A Day to Remember

Posted on 01/02/2012 by

Recently I have become infatuated with the British political process and the notion of distributive justice.  Often finding myself glued to BBC Parliament, I felt it was time to visit the Mother of Parliaments and set about contacting prominent MP and former Leeds Met PR & Journalism lecturer Jason McCartney. Jason had honoured the Faculty of Business & Law last year with a guest lecture on his colourful past and his inspiring work in his time spent thus far as MP for Colne Valley. After contacting Jason, he kindly invited me to Westminster, where I would attend several committee meetings, parliamentary receptions and cabinet question sessions in the House of Commons.

Upon arrival at the historic building, I was overwhelmed by the awe-inspiring architecture, enchanting artwork and intoxicating atmosphere. After several minutes of dumb-founded wonderment at the magnificence of Central Lobby, I was greeted by a very charming and knowledgeable Martine Martin, parliamentary assistant to Jason whom graciously offered to give me a tour of Parliament. A keen political commentator herself, Martine and I discussed many topics from the relevance of clergy in the House of Lords to MPs tweeting in the Commons.

After a tantalizing tour, I met with Jason one-on-one where we discussed his recent appointment to the UK Delegation to NATO Parliamentary Assembly, his involvement in a campaign to bring in compulsory carbon monoxide detectors in UK homes and his time spent as a news and sport presenter at ITV Yorkshire.

I then attended Treasury Questions in the public gallery, which was followed by a statement by Foreign Secretary William Hague on the immediate ban on all new contracts to import, purchase or transport Iranian crude oil and petroleum products, a move which will undoubtedly step up pressure on Tehran to adhere the UN’s resolutions. I then had the privilege of joining Jason in meeting with Business Desk Yorkshire’s Deputy Editor James Reed  in the MP’s lounge.

In the evening, I accompanied Jason and Martine to the Trade Union Reform Campaign launch reception, where keynote speaker and Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles spoke about how Public bodies, funded by the taxpayer, should not pay for time spent by employees on trade union activity. Among the attendees was former Defence Secretary, Liam Fox and political blogger Guido Fawkes.

I was then invited to a Digital Switchover reception, situated in a marquee on the House of Parliament balcony, which consisted of various speakers discussing the progress of the switch from analogue to digital. The national digital switchover is set to be complete this October. After the speeches, I had the pleasure of meeting one of Jason’s good friends and former colleagues Margaret Emsley, a producer at ITV Calendar.

The next day, Jason was kind enough to give me a highly sought after ticket to Prime Minister’s Questions. Lively and contentious as always, it was a novelty to see Cameron and Miliband’s exchanges in person rather than a television screen (it should be noted that the House of Commons looks significantly bigger on TV!).

It was an incredible opportunity and inspirational experience. I learnt a great deal about Parliament and what it takes to be a successive member of parliament. Jason is a model MP, prioritizing people over ideology and tirelessly working for the betterment of his constituents. He’s a credit to the Commons and a testament to transparent, accountable and reliable politics.

The breathtaking view from Parliament balcony

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“What Happens in Vegas, stays on Facebook”

Posted on 08/11/2011 by

The fourth of the CIPR Autumn Guest Lecture Series at Leeds Met was hosted by Managing Director of the northern arm of Euro RSCG, Brian Beech, accompanied by Jenni Bamford, a recent Leeds Met graduate now working as an Account Executive at Euro RSCG.

Brian began with an entertaining metaphor: “PR practitioners are like rhinos – thick skinned and charge a lot!” He then stressed the importance of the utilization of the news agenda and topical word of mouth, citing the death of Schmeichel (a dog from Coronation Street) and Pets at Home’s information campaign to advise pet owners on how to deal with a death of a family pet.

Brian then identified the key issues surrounding the future of the PR industry:

  •     Significant growth in online media
  •     Less journalists covering more areas
  •     Explosion of social media
  •     Development of consumer-generated content

Nonetheless, he was quick to outline that British people remain the most avid newspaper readers in the world, with 33 million print readers a week, this is unlikely to change anytime soon. Moreover 71% of people read regional papers in contrast with 57% of people who read nationals and the percentage increases the further north you go due to a growing perception that nationals are too London-centric. This outlines the redundancy of ‘mass’ comms and the need to target micro, rather than macro-environments when communicating a message.

