Press

The Guardian

Animal rights campaigners follow a long tradition in PR of capitalising on a quirky place names

Veteran PR Mark Borkowski said publicists have a “heroic heritage” of generating coverage by hijacking a city or town with a quirky name. “This was first deployed by the arch-publicist Jim Moran back in the 50s. He used Fleatown, Ohio, to launch a chemical which could eradicate animal mites. Hell in Michigan was the test bed for a quit smoking campaign. Intercourse, Pennsylvania, was the unfortunate city to launch a prophylactic,” he said.

He said stirring up controversy and angering Peta’s opponents was an easy way to gain coverage. “I am sure those who enjoy ribbing the woke vegans will generate ink and commentary giving the subject a wider discourse. All light and shade in search of a debate.”

Read full article here: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/nov/23/how-hapless-wool-got-blanketed-by-petas-shock-publicity

In a 2006 interview with lads’ mag Loaded, Noel revealed how he had woke up one morning and decided to take his Ford GT40 out for a spin in his birthday suit.

He said: “I thought I’d take it out for a breather, the poor thing was stuck in its stable and needed exercise.

“I remember arriving at a roundabout horrendously fast, I almost didn’t stop.”

The revelation angered road safety chiefs at the time, leading Noel’s agent Mark Borkowski to say: “This happened 20 years ago when he woke up early one morning, stark naked and wanted to drive.

Read full article here: https://www.thesun.ie/tvandshowbiz/3417151/noel-edmonds-boasted-about-driving-his-sports-car-at-186mph-while-naked-at-4-30am/

The Irish Sun

Top PR guru Mark Borkowski told us how Toff would be “snapped up” by companies to be the face of their brands.

She has since gone on to present segments for This Morning, written her own book, Always Smiling: The World According to Toff, and hosted backstage coverage for the National Television Awards.

Read full article here: https://www.thesun.ie/tvandshowbiz/3424553/im-a-celeb-winner-will-have-to-hand-over-a-third-of-their-earnings-to-the-show-when-they-leave-the-jungle/

Sputnik News

The deal, according to brand specialist Mark Borkowski could be worth millions. “I would think it would be on a par with what the London Underground has done. It could be worth millions,” Borkowski told the Standard. “Resources are stretched so let’s hope it is a multi-million pound success for London.”

Recent dramas including Bodyguard has helped make the “sexiness” of the brand Mark Borkowski said.

Read Article Here: https://sputniknews.com/europe/201810311069389884-london-met-clothing-label/

Daily Mail

PR expert Mark Borkowski, who has worked with stars from Michael Jackson to Sir Cliff Richard, predicted the new range could make millions in foreign experts.

‘It’s that image you have for Beefeaters, Bobbies, telephone boxes and the Routemaster buses. It’s the Downton Abbey effect, the projection of the Olympics,’ he said.

‘I don’t think you’ll see floods of Londoners buying their cuddly Met plod toy with their uniforms.’

Read Article Here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6333733/Londons-Scotland-Yard-hopes-make-millions-expanding-range-branded-goods-sale.html

The Independent

Branding experts said the Met’s licensing deal could potentially be worth millions of pounds, but predicted Britons were unlikely to snap up the London force’s wares.

“I think it has more of a hope to succeed as a foreign export,” public relations guru Mark Borkowski told the Evening Standard. “It’s that image you have of Beefeaters, Bobbies, telephone boxes and the Routemaster buses.”

He added: “I don’t think you’ll see floods of Londoners buying their cuddly Met plod toy with their uniforms.

“If you think about NYPD or LAPD – I don’t think people in New York or Los Angeles have the same sort of romance about that police force.”

Read Article Here: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/met-police-merchandise-clothes-sale-branded-budget-cuts-scotland-yard-a8610856.html

York Press

Publicist and strategist Mark Borkowski said Rahul Mandal’s victory was of the “zeitgeist”.

With Brexit and Trump, and the news full of terrible stories, there is something about this winner that epitomises what people are craving – niceness, people to be kind, genuine and authentic,” he said.

“There’s no narcissism. His win just falls into that zeitgeist.

“That cliche used in reality shows, ‘you don’t know how good you really are’, that Simon Cowell line, Rahul is that person.

He said Rahul “will be hoovered up by many brands” and could go into anything from restaurants to food lines.

“M&S, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s would want him on board because he’s a great ambassador for kindness and care,” Mr Borkowski said

“He’s a million-pound brand without a shadow of a doubt. If he plays his cards right he could make multi millions over years. Brands don’t want some difficult prima donna.”

He said Rahul should get on Instagram but warned: “I think he’s too nice for Twitter. I think the trolls would chew him up. ”

As well as India “he has potential for America … he’s global”, Borkowksi said.

