Grabbing attention

Yesterday,  I attended this year’s Data Centre World show at London’s Barbican as one of our clients was exhibiting.  Although it may sound biased, they had one of the busiest stands in the show, helped no doubt by the free coffee and excellent stand design.  Speaking with some exhibitors and journalists, it was clear that this year’s DCW was much busier than last year, with the show almost twice the size.  The mood from everyone I spoke to was very upbeat, with a lot of confidence in the state of the market and its potential for growth.

As well as facilitating interviews with some of the leading data centre journalists (including Phil Alsop, editor of Data Centre Solutions, and John Hatcher, editor of Data Centre Management), I also had the opportunity to have a look around some of the other stands, and was interested to see the variety of approaches used to attract people to the stands.  Some of the better ones included being entered into a prize draw if you watched a five minute seminar, to an on-stand Space Invaders competition.  It was clear which stands hadn’t decided to do any of this – they were often empty, and many hadn’t even brought a product demonstration with them.  A word of advice to any business exhibiting at a show this year – offer attendees something, even just a cup of coffee, and you’ll be surprised at how quickly word of mouth spreads, and how many people will pay your stand a visit.

Source: Reputation online

Any business looking for a PR agency may want to consider how good the agency in question is at publicising itself.  Lots of agencies may be able to promise great results, but whether they can deliver the same for themselves will sort the wheat from the chaff.

Luckily then at Berkeley PR we have put our money where our mouth is and gained coverage in some of the agency’s key titles, including PR Week and The Times.  This also shows that as an agency, we’re prepared to do what we encourage our clients to do, from rapid response letters to getting in front of a video camera!

We’ve approached the Berkeley PR account like our other clients to make sure that we don’t take anything for granted just because it’s an industry we work in.  We’ve put together a list of key titles, discussed with our client the publications they want to be in, and the audience they want to reach.  We’ve taken briefings from our director Jo Jamieson, monitored for coverage and presented it to the Berkeley PR team.

As with our other clients, all of this hard work pays off, and you can see some of the fruits of our labour below!

• Video interview from Jo Jamieson for Reputation Online

• A day in the life of Paul Stallard on PR Moment

• Paul Stallard discussing the launch of the iPad on PR Week

I was very excited to learn that my Snoopy Tennis and Donkey Kong handheld games could be worth a few pounds, as 80′s electronic gadgets become collectable, according to a feature in the Sunday Mirror. Other gizmos which could see you rake in the cash include the first generation Walkman and Discman (think I’ve also got one of those in the attic too) and the Stylophone.

On the flip side, I couldn’t believe the prices of some of the first mobile phones – the Nokia 101 cost £2,000 back in 1992 but is now only worth about £40.  The Betamax home video, which lost the format war with VHS, is now also virtually worthless.

This got me thinking about the legacy and collectable nature of today’s gadgets. First generation iPods/iPhones, and the Nintendo Wii will certainly go down as design classics, but the HD DVD - much like the Betamax player – will  sadly no doubt gather dust following its defeat to Sony’s Blu-ray option.

Any other thoughts on what might make the list of collectables (or not)  in another 10 years time?

I have actually been allowed out over the past few weeks to facilitate some meet the media days for a couple of our clients. My love of PR stemmed from organising such days as I enjoy the buzz of having a day to fill and trying to maximise the time investment of your client. In my mind there is nothing more exciting than introducing a client to a journalist and helping educate or change their mind about an idea or a product.

I always feel for a client by the end of the day, it can be quite tiring, and I often see them questioning in their head if they have already mention X or Y to the journalist sat in front of them as they have heard themselves say the pitch so many times already. This is why we always accompany a client on these interviews – to offer a gentle steer in the right direction, take notes of questions asked and to record any follow up actions. The interview is only half of the job done. The next stage is the most important, how you translate the time investment on both parties side into coverage.

The other part of meet the media days that I enjoy is having the opportunity to visit restaurants I normally wouldn’t have the time (or money) to frequent quite so often. In the past two weeks I attended both the restaurants at the Sherlock Holmes hotel and the National Portrait gallery. Below is my review with a PR hat on.

The Sherlock Holmes restaurant provided us with a large table (ideal for having a note pad on without knocking stuff off the table or into your food) and the staff were attentive. The restaurant was quiet with just a hum of music in the background and the food was excellent. The downside was that it did feel a little dark without any natural light and there is terrible phone signal in the hotel which wasn’t ideal when we retreated to the lounge to conduct a phone briefing.

The National Portrait gallery was recommended to us by the journalist we were meeting, mainly due to the views across London. After eventually finding the restaurant (I foolishly went into next doors national gallery first) I have to say I was impressed with the views – even on a grey day in London. The food was very reasonably priced and the pie of the day was excellent but the tables were small and close together which meant that times it did become a little tricky for everyone to hear each other around the table.

The points I have raised may seem silly to most but it is essential that a lunch meeting goes smoothly. The following list are some of the features I look for when booking or evaluating a restaurant for a journalist briefing:

1. Can I make a reservation?
2. Can I reserve a table in a quieter part of the restaurant?
3. Does the restaurant have a great view or a wow factor?
4. Do they have a cloakroom (important for a client who may have luggage)
5. How close to public transport is it?
6. How close together are the tables – will it be too noisy for us or other dinners?
7. How much atmosphere does the restaurant have? You don’t want to be sat on your own.
8. Will the journalist have enough room to write on a note pad beside their meal?
9. How helpful are the staff? are they likely to be rude or unhelpful to a client?
10. And of course – is the food good?

Paul Stallard

The Smurfs never looked so good

As a child of the 80s I fondly remember eating up all my Weetabix to collect my 3D viewing glasses (red and blue cardboard flappy things). 3D was the latest exciting technology and surely set to be all the rage. And with a quick burst of sci-fi and horror movie releases from Hollywood, for a brief few years, it was. But then 3D seemed to rapidly die a death – until now. 

