Did I mention my new bag?

The Hermes Birkin. The Chanel 2.55. The Mulberry Bayswater.

What are they I hear you say?

They are bags, beautiful, amazing, stylish, delectable, highly sought after bags.

Not just bags, ‘IT’ bags.

These bags claim to be classics. The sort that will never be unfashionable.

The sort that the wealthy buy in batches yet normal girls like me can only dream of owning.

And that I do. Every day I envision how my outfit would look if I could add the Mulberry Alexa in Oak Ostrich (my personal favourite bag of all time) to it.

But seeing as it costs almost as much as a year’s rent, I somehow don’t think my student budget will stretch that far.

On my first day of university I was introduced to my flat mate and quite frankly as soon as I met her I was over ridden with jealously. Hanging off her arm she had my dream bag, there in all its wonderfulness. I was in awe.

I later discovered she had even more amazing bags hidden away in her room, and I’m sure you can imagine my excitement when she told me, ‘you can borrow any of them any time you want’.  So of course I snapped up the offer, I chose to borrow her pale brown patent Mulberry Bayswater for a friend’s birthday meal and I can honestly say my borrowed bag got more attention than the birthday girl herself.

So why are bags such as these so appealing? I mean they are probably retailed at 10 times what they actually cost to make and when it comes down to it there just a leather handbag with a designer name or logo emblazoned on the front. They are usually quite plain and come in fairly standard colours, with hardly an evidence that it had been bought from one of the world’s best fashion houses.

Many people could look at a Hermes Birkin and not give it a second thought, but girls like me could spot one a mile away.

The scenes of Gossip Girl are full of these bags, Serena Van Der Woodsen appears to own every designer bag ever made and whatever she doesn’t own her best friend Blair Waldorf is likely to have in at least five different colours. Magazine pages are shrouded with the season’s top 10 pieces of arm candy. Victoria Beckham is rumoured to have over 100 Birkin bags all in different colours, the Kardashian Sisters between them must have about 500 designer holdalls, whilst Beyonce probably has enough to give the whole population of NYC a bag each.

Ok, so it all does sound a little superficial and shallow does it not? But we still all want one right? (at least us girls do ).  If Kim Kardashian can have a 10 Birkins why can’t we?

Well, I can only guess but I doubt Kimmy Khad to pay for any of her Birkin bags at all. This is because of the simply genius actions of the PR team behind Hermes. Their business strategy probably goes a little like this:

Step 1: Send a celebrity a few new bags.

Step 2: The celebrity uses the bags and paparazzi gain pictures of them with the bag.

Step 3: Bag instantly comes more desirable to the public.

Step 4: sales of the bag increase

Simple isn’t it? And probably a lot cheaper than conjuring up an extravagant marketing campaign. It gets the bags seen by many different audiences and the picture of a celebrity with their bag has the potential to be all over magazines and newspapers supplying a business with perfect coverage of their product.

I just can’t see why Mulberry aren’t sending their newest recruit the Mulberry Carter … I’m a student, please mulberry have some sympathy!

I am, of course, referring to The X Factor.

I suppose now would be a good time to confess, I have never watched X Factor before, and as you can probably guess, I was less than impressed by it, and probably won’t be watching it again!

X Factor refusenik Sophie Sadler

However, my personal dislike of the show aside, there is no denying that X Factor has a massive following here in the UK, and many former contestants have indeed gone on to bigger and better things – Leona Lewis, JLS and One Direction to name a few.  So why is the show so popular?

The last series (series eight no less!) still managed to draw in an average of around 12 million viewers, and yet to me, the format is dated, the sob stories annoying and the ending predictable. Put simply: I cannot see the X Factor of The X Factor!

Perhaps it’s the controversy surrounding the shows?

Even an X Factor novice like me is often made aware of the ins and outs of the show thanks to huge media coverage from every angle possible, not to mention that X Factor seems to be the only conversation worth having to most people my age for a good three months of the year.

This series saw the scandal surrounding eighteen year old contestant Frankie Cocozza’s departure from the show, following rumours of drug abuse and a vague official statement from The X Factor which simply stated that naughty Frankie had “broken the golden rule”.

And then there was HMV’s “Winner’s Single” blunder, when only one contestant’s song was available for pre-download on the store’s website, weeks before the official winner was due to be announced. This led to dozens of rumours that the show’s outcome was fixed, and resulted in said contestant’s departure from the show the following week – coincidence? Hmm, maybe not.

So what does the future hold for X Factor? Despite staggeringly high viewer figures, the show’s audience had definitely dwindled from last series, dropping nearly a million viewers.

Even the god of high trousers, Simon Cowell himself, was not a judge on the show this year, prompting whispers that perhaps the show is on its final legs. The format is starting to wear a little thin with the masses, and rumours of fixed outcomes and fiddled voting figures have not done the show any favours this year.

And yet… it’s still the topic of the moment whenever it’s on, and those who don’t keep up with it – i.e. me – often find themselves social outcasts during its run. Not to mention the fact that gossip magazines and celebrity culture are still enjoying a period of rule in the UK right now, and shows like X Factor not only provide plenty of gossip, but also feature celebrity judges and guest performances.

For example, Gary Barlow (Take That), Kelly Rowland (Destiny’s Child) and Tulisa Contoslavlos (N-Dubz) were all judges in Series 8, and their rivalry, dramas and outfits provided enough gossip to keep the show in the weekly glossies for the entirety of the show’s run.

Well, it appears The X Factor does have some sort of X Factor, at least for the time being anyway. And for those who can’t stand the thought of another series of whiny, badly dressed contestants with a predictable, anti-climatic finale?

Well, at least we can look forward to another couple of months of empty nightclubs on a Saturday night.

Ben Frith

In light of a recent event where Jeremy Clarkson voiced his opinion regarding the public sector strikes, one question has been crossing my mind: does controversy sell? I think that the answer is yes.

Clarkson made an appearance on BBC One’s ‘The One Show’ on Wednesday 30^th November to promote his upcoming DVD and sparked controversy when, in response to the presenters’ questions regarding the recent strike over pensions, he stated:

“I’d have them [the strikers] all shot. I would take them outside and execute them in front of their families. I mean, how dare they go on strike when they’ve got these gilt-edge pensions that are going to be guaranteed while the rest of us have to work for a living.”

This comment has since received over 31,000 complaints, despite countless apologies from the BBC and Clarkson himself claiming his remarks were just a ‘joke’. I’d like to know whether this was a genuine accident or whether the ‘stunt’ was planned beforehand in an attempt to generate interest around Clarkson and, ultimately, to sell more DVDs.

The death of Michael Jackson is another apt example of how controversy sells. After his untimely and suspicious death in June 2009, it could be argued that Jackson’s posthumous career has matched that when he was alive. When news of his death surfaced on the internet, his album sales shot through the roof and occupied the top 15 spots on Amazon’s bestsellers list and over 1 million copies of his songs were bought online. Would this have happened if it wasn’t for his sudden death and the controversy that the media generated around it? Probably not.

Buzz sells

The same could be argued of Amy Winehouse, as sales of her second studio album, Back to Black, increased 37-fold following the young artist’s death earlier this year. Before her sudden passing, Winehouse’s albums had fallen out of the charts, but as soon as news of her death leaked online her albums occupied top spots across the country. Why, you ask? I think this is because ‘buzz’ sells – hype around a certain celebrity, or business, definitely improves sales of their products.

I understand why some public figures and companies might use controversy as a form of promotion, because the more that people talk about your product, the more you’re likely to sell, right? But this leads to questions about whether such tactics should be used in business and whether there should be regulations regarding how businesses are allowed to promote their products. This would obviously be difficult to control in terms of live broadcasts, but should there be set punishments when controversy, especially when it has offended many people, is blatantly used to generate more sales?

Although some would call it distasteful and sometimes downright horrible, I believe that with or without punishment, controversy will continue to be used in promotion. If controversy creates hype around a product and improves sales, I don’t think businesses, especially those that are well established and powerhouses in a specific field would think twice about receiving a small fine if it means their sales soar.

Alex King

In a TV advertisement, Cheryl Cole will tell you she’s “found an answer to our hair prayers” and that L’Oréal products are the solution to all of our dull, lifeless hair problems.

She obviously fails to mention that she is being paid to say all of this.

Using celebrities as spokespeople for products is hardly a new concept.

Enlisting an A-Lister as an ambassador for a brand has now become a mainstream promotional tactic.

With the rise of the web and social media, more and more people are researching products online before they buy. And when your favourite celebrity endorses something, does it influence you?

While many of us are now more media aware and have caught on that what celebrities say about certain products might not be sincere and genuine, celebrity endorsement has now become more devious with the social media boom.

What are the benefits of using a celebrity to endorse your products?

Beauty and glamour

The world of celebrity goes hand in hand with beauty and glamour, and your customers will start to associate this with your brand. Celebrities attract attention and this helps build recognition and trust with an audience. Many will be guided by their favourite celebrities and try and model themselves after them, making it easier to persuade them to buy your product purely by using Cheryl Cole in your ad.

