Good and Bad PR: EV myth-busting, firework banning and PGA shaming

I can almost hear Mariah Carey waiting in the wings, carrying out her final vocal-range warm up before the Christmas hit lands. Quick, let’s get into this week’s Good and Bad PR before she starts.

Labour still in PR doldrums

The first bad PR of the week goes, again, to the Labour party comms machine. Its party conference has come and gone, with little positive coverage. None of its anti-Reform, anti-Farage messages landed, and Starmer’s ID card idea definitely went down like a fart in a lift with the UK masses.

CNN reported that Starmer is apparently the UK’s most unpopular prime minister since these kinds of records began — his days may be numbered.

The Rt Hon Rachel Reeves had one viral sensation from her appearance at the conference, but sadly this was because X and TikTok users compared her to a Dalek.

I was worried I had misread the room, so to sense check I once again donned the PR outfit of choice, a gilet, shirt and chino’s, and hit the streets to see what the muggles think.

It turns out I was reading the room perfectly, as this week’s TikTok will show. 

Bad PR for Labour, I think it is only a matter of time before Kier gets pushed off the Labour leadership pier.

Just what is happening to Scotland?

Regular readers may well remember my concerns for my ancestral home of Scotland. I fear that my people are getting soft in this new era of wokery and chai squirrel milk lattes.

A few years ago it was a collection of muggles trying to do away with the daily canon firing from Edinburgh Castle because of the noise.

This week, it’s a firework ban for Murrayfield Stadium after two rock gigs saw 16 (eight for each concert) muggle complaints.

The separate AC/DC and Oasis performances, which had fireworks as part of the show, triggered an Environmental Health investigation.

With the castle canon, common sense prevailed, and the Scottish government rightly stepped in to confirm it was going to carry on despite the noise pollution report.

No such luck for Murrayfield, as the local council has recommended that fireworks are no longer used during future events at the ground.

When historians come to examine the date at which the UK was listed as officially going to pot, I think it will be the day the council banned fireworks from one of the most respected and glorious stadiums ever made. Bad PR for Edinburgh Council for being buzzkills.

AI is just the jobby for water company

AI has become the saviour of many industries. To demonstrate just how powerful it can be, it has performed the ultimate miracle, achieving positive PR for a UK water company.

South West Water got BBC coverage, no less, for a positive story it pushed out announcing the success of an AI pollution monitoring trial. The AI kept vigil over 12,000 of its sensors, to anticipate blockages and changes in water levels.

The company estimated this has potentially prevented 200 pollutions from happening. The company acknowledged that part of the reason behind the trial was to improve its rating from the regulator.

I expect other big industries will apply these trials too. For instance, an issue impacting train operators is not knowing how much rolling stock and network assets are available.

For years trains have had cameras fitted and relied on humans to watch the footage back to count the assets.

No really, I used to work in the industry. Fortunately I was never given that job. Now though, AI can be trained to do this kind of work in a fraction of the time and with 100% accuracy compared to a human.

We give thanks to the AI overlords for their achievements. Great PR by South West Water.

EV myths are back on the rise

In early 2024 a House of Lords inquiry called on the UK government combat EV misinformation.

Further evidence of this has been highlighted by an electrical car charging point supplier, char.gy. It commissioned YouGov research into why people are put off EV’s, and found most of the issues were myths.

The biggest was a lack of range, something the EV industry has spent years trying to counter, but the messages are not yet landing.

The perceived high outlay price of buying an EV was the second biggest factor for muggles not buying them, and once again, this has been heavily countered by the EV industry.

The positive messaging is out there, but for whatever reason, it's not getting through to the petrol head community. Or could it be that maybe, just maybe, the petrol crew just don’t want to listen. For the record, so you don’t think even less of me, of course I don’t have an electric car. What do you take me for, some kind of hippy?

Good PR for char.gy.

Ryder Cup victory sees golf hit a new low

The fantastic Ryder Cup victory for Europe has left a sour taste. American fans and a TV presenter, in my opinion, took it too far by joining in with offensive chanting. We can only hope the European fans don’t stoop to such lows in 2027.

The PR reaction has been interesting to watch. Probably the most notable is from president of PGA of America, Don Rea. You would have thought that his comms team would have briefed him to pour water on the flames, but instead he came out firing for Team US and the fans.

When the European players’ wives are getting hit with drinks and facing comments about their weight and sexuality, and all this in the very twee sport of Golf, you know there is a PR campaign that needs to begin.

Golf, as a sport and an industry, has never had it so good. Memberships and numbers are up, evidenced by the likes of England Golf, which claims records are being broken this year for the number of rounds being played.

The site of state police surrounding the green on the 18th during a Ryder Cup should never happen again and a comms campaign needs to start now, to try and address fan behaviour.

Bad PR for PGA.

Got it right or wrong, you know where to find me. A massive thanks to Alan S Morrison again this week, who fired over lots of great story ideas.