blog

How do we get our clients into The Economist?

Fri, 18 May 2012 09:58:04 +0100

It was great news we got A.T. Kearney driving an article in The Economist yesterday. The widely respected title is notoriously difficult to PR. Indeed the journalists themselves are not even by-lined (it is always ‘The Economist’ says…).

Whilst this may seem daunting for any PR the main thing to remember is that The Economist is looking for more than just a story. Its journalists are some of the most respected commentators in the media and a press release alone simply won’t cut it, however relevant or exciting you or your clients might think it is. Instead, the best way to get featured is by cultivating the story behind the release, the effect it will have on a macro level and a healthy bit of geo-political and macro economic context.

The simple fact is that the level of depth that these journalists go into is only served with thorough investigation of the topic. This is where personal relations come in. Last month alone A.T. Kearney spent close to 2 hours in an intense session with a contact at The Economist discussing various issues of relevance. Our client had put a lot of effort and research into the meeting and it made for a fascinating session. However, this was done in the full knowledge that he may not even be included in the final article. Regular contact of this ilk is the single most important piece of advice I could give. Close relations with these journalists is really where a PR can make the difference.

The only other guidance I can suggest from experience (and although this may seem obvious it is only too easily overlooked) is to actually have a story. The Economist is not about product launches, new hires or new cloud computing software. Rather it is the deep rooted and in-depth impacts on the global landscape these developments will have to a particular industry, or to wider society that may just be of interest.

This may sound insurmountable, but trust me, when your client does appear, it will all be worthwhile. After all it is the holy grail of financial press coverage. See for yourself, or drop us a line to find out more!

Why PR needs PR

Fri, 04 May 2012 11:12:15 +0100

For an industry that bases itself upon public image and reputation, the PR business doesn’t really manage its own reputation that well...

Many of us could be forgiven for feeling we are right amongst other unpopular professions in the public mindset, placed in a similar bracket as estate agents and traffic wardens. Words often associated with PR are ‘fluffy’ ‘spin’ and, perhaps slightly more worryingly, ‘immoral’. The hit television series, ‘Twenty Twelve’ rather accurately portrays the public perception of PR in the shape of ‘Coco.’ It is no accident she is portrayed as a vapid, nonsensical woman as this is often the default response to our work by people unsure of what we do.

Clearly, we as an industry have a long way to go to try and alter our own public image. It seems outsiders are often left wondering what exactly is the real purpose of an industry that is seemingly populated by dim witted individuals chattering on about putting the ‘sex’ into a page long press release covering serious business issues.

The answer is very straightforward; the central role for much corporate PR is to work in tandem with defined and targeted sales and marketing strategies to deliver a directly positive commercial impact for the company in question. There are, of course, tricks of the trade, but there is nothing ‘fluffy’ or sinister about it. There is no mysterious dark art going on from behind the scenes in what we do just hard work, and it is the impact of a truly successful campaign that illustrates the influence great PR can bring to bear and puts the ‘magic’ into it

Rostrum announces senior management promotions

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:20:17 +0100

Today marks the start of a new era at Rostrum as we announce key promotions within our senior management team that will aid the company as we continue to grow. Nick Bolshaw, my business partner of five years, and Rostrum’s first director will take up the role of managing director while I step into a new pair of shoes as I become Rostrum’s first ever CEO.

These promotions present an amazing opportunity for Rostrum as we continue to show strong growth and we continue to invest in our team and our business. As part of our development programme for 2012/13, we’ve made these changes within our senior team to ensure that Nick can focus on structuring the agency for continued growth and I can focus on our brand and business development. Nick’s promotion is a testament to the huge contribution he’s made since joining the business five years ago, and I’m confident that he will be extremely effective in his new role.

Behind these decisions lies the mindset and knowledge that the operational aspect of managing our PR team on a day-to-day basis is vital for maintaining the high standard of work we deliver to our clients. We know what the agency needs to keep developing and hitting our targets and these promotions allow us to focus on our strengths, ensuring that the right structures are put into work for us to continue growing as a business.

