Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Well, we put our money where our mouth was. We intervened against the NLA.

For a good eighteen months now, their plans to start taxing the receipt and forwarding of URLs have caused a row, with words being traded, meetings held, 'consultations' undertaken. The end result? They ploughed ahead pretty much regardless.

Last week in PR Week, NLA MD David Pugh had a little go at us. He said we'd not taken part in his 'consultation'. And he said we'd 'gestured from the touchlines'.

Let's put aside the fact that on the nine occasions when he and I met formally, we were clear and consistent in our opposition to his plans. And the fact that we facilitated him meeting direct with our members to learn their views. Both of which in my view make it pretty clear that we took part in his consultation. If 'consultation' is the right word.

Well, if were were ever on it, we are certainly now OFF the touchline. We're on the field, intervening in defence of the right to link to content freely made available already by the publishers. On the field, and ready -to continue David's theme- to scrum down.

And the reason why is simple. The NLA's plans have no basis in law in our view; are unreasonable; are restrictive. Actually, are self-defeating for a newspaper model built on the work of PR professionals, and centred on advertising.

All of these points were made clear to the NLA when they asked their questions. They just happened not to like the answers they received. So now we end up in the Tribunal.... Engage!

The NLA Blinks....

Just before Christmas, I blogged that the NLA ‘s decision to try and tax weblinks was going to backfire. In their face-off with the PR industry, the media monitors and ourselves, they were throwing into question their very existence.

Well, today the NLA blinked in that face-off.

In response to our pressure, and Meltwater’s decision to refer the NLA to the Copyright Tribunal, the NLA today announced they are suspending their billing process while the Tribunal considers the case.

Do bear in mind the NLA say they’ll retrospectively bill users if the Tribunal happens to rule in their favour. I think they’ll lose the case, but even if they were to win, I am extremely doubtful they would find it easy to back-date bills –I know they’d like to be a wing of the Revenue, but they’re not.

The fundamental point is this though. If they were confident of their position, they wouldn’t have blinked. But they have. And in our view, it’s because their bluff’s been called.

Now their plans are in limbo. And they’ll remain there for between nine and twelve months while the Tribunal completes its work. We’re considering what our next step is, and we’ll keep the industry up-to-date about how we’re fighting for their interests.

But be in no doubt –this is a terrible day for the NLA; a good day for the PR industry. And we intend making the NLA’s life harder still.

Happy New Year!

Why PR People Get A Bad Press

Guest post by: Adrian Wheeler

My first boss escaped from the Rank Organisation in 1968. He had spent ten years mediating between the press, Sir John Davis and Rank’s stable of celebrities. The experience left him with psychological scars and … well, experience. When he set up his own consulting firm he wanted nothing to do with ‘public relations’, so he coined the term ‘Corporate Relations Consultants’. It didn’t catch on.

Brian was an eccentric individual, but his aversion to ‘public relations’ typified the attitude of many first-class practitioners then and now. Whenever PR people get together they will, sooner or later, discuss how inappropriate ‘public relations’ is as a moniker and what we should call it instead. Anyone who can get away with describing themselves as something else – for instance, in lobbying or The City – does.

What’s wrong with ‘public relations’? I’ve always enjoyed the response when I tell people what I do for a living. In the early days it meant a furrowed brow: ‘What exactly is that?’ Later on the questions were more acute: ‘Ah – and what kind of clients do you work for?’ Nowadays the reaction can be more equivocal, and I think I see what Brian meant.

There are 2,400 public relations companies in the UK. Only 200 belong to the Public Relations Consultants Association. The CIPR says there are 40,000 public relations practitioners in the UK, of which only 10,000 belong to the Institute. This suggests that most people practising ‘public relations’ do not see it as a profession and do not want to get involved with standards, training and regulation. It probably also means they are not much good.

Statistically, most clients and journalists will meet three of those for every serious practitioner. No wonder clients are slow to trust their public relations advisors. No wonder journalists have a go at ‘PRs’ whenever they get the chance. It’s like an iceberg floating upside-down: general perceptions of public relations are created by the people who care about it least.