“The growth in new media is the biggest paradigm shift since the industrial revolution. It’s not a fad, it’s here to stay,”

Brian quoted the fact that 96% of people have used social media at some point, and the new phenomenon has overtaken pornography as the number one activity on the web. 1 in 5 couples met online. However as Brian ironically pointed out 1 in 5 marriages that end in divorce are because of Facebook.

“ 50% of pensioners in the UK use Facebook and a third use Youtube, every minute 24 hours of video is uploaded to Youtube; there are even babies in Egypt named ‘Facebook!’”

These statistics illustrated the need for PR students to transcend beyond mere enthusiastic amateurs to experts in digital media. Social media is instant, mobile and permanent and professional communicators will need to respond rather than deny – to quote Brian “What happens in Vegas, stays on Facebook!”

Brian concluded a rather entertaining lecture by emphasising the need for students to be doing work experience throughout their studies, otherwise how will you know what you like and you are good at? Brian was also keen to outline the need for PRs to specialise, or be negatively regarded as generalists. Ending with on a comical note, when asked what he specializes in, Brian replied “Bullshit!”

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David Miliband Visits Leeds Met

Posted on 21/10/2011 by

Rt Hon MP David Miliband was welcomed by a full house at the Rose Bowl today in what was a very lively and interesting Q&A event. The former Foreign Secretary’s first question was focused on the transition of economic power from West to East. Miliband referenced the prediction that China’s economy is expected to overtake the US by 2020 and the need for us to adapt to the changing world order.

Miliband was keen to emphasize the shift in power from bourgeoisie to the people, using the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street as an example. He attributed this shift to new technology, citing the Zimbabwean electorate using their phones to take pictures of their vote to prevent foul play by despot Mugabe.

On the subject of democratic process, Miliband pointed out that many express concerns over the future of Libyan politics, fearing a fundamentalist Islamist majority. Mr Miliband rejected these concerns, calling for us to promote democracy, regardless of its consequences. Furthermore, he reiterated the fact that the tide of revolution that has swept the North Africa is home grown, devoid of western intervention, therefore we must support those seeking democratic change.

Questions then moved onto Syria and the Assad regime. “Despite the deaths of 2900 protestors, the situation in Syria differs significantly different to that in Libya,” Miliband said.  He then highlighted China & Russia’s veto on any form of action against President Assad and the divide of philosophy among the international community on foreign interventionism.

When asked if we should ignore the veto, Miliband replied “yes, if there is a humanitarian need, a viable military solution and the geo-political positives outweigh the negatives,” citing the Sunni-Shea Muslim divide and the connections with Iran as political antagonists for military action.

On the subject the 2010 election, Miliband conceded that his party lost because “we didn’t give people enough reasons to vote for us.” He was very keen to reject a claim from a member of the audience that Labour because of the Iraq War, arguing that those that defected because of Iraq defected in 2005, yet Labour still won. However another member added that Labour’s return to opposition was overdue, citing 5 million voters lost in 2005.

When pushed for a position on university staff strikes by Professor Paul Blackledge, Miliband claimed “strikes should be used as a last resort tactic, there needs to be a greater, coherent strategy,” referencing the historic Jarrow March of 1936  and the movement’s failure to achieve anything because of a lack of strategy and leadership.

One member of audience protested “if you support the will of the people in the Arab world, you are heavily contradicting yourself by not supporting our strike against pension cuts.” A slightly rumbled looking Miliband replied saying that he is not against strike action; however he fears the political resolve of the uni staff maybe lost if there is no clear strategy that will achieve the desired results.

Miliband advocated multi-lateral disarmament when quizzed on the relevance of Trident in the 21st century and confirmed his support for the plight of the Kurdish population against Turkish aggression. Moreover, Mr Miliband supported the call for a compulsory register of Lobbyists “anything to control lobbyists” he remarked, much to the dismay of aspiring public affairs professionals in the audience.

