Posts Tagged ‘PR Camapign’

06.03.2013

Best Jobs in the World

Sunshine, azure blue seas and crystal clear skies.  An image worthy of anyone’s dreams.  Unfortunately for most waking up to this is exactly that, a dream.

However Tourism Australia are launching their second campaign of the “Best job in the World”, and this year it’s bigger and better!

With 6 incredible jobs to boast and a contract worth a staggering £67k for 6 months, it seems impossible that this can even pass as work!  This time around the jobs include an outback adventurer in the Northern Territory; a park ranger in Queensland; a wildlife caretaker in South Australia; a ‘lifestyle photographer’ in Melbourne; a ‘taste master’ in Western Australia; and ‘chief funster’ in New South Wales.

 

Best Job in the World initiative

 

TNR were there at the launch of the campaign, filming the TV release and the press photography for Tourism Australia at London Waterloo.

With a lifeguard on show for the ladies, a beautiful brunette in a striking red bikini for the chaps and a giant kangaroo and koala for everyone else in between, it made for a great photocall and attracted a fair bit of attention as you can imagine

 

Best Job Tourism Australia

 

In 2009, Briton Ben Southall rose to the top of a 34,000 high applicant pile, gathered from over 200 countries to win.  The lucky 34 year old got to explore the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, snorkel and swim, whilst making friends with the locals and basically enjoy the tropical Queensland climate and lifestyle.  Not a bad way to spend 6 months…

 

Post by Tinashe Sithole @ TNR Communications

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Posted in Broadcast PR, Online, Photography, PR, PR Photography, TV, Video | No Comments »

07.06.2010

Applying Radio to your PR strategy

Radio rides the waves to become the UK’s most trusted source of news

It is confirmed – radio is the UK’s most trusted and popular source of news content. With both Rajar and Ofcom figures confirming the fact, it begs us to ask the question: if you haven’t thought about radio for your upcoming PR campaigns – why not?

Elizabeth Herridge, Project Manager at TNR Communications produces a Radio day in the Press Assocation broadcast studio, London.

Elizabeth Herridge, Project Manager at TNR Communications produces a Radio day in the Press Assocation broadcast studio, London.

Live and pre-recorded interviews with your well-briefed spokesperson can give you massive regional and national reach, with 46million people in the UK tuning in to the radio each week. 

If your campaign is newsworthy, current, interesting, entertaining or hopefully all four, then your story could well tap into the ever-growing FM and digital audiences listening to radio.

Whatever you want to get out of radio, you would be hard pushed not to find a station that would gratify your audio craving. Only this weekend (22nd and 23rd May), I took my trusty digital radio to the garden to enjoy the sun; I didn’t fancy talk radio today, I wasn’t much in the mood for nostalgia and I also wasn’t keen on hearing a re-run of the current Top 40 – I was feeling very spoilt by the choice.

Outdoors, on arguably the hottest weekend of 2010 so far, I wanted live music and to be entertained – to my joy Radio 1 were hosting their Big Weekend in Bangor with a line-up of great music presented by the usual suspects, my personal favourite Chris Moyle’s, Jo Wylie, Edith Bowman and the likes.

The entertainment, live music and banter were all there and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, 250 miles from north Wales listening to Europe’s largest free music festival. I soon realised that it was not only the music and familiar voices I was enjoying, it was the freedom of radio and the reassuring feeling how it never lets me down. Much like my local breakfast radio programme on a weekday or my evening chill out station of choice, it had been able to match my mood perfectly and made me feel a part of it.

In addition, it is not just I that thinks so, recent Rajar results have revealed we have the highest radio listening figures to date, with 46.5million people tuning into radio each week.  Working in the radio industry, I really believe that the continued growth in popularity is heavily down to the variety and quality of stations and programming available. We have some wonderful national and regional stations on FM and DAB, but there are more and more niche stations unearthing as well serving targeted audiences; a few I discovered on Saturday while browsing my DAB Radio include -

- Zee Radio for Bollywood

- TWR – A Christian Radio station

- The Arrow – Apparently the place to go for pure rock radio

- The Hits – chart music, entertainment news and features

- Traffic Radio – no explanation needed!

