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Ben Palmer, account manager in our energy team, discusses the value of press conferences in the modern media landscape.

In very few industries would a CEO or senior management figure be expected to hold court with the media at least twice a week.

But football isn’t most industries and so, week after week, managers and players face the media and a level of inquisition typically reserved for police holding rooms. The concept of press conferences is often derided, but their value within sport – and, indeed, other sectors – should not be so swiftly dismissed.

An interesting episode in the debate around their value was the recent spat between Jurgen Klopp and James Pearce, The Athletic correspondent. Having taken umbrage with a piece that Pearce had written, the Liverpool manager refused to answer a question from the reporter. In a subsequent column for The Guardian reacting to the incident, Jonathan Liew wrote that press conferences are “a kind of pantomime, a verbal arm-wrestle in which the protagonists have largely conflicting goals.” He added: “In which other profession are its ablest and brightest practitioners contractually obliged to take questions from the patently unqualified on an almost daily basis?”

Liew made a valid point. The sheer regularity with which sports press conferences take place means that the vast majority are utterly mundane affairs, particularly if a team is merely plodding along, not doing too well or not doing too badly. Where on earth is a newsline to be found if someone is just getting on with their job?

But press conferences should represent opportunity for both organisations and journalists. While shareholders of a FTSE 500 company may only have AGMs to pose their questions and concerns, and journalists only get access to senior management at results-time, football clubs offer a level of scrutiny to their senior personnel that is extraordinary.

On a very basic level, journalists being afforded the opportunity to query and probe public figures should not be sniffed at. Conversely, for those in the firing line, the press conference is a chance to take responsibility when something goes wrong, as much as it is to praise themselves to the rafters when things are going well.

Those in PR and communications should recognise these opportunities too. If prepared for properly, they can be arenas where organisations that are on the back foot can put forward their case to stakeholders and the wider public, take the criticism on the chin and show that they are willing to take responsibility. Access to c-suite executives, fresh news and content that will make people sit up and take notice will always be of interest to journalists and can help you to secure coverage in the media.

This is not a rallying cry for companies to begin putting their forward their Managing Directors on a weekly basis to their respective local titles. “How have sales been this week? Staff morale high? Any HR issues we should be aware of?”

Indeed, a challenge for PR people across most sectors is when to justify a press conference. A good starting point for consideration may be the AGM, the release of financial results and in the after-math of an incident or controversy.

Whatever the case, press conferences should be held in high regard. For responsible, well-run organisations, scrutiny and transparency are nothing to be afraid of.

In an age where it can feel like pitch emails are sent out into a black void and switchboards only lead to full answering machines rather than direct lines, the power of a press trip cannot be underestimated.

It may feel terribly old school to host a press trip, but the reality is it works, and if you get it right, it really works. Also, for me, organising and attending press trips is one of the most exciting and rewarding parts of working in PR.

The opportunity to take journalists away from their day-to-day mania and allow them to fully immerse themselves in a brand experience is one of the best ways to strengthen relationships and solicit feature coverage for clients.

Press trips are also, ultimately, a great way to save the client’s time and resources. It is much more effective to host a group of journalists over an agreed timeframe, rather than filling up their calendar with individual media visits, resulting in drips and drabs of coverage.

It also offers an opportune moment for PRs to spend quality time with media and foster relationships, which will ultimately help pop a wee sparkling flag next to your name, the next time you email them.

There are many moving parts to organising a press trip, and you may be questioning all your life decisions the night before as you blink awake at every hour, but ultimately it is all worth it.

To make sure your next press trip is a success, and that everyone leaves with a smile on their face and an unforgettable experience in the memory bank, read on for my top tips.

