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We’ve all heard the old adage, ‘there’s no such thing as bad publicity’ but this idea is clearly open to question.

For someone seeking fame and notoriety such as Kim Kardashian, this certainly appears to be true. Earlier this week it was reported that the Kardashian family has racked up an eye watering $80 million fortune with Kim’s leaked sex tape and consequent $5 million settlement deal seen by many as the catalyst for the family’s fame.

But how does bad publicity affect an already established personality such as Lord Alan Sugar who’s currently fighting a tribunal with previous Apprentice winner, Stella English. Accused of only doing The Apprentice ‘for the PR’ and not giving a *** about the winners, the potential negative repercussions could be huge. However, with Lord Alan Sugar’s determination not to settle and his PR team working overtime to roll out all the other happy winners, I wouldn’t be surprised if the publicity results in record numbers of viewers for the next series of The Apprentice. In fact, the real question is how all this publicity will affect Stella’s chances of securing a job when the tribunal concludes.

Last week over 12.2 million Americans and 15 million people worldwide tuned in to watch cyclist Lance Armstrong speak exclusively to Oprah Winfrey in his first interview since he was stripped of his Tour de France titles.

Unsurprisingly the response has been strong but interestingly most criticism appears to be focused towards the interview itself with critics branding it both a well-orchestrated PR stunt and a PR disaster.

Up first is John Fahey, World Anti-Doping Agency president who is angered that all Armstrong did during the interview was confirm details that were already public knowledge in an attempt to gain sympathy and understanding. This interview, he argues, was nothing more than a ‘controlled public relations’ stunt emphasised by Armstrong’s choice of forum to confess adding that he believes he instead should have ‘appeared under oath at an appropriate tribunal where he could be cross examined.’

But did Armstrong’s so-called PR stunt pay off? Harry J Enten, journalist at The Guardian doesn’t believe so, instead branding the interview a public relations nightmare in the making. Citing previous experiences with steroid-using baseball stars, he argues that if Armstrong did indeed want to maintain his public standing then it would have been better for him to keep lying. He points out that whilst Lance’s favourability took a hit with the American public last year when he was stripped of his titles by early January 2013 only ‘37% of American sports fans believed he should not get credit for his career accomplishments’. However, following the interview with Oprah only ‘21% of Americans polled believed that he could now restore his reputation.’

In truth, only time will tell what the outcome of this will be but with more people including his ex-fiancé Sheryl Crow being dragged into the saga one thing is for certain, any PR team connected to this will be working overtime for the foreseeable future.

Despite the fact that December only began on Saturday, for many people Christmas had already begun much earlier. I am of course talking about the high street retailers who are already locked in a fierce battle to win the accolade of 2012’s best Christmas advert.

Seemingly already winning the title is John Lewis, which had a tough act to follow after making headlines in 2011 with its depiction of a child desperately counting down the minutes until presenting his gift. Opting for a more romantic route for 2012, the advert sees a snowman falling in love with a snowgirl with a central theme illustrating that ‘no journey is too far to buy something special for the one you love at Christmas’. It has even inspired a children’s publisher to create a picture book. The rhyming text was written and pitched within 48 hours of the release of the advert and unsurprisingly John Lewis sent it to be printed that same week. It will, you won’t be surprised to hear, be sold exclusively in John Lewis!

Keen to secure that extra slice of the lucrative Christmas market, all the big players including M&S, TK Maxx, Waitrose and Iceland are getting involved, some more successfully than others. This year Boots made the decision to use real-life couples and practical gifts to create a warm and family-friendly advert successfully appealing to its diverse range of customers. Asda however, is already feeling the heat after receiving complaints about its ‘sexist’ slogan that ‘behind every great Christmas, there’s a Mum.’ Despite claiming to receive the backing of a vast majority in a survey of 4,000 mothers, the condemnation of the commercial has managed to unite both feminists and members of Fathers4Justice alike. Win the title it might not but it certainly has got everyone talking about it!

