PR is actually taking over my life...

Evening kids,

I realise that I have been neglecting you all once again but what can you do!

From my title you can guess what I'm going to talk about...and yes it is true, I have spent all Christmas writing essays and revising for my exam but that is not why PR is taking over my life.

Most of my family lives in Newquay and that includes 2 very impressionable cousins aged 15 and 13 (for the sake of this blog we will call them liar and thief, respectively).

So as their nicknames suggest they have been up to no good and when I heard of their misdemeanour's I knew I had to take action...
                            
                                  I had a whole speech planned

                                                                                I could see their reactions in my head, the undying need for my love and approval
                                  
                                                            The gratitude on my aunties face...

It did not go that way. Thief is avoiding me and Liar, well, lied to me and denied everything!!!

So what did I do when I realised my perfectly planned speech was going nowhere..."Lier, think of it this way your guilty by association...your reputation is effected by the people you hang around with and the things they do...bla bla bla....more reputation management theory...bla bla bla...you need to be around people who do good things and not get mixed up in all this high school crap...also don't have sex without protection you can get pregnant first time, maybe you should go on the pill"

Yeah, that last bit was most deffo a mistake and I most deffo did not help the situation at all...maybe next time I will just keep quite and try to not bore my cousins with useless dribble about PR theory!


xoxo






 

But what about my magazine pile??

So the story is that newspapers have been on the decline for some time now due to a little piece of technology called the Internet (you may have heard it-big thing, controls our lives, Daddy of Facebook and Twitter) and many of the major players such as the Guardian and Sun have been looking for new ways to keep readership levels up such as online articles and Smartphone Apps.

Now, as a student PR I should be slightly worried about this BUT as the only newspaper that I quickly flick through is the Metro, I'm kinda not that concerned. What I am worried about though are magazines? With Conde Nast already closing a number of their more specialised publications, are magazines facing the same dreaded fate?

After thinking long and hard about this I have 2 theories:

1) It is not because of the Internet that magazines are in danger, but because of the recession. Rather than going out and buying every glossy on the shelf like the good old days, people are opting to buy their favourite and swap with friends. Once the recession is well and truly over, magazine purchases will soar (just like shoes, clothing, expensive hair cuts and holidays).

2) Magazines hold more value than newspapers!! Sure, newspapers have a nostalgic feel to them and there's nothing better than sitting with a massive newspaper and reading what's going on in the world. This feeling is even better when it is the middle of Winter, half the words are on your hands and/or face, it's fallen apart from the 30 seconds you were in the wind and your on the Tube. In rush hour. Oh and don't forget the Rainforests are dying and the Earth is getting hotter, Ice caps melting, water-levels rising....

Reading the latest headlines on a computer screen or a phone or an iPad isn't a bad alternative when you consider the above. Think of it as a natural progression.

This situation is not the same for magazines. Firstly, magazines are not daily; they are weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, you get the idea and they are not just abandoned on empty chairs. Therefore they are less damaging to the environment.

Secondly, and probably the most important point is that they offer something that a newspaper or an online version can never provide. They are an escapism, inspiration. Think of all the times you have bought Vogue or Elle or my personal favourite Love and just curled up under a blanket with a hot chocolate and looked at all the clothes and read all the articles. How many times have you found a pair of shoes you have to have and saved up to get them, or how many exhibitions you have been to see just because Marie Claire says it's good. Think of all the amazing writers, photographers, designers and artists that have been discovered all because magazines are read. Thakoon was discovered through a Vogue initiative, without that who knows where he would have been now!

Those glossy pages offer so much more than overpriced clothing and endless 'dribble' about nothing. I don't even think I can put into words the impact magazines have.

I'm not the only one with this view. A number of highly influential people in the publishing industry have teamed together to help save print http://powerofmagazines.com/index.html On this site are facts and figures about the magazine industry and this cute little advert which offers a slighty different, and perhaps more informed view of the future of print.



Apart from creating writers, I'm pretty sure newspapers don't offer the same experience....

"It is simply not enough to follow" (Vivienne Westwood, 2010)

All of you will have heard of Vivienne Westwood and all of you will have heard about climate change but some of you will not have put the two together and come to the conclusion 100 Days of Active Resistance.


Any Westwood fanatic (or indeed Friday Night with Jonathan Ross fan) will know that she has been campaigning to prevent climate change for some time. After her appeal on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross she then made her way to Fashion Week armed with a runway decorated as a rainforest; showing her deep involvement with The Prince’s Rainforest Project.


Now she is reaching out to us in an entirely different way.


On September 8th she launched her 100 Days of Active Resistance with the denim brand Lee.


The Dame herself said  "It is that you get out of life what you put in and that the real experience of the world involves thinking. It is not enough to follow world politics, see films and read the prize-winning best seller. This is superficial, you need to go deep in order to understand who you are, what the world is and how things could be better. This involves culture which can only be acquired by self-education: human beings should mirror the world".


The idea behind the scheme is for people all over the world to submit their artwork and one will be chosen everyday as the ‘image of the day’.


Now 44 days in and the website is full of some of the most amazing pictures I have ever seen. My personal favourites so far are days 1, 3, 5, 9, 15, 21, 28 and 29. You'll have to go to the website www.ar100days.com to see them :p You will notice that all the images come with captions expressing the artist’s view on active resistance, climate change and the World as a whole.



Although I am not an avid saver of the world (until America stops rolling around in Hummers and lighting Vegas up like a Christmas tree, me throwing my Diet Coke can in the right bin is not going to make the slightest bit of difference-BAD VIEW TO TAKE I KNOW!!) I cannot help but be immensely inspired by this woman. Of course, there are people who inspire me but none to the extent of Vivienne Westwood. She has this insane ability to actually make me stop and think about things, to actually consider every aspect. She gives people a platform on which to express themselves. She encourages you to think outside that very small box. I guess there truly is method in the madness.


