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When is comes to apportioning blame for the current economic recession, it seems that bankers are getting the lion’s share, according to a PR Week survey carried out by research company OnePoll.
In fact, 72% of survey respondants  blame irresponsible corporations and individuals for the recession and it’s investment banks that people blame first, closely followed by high street banks.
Two in five people say they no longer trust banks.  They want greater regulation of banks and disapprove of  the bonuses awarded to those within the profession.  Eighty-eight per cent of respondents …

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I’m not one to blow my own horn (erm…well maybe I am guilty of that on occasion), but I have to admit I’m pretty darned pleased that Strive Notes has again made the PR Week’s Best of the Tech Blogs listing this week.  I’m especially pleased to be in such great company. Two bloggers who I read regularly and follow on Twitter also made the cut.
Dirk Singer’s post about circling the wagons certainly rings true; I think we might just be starting to see those ‘green shoots’ that people keep …

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Apparently Max Clifford had been advising, on a pro bono basis, Robert Murat, the man who for a time was at the centre of the investigation of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
This week, Murat received a payout of £500k from the British media for publishing unfounded accusations about him. He has also announced that he will be suing 11 newspapers and a TV station for libel and will likely get a few more bob from that exercise.
It also recently came to light that the Murat family had, …

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Every weekend I look forward to sipping a cup of java and reading the UK public relations profession’s trade mag, PR Week.  I love it; I really do.  It’s chock full of interesting stories about the business I’m so passionate about.  There is news, campaign case studies, media profiles and collection of columnists worth reading.  No other publication can touch it for depth of coverage and specific industry knowledge. I learn from it every week.
A quick glance at page one of this week’s issue reveals that it’s undergone a facelift.  …

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I see in PR Week that the charity Samaritans have enlisted the services of Pete Doherty to publicise a celebrity football game this weekend.
On the surface it seems like a good idea.  Using  established musician to promote is service to young people is an excellent strategy for Samaritans, who provide free, confidential emotional support for people with feelings despair, even suicide.
But really! Choosing a man who is an icon for the drug culture?! A man who fills the pages of  tabloids with stories of his antics and his …

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There’s an interesting story it today’s Telegraph about the effect any economic downturn might have on the PR industry.
Columnist Richard Rivlin writes, “…the industry of spin continues to enjoy strong growth compared with advertising and other parts of the marketing mix…”
The article then goes on to profile Freshwater as a firm that is destined to weather the storm and focuses in particular on the company’s broad client base along with its range of services.
Having a diverse client list is always good practice no matter the economic climate. This is clear. …

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If you thought that social media could not have an effect on your business because it’s not consumer focused, go ask the folks at Transense Technologies.
Their customers are large automotive manufacturers. Transense makes devices which improve the control of a car by monitoring tyre pressure.
It was only a few weeks ago that the company announced its intention to acquire a larger business, Bishop Technologies, and that they were to raise £5.7 million to transact the deal. And, as a result Bishop senior management would take over the running of …

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I noticed on the news page of this week’s UK PR Week is running a story headlined Ex-Infopress head pioneers virtual comms agency. Congratuations and good luck to David Watson, former CEO of Infopress on the launch of his new venture, Campaignteam.
As far as David being proclaimed a pioneer? Well so be it. But Strive Public Relations has been trading as a UK virtual PR agency for over a year and we now have more than a dozen clients on our books and are in talks with five more. …

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This week I posted a record number of items to del.icio.us. There is just so much good original content and informative debate going on.  It was hard to choose my favourites. But here they are in no particular order.  
 1.  Steve Rubel has an interesting post about how Wikipedia articles on the top US advertisers are among the most highly ranked pages in Google searches. It just goes to show the influence that Wikipedia wields.
2. Media Orchard is running an interview with the editor of the US PR Week.  It’s an interesting interview in its own right, but …

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Here’s what I’ve been reading.  What have you been reading?
1. Sex in the City Pitch in which Kevin Dugan posts one the funniest party invitations I’ve ever seen.  ‘I don’t remember meeting you but my invites only go to a select few…aren’t you lucky?’
2.  Afraid of process? At H&K there is a discussion about how adherence to process hampers PR creativity.
3. PR is back I’d didn’t know it had gone away.  But here Tim Dyson summarises the PR Week US and UK league tables.  It seems there is some money to be made …