So, John Lewis still seems to be ahead, but what of the traditional festive heavyweight Coca Cola, which for many truly heralds the start of Christmas? Not to be outdone, Coca-Cola’s long-running ‘Holidays are coming’ ad returned earlier this month, this year with the added umph of social media integration. It also announced a five week UK tour of the iconic fairy-lit Coca-Cola truck, which promised to spread the Christmas cheer to a number of retailers and city centres across the country. Disappointingly this did not include Birmingham!

So who wins the 2012 battle of the festive ads? Well for me, despite a sterling effort by John Lewis there is still only one advert that marks the start of my Christmas and that of course belongs to Coca-Cola! Although it had better be ‘a-coming’ to Birmingham next year!

The name’s Bond, James Bond. One of cinema’s most legendary lines and one undoubtedly heard by millions of eager cinema goers across the globe this weekend, following the release of Skyfall, the 23rd and universally dubbed “best Bond yet.”
Due to an incredible amount of media hype and a sustained marketing campaign you probably won’t have escaped the fact that this release coincides with James Bond’s golden anniversary. The media campaign to promote ‘50 Years of Bond’ and the release of Skyfall has been extensive and varied. Examples include everything from Sky’s dedicated 007 channel, the auction which raised over £44,000 simply for the sale of the swimming trunks worn by Daniel Craig in Casino Royale, and of course the most high profile stunt of all, Bond whisking the Queen to the Olympic Opening Ceremony.
The one that really caught my attention however was the joint global marketing campaign with UK tourist body, VisitBritain. Capitalising on the legacy of the London Olympics and iconic London landmarks used throughout Skyfall, the new campaign aims to encourage more people to holiday in Britain. Launching with the slogan “Bond is GREAT Britain” and spanning across international cinema, press and outdoor advertising, the campaign hopes to ‘stir’ people into coming and exploring the home of the world’s most dashing secret agent. In my opinion this is a very smart move for a franchise desperate to establish itself as a great British institution and a country eager to build on the PR success generated by the London Olympics. The big question of course is; will it work? It’s certainly a well thought out campaign and I particularly like the online competition element, Agent UK. Until 2nd November, Agent UK allows participants to take part in five online missions with the lucky winners being flown to the UK to have the chance to ‘Live Like Bond’.  Tempted? I certainly was!
However, I want to finish by sharing a video of a PR stunt from Coke Zero promoting the release of Skyfall. Although some people believe this to be staged, it’s certainly a fun example of the creativity and depth of the associated Bond marketing campaign. Enjoy.

Pulitzer Prize winning writer, Edwin Way Teale, once famously said, ‘the world’s favourite season is the spring, all things seem possible in May’, and that was certainly true in the Rewired office last month.

May 2012 has been a busy old month but definitely one filled with really exciting and unusual projects, therefore I thought it might be nice to give you a brief overview of some of the things we’ve been up to.

Counting down to the AEGON Classic tournament

With everyone out and about enjoying the beautiful May sunshine, Rewired organised a special strawberries and ice-cream giveaway in the city centre to help promote Ladies Day at the AEGON Classic tennis tournament at Edgbaston Priory Club (11^th – 17^th June).

Dressed in tennis whites and armed with racquets, balls and flyers, the Rewired team took to the streets in Chamberlain Square and quickly drew quite a crowd. Unsurprisingly the strawberries and ice-cream went down a treat and the event proved successful in securing ticket sales for the tournament.

Now for a slightly shameless plug – for more information about Ladies Day or how to book tickets for AEGON please visit http://www.lta.org.uk/fans-major-events/lta-summer-grass-court-events/aegon-classic/

Unveiling the Rhinestone Rhino in Southside!

Watching a £15,000 life-sized rhinoceros art sculpture being hoisted to the roof of a building in Southside’s Gay Village certainly isn’t your average day in the office but that’s exactly what the Rewired team were doing in May.

The rhino project is a collaboration between Birmingham City Council, Birmingham LGBT, GB Training and Southside Business Improvement District and hopes to help propel Birmingham’s Gay Village to national ‘gay destination’ status. Rewired organised the unveiling of the rhino, which is adorned with mirrorwork and replica gemstones, and secured a large amount of press attention for the event including broadcast coverage on BBC Midlands Today, ITV Central News, Free Radio and BBC WM.

