Planet Dust?

Wonderful news today that billionaire and PR larrikin Richard Branson has committed to contributing a substantial sum over the next 10 years to help combat global warming. Straight off the back of the global hype the heralded the launch of Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore’s movie about global warming.

The movie was launched last week in Australia and although his media people did a fab job of getting him some great slots, interviews and features, I would have liked to see the PR really go for the jugular and get fully mainstream. I know the strategy flowed naturally from AG’s availablity and off the back of undergound hits such as Supersize Me and Michael Moore’s docos but I’d have approached the job from a top-down mainstream angle. Al Gore is fabulous talent and has such a passionate (and ultimately worldchanging) story. I hope the story continues to flow through the media and does not drift off (with corresponding visits to the cinema to see it) over the next few weeks/months.

Hats off to Al Gore for his Current TV project too – revolutionary thinking in my book. Doing for TV what MTV did in the ’90s.

On the green tip,in my previous role I worked on the launch of the Lexus GS450h hybrid vehicle back in June 2006 (Lexus was a client). You will all be delighted to know that the Lexus RX400h hybrid SUV is making it’s Australian debut early next month following a PR launch in Sydney in the coming weeks. I’m sure hybrid technology meets Al’s approval as emissions from petrol/electric hybrid vehicles are drastically reduced. Remember diesel drivers, it’s not all about fuel economy – from the planet’s perspective it’s about emissions.

Whilst I haven’t driven the RX400h, I was lucky enough to spend some time driving the GS450h and I have to say that it is one of the best cars I have driven. The seemless transition of the petrol and electric engines is sublime and the power from the combination petrol/electric is breathtaking. In traffic the petrol engine switches off all together and you can creep forward using the electric motors only – the car does all this automatically. Huge benefits to the air quality in cities. Lexus is a brand that is pushing the boundaries and when you get close to the brand you can see how it is poised for success because it believes wholeheartedly in breaking new ground. Hybrid technology is a good example of this.

I hope that companies get behind the global warming issue for the right reasons and not because it will ‘be good PR’. Consumers are intelligent and will see through this. If you are going to do it, do it for the right reason – because you believe in it. I know that Lexus does.

The (your name here) Post

So.  There is a trend that is happening in advertising during sporting events and it’s a trend that I think has reached a tipping point for me in terms of brands encroaching on the enjoyment of the game.

I’m talking about the phenomenon of sponsored live-reads during sport…  you know the ones – Holden Halftime, Carlton Mid Man of the Match etc

I know verbalisation of the brand name again and again has resonance with some elements of the audience – though I thought learning through repetition was an outdated concept – but why oh why do brands feel they have to ’sponsor’ these elements of the broadcast.  I’m sure I heard commentator Rabbs Warren tell me during the Knights game over the weekend that I should “stay tuned after the Holden Halftime break when we’ll show you the Bundy Big Hits of the game so far and tell you how to vote for the Carlton Mid man of the match.”  Please.  Make it stop. 

This is too much for me, the line has been crossed. Please have some semblance of respect for the audience.  Just because the channel sells it does not mean you have to buy it.  Does saying the brands name over and over again drive sales? Love to see the numbers on that one…

Please stick to the creativity.  Engage customers with creative ads (Bundy, Carlton) and drop the renaming of parts of the game.

I, and every single viewer, is watching the game because of the content.  Just like I buy a magazine for the articles or buy a newspaper for the news.  The ad, whilst a very valid part of the marketing mix, is not the reason I am watching/reading/listening.  Fact.  Content is king – always has been and always will be. 

Now, remember this quote? author unknown: “Tell me, I’ll forget. Show me, I may remember. But involve me and I’ll understand”. Old school marketing stuff I know but never has a truer word been uttered, especially when I am watching the NRL!  Or perhaps that should be the Northbridge Bottle Shop NRL.

Quick.  Get me the number for Northbridge Bottle Shop. I’ve got a really good idea…

Pet hate, sorry.

big up

… to my chum Di who writes so eloquently on a variety of subjects on the Who Magazine blog (and the mag of course).  Love it Di, love it.

The new (and improved) web

This week’s BRW is a very interesting read and indeed a must for those getting to grips with web 2.0.  Clear and concise (as always) with some great insights into the role of social media to corporates moving forward.  I have an issue with one of the quotes from Randal Leeb-du Toit who states that “…Many companies aren’t going directly to PR agencies, but to the most influential bloggers as their initial mouthpiece”.

Now that may be the case in some companies but who is the conduit within the company that will begin and continue those conversations with the bloggers?  PR department probably…  As the importance of web 2.0 and bloggers grows, this will become a job for the PR agency who will embrace the contacts and drive communications with bloggers, as an element of the PR plan, as with other influential ‘mouthpieces’.  I think this is more likely, but only if the PR agency wants to seize the opportunity and embrace that change…
To Randal’s other point, I agree that bloggers should begin to be invited by companies to events and break down the barriers betwen the company and the customer and provide a vehicle for two-way communication.  It is this customer-led marketing that is the way forward.

The role of the PR is changing – just as the role of all elements of the marketing mix is, and has always been, changing.  PR has never been just about press releases and coverage (ink and airtime) that’s obviously important but the value of PR to a company can and should run so much deeper than that and cover the full gamut of Public Relations.  Agencies have to get to grips with the social media as a new influential area within their sphere and simply adapt to this new way of communication.

For those that remember a PR world before email, the internet and satellite TV (by george, I’m showing my age now…), that change will be a natural growth into a new area.  Social media is not a fad that’s going away so PR has to get on the bus or watch the opportunity pull away.

Ah haa…

Alright. Yeah. OK. Well, here it begins. Some Say PR is my blog and it will be primarily work related mostly covering the thoughts/musings/blusterings/ frustrations/triumphs of an englishman plying his trade as a PR in Sydney, Australia. I left my job as head of PR at a marketing/PR/sponsorship/sales agency last week to explore the world of working for ones self – so I started Duke Communications. The primary driver for me leaving what was a good job with a really great PR team was simply because I needed to try it for myself.  I needed to fully investigate my belief in the power of PR as an integrated part of the marketing mix and ultimately create a great place to work. After all, all we sell is people’s opinions and their knowledge.  For me, the plan is to encourage and give responsibility (firstly to me and then to people I work with) because I think that by having a share in the highs and the lows, this feeds passion. For me, mediocrity is not acceptable in a consultancy environment, you can always do better. Now I’m not saying I’ve got all of those skills but I’m going to give it a damn good go and stand up for what I believe in.

Before I left the UK with my Aussie girlfriend (now wife) Tamsin two and a half years ago, I had the pleasure of spending five years working with Clive Armitage, Sheryl Seitz, James Warren, Neil Foster, Claire Lamb, Ruth Speakman, Joss Hastings, Chris Cartwright, Grant Currie, Paul Mackender and many other highly talented people at Bite Communications in London. Hats off to you all guys because I had a blast and learnt so much.