A picture speaks 1000 words

In public relations we are considered words people, using the power of the pen to tell our stories.

It is sometimes forgotten the power a picture can possess. Yes words are better at conveying nuanced messages, helping you to speak directly to your audience; however often one image can capture the hearts and imagination of a nation in a way words rarely do. Images are not exclusive; they speak a universal language which can be understood by everyone.

The Vietnam War was often considered the first ‘television war.’ In the 1960’s people could see the Vietnam War in colour and in the comfort of their living rooms. In the mid-1960’s, television was considered to be the most important source of news for the American public, and possibly the most powerful influence.

Initially the coverage was pro-American, with interviews and a generally positive spin. The violence in the news reports often involved little more than puffs of smoke in the distance, as aircraft bombed the unseen enemy. It was only when the war came into urban areas that the destruction and suffering started to appear regularly on TV.

The real change came with the beginning of American troop withdrawals in 1969. The focus was still on ‘American boys’ and the troops were still presented in a sympathetic light. Nevertheless journalists were growing increasingly sceptical of claims of progress, and the course of the war was presented more as an eternal recurrence than a string of decisive victories. Visuals from the war zone, although not violently graphic, placed emphasis of the human costs involved.

The power of these images being beamed directly into American homes and around the world helped to change the tide of public opinion, putting pressure on the government to eventually pull out of Vietnam.

So I suppose if there is a moral to this tale, it is this. Sometimes we should put down our pens- because there is truth in that old saying; a picture speaks 1000 words.

By Pema Seely

Can we finally have it all?

Last week, we received the news that Helen Gurley Brown, former editor of Cosmopolitan, had died. She presided over the woman’s glossy for 32 years, taking it from a conventional magazine for repressed housewives of the USA to what many regard as a bible for 21^st century womanhood.

During her career, Gurley Brown was criticised by feminists for placing too much editorial emphasis on attracting and pleasing men, and for her vocal appreciation of plastic surgery. Nevertheless she remains in my opinion a justifiable and valuable female role model.

Helen Gurley Brown was one of the first people to suggest that women might have it all- the corner office, the loving family and fulfilling sex-life.

Although in theory, Gurley Brown is of course correct, it is only 50 years after this initial statement, and numerous boardroom and bedroom struggles, that this utopian ideal looks to be coming anywhere near some kind of reality.

The problem was, that although Cosmopolitan encouraged business, love and motherhood, popular culture and the world’s media didn’t really play ball. Over the past 50 years, the two seem to have colluded in their portrayal of such women, intermittently branding them as boardroom bitches, unloving mothers and inattentive wives.

In the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher was widely dubbed The Iron Lady; whilst this pseudonym suggested her uncompromising approach to foreign policy, it hardly painted her as a loving wife and sensitive mother. Our first female PM has not been the only muti-tasking mummy to suffer the media’s scrutiny. Anna Wintour’s less than open demeanor has led to her portrayal as an ice-woman and bitch, a characterisation the press eagerly confirmed in their reporting of her affair and divorce in 1999.

This criticism of career women is not confined to real-life editorial, but perpetuated by popular culture. There are countless television series where women in power are negatively portrayed or seen failing to maintain a work life balance; The Devil Wears Prada, Ally McBeal and BBC’s Mistresses to name just a few.

Nevertheless, all is not doom and gloom. Perhaps I am optimistic but the tide does seem to be turning and recently I have noticed a far more positive media approach to the women that have it all.

First of all Karen Brady, vice-chairman of West Ham United, wife and mother of two became a veritable nation’s sweetheart. Then there was the reaction to Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg’s brave declaration that she leaves the office at 5.30pm everyday for dinner with her children. This statement, which could’ve been met with derision, was actually applauded for its conveyance of simple family commitment. Similarly, last month, when pregnant Marisa Mayer was named Yahoo CEO, comments were predominantly congratulatory, focusing on her aptitude for the job rather than her imminent delivery. 

I’m not saying that the problem of work-life balance for females no longer exists. The very fact that a successful businesswoman in a loving relationship and with children compels comment at all, proves there is still some way to go. Nevertheless, as we at Wordville find so often, it helps to have the media on our side.   