Who else can you say does that, on that wide of a scale?


I think for the next 56 days we should all participate in the 100 Days of Active Resistance, not necessarily by submitting some art but by being brave enough to be who we want to be and by saying what we have always wanted to.


As the great lady herself says "it is simply not enough to follow…"  


To view her interview with Jonathan Ross go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My8er6jRAP4 for part 1 and http://www.youtube.com/watchv=2Kd4fbH8REs&feature=related for part 2 

SMCC10- A Student's Perspective

So as I mentioned earlier I attended a Social Media in Context conference run by Communicate Magazine. I sat, I listened, I Tweeted, I Facebooked (I love how just like Google, Facebook has become a verb-but for a net worth of 25billion you wouldn’t expect much less!) and now I’m blogging!!

Due to University commitments, I missed the first group of presentations but was lucky enough to see a number of incredibly insightful ones after the lunch break; and as wonderful as they all were, I am only going to talk about the two that really stuck out in my mind!!

“Why I Use Nokia-a very personal word of mouth case study” James Whately (Engagement Director, 1000Heads)

This short, yet effective presentation taught us that we should not be afraid to embrace the extreme and that actually engaging with your audience will have a greater effect than just trying to hit your targets.

Now, this blog is from a students perspective and coming from a lecture theatre where all the presentation slides are covered in black ink and the lecturer isn’t showing much enthusiasm, this presentation was a breath of fresh air. Whately was upbeat and engaging and his slides were not filled with boring black ink. Oh no! Some had pictures, some had charts and others had Post-it notes!!

(OK so it isn’t a fab picture but you get the point I’m trying to make)

If Mr. Whately would like to give my class members a lesson in how to present, that would be amazing (not that I’m saying you need it guys, but every little helps).

“Crisis Communications” Leesa Fogarty (vice president industry, Augure)

The words that stood out the most during her speech were “information can be around for a long time”. I had always been aware of this concept but had never really thought about it. What you say and do now will be there for a very long time, if not forever.

Her talk was based on a case study about an un-named client (although I have a sneaky suspicion who it might be due to another case study I analysed in Market-Led Management) and how they overcame a certain market.

Her company, which was established 8 years ago, has a focus on reputation management and has represented a number of luxury brands.

After Leesa Fogarty’s talk, I took a look at the Augure website and have since developed a keen interest in reputation management and the software that they have developed.

I’m really grateful that I had to opportunity to come to this conference as I was able to see the industry in which I want to work through the eyes of those who are experiencing it now and through real life case studies, making everything I have learnt in a classroom seem all the more real.

One last thing I would like to mention is Marc Campam’s (managing director, Webjam) top 10 tips for staying in control amid the chaos

1. Markets are conversations.
2. Enabling powerful new forms of social organisations and knowledge.
3. There are two conversations going on: one inside the company, one with the market.
4. These 2 conversations want to talk to each other & are speaking the same language.
5. We wonder why you’re not listening. You seem to be speaking a different language.
6. The inflated self-important jargon you sling around-what’s that got to do with us?
7. We like this new marketplace much better. In fact, we are treating it.
8. You’re not invited, but it’s our world
9. Companies that do not belong to a community of discourse will die.
10. Talk is cheap but silence is fatal!

These will stay with me for the rest of my life!!

To view Twitter feed from the conference search #SMCC10

I wonder what event I will attend next…xo

 

Social Media in Context

 

I think I may have mentioned it before but I am a student of PR-although now a slightly progressed one as I am now on a Masters course.

During my first month on said course my peers and myself have been provided with a number of amazing opportunities. One such opportunity is been able to attend Communicate Magazines conference “Social Media in Context” at the wonderful Palace Hotel, Manchester.

The day consists of a number of talks by industry professionals about how social media has made an impact on their businesses and/or lives.

Due to morning lectures I was unable to attend the first half but when I did arrive, with my wonderful class mate Matt Horwood, we were greeted with a smiley face and a wonderful buffet.

In the conference room, circular tables are occupied by laptops, iPhones, Blackberrys and of course people, all at the ready to post their latest tweets, updates and blogs.

More blogs to follow…xoxo

Why Does it Always Rain on Me?

Dear The Heavens That Be,

 

Last week I walked from one end of Deansgate to the other in my brand new £200 shoe boots. It was the first time I wore them and just as I got to the Great Northern, you let it rain.

The rain made the ground wet and my shoes slippery (they are leather soles you see), as a result I slipped a little down a broken cobble and it removed half the leather from my heel! This upset me somewhat.

Once in a dry location it became clear that I will need professional help to fix them. The cost of this will be about £50!!

I understand that you need to rain from time to time, but I would greatly appreciate that if in the future you could maybe not rain when I’m walking in new shoes…or without an umbrella…or a jacket…or on my way to somewhere…

or at all when I’m outside.

 

Thank you Heavens That Be for your time and consideration.

 

Kind regards,

Sweet Lolita xoxo

Woe and Behold!!

 

Guys and Dolls I have done it!! It took me months to pluck up the courage to do and there was a lot of travelling back and forth to relevant source but I am proud to say that I can now KNIT!!

 

I mean, I wouldn’t hurry with your orders. I still have a long way to go and a lot more things to explore but non the less I actually learnt it!!

 

I wonder how it would look on my C.V?? Not that great?? No, I didn’t think so…oh well back to my essay!!!

 

xoxo