Fancy a spot of tennis at The Mailbox?  

The end of May also saw the Rewired team support The Mailbox with the launch of its new open-air tennis court. Open from 2^nd June to the 8^th July, anyone wishing to practice their tennis skills will be able to book a timeslot on the free court located on the ground floor of The Mailbox.

In keeping with the summer’s sporting theme Rewired will also be helping support The Mailbox when the court is replaced by table tennis tables.

If you’re interested in booking some time on the court then call The Mailbox’s management offices on 0121 632 1000.

Right, well that’s May finished and with an equally exciting June ahead I’m sure you’ll be seeing the Rewired team out and about so make sure you come and say hello!

In the wake of micro-blogging site, Twitter, reaching the landmark half-a-million member milestone last week it’s clear to see the continued popularity of social networking. However, after a number of very public corporate Twitter blunders I thought it would be a good idea to take a closer look at the perils of this online phenomenon.

Since being set up in 2006, Twitter has grown rapidly and now boasts an average of 11.3 accounts registered each second. Although it’s still 345 million users behind its biggest social media rival, Facebook, industry experts believe this number will continue to rise. I believe it’s success is largely down to the multi-faceted nature of the site. Whilst some people use Twitter to share comments and pictures with likeminded individuals, others use it connect with celebrities or promote their businesses. On a more serious level, the instantaneous nature of the site allows it to act as an international news platform as clearly demonstrated during the riots last year (rioters aside obviously!)

With the obvious advantages of Twitter becoming all too apparent for many companies, the last few years have seen an increased number jump on the Twitter bandwagon in an attempt to raise their profile. However, it’s worth remembering that whilst it’s great that the use of Twitter helps company’s to connects to a worldwide audience, this same audience will be watching if mistakes are make – and they certainly have been!

Last year multinational automaker Chrysler began trending on Twitter for all the wrong reasons when a member of staff manning the company’s official Twitter account posted an accidental tweet. The post ‘I find it ironic thatDetroitis known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to *** drive’ was particularly damaging as the company was currently involved in a high profile campaign celebratingDetroit. The staff member was consequentially sacked but the damage was already done and witnessed by Chrysler’s 8,000 followers.

More recently American clothing designer, Kenneth Cole was forced to apologise after attempting to use the recent protests inEgyptas a springboard to promote its new range. While protestors demonstrated inCairoat the start of the Egyptian revolution, Cole posted a tweet stating that ‘Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online at xxx – KC.’ Unsurprisingly the tweet didn’t go down very well and Cole was criticized for not only the insensitive tweet but also hijacking the ‘Cairo hashtag which had been helping Twitter users track the latest news from Egypt.

So now we’ve gone through a few examples of what not to do I thought I’d offer a few ideas about how to ensure you manage a pro-active and successful Twitter account:

1. Ensure that you are connecting with the right audience. For big brands Twitter is a fantastic tool for attracting a worldwide audience but for all those smaller companies the key is quality not necessarily quantity. Connect with the right people and your message will be stronger and more effective.

2. Don’t automat it. If you connect all your social media platforms so that when you post a blog, you tweet, when you post a Facebook status you tweet etc it may seem time-effective but could result in a loss of followers. Your business’s Twitter account should talk like a person, even if it’s a collective ‘person’ representing your company. Twitter is a social networking site and therefore encourages conversation and interaction – this is the best way of engaging with your audience.

3. Following on from my last point – always try and respond to your mentions. People will see your company’s twitter as a person and so in order to build relationships you should always reply where relevant. This will give your account more personality and help your followers to feel engaged directly with the brand.

4. Tweet strategically. Try to ensure your tweets are informative, useful or funny and try timing your valuable tweets during the times that people are most likely to see them.

5. Finally, accidents can happen so make sure you have a good crisis communication plan in place as perfectly demonstrated by The Red Cross recently. After a rogue tweet about #gettingslizzard was posted on the official account, Red Cross showed grace under pressure. They used humor to apologise to their followers and acknowledged that a human error was made.

Happy tweeting!

