Mark My Words Blog
Welcome to ‘Mark My Words,’ the digital sanctuary where insight meets intrigue, and commentary sparks contemplation.
Delve into the dynamic world of PR maverick Mark Borkowski as he unravels the threads of media, culture, and communication. Mark’s blog is a treasure trove of industry wisdom, offering a backstage pass to the inner workings of publicity and the ever-evolving landscape of modern media.
THE TRUTH ALWAYS COMES OUT' – Mark on the privacy injunction in the British Media
The injunction farce shows there are no boundaries in social media, according to a PR and branding consultant. Mark Borkowski said the truth will ultimately come out as it did when football’s Ryan Giggs tried to hide his infidelity. ‘This scenario is akin to King Canute who sat on the beach trying to hold back the waves,’ he said. ‘We are in the digital, global age where there are no boundaries… Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3526916/American-publication-goes-UK-injunction-report-known-celebrity-extra-marital-threesome.html#ixzz45Vk5AsDu Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
If the price is right – Mark quoted in the Sunday Times on Celebrity Endorsements
Breaking news: once one of the coolest women in the world, the 1990s supermodel Helena Christensen is set to become the face and presumably bikini-clad body of Thomson Holidays’ luxury arm. That’s a whole ton of sun. She’s not the only one to take the cash for a touch of naff… Read more here
The Killer Apps of Steel and Tradition
The history of steel is the history of the British industrial revolution. Tuesday evening –which saw the decision by Tata to close all of its steelworks in the UK, consigning the production of the metal to potential oblivion- either marks a new chapter or is a concluding footnote. Niall Ferguson once used the term Killer App to describe the fundamental parts that make up his brand of civilisation. Steel is surely one of Britain’s. What is happening to steel mirrors the fate of many of Britain’s killer apps. We are proud of our long democracy but bemoan parliamentary politics. Our railway…
Top Gear's Cenotaph apology proves just how much the show is missing Clarkson and his balls
It is open season for attacking the new series of Top Gear and the first shot has been fired. A former British military commander criticised one of the show’s hosts Matt LeBlanc and a professional driver who performed “doghnuts” near the Cenotaph in Whitehall during an interview with BBC Radio 5 live. Col Richard Kemp said that the war memorial should be shown “respect”.. Read more here.
Top Gear Cenogaffe: A PR Monstrosity
No one seems to have gotten out of the Top Gear Cenotaph-gaffe unscathed. The presenters have been throttled into unreserved contrition. The BBC has been branded foolish for giving the go-ahead to the £100,000 stunt and Westminster council have been labelled naïve. The area’s commitment to low emissions also took a beating with the noxious fumes caused by Matt Le Blanc’s donut. One party has emerged victorious. Brandished on the side of the now infamous mustang is the logo for the energy drink Monster, the sponsor of the Hoonigan rally team. A BBC spokesperson commented that it is usual for…
Queen Elizabeth is a canny one. She always picks the winning side.
Queen Elizabeth is a canny one. She always picks the winning side. She’s successfully backed Scottish Union twice. Her horses have won over 1,600 races. She came round to the Diana mania with grace and an Oscar via Dame Helen. Read more at http://www.prweek.com/article/1386638/will-suns-queen-backs-brexit-story-rock-eu-campaigns-pr-pros-give-views#V1hEULPfcxQaKbSO.99
Maria Sharapova's PR is perfect so far – now the hard work starts
She may be facing the biggest crisis of her career but Maria Sharapova gave a master-class in damage limitation when she announced she had failed a drugs test. For this story not to leak out beforehand is extraordinary in this era of innuendo, which shows the level of negotiating power that her management have. The news didn’t come on the back of a Sunday newspaper investigation. Nor was it forced out through the social media rumour mill. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2016/03/08/maria-sharapovas-pr-is-perfect-so-far—now-the-hard-work-starts/
Cheryl and Liam's Instagram relationship makes a corporate merger look like a casual fling
In Hail, Caesar!, the latest zany yarn from the brothers Coen, a movie PR man called Eddie Mannix (played by Josh Brolin) attempts to divert attention away from a studio crisis by publicising the “secret romance” of two of his biggest stars. In the studio system of the early 50s this was normal – as a celebrity you were property to be deployed when useful. You went along with it because you knew that if ever you got into trouble a fixer like Mannix would save your ass… http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/cheryl-fernandez-versini-and-1d-s-liam-payne-instagram-relationship-makes-a-corporate-merger-look-a6903681.html
What the hell is good publicity?
