Rugby’s bloody nose – Bloodgate update
Rugby has a proud repuation for fairness and sportsmanship. Indeed it trumpets this loud over its rival “thuggish” sport soccer. However, what will this scandal do to that hard-won reputation?
Blair’s charitable donation – shrewd or misconstrued?
Another week, another memoir from another master of spin. This week, Tony Blair vowed to hand the £4.6m advance and any profits from his autobiography to the Royal British Legion to open a state-of-the-art sports centre for wounded servicemen.
Candid Cameron or ill-conceived PR move over Pakistan?
So it seems Dave isn’t going to apologise for his comments about Pakistan promoting ‘the export of terror’ and “looking both ways”. Considering he is meeting with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari later this week, this is PR hardball.
Just the Jobs or mixed reception for freshly pressed Apple?
The problem with Apple, as with so many public figures and businesses that court the limelight, is that it is so beloved by so many, partly because of the “magical” aura they have built up but it lacks a certain humility. So, when it does stumble, there will be plenty around to kick it when it tries to rise.
Torres’ show of loyalty a game of two scarves
Well, the UK’s sporting press got very excited yesterday when Liverpool’s star striker Fernando Torres was spotted celebrating Spain’s World Cup victory in a Liverpool scarf.
Plane Speaking – Ryan Air’s PR brilliance strikes again
Ryan Air is cheap – probably the cheapest, time and time again. We’ll soon have the experts trotting out theories as to why this can’t work from a health and safety perspective but do you think O’Leary actually cares whether he pulls this off or not? No! It is a stunt, like so many others and the media loves it because the general public hates it.
BP’s Tony Hayward’s slick PR Skills
There is no doubt that this will have been an awful and incredibly stressful time for Mr Hayward and senior BP figures personally but the problem is that he and BP keep reminding us of us this as if we should all feel sorry for them. That is just not going to fly. Nobody cares about BP – they care about the totaldevastation caused and what can be done about it.
Car-nage – can’t keep Toyota outa the news
PRWeek’s Reputation Survey on 26 February found:
41 per cent of the UK public would be put off buying a Toyota car in the future
40 per cent said their confidence in Toyota had been dented by the car maker’s problems
40 per cent believed that Toyota had handled the situation well.
Who will be seen as the biggest prat once the dust settles?
The whole story “whiffs” of mistrust. Mistrust of the bullying helpline to keep schtum on sensitive issues, mistrust of the PRs (real or not) lurking in the background around the motives for Ms Pratt’s first ill-advised comments, mistrust of the Prime Minister and Number 10’s culture and mistrust of David Cameron and his ability to make political capital out of any situation.
Tiger’s Tale. Selfish timing, careful PR management, or big mistake?
media relations is not a one way street. It is about relationships and dialogue. This afternoon, the world’s greatest golfer, the master of his own destiny and his own mind, may well find that his single-minded stubborness to accept defeat in any area of his life is not his greatest strength but his biggest weakness.