Viva Brother

Before you continue reading, this is not going to be a review of the recently released Viva Brother album, entitled Famous First Words. I have no inclination to firstly listen to said record; nor to bother penning 500 words of vitriol and malice towards a band that don’t have much of a future in the music industry.

Note: I did see Brother (before the legally enforced name change) supporting The Streets, and wasn’t impressed. But that’s not what this post is about.

This post is about the success of music PR, and how (if done badly) it can ruin the credibility of a band, as well as something of an insight into certain ‘tactics’ have been used by the ‘marketing team’ behind this band.

Musicians often strive to be perceived as ‘credible’, but Viva Brother are no longer in a position to control their popularity. Here’s why:

1.) Poor Rebranding

What many people might not know is that Viva Brother haven’t always been a lad-rock ‘gritpop’ band. They were formerly emo pop-punk groups Wolf Am I / Kill The Arcade (YouTube video of one of their songs which hasn’t been expunged from the internet by Acidlove – VB’s record label).



I don’t mind bands following the current trends of the time (which then would have been Enter Shikari / Bullet For My Valentine / Lostprophets and so on...) but when a new band totally changes their music style it can look as if they are trying to piggyback the successes of others (e.g. Kasabian / Oasis / The Enemy) just to sell records, something which in this example looks crass and desperate.

2.) Ill-considered Street Teams

Employing a street team to post on message board forums without research into the interests of its members is a pretty simple mistake to make, similar to sending a press release to a journalist who won't be interested. Drowned In Sound is one of the UK's most vibrant music communities, with a definite slant towards music that is less 'mainstream'. Not exactly the best place to pitch Viva Brother then...

On the DIS community pages, several posts have been made by street teamers, proclaiming how good Viva Brother are, and then offering a link (through a referral system) to pre-order or purchase the album on the Acidlove site. Nobody likes the idea of clicking on carelessly made referral links, especially when purchasing anything as personal as music, and I would be very interested to find out what each click-through and sale is worth in terms of financial return to these ‘fans’.

If street teams are to be anywhere near effective, then it might be worth them integrating themselves into the community before posting about a new band or artist. Just registering and suddenly proclaiming a band to be a successor to a sliced white loaf is often going to draw cynicism from its members, and the band will often have a tarnished name on that website. On DIS, users can tag forum threads with other 'relevant artists', and certainly didn’t hold back on Viva Brother...

3.) Poor use of Social Media

A little bit of research into Viva Brother’s street team found a Twitter page had been set up, which seemingly has the sole aim of making sure the hashtag #FamousFirstWords entered the UK trending topics list, so that it would be seen by anyone visiting the site that day...

Twitter presumably has measures put in place to ensure that spam tweets will never make it onto the trending topic list, so this is mainly a futile measure that only those already interested in the band (and following the relevant Twitter accounts) will see in their timeline.

4.) Personality and interview ‘tone’

Since the height of bands like Oasis, for some reason there seems to be an over-riding perception that bands often have to be outspoken in interviews to get themselves in magazines such as NME and Kerrang. Unfortunately modern music print journalism (with its falling ABC’s as a result of the internet) is often reliant on a juicy quote in features and interviews, but too many bands are choosing to slate other bands, in order to try and stay in the public eye.

I know VB aren’t the worst offenders for this (hello Liam Gallagher) but when you go ‘on record’ with a quote such as this..

“People are afraid to write massive songs that’ll sound good on the radio. We’re self-elected to do that. We nominated ourselves because we had to”

.. you really need to back it up with some good songs. Which they haven’t. Many of the music publications and websites have also realised this, and this week has seen some scathing critical reviews (5/10 from NME, 2.9 from Pitchfork, and 1 Star from The Guardian).

To conclude, this isn’t a blog post about how much I dislike Viva Brother. It’s about how much I hope that the PR and Marketing departments change their approach to music promotion. If a record label signs a band to a deal worth a rumoured £250,000 it’s fair to assume that there is adequate resources to support the band with a launch plan that doesn’t follow the well-trodden routes of the past.

That is unless Acidlove have realised that Viva Brother are not the cash cow that they had initially hoped for...

Paul

Another New Logo

I have recently unpacked my Printer / Scanner from the garage, and decided to re-design the header logo.

That is all, please carry on with your day!

56 Days Later...

Since leaving university, I’ve been doing the things that I had aimed to do after I finished my studies – mainly to relax and de-stress. So besides going to Glastonbury (which was awesome) I’ve been playing a lot of Football Manager, as well as watching Mad Men, The Thick Of It, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Arrested Development boxsets. I have also started running again (the football pre-season is coming!) so at least I’ve not been sat on the sofa for the last 8 weeks....

Despite my best intentions to keep this blog updated, I haven’t been able to continue writing because I didn’t feel inspired to do so, and writing just for the sake of writing is something I believe to be counter-productive.

After having to leave both Southampton and my job in Hamwic Student Residence (uni halls), I’ve decided to actually fill my days with constructive activity, rather than sleeping and watching mediocre TV (although BBC’s Pointless has been a broadcasting highlight).

Eight weeks is a long time (although that said, in British journalism terms it might as well be a lifetime) so this is just an update on what else I’ve been doing.

The #airtaylor project I ran back in May was an incredible success. There has been many a time where the internet has surprised me (such as getting 200 dissertation responses in 48 hours thanks to Twitter) but the reaction was much, much bigger than I could ever have hoped or imagined.

I feel compelled to write a proper follow-up with lots of flashy graphs (and this will hopefully be appearing in the next couple of days) but for now I’d like to thank everyone from the agencies I sent planes to for taking the time to check me out, those who tweeted / re-tweeted / praised the idea / read the blog / blogged about me (massive massive thanks to Andy Barr from 10 Yetis, Palamedes PR and Spear PR, who all took time to write about me – if there’s anybody who I missed from my trawl of Google / Twitter then please let me know so I can add them to this blog!)