- My Baby Radio – for family and new parents!

So what does this all mean for PRs and Communications Officers? How can campaigns, launches and key messages be heard? Well…providing up-to-date, interesting, newsworthy and engaging content for radio!

For the first time radio has taken over as the ‘most trusted’ source of news, according to Ofcom, knocking TV, online and print off the top spots. I truly feel that is down to three reasons:

1. The quality and integrity of journalism in the UK

2. The immediacy and availability of information

3. The increasing integration with other media, e.g. TV and Online

Radio Today has recently documented the BBC’s weekly reach has rose by 2.4 per cent during the ridiculous snow falls back in February and March of this year, proving that radio is unquestionably top of mind as a reliable and trustworthy source of information.

If you are able to provide a story that is not only relevant to a station’s target audience, but offers something new and engaging for listeners, then you are more likely to secure airtime for your spokespeople. In addition, as you can see from above there’s more than likely a radio station already broadcasting with your target audience solely in mind, however specific!

Blogs worth casting your eye over…

- Mark Borkowski’s blog – http://www.markborkowski.com/

- Bottle PR blog – http://blog.corkingpr.co.uk/

Post by Elizabeth Herridge (Project Manager for TNR Communications)

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Posted in Broadcast PR, PR, Radio | 1 Comment »

02.10.2009

An Insight into 3 years at PA Photocall

National Lottery Love UK Campaign June 2007. Geoff Caddick/PA Photocall

National Lottery Love UK Campaign June 2007. Geoff Caddick/PA Photocall

On this day 3 years ago PA Hostpics was re-launched as PA Photocall and to celebrate this occasion I wanted to take at look at some of vast and varied projects we have been involved with…

I thought I might begin with perhaps PA Photocall’s most iconic image which was commissioned by The National Lottery for their Love UK campaign back in June 2007. English National Ballet’s Swan Lake ballerinas enjoyed a practice session on the Millennium Bridge as part of the new Love UK campaign to celebrate the £20 billion raised by Lottery players for good causes. English National Ballet and the Millennium Bridge had both benefitted from Lottery Funding.

Our seasoned PA Photocall photographer Geoff Caddick captured this beautiful image…

‘As a photographer I am obsessed with symmetry, this image just worked perfectly. You always envisage how you want the photograph to turn out but sometimes it doesn’t always happen that way, this image was everything I hoped it would be.’ Geoff Caddick

One image which highlights the importance of planning your photocall was this shot commissioned by BAA and British Airways to announce the opening of Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport.

BAA and British Airways announce Terminal 5 at Heathrow opening. Geoff Caddick/PA Photocall March 2007

BAA and British Airways announce Terminal 5 at Heathrow opening. Geoff Caddick/PA Photocall March 2007

The effectiveness of the image is that it gives the impression of a news picture from what is actually a PR set up. The photo was featured in several national newspapers including The Times, The Independent and The Evening Standard.

An image which is my personal favourite and a testament to not having to use branding in your picture to get your message across is that of ‘Ripley’s’ photocall with the worlds smallest road worthy car which we ran riot with in London’s Piccadilly Circus.

The world's smallest car, the Peel 50, which is soon to go on display at Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Museum of oddities, in Piccadilly Circus, London. Carl Court/PA Photocall

The world's smallest car, the Peel 50, which is soon to go on display at Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Museum of oddities, in Piccadilly Circus, London. Carl Court/PA Photocall

The Peel 50 was to be exhibited in ‘Ripley’s Believe it Not’ Museum in London and they wanted to capture a photograph to mark the occasion. PA Photocall photographer Carl Court followed the little car around as it unveiled to the public and caused quite a stir. The beauty of this image is the reactions of the people to the Peel 50 against the London back drop. The image not only got into the national papers and online but was also featured in the BBC programme ‘Have I Got News for you’.