With the Olympics looming ever closer the hype is already beginning to build and people’s thoughts are turning towards the world famous Olympic Torch Relay which is set to make it’s visit to Birmingham on Sunday 1^st May.

Although its origins lie in an ancient Greek mythology commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus, the modern day torch relay was first established as part of the 1936 Summer Olympics. The torch relay we all know and love transports the flame from Greece to various designated sites which this year include a tour around the UK.

Although the Olympics is undoubtedly an event which already attracts a huge amount of international publicity on its own account some could argue that the now world famous torch relay began life as a well thought out PR stunt which has gone on to become a regular feature of the Olympics. When the revamped version was first introduced by Carl Diem in 1936 it was surely to raise the profile of the games but over time has established itself as a key symbol of the games repeatedly generating mass international publicity for not only the Olympics but also the athletes and sponsors.

This got me thinking – are there any other PR stunts which over time have grown into integral elements of that company’s particular brand. So after doing some research I’ve outlined my top two below and also snuck in a couple of my very favourite PR stunts: 

1. Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade

For our friends across the pond Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade has become synonymous with the annual holiday, and what started out as a much smaller affair in 1924 to draw attention to the store has become a national event watched from around the world. The first parade saw the employees at Macy’s walk 6 miles in fancy dress accompanied by animals, on floats, from the city’s zoo. It was such as success that 88 years later the parade consists of around 30 floats, marching bands, inflatable characters and around 3.5 million New Yorkers lining the streets. Definitely a PR success if you ask me!

2. Tour De France

Well, believe it or not but this hugely popular bike race around France actually started off life as a PR stunt. In 1903 a new French newspaper entitled L’Auto was set-up and appointed prominent cyclist Henri Desgrange as its editor. At the time long-distance cycle races were a popular means to sell more newspapers and in order to outshine its rival paper Desgrange organised the longest cycle race around France to date. The race captured the imagination of the public, doubled the circulation of L’Auto and put its rival paper out of business. 100 years later and The Tour De France is still going strong attracting both cyclists and journalists from around the world. Despite changing its name to L’Equipe in 1944 the newspaper also remains popular in France and in 2009 published its 20,000 edition.

3. Calendar Girls

Now hands up who hasn’t heard of / seen the film / been to the theatre production of Calendar Girls? Not many I imagine. This is one of my very favourite PR stunts because it’s still very successfully promoting the Women’s Institute around the world. For those that don’t know, in 1999 a group of eleven members of the Women’s Institute in Yorkshire posed nude for a charity calendar with only an assortment of baked goods and flower arrangements to retain their modesty. The calendar was created to help promote their work and raise money for leukemia research but took the world by storm and has gone on to raise almost £2 million. Julie Walters and Helen Mirren starred in a hit movie about the ladies and a theatre production starring an assortment of female celebrities regularly tours the UK. The best bit – the calendars (albeit an updated 2009 version) are still available today!

4. Bubble wrapped street

Anyone that knows me can vouch for the fact that I am actually quite clumsy which, coupled with the fact that I bruise like a peac,h doesn’t bode too well. Therefore you can understand why this particular PR stunt caught my attention! In 2010 the most accident-prone street in Britain (typically my neck of the woods – Worcester) was wrapped in 1,500 sq meters of bubble wrap by Confused.com. The comparison website wrapped everything from cars, trees, pavements and even the garden gnomes on Somerville Road because it was identified as having one of the highest number of car insurance claims in the UK. The stunt was a huge publicity success for the brand and saw Confused.com receive international print and broadcast coverage.

So, the decorations are up, the German Market has rolled into town and the city centre is abuzz with frenzied shoppers carrying armfuls of presents – this can only mean one thing – Christmas is fast approaching and with it the office Christmas party. 

Rewired kicked off its party season last Wednesday by co-hosting Christmas drinks with Kevin Breese at Harvey Nichols. The evening consisted of bubbly, canapés and a host of familiar faces, and was the perfect way to begin the season’s festivities.

