When ‘Oscar, the meanest moggy in Britain’ shot to fame across national press last week our marketing team were somewhat amused and bemused! Why? Because his owner is none other than our very own head of marketing, Caroline Hughes.
Forgetting the subject matter, we were fascinated that such a small local story could go international, literally overnight. “How did it begin and how can we replicate this?” was our ‘ever-questioning’ marketing team’s first response.
It started local; a simple press release to local papers, just to find a missing cat. You’ve got to provide a hook of course so the fact that the cat had a run-in with a neighbour back in May and appeared on TV in 2010 had to be included!
Sure enough the local press picked it up. And that probably would’ve been the end. But then, an anonymous neighbour called the paper to express anger that Oscar was now back (after being found some 34 miles away… hmmm?). The journalist smelt a continuation story and quickly asked Caroline if he could run a nice “he’s back” story (with no mention of the deep local hatred felt for poor Oscar). A short photo shoot captured a few choice ‘scary’ images of Oscar and the story hit the local headlines again, with a far more venomous edge to it than expected.
Then came the endless stream of comments posted online… enough to rank the article so high that it ticked the boxes for a national press agency. Once it was ‘beefed up’ a little more and was circulated ‘on the wire’ from them, there was literally no stopping it!
The next day Oscar’s household was woken at first light by press, TV and radio in what seemed like a never ending stream of media folk requesting interview after interview. The story had already been picked up by the Metro, Daily Mail, Daily Express, BBC and Sky News and even an Arab paper plus many more. And by the next day it had hit France and Switzerland too where it featured on the front page, a street billboard and even a cartoon strip!
With so much engagement with their online article, the Daily Mail then asked to run a more balanced weekend feature. This included a full feline photo shoot, cat charity donation in Oscar’s honour and full hair and make-up (not for the cat though, in case you were wondering).
One thing’s for sure, it was a rich media training experience for Caroline! But why exactly did it go international?
Engagement, engagement, engagement is the answer. It’s not about what you push out there, it’s the reaction to it that sends it viral (be it laughter, disgust or anger). By using quotes that incited hatred towards a cat, the papers were able to stir enough feeling from the general public to make them post comments and even argue with each other online. Proof of that engagement turned a local story into one that would sell worldwide. Plus everyone loves a bit of cattitude too, apparently!
So, is he really that mean? Of course not! He’s just a big pussy cat….
P.S. Oscar’s on Facebook too. Pawtographs available from Caroline on request (sorry, we couldn’t resist).
Thursday 15 November 2012
Monday 12 November 2012
Magnificent seven take on epic Channel Challenge
Openreach Marketing Director Rob Lee faces many channel challenges daily, spending his time between the communications channel, the marketing channel and the sales channel. But his biggest channel challenge came on a bright October day in Dover, as Rob explains...
Accompanied by my son, my future son-in-law, three work colleagues and a cox, we set off in an epic attempt to row the English Channel, all in aid of the fantastic AHOY charity.
The magnificent seven set off for the far away beaches of Calais, buoyed by the sunshine, enthused by the challenge and absolutely knackered from the 45-minute kerfuffle of dragging a traditional 19th Century Thames Cutter down a shingle slope to launch into the waves.
Our motto throughout the three months of training had always been: “How hard can it be?” We had 10 sessions planned on the Thames, the last three being 22-mile rows and some sea training around the Isle of Sheppey.
Needless to say, on the day we braved the channel, we had all done just 5 or 6 sessions on the Thames, our longest training run had been 11 miles and we’d got nowhere near the sea. How hard can it be?
It was bloody hard... over five hours of agony. Our plan had been to cover 11 miles quickly, getting past half-way to eliminate the chance to turn around and come back. Sadly we rowed for over two hours, yet I could still see the registration of my car parked on the Dover seafront.
My wife and other family members crossed on the Ferry. They steamed past us cheering encouragement, waving flags, rushing to get to the beach in Calais to greet us. Sadly that was the last we saw of them until we returned to Kent.
Braving 6 ft waves, and some of the biggest tankers and cargo ships I have ever seen at such close quarters, we battled on. The first two hours were full of good humour and banter, the next hour was silent, the fourth and fifth hours became a bit like tired children snapping at each other, how hard can it be?
