Ethos public relations

The power of technology!

2009-01-14T12:39:00.001Z

Now we all know that technology has taken over our lives - and this became abundantly clear when a power cut hit Manchester city centre recently.

The power cut only lasted two hours (for the lucky workers in the city centre at least) but it caused a fair bit of disruption. Trams were stopped in their tracks (literally!), the Manchester Wheel stopped spinning (with people inside!) and the shops in the Arndale Centre had to shut until power was restored (not what you need in these credit crunching times!)

We, at Ethos public relations, were also affected by the power cut. The phones were off, the lights were off, the computers were off – we couldn’t even make a cup of tea! But of course – we battled through and reverted back to the good old days!

Instead of having a cup of tea we had a glass of water. Instead of typing out a letter on the keyboard we wrote it by hand. Instead of using the calculator on the computer to work out a calculation we used a piece of paper and pen. And instead of using Google maps to work out the distance from one city to another we used an atlas!

My point is that it is amazing how much we rely on technology these days! About 20 years ago a power cut would not have affected a city centre that much, but now it brings it close to a standstill.

Anyway – I am off now to work on some HTML and use Skype. Ah the good old days…

Picture this...

2008-12-03T10:10:00.003Z

My latest gripe is about the number of organisations that don't seem to want to spend a couple of hundred quid to invest in some decent photographs of their business. Instead they think they can take a couple of quick snaps with their mobile and expect to end up on the cover of Time.

It really is a false economy. No, we're not all David Baileys - face up to it please - and there are people out there called "professional photographers" who are trained to take GOOD photos. (Ever tried Google...?)

A good photo really helps to sell a story. You can go to all the trouble in the world to write a polished press release, only to be emailed a sad little JPEG of someone gurning in what looks to be a broom cupboard, with the inevitable line "I hope this is OK". Well no, frankly it's not!

Spend the money, get a good set of photos taken and use them for months and years to come for marketing and PR purposes, and really show off your business in the best possible light.

There, rant over. I feel better now...

It's in the trees!

2008-11-07T11:28:00.005Z

Phew! We've finally offset last year's carbon emissions by pledging four trees to be planted in Manchester.

Ethos public relations monitors the journeys taken in the course of business and in 07-08 we did over 15,000 miles. Using the Carbon Footprint calculator we worked out that this equates to 3.24 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

As a tree absorbs approximately 1 tonne of carbon dioxide emissions in its lifetime, we pledged four trees through Carbon Footprint, to be planted in Manchester. These trees will more than offset our business travel carbon emissions for the year and would not have been planted without our support.

As we are in a serviced office, it is not possible for us to measure our office energy usage / carbon footprint, but we take lots of steps to make sure we minimise this - see our social report. By monitoring and offsetting our travel emissions, at least we are doing something to address this part of our carbon footprint.

However, I know that carbon offset is quite a contentious issue. Is planting a tree now, which will take maybe 100 years to absorb a tonne of carbon dioxide, the best solution? Although we aim to minimise our emissions, for those emissions we do create, we think it is important to do something to offset them, but are there other, better solutions? What do you think?

And here is the news...

2008-11-05T16:48:00.001Z

With all the doom and gloom in the news about the economic crisis and violence, both in the UK and across the world, it is good to see that there are still those with a great sense of humour.

Lately, while going through the BBC News website, newspaper websites, etc, I have been finding myself chuckling away at some of the stories they have included.

For instance - did you read about the man who got stuck (well I say stuck - I mean glued!) to the toilet seat? And you must have heard about US vice-presidential hopeful Sarah Palin being the victim of a prank call at the weekend?

My personal favourite though was the story of a man who got his hand stuck down a toilet!

With all these stories in the media it shows a funnier side to the news in contrast to the endless stories of falling house prices and rising fuel bills.

School Governance Needs Serious Review

2008-10-20T10:53:00.001+01:00

A recent report entitled Governing Our Schools suggests that people are put off from becoming school governors due to complex and demanding work comes as no surprise.

I have been a school governor at at Manchester primary school for seven years , including Chair for three years and the role as described by the local authority as a 'critical friend' is nowhere near the reality. An effective school governor must be prepared to give up a considerable amount of their time and they must be reasonably intelligent in order to fully understand the reams of paperwork that is regularly churned out from national and local bodies.

However, most importantly governors must recognise that they have considerable legal obligations under health and safety legislation and employment legislation. It is ridiculous to hold a volunteer group accountable for many of these issues, given there is a team of paid qualified staff on the school premises, in addition to the numerous highly paid (and often over paid) teams of civil servants at both local and national level. The system is seriously flawed and needs urgent review.

