Wednesday 9 June 2010

End of the "Celebrity" - a bad thing?

Having just read an article on PR Week.com:

'Final Big Brother could signal end of the age of the celebrity, warns celebrity publicist.'

It got me thinking. Will the end of Big Brother really spell the end of the celebrity? Or will we just begin to find them elsewhere?

The launch of BB11 is on tonight - the last in the series of this iconic programme. The format has been used with celebrities, abroad and also as an elaborate con in Turkey in 2009. It has created a stream of 'celebs' to attend award ceremonies and grace our gossip columns.

So would losing these celebs really be a bad thing? Obviously from a business point of view there will be lose of revenue for channel 4, Davina will lose her pay packet, the potential for normal people to become 'famous' will be reduced and magazine sales may suffer.

My opinion is however that there won't be a fall in the number of 'celebs' but where we get them from will change - with shows like Britain's got talent and sites such as YouTube.com there will always be people who the general public become interested in....

Don't despair if you like your fix of celeb gossip there is still one series of Big Brother left !

I look forward to reading Ian Monk's full column later this week on www.prweek.com

Tuesday 8 June 2010

Brand 'Me'

Should people see themselves as brands?

We all have reputations that other people have assigned to us. These reputations can sometimes bother us and we aim to influence them - just as brands do. Consumers, like friends, talk about our good and bad actions and give their opinions on them - sometimes more publicly than others.

Therefore should we apply the same rules to our lives that we, as marketers, would suggest to businesses we were advising?

To a certain extent I think we should....

Everything you blog, write, comment on and have written about you acts as a footprint about brand 'you'. Potential employers will be able to type your name into google when your CV lands on their desk and find out a wealth of information about you. But be warned make sure your privacy settings on your social networking site aren't set to allow everyone on your profile. However this for me could be a separate post all together - should you have your boss and colleagues as friends on Facebook? Keep tuned...

In a time when companies are being approached by hoards of applicants for one position they are looking for the whole package. They no longer just look at your CV, they want a certain type of person: a pro-active employee with a good, professional reputation.

As a student it would be ridiculous for me to say that if you want a job you can't go out and have a good time or have a Facebook profile to share laughs with your friends. All I am saying is...Think - before you join that Facebook group that could be seen as offensive, before you tweet that depressive status about your life and especially before you have your picture taken with your head in a toilet...

I would be interested to hear others thoughts on this so please feel free to comment.

Monday 7 June 2010

How ignorant of me......

It's been a while hasn't it?! My apologies!

I have managed to bag myself a PR placement at Shooting Star PR in Lincoln, I have been writing articles for Behind The Spin.com and my time has been managed to be consumed by various tasks. But do not despair - I am home for the Summer so fingers crossed I will be blogging much more - if I get the inspiration!

Scary World of Business has been neglected despite the fact there have been some SERIOUSLY scary things going on - so keep your eyes out for my new posts!