About this article

Read time:

4 minutes

Category:

Uncategorized

PR nightmares

Halloween is just around the corner, and as seasoned storytellers, we thought what better way to mark the occasion than to share our scary stories – although probably not the sort you’re used to. 

Do you want to know what really keeps us PR people up at night? Nothing chills us to the bone quite like reminiscing about serious PR mishaps – whether those of our own or the more infamous disasters that go down in history as ‘what not to do’ examples in the PR playbook.

I asked my colleagues at Skout to share the cringe-inducing scary stories from their careers in PR to date, and they did not disappoint! In fact, we probably got enough to produce a (very long, very sad) book. So, while I’m in the process of writing that highly anticipated thriller to profit off their misfortunes, here are the high(low?) lights, grouped by the overarching lessons learnt.

Don’t do creativity for creativity’s sake

  • Possibly the worst idea ever involved me having to sit in a bath of Vimto pretending to be engaged to a colleague for a valentine’s story! You see, B2B ain’t that bad!”
  • “We decided to pitch to a major email and internet provider as if we were auditioning for a talent show programme. No one laughed or got it – it went down like a lead balloon. We didn’t win it. But that wasn’t as bad as the time we thought it would be a good idea to ‘fake’ kidnap a prospect and drive them around London (they were in security). We didn’t win that one either.”

Remain professional through new business pitches at all times

  • “We turned up for a pitch only to discover we’d got the wrong office. We lost it.”
  • “I was in a really long repitch once and it was quite clear we were only there to make up the numbers. The people we were pitching to were clearly bored and not interested and one even walked out of the room mid-way through my presentation!”
  • “The prospects started arguing among themselves after calling one of my ideas ‘less Ferrari, more Robin Reliant’.”

Make sure your talent is briefed thoroughly

  • “I was working on a launch to take place in Covent Garden in London for my glass recycling association client. The client arranged the delivery of the glass recycling banks but we had to arrange the glass to use as part of the photoshoot. Two of us travelled down to London on the train with four bin bags full of empty glass bottles. We were met at Covent Garden by our celebrity, a well-known wine critic at the time. She then promptly refused to sit on top of the glass recycling banks.”
  • “I once had to almost rugby tackle a Good Morning Britain television presenter back in the 90s when she very nearly destroyed a gold monopoly board worth over quarter of a million pounds – clearly hadn’t listened to me saying not to throw the dice because the diamonds would scratch the gold!”

Some clients are nicer than others

  • “One time my client insisted on drinking carrot juice before a face-to-face briefing with a journalist and had an orange moustache for the entire session.”
  • “I had to brief a client’s CEO over from the US for media briefings while standing at a urinal – ‘walk with me – I need to take a….’”
  • “I was scapegoated by a client who wanted to wriggle out of their contract. Their entire management team of 10 came to our offices with the intention of holding me personally accountable to poor results.”
  • “Once I took a client to Euston meet a journalist. The journalist had clearly had a rough night and looked as if he’d crawled out from under a bush. The client asked me if he was homeless.”
  • I had to follow up the ‘best PR idea ever’ which gave the client £000,000s of coverage. Unsurprisingly the next idea was a total flop in comparison.”
  • “A very famous CEO got off the plane from California and was driven to his hotel in central London, where he walked in, took a look at the lobby and turned around and walked out again because he didn’t like it. Cue me trying to find another hotel room in three minutes flat.”
  • “My client fell asleep in a press briefing with tier one journalists. She was really jet lagged having just flown in. Nobody should have booked those meetings for her in the first place. I ended up coughing really loudly to try and wake her up!”

Enjoying our blogs?

We can deliver a monthly round-up straight to your inbox

Take note of key dates, disasters and national holidays

  • “I had to organise a media event in London on the same day as a tube strike – the client wouldn’t let me cancel it.”
  • “I had to do a client launch the day after Princess Diana died because the client wouldn’t let us cancel.”