However, we did it and although we were far too shattered to enjoy the achievement that night, the following days allowed us the luxury of boring every person we met with “I rowed the Channel, you know”, and here I am telling all our customers.
So, I learned a few lessons: training is important, launching from a jetty is important, and never ever doing anything like this again is mandatory.
The Ahoy charity is brilliant, they help vulnerable and disadvantaged kids experience the pleasure of sailing, rowing and – critically – working as a team. We raised nearly £40k, and if you fancy throwing a few quid their way, you can still donate here.
Accompanied by my son, my future son-in-law, three work colleagues and a cox, we set off in an epic attempt to row the English Channel, all in aid of the fantastic AHOY charity.
The magnificent seven set off for the far away beaches of Calais, buoyed by the sunshine, enthused by the challenge and absolutely knackered from the 45-minute kerfuffle of dragging a traditional 19th Century Thames Cutter down a shingle slope to launch into the waves.
Our motto throughout the three months of training had always been: “How hard can it be?” We had 10 sessions planned on the Thames, the last three being 22-mile rows and some sea training around the Isle of Sheppey.
Needless to say, on the day we braved the channel, we had all done just 5 or 6 sessions on the Thames, our longest training run had been 11 miles and we’d got nowhere near the sea. How hard can it be?
 |
| "I thought you were in charge of the oars!" |
My wife and other family members crossed on the Ferry. They steamed past us cheering encouragement, waving flags, rushing to get to the beach in Calais to greet us. Sadly that was the last we saw of them until we returned to Kent.
Braving 6 ft waves, and some of the biggest tankers and cargo ships I have ever seen at such close quarters, we battled on. The first two hours were full of good humour and banter, the next hour was silent, the fourth and fifth hours became a bit like tired children snapping at each other, how hard can it be?
However, we did it and although we were far too shattered to enjoy the achievement that night, the following days allowed us the luxury of boring every person we met with “I rowed the Channel, you know”, and here I am telling all our customers.
So, I learned a few lessons: training is important, launching from a jetty is important, and never ever doing anything like this again is mandatory.
The Ahoy charity is brilliant, they help vulnerable and disadvantaged kids experience the pleasure of sailing, rowing and – critically – working as a team. We raised nearly £40k, and if you fancy throwing a few quid their way, you can still donate here.
Wednesday 7 November 2012
From Semaphore to Smartphone
The 6th annual Manchester Science Festival ran until 4 November this year and included a special guest appearance from Openreach Ollie during an interactive communications technology event at MediaCityUK.
The nine-day, multi-venue Festival engages and inspires people with science, building their confidence in exploring and questioning science in the most creative ways possible. Events take place in cultural and unusual venues around the city, in Salford, Bolton and across Greater Manchester.
At the centre of the Festival is a family programme including science shows and hands-on activities to keep the kids busy and entertained during half term.
One of these was ‘From Semaphore to Smartphone’, a free interactive exhibition which showed how people communicated before smartphones came along! So people could try their hands at sending messages using flags and Morse Code, among other things. Even Openreach Ollie got in on the act.
And as part of the University of Salford’s weekend of technology at MediaCityUK, there was also the ever popular Digital Retro event, showing computers through the ages. From the Dragon 32 and the Commodore 64 all the way to the Raspberry Pi, there was a range of vintage computers and software to try out.
The nine-day, multi-venue Festival engages and inspires people with science, building their confidence in exploring and questioning science in the most creative ways possible. Events take place in cultural and unusual venues around the city, in Salford, Bolton and across Greater Manchester.
 |
| Openreach Ollie dials back in time |
One of these was ‘From Semaphore to Smartphone’, a free interactive exhibition which showed how people communicated before smartphones came along! So people could try their hands at sending messages using flags and Morse Code, among other things. Even Openreach Ollie got in on the act.
And as part of the University of Salford’s weekend of technology at MediaCityUK, there was also the ever popular Digital Retro event, showing computers through the ages. From the Dragon 32 and the Commodore 64 all the way to the Raspberry Pi, there was a range of vintage computers and software to try out.
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