Lineker v. BBC: Social Media Guidelines and why the fish rots from the head on impartiality row

Over a week ago a row broke out at the UK’s national broadcaster, the BBC, over a tweet by its senior football anchor and Match of the Day presenter, Gary Lineker. The one-time England record goal scorer is notable for never receiving a yellow card despite making over 650 appearances in his playing career. However, it was his performance on social media that saw him earn a red card from the top executives at the BBC and taken off air.

The controversy started on the back of a recent policy announcement by the current Conservative government in the UK. To tackle illegal migration into the country, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman have launched a new policy campaign ‘Stop The Boats’. This new bill will see anyone who arrives in the UK illegally, swiftly returned back to their country of origin or a safe third country, such as Rwanda.

On the back of this announcement, Gary Lineker – technically a freelance employee at the BBC – retweeted a video from the Home Secretary’s own Twitter account where she was announcing the new bill and said “Good heavens, this is beyond awful.” Responding to another Twitter user who criticised his tweet, Linkeker followed up by stating: “There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries. This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s, and I’m out of order?”

It was this comparison of the UK Government’s new bill to Nazi Germany that sparked a national debate around impartiality within the BBC. According to the BBC’s editorial guidelines, staff are subject to such guidelines on social media – even on personal accounts. Those editorial guidelines outline that “audiences must be able to trust the BBC and be confident our editorial decisions are not influenced by outside interests, including political or commercial pressures.”

However, long before Gary Lineker, behaviour on social media became a problem for the BBC. It has dealt with long-standing issues over impartiality claims resulting from personnel right at the top of the broadcaster. In February 2021, then Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed long-time friend and advisor, Richard Sharp, as Chairman of the BBC – an appointment that is widely regarded as political in nature. Subsequently, it has come to light that Mr. Sharp failed to declare at the time of his appointment that only a few weeks prior he acted as an intermediary that saw Boris Johnson in receipt of an £800,000 loan. At a cross-party committee of MPs, Sharp was told to “consider the impact his omissions will have” on public trust in the BBC. 

This is coupled with the appointment of Sir Robbie Gibb to the board of the BBC in April 2021. Gibb is a well-known Tory activist, having previously served as a Director of Communications under Theresa May during her time in 10 Downing Street. Former BBC Newsnight journalist, Emily Matlis, has criticised the current board of the BBC and role of Gibb within the organisation by stating, “Put this in the context of the BBC Board, where another active agent of the Conservative party – former Downing Street spin doctor, and former adviser to BBC rival GB News – now sits, acting as the arbiter of BBC impartiality.” 

Matlis described this as: “Tory cronyism at the heart of the BBC.”

The appointments of Sharp and Gibb to senior roles within the BBC strike right at the heart of the debate around BBC impartiality. The BBC cannot expect to be perceived as impartial when it is being run by individuals with clear direct links to a political party, nevermind the current Conservative government of the day. The continuance of such individuals in high ranking positions will only cause further debate and doubt over impartiality within the BBC. Would BBC executives have taken the same course of action if Lineker was tweeting his support of the UK Government’s illegal migration bill?

As for Lineker, he will return to his presenting duties this weekend to host live FA Cup action. His own position is stronger and BBC management’s weakened as they plan to launch an independent review of the organisation’s social media guidelines. Initial speculation has centred around less stringent rules for freelancers.

At Fuzion, we work with businesses and organisations on creating bespoke social media strategies where we detail how both the organisation and its employees should act on social media. This allows organisations to provide clear and concise advice to staff how they should behave when representing their employer online, especially on platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter. Finding a balance between the employer and employee is crucial.

And in the event that does not work and the proverbial s*** hits the fan our Crisis Communications team can help!

Dylan

Dylan Morley is a PR account executive with Fuzion Communications, a full service Marketing, PR and Graphic Design agency who operate from offices in Dublin and Cork

YOU’VE BEEN LYNCHED

Cristiano Ronaldo. Kanye West. Andrew Tate.

