Unite’s BA blunder could have been a stroke of PR genius.

Analysts and journalists have been quick to point out the Unite union’s ‘breathtaking strategic blunder’ in calling a 12-day cabin crew strike at British Airways over the Christmas period.

With a colleague due to fly with the airline to the USA on 24th December, we have been made only too aware of the angst, confusion, frustration and downright annoyance the issue has caused amongst those travellers directly affected by the planned action.

Union members who voted for industrial action also appear to have been taken aback by the timing of the strike – showing they are more in touch with public opinion than their union leaders.

British Airways looks to have avoided losing hundreds of millions of pounds for the moment, thanks to sharp legal minds and the ineptitude of the union in including votes from former BA employees in the ballot result.

Of course, Unite could appeal against the high court verdict, but surely even the most rabid union leader recognises that such an action would lead to even greater disaster – irrespective of the appeal outcome.

And yet it could have been so different. Having secured a clear, legitimate mandate from its members for industrial action, the union could have ‘considered its options’ – including a strike over the Christmas period.

The result would have been a day’s worth of media speculation over what that would mean for the travelling public, together with similar volumes of coverage over the union’s grievances.

Unite could then have announced that the public’s ability to travel was paramount at this special time of year and that strike action would not take place until the second half of January – giving time for families to enjoy the festive period and to return safely.

Crucially, a delay until then would hit business travellers, who provide much of BA’s revenue. But it would also give companies plenty of time to book alternative corporate flights for that period with other operators.

Business bookings with BA would start to tumble straightaway. The airline would see its budgeted, lucrative revenues for that period start to diminish. The result would be a return to the negotiating table sooner rather than later to minimise the commercial damage.

Unite would be seen as a union fighting to protect its members’ rights, rather than a bumbling Scrooge-incarnate.

The union’s message has rather been lost in the media snowstorm of the last four days.

Fortunately, the high court ruling means the travelling public will get what it has already paid for and has a right to expect.

But Unite has lost huge amounts of credibility both inside and outside its membership.

It won’t be much fun being a member of British Airway’s cabin crew in the immediate future.

The airline’s slow and painful struggle back to profitability looks set to continue for quite a while.

There are no real winners in this winter’s tale.

If PR vs Advertising was a football match...

Think about the last time you read a newspaper or magazine. It doesn’t have to be a ‘worthy’ title – if it was this morning’s Sun, then it was this morning’s Sun. (After all, this is just between you and us!)

Can you remember some of the stories you read? What were they about?

Okay, now thinking about the same publication, how many advertisements can you remember?

Over the years, we’ve asked these questions to many clients and potential clients and the answers are always the same – they remember what they read and nothing (or next to nothing) of the advertisements that were in the same publication.

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Now, looking at the stories you remember, how much of that editorial did you believe? We reckon your answer is 'all of it' (or pretty damn close).

That’s because a publication’s readers accept that the editor has filled his or her pages with information that he or she believes is credible and genuinely of interest. The vetting process has already been completed. The printed results can be taken at face value.

Can the same credibility be attached to products and services featured in an advertisement, or is there an obvious bias?

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Now don’t get us wrong. Advertising has a significant role to play in the marketing mix assuming (a) you have the budget required to achieve the impact you need and (b) the resulting sales justify the expenditure.

Taking out advertising space enables you to say exactly what you want about your business and to present those messages in an eye-catching format.

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But what if you don’t have the budget necessary to make the campaign a success? Normally, one advertisement won’t do. You’ll need a campaign over a period of time. Cutting your coat according to your cloth may mean cutting the size of the advertisement, but a small advertisement – or even a series of small advertisements - can be easily overlooked.

Placing a full-page advertisement in a well-targeted trade press journal can set you back £1,000 just for the space. But what if your potential customers have, say, three or four well-targeted journals to read. What if your customers are ranged across different market sectors, each of which has their own relevant publications?

An effective advertising campaign can quickly go beyond the economic reach of the vast majority of businesses out there,

Yet for the price of one full-page advertisement or less, a public relations campaign could secure editorial coverage for your business across a range of relevant titles and over a period of time. For a fraction of the cost of a successful advertising campaign, public relations gives you the opportunity to reach a larger target audience and to vastly improve your sales prospects.

3-1.

Full time. And thanks for yours.

Hello! Why the funky pictures?

Hello and welcome to our new web site!

Thanks for taking a look.

We thought we'd better start by explaining about the pictures that head up each page... not the people ones, obviously - they should be fairly self-explanatory. We're on about the pictures that give you an interesting (in some cases disturbing!) insight into the people that make up Quiet Storm Consultants.

It's an old adage, but public relations is very much a people business. Clients work with us because of what we can offer to them, but also because of who we are.

To help you get beneath the highly polished, professional surface of each member of our team, we hereby present their favourite books, biscuits, hobbies, mugs and God knows what else.

To make sure you don't associate fashion shopping, high heels or golf balls with the wrong person (and to avoid future potential legal action!), we've even put collections of our favourite things next to the relevant person's profile.

It's a bit of fun. Maybe an ice-breaker. And certainly a psychologist's dream... or should that be nightmare?

Anyway, enjoy!