6 Tips for a successful group press trip:

The hook – Make sure you can offer the media something extra special, something that is worth taking them away from their desks for. Be sure to curate an itinerary that is authentic to the client, not just shoe-horned to fit the occasion. It is also important to add a bit of sparkle, talent or a brand ambassador can be a great way to bring a press trip to life.
Your guest list – Finding the right mix of journalists that get along, and ultimately bond on the trip, can be challenging and it is sometimes down to a spot of luck. To make sure you are on the right track, be sure to check with your colleagues to see who has been a dream guest, you will feel much more assured knowing you’ve invited a journalist who is trusted and produced good results.
Stay organised – There is no way around it, press trips are a logistical challenge – you will become a travel agent, PA and firefighter all at once. Once you have your media confirmed, send reminders, share the full itinerary and all essential travel information (like bring a swimsuit, which may have slipped my own mind once before). Most importantly, create a call sheet including the contact information for all attending media, transport speed dial numbers and all details of the client and PR representatives. Print extra copies and take all these documents with you, there will be a moment when someone asks you for something, your brain will be scrambled because you didn’t sleep a wink the night before, and you are going to wish you brought that clipboard.
Prepare your client – Your client will be spending a lot of time with journalists, so make their life easier and prepare a media briefing document. Be sure to provide detailed information on everyone attending, including personal biogs, information on the title they write for, social media handles, and headshots.
Be prepared for anything to happen – Even with the most perfectly planned itinerary things can go wrong – you start running behind schedule or the heavens open when you are meant to be starting your outdoor activity. Journalists are often understanding in these circumstances but have a backup plan, be prepared to cut something from your itinerary or have blankets and cups of tea at the ready.
Bring the magic – You and your team are the face of the trip so if you are having fun, everyone will have fun – smile, even if you start to feel like air hostess Barbie when the credits are rolling in Toy Story 2. Give them that VIP treatment and do anything you can to make their lives easier, buy the plane tickets, book the cab, and supply dietary requirements to the kitchen ahead of time.

Take a deep breath and do your best to make sure everybody is happy, pack extra pens, and if you’re lucky, when you follow up you will be showered with glittering compliments for the most well-organised amazing press trip ever.

“Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised” Denis Waitley

Orna Clarke, Senior PR Account Manager at our Edinburgh office writes about the ups and downs of starting work in a new country.

Starting any new job is a daunting experience, regardless of what stage you’re at in your career. Add to that the fact I’d just moved to a new country, and it’s fair to say I felt a bit intimidated when I started working at BIG six months ago.

I had it easy in many ways – I moved to Edinburgh from Dublin, so I wasn’t faced with a new language or a vastly different culture, and I’m only a quick Ryanair flight away from home. But one of the essential characteristics of a PR adviser is having your finger on the pulse, and I was faced with a brand new media, corporate and political landscape; not to mention a set of new clients, some in sectors unfamiliar to me. There was only so much reading up on things I could do during my brief break between jobs – you have to be living and breathing it to be fully in the know. (There was also the small matter of moving country, which required some focus.)

PR is still PR

When I made the move from consumer and brand PR into corporate and public affairs back in 2017, I was pleasantly surprised to discover my skills and experience were in fact transferable, even though at that time my knowledge of the corporate world consisted of what I could remember from secondary school business studies (I think I got a C). The same has been true of my move from the Irish PR industry to the UK one: the basic principles of PR are immune to geography.

Despite my nearly seven years working in the industry, imposter syndrome has never left me, so my confidence was tested by my feeling a bit clueless in my first few weeks here. Setting out to gain clients’ trust is a tricky task when you feel like you’re sometimes winging it, but after a couple of weeks I found my instincts were still very much there – it was up to me stop doubting myself and listen to them. And where I’ve had knowledge gaps, my BIG colleagues have been willing and able to fill them in.

Fake it ‘til you make it

There’s definitely an element of faking it ‘til you make it with starting a job in a new country, just as there is in moving to a new country in general – like pretending to know the difference between a mile and a kilometre, or what ‘outwith’ means. At BIG we represent clients across the UK, not just in Scotland, and one of the best things about working here has been getting to travel to various parts of the country for client meetings and site visits. Besides visiting our other offices in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Manchester, my travels so far have taken me from Renfrewshire to Liverpool. It’s been an ideal way to get to know the UK while getting invaluable facetime with clients.

While starting work in a new country has tried my confidence, it’s reaffirmed it in other ways. Though I’ve struggled at times to embrace my ignorance I’ve ultimately discovered that the experience I’ve brought from Ireland, along with my newness to the industry here, means I can offer a fresh perspective to the teams I’m working with. I’ve also been exposed to new ways of thinking and working, and am starting to see my ‘unfamiliarity’ not as a weakness, but an asset.