If Piers Morgan was an undertaker, he’d be investigated for filling his own coffins such has been the fallout for these men following their appearance on his ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored’ show.

Since their chin wagging with the gobby gammon, all three men have experienced catastrophic professional collapses – even if Ronaldo is being soothed by $4m-a-week to play exhibition football in the Saudi Arabian league.

Professional cigar smoker and misogynist, Andrew Tate, was arrested by Romanian police in one of the most brilliant self-owns ever, while the idiot formerly known as Kanye West has self-immolated, in honour of his fellow entrepreneur and misunderstood artist… **check notes** Adolf Hitler.

Morgan’s Midas touch might be only a coincidence, of course, but if he had his way there’d be a fourth victim – one Mick Lynch, the head of Britain’s Rail, Marine and Transport workers’ union.

Alas, while Morgan enjoyed friendly fireside chats with Ronaldo, Tate & Ye, his attempt to take Lynch down at the knees went awry, with the presenter’s attempts to rattle his guest falling flat – inspiring no end of humiliation on social media.

“Is that the level your journalism is at these days?” Lynch asked, when Morgan attempted a ‘gotcha’ by taking aim at Lynch’s obviously humorous Facebook profile photo – a bald puppet from cult 60s TV show Thunderbirds that bore a passing resemblance to Lynch.

“You’re about to wreak havoc on the country, and [The Hood – a fictional terrorist puppet] that’s a man who wreaked havoc on the world!” Morgan continued, unwilling to stop digging, before being put back in his place by Lynch; “Is that the level we’re at, don’t you want to talk about the issues, instead of a little vinyl puppet from when I was a kid?”

“You seem very irritated” Morgan argued, to an utterly nonplussed Lynch. “Well, I’m not”, he responded, as Morgan’s face became ever more crimson.

It was just one of a number of tete-a-tetes in which Lynch won by unanimous decision, going from an unknown trade unionist to a much respected national figure in a matter of months.

As we head into 2023, with public anger growing in many countries due to spiralling costs, inflationary pressures and a general disillusionment with elected leaders’ unable and/or unwilling to make a positive impact – Lynch has become a beacon of common sense and sensibility, in no small part due to those straight talking media appearances.

Morgan has been buried, with Kay Burley, Richard Madeley and others suffering similar fates. I have yet to see anyone ruffle Lynch’s feathers, and that applies to politicians who have endured the same fate as interviewers. He’s given the gotcha kings and queens on GB News a wide berth, however, insisting ‘They’re a bunch of right wing bigots from what I can see”.

Straight talking like that can get you in trouble, but only if you’re not concrete in your views and certain you’ve done your homework. Lynch nails both.

The 61 year-old, born in London to Irish parents from Cork and Armagh, cites James Connolly as his inspiration and has enjoyed quite the rise from a 16 year-old school leaver to a man holding the British government – packed with Eton and Oxbridge graduates – to account. He has gained support on the left, as one might expect – but a quick social media search will prove he’s earned respect from outwith the expected groups.

“If (he) had to do what my members do, getting up at all hours of the morning, working shifts in arduous working circumstances, putting up with all sorts of conditions…he wouldn’t survive a minute, and he wouldn’t have a future in the real world, where they’ve never done a hand’s turn – as my mother used to say.”

This comment, referencing Piers Morgan’s ‘bile and hate speech’, as Lynch called it, showed why and how he’s become so popular. In any media training, we speak about knowing your message and your audience, and being able to weave both into a conversation in an authentic way.

Lynch stands up for his key audience, speaks with a calm authority, and knows his topic inside out. Not a single interviewer or politician has been able to outdo him when it came to facts and figures (Brexit vote aside).

“As my mother used to say” is a classic soft touch to add to a quote – aligning him with his members; the average man and woman in the street.