Sex and drugs

While it can be beneficial for a brand, it can also be disastrous, particularly when a scandal is involved.  After all, we all remember what happened with Tiger Woods (sex) and Kate Moss (drugs). Numerous brands will soon cut ties with celebrities who can damage their reputations, particularly those brands seeking a family-friendly image.

These days, companies are starting to recognise Twitter as a powerful PR tool. If you want Kim Kardashian to tweet about loving your brand or products, her over 11 million followers will see it. While some of those will recognise the tweet as a marketing ploy and ignore it, many others will research the product, and a fair few will go on to buy it. While Twitter has been dubbed as ‘Free PR’ certain celebrities can charge you over $10,000 per tweet about your brand. So this option is immediately ruled out for small brands with limited budgets.

So is this fair?

Legal, decent, honest, truthful – and disclosed

This has led to calls for independent watchdogs and tighter regulation. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has started cracking down on Twitter users and bloggers. They recently reached a decision following an investigation into social media firm Handpicked Media which operates a commercial blogging network – insisting that it must clearly state its relationship with the brand, including whether or not promotional comments have been paid for. Perhaps this will put an end to some of the dishonesty but it can never be completely stopped.

In the culture we live in, celebrities are always in demand and celebrity endorsements will always be big business. While it can be a very effective tactic, many of us media cynics see it as a way of deceiving the naïve and misleading the public. While it can’t be stopped, perhaps more regulation and control is in order as the lines can often be somewhat hazy.

What are your thoughts? Is it acceptable for PR professionals to consider celebrities to endorse their products, particularly via Twitter? Or do you think there should be more regulation by independent watchdogs?

Jessica Johnson

Only a few years ago PR was deemed to be one of the most important sectors of the business world. During the economic recession, it became one of the worst hit by job cuts.

PR was predominantly used by organisations to communicate corporate messages to publics, stakeholders and shareholders. More recently organisations, businessmen and celebrities now use social media to communicate directly with the public, communicating a more personal and usually effective message across.

It has become a popular two way communication tool with many celebrities holding question and answer periods on Twitter in their free time. Twitter users can directly contact the stars and ask any questions they may have about any topic.

Some of the most famous UK Tweeters are Rio Ferdinand, Sir Alan Sugar, Piers Morgan, Wayne Rooney, Lady Gaga and most recently Cheryl Cole, who had over 300,000 followers without even tweeting. The use of social media is also increasing within the sporting industry with numerous sports people using Twitter, such as Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, Michael Vaughn, Joey Barton and Jessica Ennis.

Wayne Rooney took the public and media by storm by posting the first picture of his hair transplant on Twitter in June earlier this year. The support Rooney received was phenomenal and quickly lead to numerous young men admitting they were embarrassed by their lack of hair and stating they too would consider having a transplant. Clinics are worried however as the men are not considering the risks that are involved in the procedure. Who needs a PR when you have the world at your fingertips?

Twitter can however magnify problems to the media. Jason Manford found this out when it was exposed he had been having what was described as, ‘steamy chats to 12 girls on Twitter and video calls on Skype’. Vernon Kay and Ashley Cole have also suffered from Twitter after flirting with girls via the social media site.

Wayne Rooney has also been into trouble after he received abuse from a user calling him, “a “fat whore” and threatened to “smash ya head in with a pitchin wedge.” Rooney retaliated by replying to the user saying, “I’ll put u asleep within 10 seconds u little girl. Don’t say stuff and not follow up on it. I’ll be waiting”. The Manchester United and England footballer later claimed it was all banter and that he never intended to fight the Twitter user.

Earlier this season West Ham defender Danny Gabbidon was fined £6,000 by the FA for improper conduct after leaving Twitter with the message: “U know what, f*** the lot of you, u will never get another tweet from me again, you just don’t get it do you. Bye bye. While former Liverpool player Ryan Babel was fined £10,000 for improper conduct, after posting a picture of Howard Webb in a Manchester United shirt following Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford in the FA Cup.

Social media isn’t all bad however as it helps people keep in touch with friends, keep up to date with issues, listen to celebrities opinions and their version of the truth behind the headlines, but when used improperly can cause quite a stir in the media.

Due to the increasing popularity and increase in use of social media sites, not only by celebrities but also by sportsmen, businessmen and businesses people are now able to manage their own PR, whether helping or hindering, by posting their own opinions and stories online.

Wayne Rooney’s hair transplant for example received little bad press and was accepted and acknowledged by the media, other celebrities and helped young men facing the same issue to step forward and begin asking for help. Whether this has helped the procedure become more “fashionable” is a worry but either way, it has become widely accepted through the use of social media.

Twitter sees the discussions of some of the most controversial topics which pose threats not only for the user but also for their manager, whether it is their PR or their football manager. Sir Alex Ferguson isn’t shy about his thoughts regarding Twitter, and openly admits the site is a waste of time. After the Wayne Rooney incident earlier this year, it was rumoured that Alex Ferguson was thinking of banning all Manchester United players from using the site.

This would include Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney, who combined have over three million followers. It would also see Louis Nani and Michael Owen banned from the site. There is no confirmation this would solve the problem and could damage the reputation of the club and the players after seeing the success Twitter can have when handled correctly, such as Wayne Rooney’s hair transplant. As they say, no PR is bad PR right?

Numerous celebrities also let their management and PR team post on their Twitter accounts such as JLS, Pixie Lott and Matt Cardle which means they are then able to monitor what the artists are saying or delete quickly if need be.

As a solution, PR’s could be more involved with the site on behalf of the user but this could create more problems after the public has been so used to hearing the views and opinions of the stars, not what the PR’s want them to hear. Personally if PR’s were to get involved, the whole purpose of Twitter would be spoiled and it would be full of promotional tweets instead.

‘Super injunctions’ are the new trend among celebrities who have done something wrong. They allow the guilty celebrities to keep their name untarnished by ensuring that their name and the wrong doing is kept out of the media.

However they come at a price; this week PRWeek estimated the minimum amount spent on the legal fees to obtain a super injunction is £50,000. Although, while £50,000 may sound like a lot, it could be mere pocket money in relation to what they could face losing if their story hit the press.

Celebrities have become an everyday part of 21^st century life. They are no longer known solely for what they do, whether that is a footballer or actress; they have now become role models and icons to all ages.

They therefore have a responsibility to ensure that they behave appropriately; after all they are aware that the world is watching, and within that audience are naïve children who believe and follow everything that they see and read and aspire to be like those mentioned.

The old saying ‘Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time’ is now obsolete in celeb world as they no longer have to ‘do the time’. Why, just because they have money should they be protected from being out-ed for their wrong doing?

In the real world people have to take the repercussions of their actions, so why is it that those who many people aspire to are allowed to hide these actions?

It is in a sense in the public’s best interest to know when celebrities have done wrong and not simply for the purpose of gossip. If you were to find out your partner had cheated on you, you wouldn’t continue to fund their career; however we do this with celebrities while we are unaware of their wrong doing.

Twitter truth and lies

Social media now plays a massive part in society and there is little to no control over what is submitted and how quickly it is seen and spread by others. This means that while super injunctions can protect people’s identity and hide the scandal, there are new means of spreading the stories.

This was seen when a Twitter account was set up to out celebrities who had injunctions. While this caused controversy, with false accusations being made, it shows the power that social media has and suggests that nobody is above it.

However, Max Clifford claimed in PRWeek that ‘social media just does not have the same credibility that mainstream media have’ meaning that what is written on social media sites does not and will not undermine injunctions.

PRWeek’s headline for the article was: ‘Celebrity publicists defend injunctions as pressure mounts for privacy orders review’. Admittedly the use of injunctions makes it easier for celebrity PROs to maintain their client’s image and in a lot of cases injunctions are effective. However, what they are doing is unethical.

Why should celebrities get to use the media as and when it suits them? The good comes with the bad, and if they are willing to do something which could tarnish their reputation, they should be prepared for the outcome.

The only plus side of injunctions is that we no longer have to read the kiss and tell stories, which were becoming a regular fixture in newspapers and magazines. While celebrities may be the ones causing scandal, there is no reason others should be able to make money off the back of someone else’s name, selling tasteless stories to the press.

Admittedly everyone deserves a degree of privacy and I understand that injunctions are not merely in place to protect the celebrity in question, but that they also protect their families. However, in my opinion, everybody is aware of the implications of their actions and no one more so than a celebrity, whose name and life is continually thrown across the media.

Therefore I think that in order for them to learn from their mistakes they should be shown for what they are. It would appear that nowadays money really can buy you anything, however it does not make the actions correct. In no cases are injunctions feasible, celebrities need to appreciate who they are and the impact they have and act accordingly or take the consequences.

We have seen celebrities like Wayne Rooney who have their antics published in the press and yet he still has his career and family. People need to understand they will gain more respect from being honest than paying to hide what they have done. After all, everyone makes mistakes – but not everyone has £50,000 to hide them.

