Loving this presentation on measuring the Return on Investment (ROI) of social media activities.
Funny as hell and very informative.
But life didn’t half just get a lot harder for the dedicated PR.
Posted by scottdouglas on October 26, 2009

PR goodie bag
I could get used to this ligging thing.
Not only did the nice people at Missoni treat me to as much free food and drink as I could possibly manage – they also gave me this very generous goodie bag.
It was all part of the official launch party which took place for the chic new Edinburgh venue last week (or October 22, 2009, for those who like precise dates).
Thanks due to the hardworking team at Stripe Communications for arranging the invite.
Since I may be having to pull together something similar at some point, t’would be good to hear from PRs and journos alike on their favourite, free PR goodie bag experiences.
To see the contents of the goodie bag (I made a video – sad, I know) see the full post at our Holyrood Partnership blog, HP Sauce.
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Posted by scottdouglas on October 15, 2009

Powermat. Wirleless charging
Terribly old-fashioned, I know. But this morning my eye was caught by the quaintest of media throwbacks. A billboard.
Not a digital display. Not a clever spinny-thing with three different, rotating ads.
Just a basic billboard pasted up by the side of the road, hopefully by a guy with a ladder, a bucket and a big brush.
Lose The Cords It urged in three foot high letters – accompanied by a pic of rather fetching young woman with lots of power cables wrapped round her napper.
Taking a mental note of the product on show (Powermat, should you be interested), as soon as I got into the office, I checked it out on Google.
Yes, my life would benefit from this hi-tech work of genius (maybe they’ll send me one to review?). All I needed was was a nice, stolid, unfashionable, unglamorous and rigidly rooted billboard to tell me so.
Read this full post at the HP Sauce blog of Holyrood Partnership, public relations in Scotland
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Posted by scottdouglas on September 2, 2009

LEGEND: Kermit
PR in Scotland is a pretty small fishpond.
Scottish PR agencies large and small depend on the patronage of the great and good in the business and cultural community.
So it wouldn’t ever do to offend anybody really important.
Deep breath. I’ll just have to hope that giants of Edinburgh life, Charlie Miller and Richard Demarco, have a sense of humour.
When they were photographed together at the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce AGM, only one thought sprung to mind…
Read the rest of this post and see the pictures at the Holrood Partnership blog, HP Sauce
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Posted by scottdouglas on August 27, 2009

Toddler lipstick malfunction
There are certain jobs and certain people that, quite simply, should never be put together.
So my sympathies go out to Brian Swanson at the Scottish Express.
In a long and distinguished journalistic career, Swanny has covered just about everything, including brushes with the bizarre and the downright wacky.
But it must have been a particularly surreal moment for the grizzled veteran of the Fourth Estate when he was asked to pull together a story about an MSP kicking up a fuss over “beauty salons” for girls as young as four.
Margaret Mitchell, a Tory MSP, was putting the boot into a new business in Glasgow, called Tantrums and Tiaras.
She was left frothing after someone brought to her attention that wee girls were attending this “salon” with their friends to enjoy playing with make-up, perfume and fake tattoos.
After penning his article about the allegedly corruptive influence of clothes, perfume and make-up on young girls – Swanny then had to return home and face seven daughters. Ouch.
Read the full post on this subject at the Holyrood Partnerhsip blog, HP Sauce.
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Posted by scottdouglas on August 24, 2009

Goldfish - and body double
Congratulations to the PR team at Scottish Water on the widespread media coverage achieved with their story about a goldfish being rescued from the sewers.
The lucky fish suffered the indignity of being flushed down someone’s toilet, but because of heavy rain managed to survive in the sewers – until it was spotted and rescued by a sharp-eyed worked at a sewage treatment plant.
All of which reminds me of how I saved my own pet when it was facing a trip down the sewer.
Lola the goldfish was actually bought as a photographic “body double” for a fish which had been revived by firefighers after a house blaze. When press agency photographers were fnished with the critter, it’s future seemed bleak.
Until I stepped in and saved it – and now make sure it is the best-looked after (and fattest) goldfish in all of Scottish PR.
Read the full post at the Holyrood Partnership blog, HP Sauce
Posted in HOLYROOD PR NEWS, MEDIA NEWS, PR News | Tagged: Holyrood Partnership, PR in Edinburhg, PR in Scotland, PR photography, Scottish public relations agency, Scottish Water | Leave a Comment »
Posted by scottdouglas on August 12, 2009

Rory: Smiled through pain
The delightful Ladyboys of Bangkok are a PR person’s dream at Edinburgh Fringe time.
Not only are they an instantly recognisable, household name, they are glamorous and freakish in equal measure, which makes them excellent media fodder.
They’re also ready to take part in any vaguely interesting photo opportunity at the drop of a hat.
So, it’s easy to understand then, why one Scottish public relations agency after another queues up in the hope of getting some extra va-va-voom for their press releases.
Today it was the turn of a Glasgow outfit called Liquorice Media, who arranged a photo call with the Ladyboys.
The schtick was to have the sequinned, plucked and tucked showgirls turn out for a splatterfest at the Bedlam paintball venue – which is run by Edinburgh man-about-town stalwart, Roman Rock.
However, the experience was to prove a painful one for one young journalist based in Edinburgh..
To read the rest of this post please visit Holyrood Partnership
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