So what can you expect from the future? We hope that these promotions will set the stage for something greater and allow Rostrum to continue to improve.

Winning work with LinkedIn

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:32:32 +0100

One of the things I regularly hear in my industry is “I don’t really like social media, so I don’t want to use it”. However my rather frank response to this would be, “so what?” it is not what you want to use that really counts, it is what your clients and prospects use that really matters. The key thing about LinkedIn is that it enables users to generate relationships with people they don’t actually know personally or communicate with offline. Granted, it should not replace relationships, but it can certainly add to them and more importantly, can facilitate conversations with new people that you may never have spoken to in a normal business environment.

So let’s start with a few key points regarding LinkedIn that you might not be aware of. Firstly there are over 155 million people on LinkedIn globally and of these, 8.8 million are from the UK. You may be surprised to hear that the average age of a LinkedIn user is 43 (certainly older than I expected anyway!) The average salary of a LinkedIn user is £55,000 and perhaps most importantly, for all those looking for that essential new business opportunity, the average budget a LinkedIn user has to spend is £12,000. Hopefully this will give you an understanding of the kind of calibre of a LinkedIn user and specifically their power and influence for making important business decisions.

So for those of you with pound signs appearing in your eyes… why not take a look at my top 10 tips to win work on LinkedIn:

Do add as many people as possible;
Do tailor your invite messages to new contacts;
Do join groups- you can be in up to 50 groups overall and most importantly groups allow you to add and be added more easily;
Do make yourself publicly available for people to add you;
Don’t be overtly sales focused when engaging with new contacts;
Don’t feel nervous about targeting people more senior to you, you may find that they get less people targeting them, therefore your invite will come as a welcome change;
Do apply key words in your profile section regarding your job role. This increases search optimisation and tells people what you do. It might be obvious but you will be amazed how many people forget;
Do create your own group and start adding people to it;
Do look at initiating polls on LinkedIn- not only will this allow you to generate unique data but it shows you are an expert in your field and on the ball in terms of the news agenda;
Do keep your personal and company profile information up to date and make sure to include all your previous career experience.

Leveson inquiry

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 10:21:32 +0100

The latest Rostrum forum covered a wide range of subjects relating to the Leveson Inquiry. Heated but constructive debate ensued in relation to the definition of public interest, how far journalists should be allowed to go, and if further legislation would help or hinder free press in the UK

We were all in agreement that much of the phone hacking -particularly in the case of Milly Dowler- was clearly wrong, inexcusable and morally corrupt. However, the debate really got going when it came to the grey area outlining the difference between exposing something for the sake of doing so (as in the case of the private lives of politicians, actors etc) and when exposing something was genuinely in the public interest. The fact that the legal definition of what is public interest (when for example the government is deciding what falls under the freedom of information act) is itself hazy didn’t clarify things or help us find a right or wrong answer to whether it is acceptable for the press to disclose ‘public interest’ stories obtained through questionably legal means.

The courts are unequivocal in their legislation. In order to be exempt from prosecution, whistle blowers, or indeed journalists need to make a ‘qualifying disclosure’ about malpractice. This could be a disclosure about criminal offences, miscarriages of justice, threats to an individual’s health and safety, damage to the environment or a deliberate attempt to cover up any of the above. Journalists are however not protected if they break the law when making a disclosure. Any disclosures are protected by law only if they are made in good faith (which means with honest intent and without malice), it is reasonably believed that the information is substantially true and it is reasonably believed that the disclosure is being made to the right 'prescribed person.'

The definition of a ‘prescribed person’ is not clear, and this created more debate during the Rostrum forum. Was it better for the press to alert authorities before printing evidence of illegality or wrong-doing? Did the public have a right to know before the outcome of an investigation? How much should the fear of presuming guilt (as happened with Christopher Jefferies during the Joanna Yates enquiry) play a part in staying an editor’s hand? Surely the bottom line should be journalists can only report what is admissible in court? Or should we follow the US Supreme court, which has recently bolstered protections for newsgathering by holding that the press may publish or broadcast illegally obtained information, as long as they do not participate in the illegal means used to obtain that information?