Besides the odd misunderstood pronunciation (including of the term ‘PR’, which is very inconvenient), I feel I’m very well settled at BIG now. I’m excited to see what else I can learn from this new experience, and what insight I can offer in return.

It has been a strong start to 2023 for BIG Partnership, as we reveal a raft of new client wins and expand our team to meet demand.

At BIG, we have over 300 clients across a wide-range of sectors, and most recently secured a four-year contract to provide critical communications support to Transport Scotland. Other wins include Strathclyde Passenger Transport, full-service law firm Thorntons, leading retail and leisure destination, Silverburn, charity ENABLE Scotland, property developer Platform_, Optometry Scotland, subsea technology firm Rovco and energy research consultancy Wood Mackenzie.

With just under 100 staff across four UK offices, BIG has also seen exponential growth in our Manchester office, securing significant campaign work for big brand names including On The Beach, Booking.com and Asda George.

Further underlining our integrated marketing offer, BIG led on the inaugural Sir Jackie Stewart Classic event, providing PR, paid media and organic social media strategy. Multi-service campaigns have also been delivered for organisations such as Aldi Scotland, Aberdeen Science Centre, North Star Shipping and Loganair. The team delivered the airline’s 2022 Christmas ad, ranked second in The Drums’ ‘Travel ads resonated most with UK audiences’ in December. 

Our Chief Executive Officer, Allan Barr, commented: “We have had some tremendous client and project wins over the past 12 months. Booking.com, Aldi Scotland, Loganair and The Macallan are just some of the household names we deliver results for daily, however part of our strength is that we work across a variety of sectors, from energy and renewables to professional services and consumer goods.

“In an economy that has not yet recovered back to pre-pandemic levels, clients are increasingly prioritising agencies who can demonstrate a strong return on investment from their marketing spend. Since it was founded 23 years ago, BIG has built an enviable reputation as an agency who delivers results for clients, and I believe this is the primary reason we’re seeing such success in the current market.”

We are now looking to expand further, building on a period of growth for our creative studio and marketing services, as well as our public affairs team. Rochelle Giblin was appointed as our first Head of Marketing Services at the end of last year and Paul Roberson was named as Head of Public Affairs late 2021. Both teams are actively recruiting on the back of a string of new client wins.

Allan Barr added: “There has been growth across every area of our business. Our Manchester team continues to flourish in a buoyant market and our studio, PR and public affairs teams also have enormous potential. The plan is to continue to recruit across all of our offices to ensure we maintain the high standard of service our clients have come to expect.”

There is significant interest from the business community and the public in the SNP Leadership Election.

It will determine not just the next leader of the SNP, but the next First Minister of Scotland. At BIG, our aim is to help our clients – and interested observers – make sense of the contest and its implications for Scottish politics and public policy.

Next week, BIG will be providing our clients with a definitive Guide to the SNP Leadership Election. It will provide insight into the candidates, their priorities, and the political and policy implications to come. We can’t wait to share it with you.

As a sneak preview of our Guide, we are publishing the results of the first dedicated opinion poll of SNP voters since the Leadership Election began. Commissioned by BIG, this poll offers fascinating insights into the preferences and priorities of SNP voters.

Here are the key insights from our poll:

The race is wide open. Most SNP voters (31%) don’t yet know who they will back. But of those declared, Kate Forbes leads the pack despite early controversy over her beliefs (28%), followed by Humza Yousaf (20%), and Ash Regan (7%).  

SNP voters prefer a referendum sooner, rather than later. Most SNP voters surveyed (61%) want to see a referendum on Scottish independence at some point within the next 2 years, and three-quarters of SNP voters (75%) want to see a referendum within the next 5 years.

But it is a plan on the big issues of government that SNP voters think is most important. Thinking about what they want to see from their new leader, SNP voters think it is most important that the new leader has a plan to tackle the cost-of-living crisis (58%), to grow Scotland’s economy (53%), and improve public services (53%). Whilst questions of faith and personal belief (5%), which have dominated the headlines, are relatively unimportant.