In conclusion, a very insightful and worldly talk by the MP for South Shields was commended with thundering applause from an over-capacity lecture theatre.

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“Follow Me, I’m Right Behind You!”

Posted on 12/10/2011 by

The second CIPR Guest Lecture attracted yet another full house as Kevin Murray , CEO of the Bell Potinger Group delivered a fascinating lecture, based on his forthcoming book: The Language of Leaders.

Murray wrote the book after interviewing 54 chairmen, CEOs & Business Leaders as well as 3 military generals and 2 Police Commissioners to ascertain how leaders inspire and influence others to achieve the results the desire.

“It was my years spent as a journalist that I decided I was never going to stop learning and reporting on what it is I had learnt.”

In an era of radical transparency, leadership has also changed quite radically. The speed at which reputation can be damaged is accelerating and leaders need to build organisations that respond at the same speed. Murray illustrated this point by referencing the McLaren ‘Ferrarigate’ crisis that he was burdened with handling: “In the space of 30 minutes, the false rumour that McLaren had been kicked out the World Championship had been reported and dropped by media all over the globe.” This reiterates his notion of the ‘double edged sword of the modern digital world.’

The two fundamental concepts that Murray found imperative to effective leadership and organisational success were trust & engagement. Lack of trust in an organisation costs money, in terms of loss of sales and rebuilding a brand. With reference to Professor Gregory’s lecture and her example of Coca Cola’s valuation, Murray said “there is a shifting culture from managing tangibles, to enhancing the intangibles.”

Murray then highlighted the importance of emotional engagement with stakeholders using his interview with Sir Frank Williams, CEO of F1, as an example: all Sir Frank ever wanted to do was race, and his employees were worried that his successor would not have the same passion as he did.

“He couldn’t move himself, but he managed to move everyone in the organisation.” Murray advocates that passionate values are at the heart of reputation management. All members of the organisation must be empathetic to communicate effectively with stakeholder groups.

Another crucial part of an effective corporate communication is storytelling. Stories are powerful, and audiences co-create the story with you – they are the superglue of ‘conviction communication.’  Murray’s sentiment echoes one of Richard Bailey’s favourite quotes: “Branding is for cows, stories are for people!”

Murray concluded with the key message that professional communicators need to advise their leaders to inspire all stakeholders, as it is these people that are pivotal the success or failure of any organisation, quoting a paradoxical statement often used in modern leadership “Follow me, I’m right behind you!”

Posted in CIPR, Guest Lecture, Inspirational, Marketing, PR & Media, World Affairs | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Leeds Met Graduate to Run 100 Marathons in 100 Weeks!

Posted on 23/09/2011 by

Simon Buckden from Leeds is running 100 marathons in 100 weeks to raise money for Help For Heroes and boost awareness of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Currently on Week 30, Simon has just completed a 30 mile run in Suffolk in 6 hours, despite sustaining a knee ligament injury only a week ago.

The Leeds Met Bsc Sport graduate had never run a marathon before starting his challenge way back in March, however he is adamant that strong mental determination can conquer anything, giving hope and inspiration to other servicemen and women who suffer from PTSD.

It was Simon’s time spent serving with the UN peacekeeping forces in the Bosnian conflict in the mid-90s that he began to suffer from PTSD. Simon is determined to raise awareness and funds for support of current sufferers of PTSD coming back from recent conflicts such as Afghanistan.

Show your support for this incredible man by donating at http://www.bmycharity.com/100marathons

Liking him on Facebook  & following him on Twitter

Also, you can listen to Simon’s podcasts at http://www.raceto100.co.uk/

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Google: Too Many Pies, Not Enough Fingers

Posted on 11/04/2011 by

A leaked memo from Google CEO Larry Page has confirmed that 25% of all employee annual bonuses will be determined by the success Google’s social strategy in 2011.

This initiative coincides with the launch of the new +1 feature. Page is asking all employees to test the new social product, tell friends and family and feedback. This tactic infuses an incentive for employees to spread word of mouth and hype about Google’s social products – after all; it could affect their pay packet!