Finally, unless you are unemployed or retired you need to work for an employer who shares your commitment to 'putting something back into society'. Legally governors are allowed a reasonable time off work (but pay is at the discretion of the employer); I am fortunate to work for an organisation that has a social conscience - otherwise I would not be able to fulfil my governor duties. Sadly there are not too many companies like Ethos public relations that are willing to do this. This is another reason why schools have difficulty filling governor vacancies and that governors do not last long - or even worse have their name on the Governing Body but can never take time off work to attend any meetings

Bras for Aly

2008-10-10T15:03:00.002+01:00

As part of our work for skincare specialists Laserase Bolton, we're helping to organise a Breast Cancer Care event at its clinic at Royal Bolton Hospital on 23 October.

One of Laserase's nurses - Alyson Porter - died in July from breast cancer. Alyson had fought and won the right to be prescribed the drug Herceptin by Royal Bolton Hospital a few years ago and, as a result, many other women suffering from cancer have benefitted from the drug which can increase life expectancy.

Laserase Bolton is asking that women send in old bras with a donation and hopes to get a mile of bras (1800!!) which will be hung up on a washing line around the premises. The bras in turn will go to Oxfam to send to women in the developing world.

We're really eager for every one to get involved, so if you have a bra to donate and live locally, please take it to Laserase Bolton - or even better - come along to the clinic and support Breast Cancer Care between 11am and 2pm on the 23 October - it's sure to be a good bash!

Subject Matters

2008-10-01T13:29:00.003+01:00

I was talking to a journalist on a local newspaper recently and she was telling me that she only had time to read the subject line of an email to decide whether a story was worth following up on.

On the one hand, I can understand with the amount of emails we all get, that this could sometimes be inevitable, but on the other hand, it is a bit worrying if the local news agenda is being determined by the subject line of an email. This could mean that many good, relevant stories are overlooked and all the work that goes into PR and writing press releases is wasted.

I guess the important thing from a PR point of view is to make sure that the subject line of your email succinctly reflects the story you trying to communicate, and focuses on the appropriate angle for that publication. As an obvious example, if the release is about an organisation in Liverpool and you're sending it to the Liverpool newspapers, make sure you tell them that it's about Liverpool in the subject line. (Generic 'subject' descriptions which don't have an obvious local angle will almost surely be overlooked.)

As a result, my email distribution rules are fourfold:

1) Get the 'subject' description right for the media you are targeting.
2) Carefully summarise the relevant points of the press release in your covering email.
3) Include the full press release, of course, but assume that the journalist is only likely to read if if they have got through stages one and two.
4) Follow up with a phone call (probably most important).

Now, why did I send that press release about Norwich to the Edinburgh newspapers? (Only joking...)

Blog Two: Party Time!

2008-08-13T16:02:00.002+01:00

Four weeks today we'll be putting the final pieces in place for our 10th birthday bash at Bluu!

The excitement's building as the days pass and we're all looking forward to getting together with our friends, colleagues, clients and suppliers for a bit of a knees up. It's just our way of saying thank you to everyone who has supported us over the years.

I understand that work on the cocktail brochure is progressing nicely, and we're on tenterhooks to find out whose cocktail won the competition (...well some of us might know, but everyone else will have to wait until the party!) We certainly enjoyed tasting our way through all the entries to come up with a short list and the winning cocktail will be served on the night.

Roll on Wednesday 10 September...

(PS: If you've had an invitation, don't forget to RSVP)

Blog One: Summer Silly Season

2008-08-13T15:43:00.003+01:00

When the radio came on this morning, I thought there'd been a time shift and it was April Fool's Day. As I struggled into consciousness I began to remember it was August and the annual news "silly season". In fact, what I heard was so silly it really was quite funny...

There was a talking head on the Today programme telling us all that basically northern cities should be closed down and we should all move to Oxford and Cambridge! You've got to laugh, haven't you?

The fact that a right wing think tank comes up with a theory that northern cities are beyond revival (someone should have told John Lewis before they opened their superb new store in Liverpool the other week) maybe isn't that surprising. The fact that Today dedicated an earnest five minutes at prime time to this dross was. It might seem that there's not much news at the moment, except The Olympics and the Russian invasion of Georgia, but come on, there must be something better than that!

I won't be packing my bags to move down south just yet - but then I do live in Chester. Is that city safe for the moment, do you think?

