PRCA tagged posts

September 10, 2014,  Brand marketing, Guru in a Bottle, Legal update, Marketing practice, News  No comments

In a spectacular volte-face, Coca-Cola has embraced the voluntary front of pack ‘traffic light’ system that alerts British consumers to the calorific value of the product in order for them to make informed choices about what they are ingesting and help move them towards having a more balanced diet and healthier lifestyle.

What’s disappointing is that the beverage giant didn’t have the foresight to embrace this opportunity last year when the voluntary labelling scheme was first introduced by the Government.

By missing this opportunity, Coca-Cola made it look like it had something to hide and this also reflected negatively on its reputation.

The result of this stance wa...

September 10, 2014,  Guru in a Bottle, Public Relations practice, Thought Leadership  One comment

In 1861 Abraham Lincoln faced the greatest test of his presidency when he tried to hold together the United States in the face of a highly divisive Civil War that eventually claimed the lives of over 700,000 combatants in the North and South of the country.

However, Lincoln was a lucky man. And he had at his disposal a new weapon. A weapon more powerful than a Smith & Weston.

It was the telegraph.

Before the invention of the telegraph it would take a dispatch rider the best part of a week to reach the battle front on horseback. Now Lincoln could now dispatch orders to his Army Generals by getting an operator to tap them instantly into the machine.

Although the telegram was re...

July 30, 2014,  Guru in a Bottle, News, Public Relations practice  No comments

Ask most people in PR about the reputation of tobacco industry and you’re likely to get a wide variety of answers, most of which will border on the negative.

The tobacco companies have responded to the clampdown on the public sale of cigarettes through giant health warnings on packets and a steep rise in VAT by publicly talking about the need to find the “safer smoke” for its customers. And this has led to tobacco companies making massive investments in e-cigarettes.

But is this motivated by the desire to wean smokers off smoking or simply substitute one nicotine delivery system for another in order to protect market share and massive profits?

The discussions about e-ci...

June 20, 2014,  Essential Law for Marketers, Guru in a Bottle, Public Relations practice  One comment

It was Winston Churchill, one of the greatest statesmen that ever lived, who said “In war: resolution. In defeat: defiance. In victory: magnanimity. In peace: goodwill.”

Given the acrimonious legal battles that the PRCA has been having with the NLA and the subsequent decision at the Court of Justice of the European Union, I think it’s time for both sides to do well in remembering those words.

Let’s face it.

Both sides must build a new bridge – a better, more robust bridge – where the focus is on collaboration rather than conflict...

June 5, 2014,  Essential Law for Marketers, Guru in a Bottle, News, Public Relations practice  One comment

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg has affirmed the legal position that internet users have the right to browse news sites without the threat of infringing copyright law.

The argument, put forward by the Newspaper Licensing Agency (NLA) that represents the interests of media owners, was that even temporary electronic copies made on an individual’s computer required a licence and a licence fee to be paid and this could have cost the PR industry many millions in licensing fees had the ruling of CJEU clarified the legal position today.

The CJEU accepted all of the legal arguments of the PRCA, the largest professional body representing the interests...

May 3, 2014,  Events, Guru in a Bottle, Public Relations practice  No comments

No, this isn’t a crossword conundrum or trick question but in fact the essence of the debate I chaired on Thursday 1 May at the offices of BNY Mellon ahead of the PRCA’s PR Council Meeting.

Like most things in life, there are at least two sides to every story – whether it’s the forthcoming EU General Data Protection Regulation that threatens to obliterate the freedom of marketers to track behaviour of consumers or the ethics of sponsoring education content in the classroom.

You can be sure that whenever you get two marketers in the room, you’ll have at least three points of view.

So when it comes to ‘content marketing’… well, you can bet there’s as many views on the ...

March 7, 2014,  Consumer behaviour, Guru in a Bottle, Sponsorship News  2 comments

Green Schools Revolution is one of the most innovative corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes in the UK and could signal a new way for brand owners to engage with children and their families and turn traditional B2C sponsorship on its head.

That was the message delivered at a special PRCA Breakfast Briefing where Hopscotch Consulting explained its role in helping The Co-operative develop a nationwide CSR programme that has bagged a ‘Special Award for Green Sponsorship’ at this year’s UK Sponsorship Awards 2014 to be announced later this month.

You could say Hopscotch Consulting has big plans for its Green Schools Revolution and has leap-frogged the competition...

February 27, 2014,  Guru in a Bottle, High Impact Marketing that Gets Results, Public Relations practice  No comments

Last week I sat in a meeting with colleagues from across the PR industry that was discussing precisely this question as part of the “Content Marketing” work stream set up by the PRCA, the largest body representing PR professionals in the UK and the largest body of its kind in Europe.

By the middle of 2014, the PRCA hope to have moved our thinking forward on the subject and attempted to clarify what is – and what is not – “Content Marketing”. For the moment, the field is wide open for interpretation and potential confusion. So why does “Content Marketing” matter and is there any merit searching for some form of clarification that will enable our thinking to be bi...

October 4, 2013,  News  No comments

Global public relations, marketing practitioner and best-selling management author Ardi Kolah has been elected to serve as a member of the PRCA Council 2013-14.

The PRCA represents PR consultancies, in-house communications teams, PR freelancers and individuals. With over 300 agency members from around the world, including the majority of the top 150 UK consultancies and over 100 in-house communications teams from multi-nationals, UK charities and leading UK public sector organisations. It is the largest professional body of its kind in the UK.

More than 900 PRCA members participated in the voting process.

Ardi Kolah said: “It’s a real privilege to join the PRCA Council at a t...

August 5, 2013,  Guru in a Bottle  4 comments

‘Global opportunities for sports marketing, infrastructure and consultancy services to 2022’ shows that UK companies could benefit to the tune of GBP 5.9 billion partly as a result of the 2012 Olympic Legacy.

The 260 page Report, with detailed analysis across ALL global markets and 17 specially commissioned infographics is published by International Marketing Reports  and is available as an immediate download at GBP 995.00.

Currently, the UK sports service sector earns around 50% of its income overseas and the London 2012 Games helped to provide the expertise to chase major international contracts worth GBP billions.

The report identifies opportunities for companies i...