Fire on Dean Street - What a PR Opportunity!
(NewDesignWorld Press Release Center) -- It might sound callous, it might sound cold-hearted, indeed it might sound psychotic, but the first thing I thought about when I saw the plumes of smoke bellowing from a basement fire in the middle of Dean Street was “what a PR public relations opportunity!”
If it had transpired in the days that followed the event that there had been a tragic loss of life, I may be feeling seriously guilt-ridden right now. But no one did, so I don’t!
Before going any further I should declare an interest. I do work for a London based PR agency, which basically means as a publicity agent, everything to me is a PR opportunity (excluding terrorist attacks and massacres). Also the fact that our offices are based on Dean Street means it was a fairly obvious thought process to go through.
To put it into context, last Friday I’d been working on a Property PR client that was proving particularly tricky. Having spent four hours hammering the phones and trying to get the client coverage in a national newspaper, suddenly there were journalists from all the biggest media outlets on my doorstep… what an opportunity!
The first question most normal human beings would probably think of would be along the lines of ‘has anyone been hurt?’, ‘is it safe to stay in the office?’, ‘am I going to die?’
However, my thought process was along the lines of ‘should I stand behind the Sky News presenter and hold up a banner with my client’s logo on it?’, ‘if I did a vox pop could I get a plug in?’, ‘what do I want my strap line to be?’
In the end my better judgment took over and told me to ignore my opportunist self. After all how would an interview have gone:
Journalist: “Sir, can you tell me what happened? Are you ok?”
Me: “I’m fine, thanks for asking. More importantly my company, which is the UK’s leading Property PR company, is thriving despite the current economic gloom. Surviving the fire means we will be able to continue to help millions more people across the UK, who can find our more by calling 0207 etc.”
In short had I have done this I would have been blacklisted, the company would have been blacklisted and I expect the client wouldn’t have been best pleased.
Still national coverage is national coverage is national coverage!!! Also in a week where Red Bull spent thousands on a bike stunt on Tower Bridge, it’s interesting to note that the Dean Street fire received more coverage. Maybe the next time London burns down I’ll be a bit more gutsy!
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