Oscar Wilde didn’t say all publicity is good publicity. It was another Irish cause célèbre Brendan Behan who coined the phrase (though he conceded that obituaries are best avoided). If this were true there would be no need for PR. Rather, Wilde wrote that not being talked about can be relatively worse than facing a backlash. For Lord Henry, the aphorism’s mouthpiece in Dorian Gray, to tolerate a degree of gossip and rumour is the necessary cost for a reputation to grow. In Wilde’s day being talked about meant having a foothold in a tightly policed aristocratic circle. Today, with…
Super Bowl 50: from metonymic to moronic
Normally a potato-faced jock saying he fancies a bud is not worth much thought. But the Super Bowl isn’t normal. Peyton Manning, fresh from leading the Denver Broncos to victory over Carolina, told CBS he’s going to “drink a lot of Budweiser tonight.”With one seemingly impromptu slip –followed by a less impromptu-seeming second- Anheuser-Busch, his chosen brew’s owners, clocked up over $10m in media exposure. Some were outraged. True to form, Piers Morgan elegantly took down Manning, labelling the quarterback a greedy pillock for hijacking his team’s victory to plug a product by a company in which his people have a significant…
He’s still standing, others have moved on
Elton John hit all the right headlines yesterday in time for the release of his new album ‘Wonderful Crazy night’. However with Sir Elton’s piano practice at St Pancras Station spontaneity seems to the be the hardest word. From the Guardian to the Evening Standard, the papers dutifully danced to the tune of a generic press release. The location itself is by now an established platform for memorialisation our cultural titans. With tributes to Betjeman, Harry Potter’s Nine and Three quarters and now Sir Elton’s Yamaha there’s barely any room left for a functioning train station. The only variable that…
#OscarsSoWhite: For Your Discrimination
Not a day goes by without someone new “weighing in” on the Oscars So White row. Yesterday it was Obama’s turn, today it’s mine. Say what you will about the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, but they know how to keep entertainment hacks busy. The diversity in opinions crowding for attention since the nominations were announced a fortnight ago has ranged from timely reflections on the state of the film industry to ignorant drivel (here’s looking at you Charlotte). What has been surprising isn’t the existence of blinkered prejudice in the entertainment world but the widespread expectation that the…
Blue Monday- sending out the right signals
It’s banal. It’s cynical. It lacks all credibility. Yet somehow Blue Monday has become an actual thing, a date that registers on our cultural calendar and even has its own Wikipedia page. This is the day, usually the third Monday in January that Psychologist Dr Cliff Arnall showed to be the most miserable day of the year. Beginning life as a press release by Sky Travel in 2005, the history of Blue Monday has been much discussed by PR watchers. Arnall’s research comes straight from the land of Lilliput. The good doctor purportedly sold his name to the agency that…
David Bowie – the reclusive master of self-promotion (The Drum)
It was this time three years ago when the release of a song sent shockwaves around the world, from Ibiza to the Norfolk broads. David Bowie marked his 66th birthday by giving his fans ‘Where are we now?’, a mysterious but somehow so familiar new single, his first in a decade… http://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2016/01/11/david-bowie-reclusive-master-self-promotion
Lynton Crosby: a noble knight with a common PR touch
There is no worse PR for the establishment than to be seen to be awarding good PR, but Conservative campaign guru Lynton Crosby’s knighthood is a vindication of his world-class talents, writes Mark in PR Week. http://www.prweek.com/article/1377973/lynton-crosby-noble-knight-common-pr-touch
PR in 2015: The Trouble with Authenticity
In 2015 we all loved authenticity, right? The ‘New Politics’ engaged and enraged in equal measure. Cannes Lions was all about purposeful brands. FleishmanHillard launched a new product to help companies drive an authenticity agenda. Whether you’re a boutique dentist or selling bleach being human was at the centre of everyone’s comms strategy.For PR this has been a troubling pill to swallow. Authenticity is not doing PR Beyoncé, rated as 2015’s most powerful female musician, hasn’t given an interview since 2013. Harper Lee, who wrote this year’s fast selling book Go Set A Watchman, hasn’t gone public for nearly 50 years. Closer…
Parting Shots (The Drum)
As Sir Elton John and his publicist say their goodbyes, I ask if the role of PR is underrated. http://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2015/12/18/parting-shots-sir-elton-john-and-his-publicist-say-their-goodbyes-role-pr
Donald Trump: The Dame of Panto Politics
Donald Trump is a festive panto that has gone on past its season. He struts from podium to studio with the self-sacrificing gall of a celeb foregoing Beverly Hills for a stint of Mother Goose at a dreary middle England theatre. With each of his bombastic interventions there’s always the sense that he’s disappointed we aren’t more grateful. Long the Dame of US public life, Widow Trumpy’s political jaunt has this time cast him in a villainous role. His outlandish proclamations, from dog whistle discrimination to wolf whistle chauvinism, are choreographed to cue the hissing awwwws of liberal foes. In the wake…
What’s left of the propaganda powder keg?
In any move to war we get bludgeoned with the inevitable metaphors of motion. Whether it’s a strategic progression or headlong rush, a targeted advancement or mission creep, there is no turning back from the march of predictable language. Interestingly, in his seminal manual on how to hack our psyche’s mainframe Edward Bernays also captures the motion to emotions. If “the great enemy of any attempt to change men’s habits is inertia” it is propaganda that “makes things move.” Given this lexical kinship between war and the origin of public relations it’s surprising that the current battle of hearts, minds…
Mark My Words named PR blog of the year
Last week Mark My Words was awarded Vuelio’s PR and Marketing blog of the year. Thank you!