My last post was an innocuous but heart warming story of a man that believed he had been wrongly clamped by NCP Services. The owner of the clamped vehicle sawed his car in two in protest.

Not much of a deal you might say until NCP Services director of communications got on the case.

I had quite an aggressive response to a four paragraph post that simply reported what the BBC had said.

Tim from NCP Services stated based on the factual inaccuracies that: “I would be happy to add you to the database of agencies we would never use.”  You’re barred my son!

It was suggested that I take my “offending” post off, which I replied that because someone thinks it is offensive (could be disagree) is no reason to take something off, unless it is slanderous or grossly offensive or insensitive.

After my reply where I pointed out it was a blog, not a marketing website I got this:  “I didn’t realise your site is just a blog.  I thought it was a marketing website.  Sorry to bother you.”

Well!  You would never have thought communications was becoming more democratic and it was about negotiation and diplomacy and less about force.  And anyone involved in PR, especially if they are senior, should recognise the power of blogs surely?

But you know Tim and NCP Services has a  interesting perspective that might surprise.

When I pointed out the story of the bus that got a ticket in Manchester I got an interesting reply.  The reason was that the bus driver had simply gone off to breakfast leaving the vehicle blocking later buses causing a real obstruction.  That puts things into a bit of perspective.

Tim states NCP Services also have doubled the removal from our roads for untaxed, many in a dangerous state, vehicles.  This is a positive messag that we do not tend to hear or take in.
Clamping and parking fines are a contentious issue.  I know how most people feel and I generally feel the same.  But NCP Services has a story to tell.  Once you explain your position, if it has merit, you can possibly achieve some change in opinion.

Open dialogue has to be the best way for the majority of time.

I am very happy for Tim to supply copy for a post about the work they do and examples of they are trying to change viewpoints and work in an area that arouses strong emotions.

It’s preferable to use “jaw jaw and not war war” as one great man said.

I have been given the opportunity to talk about PR on Salford City Radio 94.4 FM today at 2-3pm. Most of the hour is a selection of my tunes based on my superlative taste - no irony intended.

But what are the benefits and how do you measure them?

Well there is RAJAR, which stands for Radio Joint Audience Research Limited. This produces research that shows reach, share of possible reach, average listening time etc.

But being surveyed is not cheap, it can run into the thousands. So many local stations will be a mystery concerning their success.

I was told that previous guests had gained new business as a result of their appearance, including a toast master that secured two new bookings. Perhaps the best measure.

Anyway whatever the result, it is worth going through the process to see what clients go through as I dismissively tell them not to be nervous.

Thanks to Jon Monks of Chapel Street Business Group for settling my nerves and setting up the opportunity.

One PR agency has been making great waves about their payment by results, but if you look closer it is not all it seems. It has been featured in Crain’s and How-Do. As far as I am concerned and many other PRs it is just a publicity stunt.

On the face of it payment by results for PR seems like a good idea, why should clients not pay on results? But delve a little deeper and not all is at seems.

Firstly it is a guarantee, not payment on results. It is not a smaller fee with a target driven bonus. There is still the retainer or project fee, the same as anywhere else. If targets are not met you get your money back.

I believe this will store up trouble for any agency that uses this strategy. It will not do too much for the clients because:

• Agencies should be delivering anyway. If they do not they will lose the clients.
• Unlike advertising you cannot guarantee coverage. If a publication (s) is / are not interested in your story you cannot make them have it. We could get a lot of pushy PRs and some irritated journalists as a result.
• There are going to be arguments or disagreements between clients and agencies about what is a “result” unless very specifically defined.
• Will agencies simply hit certain targets (even if they prove less effective than first anticipated) and ignore opportunities not initially discussed because the target must be met? Agencies should be working out what is effective as the campaign progresses and adapt accordingly.

As Tom Cheesewright, a former PR account director in London, says in his letter to Crain’s on their article simply totting up coverage is a one dimensional way to measure achievement. Tom argues if you are working with key influencers to support or champion your campaign how does that tie in with payment by results?

I have got clients in broadcast media and this contact can be developed and coverage achieved long after I have stopped working with the client. How do you measure that and within what time frame? One of my clients is a physical training instructor and he trains a journalist, a contact that I initiated. It has resulted in some good coverage and an on-going relationship. A payment by results model would have to be very flexible to incorporate such a scenario.

There is a need for agencies to be accountable. There are agencies that do not deliver. This is an issue as in any other profession.

If a client is choosing an agency it is more important to (and this is not exhaustive):

• Use recommendations and use testimonials to find out if they are the right agency
• See if you can work with the personnel you will be working with if that agency is selected. Ensure the people pitching are the people delivering.
• Have a reporting structure and regular meeting to discuss how a campaign is progressing
• Open two way communication to discuss expectations, goals and issues
• Look at the enthusiasm of your agency, do they really want to work with you?
• Are the agency’s clients similar to your profile? Go to an agency that handles BP and Mark’s and they are not likely to be interested in your business if you are a small company, but they might like your money.

