Mrs Moneypenny of the FT asked this weekend ‘are you an adept user of social media?’  Since most of the FT’s readers are boardroom directors, I would anticipate the answer to that question would not only be ‘no’ but more likely ‘you must be joking’. This is a major issue in the UK: senior people [...]

We’re always looking for examples of businesses that use social media well. Its immediacy can be both a blessing and a challenge in PR. One company that uses social media really well is Petplan. As a B2C pet insurance company, they have a great presence on Facebook, as they know that’s where their customers are. [...]

The horse meat crisis has now been running for a month. How time flies.

Back in January, this blog looked at how Tesco had responded to the initial scare and what a crisis communications plan should look like.

A question from a client made me realise the blog didn’t address internal communications, which of course is as critical as dealing with the outside world.

  Tesco has had a busy 48 hours.  On Tuesday, Irish food inspectors reported that their ‘value’ burgers had 30% horse meat in them.  By Thursday morning newspaper advertisements appeared in all national newspapers with an apology to their customers. In its advertisements, with the headline “We Apologise”, Tesco says: “We and our supplier have [...]

Yesterday, 11 civil servants at Iain Duncan Smith’s department for work and pensions were sacked for using Twitter or Facebook. The DWP’s website says it has 5,345 employees – so 2% of the department have been reprimanded, given written and final warnings, or sacked. Is that shocking?

There have been three shocking PR blunders this week that every student and practitioner of PR and communications should analyse.  But I also heard a media interview on Saturday which was a textbook case of how to own the interview, answer the question but firmly take the interview where you – and the audience – [...]

The real story of Prince Harry is – the photo.  Without that, there would not have been a story – and that is a lesson for employers and students. India Knight of the Sunday Times is spot on when she says today that “Harry has exposed our sins of the smartphone”.    And employers and students [...]

Have you ever looked at your Facebook or Twitter profile as if you were an employer?  Would you recruit yourself? Jobhunting eBook on social media for students We have just written an eBook, From Student to Salary with Social Media, to help students use social media in their job hunting (link to book).  Employers say [...]

What are the greatest risks from social media for law firms?  This was one of the topics I covered at a talk I was invited to give to the Professional Services Marketing Community in Dubai – as well as looking at the opportunities. Delegates were in marketing and business development roles from many of the [...]

Many would say that the City of London’s reputation came out of the insurance market where a handshake was a gentleman’s pledge to honour the deal. Across the world, the British are known for our honesty and decency – it is a distinctive brand that helps to win contracts overseas, particularly in the Middle East [...]