Lessons haven't been learnt from the music industry

I can't watch the latest Arsenal goals on YouTube anymore. The Premier League has teamed up with NetResult to stop users posting their favourite football clips. I can still watch them on plenty of other video sites though, so that's OK. It's only YouTube and the Premier League losing out.

The problem is the same as the response of most media to change, fighting against it. But you cannot fight change. The genie is out of the bottle. You can't uninvent technology and you can't make the public forget that it's possible to watch football clips on the internet anymore than it's possible to download music from it. The music industry learnt this the hard way. Rather than trying to pioneer online downloads, record companies spent millions on lawsuits trying to shut the sharing networks down. It cost them millions, perhaps billions, and allowed Apple to slip in and dominate the industry.

So why when there's a huge number of people WANTING to watch the Premier League online, would the Premier League decide to stop them? Why not go with the flow and embrace this change. Why not put good video clips on the Premier League site for everybody to see. Why not license the most talented YouTube contributors (and passionate football fans) to create online videos for the league. Why not copy Chelsea and establish a YouTube channel presence. More eyes seeing the Premier League's sponsors.

Are less people going to watch football games just because the clips might be posted on the internet? No. Watching a game, a game you care about, is a far different experience. The majority already know the score before they check out the clips. The clips are just great memories for passionate fans. Since Saturday Night Live sketches on YouTube increased viewer figures significantly, most USA TV networks have realised the benefits of letting people share and mix their content. The same is true of sports.

What change in your industry are you ignoring? Are you fighting it? Why not pioneer it? Change is not something to be afraid of, it's a time of exciting new opportunities.

Getting tourism clients onto the big screen

Hogwarts or Gloucestershire Cathedral?
It turns out that attractions featured in films suddenly become more attractive. Who could've guessed?

It was a side project of mine at apt to get two tourist attraction clients featured as film locations. I didn't succeed, but I like to think i've increased their chances.

Unless you're a PR rep with Hollywood connections (in which case why aren't you doing something glitzy in Hollywood?) the most you can do is register your client as a film location with the array of various organisations. The local council/governing body is the obvious place to start. Find out what lists they offer to prospective filmmakers.

Then also go for the industry organisations such as Location Works. A long shot is also to approach a few film studios and find out what their location-hunting process looks like.

The biggest success I had was a response of "I don't think we'll be able to use [client] as a film backdrop, but it looks perfect for accomodation during filming".

Publicly naming bad PRs is the only way to make them take notice

Why do so many PR and journalist bloggers criticise press releases and pitches they receive without naming the company?

What’s the point?

The only way that company is going to improve is if they know that they’re being criticised. The second these PRs are named is the second they’ll take serious steps to be better at what they do.

People don’t intentionally go out to do bad work, many simply don't realise they are doing something wrong. I’m going to use the latest posts at GettingInk as an example, but this could be applied to many more.

As for confidentiality, well, these PR agencies want this news out in the public sphere anyway right?

You can't take responsibility

Here's a new rule, if you "take responsibility" for an error your company has made, you ARE responsible.

It beggars belief that "taking responsibility" is often seen as a noble act by a brave manager. Instead of what it is, a cowardly line embraced by managers who often have the audacity in their apology [excuse] to explain how, in fact, it wasn't their fault whatsoever.

Very soon the public will tire of this line, I know I have.

You're either responsible or you're not, you can't "take responsibility". Saying "I take responsibility [...] I should never have hired Mr. Scapegoat" still makes it entirely your fault. Not his.

I suggest in the future we only accept the line "I am responsible".

Incidentally look who takes up the first page of Google results for "I Take Responsibility".

Advertisers should use Facebook for its purpose

It's bewildering that advertisers were 'shocked' when their Facebook adverts appeared next to undesirable groups (i.e. British National Party). Did they really not understand the advertising structure behind Facebook? Or the structure of Facebook itself?

These companies, such as Vodafone, are incompetent for not realising that their adverts can easily appear alongside a 'I hate Vodafone group'. New Media Age got a great scoop by using BNP as an example when many more less desirable groups could have sufficed. I would also suggest that the advertisers weren't shocked at all and only pulled the adverts to avoid showing support for the BNP.

Really though, every single penny spent on advertising through social networks should instead be spent boosting your own employees profiles on social networks and connecting with the influential people in your industry. But when advertising and PR departments/agencies have their own budgets, is this really likely to happen anytime soon?

Would you like to advertise on my house?

If anybody fancies 'sponsoring' my student accomodation's £3500 gas & electricity bill please do let me know. We'll hang your company banner outside our house for the entire year (good advertising space, right opposite the regional Bowls championships and the student bus stop).

Also, if anyone can fathom why this bill dates back as far as 2004 (2 years before we came to the house), that might also be pretty handy.

How I Upgraded Myself

I sat down on the flight with the most vacant expression I could muster, it was a blend of tiredness and boredom. It was an act of course. This was quite an exciting moment for me. This moment represented many hours spent cursing economy class flying and wishing I had the courage to walk on flights and sit in empty business class seats. I’ve heard from various sources who have ‘gotten away with it’ in the past, and it’s something I’ve always fancied attempting.

So when my flight began boarding, I bought a medium-sized cappuccino and waited. for almost everyone else to board the flight. Then I strolled on, walked through first class (I’d stand out amongst the suited crowd) and sat in the last of the four empty business class seats. When the first Stewardess walked past I asked for a copy of China Daily newspaper. Not because I wanted to read it, it was just to give the impression to the Stewardess that I was comfortable in Business Class and not trying to avoid eye-contact.

And that’s how I flew from Beijing to Paris in Business Class.

Anyhow, I’m back in Cheltenham for a few weeks before heading out to Lithuania. So once I catch up on a little sleeping and plenty of reading, I should be blogging about PR again.