Public Relations

how my VW badge lost its shine

September 24, 2015

My high-tech-engined VW pickup truck was once a thing of beauty to me … and then the pollution news broke.

Find out here how the Germans lost my trust and how their Kiwi representatives’ PR response has done nothing to improve things.

on cooking eggs, media firestorms and Twitter f-bombs

August 21, 2015

I’ve always had trouble cooking a poached egg: keeping its shape, stopping it sticking, fishing it out of the water — this week a recipe promising me the perfect poached egg (hallelujah!) appeared.

Celebrity Millie Elder-Holmes runs a blog that gives her take on health and eating and sells jewellery. The top recipe post was for poaching an egg.

Why was I there? It’s an expletive-filled tale.

when great customer service becomes great PR

June 24, 2015

I came face to face with amazing customer service at 3am on the weekend.

Ok, you may be thinking, what sort of customer service does any person need in the wee small hours?

Well, to be accurate, the 3am was in Bulgaria. At my place, it was lunchtime Saturday, and I was struggling with a dead-to-the-world website.

the hot shots who aced the Google rankings

June 15, 2015

There’s a small tennis club tucked away in the lee of the Wellington town belt where even on really gusty days with the macrocarpas and pines thrashing in the wind on the hill above you and pine needles raining down on to court 1 you can still hit a clean ball and have a decent rally.

On a calm day, well, it’s one of the best spots around for tennis. Just off a busy arterial route, but surrounded by trees and thick bush, it’s a beautiful, quiet and friendly oasis hidden from the city, and you’d never know it was there.

Hop on to Google though and you’ll certainly know the club exists. It rules in the search engine.

As a local neighbourhood club that survives through its membership fees, attracting new members is a crucial, ongoing activity. Nationally, tennis club membership is on a steep decline since it peaked in the 1980s, and, like most clubs, the club has to work hard to keep membership numbers healthy.

Laborious leaflet drops around the community had been a marketing staple in the past. Newspaper advertising is expensive and has been ineffective. Now, the club is focusing on organic search results to advertise it’s wind-free attractions! Organic: naturally occurring search results, not paid-for advertising.

I’ve been working with the club on its website for some time now to make it visible in Google. We’ve had some great results, and it’s worth sharing what we’ve learnt.

what my dog taught me about PR

May 13, 2014

This is Luna, my part-German-pointer pup, back in March, at 12 weeks old.

She is quite a bit bigger now, still kind of goofy-looking and becoming much more knowledgeable about things.

Things? Well, after where the best cow pats are in the neighbour’s paddock (for, unfortunately, rolling on top of and snacking on), then also, how effective each of my commands are and which ones are easiest to ignore.

Luna likes my brand. It is a brand that says to her: affection, well-being, security and good food. But some of my carefully thought out marketing catch-phrases (well, ok, dog commands) don’t always get the correct response.