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Stuart Bruce - Wolfstar
Leeds
Interests: business, current affairs, cooking, technology, politics, dining, computer games and reading.
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Mar 15, 2010
Great post. I couldn't agree more. One of my main drivers behind setting up Wolfstar is I disagreed with the approach of setting up 'digital' or 'social media' divisions with PR consutancies. Our approach is that 'digital' is a core skill no different to media relations and that everyone in the team has to 'get it'.
Does Digital matter anymore??
There is a good debate going on at Digi-Cynic about the future (or not) of pure-play digital agencies. Jerome who authors the blog has spent quality time in Glue, BBH in London and is now a Digital Planner W+K Amsterdam so if anyone has a opinion worth engaging with on the subject then it's Je...
It's one I've been pondering as well. It's to do with trust. Think it depends on why you're in that private space. For example, I was at Tom Watson's leaving party for stepping down as digital engagement minister. That was a semi-public event (lots of people who didn't all know each other), but it would have been a breach of trust to report from it. Overhearing a conversation in a hotel lobby, airport lounge or train where I have NO RELATIONSHIP with the people involved isn't a breach of trust. If I KNOW them, however slightly or even through a third party relationship, then it does start to become a breach of trust. At least I think that's what I think!
Citizen journalism in action, or not?
Today’s Guardian diary leads with a piece about me Twittering an indiscrete conversation I overheard on the train. It appeared to be an executive from French energy company Total talking about how Total could beat the unions at the Lindsey oil refinery. In one respect it’s a great example of cit...
Sally is spot on. The other point is that decent PR folk won't want to work with you if you're just doing it for the freebies or cash. We're looking for genuine blogs that are well written and really of interest to their readers. If they are just full of re-hashed content then the readership won't be very good. PRs have got to work it even harder to think of things that will genuinely be of interest to the bloggers we're talking to. This might also mean that for one client we're doing different things for different people, so that we're meeting your needs just as much as we're meeting our clients. There's no point unless there is something in it for 'you' as well as 'us'!
Please stop asking mummy bloggers to do stuff for free
It seems that the mummy blogger/PR relationship is really hard to get right -- even for our US counterparts. GeekMommy wrote an excellent post this week about Why Mom Bloggers Aren’t Flipping for Just a Sample of Your Product. You really need to read the full article, it points out that mothers...
Susanna, some great points both in your post and the comments. I think part of the problem is PR people who are afraid to push back against their clients/senior management. One of the benefits of being 'old' (40!) in this space is I've got 20 years of standing up to clients.
At Wolfstar the first question we ask is "What's in it for the blogger?" There has got to be something in it for both them and our client. That usually means something that's good for your readers. Something that will help you amuse, entertain, inform and draw new readers to your blog that are interested enough in what you've written to want to comment and share it with their friends.
We're also always really interested in hearing feedback from you. Did we get the approach right? We try hard, but sometimes get it wrong, so tell us how to do it better.
Above all we should all be trying to put something back into the community, that's PRs and bloggers alike.
Please stop asking mummy bloggers to do stuff for free
It seems that the mummy blogger/PR relationship is really hard to get right -- even for our US counterparts. GeekMommy wrote an excellent post this week about Why Mom Bloggers Aren’t Flipping for Just a Sample of Your Product. You really need to read the full article, it points out that mothers...
@wadds but surely that was the point? Marr wanted to talk gossip and rumours, and Mandelson wouldn't let him. He wanted a conversation about real issues and facts. You can't not rebut if the journalist is spinning half-truths. Mandelson was the one who tried to engage in conversation and Marr failed. You're right the loser was democracy, but 110% Marr's fault.
Mandelson v. Marr: Master class or disaster class – you decide
On Sunday’s Andrew Marr show I think Lord Peter Mandelson totally obliterated Marr. Mandelson was cool, calm and confident while Marr became more flustered as Mandelson continued to pick holes in Marr’s frequently inaccurate and vacuous questions. At least that was my take on the interview. It w...