Google’s previous attempts to leverage the social-sphere have been dubious at best. Twitter rival Dodgeball was abandoned in 2007, the ambigious Wave was shut down in summer 2010, Buzz is mired in e-commerce controversy laws and Groupon turned down Google’s $6 billion takeover offer.

It’s not ALL doom and gloom

Youtube (acquired for $1.65 billion in 2006) has continued to build a significant global community of users across 23 countries, viewing in excess of 2 billion views a day.

Orkut (launched in 2004) has a huge density of users in Brazil, although those figures are beginning to decline.

Google’s new mobile app Latitude looks promising however. The location-sharing app is similar in design to Foursquare and Facebook, however with an innovative angle – users can only obtain latitude-endorsed offers (20% off at Macy’s for example) if they unlock certain statuses i.e. Regular, VIP, Guru.

Nonetheless, the status-based offers don’t work on the iOS app and are only redeemable in the US – excluding a massive chunk of users.

Google’s social conquest remains largely dubious. Although according to DigiTimes, 20-25 million Andriod smartphones are expected to be sold globally in 2011, surpassing Symbian to become the largest smartphone platform, with emerging markets such as China accouting for 10-13 million sales. The accuracy of these predictions has yet to be seen.

Although the apple-shaped elephant in the room sold 3 times more iPads in their first week than Motorola have sold Xooms thus far according to the Deutsche Bank who got this estimate after looking at the Andriod developer website to see how many people are using Honeycomb.

You have to admire Google’s persistence in the face of consistent failure to dominate the social and smartphone markets. That said, Google have been slow to react to the actions of the organisations they are trying to contend with. Maybe Google should concentrate on what they excel at – search technology.

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StumbleUpon – Gift or Curse?

Posted on 27/03/2011 by

After becoming fed up of checking the same old websites religiously, I thought I’d try the network StumbleUpon to see what all the fuss was about. It soon became my new addiction!

The idea is simple, yet genius – users pick their interests from a lengthy list of topics from fashion to space exploration, then begin stumbling through a plethora of randomised web pages that other users have stumbled upon while surfing and felt the need to share it with fellow users.

The database of websites grows and grows as more users share content onto the network. Stumblers have the option to share content with their Facebook & Twitter accounts.

All of these qualities result in a user-friendly social network that cures boredom constructively – by allowing you to access information and media you may have otherwise been oblivious too – a far cry from ‘So Bored! 5 People like this.’

But is the seemingly lucrative fountain of knowledge a curse? Because of its simplicity and effectiveness it entices you to keep clicking the magic stumble button. The network has managed to hardness mans’ innate desire to know, and overcome man’s natural indolence.

Our techno centric culture has the potential for unhealthy obsession. Many people are self-confessed Facebook or Twitter addicts – with super-fast broadband and smart phone technology, it’s hard not be engrossed in the online culture and StumbleUpon is just another form of social-media that has the potential to make us anti-social, neglecting our physical lives in favour of this digital information goldmine.

But is this really as sinister as this image would have you believe? The thing that makes StumbleUpon different from the other fads is its insightfully interesting tailor-made content. Its nature inherently encourages the sharing of learning – for free!, which can only be a positive. I’m a keen user of the network, regardless of how long I spend glued to the screen!

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The Importance of Customer Centricity in a Changing World

Posted on 24/03/2011 by

If I had to choose one thing to take away from the Marketing Dynamics module this semester, it would definitely be the importance of customer-orientated marketing objectives in seemingly cut-throat market places.

In most industries, there are an increasing number of competitors constantly trying to expand their market share. With the growth of globalization, e-commerce and developing economies in Asia, South America and Africa, businesses of all status must adapt to the needs and wants of their clientele.

Neil Richardson (Course Leader for Marketing at Leeds Met) is keen to emphasise that in any business, customers are paramount to the success of the organisation and businesses that fail to satisfy the expectations of their customers will not prosper.

This is not a difficult concept to understand. Although old-school marketing academics stress the importance of the marketing mix (product, place, price, promotion), in a rapidly changing world, people who buy your products or services should be the centre of your universe because the 4 P’s would not exist without the big C.

