Selfridge's Guide to Suprasexual Seduction
AS the January sales wear on urging us to grab our discounts before they end, we should spare a thought for Harry Gordon Selfridge, born 149 years ago today. It is only fitting that the week of Selfridge’s birthday has been marked by the launch of two television series celebrating the rise and rise of […]
Embracing chaos
As we settle into the New Year, commentators continue to declare the present state of flux to be the ‘new normal’. In the wake of increasing globalisation and atomisation, humanity is simultaneously more connected and more fractured than ever before – how can brands manage in this new era? The tension of our age lies […]
Never Mind the Mayans, Here's the Apocalypse
Whether or not the Apocalypse is approaching this Friday is speculation that I will leave to the Mayans. As life flashes past us, however, the approaching end of year provides a good opportunity to contemplate the changes that have happened in our world over the course of this past year and some of the PR […]
Harnessing the Girl Power: Social Media's Impact on the Theatre Crowd
Last night, I went to see Viva Forever with Krista Madden, the lady behind the highly influential Handpicked Media network. It corrals the best digital talent, from a hemisphere of independent networks of fashion, beauty, and lifestyle blogs. These are the people that grew up with the Spice Girls. In their youth, they lived and […]
The Royals Must Not Let Their Zygote Be Seized by the PR Zeitgeist
The only thing more nauseating than morning sickness has to be the wearisome and banal Royal baby chatter that has been assaulting my senses this week. It hasn’t just been politicians and celebrities clamouring over crowds of well-wishers to be the first to congratulate the Royal couple; the pranksters are back in town and have […]
The Joy of Fabulous Nobodies: Naked Whitehall Guy, I Salute You
This afternoon, Twitter has been captivated by a brand new golden balls. We don’t know who he is yet, or why he did it, but he ensured Whitehall was shut down for several hours after he scaled the statue of the first Duke of Cambridge, Prince George, stripped off and performed a number of acrobatic […]
PRs on Top: Why New Senior Figures are Great News for the Industry
Autumn is a time for change. Recent weeks have seen a number of significant individuals take up prominent leadership roles: not only in Washington and the China Communist Party, but also in the major powerhouses of the communications world. What is heartening is the fact that positions at the top are increasingly being occupied by […]
Dorries' Jungle Stunt Takes Balls
Before even gobbling down her first kangaroo gonad, Tory Nadine Dorries has unleashed a storm of criticism for her decision to appear in televisual Hades I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, with David Cameron yesterday backing her suspension from her duties as MP. A rash of politicos have been quick to follow suit. […]
Embracing Your Faults: Why Flawed Heroes Triumph
What with the recent slew of allegations around Savillegate (and the numerous other stars who’ve faced a barrage of less than savoury attention ), something has been preying on my mind- is a spotless reputation an attainable goal anymore? Eric Schmidt once said that “Now that information is ubiquitous, the obligation changes. It’s no longer […]
Brands like Red Bull like Felix
So #Felix is no longer just a brand of cat food or a defunct cartoon character, but embodies a new marque of heroism and maverick adventure. A stuntman extraordinaire, who last night earned much sort after one word equity. Felix Baumgartner, a 43-year-old Austrian, former military parachutist, skydived into the record books. Jumping from 23 miles above the earth, Felix […]
Prince Harry Delivers
Back in August Mark predicted Prince Harry’s overexposure in Vegas would result in a significant tourism boom for Sin City, writing in his blog: ‘(Prince Harry’s) party machine focused exceptional attention on Las Vegas this week. It’s now enjoying astonishing and unprecedented Royal endorsement, the kind of patronage money can’t buy… Without spending a cent, […]
Jimmy Saville and the Fleet Street Gravediggers
Savillegate rages on today, with Mike Smith’s impassioned and lengthy rebuttal of claims of institutional sexism at the Beeb made over the weekend during an hour long appearance on Richard Bacon’s Radio 1 show. With accusations of child-abuse against the TV presenter mounting day by day, it is becoming apparent that the true character of […]
Why CEOs must get PRs on board
Danny Rogers, the editor of PR Week, has, in a recent Independent article, highlighted a curious phenomenon blighting the boards of the majority of FTSE 100 firms. According to a recent survey, 54% of them still do not have a communications expert at executive board level. Considering that in the modern climate, most major decisions […]
The Hillsborough Disaster and the Fresh Dangers of Media Manipulation
The long-overdue answers about police conduct during the appalling Hillsborough disaster have captured the media, and particularly the red-top, imagination. It’s small wonder- the tragedy is ingrained into our national psyche to a degree unmatched by any comparable event. Understandably, the families of the 96 have campaigned unrelentingly for justice, but the fascination extends beyond […]
How do you solve a problem like Frankie? Channel 4 joins the major leagues
Channel 4’s valiant efforts at major sports broadcasting have met two very particular challenges this week, each testing their capacity to cope with the full burden of an excitable, demanding and very very large public. It’s a classic David/Goliath situation. Channel 4, having spent a good deal of promotional budget painting itself as the rising […]
Twitter or Trad PR? Always Check the Bathwater for Babies
The past few years have seen huge debate in the PR industry around the radical reshaping of public relations. Why, asked the naysayers, would a Celeb employ a PR in an age where they can use Twitter to break stories, correct rumours, build their brand and offer coveted insights into their lives? DIY was the […]
Bradley Wiggins- a new breed of celebrity
This post originally appeared yesterday on The Huffington Post. Bradley Wiggins’ success in the Tour de France was testament to the willpower, training and raw talent of an individual. His stellar status in the media- whilst certainly not hindered by his victory – has more to do with his suitability as a new kind of […]
Crisps, schoolkids and rumblings of Olympic legacy trouble
The latest draconian sponsorship enforcement measures for London 2012 were spread across the tabloids yesterday. Allegedly, the angelic schoolkids selected for Danny Boyle’s green and pleasant opening ceremony will be forced by sponsor Adidas to either wear their trainers, or trainers with no branding visible. Meanwhile, reports have come in of police guards forced to […]
Bob Diamond and the Perils of Opacity
After a period of quivering, the Barclay’s house of cards finally crumbled this week, with Marcus Agius’s remarkable u-turn and Bob Diamond’s final resignation. The whole confusion points to something of a head in the sand culture among senior leadership, with mistakes perhaps ignored and accountability certainly a convoluted issue. Barclays’ has certainly had a […]
Harnessing the crowd, and knowing what they want (what they really really want)
The tremendous response this week to the launch of Viva Forever! The Musical(manhandled by my esteemed colleague Dee McCourt and her team of pixies) probably came as a surprise to many in the higher echelons of the arts and media world. Yet the tremendous outpourings on twitter, not to mention the reams of coverage and […]