What future does PR have if people and organisations can continue to pay their way out of trouble?

When celebrities become spokespersons for a charity they can use their fame to increase public awareness for the issue and make a bigger difference than if you or I made the same speech. They add momentum to the cause in a way that ordinary people usually can’t.

The book Exploring Public Relations attributes the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement to ‘credibility’ and ‘attention’. The book goes on to say that celebrities can attract attention and this is the most vital ingredient of success in a world saturated with so much noise generated by media messages.

If celebrities are fully informed and engaged with the cause they are promoting, the message can greatly influence the process persuading people to support the cause.

Cognitive dissonance in action

PR Week recently published the results of a survey by nfpSynergy on the value of celebrity endorsement in the voluntary sector. The survey cited that young people tend to be less influenced by celebrity campaigns as they grow older. Does this mean that charities need to choose the right personality to encourage support from their target audiences?

PR practitioners have to be prepared to manage the image and reputation of the organisation to key audiences if things do not go to plan when using a celebrity as part of a PR campaign.

For example, Naomi Campbell caused controversy by wearing fur in 1997, not long after she had been all over billboards and magazines in People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ eye-catching ‘I’d rather go naked than wear fur’ campaign, even appearing on US television as a spokesperson for the organisation. The excuse from her model agency spokesperson pointed out that she “only signed up for the one anti-fur campaign.”

For some famous faces, charity endorsement is just another form of self-promotion. High profile endorsers can bring a certain element of clout to a campaign, but the most important thing PR practitioners must remember is that the celebrity’s values must match the ethos of the charity they have been asked to support.

When it works, it works

A high-impact PR campaign can be enhanced by collaborations with a well-known face to a good cause.

In 2009, Joanna Lumley was invited to become an ambassador for the Child Welfare Scheme a children’s charity that works with disadvantaged children and communities in Nepal.  Her continued support in fighting for the settlement of the Gurkha veterans in the UK demonstrates her unselfish passion for wanting to make a positive difference to the lives and future of others was noticed by the charity and because of her links with the country she was an obvious option.

The use of famous personalities remains a primary tactic that major charities use to send their messages out to their audiences. Charities are getting better at matching their cause with a famous face who thinks about the issues, but also wants to help. The role of a celebrity in philanthropy, good causes and international progress really gets some asking the question – why use them when so many of them do are not fully engaged in the causes they support?

Case study: The Wig Party and National Aids Trust (NAT)

The Wig Party is a private annual charity event, organised by a voluntary group of entrepreneurs and friends raised approximately £45,000 for NAT last year.

As the UK’s leading charity dedicated to changing the public attitude to HIV, NAT provides fresh thinking, expert advice and practical resources to people living with HIV trough to the Government. As the event increased in size each year, the committee had to seek out sponsors and patrons to increase the publicity of the charity and its cause and will get in return including logo placement, top billing, naming rights and perks such as VIP tickets allocated to the brand or personality name.

All celebrities, sponsors and partners were met through personal contacts of the committee members. The event was pitched to potential sponsors a couple of times before they got financially involved. NAT’s chief executive, Deborah Jack stated: “Partnering with such a high profile event will help raise awareness of HIV at a time when it’s fallen off the public and media agenda.”

Aims and Objectives

To grow into an international fundraising charity.

To improve public understanding and awareness of HIV.

To increase fundraising targets by 5% each year.

Celebrity Patrons

Leona Lewis / Keisha Buchanan / Dannii Minogue / Jeremy Sheffield / Jason Gardiner / Ben De Lisi / Beverly Knight / Ben Cooke / Lisa Butcher / Tim Vincent / Jasper Conran / Patrick Cox / Benjamin Hart / Gail Porter / Louie Spence

Sponsors and Partners

MAC / DIAGEO / JITROIS / L’OREAL / SELFRIDGES / SWAROVSKI / D-SQUARED

Results

The tickets sold out a week before the event due to the efforts of every committee member’s use of their Facebook profile as a tool to promote the event. Through out the build up to the event, the PR team used specific print, online and social media as channels of communication to its target audience. The Wig Party’s Facebook page was used as way of getting information and updates out, and as a channel of two-way communication with the public.

Coverage spanned from editorials to competitions in weekly publications such as Time Out, QX and Boyz magazines featuring the main host of the event Wiggy Woo, to being highlighted on national television. The Wig Party was featured on Louie Spence’s fabulous “Show Business” programme on Sky 1 HD on Wednesday 2nd March, 2011.

Music and advertising have been crossing paths for a long time, starting with driving his Chevy from Don McLean in “American Pie” to the song “Pass the Courvoisier” from Busta Rhymes. One of the reasons for this is that music performers depend on advertising money to support their career.

Quite often, the money artists receive from product placement will pay for the music video itself. The deal with advertising can help to reduce the ever-increasing cost of music video productions (usually more than 25% of the production costs can be paid with product placement deals). The most expensive music video ever made was Scream by Michael Jackson, which cost $7million; so you can see why they might need the extra cash.

But what does this mean for the PR industry?

Placing products in music videos have been increasing steadily. It was found that from 1979 to 1997 rap music with brand name mentions increased from 46% to 71%. This shows the phenomenon of placements in music videos is not new, however the effectiveness of the placement is still not clear. If musicians decide to include your product you can have very little control over its usage and this could have a positive or negative effect.

Essentially PR always comes down to achieving the same result but for very little money, usually by free gifts to influencers – i.e. Apple know they can easily gain coverage by offering Stephen Fry the latest gadget. In terms of music videos, brands could supply production companies with their products. For example, if you know Nelly is a fan of Nike (thinking of his Air Force One song) then Nike could use him as an “influencer” and send him free Nike branded products.

This could be very useful to PRs because it has been stated that the pairing of brands with characters may facilitate the transfer of evaluative meaning from artistes to embedded brands. Through music videos the artist is also subtly selling a lifestyle, not just the music.

In Jay-Z’s book, Decoded, he talks about how brands are quite dismissive of the fact that they have a connection with the hip-hop world. In one part he tells the story of a Cristal executive who, when asked by The Economist what he thought about Cristal Champagne’s relationship with hip-hop, said, “What can we do? We can’t forbid people from buying it.”

Jay-Z fights back in the book and says: “That was like a slap in the face … Why not just say thank you and keep it moving? You would think the person who runs the company would be most interested in selling his product, not in criticizing — or accepting criticisms of — the people buying it.” At the time, the hip-hop artist issued a statement saying that he would in no way support or promote Cristal ever again.

While this may not have had a detrimental effect on Cristal, as the majority of its consumers would probably not be reading Jay-Z’s book, Cristal needn’t have said what they did and could have avoided this negative reaction by just being pleased people are drinking their champagne at all.

This also reminds me of the association Burberry has had with the “chav culture” in the UK. The brands signature check being worn by footballers and chav’s has tarnished it’s reputation. They have since discontinued many lines including baseball caps. Elliot Moss, managing director of Leagas Delaney, which has several luxury brands on its client list, says: “The brand has been devalued dramatically recently because of the chav element. I would even go so far as to say Burberry is dead in the domestic luxury market.”

This poses some interesting questions for brands, such as what if brands like Cristal don’t want to be ‘dangerous?’, but also who should have control over a brand’s image anyway?

A bit gaga…

Music Videos are now cram packed with product placements. A recent example is Lady Gaga and Beyonce’s track ‘Telephone’. In this video alone there are nine separate plugs:

1:34: Heartbeats earphones.
2:06: Virgin Mobile.
2:17: Diet Coke.
4:15: Virgin Mobile (again).
4:24: HP Envy ‘Beats Limited Editon’ laptop from Monster.
4:28: Plenty Of Fish dating site.
4:44: Chevrolet.
5:37: Polaroid.
6:24: Wonderbread.
6:36: Miracle Whip.
8:31: Polaroid (again).

So when does product placement get “too much”? When does it cross the line and become “unethical”? Or, should it just continue to increase more and more?

Steven Sheiner, the Chief Revenue Officer of Vivendi-Universal, said at the 2002 Digital Media Summit that “Product placement is the ideal revenue model for digital media. Soon we’ll see the band in a music video wearing T-shirts adapted to each individual viewer, coded to audience wants, and linked to the ability to click and buy the CD, the video, and even the T-shirt… in a nutshell, what digitalisation means for product placement is that content producers can place anything, anywhere, all the time.”

But will it ever actually come to this? The reality is probably yes…

Recently, Doritos started an international campaign called Doritos Late Night which featured 3D “augmented reality” music by Professor Green and Rihanna. The “exclusive late night music” ties in to Doritos’ Late Night product range that offers “authentic late night flavours”. We can control the performance and move it around. However, it get on to this you have to buy a pack of Doritos for the code. It is so exclusive that the music videos do not even feature on YouTube, instead only short videos about how they made them with a few interviews from the artists and Doritos marketing managers.

