You are receiving this e-bulletin because you have told us you are interested in public relations and corporate communications. If you do not want to receive this e-bulletin simply click on the 'safe unsubscribe' button at the bottom of the email.

If you have friends or colleagues who would like to receive esPResso, tell them to send an email to espressosubscribe@unicornjobs.com

For updates on esPResso PR news stories as they go online between bulletins, sign up to our Twitter feed - follow us at www.twitter.com/espresso_prnews.

Brand Comms Manager, Pharmaceuticals
High Wycombe, £40k - 50k
You will need media relations and product launch experience, and a creative approach to campaigns. Ideally you will have experience working on pharmaceutical brands, though broader consumer experience will also be considered. Ref: SS80
more info

Executive, Financial PR
London, £24k - 30k
You should be an enthusiastic team player with the ability to build strong relationships. Strong written skills and academic background are a must. Ideally you have previous financial PR experience, though banking or auditing experience will be considered. Ref: SS74
more info

Account Director, Lifestyle (Brands & Drink)
London, £45k
You will have strong consumer agency experience, a hands-on approach, a track record in delivering big, creative ideas and results, and not be adverse to a bit of new business. You will be contributing across a number of high profile accounts. Ref: TF83
more info

Senior Account Director, Consumer (Retail)
London, £45k+
Are you able to demonstrate your passion for brands? If you have experience of the household, retail or travel sectors, then this could be the right next move for you. Some knowledge of personal finance would be beneficial, but not essential. Ref: TF81
more info

Account Manager, Consumer (FMCG)
London, £35k
This diverse consumer team within a global agency needs an experienced AM looking for their next step up. Working across grooming, home and lifestyle accounts, experience of working on integrated campaigns would be useful. Ref: TF82
more info

Account Director, Consumer (Entertainment & Culture)
London, to £45k
Working with a mix of high profile consumer clients, this is an exciting opportunity to work as part of a creative, supportive and passionate team on youth, entertainment and fashion brands. Also involvement in ongoing new business drive. Ref: TF86
more info

Account Director, Consumer (Health & Lifestyle)
London, to £45k
Fantastic opportunity to really make your mark within this Health & Lifestyle team. You'll need a proven understanding of the health sector and the integrated marketing mix, plus ability to deliver campaigns successfully on time and in budget. Ref: TF85
more info

Account Director/Snr Account Director, Corporate/Financial
London, to £60k
This role covers both brand positioning and B2B media relations for a wide range of UK and non-UK clients. Team management and strong client facing skills a must. Some risk and crisis experience would be useful, as would new business pedigree. Ref: TF84
more info

--

To apply for any of these roles, email your CV and a covering letter to jobs@unicornjobs.com, quoting the job reference in the subject line

NEW RECRUIT AT UNICORN JOBS
The Unicorn Jobs team has just expanded with the recruitment of a new Consultant, Tanya Ferris.

Tanya has over eight years experience in PR and communications recruitment, most recently at Media Recruitment. She has placed candidates in agency and in-house roles, working with clients as diverse as Starbucks, Christies, Xbox and the RSPCA on the in-house side, and Hill & Knowlton, Mandate, Borkowski, Exposure and JCPR/Edelman in the agency domain.

Before moving into recruitment, Tanya worked in PR herself, overseeing consumer-focused campaigns for a range of clients across the retail, publishing, fashion and FMCG sectors.

THE SUN'S POLITICAL MAN GOES TO PORTLAND
The Sun's political editor, George Pascoe-Watson, is leaving the tabloid to move into a PR role at Portland, the political communications consultancy led by former Tony Blair advisor Tim Allan. He leaves the paper just weeks after it formally switched its political allegience to the Conservative Party.

Confirming his appointment as a Partner at Portland, Pascoe-Watson told esPResso: "I cannot wait to join Portland's brilliant, energetic and dynamic team. I leave The Sun with nothing but happy memories of 22 years on Fleet Street. I was thrilled to have played a key role in switching The Sun's support to David Cameron. I leave The Sun in the brilliant hands of Dominic Mohan, a friend and colleague who I anticipate will build on Rebekah Brooks's formidable success. And it is now time to use the skills and experience of 22 years on the country's biggest paper to great effect".