And finally, don’t make an exhibition of yourself

  • “The last day of my PR placement was the company’s AGM and it was my job to have a new exhibition stand ready for the company reception. It was last minute and I had to book out an estate car from the car pool to pick up the exhibition materials from Liverpool. This was before the days of lightweight pop-up stands – they were all thick MDF panels all professionally designed and ready. On the way back, the boot opened on a dual carriageway and they all slid out. Then a transit van ran over them! I had to pull over and run into the road to grab the boards before they were completely ruined. In the end the boards did get used – complete with tyre marks!”

About this article

Read time:

4 minutes

Category:

Uncategorized

B2C by name, B2B by nature

Top 5 AI tools for PR & marketing 

Browse more blog posts

Posted on
byRebecca Brown
There are many brands out there that are typically associated with their consumer products, but their heritage actually lies within the B2B market. In most scenarios, the consumer side of the business has grown so big, that it can easily be forgotten that they also sell to a business audience too! GPS specialist and smart watch developer, Garmin, is a...
Posted on
byJack Snell
It’s evident that AI is becoming increasingly beneficial in the daily responsibilities of marketing and PR professionals. Whether it’s streamlining processes or eliminating mundane tasks, there seems to be an AI software tool for everything. But with advancements in AI seemingly happening every day when we log on to work, sometimes it can be hard to keep up, or even...
Posted on
byJack Snell
With summer in full swing, we thought this was the perfect opportunity to have a little fun! Take our quiz and test your knowledge – a perfect excuse to take a well-earned break (we know you marketers are very busy 😉). All answers are at the bottom (no cheating!) And please do let us know your score. PR & marketing...
Posted on
byClaire James
I recently attended a leadership training course where we were asked to define our leadership style and our core values. We were guided through this exercise during the course but it got me thinking about my core values – the things that, when challenged, can prompt a physical reaction and an emotional response. It didn’t take me long to work...
Posted on
byClaire James
The construction sector has long struggled with issues around insolvency. This could, in part, be due to the fact that there are so many sole traders and small firms out there sub-contracting that have struggled financially with the Covid-19 situation and then with the supply chain price increases. But the industry has been sitting at a rate of between 750...
Posted on
byJames Weaver
The fintech industry is renowned for its innovation. In a highly competitive and fiercely contested landscape, connecting with your target audience is crucial, especially when aiming to penetrate a market as dynamic as the UK’s. Therefore, leveraging the power of PR can be a game-changer for your fintech business. Here, we detail how B2B PR can help your fintech brand...
Posted on
byJames Weaver
Times of change are afoot. With the UK general election poised for July 4th, the population of the UK will make a collective decision and if early polls are to be believed, it’s highly likely that we’ll witness a change in government. Experts and political analysts are anticipating that this election will bring a wind of change, and whoever celebrates...
Posted on
byClaire Lamb
OK I admit it, I’m a secret Swifty. I can’t help but admire her. Not only is she a prolific song writer, incredible businesswomen, a true artist and performer, but she can tell a story like no other. I was lucky enough to witness her amazing performance at Wembley on Friday night. (Actually, there was no luck involved in getting...
Posted on
byJames Weaver
HR technology is moving at relentless speed. According to research, the HR tech market is projected to grow from $40.45 billion this year to a staggering $81.84 billion by 2032. With the HR tech landscape becoming increasingly competitive, businesses operating within this industry should prioritise tactics that will help them stand out from the crowd and attract new customers and...
Posted on
byJames Bentley
We recently hosted another LinkedIn Live event in which we learned from experts in their field. Named ‘Look into the tea leaves and find your HR tech story’ in honour of International Tea Day which shared its date, our head of technology practice Lee Simpson spoke to two guests who told us about their B2B HR founders’ stories. This is...

Get in touch

Skout
11 Market Place
Macclesfield
Cheshire
SK10 1EB
Send us a message
Name(Required)

Send us a message