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Collected thoughts of a London public relations professional
Browsing All Posts published on »May, 2011«
Marketing saves lives
When the new coalition government came into power, one of its first acts was to halt all spending on PR, advertising and pretty much all other marketing activity. In the immediate aftermath of this decision, the quantity and quality of government communications declined rapidly and serious errors were made in countless announcements. The communication issues around […]
Retro brands drive consumers back to the future
May 27, 2011
It’s not often that I can combine my professional interests with personal passions. But, before readers get too worried, I am talking about marketing and Coventry City FC. The Wall Street Journal reports how the world’s leading brands have gone retro in the US to drive more sales. And in the UK, petitions and Facebook groups […]
The difference between a monarchy and a republic
May 24, 2011
Aristotle, Bolívar, Calvin, Confucius, Thomas Paine (my favourite), Sun Yat-sen and Voltaire have debated it. Wars have been fought over it. Politicians still argue about it. But finally, in 2011, we now understand the difference between a monarchy and a republic: A pint of Guinness. I’m glad that’s settled. And, well done to Guinness’ PR team on an amazing coup […]
Mary Portas: Queen of Shopping Centres
May 17, 2011
I don’t like fashion much. Or shopping for that matter. So I just ignored the story today about Mary Portas becoming the government’s high street tsar. Until Paul Lucas pointed out that there might be more to this than meets the eye. Mary’s role, according to Number Ten, is to: Advise on how Government, businesses […]
Labour’s tepid election
May 15, 2011
If the Lib Dems election PR disaster was fairly comprehensive, Labour’s was worse. Tepid has been used to describe the party’s performance, but if you include Scotland in the mix, that is being kind. The biggest challenge to the communications strategy in Scotland was an increasing trend to create a ‘presidential’ battle between Iain Gray […]
24 hours: A long time in political PR
May 11, 2011
The definition of ‘a long time in politics’ is shortening. It used to be a week of course. But in 24 hours from about 10.50pm on Thursday 5th May, the political landscape fundamentally changed. In PR terms, it showed how desperately inadequate all the parties are. With (perhaps) one exception. I’ve questioned for some time […]
about.me
Simon Francis
Campaigns and communications consultant
Work in PR in London.
Support Coventry City.
Love real ale pubs, travel, music and books.
Spend too much time on the Internet.
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May 31, 2011
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