Tim Allan added: "George is one of the best political journalists of his generation, and there is no training ground like The Sun. He has a superb knowledge not only of the media but also of today's political landscape. His skills and experience are genuinely unique and will be absolutely invaluable to Portland's clients".

Pascoe-Watson will be succeeded at The Sun by Tom Newton Dunn.

The former Sun man is the latest in a number of high profile appointments at Portland. The other big names joining the comms agency in recent weeks are another sign of the lobbying sector preparing for a Conservative government next summer. David Cameron's former press secretary George Eustice will join the company, as will Tory heavyweight Michael Portillo.

The exact nature of Portillo's part time role with Portland is not known, though he did recently confirm the appointment, saying in a statement: "Portland has built a strong reputation and a first class knowledge of politics and the media. I look forward to working with the team and helping the business grow". 

PRCA CHIEF CALLS ON LOBBYISTS TO ACCEPT VOLUNTARY REGULATION
Staying with political communications, and the boss of the Public Relations Consultants' Association recently called on key players in the lobbying sector to sign up to proposals for self-regulation. If they don't, Francis Ingham warned, he believes any new Conservative government will deliver on its promises to introduce statutory regulation.

Proposals to increase transparency in lobbying through a register of interests and/or voluntary code of conduct have been much discussed in the public affairs industry, mainly because of moves by political types at both a European and UK level to force more regulation upon the sector. While some advocate voluntary regulation, some key players are still resisting any changes in current practice.

Writing on his blog earlier this month, the PRCA chief wrote: "Too many public affairs agencies out there still choose not to be regulated. They provide various excuses for this. They say that their internal codes of conduct are better than independent ones; that it wouldn't be fair to their clients to reveal who they work with. What they really mean is that they're free riders on the ethicality of their peers. That they are ashamed of who they work for. That they are incapable of adhering to proper codes of conduct".

He continues: "Well, they now have a choice. If they continue to remain outside the pale of decent practice, then they will bring statutory regulation down upon not only themselves, but upon the public affairs industry as a whole. Their intransigence and obstinacy will inflict personal professional damage upon us all".

Setting out his own plans in the area, he concluded: "We'll be working over the next few months to extend our coverage of the industry, and to increase the already forty-plus public affairs agencies that are today members of the PRCA and already embrace self-regulation. And we'll also be naming and shaming those companies - and their chiefs - that are putting our industry's future at risk. Because it's time they realised the threat they pose to the industry that they purport to love".

You can read Ingham's blog here.

MCCANN PR WINS LIBEL CLAIM AGAINST PEOPLE
A PR expert who worked for the McCann family in the months after their daughter Madeleine first went missing while on holiday in Portugal in May 2007 has won a libel action against The People.

Justine McGuinness sued the tabloid after they reported in October 2007 that she had charged the McCann fund £20,000 more than originally agreed, and that she had been forced to cease working for the family. McGuinness stepped down as the Find Madeleine Fund's communications strategist after a few months, being succeeded by former BBC journalist Clarence Mitchell.

Responding to the newspaper's allegations, McGuinness' legal representative Amber Melville-Brown told the court: "In fact, Ms McGuinness did not overcharge the fund and indeed bore many of the necessary expenses herself. Neither was she forced to resign. As initially agreed with the fund, she left in September 2007 to meet other pre-arranged commitments".

The People publishers MGM Limited have accepted that the allegations were untrue and apologised for the distress and embarrassment caused. They will make a donation to a charity of McGuinness' choice as part of the legal settlement.

PR DIMENSION OF SUPER-INJUNCTION FRACAS
The big story in the media industry last week provides a valuable case study for those communicators trying to convince employers or clients that a PR approach can be better than litigation when trying to bury bad news, even if there is a legal claim under the laws of confidence that could stop newspapers from reporting on a tricky story.

Last week mainstream media attention fell on so called 'super-injunctions', a relatively new kind of court ruling which bans all media from reporting on a certain news story - normally on privacy or confidence grounds - and from reporting on the existance of the injunction.