3D is definitely in the midst of a huge resurgence, but is it all hype or truly the next big thing in visual technology?

It was with some trepidation that I went to see the 3D version of Avatar yesterday – a bit of a Valentine’s yield to the other half, I must admit. Not a huge fan of sci-fi, nor movies with purported nearly 3 hour running times, I was nevertheless prepared to view with an open mind. The 3D specs have moved on a bit since the Weetabix days, albeit still looking like 80s throwbacks (sort of over-sized plastic RayBans), but wow – so has the technology! I was even impressed by the trailers for the Dreamworks animated movies.

The world of the Na’vi that James Cameron has created in Avatar really is truly magical, and enlivened by the three-dimensional quality of the image. There are some genuine heart-in-the-mouth moments when objects appear to fly at the screen and animals jump towards you in attack. Even the normal humans looked incredible, with every hair and muscle fully rounded and life-like.

True, it is a long film, but there are only a few moments where this is noticeable – mainly due to the slightly one-dimensional story line which is predictable and pretty well-trodden. But all in all, 3D Avatar is definitely worth watching, and has set the bar very high for all non-animated 3D movies to come.

From a PR perspective, this demonstrates that if you have a good product you need to let people see, feel and use it so they can become ambassadors for your product or service. Reviews are still one of the most powerful PR tools available and if you get this right you can be sure that the positive word of mouth will follow.

From http://images4.cafepress.com

So – I warn you in advance this entry is a bit gushing. Please forgive me. But, after what can only be described as a shaky start to 2010 with all the disruption that the snow caused, I finally feel like the year is really getting started.

And it is weeks like this which remind me what I love about working in PR. Monday morning started with a screech when I got coverage in The Independent for my client, The Internet Group (this was then followed by two profile pieces in two of their top tier publications). I may have pulled a muscle with the celebratory jig that I did around the office.

Tuesday, not only was it packed with briefings with clients and customers for press releases and case studies but, I also found out that Kat and Alfie are returning to Eastenders –OK so not entirely PR-related, but I was very pleased nonetheless.

Yesterday, I went attended a journalist lunch with a client at the Westfield shopping centre (note: the journalist picked the location, not me. But I think that all future business meetings should be held there – it is AMAZING).

Today, myself, Jo and Emma did a half-day PR workshop with two marketing people at Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions. Then I spent the afternoon writing and pitching clients for feature opportunities.

Finally, tomorrow, I’ll be sitting in on a media training session that Chris is running for client NewVoiceMedia. Sessions like this are a great way to generate ideas for future PR campaigns and it is always interesting to see how different people react when they are faced with a camera and a journalist – I’m glad I am the one making notes and not having to participate.

The point that I am trying to make, is that this week has been go, go, go. No day has been the same, each has thrown up different demands, I’ve used nearly every PR tactic available and had to think on my feet, but that is what I love about working in PR. It is the pressure and, to a certain extent, the unpredictability of the job which keeps me excited.

And what better way to come down from this hectic week, than being swept off to a romantic hotel in Cornwall by my boyfriend? Pasties and real ale: absolute bliss.

Hannah Humphreys

We’ve posted details of two new vacancies over on our Careers pages today: we’re looking for a full-time account manager and rising star; as well as a part-time (two or three days a week) consultant to job-share with one of our current senior account managers.

Do take a look, and get in touch if you would like to join a small but growing team, with a flexible approach and no-nonsense attitude. In the meantime, for more insight into what life is like at Berkeley, check out a few of our previous blogs.

Jo Jamieson

It’s always quite exciting to receive a new brief from a prospective client, especially if you’ve been courting them for weeks/months/years. Sometimes you get them completely out of the blue, and that’s nice too.

Until you read the bit at the bottom of the briefing document, in very small letters, that says: “It is expected that you will provide an initial trial period of 6 months [sic] PR support which would be provided free of charge…” Yes, really.

OK, so I know I shouldn’t have – but I couldn’t resist a little tweet. The reactions from my Twitter followers were predictably outraged…

After all, in what other industry would this be acceptable? “Hi Mr Accountant, we’d like you to do our annual audit, but we do need the first one for free I’m afraid. That ok with you?” “Hello Mercedes, I’m considering buying one of your lovely motors, but I’d like to have a six-month test drive first – y’know, just to see if I like it enough to actually part with my cash.”

I remain astounded. At what point did we become a desperate bunch of monkeys prepared to ply our wares for *nada* in return? And, more to the point, what sort of PR agency would agree to this? Yet, in response to our thanks-but-no-thanks email, we were informed that “…we already have such an offer on the table.”

I can only hazard a guess at the quality of service on offer. What do you get if you don’t even pay peanuts?

Jo Jamieson

Source: Daily Telegraph

I’m not sure how many people will be reading this blog entry today, as 1 February is officially “National Sickie Day”. Well that’s according to research by the Employment Law Advisory Services that rekons up to 350,000 workers will have called in sick today. I bet the light dusting of snow this morning also added to that number, with many choosing to crawl back under the duvet.

Not only is this a pretty alarming statistic, but a great piece of PR for the Employment Law Advisory Service. This is a perfect example of a story that ticks all the boxes on what makes news - it has a clear human interest angle; it’s negative with businesses set to lose £30 million in lost productivity; it’s topical, due to the nature of the research and the snow today (!); and it’s a comprehensive survey with a high number of respondents, which in itself is a winner with the media.

As a result, the story is splashed over every national newspaper and trade magazine you could think of – with the findings having relevance for every industry and worker in the country. If only we could  devlop such compelling research for our clients!