He’s taken advantage of big ticket appearances on the likes of Piers Morgan’s show, Good Morning Britain, Sky News and the BBC – but he doesn’t over do it. A burst of media appearances ensures that each time he shares his message it’s fresh and we’re not tired of seeing and hearing him.

He’s also shown an eagerness to embrace social media and online channels that may reach a younger audience, an audience recent studies show are trending more to the left than previous generations, and staying there even as they age.

“The new media outlets and social media give us more opportunities,” Lynch said recently. “More and more people don’t trust the mainstream media for various reasons. The main thing is we have to convince our people, trade unionists, to take the action, and that spreads to other people in the community – whether it’s in your pub, your mosque, your church or temple, people have those discussions about what’s going on.”

Once more, Lynch gets his message across in a calm, concise tone, and effortlessly touches on multiple audiences by going beyond just ‘the pub’ when referring to communities where he’d like his message heard.

You may not be planning on becoming a national icon in 2023, but if you end up in front of cameras and microphones, then watching and listening to Mick Lynch will be time well spent.

It’ll be more entertaining, at least, than watching Piers discuss the Saudi Arabian league.

A Sliding Door moment for AIB

This week AIB announced 70 of its 170 branches would be turned into cashless outlets. The dogs in the street knew it was going to create havoc and a lot of negative publicity. It did…..

After the announcement, the Central Bank has suggested that AIB reverse their decision, even the Taoiseach on a state visit to Asia has suggested the same, and they have been “invited” to appear in front of the Oireachtas Finance Committee to explain themselves.

Looking at it from a reputation management point of view, AIB – you get 0 out of 10!! Afterwards, a half hearted statement came out from the bank, mentioning their future plans with An Post.

Looking at the AIB Press Office microsite, there is a press release announcing this partnership published Sunday 17th July. Two days before the cashless announcement, coming across as very cynical timing.

And speaking of timing, this morning when it’s wall to wall negative publicity for AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB have announced that they will not be passing on the ECB interest rate hike to its variable and fixed rate customers. 10 out of 10 for timing – basically they are saying “when the competition goes low, we go high”.

Note: The state retains ownership of 71% of AIB!

The Sliding Door Moment…
For me as a loyal AIB customer for over 20 years and as a communications specialist, AIB’s decision this week comes across as so cynical and ill thought out, and certainly with zero consideration of their customers in the areas affected.

I wonder how different it would be if they instead worked more on the partnership with An Post, celebrated it, communicated good news stories on the collaboration and built up “a bank” (pardon the pun) of positive stories, before they made this contentious announcement. This would at least nurture some trust and understanding for the decision, as they would bring customers, staff, politicians and even the Central Bank on the journey with them.

Looking from the outside in, with so much negativity, it looks like AIB did none of this.

The lesson – we all have Sliding Door Moments in our business – if decisions you are making could affect the way your team, your customers, media, stakeholders or the general public think of you, please get sound advice on how to communicate these changes.

Backing Brave?

Deirdre

Deirdre Waldron is the founding partner of Fuzion Communications and she heads up Strategic Communications and Crisis Communications at the agency, that operates from offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland

Brand reputation and consumer’s expectations.

It is quite clear that the pandemic hit industries and brands in diverse ways. Many organizations saw their budgets being cut down to half or nothing, conferences saw a move to digital stages and social justice movements such as BLM were in the spotlight more than ever before. This pivotal moment in history had led to a shift in the way brands interact with consumers.

A new study from FleishmanHillard examines the gap between consumers’ expectations and brands’ actions: 64% of consumers believe that a company is more authentic when they communicate about their behavior and their impact on society and the environment, instead of the benefits they offer to their customers.

The study also shows how 47% of consumer perceptions about a brand are driven by customer benefits, while 53% of consumers’ perceptions are shaped by social outcomes such as better environmental practices within the organization or the way a company cares about its employees, and management behaviors like acting ethically and responsibly.