As far as spectacular PR stunts go this year’s highlight was that of Eden TV’s launch back in January. A 16 foot high sculpture of an iceberg featuring a stranded female polar bear and her baby cub floated on the River Thames. The stunt was to mark the launch of Eden, a new digital TV channel devoted to natural history.

 

A 16 foot high sculpture of an iceberg featuring a stranded female polar bear and her baby cub on the River Thames outside the Houses of Parliament to mark the launch of Eden, a new digital TV channel devoted to natural history. Geoff Caddick/PA Photocall

A 16 foot high sculpture of an iceberg featuring a stranded female polar bear and her baby cub on the River Thames outside the Houses of Parliament to mark the launch of Eden, a new digital TV channel devoted to natural history. Geoff Caddick/PA Photocall

After 3 years much has changed and will continue to do so but the ability to be creative, fun and varied will always stay true in the world of PR photography. No one day is the same and each job gives us a new challenge, to that end long may it continue.

Post by Penny Joyner (Marketing Executive for PA Photocall)

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Posted in PR Photography | 1 Comment »

02.10.2009

Happy 3rd Birthday PA Photocall

British cheese producer Peter Mitchell sits on top of a half tonne Mature Farmhouse Cheddar, which forms part of the World`s Largest Cheese Board record attempt in accordance with the Guiness Book of Records, Covent Garden Piazza, central London. Geoff Caddick/PA Photocall

British cheese producer Peter Mitchell sits on top of a half tonne Mature Farmhouse Cheddar, which forms part of the World`s Largest Cheese Board record attempt in accordance with the Guiness Book of Records, Covent Garden Piazza, central London. Geoff Caddick/PA Photocall

Although the history of the PA Photocall service goes back further under the guise of PA Hostpics and indeed PA Photos, this month sees the 3rd anniversary of the PA Photocall name.

PA Photocall

So along with blowing out birthday candles and wearing a big ‘I am 3′ badge we thought it was as good a reason as any to have a look back over the last three years & what we’ve been doing.

Three years might not seem a long time, but since our relaunch as PA Photocall in Oct 2006, there’s been some big changes in press & PR.

We’ve seen the londonpaper come, and go, a complete redevelopment of the the concept and content of newspaper websites, an industry shaking recession and the explosion of social media – Facebook in it’s modern form is only about a week older than us, while twitter was still known as ‘twtrr’ and had about as many users as vowels..

But however the industry has changed, photos remain important. Video & moving image has become more accessible and that’s something we’ll be doing more of next year. But great photos retain the ability to cut through complex information and campaigns, and convey stories in a way people intuitively respond to.

Our first PA Photocall commission was to photograph a giant cheese board. However random that might seem, I look at that shot 3 years later & it still stands up; bright, simple, quirky, fun. Any new PR shot that does the same will always have a good chance of succeeding.

Is it harder to get PR pictures into the newspapers now than it was 3 years ago? Yes and no. There’s more pictures around now than ever before & technology makes them easier and quicker to take & distribute. As a result the papers have become more demanding, a celebrity just standing there in a branded t-shirt isn’t going to do it anymore. But good launches, stunts, events and news, where the picture has been an integral part of the activity rather than just tacked on at the end are still in demand. In an age where papers are employing less & less staff photographers, PR photos are important again.

Looking through the files I also see later that first PA Photocall week in October 2006 we also photographed the Sugababes. Three years on the Sugababes have just announced another line up change, yet in a strange way remain exactly the same. There’s something similar with good PR photography. To a certain extent the more things change, the more they stay the same.

The Sugababes smile backstage at the Girlguiding UK Big Gig, an exclusive concert for Girlguiding UK members at Wembley Arena, London. Rebecca Reid/PA Photocall

The Sugababes smile backstage at the Girlguiding UK Big Gig, an exclusive concert for Girlguiding UK members at Wembley Arena, London. Rebecca Reid/PA Photocall

However they’re taken or however they’re distributed, or however they’re seen, at the end of the day the quality of the pictures & the ideas behind them are still the most important thing. Here’s to the next 3 years!

