Malaysia Airline crisis comms, Rupert Murdoch tweets, ‘guybrator’ shifts PR acc – all on The Week in PR (18 March)

‘The week in PR’ is a look at all the top stories in public relations as reported by the media in the past seven days. Leading the news this week is the crisis communications plan in place for Malaysia Airline over the mystery of the missing jet; Rupert Murdoch’s conspiracy theories on Twitter over the plane’s disappearance; BuzzFeed’s list of top PR disasters for the year so far, an overview of the Golden Hedgehog PR Awards for the North, as well as the latest wins and movements in the world of PR. 
To have your news featured here next week, please email me at [email protected]

Leading the news

Crisis Communications – Malaysia Airlines and the missing MH370 by Kirsti Kauronen and Priyanka Dayal via CisionUK
As the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight intensifies, the carrier’s role in crisis communications has come under the magnifying glass. Families of the 239 passengers on board the aircraft want answers, and so does the rest of the world.

Rupert Murdoch tweets all kinds of crazy over flight MH370 disappearance by Shiv Malik via The Guardian
World’s premier media mogul offers conspiracy theories about ‘jihadist’ terror threat, despite total lack of evidence.

Any political party`s attempt to visit Crimea is a PR stunt by Elchin Mehdiyev via Trend
An attempt by any political party representative to visit Crimea is no more than a PR campaign, the Deputy Executive Secretary of New Azerbaijan Party, MP Mubariz Gurbanli told the official website of the party commenting on the Azerbaijani opposition party representatives` attempt to visit Crimea.

Top 5 PR Disasters Of 2014 (So Far…) by Dennis Hiller via BuzzFeed
It’s only March and the media is already full of public relations nightmares which could have been avoided. BuzzFeed’s list of the top 5 PR disasters include Justin Beiber’s public meltdown, Russian’s invasion of Crimea, Ukraine, Denmark Zoo’s public Giraffe execution, and more.

PR man denies £90,000 tax fraud via Aol News
A public relations advisor failed to pay almost £100,000 in tax after spending the money on “himself, his family and his business”, a court heard.

Richard Hillgrove, 42, is accused of failing to pay HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) £52,000 of VAT charged to customers of his company in 2011 and 2012.

What you missed at the North Golden Hedgehog Awards by Priyanka Dayal via CisionUK
PR Moment in association with Cision UK hosted the annual Golden Hedgehog Awards for the North, Northern Ireland and Scotland regions, at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel in Manchester on 13 March.

Tunafish Media won four awards including, ‘Not for Profit Campaign of the Year’; ‘Stunt of the Year’; ‘The Golden Hoglet’ award given to Sam Jones and the ultimate ‘PRmoment Grand Prix Award’.

Weber Shandwick and MC2 took home three awards each, including ‘Event of the Year’ for MC2 and ‘Social Media Campaign of the Year’ for Weber Shandwick.

The top 30 young people in digital media: Nos 10-1 via The Guardian
Vine star Jerome Jarre, comedian Hannah Hart, photojournalist Mosa’ab Elshamy, fashion video blogger Dina Toki-O and Farea Al-Muslimi, the Yemeni journalist whose village suffered a drone strike days before his testimony to the US senate judiciary committee, finish atop Guardian’s top ten of the most exciting people under 30 in digital media. Chosen by the Guardian’s 10 trainee digital journalists, Alex Hern, Matt Andrews, and BuzzFeed’s editorial director Jack Shepherd.

Pitch wins and movements

3 Monkeys names Howard Bowden to senior consumer role via The Holmes Report
3 Monkeys has hired Howard Bowden from Clarion Communications as head of consumer content.

Bowden returns to 3 Monkeys after previously working there six years ago. His arrival is one of three new appointments at the independent agency, which has also hired Steve Munachen as associate director and Alex Perry as senior account director.

Gala Coral Group names ex-Fishburn CEO as first corporate affairs head via The Holmes Report
Gala Coral Group has named its first corporate affairs director, amid mounting political opposition to its gaming machines.

Fiona Thorne takes on the position in early April, after departing her role as Fishburn CEO last year. Reporting to CEO Carl Leaver, Thorne will oversee public affairs, financial PR, corporate positioning and issues management.

Assisted dying campaign group appoints PHA by Jonathan Tilley via PRWeek
A campaign group calling for assisted dying to be a legal choice in the UK has appointed PHA Media to support its in-house communications team. 

PHA Media will also be working with the organisation’s charity, Compassion in Dying, which provides impartial information on end of life choices within the current law

Alton Towers and Goodfella’s team-up to create ‘The Smiler’ pizza by Michael Feeley via The Drum
Alton Towers Resort and Goodfella’s Pizza have joined forces to create a limited edition pizza inspired by the resort’s latest rollercoaster, ‘The Smiler’.  Those who purchase a Goodfella’s ‘The Smiler’ pizza will receive a discounted entry offer, discounts off hotel stays and the chance to win a number of VIP packages.

Manifest takes on global “guybrator” work from Citizen Relations by John Owens via PRWeek 
The maker of what is claimed to be the world’s first “guybrator” has shifted its PR account to Manifest. Pulse handed Manifest the retained work after a pitch following a
stint working with Citizen Relations on the initial launch of the £69 product in the UK and US.

The agency will now look after global comms for the product, originally termed the “guybrator” by Citizen, with a key focus on removing the stigma from the male sex toy market.

Weber Shandwick moves into the fast lane with F3 driver sponsorship by Michael Feeley via The Drum
Weber Shandwick Manchester is sponsoring local F3 racing driver Lee Morgan as part of its ‘Big Heart’ initiative – a new agency effort to support worthwhile causes in the region.

The PR agency was impressed by Lee’s story (after he fought back from a potentially life-threatening crash in 2008) and is now providing the twenty-four-year-old with pro-bono PR support.

Family Traveller Appoints Rooster PR via Rooster PR
Family Traveller has appointed Rooster to handle its UK and international PR. The agency has been tasked with increasing brand awareness for Family Traveller magazine and FamilyTraveller.com among the outlet’s primary target audience of ABC1 mums aged 28-45, as well as in the B2B sector.

Commentary

Russia’s Vladimir Putin Is a PR Genius by Ronn Torossian via The Huffington Post
Ronn Torossian, founder, president and CEO, 5W Public Relations, a top US PR agency points out how Russia’s President Vladimir Putin continues to be a PR genius, despite the surrounding controversy with Ukraine.