My Olympics experience - well kind of

2008-08-08T11:40:00.002+01:00

With the Olympics officially starting today I thought I would tell you of my Olympics-like experience.

On 24-27 July I played in the 2008 Eurogames in Barcelona. What are they I hear you ask! Well the Eurogames is a competition full of gay athletes who participate in 28 different sport disciplines. This year 5,300 people took part, including my team Village Manchester Football Club.

Like the Olympics there was an opening ceremony and a closing ceremony and like the Olympics both ceremonies were very…random I think the word is!

The football competition took place over 25-26 July in the sweltering Spanish sun. We faced teams from Rome, Bilbao, and Paris to name but a few and did really well (…we didn’t win).

It was a really good event which promoted diversity around Europe and also around the world and it was good to see so many people from so many different places come together to celebrate.

For the next couple of weeks though the Olympics will take over our TV screen – anyone fancy playing a game of softball? Archery? Thought not….it’s a pity they do not have a tree felling event – I’d definitely get the gold medal!

Is PR all 'spin'?

2008-08-01T10:29:00.002+01:00

As part of my part-time course in public relations - www.cipr.co.uk - I had to choose and write an essay of my own choice, and I choose one examining PR 'spin'.

Since having quite a big career change last year and moving into public relations, it's been met with mixed reactions from friends and family - usually who don't understand what it is that I do and occasionally claim it's all fluffy stories and 'spin'.

So the burning question, did I find that PR is all 'spin'? Well no but, as expected, it is quite a complex issue. PR has a chequered history. For instance, Edward Bernays - considered to be the Father of PR - was a nephew of Sigmund Freud and studied social sciences. He believed that we should 'control the masses' through PR.

And then we are awash with examples of wartime propaganda distributed by the Government, again where truth wasn't always essential. The recent example of spinmeister Alistair Campbell and his production of documents on why Britain should go to war with Iraq has again done very little for the reputation of public relations. So it seems that labels of 'spin' are understandable.

But PR has evolved and is evolving. Just analysing examples of PR campaigns today show that not all PRs can be tarnished with the same brush. Campaigns now are well planned and often involve two-way communication, so reliant on the feedback of the public. PR isn't just a case of 'pumping out' information.

Some PR campaigns involve an element of persuasion - as within many other professions like sales and advertising - but the full arguments were spelt out and evidence was based on fact.

Yes, even today there are bad examples of PR practitioners who do use 'spin' - and unfortunately when this happens it often turns up in print because of our close relationships with journalists. This just wouldn't happen in other professions.

But there's a lot to a PR function other than media relations (i.e. speaking to journalists and issuing press releases). We also do community relations, internal communications, marketing, production of publications, website development and writing blogs like this one!

So no, PR isn't all 'spin' and I have a 2500 word essay on it if any one disagrees!

A weekend in Blackpool

2008-07-09T12:56:00.002+01:00

Although the title of this blog entry does sound like a weekend of drinking and dancing I was actually in Blackpool (for only the second time in my life) to work.

One of our clients were holding a weekend conference on the seafront at the north west of England’s version of Majorca – minus the sun of course! Sean and I made our way to the venue with our Ethos public relations/Blackpool postcards in hand to promote our business and also to help our clients.

Throughout the weekend I did many things that I don’t usually do on a normal weekend. Out went the football practice and a couple of quiet beers and in came getting our blood pressure and cholesterol measurement taken, becoming a cameraman and having ‘lessons’ on photography, stitching and tree felling (yes that’s right - tree felling – ask me anything about it because I am an expert now)!

It was my first Co-operative Congress – the annual event for the co-operative sector in the United Kingdom - and I was pleasantly surprised by it. I even got to do some celebrity spotting…well that is if you call Hazel Blears and Camilla Parker Bowles celebrities….

Right I must go - I have to fell a tree - I am an expert now don't you know!

Support Our Boat Store!

2008-07-01T13:43:00.003+01:00

Rudyard Sailability is calling on Staffordshire Moorlands District Council to support their application for planning permission to build a boat store at Rudyard Lake.

As a member of Rudyard Sailability, which provides a unique and valuable service for disabled people to learn to sail, I can't stress how important this facility is.

Suitable storage is vital if Rudyard Sailability is to improve and enhance its service and provide opportunities to more disabled people. The current boat storage is in a poor state and totally inadequate. In fact it's an eye-sore which could be replaced by a new building that complements the local surroundings.

Without the new boat storage, it's hard to see how Rudyard Sailability can continue its fantastic role. It would be a shame if, after all the hard work of so many volunteers, the scheme had to end because of a lack of suitable storage facilities.

