Friday’s five…8 June 2007
It’s actually the TT bank holiday here in the Isle of Man and not many people are at work. I took some time today to catch up on my newfeeds…
1. Rich McIver very generously shares some of the lessons learned from traditional companies for his web based firm. Keepers include secretaries, accountants, bankers and fixed opening times. Gone are closed doors, quitting time and regular meetings. I found it interesting as we now working with a mixed virtual/tradional business model.
2. …twl..has a right rant about job satisfaction. It seems that nothing’s changed since I stopped working in London in 2000. Of course twl, technology has moved on, so that geography isn’t as important as it once was when it came to having a top PR career. Out here in the regions we too are having staffing challenges of our own. La plus ca change…
3. Charles Arthur, technology editor at The Guardian, has a swipe at crap PRs on his blog. He repeats the usual complaints…untargeted, unresearched pitches from unprepared and underskilled agency folks. His complaints are all familar…we’ve heard them thousands of times before. I could write a full dissertation on why these problems continue year in, year out. One thing he doesn’t mention though…ringing after sending and email pitch does improve the hit rate significantly. If it didn’t work, people wouldn’t keep doing it. The problems begin with who is doing the calling, and how.
4. Janine urges everyone to have another look at the Olympic 2012 logo and try to stretch beyond our comfort zone to embrace it. Refreshing perspective.
5. My FaceBook page! I’m starting to really get into this now. It’s a fun way to keep up on everyone’s news and helps bridge the physical distance between me and my friends and family. The news feed tool is particularly useful.
And what, dear Strivers have you all been reading?
Filed under: public relations
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As a fellow Striver I have been very negligent in commenting and it was not until I started my own blog that I realised how lonesome it can feel if no one comes and visits!! So thank you, Sherrilynne for reading my posting and mentioning it - I will work on becoming a better striving armadillo blogger!
As for Charles Arthur - he may well rant away - however the terrible question ‘have you received my email’ if very valid because many times the answer is No and can you please re-send … anyway I have tried on numerous occasions to call Mr Arthur and have never had the fortune of getting hold of him so I am astounded at how many times he picked up his phone this week - what a shame I missed him…
Hi there, I’ve stared at the logo for quite a while, and I cannot get past its banality. The Olympic logo, IMHO, should be imbued with the elements of its host country - who cares what year it is. For example I am particularly proud of the logo for the Vancouver Olympics in 2010. No it is not because I’m Canadian. This logo demonstrates heritage, thought and creativity. It is at a glance Canadian. Sure it has the date and all, but it isn’t about the date. Barcelona’s logo was also well done. I suggest which ever (creative?)agency in London thought they’d get away with putting a junior designer in a closet with some blunt nosed scissors and red construction paper to make an Olympic logo…and get paid for it…put an elastic band around their heads and snap out of it. It’s not worth the red coloring. And if there’s something UK about it? I’m completely missing it, and I’m not the only one.
Blimey, I thought the followup call was for some false metric - and I’ve dealt with that before, at http://www.charlesarthur.com/blog/index.php?p=258
How often has the email really not arrived? Or is it just that it has been buried amidst the crap?
But yes, the problem is with who does the calling. If 90% of the calls I got were really informed people, I’d be happy to forgive the uninformed few. However…
As to the logo - it’s dire. I thought the ribbon with a 2, 0 and a winner’s 1 medal in the middle and then the ribbon making a 2 was brilliant. (Can’t find it now.)
Charles
I was trying to keep an open mind about the new Olympic logo. I really was.
But Jonathan Ross pointed out that it looks like Lisa Simpson giving someone a BJ. Know what? He’s right.
With the £400k price tag on the logo, I’d say it’s not a bad five minutes’ work for Lisa.
Surely it can’t be just me that thinks that the the “zero” in the “logo” looks like a stylised outline of Australia?
Lisa giving a BJ? Know what it’s true! Way too funny. I hope the Daily Telegraph is reading this blog.