The only consistent argument that came through was that it was unclear as to where to draw the line. The only agreement that came out of it was that we were lucky that living in a free society enabled us to have the debate in the first place and that free press was central to this. The questions that remained were how much are we prepared to bend the morally acceptable in order to guarantee this freedom, and how far measures put in place to control it should really go. Hopefully Leveson will go some way to answering those questions definitively…

Broadcast Media doesn’t bite if you prepare properly

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:08:04 +0100

There is one question I tend to ask that can make a client shift uneasily in their seat. One question that can cause the colour to drain from the cheeks of any industry expert and has often formed the beginnings of a cold sweat on their brow. No matter how confident and successful they have been dealing with print or online media in the past just by asking ‘how do you feel about broadcast media?’ you can immediately reduce your polished media savvy spokesperson to a bag of nerves. An image of Michael Howard frantically bridging and blocking as Jeremy Paxman refuses to let it go (‘did you threaten to overrule him…?’) flashes across their memory and like a Tory Minister caught in the Newsnight studio lights and they envision their own destruction at the hands of an overzealous presenter.

Undoubtedly some people find it easier than others to calm the nagging doubts in the back of their brains and offer relaxed, engaging and on-message commentary in live interview scenarios. However, over confidence is just as dangerous as a lack of confidence and therefore it is important to ensure you are as prepared as possible for any eventuality when the camera is rolling or the ‘on air’ lights go on. The benefits of exposure on broadcast media are for all to see especially when it comes to organisations that have B2c aspirations. There is still a kudos that comes with ‘being on the telly’ not to mention the opportunity to appear in front of millions on prime time slots and to get your messages across. With that in mind here are 5 tips that any self respecting media spokesperson should always remember just before you sit in the hot seat.

1. Know your Audience

Like all media, although you are engaged in conversation with a journalist you should also remember and it may well be just you and them conversing but you are in fact speaking to a huge number of viewers / listeners via the interview and this should inform the way you answer.

2. Know your messages

One way to ensure you do this correctly is to have a clear set of objectives at the outset of the interview. What do you want your audience to know about the issue being discussed, about your organisation and about you as a spokesperson at the end of the interview? Although you must attempt to weave these messages around the general thrust of the interview this can be done if you have a clear idea of what you want to say and engage with the interviewer. Often rehearsing messages out loud can help to crystallise them.

3. Avoid Jargon

Littering your responses with industry jargon will confuse the interview, your messages and your audience. Rather than making you appear knowledgeable it may make your answer impenetrable causing people to switch off and making it unlikely that the producer will be picking the phone up to you again. Often thinking of suitable, short and easy to understand analogies and examples can help make your interview better for all concerned

4. Don’t say ‘no comment’

‘No comment’ translates as I’m trying to hide something to the audience and rather than putting a journalist off will act like a red rag to a bull. You might as well say I don’t want to answer that question as it makes me feel uncomfortable. There are ways in which you can block questions and then bridge the conversation into areas you feel more comfortable discussing. Such techniques help to prevent putting you on the spot and can be rehearsed during media training sessions

5. Dress suitably!

So many people don’t. You should remember that (especially with down the line interviews) your appearance is going to be magnified on a TV screen to millions. Even some radio programmes run live web cam shots during their broadcasts and therefore suitable attire is always a must. Try to keep still and relaxed and not flail around too much as it can be very distracting for all concerned. Remain calm, relaxed and professional as that will usually yield the best results.

Contact chris@rostrumpr.com or @chewytuite83 to discuss media training courses arranged by Rostrum Communications

Rostrum at the Protect Meeting

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:17:32 +0100

On Friday I attended the latest meeting of Protect, the association of companies and individuals working in the UK protection markets. The meetings provide over 40 representatives from the protection industry with regular opportunities to convene and discuss the latest trends and issues facing protection insurance firms.

