Cropped down version of a slideshow to illustrate lecture at University of Greenwich Business School.

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By Scot Devine 15.11.2010 @ Greenwich University Business School

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If I was down to
my last dollar, I’d
spend it on PR
Blah, blah, blah

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Why would ya do that, Bill?
• Driven by dialogue not monologue
• Trusted – characterised by third party endorsement
• (Typically) non-interruptive - people choose to engage

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Agenda
1. The commercial context of consumer PR
2. Consumer PR content
3. How to get your consumer comms on-brand
4. Tools/application – learn how to package your story using key PR tropes

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PR content helps sell products

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Must be strong enough to sell ‘papers’
(magazines, radio, TV etc)

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Packaging PR content to demand
Charlie Brooker hilariously parodies how TV news packages
are put together on TV - but also provides a guide for the kind
of elements TV journalists are looking for from PRs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtGSXMu
WMR4&playnext=1&list=PLD379FC89C4A2BDE0&index=1

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Media needs PR Content
Perhaps: PR content = Media needs + (or -) client message
Media needs Brand messageMedia needs

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Human interest story
Swizzels understand what
children want more than any
other brand
Create a dream job – find a
child to become the official
sweet taster for the brand
Superlatives – ‘first’, ‘best’, ‘most’
‘New’ news
Taps into news values
(currency, recency,
continuation etc)
National & local
‘Man bites dog’
For instance
Brand messageMedia needs PR Content

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A schoolboy has beaten thousands of other youngsters to land every child's dream job - official taster for a sweet company.
Harry Willsher's chief responsibilities will be eating Love Hearts, Refreshers and Cola Bottles in the name of research.
In action

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Consumer PR influences shopping decisions
Need or want new product
Research
Media reviews
Peer reviews
Word of mouth
Compare
Buy
Review
Audience-tailored product and brand
campaigns to stimulate purchase
Well-managed reviews in traditional
and digital media to guide buying
decisions
Opportunity to do joint PR with price
comparison sites
Provide sales staff with 5 star reviews
and product awards
Give bloggers/online influencers
products to review

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What does this company make?

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Entertainment content or sports gear?

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Content and communication products or sports gear?

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Behaviour-changing events or sportswear?

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Recreate something: bringing Call of Duty to life

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29/01/2015 21

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Now: PR content = Journalist needs and/or consumer content/communication
tool + (or -) client message
Media needs PR Content Brand messag
Empower consumers

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Using apps to tell the story

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An example of integration in action
http://vimeo.com/2492747

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29/01/2015 25
On-brand integration: promoting a promotion (T-Mobile’s ‘Big Night In’, with
experiential activity that ‘brand-to-hand’ marketing and advertising can
harness

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Leveraging celebrity to generate consumer interest? Make sure the star’s
‘brand attributes’ tally with the brand’s

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Bang on brand – Rankin and the Macallan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r1Psxg-coc

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Tropes vs original ideas
• You find certain tried and tested tactics in PR that the media seem to love – a few
examples follow (all have generated plentiful editorial coverage)
• Try to create your own versions for different brands/products – but remember that a
fresh, original spin on the trope is vital, as ‘man bites dog’ is key
• Tropes without any unusual or quirky approaches tend to fail – you can use a classic
image but approach it in a new, creative way
• Watch out – using a trope is not always right for the brief – anyway, if you have a more
original idea or can seize the zeitgeist, do it
• When reviewing these, try to figure out what the client is trying to convey, and whether
they did so successfully

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Insure an unusual body part
• Angela Mount insured
taste buds for £10m
• How would you put a spin
on this for your client?
• For instance a musician’s
ear, a toymaker’s
imagination?

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Find a new way of talking about a
hackneyed issue

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Create something from your product: Sharp TV
Xmas trees & Tampax tampon chandeliers

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Re-invent an icon: British Potato Council meets
American Beauty

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Solve a problem with innovation:
Travelodge’s sleep suit

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Create an iconic image from something
unusual: Smarties

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Solve a problem with an innovation
(prototype): Dating Direct’s Work to Flirt Dress

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Organise an unusual pilot scheme: Gym Box
Human Dumbbells

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Make the childish adult: Sandcastle Hotel for
Laterooms.com

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Create an image from something unusual:
B&Q Mowna Lisa

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Ends

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e: scot.devine@brands2life.com
t: @scotd