Rudyard Sailability is a very special facility which Staffordshire Moorlands District Council should be proud of and should support. It is developing into a national resource which is helping to promote Rudyard Lake and this part of England.

The location and design of the boat store will provide greater independence, security and comfort to the Rudyard Sailabilty operation, and will fit naturally into the landscape, blending in with the existing Victorian-style, lakeside buildings.

If you can support our application visit: http://publicaccess.staffsmoorlands.gov.uk/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/application_detailview.aspx?caseno=K1D7E5PG08600&searchtype=WEEKLY

Girls are better than boys because.......

2008-05-27T13:52:00.000+01:00

Girls are better than boys – they really are!

As I was ‘pretend’ wrestling with my 7 year old son in the park – he did his WWE pin down on me until I had surrendered and then jumped up shouting ‘yeah –boys are better than girls.’

Naturally, I found this totally unacceptable so kicked his legs from underneath him, threw him to the floor, sat on his chest and said ‘what do you have to say now –sucker?”

No, don’t worry child protection agencies – of course I didn’t. I explained calmly and rationally that sexual stereotypes were simply not acceptable in the 21st century and that anything he could do – his sister could do too (and better, faster and more efficiently– only I said that bit in my head so as not to dent his tender developing male ego). But multi tasking and managing that duel role of career and housework does make girls better than boys.

For example before I’ve arrived at work I’ve dressed, washed and fed two children,delivered them to school on time – walked and fed the dog – and of course titivated myself to look reasonable to clients and colleagues.

Before my male colleagues have arrived at work – well, they’ve just arrived at work!

OK we all have a full and busy day – but as we leave exhausted, tired and ready to collapse – what happens next.

Well, I collect child number 1 from the childminders and child number 2 from after school club. I get home and start to prepare supper. (Male colleague arrives home and opened his Chardonnay). Whilst that’s cooking I’ll start making the lunches for the following day. After supper I’ll load the dishwasher around my husband who stands masterfully in the kitchen with a dishcloth in hand looking at any minute that he’s going to use it – but never quite does. (Male colleague changed into something more comfortable and just finished his M&S supper).

Then there’s usually washing to load, ironing to be done or a floor to be vacuumed. Of course there’s home work (which I always have to do as Dad shouts when they can’t do it), bath time and bedtime (which I usually have to do as I tell better stories).

(Male colleague – prostrate on sofa watching The Apprentice).

With children in bed or at least safely locked in their cells for the evening – I’ll usually spend at hour on the computer finishing up work from the day or preparing for a meeting the next day and by now it’s 10 pm and I’m ready for bed. (Male colleague, glances at his blackberry).

Just as I’m creeping up the stairs, hubby will say, aren’t you going to talk to me then, I’ve not seen you all day. AAARGH.
(Male colleague, slips of his kimono and into bed).

Seriously folks – I do believe women can have it all. They can have the job and motherhood. And housework and drudgery and basically every other day to day mundane task that without us would just not happen. And that’s because girls are better than boys.

PS Just in case husband is reading this I haven’t mentioned the extension he’s built, the garden he’s re turfed, the wooden flooring he’s laid or the new kitchen he’s fitted because they don’t really count as day to day stuff!

No expenses spared

2008-05-27T09:23:00.002+01:00

The sorry spectacle of MPs scrabbling to keep their expenses secret probably bemuses most of us. For people like me involved in running a business, I am sure it appears even more ludicrous. The thought of anyone trying to hide their expenses or deliberately claiming for things they weren't supposed to claim for would be pretty outrageous. Openness and accountability are essential in business. Why should it be any different for MPs?

The irony is, I think most reasonable people recognise that MPs have a unique job - with homes in different places, a lot of travel and many social expenses - and most of us would probably expect them to be able to claim for many more things that those of us in other jobs wouldn't need to.

A clear, publicly-accessible expenses policy, with claims open to public scrutiny is long overdue. To me, anything less would be unacceptable. After all it's our money they're spending!

Great Manchester Run

2008-05-19T12:13:00.004+01:00

I was one of 31,000 people that ran yesterday's Great Manchester 10K in the city centre and the atmosphere was fantastic!

Runners of all abilities took part in the race many of whom, like me, were raising money for charities with important causes - and doing a very good job of it too from what I could see!

The support from the crowds cheering us all on was amazing and I didn't realise that it would spur me on so much in the final 2K when I really wanted to just stop and walk! But I kept going and finished in exactly 1 hour (well, 1 hour 9 seconds to be exact) which I was happy with.