With regulation playing a dominant role in post-credit-crunch financial services, this was an overarching theme throughout the day. The consensus was that, despite obvious inconveniences, life insurance firms seem to be holding strong in the face of new regulatory demands. For instance, FSA costs are expected to rise 40% this year, but profits in the mutual sector are still maintaining a healthy level in spite of the additional regulatory costs.

Last month’s Protection Census did however, find that protection specialist IFAs are less likely to be RDR ready than others and this reform remains a big cause for concern for the industry. Incoming European legislation on gender will also have a significant impact on insurance firms, with many nervous about the possibility of age-based regulation in the future. How can someone in their twenties be offered the same life insurance product as someone in their sixties, for example?

Simple products emerged as a hot topic with HM Treasury pushing ahead with its project to make financial products simpler. Industry professionals are worried about how they will be able to bundle protection products and make them easier for consumers to understand when they are complicated by nature and not a ‘one size fits all’ item. Although they welcome any move to encourage product design with the customer in mind, many experts at Protect felt that better financial education would be a more feasible and effective way to increase consumer confidence and understanding, in what is fast becoming a common ground across the financial services sector.

Many thanks to Steve Devine for organising an insightful and enjoyable day with engaging speakers.

The Budget 2012

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 14:35:00 +0000

This morning, the UK woke up to B+1' the day after the Budget'. The nation's newspapers, television and social media channels nationwide are offering in-depth analysis, controversial opinions and fact filled summaries. All of this activity presents huge PR opportunities and challenges for clients.

Highlights of the Budget include the reduction of the 50p tax rate to 45p, the review of pension payments dubbed the "granny tax" and the realisation of the much discussed "mansion tax".

While many different parties have their differing views on what the Chancellor has announced, Rostrum's clients have offered their thoughts on the Budget, and how they feel it will shape the year ahead.

Employment

Scott Liversidge, managing partner, Flame Health, said:

"I was hoping for more of a focus on SMEs being encouraged to recruit young people, given it such a concern for the future of the economy. Speaking from experience we have recently explored the apprenticeships in Nottingham and unfortunately pulled out due to a long and lengthy protracted process. Moreover there was very little support provided and great difficulty in understanding funding options available - I am sure we will revisit in the future."

Property

Ben Thompson, managing director, Legal & General Mortgage Club, said:

"The news that the stamp duty rate on properties worth more than £2m via companies will be raised to 15% and stamp duty on individual-owned properties worth £2m+ will be set at 7% is welcome. It can only be a good thing when tax loopholes are closed and any additional tax receipt in this regard will no doubt be very welcome indeed at this time."

Energy

Richard Forrest, partner, A.T. Kearney, said:

"The Budget and its implications for North Sea oil production is a positive move and, in our opinion, very well-targeted, particularly following previous negative tax changes to these oil reserves. Encouraging investment in the North Sea via tax changes, specifically for the more technical deeper water fields, is a good move and will entice oil and gas players who have investment options in many basins around the world."

Investments

Adrian Lowcock, senior investment adviser, Bestinvest, said:

"Although the chancellor finds tax evasion and avoidance 'repugnant' he has not made any changes to the personal tax avoidance schemes emphasising there are good avoidance schemes and bad ones. Therefore investors should continue to utilise the government endorsed schemes including ISAs, SIPPs, VCTs and EISs.

"The opportunity was missed to simplify ISA allowances, as these have become the first port of call of investors and savers alike - this budget would have been a good opportunity to tie up the loose ends in relation to ISA allowances."

SMEs

David Ballard, CEO, Northdoor, said:

“Given that many of the green shoots we have seen recently have come from smaller businesses, such as the tech start-ups in London’s Silicon Roundabout, it was good to see this was reflected in the Budget. In the future I would also like to see a Budget supporting SMEs in developing and deploying their own graduate programmes, which unlike large corporations, have relatively limited resources and experiences in developing such schemes.”