He added: “The problem is, with fame brings massive pressure and it will be whether or not he has the temperament and ambition to be as big as he might be. ”

Borkowski said of complaints about Rahul’s win: “That is what you’d expect. It won’t damage him.”

Read Article Here: https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/leisure/showbiz/17191555.great-british-bake-off-winner-rahul-could-make-millions-says-expert/

Evening Express

Great British Bake Off winner Rahul could make millions, says expert Publicist and strategist Mark Borkowski said Rahul Mandal’s victory was of the “zeitgeist”. “With Brexit and Trump, and the news full of terrible stories, there is something about this winner that epitomises what people are craving – niceness, people to be kind, genuine and authentic,” he said.

“There’s no narcissism. His win just falls into that zeitgeist. “That cliche used in reality shows, ‘you don’t know how good you really are’, that Simon Cowell line, Rahul is that person.
The trolls would chew him up.

He said Rahul “will be hoovered up by many brands” and could go into anything from restaurants to food lines.

“M&S, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s would want him on board because he’s a great ambassador for kindness and care,” Mr Borkowski said.

“He’s a million-pound brand without a shadow of a doubt. If he plays his cards right he could make multi millions over years. Brands don’t want some difficult prima donna.”He said Rahul should get on Instagram but warned: “I think he’s too nice for Twitter. I think the trolls would chew him up. ”

As well as India “he has potential for America … he’s global”, Borkowksi said.

He added: “The problem is, with fame brings massive pressure and it will be whether or not he has the temperament and ambition to be as big as he might be. ”

Borkowski said of complaints about Rahul’s win: “That is what you’d expect. It won’t damage him.”

Read Article Here: https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/entertainment/great-british-bake-off-winner-rahul-could-make-millions-says-expert/e as big as he might be. ”

Irish News

Great British Bake Off winner Rahul could make several million pounds “if he plays his cards right”, an industry expert has predicted.

“With Brexit and Trump, and the news full of terrible stories, there is something about this winner that epitomises what people are craving – niceness, people to be kind, genuine and authentic,” he said.

“There’s no narcissism. His win just falls into that zeitgeist.

“That cliche used in reality shows, ‘you don’t know how good you really are’, that Simon Cowell line, Rahul is that person.

He said Rahul “will be hoovered up by many brands” and could go into anything from restaurants to food lines.

“M&S, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s would want him on board because he’s a great ambassador for kindness and care,” Mr Borkowski said.

“He’s a million-pound brand without a shadow of a doubt. If he plays his cards right he could make multi millions over years. Brands don’t want some difficult prima donna.”

He said Rahul should get on Instagram but warned: “I think he’s too nice for Twitter. I think the trolls would chew him up. ”

As well as India “he has potential for America … he’s global”, Borkowksi said.

He added: “The problem is, with fame brings massive pressure and it will be whether or not he has the temperament and ambition to be as big as he might be. ”

Borkowski said of complaints about Rahul’s win: “That is what you’d expect. It won’t damage him.”

Read Article Here: http://www.irishnews.com/magazine/entertainment/2018/10/31/news/great-british-bake-off-winner-rahul-could-make-millions-says-expert-1473833/

The Times

It doesn’t have quite the same ring as the NYPD but Scotland Yard is ready to try to follow the New York Police Department by using its name to sell branded clothes and trinkets.

“I think it has more of a hope to succeed as a foreign export.
“It’s that image you have for Beefeaters, Bobbies, telephone boxes and the Routemaster buses. It’s the Downton Abbey effect, the projection of the Olympics. I don’t think you’ll see floods of Londoners buying their cuddly Met plod toy with their uniforms.

Read Article here: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/does-it-come-with-stripes-metropolitan-police-launch-clothing-range-qfdp5vg5f

Standard

PR guru Mark Borkowski, who has worked with everyone from Michael Jackson to American Express, said the deal could be worth millions.

He told the Standard: “I think it has more of a hope to succeed as a foreign export.

“It’s that image you have for Beefeaters, Bobbies, telephone boxes and the Routemaster buses. It’s the Downton Abbey effect, the projection of the Olympics. I don’t think you’ll see floods of Londoners buying their cuddly Met plod toy with their uniforms.

“If you think about NYPD or LAPD – I don’t think people in New York or Los Angeles have the same sort of romance about that police force.

“I would think it would be on a par with what the London Underground has done. It could be worth millions. Resources are stretched so let’s hope it is a multi-million pound success for London.”
He said Jed Mercurio, the television writer behind Line of Duty and Bodyguard had helped to stir up the “sexiness” of the brand.