An example of a troubled relationship between brands and consumers is the case of Wetherspoons, the company that owns pubs and hotels across the UK and Ireland. In this case, the Government ordered the closure of pubs in March 2020, and owner Tim Martin refused to pay employees until the Government reimbursed the company for the losses. Furthermore, he encouraged employees to find employment elsewhere, such as in Tesco supermarkets. This is a clear example of how a company is showing in their communications their lack of care towards the impact they have on employees, and on society.

On the other hand, a brand that keeps demonstrating how to marry consumer expectations with the brand’s activities is Nike. Days after the release of the horrific footage of George Floyd’s death in May 2020, the company launched an ad with a variation of their famous tagline. It went from “Just Do It” to “For Once, Don’t Do It.” This simple change in their communications delivered a positive sentiment across their customers regardless of income, age, and ethnicity.

These two examples represent the two sides of how companies can impact society.

Brands are now expected to be proactive to be part of the solution, not only part of the conversation – Issues such as racial inequality or climate justice will need to be at the forefront of any company’s communications strategy.

According to IBM’s research, 71% of consumers will consider transparency one of the most important brand attributes.

Knowing this what are you doing in your business to communicate better?

Patricia

Patricia Perera is a Communications intern with Fuzion Communications 

Our UK Crisis Communications Partner, Alder

Fuzion Communications are part of a European crisis communications network with the core purpose of providing clients with a network of experts in crisis communications should a pan-European issue occur.

The Crisis Communications Network is an association of European owner-managed PR agencies with unrivalled expertise in Crisis Prevention and Communication. As independent agencies it is highly flexible and is able to react immediately to clients’ needs and where necessary co-ordinate across different jurisdictions in Europe.

At the time of writing there are experienced agencies in 11 countries as part of the CCNE.

To give you some insight into these international partners we have asked each of them to give us some information about their business, the local “hot topics” and their general approach.

In a previous post we provided an overview of the founding partner of the CCNE, our German partner agency, Engel & Zimmerman.

Today we focus on our UK, London based partner, Adler.

About Alder

Alder is a London-based crisis communications firm founded in 2010. Its team of consultants – known as Specialist Partners – have backgrounds in the worlds of journalism, regulation and public affairs and advise a diverse range of clients from individuals through to major companies. Schools, charities and healthcare organisations are also a key area of expertise. Given its focus on complex issues where litigation is frequently ongoing or imminent, Alder works closely with the UK’s leading law firms to deliver advice that is closely aligned with the client’s legal strategy. It is also trusted by many international insurance companies to advise their customers when an incident gives rise to a claim under their insurance cover. 

Crisis communications: Alder’s approach

Crises don’t just happen at a moment’s notice, they can also arise because of slow-burning issues that suddenly cut through to the public consciousness. In both cases, preparation is key in order to maintain discipline and control of messaging because the demands for information from stakeholders can be overwhelming, and any miscommunication can lead to reputational, legal or insurance difficulties.  

Time is the most valuable commodity in a crisis, and steps should be taken as soon as a problem appears on the horizon to plan for the most important elements of the communication strategy and to ensure the client’s lawyers are content with the approach.

The speed of people’s social media responses also means clients need to quickly get on the front foot in order not to be defined by a problem. Each situation is different, so regardless of whether a crisis plan is in place the response needs to be bespoke, and Alder’s consultants work round the clock to ensure communications are issued in a timely and calm way and do not create any hostages to fortune.

Dealing with a crisis can feel overwhelming for the individuals concerned. Alder advises clients to break the response down into three phases: before, during and after public scrutiny of the matter.

Briefly this breaks down as follows:

Before: planning and aligning draft communications and strategy with legal and insurance considerations.

During: roll out the plan, paying particular attention to stakeholder management; monitor coverage; intervene to correct any significant inaccuracies in ‘real time’.

After: embed organisational learning from what happened; take steps to clean up any negative online legacy; assess impact on reputation and take steps to address any residual problems.

