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Bond’s latest blockbuster, Spectre, broke box office records around the world, not bad for the 24th movie in the genre…
For a society that always moans about repeats on TV this is a little ironic, but having conducted research into the way people consume entertainment, the explanation is pretty simple. There’s a risk with an unknown film that it might be terrible, whereas at least with an old favourite you’re guaranteed a good evening.
Having run a series of training courses in PR evaluation over last year, I thought I would share some of the key things I’ve learned from the experience.
Obviously the industry is obsessing with measurement right now, and with good reason. First the economic downturn and then the rise of digital have forced the PR industry to think carefully about how it demonstrates ROI.
There’s something very interesting happening with CEOs (and I don’t mean resignations and scandals). Many are turning their back on the classic CEO archetype – the Ruler – and building their leadership around a different model.
Archetypes are a fascinating way to analyse leadership styles. Drawing on ancient traditions of storytelling, psychologist Carl Jung developed 12 primary archetypes, some of which he believed can be found in each of us. For leaders, understanding your archetype is a key way of gaining insight into your style and source of motivation.
The Message House is a long-established part of the PR toolbox. Its attractiveness for communicators is in its central purpose – to focus communications on simple, effective and structured messages. After first encountering the technique, I was immediately sold on it – so much so, it became the name of my business! Yet whilst still a much valued tool, I think there are ways the Message House method could be improved to ensure communications are even more effective.
You have to feel for England women’s football team striker, Eniola Aluko. If the stresses of playing in the World Cup weren’t enough, she came off at half-time in the first game and high-fived the opposing French team’s manager, mistakenly thinking it was her own coach.
Fortunately, Eniola isn’t alone in forgetting who important people are.
I can remember as a kid spending what seemed like endless, sunny summer holidays staying with my gran, watching children’s TV programmes in the mornings on her old three channel TV. One of my favourite shows at that time was ‘Why Don’t You?’. Or to give it its full title, ‘Why Don’t You Just Switch Off Your Television Set and Go Out and Do Something Less Boring Instead?
Most professional roles require you to give advice to others, often to people more senior to you. In the strategy document you write for your manager, the presentation you give to the Board, even in your verbal briefing to the CEO, at each point you are using your abilities to influence and persuade. Indeed many of us spend most of our professional lives trying to become effective and trusted advisers to our bosses or clients. For the consultant, particularly, there is probably no higher mark of success.
I often get asked to provide guidance to people looking for a career in PR and communications and many of their queries focus on how to handle job interviews.
Despite recruiting for very different organisations and roles, I find most interviewers tend to have a very similar approach to asking questions. Job interviews are a bit like exam papers – the same topics are always there, just sometimes dressed up in different ways.
“Polling may need a shot in the arm, but it certainly does not rate a shot in the back. The snipers on all sides are having a field day.” (from In Defense of Public Opinion Polling by Kenneth F. Warren)
These are the sort of words that could have been said in the offices of UK polling companies over the last few weeks. The fact that they were actually said by pioneering US pollster Archibald M. Crossley in 1949 only proves that the challenges pollsters face today aren’t new.
