I love a good novelty and I love good make up. With this in mind, you can only imagine how impressed I am by the new palette from Urban Decay. The ultimate in girlie gadgetry, The Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol IV not only includes a really lovely mix of bright and neutral shades but also brings UD well and truly into the realm of all things digital.

The limited edition palette includes a mini portable speaker to plug your smart phone into, alongside a pack of QR (quick response) codes which unlock five video tutorials using products from within the palette, all rounded off by a docking station that ensures your smart phone sits next to your mirror, so you can follow the tutorials as you go.

Despite this palette being pretty pricey (£46) I think this is a great example of how brands are beginning to think further and further outside of the box/their immediate function in order to make their products relevant and appealing to both existing and new customers. (After all, if you’re likely to spend £50 on what is essentially some well packaged eye shadow, chances are you’re already quite partial to cosmetics!)

Since beginning my placement with Edelman Tech and in my previous PR jobs and placements, I’ve quickly realised the importance of strong, additional content across many different sectors. Whether that’s ensuring that all formatting within briefing documents is 100% spot on, to researching the relevant publications to pitch content to, to researching news to create an engaging itinerary for a radio broadcast, it’s really interesting to see how exciting and resourceful content can both update a product and generate additional trust in a company, a brand and a new release.

(Just to clarify : Urban Decay aren’t a Tech/Edelman client!)

Last week was the Edelman Christmas Party and in the interest of being fiscal in these turbulent economic times, we kept it in our offices in Victoria. However, this didn’t mean people gathering around their desks, having a glass of wine.

The theme this year was American Prom – something light-hearted and easy enough to dress for. On the day rumours were soon flying around that Same Difference of X Factor fame would be making an appearance but alas, this was not true.

The office was completely transformed, the meeting rooms at the back made into one large room. There was a checked floor, and huge plastic ice-cream cones and American diner tables. Not only was the normal bar transformed into a cocktail bar, but a second bar appeared on the edge of the dancefloor.

The smaller meeting rooms were also transformed – with karaoke in one and Rock Band in the other and as the night wore on more and more people found themselves being drawn towards them.

The catering team at Edelman went all out providing mini hot dogs, mini burgers, bowls of chilli, chips, potato skins, crab cakes, popcorn, doughnuts and jelly beans – making the American Prom Theme that much more realistic. The band we had were brilliant, getting people crowding onto the dancefloor for a bit of a boogie. There was also a photographer, waiting to take the customary prom photos as we entered the room and obviously then hanging around to take some embarrassing snaps during the night.

Even though we were doing Christmas low-key this year, as we all left, it was strange to think that we had been in our offices all that time.

Since joining the Technology team, some very exciting things have happened. I went to Barcelona to attend the 3GSM World Congress exhibition and have recently helped organise a St Patrick’s Day drinks event for another client.

Guinness (and others) were flowing all night at Waxy O’Connor starting at around half past six when journalists begin to arrive. We had the pleasure of meeting the lovely ladies from ShinyShiny.tv, MTV interactive and Penthouse magazine, and even our very own Stephen Davies.

You’re probably now guessing on the motive behind the drinks event, as I was too when quizzed by several journalists. To be very honest, there is no sneaky motive. The whole point was not to showcase the latest gadgets and shout about how wonderful our client is, but to provide an informal networking opportunity and help our client build relationships with the media. And that is an important part of PR.

Knowing the media is a very important aspect in our jobs. In this season of PR graduate jobs hunting, applying and going to interviews, do make the effort to get to know some key media for the sectors you’re interest in. Oh, and you may surprise yourself at how much more media savvy you become if you start scanning through a different national newspaper every day.

Last but not least – start drinking Guinness if you don’t already!

Following the timely and, apparently, ‘cheeky’ posting by Luke Pollard on Despatch Blog, I thought i’d send out a call to arms from our little blog too.

There is a mythical reputation surrounding the PR profession that it is all boozy parties, pretty people, and very little work. I’m sad to say that none of these are (entirely) true. Admittedly, I have found myself riding to work on the bus, floating on a cloud of my own insobriety, couched in the knowledge that the hangover will eventually disappear; and I didn’t exactly hit every branch on the way down the ugly tree (just a few twigs here and there); and I do sometimes leave at 17:00, but, in reality the PR profession bears little resemblance to its mythical doppelganger.

Notwithstanding this crushing blow to some people’s dreams and aspirations (did I mention, Santa Claus isn’t real, the Tooth Fairy is your Mum or Dad and the Easter Bunny at your local shopping centre is a 40-something, overweight, unshaven, sweaty man with a penchant for Marloboro Reds and Super Tennants?), there are some opportunities to indulge in the finer things in life. One of these is the creation of Alain Desmier and Alex Pearmain from the agency that must not be named.

