August 23, 2016.

PR stunts are a great way of getting your message noticed.

When their publicist hired a boat for the Sex Pistols to play their anthem God Save the Queen, while floating along the Thames at the time of Her Majesty’s Silver Jubilee, it thrust Punk out of the shadows and into mainstream consciousness.

But, as the current case of Jeremy Corbyn and Virgin Trains illustrates, it is easy to get carried away and to leave yourself open to criticism.

If Mr Corbyn had a seat booked on the train, or if there were empty seats, then the stunt lacks integrity. It does not matter that we have all been on trains where people genuinely have to sit on the floor.

You should always remember that the stunt has to feel real and be built on facts, you should not attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of the media.

Everyone has a camera phone these days and there is CCTV everywhere – if it seems wrong then you will get found out and the deception will then become the story.

Before going ahead with a PR stunt you should always carefully consider what could go wrong and then ditch the idea if you have any doubts.

Here at Howle Communications, we deal with the art of the possible, giving PR advice based on integrity.

Along with providing a press release service for companies and charities, we also provide training courses on how to kick-start your PR and how to work with the media in a crisis.

If you’d like to find out more then please call Nigel Howle on 0776204346 or email [email protected]