I don’t think there is any point in trying to invent a new word for ‘public relations’. Let’s tackle the quality problem from the other end: clients and journalists should begin any conversation with a ‘PR’ by asking: ‘Do you belong to the CIPR or the PRCA?’ If the answer’s ‘no’ they can continue the discussion at their own risk or put the phone down.

It would be naïve to think that every CIPR or PRCA member is free of fault. But at least they are trying to do their work well. They should be encouraged, supported and preferred; then we might see public relations recognised as a professional business service and we might all feel a lot happier calling ourselves public relations people.

NLA Wolf in the Pot?

I'm sure we all remember the story of The Three Little Pigs. I read it quite a lot these days (not for my own pleasure you understand, but for the edification of somebody rather smaller...). It strikes me that the greedy wolf rather overstretched himself. If he'd been content to eat just two of the three pigs and then move on,he might have gone on to lead a happy, carnivorous life -rather than ending up in the pot.

The same may be true of the NLA.

They've had an easy ride over the past ten or so years. They produce nothing, but manage nonetheless to be rewarded handsomely on the back of other people's labour. There've been occasional mutterings about taking them on, but those mutterings never quite make it to the top of anyone's agenda. In effect, they keep on eating the easy-to-reach little pigs.

Until now.

In their greed to assert copyright over something that (in our view) isn't copyrightable -and to demand payment for something that is available for free- they're like the greedy wolf. They've overstretched themselves, and in doing so, they have thrown into question the whole legitimacy of their existing structures. Like the wolf, maybe they'll end up in the pot.

Meltwater's reference to the Copyright Tribunal changes everything. It shows that people are no longer prepared just to roll over when the NLA tells them to. It will inevitably make people think again about the unfairness of their existing licences. We applaud Meltwater. We'll be giving serious thought to how the PRCA ought to respond to their bold move.

And in the meantime, I imagine the NLA and will keep on huffing and puffing....

How NOT to treat customers

The Daily Mail, Telegraph etc etc today run a story about a mother asking a South Eastern train employee to help her cross a footbridge with her buggy, and being refused 'because they were not insured to lift things like prams'. Now, I must confess an interest. I have a two-month old son, and I use South Eastern trains.

SE's response was reasonable enough I thought: "Our staff will help passengers when possible. However we also need to strike a balance where the number one priority for our staff is the safe running of trains. If it is going to interfere with the safe running of the trains then that must take priority."

Reasonable enough on the face of it.

Yesterday evening rather contradicted that image of reasonableness though. I was on my train home from Charing Cross, with the train about to leave in three minutes. Someone ran to the ticket barrier; his ticket didn't work. This happens quite often, because the barriers often malfunction.He showed the ticket to one of the SE staff to let him through. The SE bloke flicked him a finger, pointed him to the other platform. ie the wrong, further away platform.... The guy looked bemused but ran there instead and was let through the barrier there instead. He then doubled back. The guy who'd turned him away obviously couldn't care less.

I have some difficulty seeing how this meets the SE line 'our staff will help passengers where possible'. I'd rather presumed letting people through malfunctioning barriers was entirely what barrier staff were there for....

I rang SE today to ask them for a view. It took a good few minutes to get through their automated system before someone eventually picked up. They had no response. They also have no email address apparently...

Never mind the 21st century, perhaps they should enter the 20th century and get one? Not exactly the best example of customer service or communications excellence now is it?

Honesty - A business imperative

Today's guest blog is by Mark Knight, Director at Broadgate Mainland.

The infamous ‘Hand of Henry’ incident in the week-before-last’s world cup qualifying match generated a media frenzy of indignation in support of the hard done by Irish, victims of Gallic dishonesty.

This controversial event has already kicked off debate on how it represents the erosion of sporting standards.

The public relations industry is no stranger to the honesty argument. How many of you can put your hand on your heart and say that you have not lied as part of your job? Cue howls of indignation at PR offices around the country!

Okay, the vast majority of these are probably white lies: client tied up in meetings so can’t return your (journalist’s) call and the new product/service is generating huge interest (not) from customers and prospects.

