand?

13. At 4pm: “are you able to send this story out to the nationals today?” - Are you in an entirely different time zone?

Are you a “Power Player” of Social Media?

Back in February, PRWeek ran an article entitled “Power Players of Social Media”.

Essentially it was a feature outlining a handful of PR folk who’d done some groovy social media stuff.

Then this chap called Andrew Bruce Smith decided to create another list (using Peer Index) of EVEN MORE “Power Players of Social Media”

There followed a few hoo-has - including PRWeek journalist Cathy Bussey criticising Andrew’s methodology. Read the whole story here if you have too much time on your hands: http://storify.com/andismit/pr-week-power-players-of-social-media-uk-peerindex?awesm=sfy.co_2l1&utm_content=storify-pingback

Don’t get me wrong – I love a list – and I’m in no position to criticise this particular list for being unreserved, barefaced link bait, having created my own list of PR Agency Heads on Twitter last year for that purpose entirely.

But I did find something a bit weird about a load of PRs re-tweeting the link in the hope they would end up on the list of “Power Players”. *What does “Power Player” actually mean anyway?*

I’m focussing too much on this list – I have nothing against the list – I’m actually on the list! Really near the bottom.

My point is that there is an unhealthy obsession with power and influence on social networking sites like Twitter and it grosses me out.

My Twitter stream is, at times, like a big old wank-fest where egos are massaged, new ways of measuring “power” are constantly being invented - and then more lists of “really important people" are collated.

Of course influence is important in PR – but is anyone else bored of seeing “5 tools to rank your Twitter influence” and ordered lists and all this brown-nosing and mutual back-slapping?

And more importantly – hasn’t anyone got any actual work to do?

By Harriet Crosse

Churnalism?

I have noticed 72Point's sister company OnePoll on the Churnalism.com website a few times recently.

Here's one example:

My concern is that the Churnalism website implies newspaper journalists are ripping off press releases and using them word for word – without checking facts or doing any actual reporting.

This is no doubt the case in some instances – but what the website doesn’t do is check the source of the news articles it claims have been copied straight from "press releases".

With this in mind, we contacted Martin Moore, Director of The Media Standards Trust, who set up the site.

The point we put across in our conversation, which was accepted by him as a valid point, is that there is a considerable difference between newspaper journalists copying and pasting press releases received by emails from unknown PRs – and newspaper journalists using page-ready news copy they have received from well-established news agencies.

We explained that ALL OnePoll branded stories are not written and sent as "press releases" - they are written by news agency journalists and distributed direct to national news desks via the SWNS newswire.

Following this conversation with The Media Standards Trust, we came to realise that they, and the Churnalism site, have very little knowledge of how news agencies in the UK work - and were seemingly unaware that these agencies provide factually accurate, rigorously checked news copy which needs little or no subbing. And they've been doing this for decades.

The point was made to us, by them – and it holds some value - that news publications themselves should therefore source where they receive their information / news from. But clearly this is completely out of any PR or news agency’s control.

And if ‘churnalism’ – as the Churnalism website maintains, is the practice of newspapers copying and pasting from “press releases”, then the practice of newspapers using “news copy” which has been written and filed by reputable and respected press agencies such as PA, Reuters, AP and SWNS - who check and double check facts before filing any stories- and have been providing this service to news publications for an age – is in fact a million miles from that.

And if this practice is “churnalism” - then it is certainly no new phenomenon - and I cannot see what the website expects to achieve, because with the rapid decline of newspaper staff and the cuts the industry faces as a whole – news publications are only going to look more to agencies to supply them with cost-effective, page-ready news.

Written by Harriet Crosse

PRs: When to call a national news desk

When conducting a PR sell-in to national newspapers – timing is everything.

I am always surprised by the number of PRs who call news desks and send press releases through late in the day.

If you are a PR with what you believe to be a newsworthy story – you need to let news desks know about it BEFORE they start putting the paper together.

Here’s how it works – and some tips:

Daily newspapers are a blank canvas at 6.30am. Between 6.30am - 9.30am - News Editors and Assistant News Editors are busy compiling the news list which contains the top 12 - 15 stories of that day.

So as a PR – if it’s a belter - you really need to be calling around this time.

While the list is being compiled, big stories often break. These could be anything - an arrest in a murder case, a bomb blast - a plane crash which has claimed the lives of British holidaymakers.

Breaking news means the news list needs a re-think – and while news desk staff are on the phone trying to get more detail, the News Editor will be busy adjusting his list to include the late-breaking story.

The task of compiling a credible, hard-hitting news list is a tough one. There is very little time and the phone is ringing constantly.

Who else is ringing news desks at this time in the morning?

The paper's district reporters will be ringing in with the best stories from their news patches. These lists can often have ten or more stories on.  In addition, news agencies are calling in to notify the desks of stories they are covering on that particular day. Then there are the punters. Some have “tips” on world exclusive stories. Many ring with queries about stories, products or adverts which have appeared in the paper.  Some just want a chat – unbelievably.