 

Post by Tim Kerr (Director & Picture Editor of PA Photocall)

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Posted in PR Photography | 2 Comments »

17.08.2009

The End of the Embargo?

Interesting piece in the current issue of PR Week about concerns we could be seeing the ‘Slow death of the embargo’.  The Wall Street Journal is believed to have introduced a new policy stipulating that they will only honour embargos on exclusive stories. It’s a change of direction that’s obviously brought on by the pressure to be first with breaking news amid increasing competition from other online media outlets especially bloggers who traditionally have been more cavalier with embargos.

Certain newspapers may feel that they can’t afford the niceties of sitting on embargoed stories when specialist blogs are prepared to ‘publish and be dammed’. News has moved on it’s no longer written up today printed tonight and read in papers tomorrow, it’s available instantly & constantly via multiple formats.

The walls have come down and the means of news production are now available to anyone. In that light embargos can seem antiquated, but they still have a place, they just need to be used with care and not as a ‘catch all’ control mechanism.

PR Week editor Danny Rogers talks about embargoes as being “a lazy means of dealing with the media.” The WSJ and the blogs have stirred things up & if that stops these ‘lazy’ embargoes it’s probably no bad thing.

So what could this it mean for photos? I always feel the best way to handle a press PR photo is to use embargoes as sparingly as possible. Basically, ‘take it, get it out, get it in!’ Getting your pictures in the press is always hard enough without making it harder for yourself by putting embargoes across the top of them unless they’re really necessary.

Obviously certain photos because of logistics or availability need to be be taken beforehand and held back. Journalists will understand that and personal relationships, trust and exclusives will always play a role in this business. But maybe the shake up in attitudes towards embargoes generally will make people look at picture embargoes a bit harder too. Using embargoes where they aren’t really appropriate, such as on pictures taken in public places or of stunts that are open knowledge may start to become a thing of the past.

In this climate when the media is crying out for good, free to use PR copy, it’s unnecessary to shackle every story & picture with an embargo. Nobody can really control the media, instead we just need to continue to work with it making content that the press will want to use now, not next week.

Post by Tim Kerr (Director & Picture Editor of PA Photocall)

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Posted in Photography, PR | 2 Comments »

03.08.2009

Airbrushing in advertising – photoshopping for perfection

Keira Knightley in front of the now infamous enhanced poster for King Arthur. Press Association Images

Keira Knightley in front of the now infamous enhanced poster for King Arthur. Press Association Images

After reading an article in today’s Independent about the Liberal Democrats’ call to put a curb on airbrushing in advertising it made me think of all the times that we, PA Photocall, get asked to’Photoshop in’ or ‘Photoshop out’, this, that and the other.

However, for newspaper pictures we draw the line at removing flabby waists, bruises and discoloured teeth.  There is an un-written rule when it comes to news pictures; ‘No doctoring’.  This is simply because once you manipulate the picture ­ removing things in background, adding logos, taking out wrinkles – it no longer represents the news scene as captured, but creates a biased fantasy. 

 

Newspapers rely on the integrity of their content and pictures are at the forefront of that. Glossy magazines might be able to have retouched cover stars but papers have to walk a tighter line.

This is something that is surprisingly not widely known outside the newsroom. Quite often, when a client has booked a ‘celeb’ to front a campaign ­ pictures of which are to be used for editorial purposes – it can quickly materialise that the ‘celeb’ is not so perfect after all. 

Post by Nicola Charalambous (Picture Editor of PA Photocall)

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31.07.2009

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association win CIPR Excellence Award

 

Mahomed-Abraar Khatri, 18 and Vargo, the first guide dog in the UK to enter a mosque, are welcomed into the Bilal Jamia mosque in Leicester by Head Imam Hafiz Rehman.