It was really sad therefore to hear that many companies are looking at scrapping their Christmas dos this year and not necessarily just to save costs. Recent research has revealed that more than a million workers have taken time off in the past due to over indulging at their Christmas bash, leaving companies contemplating whether it’s worth it. This seems such a shame as yes, office parties can involve copious amounts of alcohol but as evidence suggests they can also be fantastic for team dynamics. 

Obviously, the economy is also playing a part in these decisions but even a small, low-budget Christmas party could turn out to be a great investment. Research shows that giving staff the chance to socialise is fantastic for team spirit, bonding and can lead to more efficient working relationships. Rewired will be putting this to the test on Wednesday as we head off to test our vocal skills at a spot of team karaoke. I confess that this isn’t our first karaoke experience and doubt it will be the last!

So, as there are only officially 13 days left until the big day the only thing left for me to do is wish all you lovely people a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Yes, that’s right you heard correctly, this December three members of the Rewired team will be braving the winter weather and sleeping rough for a night to raise money and awareness to support St Basil’s charity, which helps prevent homelessness.

From 6pm on Friday 2nd December all the way through to 6am the next morning myself (Sam), Ruth and Tom will be huddled in our cardboard boxes, and considering the arctic temperatures Birmingham experienced last December we think that’s worth some sponsorship, don’t you?!

Still need tempting, how about some cold hard facts?
o    St Basils helps 4,000 homeless people each year and can accommodate 400 young people per night.
o    St Basils works with young people aged 16-25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
o    St Basils can offer accredited Life Skills courses to young residents and has extensive Learning, Skills and Work Programmes.
o    In order to keep up all this amazing work, St Basils needs to raise at least £500,000 per year.

Now in a further attempt to encourage you into sponsoring, I just want to point out that our dwelling for this cold winter evening will be a cardboard box and a plastic bag! I will however, also be wearing as many clothes as physically possible!

If you would like to help support the Rewired team then please visit our Virgin Money Giving page - any donation would be greatly appreciated!

Last week, one of the UK’s best-selling magazines, Woman’s Weekly, celebrated its 100th birthday. First launched in 1911, it has remained increasingly popular with a current circulation of 339,993, but it’s probably not what you would immediately think of as one of the first steps towards social media. Indeed, as social media is defined as an interactive dialogue using web-based and mobile technologies, many of which have only been developed in the last 50 years, you may be forgiven for wondering where I’m going with this. However, the phrase ‘interactive dialogue’ is the key here and when you start to look a little bit closer you realise that these types of magazines exhibit a lot of traits similar to what we nowadays associate with social media.

Similarly to today’s publications, the first magazines such as Woman’s Weekly, offered readers in 1911 everything from advice on how to shift excessive pounds to amusing ‘husband bashing’ columns allowing wives to share their husband-related grievances. In a recent Daily Mail article around the 100th anniversary of the publication, it explains that before the age of celebrity chefs women turned to other women for cooking advice. They did this through magazines such as Woman’s Weekly by sharing favourite recipes and offering each other top culinary tips. These tips and recipes were sent in by ordinary women and herein we take our first step. These kinds of features allowed for two-way communication between reader and writer/publication, and consequently one could argue also allowed one of the first types of virtual communities to develop. Magazines, even in 1911, are published frequently allowing the reader the opportunity to turn to them regularly for advice, empathy and suggestions. The idea that a reader can publish a question and receive nationwide replies from outside of their ordinary social circle is, in my opinion, evidence of the development of virtual community.

Nowadays, the platform may have evolved but the principle is still the same. For example, think about how many times you might turn to social media to answer a question, even something as silly as whether anyone knows a good handyman they can recommend (one of mine!). Platforms such as Twitter allow us to develop our own virtual community of contacts outside of our everyday social circles. I currently have 729 of these contacts and whilst I’ve never actually met most of them in person I still feel that I’ve developed an online friendship with people who I can call upon for advice and general conversation.

I’m not saying that all social media derives from this type of publication but simply that it’s interesting to consider that even in 1911 we were looking for platforms to provide us with the same type of communication that social media gives us today. However, what I find most interesting is how far these ‘virtual communities’ have come in 100 years – who knows what the 3011 generation will make of our medieval style of social media!