The super-injunction under the spotlight was one secured by legal firm Carter-Ruck on behalf of London-based oil traders Trafigura, and related to a confidential report into allegations a ship they had chartered illegally dumped toxic waste into the seas off the Ivory Coast, allegedly leading to illness among some of the population who lived near the coast line. The injunction stopped papers, in particular The Guardian, from reporting on an internal investigation into the affair.

It became news worthy when Trafigura learned that MP Paul Farrelly planned to raise a question in the House Of Commons about the super injunction, and its impact on press freedom, and that he would name check both Carter Ruck and the oil firm in his question. The lawyers quickly issued a warning to The Guardian that if they reported on Farrelly's question they would be in breach of the original super-injunction.

This put the story on a whole new level, because the media's right to report on events in parliament has been sacrosanct for centuries, and it's not for the courts to interfer with parliamentary protocol. The Guardian subsequently let it slip that it was in dispute with a legal firm over their right, or not, to report on a question due to be asked in parliament.

The Twitter-sphere went into hyperdrive and, as bloggers found the offending question in parliamentary papers and published despite Carter Ruck's warnings, and with MPs piling in to criticise the legal firm and their clients, the lawyers quickly withdrew their claim and gave The Guardian the all clear to report the story in full.

It's interesting in PR terms because, without the super-injunction, Trafigura would have faced some negative reporting in The Guardian, and maybe some other broadsheets, but would have almost certainly not found themselves under anything like the media glare that resulted from Carter Ruck's perceived attempts to interfere with parliamentary convention. Legal attempts to avoid a tricky PR challenge resulted in a PR disaster.

Reflecting on the fracas, Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger wrote last week: [The textbook approach for dealing with tricky stories] has been blown away by a newspaper, together with the mass collaboration of total strangers on the web. Trafigura thought it was buying silence. A combination of old media – the Guardian – and new – Twitter – turned attempted obscurity into mass notoriety. This week's Trafigura fiasco ought to be taught to aspiring MBAs and would-be journalists".

GE REFRESH COMMS TO EMPHASISE GREEN CREDENTIALS
General Electric, one of the biggest companies in the world, recently refreshed its UK communication set up, partly in bid to push forward the firm's green credentials.

According to PR Week, GE have promoted their government relations chief, Miles Webber, to the new role of Director Of External Affairs. Although political types remain an important audience for the US-based conglomerate's UK comms activity, it is alsokeen to ensure as many people as possible are fully aware of its investment in eco-friendly technology, and particularly in wind power - GE is a big provider of wind turbines.

Confirming his new role, Webber told PR Week: "We have always engaged with governments and stakeholders, but there is an increasing need for us to make sure our communication with key stakeholders is absolutely at the front of our corporate focus. We have a great story to tell about the range of things we care about - from wind to smart-meters, to early diagnoses in the health service, through to funding SMEs. We need to have a profile that reflects this".

INNOCENT PR CAMPAIGN TO RESURRECT GRANDMA SINGERS
I'm not convinced this is what the world needs in 2009, but smoothies brand Innocent is planning on reforming the St Winifred's School Choir of 1980 this Christmas to re-release their Christmas number one single from that year, 'There's No One Quite Like Grandma'.

It's all part of the drinks brand's annual cause-related marketing initiative the Big Knit campaign, in which people all over the country knit special mini woolly hats which are placed on top of bottles of the smoothie drinks and sold in aid of Age Concern.

Frank PR are behind the St Winifred's add on to this year's Big Knit campaign. The agency's Graham Goodkind told PR Week: ‘We are confident that reuniting St Winifred's School Choir and re-releasing their 80s hit will generate plenty of talkability and give fresh impetus to the Big Knit".

ANT & DEC BECOME FACE OF NINTENDO
One from the celebrity endorsement file now. TV favourites Ant and Dec (do they still count as "favourites"?) are the new faces of Nintendo.

Although based around a television ad campaign which will see the ITV duo bigging up the gaming company, there are other elements to Ant and Dec's Nintendo partnership too.

