Good and Bad PR: Kate Middleton shines this week and all hail Dr Helen Cockerton for services to beer drinkers

Well hello there dear PR fans. I’m writing this during the school holidays, in between making breakfast pancakes and assisting with what will be a messily made cheesecake by the kids.

It’s all go.

The world of PR is no different and it has been another rollercoaster in the media. Let’s take a wander through the hits and shits of the last seven days.

Kate always rises to the top

Princess Kate must be the winner this week. What an emotional and heartfelt statement, written by herself and delivered with glorious aplomb. The Royal Family comms machine really delivered, spearheaded by Kate’s own style and class.

It takes a lot to make the cesspit of social media sit up and take notice and her message even triggered a wave of apologies from rogue muggles who had been spinning absolute whoppers.

We all now hope that she and her family can be left in peace while she makes a full recovery.

On to something far less emotional…

Harry’s statue is getting Kaned

Moving away from a respected global communicator and back down to earth with ‘one-tone-‘Arry’, there has been an interesting story brewing across the national media around the statue of Harry Kane.

In short, no one wants it.

Five years after Walthamstow Forest council commissioned the statue, at a fairly affordable for a national icon, £7.2K, no town or city is coming forward to have it on their land.

Although I lamented his poor overall comms delivery, to be fair to Harry, that is not his main job. He is a global leader at his ‘proper’ job, scoring goals. This is why I find the lack of a home so crazy.

We should celebrate our national heroes, especially one who has proven he can deliver not only in the Premier League but also on the highest stage in the German league.

I am not quite sure why the suits at the FA have not stepped in to try and bring some respect and glory to the statue saga via a placement near Wembley, given his England scoring record.

Obviously, it would also be nice for the statue to oversee a venue where trophies are given out, something Mr Kane, sadly, has yet to experience himself.

I feel a bit of a slimeball after that cheap gag, so maybe I need to team up with the creators of the next story.

Snails and slugs get image makeover from gardeners

The Royal Horticultural Society and Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust have teamed up to deliver a reputation improvement campaign for their historic archenemies, snails and slugs.

The PR campaign has also truly delivered, with it being a top-read story on the BBC website for several days. The respected gardening pair produced a co-branded document for gardeners called Making Friends with Molluscs that explains how we can all live hand in hand and get along.

I have no axe to grind with the slime brigade, but I was surprised to read just how much good they do for gardens and the environment in general. So the next time you are thinking about salting them, or some other kind of torture, maybe leave them alone. Great PR by Middlesex Wildlife Trust and the RHS.

Scientists stop beer from a life on the rocks

Sticking with the environment and the gardening theme and the short version of this story is that Dr Helen Cockerton of the University of Kent deserves to get knighted for her services to beer drinkers.

Despite what The Trump says, climate change is a real thing with very real effects. One of the most worrying situations is that it could lead to the end of beer! As the planet heats up, growing barley and hops that is needed for beer making is becoming more tricky.

Hops growth in the UK alone has fallen by around 20% over the last year.

This is where our national saviour, Dr Helen Cockerton of the University of Kent comes in. She and her team of noble national-hobby-saviours are looking at how we can fix this problem and how science can play its part.

If Dr Helen does find the solution, then I think we should all dispense with the elections and name her as Prime Minister. In Dr Helen we trust.

Quick look at Specsavers

I will end with a passing mention for Specsavers for the van-stuck-on-a-bollard PR campaign. What a great PR win and kudos to its team.

Got it right or wrong, I don’t really care to be honest. But do let me know and remember, Dr Helen Cockerton of the University of Kent should be protected at all cost!

Thanks to Meltwater, Good and Bad PR's data and insights supplier.

Written by Andy Barr, owner of 10 Yetis Digital. Seen any good or bad PR lately? Abuse and contradictory points welcomed over on The Twitter @10Yetis or andy@10Yetis.co.uk on email