Expectations Excelled

This week our CIPR guest lecture came from Brian Beech (MD) and Jenni Bamford(Senior Account Executive) at Euro RSCG PR UK.

Brian started the lecture by talking about the positives of PR vs advertising. He pointed out that advertising is guaranteed but editorial coverage is trusted three times more than advertising by consumers.Yet it is increasingly difficult to get coverage in the media with fewer journalists covering more areas with an online media presence which has to be maintained.

Brian originally worked in radio and is still a firm believer that radio and TV is an important aspect of getting coverage with 274 national radio stations and 152 local commercial radio stations.

Brian then moved his focus on to community engagement. Brands are now building their reputation regionally. There was always a focus for PRs to get national coverage for their clients but this should not be at the expense of local engagement. Euro RSCG clients such as Asda and Pets at Home put on an events to generate media coverage and get people in the community involved with what they are doing.

33 million people read a local paper each week and this is the most widely-read print media in the country. Brian said:

“Life is local these days, with people turning to local communities where they feel their influence and presence has some meaning. That is why many companies are building brands region-by-region, community-by-community. For a brand to be truly national it has to think local. PR consultancies, therefore, have to access local and regional media and make sure that their client shouts loudest in what is a very crowded marketplace.”

Social media was the next topic of conversation. 96% of people under the age of 30 have joined an online social networking site at some point in their lives. This is a huge opportunity for companies to engage with their stakeholders. If Facebook were a country, it would be the third largest in the world. They are pretty astounding figures but that is not the only thing. 80% of Twitter users do so on their mobile devices and can access their accounts at any time of day, anywhere.

Although social media is a great tool, Euro RSCG’s main focus is on getting print or online media coverage.

Another tool that Euro RSCG uses effectively is newsworthy photography and Brian gave the lecture theatre some examples of the good, the bad and the ugly.

He told us that the key to a great photo is giving the photographer a very precise and strong brief. The photographer then has guidelines to follow and can capture the image that tells the story. Another tip for local coverage is to involve the local community, this always works effectively because it creates a buzz around that local area. Most importantly of all though is being able to step in if the shot is not going to plan.

Even though it is not a PR’s job to take that photograph, it is important that if something goes wrong, you need to be able to direct the photograph. And with every picture you need to capture the brand’s logo in a way where it cannot be edited out.

The final part of the lecture was presented to give the students an idea of a typical day in the life of a PR. Jenni Bamford finished her degree in PR with Marketing from Leeds Metropolitan in 2010 and she now works as a senior account executive for Euro RSCG. Jenni’s role involves:

• Writing press releases.
• Pulling together research articles.
• Selling in features for her clients.
• Negotiating interviews.
• Keeping clients out of the press when there is a sticky situation.
• Placing competitions.
• Chasing new business.

Jenni also attends events such as the launch of Kim Kardashian’s perfume launch and has also met JLS.

The lecture was brilliant because it told the group what ‘actually’ happens in an agency and where the focus is shifting to with community reputation building. When studying you learn so much about the industry but it is only by going on placement that you learn how to apply this knowledge and appreciate how an agency operates.

Mercury: Queen tribute at Glastonbudget

With popular bands such as Oasis, Abba and Queen no longer together, is it time we start watching their tribute replacements?

For the past few years I have been going to a festival in Leicestershire called ‘Glastonbudget’. I have seen such acts as Oasish, Mercury and Guns2Roses. When I talk about this tribute festival I usually get a sneer and a “but it’s not the real band” response. These tribute bands are incredibly realistic and also great value for money. For example, to see U2 in concert the tickets generally sell at £172 let alone the price of the flights and accommodation to see them, where ever they may be performing.

Glastonbudget is hosting it’s seventh festival in May 2011 (27th-29th). With crowds expected of 10,000 people, this festival is the largest tribute festival in Europe. Glastonbudget’s ethos has always been everyone having a brilliant music filled weekend, that is great value for money.

A running theme throughout the years has been fancy dress. Last year a local charity called LOROS was at the festival selling second hand clothing so everyone could dress up and no-one had an excuse.

New Acts from all over the world will also be performing at Glastonbudget. These bands have been strictly auditioned and only the best people will get through to the final festival.

The best thing about Glastonbudget is the atmosphere. There is something for everyone and every age group is represented amongst the crowds. The festival is a great laugh and very relaxing. One thing with large festivals is you sometimes don’t feel safe because there can be little sense of community and it can sometimes seem that people get away to cause havoc and get as drunk as possible. I have never felt unsafe at Glastonbudget and I think that’s because everyone becomes a community throughout the weekend. Whether it’s raining or beautiful sunshine, everyone makes the best of their weekend.

I predict that “tribute” is about to become very important over the festival season and for live music lovers all around the world.