In February a group of PRs met up at Polska bar on Holborn for a few tinnies, or rather, Bisongrass vodka over ice, to chat, do their best to avoid ‘talking shop’ and generally mingling and getting to know each other a little. I’m straining at the bit to call this a networking event but in reality, it didn’t really feel like this which, I hasten to add, is a good thing! There is only one thing worse than talking to someone you don’t want to, and that is talking to someone you don’t want to knowing that etiquette dictates you must give them your card at the culmination of your little tete-a-tete which may lead to more of these moments…

It was mightily successful with a healthy turnout and so, Messrs Desmier and Pearmain have got together and organised another of these cordial conclaves on the 7th of March at the Ship and Shovell, Charing Cross from 18:30. If you’re in PR, thinking about getting into it or just need somewhere to go for your nightly bottle of Bells where it won’t look like you’re drinking alone, come on down!

As a side-note to this, anyone who is on the life-sucking, social network succubus that is Facebook, the PR and Communications Network Group is well worth having a butchers at.

I’m sure you’ll all have read or seen the coverage on the increase in gun crime and gang related crimes over recent months. I’ll be the first to admit i feel great sorrow that certain sections and members of society deem it fit to indulge in wanton violence and criminal acts, seemingly with complete disregard for either the law, or other people’s safety.

Most recently, and perhaps most poignant (though I have my own opinion on this), was the gunning down of Billy ‘Remer’ Cox in his South London home. Only 15 years old, this is a tragic loss of life and something which should strike at the very core of our morals and values both as humans, and as citizens of a democratic and supposedly evolved society.

Tony Blair’s immediate reaction has been, very rightly, to push for a lowering of the age to 17 at which young people can receive long prison sentences for possessing a gun. Call me Conservative, call me what you will, but i think it should be even lower, given the propensity for crime amongst 15 year olds. However, this is neither here nor there in this quick blog.

My housemate suggested that Tony Blair was a lazy politician as he only reacted to events rather than proactively working to prevent them and that he ought not to be doing that. I countered, suggesting that measures have been put in place to try to tackle crime such as Operation Trident, increased police presence in gang hotspots and increases in the numbers of armed police on the streets, and, would she rather he didn’t react at all. Calling someone a reactionary can and more often than not, is a criticism, however, at least he is reacting and not letting events wash over him in the aftermath of the Iraq criticisms and the controversy surrounding his continued leadership.

As suggested in the title and opening paragraphs, it seems that these days people are too keen to criticise the PM and in this situation, he’s damned for ‘only reacting and not doing more’ but equally, would be damned if he did nothing because (perhaps) he may feel that reducing the age of culpability would be seen as a politically Conservative move and not in line with the ethos of the party.

Having said all this, to surmise my current thoughts on the problems – gangster rap, incorrectly glamorised lifestyles, social and educational deprivation, perceived opportunity deficit, disaffected youth (pained as i am to use such a cliched term), bad attitude, sometimes nancy-state, lack of significant repurcussions…the list of factors upon which we can blame the current climate is quite extensive and perhaps is a topic for another blog when I have more time.

A few statistics and information:

- Business is the most trusted source by opinion leaders.

- Religion, which is added to the survey? questions for the first time, is the second highest.

- Government scores lowest in trust.

- Technology, healthcare, entertainment and retail are the top four most trusted sectors.

- Business publications and analysts’ opinions score the highest in trust.

- ‘People like me’ is the most credible source. This year, the research attempts to specify who is ‘people like me’ and it finds that the two key influences are those who ‘share my interest’ and those who ‘look like me’.

- Local and global images vary greatly between different regions and countries. For example, European countries prefer a local approach comparing to China which places more trust in global names.

- The key global issues include global warming, human rights and poverty.

A lot of statistics and information but what does it all mean for the UK?

Firstly, consumers need to be part of the decision making process and they feel the need to be consulted on issues and matters that relate to them. Also interesting from the research, and one that is frequently debated, is that consumers often feel that the many different messages are confusing. This reflects a very important factor (either as a reinforcement or as a change), which the young PR professional must adopt – there must be clear and concise messages when planning a PR strategy. Thereafter the whole campaign must be consistent to ensure that the consumers are receiving and understanding what we’re trying to say.

Secondly, with the emphasis on locality in the UK it is important for businesses to prioritise social responsibility and employee engagement to ensure that they maintain the trust gained by their audiences. This means seriously considering the green issues, working with the community and listening and responding to your staff’s concerns and needs. From a PR perspective, this could translate to building the two way conversation matrix which places more emphasis on the community, employees, and other local relations to ensure that there is a consistent and ongoing communication programme.

Finally, back to the title of Stuart Smith’s speech, is the UK a nation of cynics? Perhaps, but only if we don’t maintain a consistent communication channel and when transparency is not prominent. Recently we see a number of UK-based companies (re)gaining the momentum in the industry, their corporate reputation and building trust with their audiences. Examples including Marks & Spencer, Innocent, and Virgin.

