PR Top tip: How to make your launch newsworthy

The most recent PR top tip from the Berkeley PR CEO. Hope you enjoy.

PR top tip

The main ethos of online is sharing for free. This is something we have always done at Berkeley PR as part of our sales drive. We do this by giving our prospects a free PR tip every month. There is no hard sale, just a light touch point where we provide them with something and in return, ask only that they remember us.

This month the top tip became a video and I’m affraid that Chris will have a whole bloopers DVD by the end of the year. That said, I think it works increadible well. Let me know what you think and make sure you watch the clip to the end…it’s only about a minute long.

Free media monitoring tool

Media monitoring is a constant issue within all PR agencies. There are a variety of companies that offer this service both on and offline and although some are better than others, unfortunately I have never found one that I would swear by. We always use Google alerts as a backup but we have also started using another free service which I have to say that I am impressed by.

Press monitoring service Press Index has launched a free online media monitoring service called Pickanews. It is totally free of charge and alerts you if any of your clients or competitors has been mentioned in print, blogs, websites or even on the TV/radio. I have been using the service for the past few months and I have to say that I am impressed.

It works on the same premise of Google alerts, where you simply input the words you want to monitor the media for and the frequency that you would like to receive alerts. Easy as that, and an excellent service.

Let me know what you think.

PR jobs

PR jobs

Berkeley PR is continuing to look for new people to join its young and vibrant team. After a string of wins we are looking for people at all levels – account managers, senior account execs, account execs and trainees.

If you are interested ina  new challenge, fed up of the hustle and bustle of London or want to work with big name clients then please don’t hesitate to drop us a line with your CV. Berkeley PR is based just outside of Reading at junction 11 on the M4.

Do it yourself PR

PR Week

At Berkeley PR we have a team that is set up to do the PR for the agency as we are strong believers of doing what we preach. The team are responsible for driving our social media strategy as well as finding opportunities for the agency to appear in the media. Sounds like common sense doesn’t it but I genuinely think we are in the minority within our industry.

There are a number of people who conduct substantial self promotion but I have rarely come across an agency that actually does its own PR on a full time basis. The team at Berkeley PR have to provide me as the client a weekly update report, conduct face to face meetings and provide me with briefing documents ahead of any interview opportunities. The account is given a monetary value which provides the team with goals and targets and this is taken out of their personal targets.

By running the BPR PR account as a client it allows us to see what it feels like to be one of our clients and to sit on the other side of the fence. This has been a great experience and allowed us to refine how we work with our clients with positive results.

It has also generated some great results. This week alone a letter I wrote appeared in The Sun, we had two hits in PR Week and some comment in PR Moments.

Are we alone or do other agencies do anything similar?

Happy New Year

A rather balated but still heart felt Happy New Year to everyone out there in the blogosphere.  2010 ended with a crazy couple of months – Mae celebrated her first birthday, I took over the day to day running of Berkeley PR, we kicked off a stream of new clients, added seven new members to the Berkeley PR team, moved house and fitted in a trip to Moscow. Who said the PR world was ever dull.

Anyway, I have just about regained the ability to type after the long Christmas break and wish you all a prosperous and successful 2011.

Meet the media: Sara Yirrell, CRN

Sara Yirrell, editor of CRN

My latest Meet the Media interview is with the editor of CRN, Sara Yirell. I have had this interview for a good couple of months so I must apologise to Sara to begin with for the delay in posting it. I also have quite a few others which I will be posting over the next few weeks, now new clients, new role and house move are almost behind me.

Back to this interview I advise you read Sara’s worst case of PR. Shocker.

Name: Sara Yirrell
Title I work for: CRN

Paul Stallard: What is your pet hate of PR?
Sara Yirrell: I have a few – but here are my top four:- Being called up and asked if they can send me an email. Please just sendit

- don’t disturb my chain of thought just to ask a pointless question like that.

- Being told by a PR person who has no real idea of what CRN is interested in that ‘your readers would be really interested in this’ or ‘this is agreat angle for you to use in this story’ – is that so?

- Being called about a irrelevant news release on our print press day -please learn when a print publication’s press day is and avoid calling atall costs.

-Being monitored during interviews via a conference call is another one -makes for one dull interview – although I understand in this ever increasing Big Brother society, more clients are insisting on this. More’s the pity.

PS: What is the best way to contact you?
SY: Email – definitely – that way I cancheck emails in between doing everything else, rather than being forced tostop one thing to look at another and getting annoyed in the process.

PS: Do you think that most PR professionals read the title you write for before contacting you?
SY: In the case of CRN, definitely not. We have a very specialist audience that is a vital part in the technology route to marketand that covers most of the big-name vendors in the industry. Yes we are a technology title – but we don’t cover technology, we are interested in business issues. Product launches, whether they are ‘sold through the channel’ or not, are NOT of interest to us!

PS: What is your top tip for PR professionals?
SY: Please understand that when we call and say we have a deadline, we usually mean it – news cannot be made to wait for a client to decide when and where they want to comment. Instant comments are what we are after. PLEASE please please have a high res colour photo of ALL spokespeople BEFORE you pitch them to us in press releases – being made to wait for a picture when we are on a deadline is excruciating and unnecessary. Also don’t phone up and ask if you can send a press release through. Just hit that send button.

PS: How many emails / calls do you get a day?
SY: I would say 150 emails and between 8 -15 calls a day.

