public relations | I am freelance

all publicity….etc? Seems so for the NSPCC….

Posted on December 6, 2010 by Becky Green (was McMichael)

Take one fake Facebook campaign….add rumours about the origin of the campaign being set up by paedophiles….add to the mix it is supposed to be for a charity that stops cruelty to children and you have an absolute PR disaster right?

Nope….not if handled correctly……four steps…

1) Find out as much as you can about the fake campaign and assess whether it is damaging or can be made into a positive for your brand
2) Give info clearly about the campaign as you know it, thank those for participating in good faith who clearly have an interest in your brand / cause

3) Clearly state the original campaign was not started by you but you are glad for the awareness it has caused (via online and trad media)

4) Whilst the interest is there, provide a call to action that can further benefit your brand/cause and maximise the current interest level

Well done NSPCC on the handling of the weekend’s fake facebook campaign – a lack of panic and an eye for an opportunity has enabled them to hit over 100,000 Facebook fans (and rising) and provided a great audience to share a review of their good work this past year.

30 things no PR person EVER wants to hear….

Posted on December 10, 2009 by Becky Green (was McMichael)

Journalist 15 minutes late for client briefing: “Hello” when phoning at home/in the office
Voicemail alert: “Beep beep, beep beep” when getting off the tube 5 minutes before a media briefing is about to start….
Client: So, we have to cut budget this year and we thought we would look at ways to reduce European content and re-use Global press releases and articles….
Client: We know he needs media training, but we really can’t tell him…can you use him anyway?
European partner/office: That is not going to work in <insert Western European country name> and if we have to do it that way, we will need MUUUUUUUCH more budget than that (or in fact than anyone else in the Western Hemisphere has ever charged)
Junior team member: I couldn’t get hold of anyone, they were all on voicemail
Journalist: The supplement this month was smaller than we planned, so your client’s piece should be appearing online instead.
Designer: On that budget, you can have it good, fast, cheap. Now choose two.
Prospect: Let’s make a video at our sales conference and put it on YouTube to make it go viral
Actually just the word viral in a brief
Sales person My editor passed your email along to me…have you thought about advertising in X
12. Client: our VP of sales is in the UK next month. There is no news but can you get the FT and some broadcast stuff lined up?
13. Client: thanks for lining up that day of meetings – unfortunately the VP isn’t able to make it now.
Client (unprompted) to journalist – It’s been an interesting year. We’ve lost a lot of business and had to let a lot of people go.
Client CEO: I want to have a blog / Twitter account and I want you lot to write it
Prospect: The SEO agency does my PR, they send out the releases online
Client: Can you go on Amazon | x forum and write some positive reviews?
Message from reception: Watchdog wants to have your client on a panel
Prospect: I don’t have any time, money or resources. What can I do with social media?
Client: why weren’t we allowed to approve the piece before it appeared?
Client: because of my budget cuts I’d like you to pay for expensive items such as my hotels etc – just temporarily – and I’ll raise a PO next quarter – is that okay?
Journalist: your VP isn’t senior enough – I only want to speak to your client’s CEO
Journalist: sounds interesting. Send me an email about it and I’ll take a look
Journalist to client on briefing call: Sorry, what’s this call about?
The silence that fills the room like a gothic marshmallow after asking the prospect what is the desired ‘call to action’ out of a prospective online campaign
Client Do you know where I can get a massage with all the trimmings and would it be possible for you to pay for it and charge it back to us on expenses?
Boss: I don’t see the point of twitter.
Client: I’ll be bringing somebody from procurement to the next meeting
Prospect to pitch team: I know we said this was just a one stage non-competitive process, but would you mind pitching for a 4^th time against a handful of other agencies?
Prospect to pitch team: Can you include a detailed explanation of the current UK and EU regulatory situation with your initial proposal?

Wade in PR folks…any more faves?

(Thanks to the team at Ruder Finn for crowdpitching in with some of these)

Looking for journalists on Twitter?

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Becky Green (was McMichael)

Well the lovely Stephen Davies over at 3WPR has kindly updated his list of journalists using Twitter post.

Stephen did the same list a year ago and it was a great help to many of us in the industry…so what’s changed in the past 12 months?

Well volume for one, there are a lot more journalists using the medium today.
Also an increase in the use by regional, tabloid and trade journalists…last year the majority were national or freelancers but this has changed substantially.
And finally, many journalists are figuring out how they want to be contacted via Twitter and their blogs and are posting guidelines on what they want / don’t want to receive. Essential reading can often be found on their own blogs and I advise taking the time to do this before you get in touch with them.

As with all kinds of PR outreach…use people’s contacts with care and don’t give the industry a bad name by spamming the hell out of the list…I know, as if you would?!

PR boozy event season kicks off again…

Posted on September 21, 2009 by Becky Green (was McMichael)

….after the (slight) Summer hiatus, there are a few PR events coming up over the next few weeks – hope to see some of you there. I’ll be the one with the bump, looking enviously at your beer.

Will Sturgeon’s tech PR drinks – 23 September – an informal affair that’s great to catch up with pals old and new, try and find a new job or poach other people’s staff

Jackenhacks – 14 October – the Steves have been on the judging panel this year so be afraid folks…..

PR Week awards – 20 October – for anyone who’s got a high boredom threshold (those awards are looooooooong) and lots of spare cash…

PRCA Awards – 3 Nov – good night out I imagine, for those that still pay their membership…

Now, what did I miss?

a new PR wiki is born

Posted on September 18, 2009 by Becky Green (was McMichael)

but this one, rather than the usual linkbait, looks like it could be quite useful. 10yetis PR have set up a wiki for PR agencies to complete their client list, links to the account lead and contact details for each account. (I spotted it via Sally Whittle this morning)

All that remains to be seen is if agencies will share that level of information publicly in one place rather than replying to requests in private from journalists through sourcewire and other means.

Anywhere, here’s the link: http://prlist.wikispaces.com/