Anyhow, this Friday’s drinks have a Scottish twist. Edelman Free Time (EFT) has organised a Burns Night to celebrate Robert Burn’s presumed birthday on 25 January.

So it’s shortbread, Scottish haggis, irn burn and other Scottish delights at 4:30pm. Oh, as with every EFT event, charity is a must. This time, we have a bottle of whisky for a charity raffle and all money collected will be donated to Borderline.

Fancy joining the fun? The Edelman graduate scheme is still accepting applications – check out the Edelman Grad website. Remember, closing date is 31 January 2007. Good luck and hopefully see you here soon!

If you’ve not thought about it yet and have somehow, inexplicably stumbled across this glorious blog, take a look at the graduate scheme website here.

If you’re still not convinced that this is the place for you then find out a bit more about what Edelman is like to work for here.

If you’re still umming and ahhh-ing, perhaps swing by one of our other blogs. Typed (sadly, gone are the days of ‘penning’ things) by the Public Affairs department, despatchblog.com is a regularly updated thinkpiece on everything public-affairs related. From ministerial candidates to public policy, this blog spans the entire gamut.

Further to this, and if you’re really keen to learn more, take a look at the oft-lauded blogging brainiac-cum-techno-geek blog prblogger.com. Run by our very own ‘northern monkey’, Stephen Davies, this eclectic blog is a one-stop shop for new-media and technology talk and lots more besides.
Northern MonkeySouthern Fairy

Tom

That’s about all this ‘southern fairy’ has got to say for now – happy browsing!

On Monday, BBC News reports on a Swedish Christmas tradition whereby a giant straw goat is built in the towns’ central square. Somewhat expectedly, there is also a tradition in which arsonists would attempt year after year to burn down the goat. Impressed already? It gets better.

So far, only 10 goats have survived beyond Christmas since 1966. This year, the authorities are determined to see it through to the New Year and have applied a coat of flame-resistant chemicals on the 13-metre (43ft) high goat that is also water resistant. According to the spokesperson, reportedly said with confidence,

“No-one is going to get our goat this year.”

One more thing, for those concerned about this straw goat, visit the “goatcam”

This week, millionaire student entrepreneur, Alex Tew, is back on the scene with his latest project. His first project drummed up a lot of frenzied media coverage (and also a lot of envy).

Million Dollar Homepage was set up during his time at university, in which he offered a million pixels of ad space at a dollar per pixel, and then sold them all – the last set was auctioned on eBay. According to The Guardian, the website racked up 863,000 unique users a day during its peak. Now he’s back and has launched his latest web project – making someone else a millionaire. At pixelotto.com, ad space is on sale for $2 per pixel. One month after the ad space sells out one visitor will be randomly picked to win $1m dollars (£506,000).

The moral of this story? Use PR! As Steve Boggan from The Guardian observed after his interview with Alex Tew:

“A press release sent out by Tew was picked up by the BBC and then news of his novel idea went “viral” over the internet. The more people heard about the site and visited it, the more advertisers wanted to buy pixels.”

Without being biased… PR does work! And he’s now back on the media radar again, already getting coverage on BBC News, The Guardian… twice in fact.

Speaking of millionaires, according to the Metro, Harry Potter star, Daniel Radcliffe, joins the Sunday Times Rich List this year with a very impressive personal fortune of £14 million – and he’s only 17, which also makes he the youngest person to appear in the 2006 edition.

I am a bit of a traditionalist. I like my news in print. I like to feel grown up and I like to hold on to the paper, despite having mucky fingers from the paper and the ink. And more importantly, it is seemingly easier on the eye. But unless I’m at work flicking through the papers, I always get my news online. It’s easier, more accessible (unless subscription is needed…) and more searchable.

Online media is also a miracle for any media monitoring and research work. And I can’t help but wonder how these tasks were done before the days of internet-for-all?

So the question becomes: why do newspapers and magazines spend time and money on re-design and re-launch, instead of focusing on their online pages? Investing in a good and visible “search the site” box on the home page would certainly be really helpful.

Various papers and magazines, including The Independent, The Times, The Guardian, The Observer to name a few, have undergone major re-design in the last year. And the latest to join them is Wall Street Journal.

According to Jeff Jarvis from BuzzMachine, the paper is now in a

The death of the print media is an ongoing debate. Looking at the online trend, we may not even need professional journalists as residential journalists are becoming increasingly prominent, providing real-time news in blogs and their own websites.

Edelman is certainly hooking onto the concept, actively seeking residential journalists in Second Life. This is understandable and would be very workable in a virtual world but how far could this go in the real world?

By the way, if you are on Second Life, come and find me – Crystal Mathilda.