The presenters are expected to give a number of media interviews talking up Nintendo later this year and, possibly in a bid to give the dynamic duo something to talk about in said interviews, the pair will also be involved in the creation of some new games specifically created for Nintendo consoles.

In another bid to give the celebrity partnership more PR mileage, the people behind the campaign have been recruiting members of the public to appear in the Ant and Dec fronted TV spots, ads in which the telly pair will compete with real people playing Nintendo games.

Announcing the partnership, Nintendo UK's General Manager David Yarnton told reporters: "Given Ant and Dec's popularity with everyone from grandparents to grand children and with the broad appeal of Nintendo's products from ages five to 95, we knew they'd make the perfect partner for the brand".

"One of the more frequent questions asked of the Bad Pitch blog is 'what's the difference between pitching journalists and bloggers?' We used to assume that the main difference was that pitching bloggers requires hyper-customization. And while they do, it's deeper than this – there's a bigger difference.

80/20 Rule
If we did an analysis of [the examples of] ham-fisted pitches sent our way [by our readers], I'll bet that 80 percent or more of them are originally aimed at bloggers.

This 80/20 rule has always bothered us. Why are pitches more prone to piss off bloggers than journalists? It's not like misguided PR people send their 'Sunday best' pitches to the media and 'casual Friday' pitches to the bloggers. That maneuver would require something other than the rampant mass pitching that takes place.

After receiving thousands of pitches over the last three plus years, we can tell you that the bad ones suck consistently across the board.

What's the Difference?
At the risk of oversimplifying, and pissing off our friends from the fourth estate (again), I'll start out by saying...

...the difference between journalists and bloggers is paid vs. passion.

Paid vs Passion

Paid: First let me be clear and note that passion is required to turn a job into a career. Journalism is no different. I mean, who hasn't watched 'All The President's Men' and thought "How amazing would it be to help right wrongs of national magnitude by day and chill with people code-named Deep Throat at night?"

But for the most part, journalists are paid to do their job. And with every job there are things you put up with in exchange for the rest of it – and your paycheck. Bad PR pitches become a cost of doing business.

When we talk live to journalists, instead of via email (gasp!), they usually tell us about their bad pitches. The journalists consider sending them our way, but they "never get around to it".

The journalists are getting the same bad pitches the bloggers are getting. They've just developed a tolerance over the years. That twice-monthly paycheck is a powerful antibiotic to fend off the ill of bad pitches.

Passion: From NASCAR to knitting, if you start a blog for any other reason than passion for that topic, it will be hard going. Passion fuels push-button publishing. Sometimes passion is the only thing fueling the effort.

More often than not, bloggers are not getting paid; they haven't monetized. And unlike Mommy bloggers, many aren't having largess foisted upon them by marketers at such levels that a swag recycling station has to be set up at one of their industry conferences (a topic for another post on another blog).

So when you send a ham-fisted pitch to a blogger, you're tossing cold water on their passion. You're implying you don't really care about their favorite topic. I'm more likely to take a bad pitch personally than a grizzled newsroom veteran who can filter through them without even thinking twice.

Pitch Early vs Often

When working with bloggers another issue is timing. Everyone assumes that bloggers move at the speed of social media. The technology certainly permits them to live blog, live tweet and send photos from the field. But even the pitches that make the cut can get pushed to the side when life happens.

Most bloggers do this in their free time. If they have a job and a life, blogging takes third place. It should take third place (the author reminds himself).

It's frustrating. But there's a way to mediate this issue. If we recognize that bloggers have less than predictable publishing cycles, and we start pitching them earlier, we're more likely to see success.

We need to start comparing their publishing cycle more to trade publications than the AP Newswire. Trade journalists work an average of three months in advance and don't have an international newswire to distribute their stories as needed. Bloggers do have this access to technology, but it doesn't mean they have to use it.

So the real difference between journalists and bloggers are their motivations. Motivations define their deadlines and their receptiveness to pitches. Keep all of this in mind when preparing your next round of pitches. And get motivated!

The Bad Pitch guys have more to say on this topic - so you should read the full blog here.