Public Relations Consultancy UK | PR Superstar® PR Consultancy London UK

‘PR Comment’

Heathrow Chaos: Turning Bad PR into Good

Under-fire BAA Chief Exective Colin Matthews has given up his bonus following the holiday travel chaos suffered by thousands of passengers at snow-hit Heathrow.

Mr Matthews was today again apologising to travellers, was again explaining what had caused the problems, and was again reinforcing what urgent action will now be taken to stop this from happening again. This is crisis PR textbook stuff.

Despite Heathrow Airport being totally, utterly and shambolically unprepared for the recent bad winter weather, the BAA boss has not hidden himself away and has bravely faced the assembled media throng – something many high-profile CEOs would not do, cowardly preferring to shuffle out their no.2 or the poor PR!

Whilst sacrificing his 2010 bonus will understandably not satisfy those angry and frustrated passengers who had to bed down for days in what the press deemed Heathrow refugee camps, it is a public admission of his failure, as BAA’s boss, and a personal gesture of goodwill.

Tags: BAA, Bad PR, Colin Matthews, Crisis PR, Good PR, Heathrow Airport, PR, PR Disaster, Snow, Travel chaos, Winter weather | Posted in PR Comment December 22nd, 2010

PR Awards for Journalists: The CRAPPs

PRs will celebrate their love-hate relationship with journalists two weeks today – at ‘The CRAPPs.’

The Communicative Relations Awards from PR Professionals gives PR pros the chance to vote for the friendliest – and least friendly – names in journalism.

As a former journalist and now a PR professional, PR Superstar Founder Jill Kent thinks the awards are a hoot, and on a more serious note, will help to strengthen that special – if somewhat strained – bond that has always existed between hacks and flacks!

Tags: Journalism, Journalists, PR, PR Superstar, Public Relations, The CRAPPs | Posted in PR Comment December 1st, 2010

Image-Boosting TV Role for Heathrow?

Heathrow Airport is upping its PR – and could get its own TV show in 2011, reports PR Week.

British Airports Authority (BAA), which owns and operates Heathrow Airport plus 5 others, is in talks with TV companies to make a documentary series about how the airport has improved, as well as reveal its inner workings.

BAA says the programme would “start to rebuild popular support for the airport.”

Support for Heathrow is much-needed after a variety of public debacles, including the shambolic launch of Terminal 5 and much-maligned plans for a third runway, which were eventually scrapped.

As a close neighbour of Heathrow, PR Superstar Founder Jill Kent, who lives just 5 miles away, suggests that rather than spend time and money on a glossy, image-boosting exercise, BAA bosses ensure their airport is properly run, with local communities in mind – starting with tackling aircraft noise, particularly early morning and late-night flights which cause misery to millions.

Tags: BAA, Heathrow Airport, Image-Boosting, PR, PR Superstar, PR Week, Public Relations, TV | Posted in PR Comment November 18th, 2010

Aleksandr Orlov The PR Great

The media phenomenon that is Aleksandr Orlov was this week back in the news – thanks to a clever PR stunt.

Aleksandr, the furry, fictitious founder of price comparison website comparethemarket.com, has released his long-awaited autobiography, ’A Simples Life.’

The public relations stunt was covered extensively by the UK media, including quality titles, with many press predicting it will top the Christmas 2010 book charts.

The stunt follows a limited edition Aleksandr talking toy, complete with trademark smoking jacket and paisley silk cravat, that hit the shops in time for last Christmas.

Aleksandr Orlov is a fine example of PR, advertising and branding at its best – fun and effective - and one that has helped comparethemarket.com to grow by 70 per cent.

Tags: Advertising, Aleksandr Orlov, Brand, Brand Awareness, comparethemarket.com, comparethemeerkat.com, Media Coverage, PR, PR Campaign, PR Stunt, Public Relations | Posted in PR Comment November 1st, 2010

First New National Newspaper in 25 Years

The Independent today launched the UK’s first new national daily newspaper in almost 25 years.

Simply titled i, the paper is designed for “rapid consumption for people with busy, modern lives,” said Simon Kelner, Editor of The Independent and i.

The 56-page brightly-coloured newspaper, dubbed ‘The Indy light,’ draws its content from The Independent, but articles are shorter with a more populist approach, and should appeal to younger people.

The last daily nationals to launch were Eddy Shah’s Today and The Independent itself, back in 1986.

Media commentators are already speculating on whether i, which has been likened to the super-successful Metro newspaper in look and feel, will eventually overtake The Independent – and others – in popularity.

Whatever happens, let’s hope that i helps to breathe much-needed new life into the UK media industry and the national daily newspaper market in particular after the terrific battering it has taken in the last few years.

Tags: i, Media Industry, Nationals, Newspaper, Old Media, The Independent, The Independent on Sunday | Posted in PR Comment October 26th, 2010

PR Superstar