By Polly Robinson

Set up for Life

Like most people in the UK – and indeed the world – I was glued to my TV screen on Saturday night, willing Jessica Ennis on in her quest for Heptathlon gold. She had, of course, been the favourite to win all along. The media hype before the event had been colossal and poor Jess had the hopes of a nation on her shoulders as she entered the biggest spectacle of her life.

After she won by such an impressive margin – and after the initial celebrations had died down ever-so-slightly, whispers started over whether she would choose to race in the 110m Hurdle event later in the week. Jess had, after all, achieved the best hurdles time ever achieved by a heptathlete. 

As my family joined in the speculation, I argued: “She could, but she doesn’t need to.” In fact, Jess doesn’t need to do any athletics ever again. What she achieved on Saturday was so magnificent that it has cemented her in sporting history and paved the way for her to do absolutely anything she wants – she could be a presenter, a sports pundit, a film star, a politician… Almost overnight, she has the world at her feet.

It’s every PRO’s dream; achieving the equivalent of Jess winning the heptathlon gold for one of our clients. An idea so great, so huge, so influential, so genius that it simply never leaves the pages of the world’s media and is written about for years to come.

While we’re talking big and aiming high, here are my top three Jess-Ennis-Gold PR equivalents of 2012:

-          Kony video

A perfect example of viral publicity working at its best, the video exposed warlord, Joseph Kony’s use of child soldiers in Uganda. Film-maker Jason Russell from advocacy group, Invisible Children, uploaded a 30 minute documentary to Youtube and Vimeo that had soon been viewed by over 100 million people that had previously been unaware of the issue.The Kony 2012 campaign’s goal was to increase awareness about Kony and his actions, pushing people to urge the American government and others to intervene in the search for Kony. The group then developed the ‘Kony 2012 action kit’, consisting of various DIY marketing materials, which quickly sold out at $30 per set.

-          Mission: Impossible – The Queen

I’ve never really been much of a Royalist. In fact, Britain’s Jubilee fever left me feeling somewhat queasy. But even I had to voice my new-found respect for the Queen when she met up with James Bond at her Palace, climbed into a helicopter and jumped (yes, that part was real) out at 20,000 feet, to make her entrance into the Olympic Park. The dare-devil Queen was watched by around a billion people – and in a matter of seconds quashed any image or reputation we Brits have as ‘reserved’ or ‘stuffy’. This bold move will certainly be in the history books of the future, and will earn us a new reputation as a ‘fun’, ‘radical’ and truly ‘far out’ nation. Overnight, widespread faith in Britain was restored.

-          Lauren Luke / Refuge

      Self-taught make-up artist, Lauren Luke, was once herself a victim of domestic violence. The Youtube sensation, whose self-filmed make-up tutorials have earned her over 111 million views, was chosen by Refuge to front a campaign against domestic violence by making a series of videos that showed victims how to cover up their bruises after being attacked. The shocking tutorials – one entitled ‘How to look good the morning after’ – were a depressing reminder of the high numbers of victims that try to cover up their abuse. Refuge’s campaign was everything that a PR campaign should be; it took advantage of a medium that was likely to go viral, it was impactful, and bore a simple message; making it worthy of stories in almost all target national and consumer media.

By Jess Matthias

Olympics, you are here. Finally.

It’s time. Oh yes it is, and I, like a lot of you I’m sure, have waited long enough for these epic Games to start.

It’s been seven years since we were designated to host the 2012 Olympics, VS France who was left very vexed. Well the years have gone by and now it’s time for the show; they say it will be ‘the most extraordinary games in the Olympic history’.

Yes, this year Britain has been motivated to host internationally relevant events. Indeed our Queen was watched by a 15 million people last month, and in her honour (if not just as an excuse) 9,500 street and private parties were hosted around the Capital. The Diamond Jubilee was a spectacular event, for locals and tourists alike, who witnessed 1,000 boats float in chaotic formation down the Thames, or attend the concert hosted at Buckingham Palace.