The Irish Comparison

While the basics that we follow are identical; be prepared, identity potential risks, have a plan, have a great, experienced team that can handle a crisis and a client team that is trained to handle media with support – it is clear that there are special conditions in each country that you need to be aware of if you are dealing with a crisis and it is at these times that you need a local experienced, agile partner to help you navigate these challenges when they occur.

If you would like any information about our crisis communications service or the Crisis Communications Network Europe feel free to contact me at deirdre@fuzion.ie.

Deirdre

Deirdre Waldron, founder of Fuzion heads up the Crisis Communications team, which operates from offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland.

Our German Crisis Communications Partner, Engel & Zimmermann

Fuzion Communications are part of a European crisis communications network with the core purpose of providing clients with a network of experts in crisis communications should a pan-European issue occur.

The Crisis Communications Network is an association of European owner-managed PR agencies with unrivalled expertise in Crisis Prevention and Communication. As independent agencies it is highly flexible and is able to react immediately to clients’ needs and where necessary co-ordinate across different jurisdictions in Europe.

At the time of writing there are experienced agencies in 11 countries as part of the CCNE.

To give you some insight into these international partners we have asked each of them to give us some information about their business, the local “hot topics” and their general approach.

We start off with the founding partner of the CCNE.

Here is some information about our German partner agency, Engel & Zimmerman.

About them:
Engel & Zimmermann was founded in 1985 in Munich. Nowadays the owner-run consultancy has a second office in Osnabrück (Lower Saxony) and works for more than 60 companies as regular consulting clients. 50 employees take care of mostly midsized companies.

For these clients they set up systematic crisis prevention, e.g. training for the staff with camera-based media training, workshops for the crisis management team or risk analyses. When a crisis occurs they develop effective communication strategies and talk as spokespeople on behalf of the client to the press.

Engel & Zimmermann specialise in working for food and beverage producers, which account for about half of their regular consulting clients. Furthermore, they deal with compliance and cyber breaches for companies from various industry sectors.

Crisis Communications in Germany:
Communications is very challenging in Germany these days. They observe that social media and corporate communication departments in many companies are not well prepared for sensitive communications with the general public. One of the big topics they identified is that companies are struggling with what they refer to as identity politics.

Many of them are completely overwhelmed and need help in developing an attitude or position concerning political and social issues (e.g. racism and gender diversity), which is accepted by all of their customers. It is more and more obvious that no company can be unpolitical any longer. The reason why Engel & Zimmermann has so many clients from F&B is that this sector has been highly criticised in Germany for many years now. The expectation is that this development continues in the future.

Broadcast media, NGOs and parts of the general public have a huge focus on product quality problems, the use of additives and artificial flavourings or general consumer deception. Against this background, many F&B companies are under permanent pressure and communication mistakes have to be carefully avoided.

Their Approach:
From their perspective, crisis communications is a strategic and long-term task. They are convinced that systematic crisis prevention should be practiced by all companies, which is their groundwork for every kind of effective communications in the case of a crisis. They are available for their clients 24/7 and also help them with current issues. Because of their strategic approach they also believe that and crisis should be precisely analysed in the aftermath. They consider their strategic approach to be a holistic one – from crisis prevention to ad-hoc crisis communications and to crisis evaluation.

The Irish Comparison

While the basics that we follow are identical; be prepared, identity potential risks, have a plan, have a great, experienced team that can handle a crisis and a client team that is trained to handle media with support – it is clear that there are special conditions in each country that you need to be aware of if you are dealing with a crisis and it is at these times that you need a local experienced, agile partner to help you navigate these challenges when they occur.

If you would like any information about our crisis communications service or the Crisis Communications Network Europe feel free to contact me at deirdre@fuzion.ie.

Deirdre

Deirdre Waldron, founder of Fuzion heads up the Crisis Communications team, which operates from offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland.

Crisis Communications & Lessons to be learned, The Ill Fated Announcement of a European Soccer Super League

The announcement of a new Super League for the top European soccer clubs, was one of the key news stories breaking this week across Europe and here in Ireland, even overtaking pandemic media coverage – a very welcome distraction for most!