Celina Pearson currently works for John Lewis as a press officer, where she organises publications and events in the press office in London.
Celina’s role entails working in the merchandise press team. This includes supporting the Events and Publications Manager. She assists in the planning and implementation of press shows and product launches.
Her interest in PR came about when she was studying Business Studies at sixth form. She read up on the various Business Studies degree options and decided that Public Relations sounded perfect as, “it offered a good mix of business and creativity. I also liked the sounds of the practical side and actually having the opportunity to work in the role whilst I was studying”.
Celina started her degree in 2003. At that time there were not many choices of PR courses at universities, especially ones that included a placement year. “I chose Leeds Metropolitan as it was CIPR approved, the Business school had a good reputation”.
Her favourite aspect of PR is the creative side and she enjoys keeping trend aware. “When we are working on lifestyle shoots it is important that we are producing shots that magazines will be inspired by and want to use in there own publications”.
Along with the creative side she enjoys the project management within her job. “Working on large scale shows with lots of people can be really stressful but if managed effectively through organisation and clear communication, our team delivers fantastic results, which makes it all worth- while”.
When Celina graduated from Leeds Metropolitan, her portfolio expressed that she had clear knowledge of her career, as she had had a full year working for John Lewis in her third year.
“The full year helped me put all of my learnings into practice and become more confident, which encouraged me to take more initiative and as a result was handed my own PR projects to manage. One of my key learnings was to build my journalist contact base, invaluable for any press officer. The whole experience was very rewarding and motivated me to work harder in my final year”.

She had a few short term placements during the first two years of her degree. Having this experience made her more appealing to employers as not only had she learnt the theory of PR on a varied course but she had also been a practitioner.
“I also worked in a number of short-term placements in year 1 and 2, working in agencies and a bank. The smaller placements helped me to decide which sector of PR I wanted to specialise in”.
Through acquiring placements, Celina has secured a job where she can really express herself. When looking back to her first years and finding her first placements she remembers that it, “felt like a daunting prospect, particularly in first year, whilst I still had so much to learn. But I really think it sets you up for life after university and definitely helped get me where I am today”.

Finally! I see my generation wake up and fight for what they believe in!

Recently the general election took place where Nick Clegg stated on the manifesto that he wanted there to be no tuition fees to go to university, within six years of the Liberal Democrats being in power. Very soon after this election, Clegg, who is in a coalition government now with the Conservatives, did not fight his corner properly when the Conservatives put pressure on him to raise the tuition fees.

I always thought that my generation is not proactive enough when it comes to their world. We do the little things like recycling, or buying a cake from a charity stand but how involved and how strong do we raise our concerns? I often hear young people complaining about little things like the price of the bus which is a valid point but why do they not question their local ministers about this issue?

However, my generation has done us proud. Perhaps not everyone could attend the protests but at least some students were willing to show an interest in the matter and not let the government get away with this increase so lightly. Some critics may say that the students acted too aggressively and so they spoilt the point they were trying to make but I think that perhaps the government needed a little wake up call of what lengths we are willing to go to protect our education. I thought in our westernised country, we believed in equal opportunity and the ability for a poor person to have a good education but obviously the Conservatives cannot let go of their beliefs of a free market.

After all the suffragettes fought for, I think it is time we had our say on how the country should be run. It frustrates me when someone has the opportunity to have a vote for the future and they do not take part in this process but then complain about how the country is run. I think some students are confused about what each party stands for and perhaps if there was more education in this field, then my age group would be able to form a clearer opinion. Others may feel frustrated themselves as recently, as we have witnessed here, different parties promised change and then never delivered their promise once voted into power. The young person feels as if they have been cheated and so they decide not to get involved in the next election. Finally there is the non-voter group who just do not care how their country is run and so, cannot be bothered to place their vote.

I conclusion, I still think that students need to be more pro-active in the world they live in and with politics but thank goodness they are showing a response and protesting against the student fees… not that it made any difference in the end.

“The public is the only critic whose opinion is worth anything at all,” Laura Moncur.

This quote highlights the fact that without the general public, no business can prosper. Even if you have the best product in the world, if you do not present the product well and make it known about, no-one will buy it and therefore no business can do well. From a young age I have read books and researched on body language and selling techniques. This has lead into a business and people focused career and I believe the best way to do that is to study PR: advertising is quickly becoming an unpopular way to sell and PR is more popular.

I’ve had a year out as I had no idea what I actually wanted to study for a career. Leeds, as a city has always appealed to me and I originally thought I would study English Literature at The University of Leeds. After my parents divorce I decided that I needed a year out to really find my pathway. I had been working part time for a year at a restaurant prior to the UCAS applications, so I decided to take on full time work with them. From building strong bonds with recurring customers I soon found that working with people was the right direction for me. I could have been a social worker or working in HR, but neither appealed to me. After looking at the different courses at Leeds Metropolitan I found Public Relations. My Father has always been a business man and I decided that business was something I wanted to go into and learn more about.

Leeds Met was my first choice as the course has great contacts with the CIPR and businesses, which I may not get the opportunity to work with otherwise. The lecturers are from a practical background. The course has the opportunity to study abroad or have a year in the industry, which is crucial to me. Without communication there is nothing and I feel that studying this in further detail will help me to build strong bonds with people in the industry. I intend to make contacts for the future with my class mates and people I will meet in the next 4 years.

The great thing about my course is that it’s so broad. We do not just learn ‘people’ but our modules are very varied: discussing the media; economics and fundamental PR skills. I’m so glad I am on this course. It’s inspiring and the tutors are all very knowledgeable about their subjects and also approachable. We have had many opportunities given to my group already, to gain PR experience. I am now on the PR team for Claire Anstey; promoting her new book, “Sort Out Your Crap Life” and this would never have happened if I was not in Richard Bailey’s lectures. I am very focused at the moment and feel that my tutors inject that into me, they are more like mentors than lecturers.