Virgin - Do they ever miss a trick?

Do Virgin ever pass up the chance to steal a march on British Airways?....Probably not!

Driving home last night, I was interested to hear that on the day of the planned strikes by the BA cabin crew those passengers suffering cancellations will be able to travel free to their destinations (where possible) on Virgin trains. And to add even greater impact to the story would be put in first class if available!

I have to feel some admiration for the bright spark who came up with this idea, especially as the cost to Virgin is negligible, I can't imagine they will be overrun with disgruntled, but now grateful, airline travellers. Yet they gain highly favourable national media coverage, and who knows they may even convert a few people to the benefits of travelling up the East Coast Mainline.

I have no doubt that the evaluation of the press for this simple exercise will prove once again what gains can be made from a quick piece of thinking, as well as illustrating how a company with great PR awareness can act together to create a great story.

Cynical? Opportunist? Or just good old fashioned PR? I think most of us will agree that it might just be all three!

Tags: Media evaluation, Virgin, British Airways, Public relations

Happy New Year

So shall we do the predictable Happy New Year blog entry from Mediatrack? Ok, if you insist here goes.

Well, all is back to what passes for normality in the office as we start on the first round of reporting of 2007, however we have decided to have a few New Year resolutions to keep us on our toes.

Handling AVE requests

Of course we will continue to offer this service, however we promise to try even harder than we have before to help our prospective clients (and their colleagues) to understand the limitation of this measure. We appreciate that most people understand this, but really it is our job to go forth and spread the word as forcefully as we can.

Only deliver insights that make a difference

It is clear that over the last few years our reporting style has changed dramatically, however we have to keep producing reports that actually make a difference to a business.

Try not to use the word 'strategy' fifty times in a single presentation

My personal failing. The client (or prospective client) appreciates that we are there to assist in developing and measuring their strategy, therefore I shall try to use as many alternatives/synonyms as possible - 'plan', 'scheme', 'policy' or 'approach' might just stop the repetitiveness.

Think before getting on the circle line

Is it just me, but why is it that every time I am travelling to a meeting in London that the use of the Circle Line invariably results in a stressful journey, which bears little resemblance to Transport for London's 'Journey Planner'.

...And finally

To continue enjoying what we do

We know it sounds cheesy, but we do actually rather enjoy working with our diverse set of clients, offering our thoughts and helping improve and protect their reputation.

Happy New Year from all of us at Mediatrack

Tags: AVE, Media evaluation