PS: How has the increase of social media affected traditional journalism?
SY: I think is has had a slight impact – mainly because more people think theycan call themselves journalists because they write a blog or have had something published online.  Social media has definitely helped on a contact front, is a good source of news on occasions and I think it has forced more of us to be quicker off the mark with news.  But quality over quantity will always prevail in the end.

PS: Have you had to change your writing style for online copy to incorporate SEO?
SY: We have always gone for the shortest, sharpest sentences where possible to ensure punchy copy, but SEO is an important part of webjournalism, so yes we have had to incorporate it into our style.

PS: Is there a future long term for hard copy publications or will online rule?
SY: There is always a future for hard copy – but they will have to adapt to survive – you cannot keep doing the same thing when you have an online competitor snapping at your heels. Online is very instant, and is oftenless detailed than print copy with the emphasis on getting the basic facts in the public domain as quickly as possible – so there will be a demand forboth from the readers.

PS: Bar your own, which news titles do you read?
SY: Private Eye, motorcycling and gardening magazines (my hobbies) and occasionally the Sun. Also the Evening Standard on the train home and sometimes the Metro in the morning. I also check out Sky News online every day – mainly to read some of the crazy comments at the bottom of stories – my lunchtime entertainment.

PS: What is the worst case of PR you have come across?
SY: Shortly after I became editor of CRN, some woman (who I think has thankfully left the industry) told her client that we had promised her a story would go on a certain page of our magazine (that would never happen). When it didn’t, she rang me several times the following week shouting down the phone that her client was not happy and asking what we were going to do about it. She also made the mistake of calling me unprofessional.  It ended up with me giving her the worst earbashing I have ever given anyone in my professional career and then hanging up.  I never heard from her again thank God.

PS: Do you believe journalists are rude to PR professionals?
SY: Some are definitely, but I hope I have never been rude intentionally. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect, whatever role they play. After all, we are just doing our jobs and no one person is better than another.

PR jobs in Reading

"God I wish I applied for the job at Berkeley PR instead"

The eagle eyed amoungst you may have noticed that all has been quiet on the blog front for the past couple of months. The main reason for this has been the departure of Jo from Berkeley PR who has left sunny Reading to live in the drab and grey city ). We are proud of what we achieved under Jo’s guidance and wish her well, and I personally look forward to seeing her soon and hearing how the new job is going.

The result of this has been a change of role for my good self and I have taken on the responsibility of looking after the goodship Berkeley. Something I am incredibly proud of but more importantly, excited about. Even if it has resulted in a few more grey hairs and wrinkles over the past couple of months.

We have a great team of hungry and brilliant PR professionals who work hard but enjoy a damn good laugh throughout the day and we are growing after a series of interesting and varied new wins.

If you are looking to start a career, or have already worked in the public relations world for a year and want a fresh challenge, Berkeley PR could be the place for you. We have a couple of positions available at trainee/account exec level and I would love to hear from you if you are interested in being considered.

My contact details can easily be found on this blog and you would obviously get brownie points for showing initiative by applying on the back of this post.

Hopefully hear from you soon….unless you are a recruitment agency. We have our chosen partners already. Sorry guys.

How to be on TV

Increasingly our clients are having the opportunity to be interviewed on TV or to appear on TV shows which is fabulous exposure for both them as spokespeople and for the company, but it isn’t always easy. Media interviews can be uncomfortable at the best of times but TV is so unforgiving. You only had to watch the televised election debates earlier this year to see how every twitch, back slap, smile or grimice can be misconstued on TV.

I thought of this when watching my little brother in the recent series of Masterchef the professionals. I didn’t realise he was going to be in it until long after he had completed filming due to confidentiality agreements he had signed. My brother is a natural storyteller and performer and loves being in the spot light but when I was discussing the experience with him he told me how intense it had been.

The candidates had been left in a small room with no access to newspapers, mobile phones or any other communication device and told not to speak to each other before they were called in. When they finally got the chance to cook the presenters were making their disapproval faces in plain sight and the normal utensils you would hope to find in a kitchen were not to hand.

I retold this story to a client of mine the other day who was being filmed for a feature piece with the BBC. They set up their cameras and were doing their thing onsite for almost six hours and I know that the end results will be probably actually only be six minutes long at best. With this in mind I told the client to never drop their guard. To be natural but be aware of what is happening at all times, as the one slip up on camera can prove to be gold dust to the TV companies.

My brother knows this, as under all the pressure during Masterchef he refered to Michel Roux Junior as Junior Roux.   He said that he stopped and said his name properly afterwards but a slip up like that was obviously too good and it stayed in the final edit.

That said, I am incredibly proud of my little brother for having the guts to go on a show such as this. Everyone I spoke to afterwards said that he came across in just the same way on TV as he does in life and I personally think fair play for having the guts to have a go.  Nice one bro, we are all proud of you.

Creative meet up in Farnham

I was reading Design Week today and saw that a creative meet up had been organised outside of London. Upon investigating it further I saw that it was actually taking place in the pub just down the road from my good ol Ma and Pa in my home town of Farnham.

The event has been billed to celebrate creativity in the suburbs, by bringing together creatives in the Surrey area, with talks and an opportunity to see some new faces. Taking place at The Mulberry the event is called Crop and they have bagged design heavyweight Simon Waterfall as a speaker and will also be exhibiting the work of talented young graphic designer Alison Haigh.

Interested? The event starts at 6pm on the 21st September. Depending on what crops up on Tuesday, hopefully I will see you there.