Continuity or change? Our poll also tested SNP voters’ views on key policies of Nicola Sturgeon’s Scottish Government. On a number of high-profile policies, SNP voters are divided on whether or not they support them. There is no denying Nicola Sturgeon’s popularity with SNP members and this shouldn’t be seen as a repudiation of her approach. But the findings of our poll suggests there may be scope for the new leader to chart a different course. Whilst an assumption has been made that continuity is a strength, our poll indicates that there may be appeal for a candidate who also represents the right kind of change.

Our poll of SNP voters is bursting at the seams with even more insights that will help businesses and interested observers to understand how the leadership contest may unfold. Today, we have made the full findings and details of our poll available to the public – so take ten, grab a coffee, and read the full results online here.

Last night BIG took home The Herald’s top employer award for inspiring employee culture and it’s safe to say that we haven’t stopped celebrating since.

There is a long-held saying at our agency, ‘BIG is about the people,’ and it’s 100% true. Ask anyone in the business (past or present) what their favourite part of BIG is and we can confidently say that almost every time, they will say the people.

Fostering a positive culture is at the heart of everything we do.

So, how do we offer such a supportive and well-recognised culture? We look after the little and big things. On the former, we offer free fruit every day, pizza every month and a  free bar every Friday and these small touches are well received. However, going further than this, we also have a range of initiatives that support our team’s wellbeing and development.

From welcome gifts, a supportive buddy scheme, multiple social events, team building and fundraising challenges, to our internal badge reward and recognition scheme, we aim to cover as much as we can to demonstrate our commitment to our team.

Yes, we absolutely love rolling out all the fun initiatives for our team but it’s not just about the social events. A big part of our culture is our dedication to continuous feedback to our team and fostering their development.

Throughout the year we run a stacked calendar of lunch and learn sessions across the business, utilising the wide variety of skills and knowledge across the business with senior members of staff mentoring our junior staff. We have a programme of external training and offer funding for studying as well as paid leave for funded course exams.

To acknowledge the importance of peer-to-peer recognition, our reward scheme allows our teams to award badges to any colleagues for going above and beyond in their role. The badges cover a range of reasons including, personal developer, unsung hero, team player and many more. There are incremental rewards tied with the scheme, with the value of the rewards increasing with the more badges you receive. The rewards range from letterbox gifts all the way up to an overnight stay in a hotel or spa break. This year alone, our team have awarded 337 badges, 110 of these recognise those who have been fantastic team players. 

Initiatives like this help foster a spirit of ‘team first’ and shine a light on those that do so much to drive our wonderful culture.  We also offer everyone a day off for their birthday as well as a gift to celebrate the occasion. Plus, every colleague gets a half day off for Christmas shopping.

Supporting many of these initiatives is our dedicated culture club, who meet every month to plan office and company-wide events and wellbeing initiatives. Over the last three years we have increased our social budget by 53% to reflect the importance of work not just being about work.

This year, we asked our employees how they felt about working at BIG and the culture we create. An impressive 95% of our employees agreed that BIG’s culture creates a supportive work environment that challenges them to reach their potential and aid their career development. Further to this:

91% of respondents feel proud to work for BIG and would recommend BIG to a friend as a great place to work
91% of respondents can see a path for career development at BIG
91% of respondents can see how the new PDP system will support your career development
92% agreed that BIG ensured they had the tools to maximise their potential

We are proud that these results represent the highest satisfaction and engagement levels we’ve ever had from a survey, particularly given the challenges of moving out of lockdown.

One of the key metrics that highlights the importance of our team is our client satisfaction survey. During our most recent client review, it was revealed that more than 9 out of 10 clients are likely to recommend us to others, a statistic that has been underlined by our strong client referral network. This serves to highlight how focused our teams are on supporting clients and offering the best service possible.

Fundamentally, we believe that by nurturing a positive and caring work environment, living our values and being authentic to our brand, we bring out the very best in our people, enabling them to do great work.

It’s safe to say that we love our culture and the team we have at BIG. We have nothing but respect and admiration for the people who turn up and work their socks off at BIG every day. That’s why we place a positive culture at the heart of our business and why we are over the moon with our award win.

Elon Musk once said, “people work better when they know what the goal is and why”.

We recently launched our new and refreshed company mission, vision, and values, coinciding with our 22-year anniversary.

It’s fair to say that a lot has changed in the world in the last two years, never mind the last two decades!

We are now at 90+ people, working across four UK offices, doing lots of brilliant work for brilliant clients and, with a new chapter of growth on the horizon, it was the ideal time to make sure we are all on the same page.

Ultimately, the objective is that everyone who works here now, and in the future, has a crystal-clear view of what the BIG picture looks like – what our purpose is (our mission); where we are going as a business (our vision); and what we need to do to get there (our values).

EVOLUTION NOT REVOLUTION

BIG is a success story, so this wasn’t a case of ripping things up and starting again. In fact, quite the opposite.

It was about encapsulating the spirit of the agency and the people who have made it that success story and have led us to where we are today.

Being influenced by where we have come from as we look forward, meant understanding the ‘best of BIG’ – what we do, how we provide value to clients and how we work, both as individuals and as one big team – and then supercharging it.

The aim is to create something that when you look at it makes you think, “yep, that’s us!”.

TRUST THE PROCESS

A significant part of the brand and strategy work we undertake for our clients is developing a mission, vision, and values.

Naturally we followed the same process for ourselves.

For inspiration and to inspire, we always kick-off by looking at some of the most successful businesses on the planet, such as Starbucks, Facebook, Google, Tesla, Apple, Coca Cola. They all share a clear and defined purpose as to why they exist and what they are aiming for.

As much as this process is about the inspiring statements, clever copywriting, or beautiful visuals to articulate it all at the end, it starts as simply as asking lots of questions and writing stuff down, then organising it into something cohesive.

That comes in the shape of workshops, colleague focus groups and surveys, to really get under the skin of the business.

Most of all, it requires not only buy-in from the top, but significant input from the person or people who are charged with steering the ship – without this it’s impossible to paint a real version of the big picture.

SETTING PARAMETERS

Defining what we are and what we want to be comes in the shape of the mission statement and vision statement. Our values are the roadmap between the two, acting as guiding principles of how people behave, helping to achieve the vision and stay true to the mission.

It’s critical that they absolutely feel authentic, provide clarity of purpose and act as both a rallying call and be something that people want to buy into,. To ensure this, we set some parameters, which acts as a brief to work towards:

This is not a box-ticking exercise
Authentic
Relatable
Builds on our past
Reflects our ambition
BIG personality
BIG people

VALUES ARE NOT ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL

Especially when it comes to the values, it’s important not to be generic.

For us they need to be unique to BIG, and our CEO Allan Barr underlined throughout the process that they must be authentic and meaningful – not us trying to pretend we are something we’re not.

To achieve this in our work for our clients, we have moved away from values expressed as single words and instead moved towards memorably expressed miniature phrases that are easy to recall and feel relevant to all.

We created three values that anyone and everyone who is part of the team can identify with and understand what it means for them.

They are essentially distilled down from the commonly mentioned qualities and actions that represent the best of BIG and its people.

We view our values as an attitude, as much as how they translate into behaviours and whilst they are internally focused, they are externally attractive and define the talent we want to hire.

THE BIG PICTURE OUTCOME

Our Mission

Our name says it all: BIG. Big insights. Big ideas. Big results. We help brands to grow and empower our people to do the same. We solve business problems by delivering creative and impactful work that makes a difference.

This captures BIG today in its current state, what we stand for and what we do.

Our Vision

To be known as a leading creative agency with strategic depth, full of smart thinkers who deliver outstanding results. To work with ambitious brands, businesses and people who want to grow with us, as we help them create their own success story.

This is where we are going, this is what we are working towards for the future.

Our Values

We… Refuse to settle – Not delivering for our clients is not an option. We continuously strive to do our best for our clients and our team.
We… Own the impact – We’re always accountable and take ownership of the outcome for our clients and our colleagues.
We… Bring the magic – We bring BIG energy and a positive attitude to every project and opportunity, bringing something magic that our clients wouldn’t get anywhere else.

These are our guiding principles of how we act to achieve our vision and stay true to our mission.

If you fancy a chat about how BIG can help your business to develop or refresh its mission, vision, and values, please get in touch: [email protected]

Having spent the past eight weeks of my summer working for BIG, I can confidently say I wouldn’t have wanted to spend it anywhere else! When I got the phone call inviting me for an interview, I didn’t know how to react. The main reason was the fact that I was on a boat in the middle of Lake Como but secondly because I never expected to be even considered for an intern role.

