Cabbies drive marketing to new heights

For generations, vociferous cabbies have shared their unique, faux-leather perspective with passengers - but now marketeers have their eyes on the humble cabbie as another opportunity to pitch their products at us.

The Times reports on a London cabbie who, courtesy of the Thai tourist board, sampled the delights of Thailand and now – in a cab sporting a new ‘visit Thailand’ motif – is sharing his experience with passengers. The theory is that word of mouth advertising like this is worth the extra investment in an increasingly ad-saturated consumer environment.

For all of us in the PR industry, word of mouth communication is an intended by product of our work and an integral part of the service we provide, but for many the thought of paying for it crosses ethical and moral boundaries.

As Alex Burmaster’s comment in PR Week points out, word of mouth led activity requires the delicate relationship management public relations practitioners are well versed in. It’s quite a risk allowing your message to be communicated through agents who feel no loyalty or legal obligation to you or your client.

I for one certainly don’t believe what every cabbie tells me, but it’s a worrying thought that in the near future swathes of service providers - not to mention people talking loudly on the bus or in the supermarket - are walking, talking adverts.

Actually, that reminds me. Did I tell you about the PR agency I’ve just started working for……..?

Maintaining control

Two stories have dominated our headlines this year – Madeleine McCann’s disappearance and the Mills/McCartney divorce. Both are perfect media fodder, both involve personal and family tragedy and both have used PR machines to further their own ends. But which has succeeded and why?

The whirlwind of media frenzy surrounding Madeleine McCann shows little sign of abating. Leaving aside the obvious emotional and complex criminal investigations, as a PR case study the McCanns have pulled off one of the biggest PR coups of recent times.

In creating a global phenomenon of their daughter’s abduction they have ably run the gamut of PR tactics. Everything from press conferences, setting up exclusive interviews, leaking information to the press, engaging third party endorsements and buy-in, drawing in media partners to bolster support and reacting to opportunities while maintaining longer-term objectives have been drawn upon to ensure their daughter’s disappearance a global story.

The on-going saga of the ex-Beatles’ divorce continues to rage and becomes evermore acrimonious. Our own experience in both reacting to and commenting upon the story for one of our clients has ensured we have been in the thick of it.

Heather Mills’ recent public unravelling on the GMTV sofa – followed by seemingly every other possible media outlet – has led many to question her sanity. That she and her PR consultant had parted ways the day before comes as little surprise. Her ill-thought-out, rambling and confusing tirade drew vitriol and scorn from the nation’s newsrooms.

Having been in the spotlight for many years, one would hope and expect Ms Mills to have a pretty well-honed understanding of the nature of our media. If she does, then she is clearly determined not to play the game.

So what’s the missing link between the two stories? Control.

Where Heather has unleashed her emotional, frenzied and troubled self to the world in an effort to gain public support, the McCanns have relied upon their PR team – and some old-fashioned stiff upper lip – to achieve the same aim. But, while they have each been courted and villified by the press at different strokes, the public at large remains sympathetic to the plight of Madeleine’s parents – despite still being formal suspects – than that of the former glamour model.

We may be living in an increasingly cynical and media-savvy world but there’s clearly nothing quite like a well-managed media campaign to sway public opinion. Take note Heather.