The response has also extended to the offer and possibilities of actual PR work; last month I spent time as in intern with the wonderful Truffle PR team in Soho, which I really enjoyed, and learnt a lot from. Next month I have an interview at the aforementioned 10 Yetis, as well as a week-long internship at Eulogy! in London. Add in the start of the football season (which in my opinion is the 3rd best day of the year behind my birthday and Christmas) and August should hopefully be a good month!

In other, design-based news; I have ‘adapted’ the header of the blog to reflect my change in educational status – this is an (even more) low budget effort than the last one, I might even have a stab at getting the pens and pencils out for a proper bit of artwork – provided I can remember which box they were packed into...

That’ll do (for now),

Paul

Lock The Locks

i

May 17th 2011 was the date of my last ever hand-in at university. This final hand-in was a thankfully painless experience, marred only by an almost crippling hangover from a night out with my course mates. I have now completed my time as a Public Relations & Communication student at Southampton Solent University.

ii

Finishing a degree is a very unusual sensation. A mixture of happiness, relief, melancholy and sadness are the emotions currently filling my head. The last three years, but especially the last six months, have probably been the most challenging in my adult life. I currently feel a little bit empty, having worked almost flat out (often waking up early and continuing late into the night) for the last six months trying to get everything done.

iii

Trying to avoid thinking about what I could have changed in bits of my work is currently at the forefront of my mind. Whatever degree classification I end up with will be probably the final result I ultimately deserve (barring some incredibly harsh or unfair marking). I have given my all in every task, with the time that I had available and can do no more.

iv

In the last three years I have met some incredible people; the whole ‘friends for life’ cliché is one which applies here, and there are people who I will miss incredibly. Distance dictates the probability that I will not see those faces on an almost daily basis, but there are people I definitely wish to keep in touch with in the future. I simply wish to thank anybody who has been a positive influence throughout the last three years, no matter where you are from.

v

Thoughts now turn to what happens next. I have work and housing commitments in Southampton until the end of June 2011, after which I will return to my hometown of Trowbridge. I am still in the process of seeking decent employment, and there is a strong probability that when I find it, it will be in London. The #airtaylor project I recently ran has been a better success than I first thought and I have plenty of people still to contact. There will likely be a follow-up blog about the results in due course.

vi

In the meantime I plan to relax and enjoy myself. I have plenty of DVD boxsets (24, The Thick Of It, Arrested Development amongst others) that I wish to revisit. My desire to play Football Manager again after a six month hiatus will be sated. I also have tickets to several gigs and festivals including We, The People, Glastonbury and Reading.

vii

This blog is also something that I wish to keep going in the future. Writing sharpens my mind and avoids my imagination being dulled by daytime television, and I will likely try and get involved with Muso’s Guide again. The banner at the top of the page will also need changing, something I will get round to soon.

viii

Despite however much I’ve moaned about some of the locals, I will really miss Southampton. There is always a feeling that something interesting and exciting is happening either from the music scene and venues, the variety of nightlife, or the recently promoted football club. I will always have fond memories of the city, and I’m lucky that I (currently) live in a relatively close proximity.

ix

Thank you for reading this, it’s been a difficult piece to succinctly write for a variety of reasons.

Paul

#airtaylor

Hello there, prospective employer!

First off I'd like to use this opportunity to welcome you to my blog. This is something I try and keep updated around my university work (so at the moment updates can be pretty sporadic!)

Theres a good chance you're here because you've been sent an envelope in the post, had a look at the contents inside, and felt compelled to visit the weblink, or scan the QR code which was affixed onto the wing of the plane...

I also hope you enjoyed both making the plane, and (presumably) flying it round your office afterwards! I know many graduates have tried loads of various different approaches in order to catch the eye of potential employers, such as making self-promoting videos and sending specially made cupcakes with their Twitter usernames written in icing...

Maybe sending out toy planes to PR companies in the hope of a job is also a bit gimmicky, but I hope that its a different approach to being noticed, as I want to be a high-flier in the industry one day (awful pun, sorry!)

Whilst you are here, perhaps you could take the time to have a look at my CV (either as a separate PDF here, or embedded below). Id hope you also take the time to have a look at some of my other posts, as this will give you more of an idea about my writing style and opinions as a PR student soon to be entering the job market.

(Edit - CV updated as of 13th July 2011)



I am currently monitoring the Twitter hashtag #airtaylor on my Tweetdeck, so please feel free to pass this blog entry onto others (sadly I haven't got planes for everyone!) who might enjoy it.

I will be leaving Southampton in June, so will be looking for employment or paid work experience within the PR industry over the summer and beyond.

If you think I would 'take off' in your company and would like me to be a part of your team, please get in touch with me (using the details on my CV), via Twitter (either using @paultays or #airtaylor), or using the comments section on this blog entry.

Thank you again for reading,

Paul Taylor

A Grad (Scheme) Day Out...

Please forgive the awful Wallace and Gromit themed-title...

Frequent readers (if there are any!) of this blog will have read about my recent invitation to a graduate recruitment day in a top PR agency in London. If you didn’t, then that particular blog entry is here.

At the time I didn’t think it was appropriate to reveal what agency it was (in case it jeopardised my chances etc) but now seems a good time to write about my experience. I was invited for a position of Account Assistant at Eulogy!, which is a great PR agency in West London.

9.30 – The day begins with an introduction to some of the team, plus a brief overview of what the day will entail. Everyone was really nice, which I was surprised about; I had built up this preconception of everyone being really cut-throat and competitive (although maybe that’s what happens when you watch too much of The Apprentice!)

9.45 – We were 'gently introduced' to the day with a quiz. I do enjoy a pub quiz, but this was really hard, and covered various topics including Politics, Sport and scandal, Entertainment (amongst others). Here’s a sample of some of the questions (that I could remember)..

Q1. Emma Watson has recently replaced Kate Winslet as the face of which make-up company?

Q2. Which Channel 4 show followed the daily lives of people in the Notting Hill area of London?

Q3. Who has politician Ed Miliband recently become engaged with?