The world post the economic recession is going to be a different place with the share of voice tipping the scales in favour of empowered consumers and make-or-break word of mouth endorsement. The general public and the media will simply not accept the levels of subterfuge that some PR agencies and company press offices have adopted as the norm.

Will companies dare to run the risk of PRs causing an outbreak of hysteria on blogs and forums or even worse a negative SideWiki next to a hard earned page one entry on Google?

A reputation of a company is built on honesty and trust. While these rules may get bent when times are good, they undergo intense scrutiny when life gets tough.

PR will always be about presenting situations in the best possible light. But to avoid a ‘Hand of Henry’ incident it’s best to remember PRs and their brands do exist in their own scrutinised, multi-view world. Adopting the highest standards of honesty is not only morally right, it is a business imperative.

Leading Public Sector Communications Teams

Today's guest blog comes courtesy of Ian Ratcliffe,Head of Marketing and Communications for Stockport Council, and Vice Chair of LG Communications.

Stockport Council is an Associate Member of the PRCA


Yesterday in Stockport, as Vice Chair of LG Communications, the national body working to raise the standard of communications in the public sector, it was my pleasure to host a day’s seminar involving notable speakers on the subject of Leading Public Sector Communications Teams.

It was a great day that allowed everyone to get together and discuss how communications has an even greater role to play than ever before.

We are all facing difficult times ahead so it was timely to see what we’re up to and look at the key issues concerning leaders of communications.

We had a fantastic group of speakers starting with our very own Leader of Stockport Council, Cllr Dave Goddard who made a strong case for organisational leaders valuing and resourcing their comms teams. In turn, it is essential that the communicators themselves demonstrate huge civic pride in everything they do and bring passion to their role.

Joe Simpson, Director of Politics and Partnerships at the Leadership Centre for Local Government made a fascinating presentation on the importance of storytelling and the transition from ‘communications’ to ‘conversations’ – mirrored in the transition from print to social media.

Next up we then learned some interesting lessons from Mike Greenwood, Chairman of Stockport PCT, as he described this time in the public sector. Mike is an ambassador of strong and effective brand in engendering public pride in an area and made reference to the importance of effective partnerships.

Attention was then turn to an individual level, with the focus on the skills that communicators will need in this new changed and changing economic environment. David Broome and Lucinda Barber from VMA made a thought-provoking presentation on the skills required from a comms leader, which had us all thinking about the passion we need to instil in every part of our role.

Paul Newman, Head of Comms at MediaCity:UK gave us some great leadership advice on not being sidestepped by the small issues – it’s not about where you are now, but where you want to be. Wise words! Paul also updated everyone on the progress of the wonderful Media City project at Salford.

I was very pleased to see that Andy Carter, Head of Communications at Leeds City Council was able to join us for the day. After 12 weeks of the bin men striking, he had us all intrigued by his experience of leading a crisis communications strategy – which I am glad to say has now come to an end! Exciting times and some good lessons learned.

With the perspective of someone who has been both a long-serving council leader of a major city and now a senior executive at a leading communication consultancy, a big thank you to Donald Anderson, Director at PPS, who travelled down from Edinburgh to tell us about his time as Leader of Edinburgh Council. His experience of comms during the Cowgate Fire and the G8 summit certainly gave us some perspective and showed us how the personal touches are often the mark of real leadership, and how they can make a big difference.

We closed the day with Nick Jaspan, founder of the phenomenally successful how-do.co.uk. Nick’s switch from print to online media stressed the ever growing importance of social media and networking in the comms world. On a personal level, if we do not adapt to a rapidly-changing environment, we will get left behind.

I have chosen to end my blog with thanks to your very own Director General, Francis Ingham, who I am sure will be blogging about his day with us yesterday! Francis’s presentation focused our attention firmly on the future of communications and about making the next few years about opportunities – as PR thrives on change! I also found his words on taking our own professional development seriously, as comms leaders will only be accepted on the top table if they have the skills top people expect!

So much to take in, but a great day overall. I hope that everyone who attended can take away the good advice and use it to forge a path for themselves and their teams over the next few years.

Hope to see you all at another LG Communications seminar in the near future.


Ian Ratcliffe

Vice Chair, LG Communications

Head of Marketing and Communications at Stockport Council