@Guido Yep, you and me both I was a regular frequenter of Usenet and email lists back in the 90s when most of the folk who run things like Social Media Library were probably still in nappies. That's almost 15 years of learning how not to spam people.
Blog Wars: the Social Media Library
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… … A NEW HOPE entered the blogosphere… … well actually no at first it was the forces of light on the left that dominated the political blogosphere, it was only later that the evil Galactic Empire created the Death Star. In fact two of the first politica...
Having done both, I'm not so sure there is such a huge difference between political PR and corporate PR. The media focus on the tip of the iceberg (the attack, sleaze type stuff), but the vast majority of work is quite mundane and simiar to the business world - researching and writing articles/speeches, organising events, messaging, responding to interview requests etc.
The unacceptable face of public relations
There's a case for viewing commercial public relations as the 'acceptable face of capitalism'. Championing an organisation's responsibilities to all its stakeholders balances the pressure always to put shareholders and profits first. Corporate Social Responsibility and environmental statements p...
@James Tutt - good point. What I meant about Derek is that he made very senior figures actually listen and agree that Labour needed to be much, much better in this space. That was a huge achievement. His mistake then came by partially squandering the opportunity by doing the wrong things. What we often tell potential clients is that there are LOTS of so called online PR/social media experts who can list what can be done and do it. But it doesn't mean they can do it right! Obama v. McCain is a good example. McCain did most of the same things online that Obama did, it's just that Obama did it right and did it much better.
@GuidoFawkes - can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with everything you say! Except I wasn't suggesting that Tom should head LabourList. That's not what Jeremy Hunt does, I've explained more fully on Kerry McCarthy's blog (not actually up yet!).
Defending LabourList and knocking the smears about RedRag
As a public relations and social media specialist I’ve had lots of people asking me to comment on the Red Rag blog and Damian McBride’s resignation. I’ve resisted the temptation to become a ‘rent-a-gob’ in the media and haven’t yet responded to those who’ve emailed me and direct messaged me on T...
Steve, that's why I said it was a risk. The response has actually been very mixed, with some seeing the 'joke' and others taking offence. Personally, it's a risk I wouldn't have taken, even though I did think it was amusing.
Were you a SlideShare rock star?
Public relations and marketing folks are always on the look out for ways to exploit April Fool’s day. I think one of this year’s best was SlideShare, which sent an email to many of its users saying: You're a SlideShare Rockstar We've noticed that your slideshow on SlideShare has been getting a ...
@Robin I'm not sure that "time and the market" is the same thing. The brighter and swifter ad folk are recognising the sea change and buying in the appropriate skills. They already command the lion's share of budgets and it's easier to hang on to budget and spend it in a different way than it is for other disciplines to win new business.
Joseph Jaffe is rightly criticised for Adweek article
Crayon founder Joseph Jaffe has faced a wave of criticism in the comments for his recent by-lined article in Adweek. Personally I’m amazed that the Adweek editor allowed such a blatant ‘puff piece’ to appear under the guise of genuine editorial. Jaffe uses his op-ed to launch an ill-informed b...
Really good points Andrew. I think there is a difference between what clients want to pay you for and where you can add real value. Some of my 'best' work has been where I've only counselled clients and haven't been involved very much in implementation. Unfortunately, there isn't enough of that work for me to create a sustainable business model. That's why lots of what we do, and most PR firms do, is at a tactical delivery level.
Can you manage reputation? I think so, in that you can have processes and disciplines that influence it. What you can't do is control it.
Public relations is about reputation, not SEO
Jed Hallam has been involved in a fascinating Twitter debate, this time on the relative merits of public relations and SEO (or search engine optimisation). I started to write a comment in response, but then decided it was probably worth a post of its own. There have been lots of interesting comm...
@Ian - thanks mate, but The World's Leading got there before you on slagging off the logo http://www.theworldsleading.net/index.php/2007/07/24/there-is-no-try-i-see-that-bruce-has-started-a/
@Rob Brown - thanks for the reminder about the Wired article. Richard Edelman keeps saying "Google never forgets"
@Roger - page rank is too crude a measure to really be about reputation, digital firms are only disqualified from doing PR because they only do digital. Digital is always part of reputation, but only ever part.