Q4. Which hashtag has Lady Gaga used to describe her followers on Twitter?

Q5. Adele’s new album recently set a record for sales. What is it called?

Answers at the bottom of the post, no cheating!

10:30 - The 12 of us are split into 3 groups of 4 to work on a client pitch / presentation for a real life client that Eulogy! is currently working with. I am in a group with Omiros (whose name I struggled to pronounce – sorry!), Lucy and Terri. (links to their Twitter accounts).

We were given a tricky B2B brief about a company who take smart phone apps and makes them work on all the usual platforms (eg iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Symbian and Windows 7 Mobile) which saves around 75 percent on development costs.

The brief required us to think of a creative method to make the service seem desirable to the relevant target audiences (eg trade press, mobile influencers, CEO’s and buyers of companies who develop mobile apps) as well as considering a consumer market.

Doing client briefs isn’t a new experience (I’ve had to do quite a few as part of my PR course) but we were only given an hour to generate ideas for a 15-20 minute presentation, with a 10 minute Q&A session to follow. No pressure then!..

Our team worked well; and we generated some good ideas including a blogger event, a consumer focused campaign idea of using different ‘platforms’ (such as tube platforms, and Nelson’s Column) as well as features for trade press and a media pack (based upon a cube which comes apart to visually show a 75 percent reduction). I am chosen to write up the presentation onto flipchart paper, which gives me the chance to “show off” my scrawly handwriting and my questionable drawing skills. The rest of the group seem happy with the drawings, which is good!

The pitch / presentation goes well I think, and despite a bit of a grilling on the Q&A, the members of Eulogy! are seemingly happy with what we’ve come up with in such a short time. Phew!

12.45 - We are released from the building to find lunch. Our presentation team ambles off in search of food, eventually choosing a branch of Pret A Manger. I opt for a BLT sandwich, which was quite nice, but expectedly expensive. The weather is nice, and we sit in some park round the corner from the offices.

2.00 – After an extended lunch break we have the final part of the day. Still in our groups, we are rotated between a writing test, an interview and a chat with the Eulogy! team about what it’s like to work there.

First up is the 45 minute writing test, which is a press release about another live client; this time it’s a design website service which allows small businesses to have access to a library of 400,000 design templates and saves them loads of money on expensive designers. It’s also worth pointing out that we were only allowed to use Wordpad (which means no word count, nor any spelling and grammar checks!) and had no internet access to research this company (we were given a list of facts).

I think this part of the day was maybe my weakest feature; I couldn’t think of a really ‘jazzy’ title for the release; and when I read it back, it did seem a little dull. Still, not bad for 45 minutes effort.

3.30 – After a massive wait (in which I read most of the papers in reception from cover to cover) it’s interview time. When I think of interviews I am always drawn to the semi-finals of The Apprentice (where the candidates get grilled by Lord Sugar’s best friends) and am gearing myself up for my CV to be shredded into water size droplets and fired back into my face with a pressure washer.

Thankfully it was quite a laid back, chilled out sort of interview (they’re the best sort in my opinion) where I was asked about why I chose PR, what my favourite recent PR campaign is (I spoke about the Baby Gaga ice cream), and what relevance my course has had in relation to the recruitment day. Overall, I think that went well.

4.00 - We are given a short presentation by a couple of the Eulogy! team about the benefits of working with them. They speak at length about the legendary Christmas parties (of which I am hugely jealous!) and the general atmosphere, which from my experience of the day is quite fun and enjoyable.

4.30 – We are joined by most of the Eulogy! staff for drinks and nibbles, which is a good chance to network and say ‘hello’ to them all; even the CEO pops in for a cheeky bottle of Corona, which I think shows that everyone really does get on! I also use this chance to swap details with some the people also on the recruitment day (hi you guys!). I stay till about 5.30ish (trying carefully to be neither the first nor last to leave) and head off to catch up with some of my London-based friends for drinks.

I’ve just had an email back today saying that I unfortunately was unsuccessful for the position of Account Assistant. Eulogy! have offered me a 1-2 week work placement (an offer which I hope to take up) so although I haven’t got a job, I can still get something positive from the experience (more PR experience).

Anyway, I’ve gone over 1200 words for this blog (words that should be being typed into my dissertation), so here’s the answers to the earlier quiz..

1. Lancome

2. ‘Seven Days’

3. Justine Thornton

4. #monsters or #littlemonsters

5. ‘21’

Until next time (which will probably be after my dissertation is done),

Paul

The Run-In

Its about this time of year in the Barclays Premier League when everyone's attention suddenly turns to the middle of May. So much is talked about / written / moaned about (Arsene Wenger) for the last few weeks of the season, as games of football come thick and fast (***football cliché siren***), that its almost entirely possible to forget everything else that's happening, and also the potential of forgetting to enjoy it.

Forgetting to enjoy myself is something that I've realised that I'm in danger of doing. For the last couple of weeks I've been feeling the stress of looming deadlines a bit a lot, so if I've come across as being angrier / more 'sweary' and obnoxious than Malcolm Tucker (from BBC's The Thick of It, see 'best of' YouTube vid below) then I can only apologise. Normal service will resume shortly!

Malcolm Tucker - "Best of" video (Contains swearing!)



The three years I've had at uni have been (on the whole) amazing, and I'd like to think that I've made life-long friends (also some life-long enemies, but alas) from the people I've met at Southampton Solent. It does scare me that in mid-May everything will be handed in, and then the next few weeks will be packing up to move home and try and find a job somewhere!

Anyway, here's my 'run-in' for the next few weeks...

April 7th 2011
Graduate Scheme Recruitment / Assessment Day, London (See previous blog)
(The lucrative Champions League knock-out tie)

Mid-April
Charity client - End of pro-bono campaign / Handover of eBay store
(Possibility of an Oracle Communications wrap party?)