This is what you are competing with, and why you may receive a frosty response. But if you can envisage your story within that publication (never call a news desk with a story you don’t believe in) this is the time to ring.

Once you’ve got through to the desk, remember to keep it short and concise. Don’t over sell it. Ask if it’s one for them. Ask how they’d like to receive it. Be realistic. Don’t call back to ask if they received it. Know who you are phoning to speak to – for example if you’re ringing The Sun – don’t ask to speak to their Environmental Editor.

When the news list is complete, stories are presented by the News Editor to the Editor during conference which is between 10.30am and 11.30am every day.

Most of the stories which have been mentioned by the News Editor in conference will be set as page leads - the main story on a page. So stories which arrive after conference have to be good.

At this point in the day (after about 12.30pm) there is very little point in calling a news desk with a PR story - or sending through a press release for the next day’s publication. It would have to be something pretty special.

What usually happens is that late-filed stories are given smaller 'shows', built around the main stories, i.e sticks, nibs and spots etc.

So as a PR - if you’re calling a news desk late- even with a half decent story - you are risking losing out on what could potentially have been page-lead coverage for your client.

Another Unfit Mother

I rarely have an opinion regarding the rigmarole that is the life of Katie Price – neither did I think I would ever defend her.

But today’s news coverage of Miss Price and her three year old daughter has left me with a bad taste in my mouth – and not because I agree with the sentiment of the articles.

The story: Three-year-old Tiaamii is pictured with her mum – coming out of a hair salon with – WAIT FOR IT - straight hair! (FYI - usually the child’s hair is curly)

And this is meant to provoke a reaction of outrage in us all. Social services should be called, Price is an unfit mother, the child hasn’t got a chance in life….yadda yadda yadda…

In my opinion, this story is grim. But for a different reason entirely.

With a little perspective - we should all be intelligent enough to realise that Miss Price no doubt went to get her own hair done – and that she took her daughter along with her – and that while she was having her hair straightened – and perhaps as a game – somebody did the child’s hair too.

And maybe the former glamour model was just heading home – not, as the reporting would lead us to believe - on her way out to parade the child around for the benefit of child molesters – or worse still, the papparazi.

For me, the reporting of this story is a sad indicament of the way the media delight in labelling women as bad mothers.

Whether its tales of "dole-scum" benefit cheat mums – or the latest “research on the negative impact of working mums” – or the portrayal of “bad mothers” in the public eye. (Kate McCann, Kerry Katona, Katie Price, Britney, Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss to name a few) – mums are constantly being lambasted – told they’re not good enough – made to feel inadequate.

So Katie Price took her daughter to the hair salon, spent some quality time with her, got her hair straightened. Does this justify such harsh criticism?

And where, I wonder, are all the news stories about rubbish dads? Because there are a hell of a lot more of those out there. And that’s a fact.

By Harriet Crosse

PR Hall of Fame

Amongst all the January gloom and depression - we’ve decided to go all fluffy and gooey with our annual 72 Point PR Love List.

Yes folks - It’s time for our yearly shout-out to all the PRs who we (with our cynical news hats on) reckon understand what makes a decent print / online news tale – and more importantly, how to execute PR stories properly – so they actually result in coverage!

This is not just a list of our clients – some of these PRs we’ve not worked with before – however all have caught our eye and deserve a place in our Hall of Fame.

Rebecca Schutz – Eastenders press office

Rich Turner - House PR

Andy Barr – 10Yetis

Mark Perkins - Cow PR

Dan Turner – Cow PR

Jenny Hill - ZPR

Lisa Penny – Bounty press office

Shakila Ahmed - Travelodge

Gareth Lucy - Kellogg's

Kelly Davies – Confused press office

Lesley Anderson – Taylor Herring

Kate Arrowsmith – Taylor Herring

Jenny Fairweather – Taylor Herring

Laura McTurk – Taylor Herring

Lesley Singleton - LS Media

Matthew Coy – Tonic Life Communications

Asia Yasir – Esure press office

Marie Efthymiou – Speed Communications

Estelle Douine – Speed Communications

Rachel Wiseman – Austin Reed press office

Laurence Bray – Premier PR

Brandon Stockwell - Citigate DR

Chris Webb - Pegasus PR

James Crawford - Citypress

Freyja Phillips - Frank PR

Mira Ryness - Frank PR

Danielle Carter - Frank PR

Fiona Robinson - Frank PR

Lucy Hart - Frank PR

Reema Babakhan – Frank PR

James Newman - Finn Communications

Katie Griffiths - Europe Mccann

Becky Bellman - Media Hubb

Bethany Parladorio - MediaHubb

Alice Johnston – 77 PR

James Hoyle – 77 PR

Nathan Kemp – M&C Saatchi PR

Annabel Ward – M&C Saatchi PR

Ten Celeb PR Clangers of 2010

For the celebrity – reputation is everything.

So there’s nothing more satisfying than witnessing a famous figure fall from their pedestal from a magnificent height under the watchful glare of the public eye.

Here are my ten favourite celeb "crash and burns" of 2010…

1. BP boss Tony Hayward tells reporters "I would like my life back," as Gulf Coast families suffered from the impact of the major oil spill. He is then then photographed sailing his yacht and calls the spill "relatively tiny."

2. "They should never have put me with that woman. She was just a sort of bigoted woman who said she used to be Labour," Gordon Brown says in comments picked up by a microphone he had forgotten to remove from his clothing on April 28^th. Brown is then followed by TV crews visiting the woman’s house to make a personal apology.

3. In July, a taped telephone conversation between Mel Gibson and former girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, emerges. In one, he is alleged to have told her: "You look like a f***ing pig in heat, and if you get raped by a pack of ni**ers it will be your fault." Gibson is abruptly dropped from the cast of soon-to-be-released movie, The Hangover 2 and replaced by Liam Neeson.

4. Vince Cable is stripped of his responsibility for media regulation after it is revealed by the Telegraph that he claimed (to undercover journalists posing as constituents) to have "declared war" on Rupert Murdoch's News Corp empire.

5. Sarah Palin, a guest on Glenn Beck’s radio show, claims “We gotta stand with our North Korean allies,” Beck points out her mistake, to which she replies, “We’re bound by prudence to stand with our South Korean allies, yes.”

6. Australia's Next Top Model host Sarah Murdoch mistakenly announces the wrong winner on the show's live final. Murdoch names Kelsey Martinovich as the contest winner at the Sydney event. Moments later, she realises she's crowned the wrong girl.

7. John Terry is dropped as England Captain after his affair with Vanessa Perroncel, the ex-girlfriend of Terry's former Chelsea and England team-mate Wayne Bridge is revealed. The revelations also led to Bridge's retirement from international football.

8. Wayne Rooney mouths off at England fans after their nil all draw against Algeria in the 2010 World Cup. The England striker loses his cool as he headed for the dressing rooms, turning to a TV camera and saying: "Nice to see your home fans boo you. That's what loyal support is"

9. Cheryl Cole causes a national outcry when she fails to pick Xfactor favourite Gamu Nhengu to progress to the live studio shows. The Girls Aloud singer is forced to deny she had been under pressure to ditch her because of immigration issues surrounding Gamu’s family at the time.

10. Gillian McKeith is accused by viewers and the media of faking a fainting episode on reality TV show I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here after she was picked for her seventh challenge. The nutritionist from Scotland dramatically collapses on live television causing a national commotion.

By Harriet Crosse

PRs: 5 Tips to Achieving a Blanket of Christmas News Coverage

It’s that time of year again – news desks across the country are being snowed upon by a veritable avalanche of over branded, tenuous, Christmas-themed releases.

The majority of these releases won’t see the light of day.

But for the Consumer PR – this is probably THE most crucial time of the year to achieve column inches for your brand.

So what can you do to ensure your Christmas release doesn’t end up in the bin?

1. Be imaginative – and make it current:

We all know that news is on a loop and that papers will use the same stuff year in and year out - Cost of Christmas, Greatest Christmas Movies, Highlights of the Year – but is there anything you can do to make your story more current, more topical – give it a fresh top-line news angle – this could mean the difference between a stick and a page-lead.

2. Look at sales stats:

Sales stats are a great way to achieve product-based coverage – they can create interesting news stories because they make a comment on current trends and lifestyles – all great tabloid and mid-market fodder.

So look to see if sales of any products are up this year – it doesn’t even need to be a considerable increase – but if it’s an interesting enough product it’ll work.

Look into the reasons why this would be. Why are people spending more on XXX - is it due to a change in lifestyle – the recession – are men becoming more like women? Give it a reason.

Look into regional, gender or age differences in spending habits – who is spending more or less on what products? Make a statement about specific demographics.

3. Don’t flood the market:

One or two Christmas-themed PR stories will make a national newspaper each day. So don’t send reams of Christmassy press releases out.

It is not the case that the more journalists see your brand name, the more inclined they will be to use your Christmas release.

Think quality over quantity.

4. Don’t waste money on stunt-like festive PR shoots.

Balance risk and cost. Unless it’s an absolute cracker – stunts are a very expensive way to get no pick-up whatsoever.

Celebrity endorsements and pricey stunts can work but again, be creative – it needs to be a belter.

If you work in-house – use an agency who know what they’re doing – we rate Taylor Herring and Cake PR in the stunt department.

Here's an example of a belter of a Christmas PR stunt for Lakeside shopping centre (courtesy of the very clever Clarion Communications) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1325899/Chantelle-Houghton-reaches-new-heights-Lakesides-Christmas-tree-fairy.html

5. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking your story will appear because it has a Christmas slant.

Poor stories end up on the spike whatever time of year they are filed – and at Christmas, because of the sheer volume of releases being sent to news publications, you need to be even more creative than ever.

Consider, and I realise this is controversial – perhaps NOT giving your story a Christmas theme.

Coverage at Christmas is coverage at Christmas – it doesn’t necessarily need to be about Christmas.

Catch my drift?

By Harriet Crosse