It is interesting to note that Rihanna signed up for this as she has always been quoted in the press as stating that she hates product placements and will only do it for ‘political’ reasons. When the Director for Marketing of Doritos, Michael Fox, was asked why Rihanna was doing it he stated: “Who could we partner with that would make it absolutely huge? And what are the ways we can make it bigger, we just all got really excited about Rihanna. We couldn’t think of a better artist to do this one.”

In doing this, we cannot view Rihanna’s new video without buying a pack of Doritos first, do you think this is taking product placement too far? Or should all music videos be like this? Has it crossed that line? But I guess, none of these questions actually matter as what it all comes down to is – would you go buy a packet of Doritos to watch this video?

At the MTV awards Gaga arrived in a dress made of meat, and at the Grammys we saw her arrive in a giant egg. Is this the real Lady Gaga or just an attention seeking superstar?

Fans were already aware she was to perform her new single ‘Born this way’, from her new album due out in May. However, when she stepped – or should I say, when she was carried – on to the red carpet inside a transparent egg, she may have just outdone herself.

Scantily-clad attendees carried her on a sedan chair down the red carpet sending the paparazzi into frenzy. One of her entourage explained to Ryan Seacrest:

‘She’s in an embryonic state and won’t be born until the performance.‘

So, why did she really arrive in ‘incubation’? Many people would argue that it’s because it was part of her performance. But never before has somebody hit the headlines for what they were wearing as much as Lady Gaga. Who knew that back in 2009, a ‘Kermit the Frog’ dress would make front pages?

She’s in every magazine without fail every week and this is down to one thing – her wacky costumes and funky hair dos!  Without these crazy outfits, would she be where she is today?

Probably not, there are so many other talented female singers at present: Rihanna, Beyonce and Cheryl Cole all have huge fan bases. But the press attention they receive is nothing compared to that of Lady Gaga. Cheryl Cole received worldwide coverage for her break-up and malaria scare, Rihanna for her arguments with her husband, whilst Beyonce seems to escape our headlines.

‘Everyone wants to look like her. She’ll walk around in London in her underwear and everyone will catch on.’ Akon

Akon is right in saying this. In the last two years, new hairstyles have emerged, girls wearing extreme make-up has become the norm and couture clothing is now standard evening wear. People want to be Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaydar

The gay community have also welcomed her with open arms. Her new single ‘Born this way’ is the first ever number one single to use the word ‘transgendered’. The song is getting the message across to the audience that you should stop being critical of yourself, because God made you that way.

Gaga has therefore normalised homosexuality, appealing to younger audiences with her work and embracing different sexualities.

‘No matter gay, straight or bi…lesbian, transgendered life, I’m on the right track baby I was born this way.’

So is Lady Gaga using PR in her songs to ‘buy’ the gay audience? She sings about it being ok to be gay or lesbian in a very explicit way – which no other modern singer has done.

This will appeal to a GLBT audience as there is still a lot of prejudice in the world today. Gaga is telling them she’s on their side and almost befriending them.

The lyrics are very personal to each individual who listens to it. She has a gay fan base bigger than that of any other current star.

Gaga also picks up publicity for her ‘wacky’ outfits when being photographed by fans, and these pictures being instantly uploaded onto blogs.

One blog, Gaga Stigmata, started in March 2010 has thousands of followers and is updated on a regular basis. So why is blogging so important to this star’s success?

A picture can be uploaded onto the internet for everyone to see within a matter of minutes. Therefore, if Gaga is spotted somewhere wearing a see through dress or just her underwear, someone could take a picture of this and it could be seen by thousands within the hour. By contrast, magazines are printed weekly or even monthly so it would take a lot longer for this picture to be circulated, and let’s be honest – if Gaga is spotted wearing something outrageous we all know about it before we see a picture.

PR queen

Gaga is the PR queen, a brand made even more popular through third party exposure. Wherever she lays her one-of-a-kind Christian Louboutins, the paparazzi migrate.

She sends a positive message to her fans; that they should be individual, should love themselves for who they are and not care what people think about them. Everyone will have their own individual opinion on Gaga.

As far as I’m concerned, I think she’s groundbreaking, fresh and very important in today’s music industry.

It’s not working

One report by American advertising company Ace Metrix would certainly suggest so.

The company spent all of 2010 monitoring more than 2,600 adverts, and they discovered that the celebrity endorsed adverts had the same impact as non-celebrity endorsed adverts.

In some cases they performed much worse.

This was particularly prevalent in adverts endorsed by sports celebrities who performed the worst out of all celebrity endorsements.

Out of the whole campaign the two celebs that had the lowest score in the test were professional cyclist Lance Armstrong with minus 28 percent and professional golfer Tiger Woods with minus 30 per cent. The sports star who had the biggest impact was American footballer Peyton Manning who is a quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, and he only boosted the value of the campaign by a measly 1.5 per cent. (The full report can be found on the Ace Metrix website).

In an article for the Daily Telegraph Peter Daboll, head of  Ace Metrix, was quoted saying: “Today’s consumers are far more likely to be influenced by someone in their social network”. He went on to state that “They don’t want to have products pushed at them, even by a celebrity.”

So what does this mean for sports stars and their agents? Well one reason behind these findings could be the decline in celebrity status, especially amongst sportsmen.

It used to be the case that the public could only judge a sports person by his or her performance in their chosen sport. Now we know every facet of their lives and when a sports star does make a mistake or do something immoral you can be sure that it gets mass coverage.

So it is of no surprise that Tiger Woods was bottom of the poll, after his catastrophic fall from grace. Woods is still struggling to regain his reputation and his form. Since it came out that he was a serial philanderer Woods has dropped two rankings to third in the world and has put in some truly mediocre performances, so the effect that he will have on a campaign is never going to be what it once was.

Reputation risks

It is because of the constant flow of scandals coming from the sporting world that advertising and PR agencies have to be careful how much they build a brand around a sports star.

Another consequence of the report is that the application of celebrity endorsement needs to be reconsidered. Whereas before it was enough for a celebrity to come on screen and endorse a product, now this has a minimal impact on the public; so a more subtle approach needs to be taken.

One example of this is the campaign for Power Balance Bands. Rather than produce a set of garish flashy adverts that had athletes talking about how effective the bands are, they just asked David Beckham, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal to wear the bands in front of the cameras. Word soon spread and eventually other opinion leaders started to test the bands and soon they had worked their way into the mainstream, now they have sold around 2.9 million units around the world.

This opinion is also shared by Tim Crow, who heads up sports marketing group Synergy. In the same article he commented “rather than sticking a sportsman in a studio where they eat money, look uncomfortable and irritate a high proportion of viewers – you need to get them out into the action”.

The rise of social media

Another way in which celebrity endorsements can develop is through social media.  As Peter Daboll stated, people are far more likely to be influenced by someone in their social network; this means that the advantages of platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are even more important.

I for one follow a large number of sportsmen and woman on Twitter and when they tweet about a new product they have tried and liked I immediately check out the product, this process has a far bigger impact on me than a traditional advertisement.

Viral adverts are nothing new, but they are a great way of sports people endorsing a product without seeming obvious. One great example of this is Nike’s’ “Write the Future campaign”. This was Nike’s campaign for the 2010 Football world cup. It was launched a month before the start of the tournament and got 7.8 million hits in its first week and it outperformed Adidas, the official sponsor of the World Cup.

These videos show our favourite competitors actually performing; the product that is being promoted feels organic to the video and allows the viewer to witness the effects of whatever is they want to sell. It is clear that internet-based videos have a future in sports branding and if you haven’t seen the video you should watch it after reading this article.

Super Bowl, still super expensive

We are approaching an event which is one of the most eagerly anticipated and watched climax of any tournament, The Super Bowl. This will be broadcast all over the world and watched by over 90 million Americans. On average it costs advertisers 3 million dollars for a thirty second slot on the telecast.

Tom McGovern

With advertisers spending huge amounts of money for viewing figures like that it is obvious that sport still has an integral role in promoting and advertising. With such a big event it is imperative that these campaigns make the maximum impact. That is why it’s crucial PR, marketing and advertising companies start embracing other platforms for endorsing products and start engaging with their target audience.

For me, sport is the most inspiring form of entertainment. It transcends race, gender, class and political barriers and there is something about witnessing a team or individual rise above mediocrity and achieving something greater than themselves. This appeal is universal.

The quest for a sporting victory is itself an allegory for life and as long as people still aspire to become better and look up to sportsmen there will be a place for sports endorsement. However it is the application of the message and the medium which will dictate how successful a campaign will be. The future of sports endorsement rests on the shoulders of the agents and advertisers rather than the sportsmen themselves.

‘Command PR’ is run by Jonathan Cheban and his right-hand man, Simon Huck. The pair have already been dubbed ‘public relations gurus’ in the American media.

The show follows the ‘Spin Crowd’ as they attend star-studded events, manage press for celebrity clients and create celebrity branding, as well as all the office antics.

The show’s executive producer is none other than LA socialite Kim Kardashian. If you haven’t heard of Kim, she is famous for her own E! Reality series, her modelling and her ‘sex tape’.