Mahomed-Abraar Khatri, 18 and Vargo, the first guide dog in the UK to enter a mosque, are welcomed into the Bilal Jamia mosque in Leicester by Head Imam Hafiz Rehman.

PA Photocall client The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association has won an award for their campaign on ‘Vargo, the first guide dog to enter a Mosque’ which aimed to tackle the misunderstanding of the work of guide dogs.

The organisation picked up the 2009 Excellence award from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, beating seven other finalists in the category of Best Campaign £10k and under.
With the support of his local mosque, a visually impaired teenager from Leicester applied for a guide dog and his story was used to highlight the fact that guide dogs are working animals enhancing a person’s independence. To allow Mohamed to take his dog Vargo into the mosque for worship, a historic fatwa was issued, changing ancient Shari’ah law. ‘A strong, well planned and managed piece of co-operative work which achieved enormous press coverage and is now being used as an example around the world. Profound cultural change achieved for just over £1,000.

PA Photocall were commissioned by Guide Dogs for the photography for the campaign. As a result PA Photocall’s pictures were central to the success of the launch, with coverage including The Times, The Daily Star Online, MSN, AOL Online and This is Grimsby to name but a few. It is a good example to the fact that there is no glass ceiling for PR.

Post by Penny Joyner (Marketing Executive for PA Photocall)

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30.07.2009

Celebrities – The Powerful Promotional Tool

There’s an interesting Thought Leader Series supplement in last week’s PR Week on ‘Consumer PR’. Amid all the talk of PR’s response to the changing PR environment & multiple media platforms there was a good bread and butter question thrown at the contributors; ‘Has your attitude to the use of celebrities in campaigns changed over the past year?’

The general consensus was that celebrities remained very powerful promotional tools whatever the economic climate, but the connection with the client and the project needed to be right.

Speaking specifically from a photography point of view that’s something I’d agree with. Celebrities work in PR photos because they instantly give the picture something identifiable. Photographers and PR’s might sit around in client meetings and seminars mulling over the possible death of celebrity culture and how we’re all much more interested in growing vegetables, or knitting our own shoes or whatever. But then we’ll go for lunch & read Heat Magazine or talk about Peter & Katie like everyone else.

Diarmuid Gavin tend to tomato plants at Cooks Farm Allotment in south London for the launch of Morrisons' Let's Grow campaign which encourages children to grow their own fresh fruit and veg at school. Geoff Caddick/PA Photocall

Diarmuid Gavin tend to tomato plants at Cooks Farm Allotment in south London for the launch of Morrisons' Let's Grow campaign which encourages children to grow their own fresh fruit and veg at school. Geoff Caddick/PA Photocall


It’s a fact in our world that we connect with celebrities. We associate them with certain lifestyles, with certain characteristics that we aspire to. Celebrities are in effect ‘brands’ themselves and the best PR photos come when the brand values of the celebrity and the brand value of the client fit. Then you have a picture that works, that catches a Picture Editor’s eye and stands up.

Melinda Messenger launches Ultimo's latest in-shop boutique within Debenhams at Westfield Shopping Centre, London.

Melinda Messenger launches Ultimo's latest in-shop boutique within Debenhams at Westfield Shopping Centre, London.

To often we’ll see PR photos where you can tell straight away the client just went for the cheapest Big Brother reject available and there’s no obvious link & the picture feels clunky because of it. Picture Editors like PR photos to be simple. A good celeb with a good connection intuitively does that. If you have to explain too hard why the celeb is being used it’s probably not going to work, so always look for the fit.

Post by Tim Kerr (Director & Picture Editor for PA Photocall)

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28.07.2009

Effective Media Relations during the ‘Silly Season’

‘Silly Season’ is upon us - the time of the year when everything slows down and the media world lowers the bar on what it considers news, Parliament are on holiday and real news seems thinner on the ground. This is a great chance to take full advantage and achieve press coverage for your brand or service whether in print or online.