Read Article here: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/scotland-yard-flogs-its-line-of-merchandise-to-fans-worldwide-a3975261.html

Middle East Eye

Advertising experts say the charm offensive will have cost Saudi Arabia a tidy seven-figure sum for the billboards and the brains behind them. They would have paid the same rates as those of major corporate brands for the three-day blitz, with https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/saudi-crown-prince-launches-ad-blitz-promote-london-visit/1458702 more than $1m has been spent.

When asked for his best guess, British PR agent Mark Borkowski said: “A lot of money… an-eye watering amount of money. The people I think are involved – they don’t come cheap.”

Whatever ones position on Saudi, the bigger issue may be the expectations that such a massive campaign sets up, said Borkowski.

“When you engaged in this type of PR, you can’t just switch it off. You are now running a marathon every day of visibility and you are in the public domain,” he said.

“It is now on the radar and commentators like me and other people will be very interested to find out what is the next stage on this.

“Of course if the rather interesting modernisations going on stalls, stops, isn’t successful, then that is going to be very difficult for a PR company to contain.”

Read more here: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/prince-charming-million-dollar-saudi-splurge-london-ad-offensive-1127970144

BBC

It started with a kiss… Strictly contestant star Seann Walsh and dance partner Katya Jones hit the headlines after being caught kissing in public.

What does this mean for such a big TV show?

PR guru Mark Borkowski told the BBC that it’s not necessarily bad news for the show.

“If you’re cynical about it, it’s good news for the show. It’s provoked a huge debate and provided the papers with a huge story to keep interest in Strictly going.

“The BBC won’t make a fast decision, there’s a vacuum at the moment [so there’s] lots of room for media speculation [to fill the gap].

“All publicity is good publicity – apart from the obituary notice!”

However, the prognosis for Walsh and Jones isn’t so rosy, he says.

“It’s an absolute disaster for Seann, I would be very surprised, since the intervention of his girlfriend, if they can keep him on [the show]. I suspect they [Strictly] might leave the decision to the last possible moment.

“I don’t see how they can carry on with the routines. Seann was improving, he had a glint in his eye and Shirley liked him. For those not very well-known celebs [like Seann], it’s usually a huge lift for their career, it’s like being promoted into another division. But he’s got himself relegated before the season’s halfway through.

He adds: “It’s potentially bad news for Katya – whether she’ll be kept on, who knows?”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-45795844

The Sun

For some of these celebrities, being the first to be kicked off Strictly Come Dancing seriously harmed their careers

PR expert Mark Borkowski reckons it is all down to the shame of being first out on TV’s biggest show — a subject none of the agents of First Week Losers I approached wanted their clients to discuss.

Mark said: “Celebrities who get voted out at the first stage had better start writing obituary notes for their career. In Strictly terms, they shouldn’t be playing the last dance music, they should be playing the funeral waltz for their career.

Read article here: https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/7392956/first-kicked-off-strictly-curse/

BBC

Mark discusses the Domino Pizza stunt fail on the BBC World Service.  There is a reason why wacky promotions can turn into a PR nightmare.

Hear full article here (20.52)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w172w47ll3l1hhg

The Mirror

EXCLUSIVE: After ‘Punchgate’ there’s been a lot of talk about what’s next for Roxanne Pallett’s career – PR expert Mark Borkowski tells the Mirror what she should do

Celebrity crisis PR expert Mark Borkowski – who has worked with big names such as Michael Jackson, Cliff Richards and Noel Edmonds – tells the Mirror that although she is “in crisis and at a crossroads”, she actually has an “opportunity at this point” – but she needs to recognise her shortcomings and reflect on her actions.

“The first stage in crisis PR is self help,” the chairman of Borkowski Communications said, adding that this needs to be the point at which Roxanne examines her behaviour.

“Her brand is in tatters now but she has the opportunity to rise above this. She has to think about what her brand is – and if she behaves in a certain way what impact it has on that.”

“Nothing is over until it is over, but you have to seek help if you have issues that need addressing”.

Lying low could help Roxanne bring things back, as Borkowski said that remaining in the limelight isn’t working for Roxanne, as “she is clearly struggling to use fame to bring herself back”.

He pointed to other celebrities who have taken time out from the spotlight amid controversy recently: “Take a look at how much time Ant McPartlin is taking to recover… I’m very impressed by that”.

Borkowski said that for a successful celebrity brand you need to “know yourself and know what your brand stands for”.

“When she has found out who she is, she should bring that back and look at how she can actually help people.”

He added: “Whether you’re Holly Willoughby or Victoria Beckham, all of these careers go through ups and downs.”