Review of 2011

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:42:19 +0000

It’s been another amazing year at Rostrum. 2011 was the year we broke the £1m fees barrier, signed major new clients - including Legal & General, API Software and Ernst & Young - and won a B2B Marketing Award! We’d like to thank our loyal clients and suppliers for supporting our business this year – and a big thank you to the team for all the amazing work they’ve done. Rostrum’s 2011 highlights included...

- Retaining so many of our longest-standing clients and continuing to do great work for clients we’ve represented for years – 6 years is our longest-standing client relationship and counting!

- Finding some amazing new Rostrum team members including Victoria Sheridan, Jo Cresswell, Alex Evans and Sam Anderson – with Tatiana Raikes moving from business support to PR Associate

- Flying Hugo to Bangladesh to attend the Climate Vulnerable Forum conference – and placing 3 bylines into the FT, including one from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon

- Getting Wolters Kluwer Financial Services on the front page of the FT

- Breaking Bestinvest’s yearly coverage target yet again

- Organising a host of news crews at Sodexo to cover ‘Bring your child to work day” during the strikes

- Promoting Project Brokers’ Xbox Kinect business intelligence app

- Investing so much time in our network – this was the year of LinkedIn – and I’m confident we’ll see the results next year

- Introducing a mentoring system across the agency

- The team trips to Barcelona and Hampshire

- Adding the experience of Mark Allatt to our team as a Consultant to develop our presence in professional services

- And breaking the million pound barrier!

Happy Christmas and New Year to all of our readers – see you in 2012!

Mark

B2B Marketing Awards: “PR agency of the year”

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:42:49 +0000

Rostrum was at the B2B Marketing Awards ceremony last week at The Honourable Artillery Company Gardens in the City of London, hosted by the stand-up comedian Jack Whitehall.

Champagne, burlesque dancers in Martini glasses, delicious food, dodgems, and a casino were all on offer in recognition of excellent work in this marketing year. Rostrum was proud to be named runner up for PR agency of the year.

An excellent night was had by all - we’re already looking forward to going one better next year and winning the category!

Seven steps to go about running a smooth social media strategy

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:08:35 +0000

A thorough analysis of what is being said online about your organisation and your competitors is a good place to start. Once you have an idea of what perceptions already exist about you, you can then seek to change or enhance these.
It is crucial that at the outset you have a clear sense of what your objectives are for your campaign and how you want this to benefit your business. Clearly identifying audiences will also go a long way, as well as identifying the internal subject matter experts that will be responsible for providing content and also outline the sign-off procedure for posting content.
You will then need to decide which tactical channels you will use to implement your campaign. Blogs, microblogging (Twitter), Social networks (LinkedIn, Facebook etc) and YouTube Channels are all free to join and offer potentially huge market penetration.
You should try and ensure you update your channels on a regular basis with focused, quality and relevant content, thus helping to establish your brand as a responsive and interactive authority in its field. Tracking conversations is also crucial to make sure you can respond quickly to any comments, positive or negative. This will well on your organisation’s customer service in a public forum.
As well as being informative, your output also needs to be regarded as authentic and transparent. Being something you’re not will immediately come across as fake and will damage credibility. For instance, you would not expect HMRC to start using colloquialisms in its Twitter posts. Your output should try to reflect the culture of your organisation where it can.
Although a more laid back and conversational approach is desirable to make a social media campaign work, compliance procedures must be followed in much the same way they are for other marketing or PR materials, so as to avoid any legal or reputational pitfalls.
As with any output, business owners will be looking for tangible ways to measure the success of social media campaigns. There are a number of basic and easy metrics to measure success or failure, such as website visits, website page views, average visitor time on your site, inbound links to your website, blog visits, Facebook followers, Twitter followers, clicks on Tweets, and so on. Social media monitoring tools are also available (such as Visible Technologies) that allow you to look at more complex trends across industry subjects and to track competitor activity and trends across the entire social media in question.