Late April
Easter / Royal Wedding
(Try to resist chocolate eggs for the former, acquire an invite for the latter)

May 3rd
Final presentation with Charity client
Persuasive Comms. - Reflective Log
(The presentation is a difficult 'six pointer'. Field a 'weakened' team for the reflective log)

May 5th
Dissertation hand in
(The big one, the equivalent of Manchester United or Chelsea at 'home')

May 10th
Media & Communication project / report hand in
Charity client - final report & evaluation due in
(2 reports due in one day, I think that's true fixture congestion!)

May 16th
PR Strategy Exam
(Last day of the season. Get the Champagne on ice and the "We're going up" signage ready! See image below)

Anyway, enough of the football metaphors. I'm looking for advice from those who've been through the third year, and survived. Let me know your tips and tricks!

Paul

A Job??

This will be a very short entry, as I have a mountain of work still to do...

Today I found out that I have been selected to attend a graduate recruitment day (with 11 other candidates) for a job as an Account Assistant in an amazing PR agency in West London. (Note: I don't think its appropriate for me to name-drop here, so I haven't!)

I've read the email at least twenty times in the last four hours, because it doesn't seem real. (it is!).

Only a few hours prior to finding out I was talking to PR professionals (at the CIPR Wessex's "Meet the PRofessionals" annual meeting) who have made it in the industry, about interns working for free because of the demand for jobs in PR. It sort of made me realise that I would have to graft and grind unpaid just to get on the massive PR ladder, and it scares me that in a matter of weeks I leave the relative comfort of university life to return to the 'normal world'.

The offer of a chance of a paid position in London (something I thought was only a pipe dream when I started uni in 2008) is a really exciting prospect; and I've not stopped thinking about it all night!

Anyway, I'm off to read the email (again!) before cracking on with some more dissertation work...

Paul

Japan

The recent Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan has had a devastating effect on the country, but it seems that the natural disaster is providing various opportunities for brand development.

The first company to have been (rightfully) criticised is Microsoft’s search engine Bing, who sent out this tweet on Saturday.

Now I’m sure the intentions of Bing were perfectly honourable, but when it comes to raising money for the relief effort in countries who have suffered a natural disaster, there are perfectly acceptable ways to do this without seeking to promote your product at the same time.

Twitter is arguably the quickest method to raise awareness of an issue or transmit a message to your followers, but the backlash can be just as quick; many users were not backwards in showing their condemnation at Bing’s opportunism, and noted that $100k is a paltry donation for a company of their size.

Bing later sent out an apology on their Twitter, but apologised not for the content, but that their intentions had been misconstrued, before stating they had donated the $100k to the relief effort.

I also spotted that musician Lady Gaga is planning to sell a charity wristband, which has the wording “We Pray For Japan” written in both English and Japanese, with her ‘monster paw’ symbol in-between the wording. Very tasteful, and not in any way TACKY - I’m sure you’ll agree (picture and tweet below)

Purchasers can also choose to add a donation (of between $5 and $100) to their purchase, but this looks like a rather shameless attempt on the part of Lady Gaga to exploit her massive fan base; by claiming that the wristbands are limited edition, there is more desire attached to the item (especially with her reputation as a "style icon"), consequently more people will want to try and get hold of them.

Note: I’ve recently handed in a report which was based around Robert Cialdini’s Weapons of Influence (of which scarcity was a part). If you wanted to read up on his theories, head to the Wikipedia entry for Persuasion and go from there. Or seek further reading in your local library!

Plus I thought that charity wristbands had gone out of fashion since there was a whole array of them in 2005; I can remember having most of my wrist covered to show support for various causes during my Sixth Form days!

Anyway, to conclude; the best way to improve your reputation as a charitable company with a strong CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) ethos isn’t to sell promotional items and give the proceeds to the cause. Nor is it a good idea to cross-promote your service with an announcement that you intend to donate money.

In terms of PR often the best thing to do is just keep it simple. Donate the money, and then let people know you have done so.

I would be interested to hear any other methods of charitable donation to the Japan relief effort that hasn’t jeopardised a company’s reputation. In the meantime, if you would like to donate, click the link to the UK Red Cross website.

Paul

The King Of Limbs

I was going to have this blog entry all set up and ready for Saturday morning (19th January) as it was supposed to be the actual release date of the album, but for the second time this week, Thom Yorke has pulled the rug from the entirety of music journalism in the UK, maybe the world.

The eighth studio album from Radiohead - 'The King Of Limbs' is out now, 24 hours earlier than expected. It was announced Monday morning and caught a lot of music websites and publications out, as many thought it wouldnt be around untill the autumn.

But is this the best way to publicise a new record? Granted it certainly breaks from the traditional format of releasing a new album, where promo copies are sent to journalists about six - eight weeks ahead of scheduled release for review, the first single is normally sent to radio about four-five weeks before its release – usually a week prior to the album launch.

What a lot of artists have been doing recently is making their single / album launch an event – Lady Gaga, The Strokes and now Radiohead have recently released new material, often with different amounts of 'warning time'; The Strokes and Gaga gave a couple of weeks notice before their singles were heard on the radio (and available for download straight away), but Radiohead put a tweet out on the Monday before a Friday release.

In terms of PR, making a release into an event works well for the bigger artists and musicians to the point where they don’t need that much help from a major label, as often a lot of hype and online media attention is afforded to the bigger artists, because online it is seemingly important to have the information available to your readers first.

This week has seen Radiohead pose in front of a tree (named The King of Limbs, in Wiltshire’s Savernake Forest) that some fans have travelled to visit, in order to search for clues about the record, or maybe even some other reward.

Anyway, these are my thoughts, based on my first listen of ‘The King Of Limbs’:

Bloom

A distorted piano and drum loop, this isn’t going to be a traditional Radiohead track; instead it sounds like something that Burial or the upcoming James Blake has worked on. Yorke’s familiar vocal kicks in after a minute, as he sings “don’t blow your mind with wires” and later “televisiual bile” yet on the first listen it’s not possible to pick up exactly what’s going on.