It was an emotional issue for soccer fans and pundits across Europe – and a textbook communications disaster unfolding on a global stage.

Here in Ireland, even though the issue didn’t relate directly to Irish soccer clubs, most UK clubs would have Irish supporters clubs and reactions from spokespeople from these organisations was in line with fans across Europe – and all Irish soccer pundits and journalists were also uniform in their condemnation of the concept.  

It was very difficult for Irish media to find anyone that was in support of the initiative.  Even our Taoiseach Michael Martin expressed solidarity. 

In a Tweet he posted “I will engage with other EU governments about possible common action against this Super League Proposal. “

The reaction came as no surprise as so many people in Ireland have a strong affiliation for soccer – Irish soccer fans may have their own home team they support, but most would also have a close affiliation to an English or Scottish team as well. 

The announcement of the Super League was doomed as there was no consideration for their internal audience and when managers and players were not in the loop, the concept came across as flimsy, arrogant and ill-considered.  

In Ireland we love to forgive the repentant sinner – which is why Liverpool FC’s owner, John Henry’s apology directly to the fans “I let you down”, has dampened some of the flames at Anfield – if not elsewhere.  

“I’m sorry” – are such powerful words in a crisis.

This episode has shown once again how effective people power can be and the power of communications. 

From now on every step the football club owners, directors and football authorities take and any communication they make, must be seen to be with the fans in mind. They must be seen to be listening to fans and acting on fans wishes.  Grass roots communications and activity will be so important going forward and will help heal the wounds.

What lessons can other people in power take from all of this? 

Bring your internal audience on the journey with you. Test sentiment towards the change and adapt your messaging taking in these learnings. If making changes that will have a great impact, start with a grassroots approach and a very soft launch. Have relatable spokespeople using relatable language.

And, very importantly if you get something wrong, admit to it, communicate how lessons will be taken from the mistakes and move on.

Deirdre Waldron

Deirdre Waldron is the founder of Fuzion Communications, a full service PR, Graphic Design and Digital Marketing agency with offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland

Avoiding the Snowball Effect

The beauty of the flurry of snowflakes falling outside my office/spare bedroom window is magical. Yet experience, and probably age, inspire a level of concern and consideration as to the knock effects a heavy and prolonged snowfall can have.

This may be the start of the snow that we’ve been warned was coming over the past week. We’ve been braced for ‘Beast from the East 2.0’ conjuring memories of the Siberian snowstorm that shut much of the country in 2018.

Little did we know that being restricted in movement would be so passé by 2021, having spent the last 12 months in some level of lockdown and what seems like a constant degree of crisis management and “pivoting” as a result of a global pandemic and Brexit, among other things.

As head of Communications back then for Dairygold, the ‘Beast from the East‘ posed immense risks and consequences to the logistics and operations of the business.

How to reach farms to collect milk when the rural roads were impassable, what of the milk that couldn’t be collected? How to support suppliers when they needed their Co-Operative most? Not to mention, the day-to-day operations of the international business, the welfare of hundreds of staff, its processing and manufacturing sites, retail stores etc.

Business continuity kicked into action early, with planning for such scenarios already in place to as much of an extent as possible. I was proud to have been part of the business continuity task force regularly updating management, assessing risks and addressing the complex requirements of all stakeholders. Again, little did we know that orchestrating remotely with efficiency and in collaboration would become a modus operandi for so many of us two years later.

Communications, both internal and external, is critical to linking the elements together. I’m grateful to Dairygold’s management and in particular its CEO Jim Woulfe who astutely valued and recognised the role communications plays in continuity planning and situation management. They led by example on the value of communication across the business.

Underestimating the importance of communications in continuity planning and situation management is one of the biggest risks to a business that can have serious and long-term consequences to safety, operations, reputation, staff morale, you name it.

