Is Anybody Else Fed Up?

With the negative stories dominating the headlines, from the economic downturn to murders and crime it seems as though a positive story is no-where to be found. Some may think this is a PR professional’s dream, the perfect time to get a tenuous story to land. However, it seems that all media professionals have been lulled into this great media depression.

With the media obsessing about the economic downturn and this being the worst year ever on record for a number of different reasons, there must be a positive story out there to tell.

I know a number of our clients have good news to report. Are they really the only ones? I doubt that. It’s more likely that the media have convinced themselves that people want to sit down after a hard day at work and listen to the woes of the country / world.

Where are the positive stories, surely its time for some festive cheer? Is that well known fizzy drinks company not usually forcing Santa down our throats by now? Have the big supermarket chains not normally spent millions on a mildly entertaining ad campaign, and are there not posters displaying Christmas menus in city centres across the UK?

I’m fed up with doom and gloom. I’m fed up with hearing that we are going into a deep and lengthy recession. Much of England would not change their spending habits if they were not being continually reminded of how bad it’s going to get..

I hope the wider media wake up and realise that if these negative stories continue to dominate print and broadcast they will be to blame for the disaster that is set to be 2009.

Midlands East and West

I was flicking through a popular Public Relations publication this week when I came across an article focusing on PR in the Midlands. The article was dominated by Birmingham as being the regional hub for quality Public Relations companies.

I am forced to ask myself, do the other cities in the Midlands have nothing to offer? What of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire? Surely a focus on PR in the Midlands should actually focus on the Midlands; East and West?

The Midlands holds the second largest concentration of PR companies outside of London and for those business who prefer a local company and who do not want to travel for hours to meet their PR team, the Midlands is the obvious solution. With the advantage of being in the middle - the Midlands is a prime PR location. .

With many large corporations and many more SME’s successfully trading in the Midlands there are plenty of clients to go around, but if the press insist on drawing attention to the West it is doubly important to ensure that those in the East broadcast their talent.

As a Leicestershire based Public Relations Company we realise the potential that we have and the quality PR that we can offer to the Midlands mix. It is important that those agencies not concentrated in Birmingham and the West Midlands shout out load to claim their place on the Midlands map.

Obama and a Media Love Affair

As Barack Obama settles into the White House as America's first Black President, I'm forced to ask myself how he managed it. A remarkable victory, merely 50 years after the civil rights movements and in one of the most racially segregated country on earth. One has to look to an incredibly steadfast candidate and an outstanding media campaign.

I believe that impressive crisis management and an air tight media campaign have helped him to victory. With no stone left unturned prior to the start of the campaign, the media already knew all there was to know about him without ever having to dig. Despite McCain's best efforts it seems there really was no dirt to be found on Obama, and even what they did manage to muster up just wouldn't stick.

From the beginning his campaign was targeted with a fully thought through approach. The power of spin worked in over-drive from the very start. Initially defining his approach, and perfecting his message, his media team ensured that the party line was towed at all times. I have no doubt that an entire team have been in place for the past year ensuring that each and every article, statement or photo caption issued to the media has been vetted and re-vetted.

The fundamentals of any strong media campaign were adhered to throughout. A strong knowledgeable team who were in bed (so to speak) with the media long before the campaign began, laying the ground work and making contacts. A follow up campaign hit every media outlet including on-line opportunities, with his own facebook and myspace page, websites, blogs ... the World Wide Web was conquered. A strong press campaign followed, with novels published, interviews conducted and the main print and broadcast media all wanting a piece of him. He even managed to have his own celebrity endorsed pop song on u-tube, hype created by his team that the media have lapped up.
At no point did the Obama campaign flounder; there were no internal leaks, no dissention from the ranks. Never has towing the party line been so adhered to and the Obama camp is reaping the rewards now with a campaign that will go down in history.

The media team behind Obama's campaign have proven that with a perfectly executed media campaign anything is achievable. Obviously a charismatic candidate who has no doubt been priming himself, his friends and family for this moment for the majority of his life also helps. Congratulations Barack Obama, a job well done.

Now, all eyes are on the future.