Jonathan Cheban claims to be trying to show the best parts of the PR business; the exciting, glamorous side of PR:

“We’re out there working it. We go to the Hamptons, we’re in Miami, we’re on planes and yachts, and the girls always look gorgeous and fashionable.”

The Spin Crowd series kicked-off with a half-hour special entitled SPINdustry, followed by the first episode. I watched in disbelief as Cheban pushed one of the office girls to have her lips ‘done’, as he thought they were too thin. He then went on to thoroughly embarrass the poor girl by getting all the others in the office to stand up and show her how she should be dressed.

To sum up: Cheban is tactless and image driven. Huck is more lovable, extremely camp and has worked his way up from an apprenticeship. The ‘girls’, ie the rest of the staff are all tiny waist-ed, fashion loving beauties.

It’s all so cliché that it’s funny. Or is it? As a PR student I’m hoping that this is not the real PR. I’m hoping it’s not based on the body proportions’ of the practitioner, but on the quality of the work they produce.

The programme may be creating great PR for ‘Command PR’ and boosting more people’s awareness of PR, but is the show just giving the rest of us ‘non-celebrity’ PR practitioners a worse reputation? It is bad enough that a business all about reputation management and communication has a terrible name with the general public, with many thinking of evil twisting spin-doctors, rather than the vital communicators and crisis managers we can be.

It is not my intent to stop readers from watching the programme – it is very entertaining. I am worried about those watching the programme who will now believe that this is all public relations is about.

I sincerely hope that the programme does not inspire students to study PR with the Spin Crowd as their only image of what it is to be a PR practitioner.

Often, it follows suit that the PR strategies used to protect and nurture the image of the footballers themselves are as short-lived.  The effect is a vicious circle of players and clubs averting PR crises, only for the words and actions of the said player fuelling the engine of further problems in the future. Wayne Rooney is not the first, and certainly won’t be the last, footballer to suffer because of a conflict between what he says and what he does, and it is little wonder few people have a clear idea of what PR professionals do within football other than to offer crisis management.

When I work with footballers at Multitude Media, the PR strategy is tailored for each individual. Many footballers have aspirations to develop a positive public image but fear bad press given that often the most innocuous action can end up being spun negatively.

Often what we aim to do, in essence, is create a safe way for our clients in football to develop links with non-football related projects that they can involve themselves in in their spare time; to use their profile positively and to help them maintain their involvement, remaining engaged and proactive.

If we help a client forge links with a charitable or social project, we want to ensure that they will stay involved in the long term, and it’s vital that they are emotionally and creatively engaged with that said project. If we don’t just want sound bites or photo opportunities and instead want our clients to be able to have a lasting a meaningful impact on the projects that they support, they have to want to be involved.

Working with Micah Richards

Let me use Manchester City and England international Micah Richards as an example. City in the Community, the club’s way of supporting a range of projects and people in the region, is an example to other professional sports teams.

Similarly, the MCFC Charities of the Year scheme – which sees the club partner with a select number of charities for at least the course of a season – enables the club to offer support in the way of grants, player visits and media opportunities and is a vital support in the Greater Manchester area and beyond.

However, each player may only be called upon a few times a month for both of the above, and this leaves many more hours for players to involve themselves in other off-the-field projects should they wish. When we began working with Micah in late 2008, what was clear was that he had the desire to use his profile to benefit others, and our challenge was to try to match his interests and passions with suitable charities and campaigns.

As such, we formally introduced Micah and his elder sister Rhonda – who is heavily involved in Micah’s career – to If U Care Share, an initiative that encouraged young people to discuss their problems openly rather than bottling them up. The idea came about due to the suicide of Daniel O’Hare in 2005, and his parents, Shirley and Dean, and family decided to use their tragic experience for the good of others who may find themselves in a similar position to Daniel.

For Micah, If U Care Share struck a personal chord with him. In the same year as Daniel O’Hare’s death, a childhood friend who also played for the same team as Micah in Leeds committed suicide at the age of 18 whilst on remand in custody. Micah, his best friend Mark Harding and the rest of the Chapeltown community that they grew up in were shocked by the event, and from that day on the close-knit community promised to try to support people who found themselves in a similar position of helplessness.

When Micah read more about If U Care Share, he was determined to support the initiative in whatever ways Shirley and Dean felt necessary. To date that support has included Micah penning words of advice for young people that were used in an information pack taken to schools and community groups by If U Care Share, as well as signed merchandise for use in the annual charity golfing day. Micah can also frequently be spotted wearing the If U Care Share wristband in Manchester City matches in the hope of raising the profile of the project, and his is a long-standing presence that we hope will aid the expansion of the campaign around the UK.

If we had been thinking short-term, Micah’s involvement would have been limited to a one-off appearance or the provision of merchandise. Instead, Micah is only too happy to continue to support the work of If U Care Share, and it is beneficial to all concerned – for Micah as he is engaged by a project that he can directly relate to, and for If U Care Share who benefit from the added exposure they gain.

In essence, the key is for PR professionals working in sport not to look for a quick fix or an easy access to positive press. Such opportunities serve only to add to the criticism of players being out of touch with reality and living outside of the world of the everyman if it turns out there are inconsistencies in what they say and what they do.

Honest PR is the most effective

Instead, PR consultants such as ourselves at Multitude Media are tasked with laying out a medium to long-term plan for our clients that will educate them as to why they have to be aware of their responsibilities, the benefits of involvement in such charities and how to use and manage their profile.

The deeper effect is that the individual is then not just portrayed as being an improving or good person, but they become an improving or good person. Honest PR is far and away the most effective kind, and if you’re of the belief that the messages you transmit through a clear and long-term PR strategy should be honest and entirely reflective, professionals must work with their client in order to strengthen the foundations of their image rather than cover the cracks.

The large majority of footballers realise that they can use their profiles for the greater good, and for every individual who may show a naive disregard for anything other than their latest supercar or multi-million pound house, there are a vast number of footballers who want to help but perhaps don’t have the guidance to do so.

Players such as Craig Bellamy, Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand and Stephen Ireland have set-up charities and foundations of their own that do invaluable work. The Craig Bellamy Foundation opened a football academy in Sierra Leone earlier this year and offers five-year scholarships in the hope of offering unique opportunities to those who previously couldn’t access them, whilst the Stephen Ireland Foundation has raised thousands of pounds for St Francis House in Manchester amongst others – and these are just the immediate examples that spring to mind.

Such fine work as this flies in the face of the press that predated both of these projects and the stories of petulance and extravagance that have been directed at both Bellamy and Ireland. I’m sure if you spoke to all of the players above, instrumental in the ongoing development of their foundations is that they are passionate about and therefore engaged with what they are doing. The result is that there is a far greater chance of them continuing with their work and making a lasting impact on others, but also on themselves.

These extra-curricular projects aren’t, however, the responsibility of the clubs, and their management and success depends on the players and the people around them.

Opportunities for short-term, positive PR come cheaply to footballers and other sportspeople. The challenge for PR professionals working in the field is to implement a longer term strategy consistent with the client’s own interests and one that remains rigid amidst the forever changing landscape of media accountability.

Multitude Media offers PR and image consultancy to clients in sport and entertainment, ranging from Premier League footballers to global new media companies to up-and-coming comedians . With bases in Leeds, London and Manchester, the company continues to expand its client base and profile and has rapidly developed a reputation as one of the leading young PR companies in the UK.

An author and TV presenter is seeking PR student support to help promote her new self-help book.

‘Sort Out Your Crap Life’  is in a new genre of self help books aimed at 15 -45 year olds, based on author Claire Anstey’s experience of how she sorted out her life when tragedy struck. A flavour of the book can be found at www.sortoutyourcraplife.com

A percentage of each book sale will  go to CALM, The Campaign Against Living Miserably a charity for young men that Claire is Ambassador for. More information on this can be found via Claire’s personal website www.theanstey.com

Claire is looking for people with a passion for the book to help with an edgy promotional campaign. Claire is currently a voice for MTV and with her experience of suicide and depression inspiring the book there are plenty of hooks and opportunities for good stories and campaign ideas.

The author has set up her own publishing company to publish this book. She feels that the publishing industry has changed – just like the music industry – and aims to build a campaign that will prove success is in the hands of the individual.

To help with the promotional campaign, please apply via email to claireanstey@mac.com. Claire would like candidates to write a little about themselves, what they think of the book via what they see on the website and how they think that they can promote it.

Volunteers can work their own hours and from home. Although this is a voluntary position at the moment future paid opportunities may arise.

Please apply by 15^th October 2010.

Jason Gale

Handmade UK works with many interns and those at the beginning of their public relations careers. We have learnt a great deal about their expectations from the work and how the reality measures up.

Television programmers and script writers have long portrayed PR in titles such as Sex and the City and of course Absolutely Fabulous as an image of endless parties,  ‘flirtworking’ and celebrities on speed dial as your ‘in’ crowd.

Is this really the mainstay of the public relations executive’s role and the only real knowledge a successful PR person needs?

If only it were that easy to be fabulous!

In reality this is a small part of the fabric that needs to be weaved. Indeed, before the fun elements of the PR industry kick in we have to make way for hours upon hours (upon HOURS!) of straight up copy in front of the computer screen.

PR has to add value

Today’s modern consumer public relations agency now has to focus on a quantifiable return on investment for all its clients. A client may once have been happy to pay a huge retainer for occasional celebrity show ups or to attend glamorous premiers of Hollywood blockbusters. However, that client is long gone.

The PR industry over recent years has banged its fist hard to insist on being taken seriously as a valuable if not essential part of the marketing mix. That wish has now been granted albeit at a ‘cost’.

The ‘cost’ is that expectations of PR professionals have grown. Now not only does the modern PR executive have to get the best invites to the best parties rubbing shoulders with the best people, they also need to cope with a 14 hour day at least five days a week staring at a computer screen writing copy, researching opportunities for every client.

Clients’ communication needs now have to be integrated across all available tools and platforms to ensure that all this effort produces maximum benefit against demanding expectations. Patsy and Samantha would be horrified!

Additionally this change of expectation has been accompanied by the huge fragmentation of media in recent years. For example, the reduction in the number of journalists working on publications has come with an increase in demand for producing relevant column inches.

This has led to a new opportunities for the already hardworking PR executive. By providing well structured copy that helps journalists they come to rely on a PR company to take the strain.

A great journalist no longer sees the publicist or PR professional as a gatekeeper but as an essential tool that helps keep their editors happy.

Before you change your mind about PR, it’s not all work with no play; the amount of fun in public relations is an essential part of the PR mix.  Creativity is sparked and developed by throwing yourself in the mix and meeting the right minds, whatever the industry. It is certainly part of the Handmade UK working week.

When we down keyboards we put on some slap, take ourselves to glamorous parties, premieres and networking evenings.

Party lifestyle

Jackie Brambles in OK Magazine

Parties are plentiful especially in London and can produce interesting and fantastic opportunities so attending and getting known on the PR party scene is an important part of our work. Since the great and the good of the entertainment and lifestyle industries attend these events it is often easier to get an audience with them over champagne than getting past office protocols.

I attended a fantastic event for ITV a few months back with a celebrity client and in the space of one hour quaffing champagne and networking I learnt about the change of direction ITV daytime was heading, got to know a talented presenter who is soon to be a client and also shared TV strand ideas with the best TV producers in the business.  To try and achieve all this would have taken four or five separate meetings – and may not have been possible otherwise.

Hosting our own events and parties for our clients is an important part of the Handmade UK PR solution for many of our clients and we organise about twelve events a year.

Not surprisingly these prove to be among the favourite activities for the agency staff to participate in. Creating the correct branded message through a great and memorable time is essential. Organising the leaving party of ‘Loose Woman’ Jackie Brambles who chaired the hit daytime show was hard work.  ‘Hands on’ organisation is key to handling celebrities’ press sponsors, catering, photographers and celebrity arrivals along with the venue.

Of course it was extremely successful with stacks of press generated and on reflection when PR executives think about the Loose Women party they never think back to the late nights stuffing envelopes with invitations or poring over press releases… they think about sharing jokes with Carol McGiffin, dancing with pop star Lulu and being blinded by the paps after the photographs of Konnie Huq!

This remains an exhilarating time to be working in public relations. The respect for the craft is on the increase as is the expectation for a return on the client’s investment year on year.

I see an improvement of the quality of people attracted to the industry as the importance of PR activity increases in business as a whole.

The fun remains alive and kicking and essential to consumer and lifestyle PR and a successful agency -  so come on Patsy and Samantha get in those Blahniks, get the Bolli poured and chase it with a Cosmo!

Jason Gale is founder of Handmade UK and creator of the London Lifestyle Awards

Absolutely laborious

My days of thinking that being in PR was like Eddy from Absolutely Fabulous are long gone…. but secretly I still long for some of this.

Carly Smith

Swishing around from one party to the next, working the room and talking to famous people who all want you to represent them.  The uniform would be a pencil skirt and shirt, hair up in a chignon and a pair of glasses perched on my nose.

Sadly this isn’t true. Parts of my dream may overlap with the reality as I do get to speak to interesting people and I do get to attend parties and functions – but the amount of work that goes into it wasn’t portrayed in the programme.

It always amazes me how every news story, person in the public eye or business shows the potential for PR to play a positive role. Only this week Max Clifford has made a comment on what he thinks that Sarah Ferguson should do after her latest ‘Andrew Scandal’.

Kerry Katona has turned her life around – ditched the old boyfriend, lost weight, started a new career and moved house – due to the use of a good ‘manager’. My money is that her new manager has had some PR training. The fact that she was nearly bankrupt and had admitted to taking cocaine has now been forgotten as stories of her dramatic weight loss, make over and new mansion fill the papers.

So what is PR?

Andy Green, author, partner in Green PR and creativity entrepreneur states: “PR is about getting you the word of mouth you deserve.” I agree with this, especially the words ‘you deserve’.

Many entrepreneurs work for years on a project and never seem to get anywhere. If PR can equip them with tools to get their message out there and ‘show off’ their work then it can only be positive.

Jane Crofts, a PR lecturer at the University of Lincoln with extensive experience within the PR industry, thinks that: ‘PR does what it says on the tin – it builds relationships with people to make things happen, prevent problems and create positive interest. It’s about telling stories and creating ‘organisational narrative’ to use some jargon and it’s about leadership at all levels, not sitting back and waiting for the inevitable stasis.’

In time like these when the country is emerging from a deep recession it is easy for businesses to sit and let other factors take over. PR enables companies to get out there and do something for themselves.

PR to me – well it is my life. This sounds a bit sad admittedly but I would bet that most people in the industry never switch off from work. I live and breathe PR and I certainly wouldn’t have it any other way.

Mutually beneficial relationships

Successful PR for me is like giving out rose tinted glasses to the public and equipping them with positive information before they look at your product or the person you represent. There is also the task of limiting the amount of bad information that is revealed. Whilst carrying out these tasks you make contact with a lot of people, these relationships have to be kept mutually beneficial or at least seem that way.

So when someone asks me in an interview, ‘what is PR?’, I think I will be able to answer…

Carly Smith is a student at the University of Lincoln currently working at Shooting Star PR on its ‘Rising Stars’ placement scheme

Remember a time when celebrity endorsement was simply a case of choosing a popular face that has a loose commonality with a brand? No? You probably won’t remember licking stamps and posting press releases by snail mail either then.

Times have inevitably changed and these days you wouldn’t put a bet on the fact that the latest ‘hot’ footballer or actor will propel a product or service positively into the limelight. In fact, an accumulator on Ashley Cole, Tiger Woods and Kerry Catona could kill off a brand altogether.

In addition to celebrities’ own misdemeanors, it is the enormity of the online world that is responsible for the increasingly risky tactic of using celebrities for endorsement. As the web is largely in the hands of the consumer and misbehaviour makes great reading and is shared instantly, reputations are harder to protect. The masses also have the ability to control celebrity content in the media, by submitting images of celebrities, or themselves with celebrities, to websites like celebsafari.com and the likes of Heat magazine.

Any agency advising clients on celebrity endorsement now must be engaged with the channels the target markets use. Only by being in tune with consumers’ conversations can an agency have the power to influence, but there is still an element of luck required.

Hilton Rocks

Hilton Rocks: Hilton managers with Coleen Rooney and Claudine Keane

For example, Golley Slater Manchester recently organised Hilton Rocks, a launch party to mark Hilton’s first 2010 hotel, in Liverpool. We knew the media would cover the event if we managed to entice celebrities – on a local level namely WAGs and the Hollyoaks cast. Our dreams were realised – and so were the paps’ – as Coleen Rooney, Alex Curran and Claudine Keane graced the black carpet, as did almost the entire cast from Channel 4’s teen soap, plus Sugababes were performing at the event.

The event attracted over £1m of positive media coverage, including front pages of OK! and Hello! magazines – the media wanted to capture Coleen on her first official night out after having baby Kai and photographers clamoured to get her best pose in front of our branded interview wall. These celeb-focused shots were teamed with wonderful write-ups about the party and also the hotel itself. Needless to say, the client was ecstatic.

However, if Hilton Rocks had been a week either side it could have been a different story altogether. Prior to the event there was much speculation about the newly formed Sugababes retaining their name, and post-event the Rooneys became embroiled in a royalties’ scandal. I empathise with any brand having a Pussycat Dolls tie-up this week…

So, as much as we can adopt best practice and advise clients on choosing a celebrity, we also need to be transparent about the risks involved. In my twelve years of experience, clients don’t like surprises and the best approach is to be open and honest.

Despite not being able to guarantee a positive outcome, here are some best practice steps agencies can adopt when establishing celebrity links:

• Have a collaborative approach – agencies need to be advising brands that it’s all about being networked, consistent messaging communicated on all available channels – given the current plethora of communications channels – blogs, forums, social media, broadcast and print, to name a few – it is impossible to spark a celebrity conversation on one while ignoring the rest.
• Be ahead of the trend – ensure you know the broadcast schedules, a regular call to production companies can keep you a step ahead of the game. Consumer-generated celebrities (X-Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, Big Brother etc) can go from ‘hot’ to ‘cold’ and vice-versa in a flash so it’s imperative to be a step ahead.
• Stay close to the news agenda – as celebrity news changes in seconds it’s important to keep abreast of how stories progress – monitor key sites not just in the morning, but throughout the day too.
• Have a strong positive story, not just a face – despite the importance of image in the media, it’s important to hook in journalists with a good angle too. This will improve the likelihood of them covering your story rather than another related to that particular celebrity. For example, when Golley Slater held an event to launch the Northwest’s 2012 training camps on behalf of Sport England, the biggest challenge was to divert the media’s attention away from Andy Burnham MP’s involvement in the region’s lost casino bid and onto the improved sporting facilities which the region was going to benefit from.
• Be transparent with the client – agency life is full of obstacles and it is how we deal with these that matters. Clients don’t expect every campaign to run smoothly and they’re fully aware of the volatility of the news agenda, but they do need to be kept up to date of any hurdles and how the agency intends to approach these to achieve the best possible outcome.
• Read the small print – on booking any celebrity ensure the agreement clarifies the media remit. Chat to the agent/management about any planned embargoes/exclusives that could conflict with your requirements.

You know the backstory. He’s the flawless sportsman and global icon whose myth of invincibility was shattered the moment his car was involved in a late night collision outside his Florida home.

Our interest is not in golf, nor in private lives nor all-too public affairs. We’re interested in the speed with which PR professionals have rushed to offer advice and commentary to brand Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods' website statement

In the event, the advice Tiger Woods has acted on seems to have invited nothing but public outrage and severe criticism from PR experts all over the world. Although Tiger’s team attempted to restore his damaged reputation by releasing a personal statement on his official website, they stand accused of having overlooked some of the most basic principles of crisis management.

First of all, his statement was released way too late, more than 40 hours after the crash. This only aggravated the situation by giving the public ample time for speculation and hungry journalists enough opportunity to take their imagination to new heights. Mark McClennan, in the Schwartz PR Blog recalled the observant comment from Mike McDougall of Bausch & Lomb, that “the 24 hour news cycle is now the 24 minute, or 24 second news cycle”, while David Eichler of David & Sam PR observes that “there’s only two things worse than whatever really happened outside Tiger Woods’ house: speculation and the appearance of a cover up”.

Celebrities cannot have privacy

Amanda Alvaro of Narrative Advocacy Media predicted that Tiger’s refusal to come clean with the rumours of his alleged affairs is proving to be even more damaging to his career, which the media would call the “…Swiss cheese story line. There are so many holes in this…he needs to tell the story clearly, and he needs to tell it again and again, and without doing that the tabloids and the media are going to make up the story for him”, while Greg Smith, founder of the UK-based Greg PR rightly reflected that “when you earn a billion dollars as a celebrity you have no privacy. No matter how uncomfortable the truth may be, Tiger’s advisers would be well served to learn from history and not try to run, hide or pretend they don’t owe the public the truth”.

The expert advice that has been flowing seems to be varied and contrasting in nature.

Rich Schapiro from NY Daily News reported unanimous opinions from PR experts such as Sean Cassidy, president of Dan Klores Communications and Howard Rubenstein, president of Rubenstein Communications who felt that Woods should get back to his game and ignore all rumours and gossip, while Michael Cherenson, the CEO of the PRSA advised Tiger to do a personal interview to clear the air, since “there’s this giant void of information, and it’s being filled with misinformation, rumors, innuendo, lies”. Tony Felice, CEO of Tony Felice Public Relations & Marketing in Phoenix and Jason Rose, president of Rose & Allyn Public Relations in Scottsdale agreed that Tiger should come clean in the public eye, also suggesting a press conference or video release that would answer all questions.

Gerry McCusker, PR consultant and crisis PR author recommended the three ‘R’s of crisis management for Woods: Regret, Responsibility and Remedial action, and now with new Web 2.0 rules of reputation management, also ‘R’ for Real. “Woods must move towards honesty and ‘Get Real’”, he wrote.

Area 224 Managing Principal Dave Van de Walle explains reputation management through social media by giving us the example of Michael Phelps, who not only developed a huge Facebook following of over 2,800,000, but also engaged with them fairly frequently so his fans could get a feeling of involvement from his side. As a result, when he was faced with a problem, apologising to his Facebook friends and fans won him considerable public support.

Tweet Tiger, Tweet!

This engagement through social media is exactly what was identified as missing in Tiger Woods’ response. His personal website contains no platform for two-way communications, only one-sided in the form of comments from his fans. Dave advised Tiger to engage with his audience, to comment back in order to interact with his public, and also ‘Tweet’!

An interesting take on the situation came from Robbie Vorhaus, a communications adviser quoted in The Huffington Post. As a reputation management tactic, he believes Woods should tell a hero’s story, which is redemptive and healing to the souls of the public. A hero is usually confronted with a difficult situation, which in this case would be the car crash, added to which would be the intentions of the wife – “is she a villain or life saver?” The evil mistress or the femme fatale would be the antagonist in this story who prevents Tiger from achieving his goal, added to which “Tiger will have more tests, torments and rewards, followed by the long road back to a normal world, yet forever changed, reborn, renewed, and enlightened”.

A former activist pointed out that Americans may be too vulnerable to PR machinations for their own good – whether it’s drumming up public support for a murder case defendant like Amanda Knox or creating a multimillion dollar image empire like Tiger Woods and others.

There have been several athletes before Woods – such as Joe Namath and Wilt Chamberlain – known for their notorious womanising. Michael Phelps and Marion Jones were accused of doping and marijuana, and also Roger Clemens and Alex Rodriguez who were accused of taking steroids. It may be the gullible public who should be blamed for putting Tiger Woods on a pedestal after he gladly accepted his responsibilities of a role model.

Smooth and spotless?

It was also because of his endorsements that Tiger Woods needed to keep his reputation squeaky clean, with some of the world’s biggest brands such as Buick, Nike, Gatorade, Gillette, EA Sports, and Accenture backing him with their bucks.

In the 1997 GQ profile of Woods, Charles P. Pierce had written that “the Tiger Woods that was constructed for corporate consumption was spotless and smooth, an edgeless brand easily peddled to sheikhs and shakers” and that getting married and having children only added to Woods’ marketability, raising his image to “divine and monogamous and the center of a happy nuclear family”.

This can now be sharply contrasted to Tiger’s recent confessions of his ‘transgressions’ after this incident that “I’m human… I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect”.

It was strongly recommended by celebrity PR specialist Mark Borkowski that Tiger should make a “public display of contrition, perhaps in a television interview”. Tiger or his PR Team seem to have had the same thoughts, as the latest reports talk of him considering an offer of being interviewed on the Oprah Winfrey Show, along with his wife Elin in a joint effort to clear the air.

Amidst all the accusations and scandal, it is heartening to see that there are PR experts who feel that Woods’ reputation will not or should not be affected by this scandal.

Cataunya Ransom, lead publicist of Mosnar Communications feels “Tiger Woods is a sustainable brand with organic brand equity to remain on top even in crisis situations. Advertisers should not worry about Woods’ endorsement deals because his brand is one of the most sustainable”, the same view being shared by Rachel Froggart, the Braben director of sport.

The Sports PR Company director, Caroline McAteer felt that “Tiger Woods’ image as a family man may be damaged but he is still the number one golfer in the world, and fans will still travel all over the world to see him play”, while Jason Madeley, founder of Hatch PR keeps faith in Tiger Woods, stating that the athlete is “one of a kind and it would be very difficult for a brand to find an alternative ambassador with not only the talent, but the global reach, crossing both international and cultural boundaries”.

Truth is the ultimate spin

Let’s keep in mind that Tiger Woods has not committed a sin that could destroy a successful sports career. He has not been accused of steroids, insider betting or anything that could question his commitment to his sport. Doug Heye from the Thomas Jefferson Street blog believes that “America has an incredible capacity to forgive, giving second and third chances. For that to happen to Woods, no matter how much credibility he has built, requires being both proactive and forthright”, while Robbie Vorhaus in the Huffington Post concluded that “Tiger Woods doesn’t need a PR handler; just a reminder that he’s a hero, and that truth is always the ultimate spin”.

Samaritans is to launch a new fundraising TV campaign on Monday 16 November, appealing for viewers to make a regular £3 monthly donation.

Samaritans is contacted more than 5 million times every year via its telephone, email and text helpline services. Funds raised from the appeal will allow the charity to reach out to more people in distress, ultimately reducing the number of people who die by suicide.

The advert will be broadcast on 10 digital TV channels – More4, ITV3, ITV4, Fiver, Gold, Yesterday, Blighty, FiveUSA, Alibi and Eden until Monday 30 November. The advert will be repeated on the same channels from Saturday 26 December to Thursday 31 December, delivering 15.8 million impacts and reaching a total audience of 5 million.

Creative agency Arthur London has produced the 60-second advert for the charity.

The advert features a character called Lisa, a young woman who has experienced a lifetime of abuse and is extremely distressed, but finds the strength to phone Samaritans. The advert closes with Lisa looking more positive having made the call to Samaritans, emphasising that she has taken an important first step in rebuilding her life.

Arthur secured recently graduated drama school actress Emelia Clarke to play the lead role. Samaritans volunteer and well-known actress Janet Dibley who has starred in The Two of Us, Fat Friends and Eastenders provided the voiceover without any fee.

In addition, a series of emotive ‘Portrait’ films were produced to extend the campaign online and demonstrate the range of people who use Samaritans’ services. The aims of the portrait films are threefold: a call to action for the audience to make a donation to the charity; to encourage people to share the videos creating a viral effect; and to encourage traffic to the campaign pages on Samaritans website, where the TV advert can be viewed. The charity is also working with media agency, Mindshare, to secure free advertising space across a variety of media which may include billboards and radio stations.

Lorna Robertson-Reed, Samaritans’ Head of Individual Giving, said: “The charity is contacted every six seconds by someone in emotional distress, with one in every 10 calls being linked to the financial crisis. In order to maintain a 24:7 service we need to raise more than £10 million a year and that is why this advert is an important step in securing more funds so that we are here for the people who need us in these difficult times.”

If a celebrity has it, then we will want it. For this reason, a famous face is usually a safe and effective method of selling an idea, lifestyle or product. Celebrity endorsement closes the gap between consumer and celebrity and in turn boosts sales for the corporates behind the products.

This is commonly referred to as the ‘halo effect’ – the hope that the celebrity’s glamour, or lack of it, will rub off on the subjects they endorse. And it is nothing new. Film stars in the 1940s posed for cigarette adverts, while Bob Hope heralded American Express in the 1950s.

But celebrity endorsement can be trickier than you might think. Celebrities are after all still human, despite their carefully crafted personas.

Your target celebrity may have brand synergy with your products for promotional purposes today, but there is always a chance a celebrity’s manufactured image can begin to crack – or at worst shatter, usually in spectacular tabloid style and destroy a company’s multi-million pound marketing campaign and reputation overnight.

Queen of Iceland

Take for example Kerry Katona, the ruling queen of Iceland was unceremoniously dropped from her throne after a string of front page allegations which did not fit in with the family-friendly retailer’s image.

And who can forget the supermodels of the nineties, who all endorsed PETA by posing naked rather than wearing fur; then promptly slipped back into pelts for their favourite designers, to the fury of the animal rights charity.

However, if properly managed and promoted, celebrity endorsement is extremely effective in not just selling products, but in raising the profiles of companies – particularly ones which require profile enhancement on a small budget. Charities in particular are big fans of celebrity endorsement – a famous face can raise funds by gaining empathy from the consumer.

Take for example Pugsy Bear. Cute as he is, a loveable stuffed animal was never going to be enough to cut it as the sole face of Children in Need – a host of celebrities were also drafted in to raise funds for the charity, perhaps the biggest example of celebrity endorsement there is.

The wining combination of celebrities, a strong message and superb branding has made Children In Need one of the most memorable and successful fundraising initiatives.

Universal appeal

But charities must still choose wisely and focus on relevance. Research has shown that the older the consumer, the less influenced they are by celebrity endorsement. A charity needing to appeal to both the young and old, must take into account the preference and susceptibility of all generations.

For example, Golley Slater Manchester was tasked with finding celebrities to endorse an adult hospice, which required this winning combination. St Ann’s Hospice is one of the UK’s largest adult hospices in the UK and has always retained a loyal support network of fundraisers who can be fairly classed as being in the grey market.

But the hospice needed to attract new supporters, including a younger audience is key to this and celebrity endorsement was key to hook the younger recruits in. Armed with the benefits of supporting such a highly regarded charity, the team managed to secure a host of young stars from the Coronation Street cast plus Manchester finest premiership footballers to promote and take part in the charity’s annual Manchester Midnight Walk.

Footballers and soap stars have national appeal

Not satisfied with regional photocalls and celebrity attendance, the team went above and beyond to reach a national audience by befriending the set designers of Coronation Street. They negotiated for the St Ann’s Hospice Manchester Midnight Walk poster to be displayed in several of the scenes in one of the episodes.

Cryptically informed that one of the characters was about to have an accident and end up in hospital, we were invited to submit the poster for display in the hospital reception area. Long-suffering Gail Platt had been pushed down the stairs by her evil son; bad news for the character, but superb tidings for the hospice. Enquiries about the walk surged and registrations to take part smashed the previous year’s record.

Celebrity endorsement is for pushing the boundaries, not just limited to photocalls and public appearances.

In a radical move, Pepsi has announced it will no longer use celebrities to sell its drink, because it believes they take away attention away from the product.

More product placement

So where does this leave the PR practitioner? Perhaps the recent step by the Advertising Standards Agency towards allowing product placement in TV programmes will begin to render celebrity endorsement obsolete.

Whatever the argument for or against and whatever emerging trends are around the corner, right now celebrities still steal the limelight and if the campaign is well managed, they can still take the product or company with them.

Photo shows footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips supporting St Ann’s Hospice

Although the site has been up and running for several years, Twitter has recently been thrown into the limelight thanks to celebrity pulling power. As a self-confessed celebrity buff, what could be better than knowing what your favourite actor or singer is doing at all times?

He does it

I don’t seem to be the only one with this opinion as serial “Twit” actor Ashton Kutcher has gained over a staggering 3.5 million “followers” since joining. (I believe the reason the former Punk’d star became so popular was because he infamously added a “Twit Pic” of his wife Demi Moore in her underwear!)

From a bit of light-hearted entertainment to an outright fixation, cue Miley Cyrus.  No stranger to controversy, Cyrus has been the centre of tween debates across America and the UK ever since she posed topless last year at age 15 for renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz.

Not so smiley

Until recently the teen sensation had gained over 2 million followers in one short year eventually ending in her feeling the need to delete her account due to the pressure she felt to keep her fans updated twenty-four-seven. So we are already starting to see two sides of Twitter, the light hearted funny side and the dark and potentially damaging one.

With MTV’s Teen Choice Awards handing out a prize for Teen Choice Twit, it’s no wonder that teenagers can’t help but become sucked into the viral fad. There’s a fine line between curiosity and obsession, but where does it lie?

In a world where celebrity culture defines what we watch on TV, what we read in magazines and even what we wear, it’s not surprising that soon they’ll influence the way we think and act.

Fantasy world

Perhaps this is something that Miley Cyrus realised and she couldn’t cope with the burden of influencing so many young minds across the world.

Following my theory that celebrities influence us hugely, it’s not hard to imagine that there might be more than a few impersonators on Twitter. Yet entering a fantasy world where you’re a superstar and people care about what you say could be dangerous.

While I was on my placement year at Public Eye, a similar situation presented itself. One of our high-profile clients found someone impersonating them on Twitter. Within Twitter’s Rules and Policies, it states that parody is accepted, but pretend to be your favourite celeb and you’re looking at a permanent suspension.

So how did I manage to get Twitter’s attention and let them know they were hosting a fake? Though it took a good two weeks to get an initial reaction, I was pleasantly surprised with their response from then on. Two days later the fake account had been taken down.

What I couldn’t quite believe in the first place was just how easy it is to actually set up a fake account and gain followers. All you need is a few pictures of your chosen celebrity, knowledge of their latest movie or tour and away you go!

I can’t help but wonder though, with it being so easy to trick unsuspecting fans, will Twitter suffer a backlash? How long will it take before Twitter becomes so full of fakes that we can’t distinguish between the genuine and the phoney?

With social media developing every year and the competition between sites becoming fiercer by the day, how do we know Twitter isn’t just a passing phase? On one side of the argument, celebrity users pretty much endorse the website simply by having a presence (or even by leaving). On the other hand, with their stereotypical temper tantrums and need to be associated with “what’s hot”, it might only take a few more high profile names announcing they’re leaving for Twitter to suffer another media circus and ultimately a backlash. So which will it be?

It’s just the start

Personally I believe this is just the start for Twitter and that it has longevity. From US President Barack Obama tweeting about the health reform debate to Transport for London letting travellers know about planned engineering works, this is one the most versatile communication platforms to date. Anyone and everyone can use it and in this current economic climate, it’s the perfect tool for marketing, communication and promotion as well as interacting. The possibilities are endless.

To re-tweet this piece in fewer than 140 characters:

I tweet because of the celebs; even a departure brings Twitter more attention. Despite the dark side it’s the future of online communication. Better get used to it.