@Stephen Waddington - agreed, especially about the market size and potential fees issue. PR supporting the sales cycle is great (excellent source of revenue!), as long as we remember it is only part of what it/we can do
@Pete Goold - I think that's partially my point that digital needs to be a core competency for public relations people
Public relations is about reputation, not SEO
Jed Hallam has been involved in a fascinating Twitter debate, this time on the relative merits of public relations and SEO (or search engine optimisation). I started to write a comment in response, but then decided it was probably worth a post of its own. There have been lots of interesting comm...
Mark, my original post referenced that, but it began to become quite long and rambling ;-)
Time allowing I'm going to do a second post on the 'other' Labour stuff that is out there.
Labour’s new online strategy
Over the last few weeks I’ve had several people ask me face-to-face (it’s still the best way to communicate), online and by email, what I think of Labour’s burgeoning new online presence in social media. The latest was a tweet (Twitter message) at the weekend from James Tutt in Microsoft UK’s P...
That's the problem with The West Wing - there are just too many good characters. Whenever I'm dealing with a crisis scenario I stop and ask myself "What would Leo do?".
Even later: Three inspirational communicators
A long, long time ago my fried Andy Wake asked me to take part in the New Wave PR meme naming my three most inspirational communicators, to help identify speakers and promote Don’t Panic’s New Wave PR conference. I failed miserably, even when Tom Murphy (who was also very late) tagged me to cont...
I'll be presenting a series of case studies showing practical UK examples of successful social media programmes/campaigns. Some will be ours, but I'll also be covering good ones from other brands.
Don’t Panic Guide to Social Media
The Don’t Panic Guide to Social Media conference is having another outing and I’m on the bill: The Don't Panic Guide to Social Media takes place at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester on Friday 5 December and will examine the strategic opportunities and benefits of new media and online PR along...
Machiavelli's The Prince is actually well worth a read by anyone in business or public realtions - not that I'm suggesting you follow all its advice, but it is thought provoking. Another ancient text well worth reading is Sun Tzu's The Art of War.
Peter's friends
For me, the most interesting narrative - the only interesting narrative - of the story concerning George Osborne, Peter Mandelson, Oleg Deripaska and Nat Rothschild is this: Don't mess with Mandelson. It appears to be his revenge for the leaked private conversation from a Corfu taverna that caus...
OK Iain, mea culpa, sorry. You're right you didn't mention Mandelson and the oligarch. My mistake, although my defence was that I was on holiday and wasn't paying as much attention my RSS feeds as normal ;-)
George Osborne and Peter Mandelson, innocent victims of gutter journalism
How depressing it is to see the UK media yet again focusing on minor gossip and tittle tattle rather than the major policy issues of the day. It is disgraceful how it is hounding George Osborne over what is essentially a non-story about a non-existent political donation. Just as bad is how it ha...
@Mark - I don't use Virgin much, but when I have I've had a pretty good experience. I was once stuck on a cancelled train and decided to abandon my journey rather than continue by coach. They let me use my ticket next day and refunded the original cost.
@Seb - I can't understand what's so hard about a 'frequent traveller' programme. GNER had one, it's totally unacceptable that National Express is still in the process of setting one up.
@Andy - hotels usually have a room or two for emergencies even when full.
@Stephen - You're definitely the first person I've heard say that they prefer National Express to GNER, absolutely everyone else I've spoken to thinks they are far worse. I don't buy the "hard and fast rules" as GNER did use to be more understanding. I think what irritated me most was that it was a straight no, rather than "I'm sorry sir, I do understand and would like to help....".
Excellent customer service - and the worst!
If you book an airport hotel and accidentally select 2009 instead of 2008 then it is definitely your fault. When you arrive and the reception is very busy with people who want rooms, but can't have them as the hotel is full, then it's reasonable to assume you're up s**t creek without a paddle. N...