At the end of it, I was absolutely knackered and determined never to put myself through another 10K - but today I'm looking back with rose tinted glasses and searching other runs in the area that I could do!

I can certainly see why running is so addictive - apart from getting you fit, there's always the challenge to keep beating your time that runners re-enter races like the Great Manchester 10K every year. I'm already thinking about those 10 seconds that I need to knock off to get under the hour!

To read more about the race, go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester

Scotland invades England!

2008-05-15T15:06:00.000+01:00

With our office being based in Manchester city centre the last few days have been…well quite interesting.

The usual sounds of a car or two going past the window or other office workers having a chat and a cigarette (or a ‘fag and a nag’ as I like to call it!) were replaced by the sounds of thousands of Glasgow Rangers football fans professing their love for their club and bagpipes!

It’s fair to say that the UEFA Cup Final has made the usual city work day a lot different – and I think that that is a good thing.

The usual suits were overwhelmed by 100,000 plus blue shirts and the area had a buzz around it that I have never experienced. Even non-football fans must have been amazed with the sight that appeared in from off them on their normally tranquil streets.

Mind you now that the fans are gone, the helicopters over head are silent, the city squares are clean, it makes you enjoy the city the way it is!

China in your hands

2008-04-07T17:51:00.002+01:00

There's been pretty universal condemnation of China's actions in Tibet, and the Olympic protests have certainly raised awareness of the issue, but in my opinion, if people really want to have an impact, they should stop buying Chinese goods. I know it's not easy when nearly every product on the high street seems to be made in China, but it's possible, even if it does require a bit of effort.

It would also be good if people were more willing to ask retailers for non-Chinese products, as then they might think more about sourcing goods from elsewhere. Politics aside, the predominance of Chinese manufacturing is not good for the world economy - other countries need jobs and income too. China might be cheapest, but it certainly isn't best.

Are there too many social networking sites?

2008-04-01T11:00:00.000+01:00

Like everyone else in the UK I have a Facebook profile. I have a MySpace profile too. I also have a Where Are You Now profile. People are also inviting me to join Bebo and have a profile there. But is there any real need for me to have all these profiles?

I check my Facebook profile daily to see if anyone has wrote on my wall or poked me. But I rarely check my other two profiles. For me, one social networking profile is enough. This is why I find it interesting that so many social networking sites are springing up all over the place.

There are specific sites for old school friends, specific sites for people working in public relations, specific sites for people looking for that special person and now there are even specific sites just for mothers! An example of this is a website called Netmums – dubbed the MySpace for mothers – where mums can exchange their views and thoughts on parenthood.

I am all up for there being sites where people feel included in a ‘community’ and are able to learn new things from people in similar positions but sometime soon a line has to be drawn. In the not too distant future there could be a social networking site dedicated to those that are addicted to social networking sites!

And don’t get me started on Virtual worlds!

What ever happened to going down to the pub to have a drink face to face with a mate you haven’t seen in a while?

Anyway rant over – I am away to poke one of my mates and have a wall to wall conversation with someone who only lives five minutes away…

Home is where the work is...

2008-03-18T15:03:00.002Z

I've worked at home on and off since starting at Ethos public relations and I have to say it's great! I'm sure it wouldn't suit everyone, but for me it works well. You've got to be disciplined and self motivated, of course, but it is nice to get that extra flexibility.

In the beginning I imagined (as I'm sure most people would) that I could do a couple of hours work here and there and then go and sit in the garden or whatever, but to be honest that has never happened as I've always been too busy, and besides, I would feel incredibly guilty!It's typical, as well, that the minute you think of easing up for half an hour, the phone rings and you're straight back at your PC.

On the other hand, it is far too easy to work longer hours and to 'do a bit' at the weekend or in the evening. Of course, as with many jobs, sometimes this is necessary, but again it comes down to discipline. The key, for me, is to keep a time in mind after which I won't work unless it's an emergency and to try and stick to it. Then it's best to close the 'office' door and not go back until the next morning.

There's also the issue of social interaction, but to be honest, that has never been a problem for me, especially when you're on and off the phone all day. (I do go to the Manchester office from time to time too!)

It's true, of course, that realistically not everyone in an organisation such as ours could work from home all the time, but it suits my personal circumstances and thankfully my colleagues are very supportive!

Practice really does make perfect

2008-03-11T16:29:00.002Z

As part of my voluntary work for aid agency CAFOD, I was asked to do an interview at BBC Radio Manchester - www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/local_radio - on Sunday morning. As well as being an early start for a weekend (8.30am!), live radio interviews are a very nerve-racking experience.

I presented a request show at Radio General - www.radiogeneral.co.uk - for almost three years and so you’d think that I’d be a ‘dab-hand’ at broadcasting. But it’s a completely different ball game being on the other side of the studio desk, having to remember your key messages, argue your point and sound relaxed yet passionate all at the same time!

I think the key to a good interview is that old, worn-out expression “Practice Makes Perfect”. And with six interviews under my belt now, I think I can finally say that I’m starting to get the hang of it!

Word perfect?

2008-03-06T10:50:00.005Z

How important is it to get the right word? When we read, we don't take in every word - our brain fills in the gaps and we see what we think we see. That's why proof reading isn't as easy as it sounds!

In my experience when proof reading a magazine, you can almost always spot errors which someone else has missed! This is especially true if you write something and then try to proof read it yourself - you're almost guaranteed to miss something. Of course with 'spell check', 'grammar check' etc it is easy to quickly scan an email or report on your PC for mistakes - although you should never just rely on these tools. However, if you are putting together a printed document, or even an e-bulletin that needs to be spot on, get someone else to check it before sending it out!

I think I'm pretty good at proof reading, but I had my own blind spot this week. Someone told me there was a mistake in a document, but could I see it? It turned out that the word sufficiently had been used instead of significantly, which totally transformed the meaning of the sentence and could very easily have gone unnoticed! Not even a spell check could have picked that up!

Annual reports...and any other publications

2008-03-04T12:09:00.008Z

Producing an annual report?

Thinking about how you are going to produce your annual report?

At Ethos public relations in Manchester we understand how much annual reports – possibly more than any other publication – tell people about your organisation. My colleagues and I have been producing magazines and annual reports for many years and have vast experience of commissioning, copywriting and managing the production of publications.

To make things easy we thought that we would condense our knowledge and give you a few tips that we think are essential for any organisation.

The look

Give the person managing your annual report a written brief describing what you want the document to achieve, who the audience is, how it will be distributed and in particular let them know of any documents you have seen that you really like, and more importantly, those you really don’t!

The words

Ensure ONE person is responsible for collating – and writing – all the text. Usually in an annual report different people supply different sections. That’s fine, just get one person to pull it into a master document and iron out any inconsistencies of style, grammar, font etc.

Photographs

Source – or commission – high quality, high-resolution images that work with the text. Ensure the captions add to the message – in many cases readers only look at the caption, so make them get your message across.

The schedule

Set a realistic schedule. Stick to it and ensure any deviation from it is thought through. Often a publication can still be printed on time if other elements of the schedule are properly managed.

Distribution

So often this is the last thing considered when putting together the report. But it should be the first! How and when or to whom it will be distributed will influence lots of things. There is nothing worse than seeing stacks of reports left over after a meeting because there was too little time to send it out!

So now you can stop thinking about that annual report and start writing it!!

Press Cuttings - To have or not to have

2008-02-26T12:11:00.004Z

I recently attended a marketing meeting with a major client in Manchester and as is usual arrived armed with the latest batch of press cuttings. At the client's request we counted how many cuttings had been generated by the London based press cuttings agency he paid a small fortune to use. Of the 50+ press cuttings Ethos public relations had generated over Jan and Feb, only 5 were from the cuttings agency. The rest were from newspapers we had read and an internet news search (we used the originals by the way NLA!). It seemed immediately obvious therefore that the press cuttings agency was redundant.

The problem with the London based agencies is that despite their promises, they don't actually read the regional/weekly papers very well. And despite the fact that, as we all know, press cuttings are not the best way to evaluate the success of a PR campaign, for many clients it is - it really is. Forget all the complicated, fancy new fangled methods of evaluations so favoured by our colleagues elsewhere, many, many clients do like to see a healthy batch of coverage - and let's be honest, so do we!

However, is it better to buy in your own papers and use the internet to find your coverage - or should we still be paying for that London agency to pretend to read those all important local papers. What do you think?

Welcome

2008-02-25T16:47:00.001Z

Hello,

This is our first posting to our blog, so bear with us until we fill it with content. We hope to bring you an insight into the world of public relations through this blog. In particular, we will tell you something of our industry and of the clients we work with.

If you have any questions about PR, feel free to leave a comment or get in touch and we will do our best to answer you directly. If you want to see press releases from our clients our main website - www.ethos-pr.com - will continue to show these.

Happy reading

Ethos public relations