Mark Comments in the Press.
With a keen eye for cultural trends and a depth of insight honed through years of experience in the public eye, Mark stands as a beacon of clarity in a world often shrouded in confusion.
Mark’s commentary is both thought-provoking and incisive, inviting audiences to see beyond the surface and engage with the complexities of our times.
TWITTER TARGETS
Twitter decides to hire a ‘campaign strategist’ to woo Britain’s biggest advertisers ahead of its flotation on the stock market. http://news.sky.com/story/1153305/twitter-targets-100-top-uk-advertisers
Party Conferences: a 21st century dilemma.
As Labour conference fades away and the Tories’ own outing cranks into gear, I begin to long for silly season. After a month-long balm of survey stories and rubbish stunts, followed by a month of stultifying wonkish mumbo jumbo, I have found myself not hailing the return of ‘real news,’ but instead feeling mystified as to why our news agenda remains dominated by the same Westminster routines. Conference should be quite a modern affair. The idea of political parties leaving their neo-gothic bubble-wrap and venturing forth amongst the red/blue/yellow blooded members of their organisations is, in theory, exhilarating. Ideas could…
Bristol Old Vic
A theatre on the back of a bike, runaway taxmen turned circus performers, Hitler’s nephew, a human exhibit in London Zoo, and a man intent on eating an entire bus: roll up for Mark Borkowski’s rollercoaster ride through the weird and wonderful world of “the maverick”. Read more: http://www.bristololdvic.org.uk/capitalism.html
Tom Daley
After ballroom dancing, ice-skating, singing, cooking and sending them to live in a jungle, viewers could be forgiven for thinking there was nothing television executives had not asked celebrities to do. Think again. ITV1 is hoping to make a splash with a new reality show in which celebrities learn how to dive under the expert tutelage of Olympic bronze medallist Tom Daley. Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/oct/31/itv-splash-tom-daley-reality-show
BRANSON DYNASTY
The Rothschilds, the Murdochs… and now the Bransons. Virgin could become the next great business dynasty after Sir Richard asked his well-connected children to help run his £2.5bn business empire. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/who-will-take-the-branson-crown-8212502.html
The Art of Persuasion and The Maverick Factor
There’s an exhibition on at the moment at the British Library entitled Propaganda: Power and Persuasion. A much maligned term these days, thanks to the work of Herr Goebbels & sons (which is presented in all its horror/glory in the exhibition), propaganda also has a less sinister heritage – the term entered common parlance when Edward L Bernays issued his seminal work on influencing public opinion named Propaganda. The book pretty much set the terms for PR practice as we know it today, earning him the title of ‘the father of public relations’. On Monday I’ll be at the British…
Justin Bieber, Anne Frank and the hidden blessing in a Twitter travesty
Justin Bieber fell foul of public opinion earlier today following comments made after a visit to the Anne Frank Museum saying that he thought Anne Frank was a “great girl” and that he wished she too were a “belieber” (term for a Justin Bieber fan). Although defensiveness is an immediate reaction to the atrocities of the Holocaust, there is perhaps a blessing disguised in this misguided 19 year old boy’s comments. Whilst his remarks may seem flippant in the light of the atrocities suffered by Frank and countless others during the Holocaust, what is perhaps more striking than the 19…
Sally Osman, Paddy Haverson and the Royal PR machine
Today marks a momentous day for Sally Osman, who, in June, will take on the role of Communications Secretary to HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall. Whilst researching my book, The Fame Formula, which examined the PR legends of Hollywood, a pattern started to emerge: the very best publicists in the game were not taking on the A-listers as one might expect. Although such individuals can offer a publicist great collateral, they are dangerous. The wisest publicists are always wary of stepping into warm shoes. When Jay Bernstein – who represented names like Sammy Davis Jr…
Of Mormons, Musicals and Maggie
Trendy theatre goers are bartering their kidneys with scalpers in exchange for seats at the Book of Mormon show, which are proving harder to find than a 1787 bottle of Chateau Lafite. The response of the Mormon church has been phenomenal. I am so impressed that it has decided to provide the show with airtime oxygen by creating a fully-fledged advertising campaign to rescue the church’s reputation from under the wheels of this satirical entertainment juggernaut. Both parties are set to prosper from the sharp focus of the debate. More importantly, the media and onlookers can get involved with the…
The Adventure Capitalist is Back
Next Tuesday 15th Jan, 8pm, there will be another chance to see my show Adventure Capitalism: The 20% Maverick Factor at the Bristol Old Vic. It’s a rather madcap, whirl wind journey through the wonderful mavericks I’ve worked with in my career and what I’ve learnt from them, featuring a theatre on the back of a bike, runaway taxmen turned circus performers, Hitler’s nephew, a human exhibit in London Zoo, and a man intent on eating an entire bus. I created the show in response to the needs of a world – and economy – in dramatic flux, drawing on…
Taming Tabloid Tittle Tattle
