Battle of the Playground

When I was at school, the new term signalled a brand new pencil case jam packed with WH Smiths’ finest. Highlighters, protractors, Parker pens – you name it, we bought it simply because shiny new stationery was the ticket to playground cool.

Fast forward twenty years however, and pens have firmly been knocked off their throne. For school children of today the reigning King of Cool are collectable toy figures. Known to any 7 or 8 year-old as “figs”, interchangeable plastic figures, sold in a series and packaged in mystery bags are the only way to earn your kudos on the playground. The aim is to swap with your friends to collect each figure in the series then mix and match to your heart’s content. So not too dissimilar to pogs, tazos or football stickers that have entertained previous generations of young collectors.

The only difference with this incarnation is that these pocket playthings are keeping the toy industry afloat. Despite the overall toy market being stagnant, sales of the £1 to £2 toys have increased by 12 per cent and this price range is now the fastest growing area of the toy market, accounting for £2 in every £10 spent on toys in Britain.

So what’s the secret to their success?

First and foremost it’s the price: £2 is the magic number that brings children into shops. They can treat themselves with their pocket money and still have enough left over for sweets, or even save up for a bigger splurge.

Secondly, it the freedom to make something nonsensical and downright ridiculous, just because you can. I can testify to this firsthand as we’ve recently helped client Playmobil successfully launch their Fi?ures range. Although I’m yet to create each of the 144 different possible combinations, I’m having a good time trying.

Thirdly, it’s the element of surprise. In what other life situation would you go into a shop and buy a product you can’t see, with no guarantee it’s the one you want? Madness.

In light of “figs” is hard to understand what we ever saw in a pencil case full of stationery.

Sweeping reforms for UK intellectual property laws

The recent changes in the law have meant that may be copy right laws are finally growing up in the UK. I don’t often quote Vince Cable but he did seem to hit the nail on the head the other day when he said that “Opening up intellectual property laws can deliver real value to the UK economy as well as the creators and consumers,” “We can’t carry on saying that businesses should embrace technology but then not allow consumers to use everyday technology to play works they’ve paid for.”

The government has announced that it plans a radical overhaul of several important intellectual property laws ministers said that the system needed serious updating if it was going to reflect the changes in the real world that have happened over the last generation.

Amongst the changes will be:

• That the UK should have a Digital Copyright Exchange; a digital market place where licences in copyright content can be readily bought and sold. This could add up as much as £2 billion a year to the UK economy by 2020. The Government will announce arrangements for how this work will be driven forward later in the year.
• Copyright exceptions covering limited private copying should be introduced to realise growth opportunities. Thousands of people copy legitimately purchased content, such as a CD to a computer or portable device such as an IPod, assuming it is legal. This move will bring copyright law into line with the real world, and with consumers’ reasonable expectations.
• Copyright exceptions to allow parody should also be introduced to benefit UK production companies and make it legal for performing artists, such as comedians, to parody someone else’s work without seeking permission from the copyright holder. It would enable UK production companies to create programmes that could play to their creative strengths, and create a range of content for broadcasters.

The government believes that by updating the current laws it will aid growth and adding billions to the UK economy. And right now, the government needs all the help it can get to stimulate the economy.

The importance of checking your facts

Today and yesterday saw the confirmation of a huge hoax. Last week a large piece of research was released which highlighted that Internet Explorer Users were stupid. News coverage appeared in the likes of the BBC,CNN and several nationals including the Telegraph and the Mail. According to the Aptiquant “research” which tested 100,000 people and included a table, there was a substantial relationship between a users’ cognitive ability and their choice of browser. IE 6 users came bottom in the IQ stakes, which became a huge story.

How did the study come about? Someone who was frustrated with their browser decided to lash out by sending though a press release with the attention grabbing headline “Is Internet Explorer For The Dumb? A New Study Suggests Exactly That.” They obviously went to a lot of trouble – creating a fake website and even stealing the corporate identity from another website. Some questioned the credibility of the results, but not quickly enough to stop the story getting widespread coverage worldwide. Though an investigation was launched, it took a little while for the survey to be exposed. Interestingly, there were a couple of ways that the hoax could have been spotted quickly which the creator has blogged about. I’ve highlighted a couple of suggestions below.

• A link to the website AtCheap.com was in the footer
• Checking the address on Google would have revealed that it didn’t exist
• The IQ test mentioned in the report cannot be administered online due to copyright

Whilst this fake survey could have negative ramifications for future PR surveys, there are many reasons why it shouldn’t. Surveysare a great way to give brands exposure and reach out to a wider audience. Legitimate surveys can reveal some interesting and sometimes controversial results which appeal to readers for example.

Today and yesterday have seen more stories covering the Aptiquant survey hoax and there have been quite a few red faces, but perhaps it has exposed just how overworked and under pressure journalists really are. One big lesson that everyone can learn from the whole experience is that it does pay to spend even 5 minutes checking the validity of a source, even if you are pressed for time.

Newspapers can thrive in a social media world

When the Guardian tweeted  on Wednesday evening about it’s live blog for that evening’s Apprentice show, it demonstrated very clearly how newspapers can embrace social media and use it to their advantage.  Forget print (long-term), integrating social media and using it, is how newspaper brands are going to survive and prosper.  By blogging about the Apprentice live, the Guardian is extending its influence and value and role as a commentator. It’s true that the Guardian understood the power of social media globally early on and embraced it with open arms. I really do hope it propers especially with its new digital first strategy announced recently.

Coincidently, Twitter has also been talking about the influence of social media in newspapers this week.   Twitter has recognized that it has become an invaluable tool for the media when it comes to finding  and sharing stories,  so it has now released a guide that shows journalists how to best use the tool in their daily work. ‘Twitter for Newsrooms,’ has no new info particularly but the fact that Twitter has launched an official guide for journalists is indicative of how social media sources make the news now.

Facebook has also recently undertaken a similar initiative, launching a Page for journalists on Facebook, intended to be a resource for journalists who want to incorporate social media into their reporting, networking and storytelling. The social network also kicked off a journalists’ meetup programme.

It’ll be interesting to see how social media tools and newspapers continue to integrate for the benefit of all. It’s a revolution and it sure is changing everything fast.

10 Top Tips for the Perfect PR Press Trip

It’s not just all about social media. Some of the original ‘tactics’ still have a worthy place in campaigns and the PR industry is famous for organising press trips. It sounds very glamorous, and it definitely can be, but it should always be rewarding and fun for those that go. Whether it’s for building media relations or securing a fantastic piece of coverage, press trips need to be remembered for all of the right reasons. At onechocolate we’re lucky enough to host press trips on a regular basis and, as such, thought we’d share some of our nuggets of wisdom with you:

1. Invite people who you think will not only enjoy the trip, but will also get on with other people – to help create a good atmosphere
2. Be very organised – eg have everyone’s contact details and make sure everyone has your number in case there’s a problem
3. Do remind guests if they need to bring something eg a valid passport, swimming trunks (people sometimes forget)
4. Keep things simple eg arrange a reasonable meet-up time and obvious meeting point
5. Don’t push press releases constantly at your guests, it’s annoying and will probably irritate them
6. Make sure your client is briefed properly
7. Set your client’s expectations for the trip
8. Be nice, courteous, calm and helpful – if you’re in control, it will rub off on others
9. Do enjoy a drink with journos and clients if the occasion arises – but remember you’re working
10. Have fun!