Morning Mr Magpie

Straight in with a catchier loop, it’s beginning to look like this will sit closer to The Eraser (Thom Yorke’s solo record) The vocals are easier to interpret here - “Good morning Mr Magpie / How are we today? / Now you’ve stolen all the magic / Took my melody” and on surface level this seems to be about somebody (or something) who has stolen something, or possibly some kind of sample robbery.

Little By Little

Thankfully this isn’t an Oasis cover. It is more of a “Radiohead sounding song” (if that’s something you can ever quantify). The chorus stands out "Over and over / goodbye crew / Never let anyone from this mirror / get judged" (well at least that’s what I think the lyrics were on a first listen!)

Feral

The synthy-drumbeats are now seemingly a theme throughout this record; this is arguably the most avant-garde Radiohead album since Kid A. This is the shortest track on the album at a touch over three minutes, it doesn’t feel quite long enough to connect with yet.

Lotus Flower

I think this is meant to be the lead track (dare I say single? probably not!) from The King Of Limbs as there was a video released online shortly before the download was available. Yorke sings “There’s an empty space inside my heart / there’s the wings too / so that I set you free“ and this is possibly the bridge from last album In Rainbows, also my favourite track so far.

Codex

Slow piano intro, sounds almost space-like. “Sleight of hand / Jump off the end / into a clear lake / no one around”. This is more like the Radiohead that people will know, and would have fitted in nicely with tracks like 'I Will' or ‘Sail To The Moon’ from Hail To The Thief. At the end is some weird sampling, which flows directly into...

Give Up The Ghost

A track that opens with acoustic guitar which is instantly noticeable, as the rest has been mostly electronically made. The slower second half of this record is almost a contrast to the up-tempo way that this starts out and seems like almost its two EP’s put back to back, rather than an entire record.

Separator

We end with another catchy drum/synth loop, which in terms of style sits in-between the experimental first few tracks and the calmer tracks it follows. “If you think this over / Then you’re wrong” is the key refrain in this track, but what it means for anything (including the bands future) is anyone’s guess, and definitely up for speculation.

The King Of Limbs is not an easy first listen, but it does definitely have the potential to be a satisfying one. As (somewhat of) a music writer, the pressure to write about songs as they’re being heard is not something I’ve ever experienced before, and any proper reviews in the next 24-48 hours will be rushed attempts to pick apart the album and turn into a review in order to be amongst the first to get their words out into the public domain.

I understand that nobody wants to be seen to be left behind (especially in journalism) but the better reviews will be those that haven’t jumped straight in. I will try to come back in a week and re-read what I’ve written today, and see if I still agree with it. As Radiohead have proven, a week can be a long time in music.

Have you heard The King of Limbs yet - what do you think?

Paul

Brit Awards 2011

Last night (February 15th) was the Brit Awards. Supposedly the highlight of British musical calendar, it’s in the past been just an evening of celebratory back-slapping. But for 2011, the approach had changed.

This year, the Brits were “all about the music”. So much so, that any (and every) opportunity to praise British music was shamelessly taken, almost to the point where it seemed like a bit of an ‘in joke’ that only the attendees were privy to.

As much as I wanted him to fail miserably at this, James Corden actually put in a pretty good shift as compere for the evening. Pretty good in terms of fronting the Brits does not equate to award-winning presenting skills, but the ability to avoid being upstaged by other or being compared to Sam Fox and Mick Fleetwood.

After Peter Kay toiled last year, the producers clearly wanted a much safer, less edgy host and in Corden they seemed to have their man. Towards the tail end of the broadcast he did wobble on the tightrope by stroking Justin Bieber’s face, as well as appearing to go off-script in the second half of the show like a boxer told to just “go out and throw punches”. His introduction of Alan Carr as a man who had sold out a venue as large as the O2 (a feat he could only dream of) must have stung, yet somehow he kept it together.

In terms of performances, the Brits always offer diversity in pop music, as well as professionalism and family entertainment values. Take That opened the show by performing complete with dancers in riot police costumes armed with batons, who were given about an hour off before being going through a different routine with Plan B. I understand that a lot of record companies face financial struggles due to falling sales, but its nice to see artists collaborating to book the same props and backing dancers.

But for every energetic performance, there was one of singers just affixed to a point on stage (Mumford and Sons / Adele were the main offenders in this) and while it’s “all about the music”, a little theatrics goes a long way for these events.

Being asked to perform is almost a sure fire way to guarantee not going home empty handed, this year being no exception. All who performed picked up a gong of some kind, except for the curiously unlikable Paloma Faith whose duet with Cee Lo Green was thankfully moved to the end of the show in the hope that those watching at home had switched channels, and those in attendance had switched from wine to champagne.

Canadian band Arcade Fire (pictured at top) were amongst the biggest winners on the night, taking off with Best International Album and Best International Group; but along with Laura Marling (who surprised many by claiming the Best British Female award) their reception was limited to those who knew their work prior to the awards. Tinie Tempah also stepped into the commercially acceptable rap & hip hop slot left unattended by Dizzee Rascal, going home with Best British Male and Best Single for ‘Pass Out’.

For a ceremony all about the music, offering out awards to the likes of Mumford & Sons and Justin Beiber did detract from the validity of the evening, but the biggest problem with the Brit awards isn’t the music, it’s the manner in which the evening is stage managed almost to the point of stifling the fun out of proceedings.

The Brits are never going to be as slick or as sharp as their American counterparts in the Grammys, so next year, I’d personally like to see a ceremony with a little more edge to it. Because if there’s a little more excitement, then there’s a lot more talking points, because it seems that the main tabloid focus was that Cheryl Cole was at the ceremony; not to perform, but just to pass on Best International Female to her “girl crush” Rihanna, who should have been reminded that miming is an “all or nothing” performance ethic before she took to the stage.

But, it’s all about the music, right?

Paul

Is the internet the right place to display University work?

After a conversation with one of my course mates earlier this evening about the fact that I had decided to upload some of my work into the public domain (through this blog) I’m starting to question the decision to do so.