Yep, you and David Brain were the two that I immediately spotted as missing, hence my reference, but I'm sure there are others.
It still gives you a little tingle down the spine, even though you know it is nonsense.
A PR Guy’s Musings is 11 on the world’s top PR blogs list
Joel Cere notes that there is a “bit of ranking mania” at the moment and Matthew Watson at Rainier PR has compiled a list of the world’s top PR blogs based on the AdAge Power150. It’s not perfect as I think some have been missed off, and despite the fact I’m not a big fan of blog league tabl...
I was struggling to understand Wadd's comment about 3 until Matthew commented and then it suddenly made sense. My confusion was around top 50 or top 60 and top 10 or top 12. If you look at the UK top 12 then it is 3 PR agencies as Matthew's blog is at 12 so it becomes Rainier, Hotwire and Wolfstar. My mistake was just looking at the top 10. Apologies to Rainier.
A PR Guy’s Musings is 11 on the world’s top PR blogs list
Joel Cere notes that there is a “bit of ranking mania” at the moment and Matthew Watson at Rainier PR has compiled a list of the world’s top PR blogs based on the AdAge Power150. It’s not perfect as I think some have been missed off, and despite the fact I’m not a big fan of blog league tabl...
Hi Urs, thanks for commenting. I guessed the "confusing" element might have been down to length, great that you managed to pack so much in!
On the "expensive" I still think that it is less than the equivalent time that a CEO could have to spend to prepare for and attend say an external or employee conference, or a media interview.
Financial Times asks “Is blogging good value for the C-suite?”
Today’s FT.com has an interesting article that asks "Is blogging good value for the C-suite?”. It’s quite a thought-provoking, if slightly confusing article, by-lined to Urs E. Gattiker, the inventor of My.ComMetrics.com and founder and Chief Technology Officer of CyTRAP Labs in Zurich. Con...
Sam, I agree with you about Pickles, and on reflection I should have made Blears/Pickles a score draw as I honestely think both are doing a very good job. You probably have a better impression of Mitchell than me, as he is one of the ones that even a political junkie like me had to check out to refresh my memory as to which one he was!
Don't agree with you on Smith who constantly appears out of her depth, althougnh I do agree that Davis comes across as "a man who's time and come and gone" - perhaps they should both have been a NEITHER.
And finally, you wouldn't expect me to agree about Alan!
Iain Dale's Brown v. Cameron - who has the better team?
Iain Dale follows up one of Gordon Brown's interviews this morning by asking readers to comment on who has the better team. It's a good question and one that's very telling when you go through it one by one: Gordon Brown v David Cameron - CAMERON Alistair Darling v George Osborne - OSBORNE Jacqu...
Steve, thanks for responding and trying to help Andy out - good to see a social media campaign being done properly. It's interesting that Andy's question reflects my criticism of the awful Cocoon manual.
First thoughts on the O2 Cocoon
Today I received my shiny new O2 Cocoon mobile. It comes courtesy of Peter Kwong at VCCP, O2's advertising agency and is mine to keep even if I decide not to review it (which would very mean of me so I'll give it a first thoughts and a proper review). The O2 Cocoon comes packaged in a large att...
Rob, you're right it is more polemic than usual.And on re-reading it I'm not sure I accurately conveyed my thoughts. My point was that it isn't about the rights/wrongs of the dispute, but that certain tactics are morally reprehensible and beyond the pale. It is very bad CSR. Strike breaking is NOT the way a responsible corporate acts. Industrial disputes are part of business and sometimes the company is right, sometimes the union, more usually somewhere between the two. But both sides must act responsibly and there are things that unions should never do (intimidation, flying pickets etc) and things that employers should never do (intimidation, flying workers/scabs) should never do.
Stick it to the Argos flying scabs
For an example of a truly bad company look no further than UK retailer Argos (no link as I don't want to help give the scum any business). The arrogant management at Argos has decided that rather than having intelligent discussions with its trade union partners in Ireland, that it would rather f...
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