Starting my first intern position at BIG was terrifying. I had no idea what to expect. From standing at the front door until now, I am a completely different person. This internship has pushed me completely out of my comfort zone, from working with new people to dealing with unknown situations.

The opportunity to learn skills that I wouldn’t have been able to learn elsewhere has been fantastic. I worked on coverage tracking, research projects for clients, writing and planning social media content, and I even got my beginner certificate in google analytics (thanks Ross!). I worked on many client projects too, for example, doing desk research for Aldi and writing my first-ever press release for Macdonald Hotels.

Being able to spend time in the Glasgow office made the experience all that better. Everyone made me feel welcome and part of the team straight away. The whole team was happy to lend a hand and answer the 101 questions that I had daily. The phrase “no question is a stupid question” really is true here at BIG. Working as part of an integrated agency gave me the best well-rounded experience, it was invaluable.

I worked with many different departments within BIG such as PR, Social, Digital, Search Engine Optimisation, and Pay Per Click. All of which gave me amazing insight into how they work. Working between so many departments was challenging but everyone was always on hand to help and guide.

A favorite project was creating social media content for Aldi Scotland. Thanks to the amazing social team I was able to let my creative side show and come up with fun post ideas. Seeing all this work come together in real life and knowing I inputted is a super rewarding feeling.

The main highlight of my time here at BIG is the team summer away day! It was so much fun and an amazing opportunity to talk to people from other offices and other interns in particular. The team-building exercises were great fun, too. I never knew people could be so competitive, but give them an iPad and some games and you’ll see a whole new side to an individual!

I also had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with STV studios! Thanks to Hannah, I was able to see how a typical news broadcast is produced. I sat down with a producer, assistant producer, and an editor as they answered questions and gave us insight into what they look for when creating a news story. Being able to sit in the reporter’s chair was definitely a high point!

Throughout the eight weeks, I feel like I have been able to gain more confidence in myself, especially when working with new people.. Working at BIG has encouraged me to rethink some ideas and plans I had for when I graduate from university next year (in a good way!). I never imagined becoming so passionate about my work, and I learned to take pride in what I was creating.

As I say bye to my time at BIG, I also say goodbye to a great team of people. I want to thank BIG for letting me have the most amazing summer filled with lots of laughs and lots of amazing agency experiences. I don’t plan on being a stranger!

For most of the pandemic, I was on furlough which was both a blessing and a curse.

I missed work but my family needed me and, looking back now, I’m grateful for the time I had to plan the next step in my career. When I wasn’t home-schooling or inventing new games to play with my kids, I was pounding the streets, thinking about what I wanted to do post-Covid.

Towards the end of 2021, I was selected to participate in a Scottish Enterprise women in leadership programme. As part of this programme, I analysed my skills and developed my dream job criteria. When I revisited my notepad to write this blog, I can see the criteria I set out, once a list on a piece of paper, has become a reality in my new role at BIG; writing every day, working directly with clients, being part of a friendly and supportive community, helping others, using my creativity, and feeling challenged every day.

My experience prior to joining BIG, almost four months ago, was a mix of media and communications, client and stakeholder engagement and project management.

I trained as a journalist, completing an MA in broadcast journalism, followed by seven years working in factual television and radio for the BBC. I then spent 10 years managing international, multi-stakeholder projects with companies ranging from blue chip organisations such as Microsoft Corporation to SMEs, local authorities, health trusts and third sector organisations.

Before joining BIG I had no experience of working within an agency and I was worried it might be an obstacle to getting a new job. However, once I figured out that I wanted to work for an agency, I researched companies and spoke to people within my network. This enabled me to understand what was required to make the leap and which agencies had the best reputations.

When I saw a job at BIG on my LinkedIn feed, I had a gut feeling that this was the role for me. During my first interview I was certain that I wanted to be part of BIG, but I didn’t know if my lack of agency experience would get in the way. Being offered the job of Senior Account Manager was a dream come true, but the fear soon set in. I wasn’t sure if I’d master the skills required in agency quickly enough.  

Of course, it has been a steep learning curve and every day feels like a school day, but my previous experience and skills allowed me to dive in at the deep end.