For an agency to use such a model ads another layer of admin. Time and effort that could be re-invested in getting on with the job. It might be that this time is included in the time allocated to the client.

One agency has been making much mileage of this, they say: “We are very excited to be innovating the regional market, by becoming the only local PR agency to be putting our money where our mouth is and take away the risk associated with PR.”

Well the standard of English does not fill you with hope. Like a couple of other agencies that have been telling everyone else in the sector how rubbish they are or how they are so much better, it does make you vulnerable if it does not come off. If you say that you had better deliver.

I expect some clients will go for it. It might be a really successful tactic but it will have a cost.

Tom Cheesewright, of I O Communications, all round Internet industry follower, has found The Good Agency’s website.  Those responsible for the Olivia Newton John incident.
A modest quote about themselves from The Good Agency on the site: “How great we are at writing and communicating with our journalists friends,  how fantastic we are at selling in stories and how good we are at coming up with new and sometimes challenging ideas….”

Really?

And they offer digital services and had to rely on Tom to find them online.

Still let’s get back to something important: the PR campaign to keep Sven.

Which? has got so much coverage with what is some ways a non-story.

It swabbed 33 keyboards and found that they harboured a lot of germs, in some cases posing a health risk.

In some cases the keyboard was dirtier than the toilet.  It could be that the lav had just been washed and the keyboard tested had been used by someone using another toilet and did not wash their hands before typing at their keyboard.

However you look at it, it is  a good hook and persepctive about something many of us can should be able to relate to or consider.

But the story is not new, it has been there since people start using typewriters and keyboards.  It has just been picked up and well presented.

Whoever came up with it deserves their retainer this month.

If you are afraid and want to tackle the bio hazard that would have justified a war with Saddam Hussein try Lifehackers blog for advice and links.

Thanks to Lifehackers for the image of their health hazard.

One inappropriately named PR agency (in this case) called The Good Agency annoyed the editorial team at How-Do with their epic release on Olivia Newton John saving a one day old cat in China.

As you might know How-Do is the North West portal for the creative industries.  So you might wonder what the relevance of Olivia Newton John and a cat on the Great Wall of China is to How-Do: none.

How-Do decided to name and shame the London agency for poor targeting.   The press release is fully of hyperbole including Olivia’s sleepless nights tending for said kitten called Magic.  This dross was accompanied by an e-mail clogging mega pixel image.

It is worth anybody’s time who needs a laugh (link above).

I could not find the Good Agency’s website because of a search of PR agencies there are a few that have good in their text, so they do not have a clue on online PR / marketing either.

It is not the name of a new bar that Manchester needs so badly.

But the perennial PR problem: justifying spend.  It all comes from PR being so hard to quantify.  How do you measure raised profile, greater understanding of what your client does, reputation being enhanced?

You can’t unless you have a big research budget, so anything but blue chip clients will be unable to gage the benefits accurately.

There are leads, which is where many businesses judge their PR.  It is wrong to base any judgement solely on this premise.  I have had clients that have more than covered their PR spend with new clients derived from PR.  You also have new clients where PR has played a par, but this has not been identified or noted.

The solution?

Answers on a postcard or in the comments please.

It is pretty frightening stuff.  How many links could I get to such stories about impending economic doom today?

I have even seen the odds for a Great Depression like outcome, the worst economic climate since the war and an early 90s type recession.  Of course we might get through it  with passing alarm as in the late 90s with the Asian collapse.

WPP has remained upbeat: 17% increase in margins for PR in 2007.  Sir Martin Sorrell chief executive of the marketing monster that is WPP said in PR week: “I can’t recall a time when PR has been as strong.”

My humble outlook seems to echo that as far as I can see Martin.

Just posturing on his part?  I think he means it.

So if we have a slide in our economic fortunes what will happen PR wise?

It might be a mixture of losing and gaining business.  Some budgets withdrawn, other companies coming into play, using marketing and PR to maintain sales in hard times.

I feel as though things are in slow mo.  What can I do?  Keep outgoings low.  Check.  Have a mixture of accounts from many industries.  Check.  Do not rely on one big client.  Check.

I point my ship into the storm and use an anchor for balance.

Shocking isn’t it?  The picture above shows some of the damage from the epicentre of last week’s quake.  Some people were woken up no doubt, others lost crockery.

Apart from a serious injury was there any need to dominate the pages and airwaves with this?

And then there was Prince Harry.

Brave lad.  He has done the right thing and you have to admire him for that.  But surely the disproportionate coverage the media has devoted to the story works against their original aim.

When a personality or a story have too much media coverage it undoubtedly starts to grate: people push back against it as though they were being forced into believing something.  It is a natural reaction.

Half the coverage of the Prince Harry story would have got the message across just fine and with more impact.

What else happened in the news last week?  I really don’t know.