Proof that B2B businesses can tell just as good a story as consumer brands (Hiscox)
B2B companies often struggle to engage audiences with a simple, emotionally compelling story. Here we see Hiscox getting it right.
Why Three Key Messages Don’t Cut It Anymore – & What To Do About It
Have you ever surveyed your audience to see whether people can recall your three key messages after your spokesperson has been in the media? Because you did have three key messages, didn’t you? It’s like ... a rule of PR. Three key messages. But when you’re down the pub, are people actually talking about organisations’ …
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Nice Ad – Where’s the PR campaign
As one YouTube comment had it, Gillette's marketing team clearly sat around and decided that their next advertising campaign should be "Let's blame everything that's wrong with society on our target market - men!" Faced with a 5% decline in razor sales, Gillette's latest TV advertisement shifted from product marketing to advising men to end …
Should You Promote the Business of Business?
Is it your job as a private sector company press officer to promote business and capitalism to the world? Or is that the role of business organisations like the CBI and the IoD? Or maybe each company blowing its own trumpet leads to a better collective reputation? It’s Monday 18th November. The ‘companies’ page of …
How Offensive Is Your Organisation?
Or how brave should you or your organisation be in the face of criticism that you are or have been offensive or ‘inappropriate’? Some related reputation management incidents will no doubt have caught your attention recently: Waitrose sought the resignation of its magazine editor, William Sitwell, after freelance journalist, Selene Nelson, revealed how ‘shocked’ she …
How To Stop Your CEO Walking Out Of A Media Interview
As Channel 4’s Krishnan Guru-Murthy put it: “I will defend anyone’s right to act like an arse, but if they do, they shouldn’t be surprised if anyone else decides to park their bike somewhere painful.” You may have seen the video of Persimmon plc CEO, Jeff Fairburn, walking off-camera during a recent BBC interview. He …
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If Pret-a-Manger is now a big, bad business, what does this say about the company you do PR for?
It has been easy to criticise Pret-a-Manger’s clunky response to the tragic death of one of its customers due to an unlabelled, sesame-seed infused baguette. It always is when you are not inside the organisation and party to the debates and decisions. Yet sorrows come not as single spies but in battalions. Now there is …
Growing Tension With Amazon and Its Corporate Reputation
The tension between the successful marketing messages of online retailer, Amazon, and its worsening corporate reputation has been growing this year and a useful example to discuss in our media training. As a consumer, you probably quite like Amazon. Maybe you marvel at its mastery of technology; maybe you celebrate the speed and quality of …
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How Do You Create An Emotional Corporate Story?
Examine this description of how private equity firms work. It comes from a recent editorial in the Financial Times commenting on the abortive attempt by Tesla's Elon Musk to take his company off the New York stock market: "Heavy investment or restructuring can be easier to carry out in private. That is one reason why …
Should You Call Yourself a PR ‘Professional’?
As I sat judging entries for the CorpComms Magazine awards last week, I was also thinking about the industry language that Public Relations is a ‘profession’. Is it really? Is our work not more like a ‘craft’ or a ‘trade’? One that is mainly learnt as one goes along (a bit like most journalism!)? I …
Andrew Highlights Richard Branson’s Powerful Human Response to the 2007 Virgin Train Cumbrian Crash
Media mischief-making last week saw Richard Branson criticised for tweeting about people turning up late for meetings when his train company has the worst punctuality record in the country. But let’s take a moment to remember how well he handled a real reputation crisis: the 2007 fatal Virgin Train crash in Cumbria. Watch his highly …
Don’t Use Your Own ‘Leaves On The Line’ Type Excuse In A Press Release
You've read the excuse - sorry, reason - in a press release for poor corporate performance. Retailers blame the weather; restauranteurs blame Brexit; Imperial Tobacco blamed ISIS for interrupting its distribution network in Iraq. And some just blame their customers. In 2015, Macy's chief financial officer, Karen Hoguet, blamed the company's weakness in the luxury …
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Some of the best PR quotes we’ve seen!