From day one I was working with clients. I had to overcome my fear of asking for help because there are many things about agency life you can’t learn or experience until you are part of it. I ask for advice about something most days, reassured that there is always support available. I’ve felt part of the BIG community since day one – testament to its culture.

My experience in television and radio has been invaluable. Supporting clients with writing – anything from scripts for videos, to intranet articles, award entries, press releases and social media posts is a key part of my job. My project management and stakeholder engagement experience has been beneficial in organising and planning PR and communications and for working with the many stakeholders with whom BIG’s clients engage regularly.

Being highly organised, planning daily tasks, while looking ahead at the bigger picture has been crucial. The ability to think creatively to help BIG’s clients tell their stories in a compelling way is also key and team brainstorms ensure no avenue is left unexplored. It helps that I am committed to delivering the best work for my clients, team and the agency. I believe this is at the heart of BIG – everyone cares deeply about the work they create and their colleagues. This is a winning formula and ensures that everyone has the chance to reach their potential and do great work.

Associate Director, Stewart Argo shares his thoughts on why Center Parcs U-turn on their decision was not a PR disaster.

For those that missed it, upmarket holiday camp company Center Parcs told its customers they’d have to leave their accommodation for the day of the Queen’s funeral. What a way to redefine ‘vacation’! Then a few hours later they changed their mind after the inevitable outcry.

This will probably be cited for years to come as a Terrible PR Disaster. I’m not so sure, and here’s why.

It wasn’t a PR decision. Okay, this might sound like pedantry but it matters. It was an operational decision, presumably approved by those at the highest level of the company. The distinction I’m making is that an organisation’s reputation isn’t just a matter of what they say and how they say it, but what they do and how they do it. This is where reputation is really tested. Sure, PR is part of the mix; but it’s not the main determinant. (I’m speculating here but my guess is that the PR folk would have advised against the decision to close.)
I’d be amazed if it makes any difference to their sales. Some people may never book again. Some people will find the whole thing unfortunate while still pressing ‘confirm booking’. Some people will regard them as a bit tainted but give it no more thought. But are we going to see a meaningful drop in bookings or spend? I seriously doubt it. That doesn’t mean of course that companies can blithely go around making all sorts of blunders. Center Parcs need to be extra careful for the foreseeable future otherwise a well-meaning single blip in corporate sensibility becomes something more serious.

Much better of course to avoid such situations completely. So, what could Center Parcs have done differently? (I recognise they may have done these things but I can only go by what we see from the outside.)

Get some outside counsel from a trusted adviser. We often find that companies use PR consultancies such as ourselves for the benefit of that independent outside view. To many, we are a critical friend. In the jargon, we do ‘boundary spanning’: one foot in our client’s camp and one foot in the wider world. I imagine that if they had tried this decision out on others they would have had some helpful advice that would have prevented this nonsense.
Prepare and test. I feel secure saying that Center Parcs doesn’t have a risk register that mentions a change in the monarchy as being something they need to deal with. That’s fair enough: it’s absurd to think an organisation can prepare for every eventuality, although many try to, producing rigid and impractical plans for specific scenarios. It is more effective to be ready for anything by creating and rehearsing flexible approaches. And while process is hugely important, it’s essential to remember understanding and empathy: an element that seems to be missing or at least severely skewed in Center Parcs’ handling.
Recognise that corporate PR and stakeholder management can matter as much as consumer PR. We sometimes find that B2C companies are much less concerned about such issues because they don’t directly benefit their sales. That’s understandable. I even make the point above that I don’t think this will hurt them commercially. But can you imagine the scenes inside CP HQ this week? There is a cost, even if it’s just in managing the situation, taking valuable senior exec time away from other priorities.

My last thought is…apart from the commercials, do Center Parcs know what their reputation even is? How do they compare to their competitors, non-industry peers or indeed any of the country’s most-loved and most-valuable brands? You can’t measure a change in perception without a benchmark, and you can only do the benchmark before the incident or issue. Which means, even if only once a year, every company that values knowing where it stands among its competitors should carry out some basic reputation research.

Last night, BIG Partnership’s Media Relations Director, Charlene Sweeney, appeared on The Nine to share her expert opinion on what Center Parcs could have done differently and how she would have approached the situation – https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001c4q9/the-nine-14092022