Yesterday I took part in the Taming Tabloid Tittle Tattle debate at the brilliant Battle of Ideas at the Barbican. Roy Greenslade and I, loosely defending the right to celebrity privacy, took on Jo Phillips and Patrick Hayes, arguing the case for unrestricted press freedom. I say loosely because what emerged through the very wide ranging discussion was an understanding across the board of the complex nuances of the argument. Phone hacking, naked royals and plebgate were all deftly handled by the able panel, and the ghost of Jimmy Savile was predictably present at the table. I won’t attempt to…
Battle of Ideas: This Weekend
This weekend I’m taking part in the Battle of Ideas Festival at the Barbican- a fantastic event that gets 350 illustrious speakers from around the globe and all walks of life together to ‘shape the future through debate’. There’s a highly pertinent strand of the programme focussing on Battle for the Media, that will be attempting to wrangle the challenges of living in a post Leveson world. I’ll be on the panel Taming Tabloid Tittle-Tattle at 5pm on Sunday, going head-to-head with Roy Greenslade of the Evening Standard, journo and commentator Patrick Hayes, journo and former press secretary to Paddy…
IKEA: A Storm in a Flatpack
IKEA, the Swedish lifestyle and furniture goliath, suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous criticism on Tuesday after it emerged that the company airbrushed images of women from the Saudi edition of its consumer bible. Not surprisingly this decision has created a mega PR storm in a flat pack. Will the hue and cry harm the blue and yellow consumer icon with an estimated brand value of over $11 billion? Speculation suggests the gaffe is akin to a Soviet information ministry official airbrushing Trotsky from Politburo publicity. But is this a brand wounding blow? Or just another example of brand…
Waitrose and the twitter storm: happy accident or calculated hit?
Waitrose have joined the happy band of consumer brands to have a well-intentioned twitter campaign hijacked, as their #waitrosereasons hashtag found itself the source of various class-based jibes at the expense of this most well-heeled of retailers. I am still trying to work out if this was a calculated attempt to kick off a conversation. Certainly It’s part of a noble tradition, stretching back to Skittles’ 2009 decision to replace their homepage with a live twitter feed (cue a series of posts along the lines of “skittles: ANAL CUNT THAT IS GOOD”). Recently, Mountain Dew has also succumbed. Many will…
Royals have to draw line in the sand – but it’s a high-risk move
This piece originally appeared on Scotsman.com The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are right to be taking this course of action – they’ve got to draw a line in the sand. They are boosted certainly by the current mood of the media in this country. I suspect that ten years ago we would have seen lots of long-lens shots and there would have been a few more brutal editors around, but things have changed. Going to court sends out a signal, but if you’re going to embark on this sort of agressive legal action, then you need to try to…
Vladimir Putin and the pitfalls of the personality cult
Vladimir Putin inspired worldwide scorn and a few great photoshops this week when he announced his plans to aid the migration of some unfortunate birds with the help of his trusty hang glider and a superhero-esque costume. In some sense, people are right to laugh- Putin is a crazed autocrat, so mad on his personality cult that he is to an extent divorced from the realities of the media. And yet, we might consider an alternative, somewhat disruptive viewpoint. There is something here the western media are missing. A Russian friend of mine recently remarked to me that it’s difficult…
Mark to speak at 'Battle Of Ideas' 2012
Battle of Ideas 2012 20 & 21 October, London. Two days of high-level, thought-provoking, public debate organised by the Institute of Ideas with the Barbican. Read more here
The Essex Lion and the Roar of the Crowd
The bank holiday would not be complete with out a silly season story. This year we were spoiled with the legend of the itinerant Essex lion. Mysteriously, an escaped lion was spotted on the loose in Essex, instilling panic as it roamed the grassland of St Osyth. The big game media hunters turned up in their droves, hunting down a witty soundbite. The search for the elusive big cat provided a never ending stream of comic reports for the 24 minute news cycle. Twitter and other social media channels were awash with jokes surrounding the #EssexLion, lending their weight to…
Prince Harry's Magic PR Touch
The success of Innocent and Red Bull beverage brands inspired a slew of wannabe drink entrepreneurs ten years ago . Many of the hopefuls wandered through my doors looking for PR. One afternoon, two well healed young men stepped into my office bristling with an array of technicolour bottles, full of herbal fizz. A turbo charged mixture they believed would make them very, very rich. I sat with them interrogating their back story, probing for a hook which I could hang a campaign on. I believe great launch campaigns stem from the interrogation of a simple core truth, which can…
Olympics Hysteria: harnessing the power of the crowd
The media this week has been awash with commentary on the vast gap in the British cultural landscape between August 2011 and August 2012. This time last year, we were transfixed by images of rioters smashing windows and burning buildings. Now, we are overwhelmed by Olympic spirit, and it is the athletes stealing victory and winning medals that capture the national imagination. What is it that has grasped the British people and changed the mood of a whole country? The panacea that is the Olympics has raised everybody’s spirits to the point of almost mass hysteria, yet we are still…