Getting involved in the online conversation

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:06:33 +0000

The fact is that most people now research and buy from the web, which means that your online presence and third party recommendations are absolutely crucial, no matter how big or small you are as an organisation. Even a cursory glance at the popular personal finance forums or a simple search on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn shows just how much is being said online in the world of financial services alone. People talk and make recommendations in cyberspace about providers and companies they trust, or indeed, identify ones they don’t! As a result, by the time a prospect comes to you they will more than likely have already formed an opinion of your service. It’s therefore vital to get involved in these conversations in order to protect the reputation of your business and generate sales leads.

Your organisation’s website should be regarded as your 21st century ‘shop window’, and how interactive and easy to navigate it is will play a vital role in defining how successful your sales are likely to be. As with any shop window its success should not just be defined by how good it looks but how effective it is at increasing footfall through the door and to the tills. In the online world this means driving traffic to your site, and social media is one of the most important tools to do this.

A social media presence that is well-integrated and consistent will generate links and improve search engine rankings and potential new business prospects. The personal nature of social media means that strong relationships can be created and maintained with customers; furthermore, it allows you to influence the opinion formed of your offerings prior to engaging with potential customers and other influencers (journalists, bloggers etc). Advisers and providers alike need to be involved in the right ‘conversations’ to ensure they don’t miss out, as buyers become increasingly armed with impressions of a business before they commit to spending their hard earned cash.

More than just tagging, poking and ‘like’-ing

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:04:08 +0000

Social media is sometimes a misunderstood phenomenon. Too often discussions on social media lead to throwaway tongue-in-cheek comments about watching dogs riding skateboards on YouTube, seeing pictures of inebriated friends on Facebook or outing celebrity misdemeanours and faux pas on Twitter. The actual fact is that excellent opportunities for interacting instantly with consumers, clients and businesses now exist in ways that they never have before, and those that harness the power of social media first are likely to benefit from a huge commercial advantage.

There is little doubt that the internet, new media and social media in particular are growing in popularity and will continue to do so. Twitter has 200 million users with 350 million tweets worldwide. Facebook has more than 750 million active users with 50% of active users logging on in any given day. Over 100 million professionals use LinkedIn to exchange information. With such huge numbers it is clear to see the growing role that the internet and social media have had, and will continue to have, in changing the way we purchase financial services and products.

However, in spite of these compelling numbers, a recent study by Earnest Agency revealed that only 16 FTSE 100 companies use Twitter in any meaningful way. This is despite the fact that at least 20% of all Tweets contain a reference to a product or a brand, or the fact that 9 out of 10 client marketers agree it is unwise to ignore social media outlets as part of a marketing strategy.

Social media is therefore not just about salacious celebrity gossip, or videos of household pets doing wacky things. It should be taken very seriously. A conversation about you is happening somewhere online, whether you like it or not, and social media gives you a chance to shape this impression of your business directly. It should be used as a way to build personal relationships with your key publics and should also be integrated fully into your existing communications activity. But most importantly, social media is a way to direct customers towards the services you have to offer, and by not engaging with it you may well be missing out on a golden opportunity to grow your business.

Rostrum does Movember

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:28:52 +0000

If you’re still calling this month ‘November’ where have you been!? A trend of growing an assortment of fetching facial hair above one’s lip has taken over Rostrum’s male staff. Never wanting to miss out on an opportunity for fun in the name of charity (and a chance for the female staff to mock the moustaches of their colleagues) we have decided to take part in our first ever Movember! As some of you may know this is all in aid of raising awareness and funds for men's health; specifically prostate and testicular cancer. An incredibly worthy cause.

Should you wish to donate to Rostrum’s support of the Mo, please visit http://www.movember.com/m/1526780.

If you want to go old school you can write a cheque payable to 'Movember', reference Rostrum Communications and Registration Number 1526780 and send it to: Movember Europe, PO Box 68600, London, EC1P 1EF

If you'd like to find out more about the type of work you'd be helping to fund by supporting Movember, take a look at the Programmes We Fund section on the Movember website: http://uk.movember.com/about

Please see below for our Week 1 shots. We will be uploading more photos as the weeks go on so watch this space...

Many thanks in advance from all at Rostrum!