At the time I uploaded the report because it was relevant to the news agenda of the day; The ICC had banned the three Pakistani cricketers at the centre of the ‘spot fixing' furore for spells of between five and ten years. The opportunity to express my opinion in such an academic format and ‘catch the eye’ of professionals in all industries, especially PR, seemed too good to miss.

The main rationale behind my decision to continue blogging is the hope that it makes me more employable; one of the biggest worries I currently have is that I won’t be able to find a job (other than shelf stacking in Tesco) after I leave Southampton Solent University in May / June.

But now the more I think about it (and I have thought about it, a lot) there’s huge potential for this to backfire massively. Even though I’m happy with the work - and the report plus its findings make perfect sense to me, it might not actually be that good academically; putting it online before receiving the marks is a massive personal gamble.

I’m due to receive feedback on Tuesday and I jokingly said to my friend that if the report was graded at a 2:2 standard (50-59%) or lower I would take it down in the seconds following the return of my work.

But what happens if I do get a 2:2? I will remove the post with the report embedded within, which will obviously mean a loss of face amongst anyone who reads this blog, or knows that I’ve hosted my work online.

Should I have waited to find out the marks? I understand that the internet (especially blogging) is still one of the best ways to display and promote creative work, but things are obviously different for more academic material and reports are not gifted the external subjectivity that music and the arts are.

I’d be very interested to see what others think. Students - would you ever display academic work online and what grade would you want to attain before doing so?

Paul

Dot Com

This is just a short update to let you all know that this blog now has a proper web address, instead of the old xxxx.blogspot.com malarky.

The website address is www.plusduckspeak.com

I've decided to upgrade to a .com address because its quicker to type, looks more professional and will hopefully increase my 'googleability' (if that isn't a word it should be).

Please continue to read this blog, and enjoy the rest of your day.

Paul

Super Bowl XLV

Last night (February 6th) was Super Bowl XLV (45) between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers, in North Texas. As always, I stayed up late to watch the game, but this year was more special, because the team I support (Green Bay) had made the Super Bowl for the first time since 1998 and went on to win the Vince Lombardi trophy (pictured below, left-right, are Clay Matthews with Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rogers) by beating the Steelers 31-25 in what proved to be another close Super Bowl, which went right down to the wire.























The Super Bowl has always been essential watching in America (and increasingly so worldwide) so companies spend an incredible amount of money on adverts during the broadcast (a 30 second commercial could have cost up to $3million this year). Because of the high financial cost of advertising, there is immense pressure for ads to be memorable and I’ll reveal some of my favourites from this year’s batch later on.

Each year the NFL asks a popular musician or band to perform a 12-13 minute set during half time of the game, this year is the turn of American pop group The Black Eyed Peas. Here’s a handy YouTube video of their performance, followed by some opinions (mine) of their set.



Some notes from the Super Bowl XLV Halftime Show:

1. As halftime shows go, it wasn’t the best, but did have some good bits. As a tele-visual performance, it was well run and no wardrobe malfunctions (deliberate or otherwise) were had.

2. Some questionable costumes were featured in this performance. Examples being Will.I.Am’s whole ensemble (plastic haircut included in this) and his colleague’s glow-in-the-dark jacket were the worst offences, as well as all those who were forced to wear either a neon gimp suit or an Ikea box on their head (or in some cases, both).

3. The guest spots from Slash and Usher were a bit contrived, both were seemingly only there to pick up a hefty cheque / publicity for a short appearance. To his credit, Usher did dance, and jumped 6ft into the air and landed in a splits position, but Slash just stood there being stroked by singer Fergie like he was in a lap dance club.

4. The Black Eyed Peas do have some good ‘pop’ songs, which should have been sung in their original form, not altered to generate further publicity by having a cheeky dig (see 09:34 in the video) at Barack Obama’s plans for education in the United States. If you are going to change the lyrics to any song during a Super Bowl performance, then Christina Aguilera's lead should be followed (by changing / forgetting the words of the national anthem).

5. As point 1 states, this was not the best Super Bowl Half Time show, and next year I would like to see something totally different (Muse / Lady Gaga) or something out-and-out controversial (Kanye West).

Here are some of my favourite commercials featured in the Super Bowl broadcast. Feel free to watch these adverts, as I spent a good hour trawling through YouTube for them! My top 5 is as follows:

5. Doritos: House Sitting



4. Coca Cola: Border



3. Bud Light: Product Placement



2. Bridgestone: Carma



1. Volkswagen: The Force



I hope you enjoyed this blog post as much as I enjoyed Super Bowl XLV

Paul

Spot Fixing Verdict / Ethics Report

As the verdict of the ICC tribunal into the spot-fixing allegations by Pakistan cricketers Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt has been announced today (February 5th 2011) this seems like a good enough time to go ahead with this blog entry.

It's been announced that all three players have been found guilty by the ICC and have recieved lengthy bans; Butt for ten years (with five suspended), Asif for seven years (with two suspended) and Amir for five years. The players also face corruption charges in the UK, with the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) claiming that they will seek to extradite the players if they do not come to the UK to answer the charges voluntarily.

For one of my university units (Ethics, Issues and Crisis Management) I had to write a 4,000 word research report on an organisation and investigate its approach to ethical issues and how it has developed its issue / crisis management strategy over time, as well as how they could potentially repair their reputation.

I chose to focus on the Pakistan Cricket Board, after members of the Pakistan Cricket team were alleged to have been caught 'spot fixing' in a test match against England in August 2010.

Back in January I hounded people to respond to a questionnaire I had posted online for the primary research section of this report. Thank you to all who took the time to complete it, it really means a lot!

This is the first time that I have made any of my university work available for public consumption; if it disappears in the next few days it will be because I'll have found out that making my work available in the public domain has breached some rule that Southampton Solent University has about this sort of thing.

I've been contemplating putting this report online for a few weeks now, but I wasn't sure if it is appropriate to do so, especially as it hasn't yet been formally marked by my lecturers.