If you’re a corporate working with an agency or have communications support internally, it’s vital that you see them as your partner. If you don’t have day-to-day support, it’s important to recognise when you may need it and where to go if/when you need Crisis Communication, Litigation Support Services.

We may not always know, or need to know, the nitty gritty but it’s crucial to know enough to devise a strategy, trouble-shoot effectively and be as proactive as possible. From our perspective, business continuity planning, Crisis PR and situation management is a heady mix of proactive and reactive communications. Above all, for it to work, clear and effective channels of communication must be open.

At times we remind and reassure clients that we’ve got their back.

We’re there 24/7 to support, prevent and mitigate adverse outcomes for our clients but we can’t support if we’re in the dark. A quick call or line to your communications partner helps to identify and tease out the risks and the requirements, if there are any.

It gets the cogs turning and can be one of the most important calls that’s made. Communication is not the enemy, it’s the solution. If you have time on your side, media training is also a hugely worthwhile exercise for preparedness which you’ll hope you never need.

Whether it’s for reasons of a lack of time, clarity, silo mentality or containment, communications support can fall down the priority list and it can snowball from there...

Aoibhinn

Aoibhinn Twomey, former journalist, is an Account Director with Fuzion Communications and is part of the Crisis Communications team, offering Crisis Consultancy services from offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland 

My Fuzion highlights by Alison O’Brien

Fresh out of college in October 2006, having just graduated with my Masters in Public Relations from Dublin Institute of Technology, I moved home to Cork with the ambition of bagging myself my dream job in PR. After doing my research and seeing who was who in Cork, I was delighted when Dee and Greg said they would meet me for a coffee.

I had my first “official interview”, which thankfully was more like having a chat with old friends, in The White Horse in Ballincollig, which incidentally became one of my very first clients!

I liked the sound of Fuzion, and they liked the sound of me, and so my PR career was borne!

On January 7th, 2007, I joined Dee and Greg in Fuzion as their first employee, working from their home. Dee and I shared an office, and I learned the ropes from one of the best in the business. I was thrown straight into the midst of consumer PR working on Danish fashion brands b.young and ICHI. 

Days were filled with drafting press releases, coordinating advertising campaigns, and creating press packs, which at that time involved hours of burning product images onto CDs, and packing up lovely goodies to send to fashion journalists in Ireland’s top titles. The reward was when I would get big envelopes in the post in the weeks that followed, these envelopes contained press coverage!

Yes actual press clippings; there was no such thing as receiving a daily email with your clippings automatically uploaded onto a server for you – you had to scan each one carefully and save every column inch of coverage for the client – but I loved it. There was the work I was doing, featured in national titles!

Early in 2007, we had our first team planning meeting to discuss how we were going to put Fuzion on the map, and get ourselves noticed. This meeting also happened to be the first ever Fuzion Friday! Ideas flowed, and so did the wine.. and the rest is history!!

Fuzion Friday became a regular fixture on the Fuzion weekly calendar, and to this day is an opportunity for the Fuzion team to sit back, share time together and relax after putting in a hard week’s work. On the odd occasion Fuzion Friday lunches turned into Fuzion Friday after work drinks – but as the saying goes, “work hard, play hard”!

In my early years with Fuzion, I would say that my car could have driven on autopilot to Killarney, as I was up and down the road so often, working on a variety of clients in The Kingdom, from the Killarney Outlet Centre to Killarney Golf and Fishing Club to Christmas in Killarney. All these projects gave me great experience, and I worked with lots of people who were passionate about doing great work in their community. 

The summer of 2007 saw Fuzion work on Tour de Munster for the very first time, which today remains Fuzion’s longest standing client!

It has been an honour to work on this charity cycle, which has raised phenomenal funds for various beneficiaries over the years. Today the main beneficiaries are the Munster branches of Down Syndrome Ireland; but the beneficiary in 2007 was the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland (CFAI), and our work with them through Tour de Munster led to us working with the association on an ongoing basis for a number of years.