Casting around for some quotations about the worlds of PR and the media to liven up a presentation? Here at Electric Airwaves we've done the hard googling for you 😊. Here are some of the best PR quotes; some of them were mentioned in our recent media training. PR Quotes About Speaking With Journalists "Does anyone …
Checklist For Preparing A Crisis Management Team & Crisis Centre
Know That When Crisis Strikes ... … it is a time of high emotion and confusion. Initially you will lack accurate information but will need to act and communicate swiftly. In such situations, being able to rely on processes and training will enable you and the crisis management team to act calmly and with purpose. …
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How To Explain A Complicated Thing Like Blockchain In A Media Interview
How do you communicate complex or technical topics like Blockchain in a media interview simply, easily and in layman terms? This is the type of challenge we address in our media training. At the heart of good communication lies simplicity. Which is not the same as 'dumbing down'. Simplicity allows the audience to understand you …
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Frustration Boils Over In Oxfam CEO Media Interview
What was the low point in Oxfam's response to its reputation crisis? It was frustration boiling over for Oxfam’s CEO, Mark Goldring, when he gave a media interview to the Guardian and said that criticism of the charity was “out of proportion to the level of culpability”, that no one had “murdered babies in their …
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Should Company Spokespeople Expect More Hostile Media Interviews In 2018?
Hostile media interviews. Was the Peterson-Newman Channel 4 interview a watershed moment? Business has an image problem. Whether the focus is on its role in society, levels of executive pay, the privatisation of public services or the alleged behaviour of some of those attending the Presidents Club charity dinner, corporations are under greater scrutiny than …
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Ryanair is NOT having a reputation crisis
Because that would suggest that its reputation is being damaged. It is not. It is being confirmed. Just as Michael O’Leary likes it to be. It's a great example to include in our media training. If O’Leary has said it once, he has said it a thousand times - fly Ryanair if you want the …
Tackling The Fallacy That 93% Of Communication Is Non-verbal
So Many Trainers Get This So Wrong Many people misunderstand Albert Mehrabian's research if they think he concluded that people’s first impressions are based 55% on how you look, 38% on how you sound (i.e. the 93% total) and only 7% on what you say. If someone was to give you the spoken instruction “Evacuate …
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Why does a story go viral – like United Airlines bumped passenger?
Why does a story go viral? The United Airlines bumped passenger story offers us a nice insight into the power of communications. I suspect that this situation doesn’t make an appearance in United’s crisis manual. But then, it’s not a crisis. It’s a poorly handled issue - at the moment. Much like when two weeks …
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Is There A Legal Duty To Maximise Profit?
Let us examine the oft-repeated claim that the directors of (especially listed) companies have a legal duty to maximise profit and to minimise tax for the benefit of their shareholders. Under Section 172 of the UK’s 2006 Companies Act, company directors merely have a legal duty to promote the success of their company. Specifically, directors …
How To Manage A Trump-like CEO!
Do you have a Trump-like CEO? Watching the behaviour of the man in the White House, we shouldn't forget that Trump has spent most of his life being a particular type of businessman. Do you have a Trump-like CEO? They may share the following character traits: Are they convinced that they are the smartest person …
Expert Guide: How to Deal With Nerves Or A Phobia About Public Speaking
If You Have A Phobia About Public Speaking ... ... then you’re suffering from ‘glossophobia’. It’s from the Greek - ‘glosso’ meaning tongue. Fundamentally, the phobia of public speaking comes from a fear of being judged. So how can we lessen it? First, take comfort in your expertise. You would not have been invited …
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Expert Guide: How Architect Firms Can Win More New Business Pitches
The remarks below are extracts from a presentation by our Managing Director, Andrew Caesar-Gordon, at the Royal Institute of British Architects, about how architecture firms and builders can pitch their designs more effectively to clients. Electric Airwaves train architect firms to win new business pitches. And many other professional service firms too. We help them …
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