Disastrous Olympics press conference
What a spectacular example of how not to handle a press conference!
International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry was asked three questions she was unable to answer. To the first, she retorted: "Frankly, and I'm looking at my team because I was not aware Germany had made any comments around 2036, I don't really have an opinion on it."
To the next, she snapped: "OK, I'm really looking at my team now and maybe someone needs to be dismissed because ...
Lessons from The Co-op’s reputational crisis
I was intrigued to see today’s BBC news story about claims of “fear and alienation” and a “toxic culture” at the top of The Co-Op.
The story is based on the leak of a letter sent two weeks ago to the grocery giant’s board. This apparently blows the whistle on a culture of intimidation which applies even to senior managers, who “feel scared to raise concerns about the direction of the business in front of the ...
Utter nonsense from Sir Martin Sorrell
I just heard the Radio 4 Today programme segment - with contributions from ad industry veteran Sir Martin Sorrell and Sarah Waddington, CEO of the Public Relations & Communications Association - which unexpectedly turned into a bunfight about the role of public relations.
For someone who's been in the industry so long, what a load of nonsense ...
Sunday Times feature for guitar hire business
We're thrilled to have arranged a profile in today's Sunday Times for entrepreneur Iain Henderson and his innovative guitar hire business.
God's Own Guitars is the only business in the world to specialise in hiring out iconic guitars - instruments previously owned or made famous by the world's most famous guitarists.
We set up for The Sunday Times to interview Iain to explore how, after 30 years with Accenture, he left his position as MD at the consulting firm to turn his passion for music into ...
Fast-growing consultancy hires us to build media profile
We’ve been appointed to deliver a long-term media relations campaign for Intralink, a fast-expanding business development consultancy that specialises in international markets.
We’ve been supporting Intralink for several years, delivering marketing strategy, messaging advice and a content marketing programme. And the company has now commissioned us to run an additional campaign – led by our editorial specialist Rebecca George – to raise its profile via the UK media.
Through this new campaign, we'll provide ...
Media campaign for Government tech programme
We’re pleased to be delivering a media relations and marketing campaign for a prestigious Government initiative to help UK tech companies expand in Asia Pacific.
The UK-APAC Tech Growth Programme is being run by international business development specialists Intralink on behalf of the Government and provides free and subsidised support to help ambitious companies expand in 11 countries across the region.
We’ve been appointed to market this initiative to British innovators in high-growth fields including ...
Is the FT wrong about PR?
Today's FT article – titled When CEOs should ditch the "PR polish" – has upset a lot of people in the marketing and PR business.
It’s easy to react to the headline – coupled with parts of the article recognising Ecotricity founder Dale Vince for “bucking the trend of media-managed executives” – and assume it’s a piece bashing the whole discipline of public relations. But it’s not. On closer reading, it's ...
“I thought I’d just ignore it”
“I thought I'd just ignore it,” he told me. There are many cases where I’m sure this is absolutely the best policy. Junk mail. A minor insect bite. An insult from someone you don’t care about. But an approach from an investigative BBC journalist isn’t one of them. I was a bit surprised the other day when I first got the call the other day to ...
Fire chief shows how not to handle TV interview
I just saw the BBC's interview with Dorset & Wiltshire fire chief Ben Ansell about allegations of a toxic culture in the service. It's clear Ansell had prepared - but it's an instructive example of preparation misapplied!
The BBC's Dan Johnson asked Ansell about an email from a former employee blowing the whistle on ...
National recognition for Asia expansion client
We're so pleased to have kicked off the New year by getting our client Intralink into a Sustainable Business supplement within The Times.
Intralink helps western businesses to expand in East Asia. And, while the pandemic has meant they've had to stop travelling to the region, instead of their business taking a hit, they found they've secured more deals for their clients in Asia than ever. It's been a surprising boost to ...