Measuring the value of PR

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 11:50:34 +0000

The commonly-used word 'spin' does little to dispel the idea that PR is some kind of mysterious, shady art form that is impossible to quantify or measure.

CEOs and business decision makers tend to think in black and white, whereas PR tends to develop in varying shades of grey.

The process of measuring PR is a complicated business and can vary according to the way different companies measure success. The main problem businesses face when they embark upon a new PR campaign is that they haven’t sat down with their board (and their PR agency) and determined what it is exactly they are hoping to achieve from the campaign.

The success of a PR engagement varies from business to business. Mis-communication of goals and objectives with your PR agency in the early stages can be fatal. Once the measure of success is clearly determined, reporting the value of the PR campaign becomes less of a headache for all parties.

Whether it is measured in the quantity of increasing brand value, direct sales leads from media coverage, website traffic, raising the profile of the CEO, or possibly a combination of outcomes, there are various ways to measure this success in a clear, distinct way. This is when the marriage of straight CEO/marketing director's thinking and creative PR strategising becomes a match made in heaven. Advertising value equivalent is an old-school but popular method for many number-crunching business leaders and the growing power of social media has put likes, retweets and web traffic high on the agenda for measuring success. Adding value to a brand prior to a corporate action is another oft-ignored but very valuable aim of PR.

However you measure success, a good agency will have ways of presenting PR activity in a way that is digestible and quantifiable for all members of a board, as long as the foundations are in place to accurately measure success from the outset.

Promoting your brand at conferences and events

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:39:39 +0100

As a PR, attending events and industry conferences is an essential part of the job. In recent weeks, myself and my colleagues have attended Employee Benefits Live, Call Centre Expo, supply chain breakfast briefings and a client seminar on the theme of cloud computing, among others. But what relevance do events have to your wider PR and marketing campaign, and how can you get the most out of them?

From a marketing point of view, these events can be tricky. Journalists seldom have the time to attend briefings, and when they’re at industry conferences and trade shows, are often fiendishly busy. Hanging out by the press room in the hope of grabbing a journalist to meet you and find out about your latest widget or service is no longer a guarantee of successful coverage from an event.

So what can you do? Well, using your attendance at a recognised event can be a great way of securing interest in follow-up briefings at a later date from relevant journalists. If you’re speaking, issuing a ‘speech release’ with your main points, embargoed prior to the event, can be used to leverage interest. Man has idea on way to work – that’s not news. Man stands up on stage and tells conference about said idea – that can be news!

Or you could look at a more general release highlighting topics or issues the company is at the show or conference to promote. With smaller breakfast briefings, consider inviting a single journalist, with the promise of exclusivity, works well to overcome the time needed and the early start journalists are so quick to grumble about.

Finally, think about social media – can you yourself play the role of a reporter, giving updates from the event via social media channels? Or consider the ‘stealth survey’ or mystery shopping techniques... drop us a line if you want to find out more about these approaches to marketing your brand at events.

RDR Ready?

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:04:20 +0100

If like me you are an avid reader of the financial adviser press you can’t have failed to notice the coverage that has been afforded to the Retail Distribution Review.

RDR has been the subject on the lips of advisers since it was announced and as the industry edges towards implementation not a week goes by without one provider or another warning of the potential pitfalls that lie in wait for non-compliance or speculating as to how this will change the shape of advice in the UK.

However, although many in the know may feel they are heading towards ‘RDR fatigue’ the fact is the vast majority of the general public still remain blissfully unaware of the seismic change to how they will be receiving financial advice in the future.

That is set to change though. The likes of Which? & The Daily Telegraph have already begun to make their readers aware of the regulation and what it means for them. This level of awareness can only increase as we head towards the January 2013 deadline. With so much scratching of heads and gnashing of teeth having been caused to those within the industry it is likely to still be a mystery to the man and woman on the street. It will therefore be the duty of national and consumer personal finance press as well as regulators and the industry itself to communicate these changes in a clear and responsible way. With many IFAs set to exit the market, rule changes and changes to the way advice will categorised and sold there will need to be a huge communication effort to educate consumers. Those that realise this and articulate their messages in the clearest way are going to be the best positioned to take advantage of pre and post-RDR marketplace. There is a huge PR challenge ahead of the industry - and a correspondingly huge prize for those companies that get their message right.