I want to use this blog to promote myself as I search for a job in PR after I complete my degree in Public Relations and Communication at Southampton Solent Uni in June 2011, so putting my work online for potential employers to read seems like a logical decision. Plus I think that for the countless hours that I put into this report, having only three people reading it (myself and the two markers) would be a shame!

I have been advised by my lecturer to make clear that this work is my own and that it should not be re-used without permission.

Therefore this report may not be copied in part or in whole without prior permission, and if used in an academic capacity must clearly be cited properly using the author (Paul Taylor) as a reference. By reading either 1. This blog page or 2. Any section of the report, you (the reader) explicitly agree to abide by these terms.

Anyway, here is the report. If you are viewing this blog on a mobile device such as an iPhone please click the direct link to view in iBooks (or whatever the Android / Blackberry equivalent is).



Here are the appendices that don't appear in the embedded document.

Appendix E - Survey Monkey questionnaire on Spot Fixing . Please note that pages 35-37 are intentionally blank. Please don't fill out the questionnaire (I don't need any more responses)
Appendix K - ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel
(PDF)
Appendix L - ICC Anti Corruption Code for Players and Player Support Personnel
(PDF)
Appendix M - ECB Rules and Regulations (Web page)
Appendix N - Southampton Solent University Ethics form (Unavailable)
Appendix O - Blog post about Spot Fixing

Feel free to digest at your leisure, I hope you find it an informing read.

Paul

Transfer Deadline Day

Since the 2002 / 2003 football season, FIFA (football's governing body) has introduced two "registration periods" in which teams can register new players who are eligible to play for that club in the coming months. The idea was met with a mixed reception by players, managers and agents in the game, but it now forms an important part of modern football.


















Fernando Torres. Image: Getty Images

Transfer deadline day (as the media have called it for the last few years) is a massive event on the 24 hour rolling-news channel Sky Sports News as they have presenters in their main studio liaising with other reporters placed at various training grounds of football clubs involved in the biggest rumours of the day.

There's always a sense of controlled mayhem, because until any deals have been confirmed by both clubs and often the player, it means the presenters are forced to free associate about any possible transfers. Today (January 31st) one of the biggest potential deals is Liverpool striker Fernando Torres (pictured above) moving to Chelsea, and Newcastle striker Andy Carroll moving to Liverpool:

Newcastle want more than £30m for Andy Carroll
Liverpool want more than £50m for Fernando Torres
Chelsea have offered £42m plus Nicolas Anelka for Torres
Nicolas Anelka doesn't want to play for Liverpool

Deals such as this can often be quite a complex process and the only reasonable analogy I can think of that is similar to football transfers is a housing chain, where one deal is dependent on another deal being done, with everything falling into place. The only difference is a constant ticking clock in the corner of the screen, counting down to 23:00 GMT tonight, where deals must be confirmed with the English FA.

The other recent impact on TDD is the use of social networks, especially Twitter as it often increases the speed at which news reaches the press and television channels. Today has seen all sorts of rumours of a helicopter at the Liverpool training ground ready to take Torres to London to complete his deal, something the club have denied. There’s also been speculation about other deals including Sergio Aguero to Tottenham Hotspur, but Aguero's club Athletico Madrid have announced that he has signed a three-year contract extension and will not be moving.

Normally users expect that the majority of everything on Twitter to be as close to factual as possible, especially as many use the network to disseminate all kinds of information to their 'followers'. In previous PR lectures I've always been told that it is important to be honest and open in all forms of communication, especially to the media. Friends on Journalism courses have in the past brought up the importance of checking out the sources behind a story to see if they are truthful, or if there is another potential "angle" that can be used as part of an article.

But it seems as if every normal type of practice for PRO's and Journalists suddenly goes out of the window on transfer deadline day, as the clubs want to 'keep their cards close to their chests' over any potential deals being done (presumably to avoid interest from other clubs that could gazump them) and journalists will take any tiny source as gospel (however unreliable) just to have something to report to viewers when asked for an update by the team at a central studio.

I do sometimes wonder how easy it would be to falsely generate a rumour about A. Trialist signing for FC Notaclub on a massive £60m deal with wages of around £300k a week. Obviously this sounds ridiculous, but if enough people say something is true, then eventually it becomes true, similar to the concept of 2+2=5, which was also touched upon in the George Orwell novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Transfer deadline day with all of the rumours on social media networks such as Twitter and constant news coverage does make for an exciting watch, even if the majority of the stories will be repeated several times over the course of the day (such is the nature of the modern 24 hour news network).

Anyway, I have a helicopter to catch...

Paul

Skins

This month has seen the debut of the popular television show Skins debut in the US, as well as the start of the 5th series in the UK. Many people will have seen the show in the UK, which in the past has been full of teen sex, drug use, and other post-watershed type material. But it turns out that a load of American companies decided to pay for expensive adverts on television channel MTV without doing their research.

A show aimed at the financially lucrative 'teen' audiences must have been a goldmine opportunity for American sponsors, in the way that Jersey Shore, American Idol and (shortly) The X Factor will be. But it appears that Skins isn't as popular as was hoped.

Due to the content of the show, which depicts teenagers taking drug, getting drunk and having sex many TV watchdog groups have rushed to mount their shire ponies (high horses) to criticise the show and claim that it’s a breach of child pornography laws, due to the age of some of the actors that filmed the show.

The pressure being put on the show’s producers has generated publicity for MTV in the way that banned music videos often go onto perform reasonably well in singles charts. But lots of the companies who have paid for advertising during the show have been leaving the show in their droves.

Taco Bell, General Motors, Wrigley’s, Schick (who manufacture razors and shaving foam), Subway and H&R Block (a tax preparation company) have all pulled their adverts after the criticism of the show, most of them citing reasons such as the show was "not aligned with [Schick] corporate guidelines".