There is no doubt that the press will still be covering stories on Michael Jackson’s death and the rapid increase in swine flu cases, but throughout the long summer months all the media will be looking to cover more wacky and to some extent frivolous stories than usual.

Last year during ‘Silly Season’ the story of abducted gnome Murphy who travelled around 12 countries in 7 months went across the headlines in The Independent, The Telegraph and the Mirror to name but a few.

Undated handout photo of Eve Stuart-Kelso's garden gnome Murphy in New Zealand, who was returned to her after a 7 month disappearance, accompanied by a photo album showing him in the 12 countries he visited with his abductor.

Undated handout photo of Eve Stuart-Kelso's garden gnome Murphy in New Zealand, who was returned to her after a 7 month disappearance, accompanied by a photo album showing him in the 12 countries he visited with his abductor.

From cows with local accents, to the bank holiday cheese chasers of Coopers Hill, there is no end to the wonderful and down right crazy stories that dominate the press at this time of year.

The ladies race gets underway during the annual cheese rolling race at Cooper's Hill, Gloucestershire.

The ladies race gets underway during the annual cheese rolling race at Cooper's Hill, Gloucestershire.

This does not mean we have to abandon the rules of respected journalism, more that you should look at your everyday activities from a light hearted point of view. Consider potential news worthy stories that may be a little on the quirky side for your clients or business, with the recession keeping us firmly grounded, the chance to make light of any situation will always be welcomed by editors, especially now.

Look to utilise popular and regularly occurring events for example the cricket, the hottest day of the year, music festivals with some relevance to your brand, as they will always be topics in demand from editors. Generic shots will always have their place in the news but if you can add a little creativity and a wacky slant then all the better.

There has never been a better time to communicate to your audience about your product or service. A simple quote or a by-lined article in a national newspaper doesn’t automatically translate into sales, but positive media coverage no matter what form it takes can strengthen the value and position of the brand or service. Effective media relations, not only attracts new clients but can reassure existing ones.

 Post by Penny Joyner (Marketing Executive for PA Photocall)

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24.07.2009

The PR Picture Editor’s Knowledge…

I’ve been enjoying following AFP photographer Leon Neal’s ‘Tabascokid’ blog http://www.leonneal.com/blog/

His London photographer knowledge lists make for fantastic reading for a humorous insight into the life & struggles of press photographers in the capital.

For a photographer, he’s reasonably kind to picture editors. His belief that anyone on any picture desk “automatically has their sense of time/distance awareness removed” is probably fair comment..

It got me thinking about what a PR Picture Editors knowledge list might look like. So with apologies to Leon, in no particular order & for what it’s worth…

The PR Picture Editor’s Knowledge:

1. Keep it simple.

2. Picture Editors don’t care about the PR story, it’s all about the picture.

3. Photographers will always send their best shots in last.

4. In product shots, men holding things just doesn’t look right. Even if they have nice hands.

5. Big cheques are evil

6. The Irish Photocall staple of ‘M+M’s’ (Models and Ministers) is the PR photo equilivant of E=MC2.

7. Myleen Klass/Monkeys/Midgets

8. One good celeb = at least 1000 real people.

9. Tight, bright, landscape, portrait, then clever.

10. If you’re doing an aerial shot of people spelling out a brand name or symbol, you need at least twice as many people as you think you do.

11. The quickest way to find a Community Police Officer in central London is to hold an unlicensed photocall.

12. People outside London need pictures too. Don’t forget Scotland!

13. The more Z list the celeb the more trouble their agent will be with approving shots.

14. The more confidential something is meant to be the more people already know about it.

15. Stunts don’t necessarily make good photos and vice versa.

16. Captions: Who, What, Where, When, Why.

17. If you don’t understand the embargo details, no one else will.

18. No line ups, no handshakes, no town mayors.

19. If you can’t draw the picture idea on the back of a press release using matchstick men, it’ll probably be rubbish.

20. Remember it’s meant to be fun.

 

Post by Tim Kerr (Director & Picture Editor of PA Photocall)

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