Nick the cricketing hero

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 09:40:48 +0100

Regular readers may know that Nick Bolshaw has had a couple of days off work this week indulging his passion for playing cricket. And it was time well spent as Nick was the saviour of his side yesterday – in the one-dayer between Hampshire Wayfarers and Shroton CC down in Dorset, Nick scored 104 (not out) batting at no.8 to win the game for Hampshire, including 10 sixes. Our intrepid hero got to 104 from 49 balls – with his team at 80-6 when Nick went in, chasing a total of 218. Well played Nick!

Rostrum Hampshire Retreat

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 14:15:45 +0100

Swapping the manic buzz of Covent Garden for the fresh country air of Hampshire in the next of the Rostrum series of office outings, the team departed last Thursday evening to Winchester to see how Rostrum would survive in the countryside for a day.

Hugo and Holly (keen to get that ‘authentic’ country look) had made sure they packed their tweed coats and wellington boots while Tatty popped to the corner shop to purchase a plentiful supply of ‘refreshments’ to stem any potential dehydration that could ensue on the journey.

Arriving in two groups, Nick chose to take half the team with him and make the trek across Waterloo Bridge, whilst Mark decided to test whether walking or taxi really was faster in London and take the other half of the team- who promptly made a start on the refreshments. Once reunited (the taxi won), Nick used his expertise to weave the team across Waterloo station and the commuter invasion to secure seats for all of us on the carriage to Winchester.

Settled on the train, we resumed our usual office banter, with Hugo profoundly deciding after one conversation that he refused to be stereotyped and as such was “neither man nor woman”. I have to say the biggest revelation however was from the newest member of the team, Tori, who claimed she once swallowed someone’s goldfish alive!

Winchester veteran Nick gave a rather speedy guided tour of Winchester upon arrival before directing the team later in the evening to the Black Rat restaurant. While the team tucked into the culinary delights of eel, pigeon and boudin noir with green tea cheesecake or cheese to follow, Mark and Nick opened the floor to discuss company news. With much wine having been consumed, the evening was rounded off by some hilarious team games of charades and articulate, where Hugo and Tori put in a sorry performance and Holly managed to confuse the fictional 80s TV character She-Ra with the goalkeeper Alan Shearer!

The following day, a rather weary team descended, once again to a pub garden for some ‘team talk’ and wonderful presentations thanks to Holly, Mark, Chris, Hugo and Tori. Topics ranged from the financial world over the past ten years to journalist interactions and networking. Lunch completed a hard morning’s work before the team set off to try their hand at clay pigeon-shooting. Considering that Nick had never attempted clay pigeon shooting before, he ‘shot’ past the rest of the team with a sound score of 21 points. Not to be outshone, Mark and Chris both followed with a respectable 20 points swiftly followed by hunting connoisseur Tatty and the rest of the girls.

The Rostrum fitness boot camp

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:59:25 +0100

The Rostrum girls and boys are being whipped into shape as of this week by personal trainer Trystan. We are doing weekly lunchtime boot camp sessions of girls vs boys alternately. Yesterday was the girls’ turn and we went off to meet Trystan with trepidation having had to fill in a disclaimer form first.... (never a good sign). We were well and truly put through our paces, feeling like idiots in a park full of people eating their lunch in the sun.

Best quotes were my, “but we are girls, we don’t do push-ups” to be told “I don’t care how you do them, just do them....now!”. Next was, for the fourth time having to do press-ups, Nicky’s attempt to be positive “ooh I just love press ups, yeah woohoo” whilst singing to herself and Holly’s, “shut up Nicky I hate you right now”. Today we are being laughed at by the boys, we cannot walk, sit, stand, laugh and even typing this hurts a little. We will get our revenge next week when they have their turn. I promise I will post photos...