It’s astonishing how many businesses do not know who their customer-base are, what they really want and what they want improved.

Get to know your customers!

A business that is not customer centric and market-orientated is on the path to failure, but it’s not too late to change your ways!

  • Carry out primary and secondary market research on your target customer group.
  • Organize focus groups, get involved in your community – just like a Tesco’s kids’ football scheme (taking the sprogs off mum and dad’s hands over the school holiday will definitely affect the family’s choice of supermarket the following week!).
  • Get your staff onside – use internal comms to get your staff on your wave length (it must be remembered that customers are the stakeholders who pay everyones’ wages!).
  • Be flexible to your customers’ needs – or someone else will!

Increasingly so, globalization is providing a new group of consumers, but also a new group of competitors eager to steal your customers. In tough economic times with rising inflation and unemployment, it is quite simply a case of evolve or die.

Customer service is the key ingredient in the recipe of a successful business – happy customers will come back! It’s not rocket science :)

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“Play Hard, Work Harder!” – Ailsa Brogan-Hewitt

Posted on 24/03/2011 by

Ailsa Brogan-Hewitt graduated from the BA PR course in 2009. She is now an Account Executive at Rising Digital, a social media and word of mouth marketing consultancy specializing in the music industry.

Ailsa was undecided about where to study, however the reputation of PR at Leeds Met coupled with a more than impressive open day swayed her choice.

Ailsa’s fondest memories of LMU include achieving her first ‘first’, finally completely her dissertation, graduation day and of course what every student loves best – excelling in the Leeds club culture.

In her current role at Rising Digital, Ailsa helps both emerging and discovered artists make the most out of new technologies and online platforms. She works to create environments where clients can communicate with fans, look after and maintain their social networks by uploading quality content and enhancing their online presence in an ethical manner.

Mostly, Ailsa manages accounts by promoting new releases, podcasts and competitions. She also updates clients’ websites, blogs and social networks with relevant content.

Working with DJs / Producers the likes of Axwell, Deadmau5, Chris Lake, Michael Woods, Sander van Doorn, Mauro Picotto, Mason, Sasha, Paul Rogers and Simon Patterson, Gorillaz, Ailsa struggles to pick a favourite as they’re all so different and talented in their own way.

“The best thing about my job is that no day is ever the same – it’s one of my favourite things about working in social media. Everyday presents new ways of doing things through the use of evolving technologies and obviously the fact that it’s music means it’s very difficult to get bored. For example, I love the instant satisfaction of posting a blog post on a clients Facebook page and seeing the amazing feedback left by fans… you don’t get that from seeing your press release in a magazine.“

Ailsa’s advice to current students is to “play hard, but work harder, nothing that’s easy is worth having – a great philosophy which I live by!”

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Is Facebook taking over the world?

Posted on 14/03/2011 by

Recently valued at $65 billion, Facebook has transcended beyond a social network, or a business: it’s become a global contagion – the 5th estate.

According to  Facebook’s statistics, users install 20 million applications a day, 250 million people engage with Facebook on external sites 2.5 million websites are integrated with Facebook.

It seems having a Facebook account has become compulsory nowadays. If you ask most users why they use Facebook, the usual response is ‘because all my friends use it.’ Facebook is the monopoly of social media.

But is this right?

Most users are unaware that once they upload a picture onto their profile, they forfeit ownership of that image to Facebook (this may pose a dilemma for aspiring photographers!).

Facebook also provides a qualitative market research goldmine. Users are encouraged to disclose as much information about themselves, even what languages they know. The check-in feature adapted from Foursquare now means users can share virtually every move they make!

Not a day goes by when I don’t check my Facebook account at least once and I imagine most users are the same. Perhaps Facebook’s widespread success is down to its game dynamics: the more users interact with the website, the more rewards they get i.e. more friends/likes, more comments and engagement from other users and a bigger online presence or branding.

Zuckerberg (probably) isn’t a super villain on an evil conquest to take over the world, he just managed to innovate a service that people all over the world are attracted, and in some cases addicted too.

Once a Facebooker, always a Facebooker.

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