Working on charity campaigns has been a highlight of my time with Fuzion, but none more so than when we worked with CFAI on what was, literally, a life changing campaign for so many in 2009.

After years of empty and broken promises, the CFAI had lost total and utter confidence in the Department of Health, the HSE and Minister Harney; and decided to take action into their own hands. They challenged the HSE/ Department of Health to honour the commitment given publicly in 2008 to fulfil the promise of having the dedicated CF Unit operational in St Vincent’s by 2010.

We worked with CFAI on a very high profile and evocative campaign, fronted by CF Campaigner Orla Tinsley, entitled  ‘Irish War Crimes’. I was at home one evening when I got a call from Dee to say that the government agreed to honour the commitment to deliver on the vital, dedicated CF unit – this was the proudest moment of my PR career to date and I cried with joy – what we were doing was making a real difference. Our work on this campaign was acknowledged with an Award For Excellence in PR in 2010 for “Best Public Affairs Campaign”.

Mid 2010 saw me take a sabbatical, when I worked with The Hope Foundation for one year as PR/ Media Coordinator, putting into practice everything I had learned on working on charity campaigns to that point. But I missed the variety of working with an agency on a broad range of clients; and so I was fortunate to be able to rejoin Fuzion in 2011 with a refreshed mindset!

Since then I’ve been lucky to work on great clients in an industry that’s changing constantly. There’s so much more to the job than pure PR nowadays, and managing successful campaigns includes everything from strategic planning and implementation to event conceptualisation and management; media relations to sponsorship negotiation; crisis management to social media management, implementing national advertising campaigns to graphic design liaison; so much more, and everything in between.

Over the last few years I’ve been particularly inspired by young entrepreneurs I’ve worked with through UCC’s IGNITE programme and the Local Enterprise Offices’ ‘Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur’ competition – these startups are Ireland’s future, and it’s been an honour to help them and advise them on their journeys.

One of the highlights of my time in Fuzion has to be the great colleagues I’ve worked with, many of whom have become what I know will be lifelong friends.

Doreen O’Mahony deserves a special mention as she was my first “Fuzion friend”. She started a few months after me, and was my partner in crime for the first few years. Together, we “held down the fort” when Dee and Greg took a well earned break for their honeymoon in December 2007. We still talk about how we were having nightly dreams about work, so concerned that we would do everything right so that Dee and Greg could return home knowing their baby was in safe hands! 

Today, as Fuzion celebrates 20 years in business, it still is in safe hands, with a passionate, dedicated, and much larger team behind Dee and Greg, helping to “drive the bus”!

Alison O’Brien

Alison O’Brien is an Account Director with Fuzion PR, Marketing & Design, who have offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland

The Power of Communications in a Crisis – Updates from professionals across Europe

Fuzion Communications are members of a pan-European network, the Crisis Communications Network Europe, which is made up of independent Communications agencies who offer a significant Crisis PR service in each different country.

The rationale for this network is to have a strong group of like minded, connected agencies that can handle Crisis PR situations for clients when these crises extend beyond national borders.

When it comes to a crisis that extends beyond borders there is no better example than the COVID-19 crisis that has affected everyone.

On the Win Happy podcast, I invited a senior person from each agency in the network to discuss the crisis and in particular:

• The status of the crisis in each country
• How government have reacted
• How good the communications have been
• The media role in these communications
• The reaction of the general public

It is clear listening to the really interesting discussion, that we can see the huge difference that strong communications can make in a crisis and and it can literally help to save lives.

Trusted, responsible government, leading by example, powerful gestures, quick action, honest briefings, strong and accurate media reporting and the public response are all key factors that determine the success of the communications and the fate of so many in each country.

The members that featured on the podcast were from Italy, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, England, Netherlands, Austria and Belgium.

You can listen to the show by clicking here.

Enjoy the show..

Greg

Greg Canty is a Managing Partner of Fuzion Communications who offer a full Crisis PR service from our offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland