Fred Goodwin, ex-RBS boss: is continued silence the best approach?
Ever since his downfall and the resulting political firestorm cast him as ‘arch villain’ in the world’s biggest banking failure (so far), the erstwhile ‘Sir’ and now just plain old Fred Goodwin has never given a media interview. It could initially have been for legal reasons, but I wonder if maintaining a dignified silence was ever the right approach and if he should now review that? Was it a deliberate, planned and considered action or an early mistake that he’s since compounded by failing to tell his version of events? It really is fascinating and puzzling to watch this former business ... read the full post »
01 February 2012 | Posted by : Andy M Turner | Blog | Comment on this post »
Tagged : banks, communications strategy, Fred Goodwin, gerald ronson, media interviews, RBS, reputation, Sir Fred Goodwin.
Using dead bodies and kitchens to get your message across
If you find yourself having to explain something important but potentially boring, it can be tough to find the right language and keep people listening. It gets worse when the subject also happens to be abstract and complex. And the pinnacle is when you’re called upon to do it live, in front of many of the country’s most influential people. So it was interesting to hear the approach of a guest commentator on this morning’s Today programme (BBC Radio’s flagship current affairs show). The guest was Jerome Booth, head of ... read the full post »
14 September 2011 | Posted by : Andy M Turner | Blog | 2 Comments »
Tagged : BBC, BBC Radio 4, communications strategy, media coverage, media relations, message planning, Today programme.
Customer advocacy: what’s stopping you?
In my first article on customer advocacy I outlined what I hope was a strong case for talking about your successes through the clients’ voice. In this second piece, I want to explore what’s preventing more firms from doing so. Some of the common reasons I’ve encountered are: 1. The firm has a long-standing (and unchallenged) policy not to talk about clients 2. Clients would never agree to it, for various reasons 3. There is no resource to chase relationship ‘owners’ 4. Marketing people are not trusted to talk directly to clients 5. It’s too risky. The outcome cannot be controlled. Clients might be misquoted or say something detrimental Taking the ... read the full post »
02 September 2011 | Posted by : Andy M Turner | Blog | Comment on this post »
Tagged : advocacy, communications strategy, customers, reputation.
A journalist calls asking for your comments. What should you do first?
Most business people are understandably wary of talking to journalists because they know they don’t control the outcome. They worry about looking stupid, being misquoted or misunderstood. There are techniques you can deploy to minimise all of these possibilities but for this posting I want to talk about another danger: finding you’ve ended up offering the unintended ‘contrarian’ viewpoint. This happened recently to a university professor who was invited alongside myself and three other very experienced PR professionals to offer his views on the importance of selling in public relations. ... read the full post »
30 May 2011 | Posted by : Andy M Turner | Blog | Comment on this post »
Tagged : communications strategy, media coverage, media relations, public relations, selling.
How to use the Freedom of Information Act in your PR activities
Whether or not you’re a fan of Tony Blair, one of the welcome things that came into being under his watch was the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) in 2000. This gave UK citizens a legal right to information held by most public authorities. American citizens have had this right for some time, of course, and the UK is now one of about 85 countries that have introduced similar rights. Now, back to this post’s subject: how can you use FOI as part of your organisation’s PR activities? There ... read the full post »
08 March 2011 | Posted by : Andy M Turner | Blog | Comment on this post »
Tagged : adding value, communications strategy, Freedom of Information Act, media coverage, public relations, The Financial Times.
Why we need to hear less from you and more from your customers
Most people old enough to be in senior management roles today know the slogan 'Let your fingers do the walking'. It did wonders for promoting Yellow Pages and joined the advertising hall of fame back in 2002. But how about ‘Let your clients do the talking’? Nope, that doesn’t resonate quite so loudly does it? But it should, because credible endorsements from others are one of the most potent sales tools in business-to-business, especially if you’re selling professional services. PR professionals call this ‘third party endorsement’ (TPE) and, well managed, it can win you business, forge alliances, improve recruitment ... read the full post »
07 January 2011 | Posted by : Andy M Turner | Blog | 1 Comment »
Tagged : communications strategy, marketing, new business, reputation, selling, third party endorsement.
The FT meets ‘The Body’ and a PR car crash ensues
Earlier this month Elle Macpherson, one of the original ‘supermodels’, was interviewed by Lucy Kellaway in The Financial Times. You can read the article here (although you may need to register). It’s a great read, though it left this formerly neutral reader, and I suspect many others, with a rather dim view of ‘The Body’, as she used to be known. It made me wonder read the full post »
25 October 2010 | Posted by : Andy M Turner | Blog | Comment on this post »
Tagged : communications strategy, marketing, media relations, PR, PR firms, public relations, reputation, The Financial Times.
United Technologies Corporation
It was a real pleasure to work with Six Sigma PR. Andy Turner was a strong asset to the team: he kept the project on track at key moments, executed on strategy and was a pleasure to work with. read the full post »
Category : Endorsements,Featured.
Tagged : communications strategy, global audiences.