See full article here: https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/roxanne-pallett-can-salvage-career-13191866 

The Sun
The Mirror

HOLLYWORLD
From six-figure ad deals to lucrative telly work — how TV darling and new I’m A Celebrity host Holly Willoughby carved out an £11m empire
The beloved TV presenter has added another jewel to her glittering crown by stepping in to co-host of I’m A Celebrity alongside Declan Donnelly

While it looks like Holly is everywhere, PR expert Mark Borkowski says she is selective about who she works with.
He said: “Sponsors want to be alongside her so she can be choosy – she very much sticks in her niche. She’s not sponsoring things that the average person can’t quite afford.”
PR expert Mark said: “She’s somebody who could be your friend. She’s got great chemistry, works hard and delivers. That’s why she’s getting all these big shows.”

PR expert Mark Borkowski explained: “She’s leveraging everything she does well and bringing it all together.
“Fame will always desert you sooner or later if you don’t work on it, but Holly always works on it.”

Read more here:

https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/7130081/how-holly-willougby-made-11-million-empire/

https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/how-holly-willoughby-built-11million-13162631

CBA
Inquistr

Rift between Prince Harry’s wife and her father may not have significant impact on perception of Royals

“I have been watching with a certain amount of interest and it does seem like a bad episode … of Coronation Street, a soap opera,” said British public relations expert Mark Borkowski, who has worked with everyone from Michael Jackson to Mikhail Gorbachev.

Where’s the family allegiance?

PR expert Borkowski would have “got well ahead of this and dealt with it right at … the outset” during the wedding preparations and brought Markle into the royal camp.

“Clearly they’re in a very difficult situation,” Borkowski said. “They’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t. He’s proving to be a man who is being paid regularly by some of these … [media] agencies in America. They’re feeding him and he is performing like some sort of dancing pony by keeping this narrative going.”

“I think it’s crept up on them,” said Borkowski. “Everybody makes mistakes and I think it was a mistake that was made, and it’s a very difficult one to recover from. Maybe they tried.”

From Borkowski’s perspective, the palace needs to keep Meghan’s father at “arm’s length because anything they’re likely to try and do he’s going to use for his own income.”

Borkowski expects there have been numerous attempts through intermediaries to sort this out, “but really it’s between a daughter and her father.”

And in that, maybe it’s not so far removed from what families outside the palace walls face — and this could engender some empathy for Meghan.

“I think most families across the world will have a narrative about an estranged relative,” said Borkowski. “I think there’s a more realistic feeling now towards the Royal Family, so you know these things happen to them, they’re out in the open.”

For all the tabloid attention the Markle debacle has foisted on the Royal Family, there isn’t a sense it is having a significant negative impact on the public perception of Meghan and Harry and the House of Windsor right now.

“It seems like a bad narrative going on, but I think people want to see Harry and Meghan succeed in terms of a relationship,” Borkowski said.

Read more here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/thomas-markle-rift-royal-family-harry-meghan-1.4793172

and here: https://www.inquisitr.com/5043896/meghan-markles-familys-american-heritage-one-of-the-reasons-for-disaster-says-royal-expert-penny-junor/

BBC

The stars were on board, the contracts had been signed, and the third Guardians of the Galaxy movie was scheduled to begin shooting in early 2019.

But Disney’s recent firing of director James Gunn has left the franchise somewhat up in the air.

PR expert Mark Borkowski says there can often be ways for stars to return to their careers after a scandal – provided the situation is handled well.

“You disappear for a while, you look for help, you’re contrite, and as long as the conduct doesn’t return, you have an opportunity to re-gather your brand and look again,” he explains. “But I think what we’re beginning to see are these peaks and outrages don’t sustain. Because the audience move on very quickly to the next thing.

“If that person truly reflects odious views, there is no hope for them. But some people make mistakes in their youth when they’re not really on top of what they’re doing. They don’t have the advice, they’re not famous, and these things come back to haunt them.”

He adds: “I do think there is generally a massive overreaction, and bad publicity doesn’t seem to sustain… everybody has a way back.”

Read article here: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-45060692

Their love may last forever but Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham’s eight weeks in the Love Island bubble came to an abrupt end yesterday as they flew back to the UK on a delayed Ryanair flight.

Publicist Mark Borkowski said companies might pay them up to £100,000 per social media post to endorse products. ‘Make no mistake, Dani and Jack will be able to monetise their fame — and many of the others will,’ he said.

He added the islanders need to stay in the limelight to rake it in long term. ‘This is the beginning of their journey,’ he said. ‘Can they maintain that fame?’

Read article here: https://www.metro.news/flight-delayed-as-dani-and-jack-head-home-on-ryanair-after-their-love-island-triumph/1166302/