The question now is why companies who were so eager to jump aboard the cash cow that is television drama in the US had not done their research on what the show would be about? Or had they thought that maybe content of Skins wasn’t too bad, but wanted to save their reputation by publicly turning their back on the show when the criticism arose. One of the most important things I've learnt (had drummed into me!) on my PR degree this year is about stakeholders, and how important it is to effectively manage each stakeholder group. But if massive companies are making mistakes like these, then I guess it shows that no-one’s perfect! MTV has said that it has no plans to pull the season, which only has 8 episodes left to air.

In terms of tele-visual quality, the US version of season 1 is nowhere near the quality of the British predecessor, but then it’s always been the case that UK television doesn’t translate well to an American audience and vice-versa. The UK season 5 has started off as a bit of a 'slow burner' in my eyes, but strangely I do believe that it could work very well in America because of the way it’s been written, plus the styling and casting of the characters.

What do you think of the UK / US versions of Skins?
Should companies pull out of advertisements because of the content of the show?

Let me know.

Paul

Offside

I understand this blog is at least 24 hours later than the UK news agenda, but some if it will still be worth reading, especially as not enough has been written about the next steps for the organisations involved, and how they can repair the damage done to their reputation.


















I don't want to hark on and on about what happened, so I'll surmise; two Sky Sports presenters (Richard Keys and Andy Grey, pictured above) made sexist remarks about a female assistant referee (Sian Massey) and West Ham chairperson Karen Brady, which were at the time not broadcast but somehow reached the public consciousness.

The footage was a conversation that should not have been heard, spoken by two people who really should know better. This is not the first time commentators have been caught out; a lot of people will draw comparisons with sacked ITV pundit Ron Atkinson, who made racist remarks about ex-Chelsea player Marcel Desailly.

Some of the journalism this week hasn't exactly done much to promote equality in football; asking disinterested women (and men) on the street if they understand arguably the most complex law (as a once-qualified football referee, the interpretation is the hardest part to gauge) in football is at best, pretty banal and doesn't exactly do its bit for engaging women in the sport.

So what should everyone do next?

The FA (Football Association) should continue with its various schemes and programmes to improve the standard of all refereeing in football. Any "knee-jerk" decisions to introduce more female referees and assistant referees into the Premier League will be quickly touted as "shutting the gate after the horse has bolted", rightfully so. Many see the FA as a fair organisation trying to promote football at all levels, so they should not engage in any activity that will endanger this perception.

Sky should also have been less ambiguous with the length of "suspension" for the pairing of Gray and Keys. At the time of writing they were due to miss all of the midweek televised fixtures, and will miss out on a further week of Monday Night Football because of the FA Cup games replacing Premier League fixtures, to which Sky doesn’t own the television rights.

An on air public apology at the top of the next broadcast will go some of the way towards showing that Sky is not a sexist broadcaster (even though most of the female presenters on Sky Sports News have been lauded as sex icons by wide areas of the channel’s mainly male demographic), but by the time this happens many will have forgotten about the comments.

Keys and Gray should also receive referee training (if they are not already qualified) as this would re-enforce the need for new officials, especially at the grass-roots levels of the game. Sky could even televise the pair "running the line" in a Sunday League game, which would probably be quite entertaining to watch as they try to keep up with play, and might act as some form of scarlet letter punishment.

The point is that although the obvious temptation is to make radical changes in order to shed the "white van man" image that football fans have, it will be the minor adjustments to the game that will attract the least derision from fans.

Some of the key words within the offside law are “advantage” and “interfering with play”. The comments by Andy Gray and Richard Keys were certainly offside in the modern game, but the question now becomes which parties are “seeking to gain an advantage” on the back of this issue, and will it interfere with play?

UPDATE 26th Jan: I've just back from lectures at uni today (25th January) and BBC Sport are reporting that Andy Gray has been sacked from his role as a commentator / pundit on Sky Sports, as he apparently has a bit of a "track record" for sexist behaviour. Another pundit, Andy Burton has been 'stood down' from coverage of the Carling Cup Semi-Final 2nd leg between Birmingham and West Ham on Wednesday 26th January after he referred to Sian Massey as "a bit of a looker" in an off-air exchange with Gray prior to the live coverage on Sky.

I have a feeling this isn't the end of the matter...

Paul

Spot Fixing

This is just going to be a short entry about spot fixing, and there will be a link to a questionnaire at the end, PLEASE FILL IT IN!! (as I would quite like a good mark in my university assignment!)


















This is relevant because the players involved in the spot fixing scandal (Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir, and Salmon Butt, pictured above) are this week having their cases heard in front of an ICC (International Cricket Council) tribunal in Doha this week.

Spot fixing has the potential to be a really damaging issue in modern cricket if it is not challenged or stopped by crickets governing body. I have loads of ideas about how it can be stopped (which is why im writing a 4000 word ethics report about it), but I'd like to hear what you have to say on the matter.

If you have an opinion, please write it in the comments below. Please also head to the questionnaire below (thanks to everyone at Survey Monkey) and fill it in!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PLW3LGR

Thanks for your help,

Paul

Ryan Babel

I'm a huge fan of reading a long drawn out Twitter rant, and Kanye West is still the master at them, but today is still first time I've heard about a footballer having a moan!

Liverpool striker Ryan Babel took to Twitter to publicly criticise referee Howard Webb after Manchester United were awarded a slightly dubious and maybe a little soft clearly legitimate penalty in the first minute of today's E.On sponsored F.A. Cup Third round tie at Old Trafford.

Babel sent out the following tweet after the game: "And they call him one of the best referees? That's a joke. SMH."

Here's the picture in question. It depicts match referee Howard Webb in a Manchester United shirt.














Note: It is at the moment unclear exactly who made the picture, but I would really like to think that Babel put the hour he spent on the substitutes bench to good use!

Although he later apologised - "Sorry Howard Webb. My apology if they take my posted pic seriously. This is just an emotional reaction after losing an important game." Babel is likely to be on the receiving end of an FA disciplinary hearing for allegations of bias.

The FA should add another game onto the ban for trotting out the old 'in the heat of the moment' type excuse...

Still, at least he can spend the time on the sidelines dabbling on Photoshop!

Paul