The Jubilee Mania being over, I thought things were getting back to normal. I was expecting a busy, humid, sun-free summer like the kind we usually experience, with a break in the rain schedule a hopeful highlight.

However I was surprised by the wave, well, the tsunami overwhelming the city with the Games. Indeed it has all changed. Tube stations have been rebuilt, roads cleaned and graffiti whipped off walls in Brick Lane. Tesco’s has even changed their opening times, thinking we would, as day-to-day customers, be happy to find it opened at 5am instead of 7! But that’s just me being cynical, as tonight it’s been said that a 4 billion people are going to be watching the opening ceremony. And London will receive an extra million people during the month surrounding the Games, all eager to attend the 302 events coming up.

Meanwhile, the debt seems to have reached the thousand billions, so what would that be in numbers? Next to that it’s true that the 3 billion spent on her Majesty’s Jubilee isn’t much, nor the 110 million pounds spent on security during the Games.

We can argue that sales during the Jubilee went up 120 million pounds, and that McDonald’s will be serving 1.75 million meals, so in the long term, maybe it is helping our drowned economy.

But no matter the crisis, the starvation and unemployment, millions of people sang the British National ‘God save the Queen’ Anthem, and they all definitely meant it. That’s the beauty of England, and we are all ready to shout for our athletes, no matter how much of a hassle taking the tube is these days.

26,000 members of world’s media are waiting in the city, making it the biggest event in history. So it seems truthful to say that tonight and for the next two weeks, the worlds’ eyes are on us.

By Mona Malca

You are what you eat

This week, there was another attempt at scaring the country into doing more exercise. Inactivity was hailed as being as dangerous for us as smoking. Now these scare tactics aren’t unusual, every week we are told to stop eating one thing or another.

Just 24 hours later, eggs, once again, make it onto the ‘good foods’ list. It’s no surprise that through all this ‘you can eat that- you can’t eat this’ nonsense we are becoming a nation that is fed up of food fads, ‘brain foods’ and ‘celebrity diets’.

The UK has one of the most inactive populations with, over 60% of adults doing less than their recommended quota. Maybe with the arrival of the Olympics on our doorstep next week, we will be ‘inspired’ to do more? Maybe we will have a new society of Jessica Ennis’ in years to come.    

Being in an office, I, as you would expect, spend the majority of my day seated. Attending meetings - I’m seated, making calls - I’m seated, having lunch - I’m seated. I also very rarely make it past 10.30am without having something to eat. This has been made increasingly difficult with the level of homemade cakes and muffins sneaking into the office.

I am, however, one of those crazy people who does actually enjoy exercise – although I am currently in a lot pain after a body attack class last night (yes, it is as bad as it sounds) - but because of this, I find I can quite easily achieve the recommended two and a half hours a week.

With long, busy working days, a ready meal is the welcome home most people are after and the last thing on their mind is 100 abdominal crunches.

How much exercise we should be doing and how many vitamins we should be swallowing  changes as often as Rihanna’s hair colour, so knowing what’s best is almost impossible.  

I say, have that doughnut – just be prepared to put the work in if you want to look like Jessica Alba on the beach this summer.

 By Stephanie Rock

Going Underground

As a London Lover and frequent visitor to the city, I have done my fair share of travelling by train. I have complained when trains are late and moaned at the lack of seats just as much as the next person.  However, this week as a newbie at Wordville, not only have I gained an insight to the world of PR, and perhaps more importantly learnt how the Mayor likes her tea (tea bag flirts with water but the relationship goes no further), I have also seen a new side to the British public on the trains.

Tuesday saw the Olympic test run on London transport in five of the city’s major stations in preparation for - as Boris kindly reminds us at every station in town – “The Big One”. This event went largely unnoticed at Charing Cross, with the only minor difference being the erection of a play pen in the middle of the station. This rather snug area is supposed to house the extra one million visitors to our city.

Those who were unlucky enough to pass through London Bridge on Tuesday would have experienced something different altogether, as exits were blocked off and commuters were herded cattle-like through the only entrance. This exercise, which was minutely dissected by papers and passengers, further angered the already enraged species that is the London commuter.

 Nevertheless, I have found this week that these Londoners- who are always ready to moan about the commute, the extortionate fares, the lack of seats and daily delays- possess an air of camaraderie. Yes it’s true that the majority of Charing Cross bound passengers will sit on the aisle seat and leave what some might consider an excessive amount of space on the escalators, but I have also witnessed acts of kindness amongst commuters – strangers – which have restored my faith in humankind.

As I browsed through the Metro each morning on the tube, I was attracted to the Good Deed Feed – a section in which readers text in, expressing their thanks to strangers, friends and family who have done a good deed.  I was left truly heartened by this column. One woman gave thanks to “the kind lady” who woke her up at her station, another dedicated her text to “the young man in the peaked cap” for topping up her oyster card when she was late and had forgotten her purse. Just this morning, I saw a man helping an elderly woman off the train, another passing a gentleman his umbrella after leaving it on the seat.

So whilst everyone who endures an extended daily commute during the Olympics is sure to complain, and there will still be those that leave a bag on the seat in an attempt to create a personalised Olympic challenge – I am sure that if you look carefully enough, you will see small, but incredibly significant good deeds, which will make you proud to be a Londoner.

By Francesca Rock

Sowing the seeds of change

Yesterday I read an article in the Metro that touched a nerve; and whilst I am of course devastated that Tom Cruise will keep his £180 million pound fortune, that was not it.

No, the story that caught my attention was on the sad state of British farming and the dire need for more young people to enter into the Industry.

Some might find my interest in this matter startling. I was born in London and am a city girl at heart- I even enjoy the tube. Nevertheless, at the age of five my family moved to the depths of Suffolk, a land of Labradors and Land Rovers, where I, rather unwittingly, received an education in the rural way of life.

Now I know that being intermittently woken by a combine harvester throughout my formative years does not me a farming expert make. However, I suspect many will agree with me that the industry has received its fair share of bad press and perhaps more than its share of media and public relations disasters.

In 1988 the British egg industry was thrown into crisis when Edwina Currie made the unqualified announcement that the majority of British eggs contained Salmonella.  Less than a decade later, and the beef industry was in similar turmoil. With the nation in the grip of BSE fear, MP John Gummer decided to very publicly feed his four-year-old daughter a beef burger in what has become one of the most spectacular PR failures in the history of agriculture. Not only did the move illustrate Gummer’s own stupidity, but also it implied a gun-ho governmental attitude, which left people wondering whether following regulation guidelines was enough to ensure their health. 

In recent years things have got slightly better. The rise of the yuppie framer has been a phenomenon I have watched with interest, as high profile advocates of the rural way of life up sticks and head for Cornwall/ Dorset/ the Cotswolds for a life of foraging and organic rare-breed nurture.  A number of TV case studies with high profile participants have highlighted the trend. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall , perhaps the pioneer, has since been followed by many others, including Jamie Oliver’s mate Jimmy, who’s thoughtfully named ‘Jimmy’s Farm’ is not far from my family’s home in Suffolk.

Although I am very much a supporter of this type small –scale production, and am thrilled that urban farming and self-sustainment are going through such a renaissance, I am dismayed that large scale agriculture remains untouched by the popularity of this niche offshoot.  But am I surprised?

As I write this, one ear is on the news, where reports of farmers marching on Whitehall in protest of falling milk prices dominate the headlines.  When the prevailing message is one of hardship and frustration, spoken by a stereotypically aging, rotund and bedraggled industry representative, is it any wonder that young people are giving farming a wide birth?

Having been bought up amongst farmers, I am more than aware of the individual benefits of professional farming- a healthy lifestyle, working outdoors and a slightly archaic, but still evident, prominence amongst the local community. If the farming industry is serious about attracting more young people to take up the farming mantel, they need to get PR savvy. Move agricultural PR on from crisis management and start to proactively engage with a relevant audience. Get decent, passionate representatives and shout about how great it is.

By Polly Robinson