PR expert says Harry and Meghan could ‘make a fortune’ with Sussex ‘brand’
PR expert Mark Borkowski, who has worked with Noel Edmonds and Graham Norton, told the PA news agency: “This is what was always going to be the case, I think.
“I think Meghan never quite understood what it was to be at the front and centre of the royal family, married to perhaps one of the most famous young royals, and, you know, really couldn’t take the protocol and started to create the Sussex royal brand, very powerfully and linked very much to what they thought was important – mental health, many of the other charitable aspects.
“And gradually they were, and we saw that with the announcement of the birth of their child, they didn’t play to royal protocol and they suffered the slings and arrows of all that, action from the media who clearly found it odd in the way that they were communicating the birth and communicating news on Instagram and not playing the game.
“I think what’s actually happened is they’ve suffered a lot of negative PR. They want to do good and they’ve separated themselves.”
Mr Borkowski suggested that the Sussex “brand” could rival that of the House of Windsor…
Read full article here: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/pr-expert-says-harry-meghan-114755668.html
“The art and cost of hiding companies’ negative news on the internet”
Stuff
Other companies go even further and create fake news articles and misleading positive reviews. Mark Borkowski, a public relations veteran, says his company does some online reputation management for customers, but he warns that in the industry “there are a lot of snake oil salesmen and a lot of nefarious people you wouldn’t want to share a drink with on a night out”.
Read full article here: https://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/118603863/the-art-and-cost-of-hiding-companies-negative-news-on-the-internet
Year of trials and tribulations for Britain’s royals
France24
Andrew was dogged throughout the year by allegations that he had sex with one of the victims of US paedophile Jeffrey Epstein when she was a teenager.
Andrew’s attempts to clear his name in a BBC interview in November could have hardly gone worse.
The prince looked stiff and unapologetic — a performance akin to “watching a man in quicksand”, according to PR consultant Mark Borkowski.
Read full article here: https://www.france24.com/en/20191224-year-of-trials-and-tribulations-for-britain-s-royals
Tesco ‘forced labour’ story shows challenges to brands from supply chains
PRWeek
Supermarket has suspended agreement with Chinese business behind charity Christmas cards until investigation concludes.
PR luminary Mark Borkowski acknowledged the promptness of Tesco’s response, noting that a few years ago its crisis management function would not have been so agile.
“But the question is: what the hell is their supply chain doing?” he told Campaign. “It creates a bigger question about the very country where many companies are sourcing a large quantity of what they are selling in the UK. There’s not enough scrutiny on the very area of work that demands the greatest scrutiny, because it delivers economically.
“At the end of the day, people are struggling and austerity is a killer, while Tesco is facing massive competition on price from the likes of Lidl and Aldi.”
The irony that Tesco’s cards are sold to raise money for charity but are produced in a country renowned for questionable human rights was not lost on Borkowski: “If you talk about purpose, you can no longer use it as virtue-signalling gibberish.”
Read full article here: https://www.prweek.com/article/1669546/tesco-forced-labour-story-shows-challenges-brands-supply-chains
Heartfelt Grudging Unreserved PR Apologies 2019
PRWeek
When it comes to the business of owning up to mistakes or bad behaviour, there are many ways of expressing regret – but some more genuine and heartfelt than others.
Read full article here: https://www.prweek.com/article/1669249/heartfelt-grudging-unreserved-pr-apologies-2019
Has Tom Hiddleston broken his model?
Wellston Journal
“Some of the recent headlines have been unhelpful,” admits Mark Borkowski, a strategic PR consultant.
“There are events that happen and they‘re not thought-through properly, and the nature of being caught up with Taylor Swift‘s gang and not thinking it through strategically has undone him.
“Sometimes people don‘t recognise the power of their brand, and often you can‘t conduct yourself in the way you think you can.”
Read full article here: https://wellstonjournal.com/has-tom-hiddleston-broken-his-model.html
PR industry leaders are not overtly shocked by Boris Johnson’s decisive election victory, but are concerned about some of the campaign tactics deployed and what this means for society.
PRWeek
Mark Borkowski, founder, Borkowski PR: For a long time, I’ve known that moderates across the country were in trouble, but I didn’t realise that it would get this bad, this fast. We have handed our country into the hands of people who are willing to go to dark lengths to win.
In this campaign they have made promises and then edited them out of the recordings, they have posed as fact-checkers, they have mashed up footage of opponents to completely misrepresent them and they have been rewarded beyond their wildest expectations.
As much as I regret that Johnson has been rewarded for his behaviour, I have to hold out hope that Corbyn is forced to take responsibility for guiding his party into disaster.
Read full article here: https://www.prweek.com/article/1668707/ge2019-reaction-simplistic-populist-lines-work-hive-mentality-toxic-ethical-comms-threat
SPONSOR ME Anthony Joshua earns £8.3m in endorsements and sponsorship deals, and has solidified his status as king of the brands
The Sun
PR Guru Mark Borkowski believes the 2012 Olympic gold medallist has galvanised his sponsorship deals after going on a downward trajectory following his surprise defeat…
Read full article: https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/10521486/anthony-joshua-sponsors-endorsements/
Jacqueline Jossa EXCLUSIVE: I’m A Celebrity winner could make £5 MILLION after being crowned Queen of the Jungle… as she’s tipped for her own reality show and tell-all book
MailOnline
Renowned PR agent Mark Borkowski told MailOnline that with the right team behind her, Jacqueline could make millions of pounds in the coming months by capitalising on her ‘girl next door’ image…
Read full article here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/celebrity/article-7772241/Im-Celebs-Jacqueline-Jossa-looks-set-make-1-MILLION-crowned-Queen-Jungle.html
The Drum Show: can the Royal Family brand survive Prince Andrew’s crisis?
With the fallout from Prince Andrew’s BBC interview still a hot topic in the news agenda, the theme of The Drum Show this week is the Royal Family brand and if it can survive this latest scandal.
Host Rebecca Stewart, The Drum’s senior reporter, was joined by: Zaid Al-Zaidy, founder and group chief executive at The Beyond Collective; Eva Simpson from The Daily Mirror; and Mark Borkowski, founder of Borkowski PR.
Read full article here: https://www.thedrum.com/news/2019/11/29/the-drum-show-can-the-royal-family-brand-survive-prince-andrews-crisis
Duke of York scandal ‘biggest royal crisis since death of Diana’
Express and Star
PR and crisis consultant expert Mark Borkowski said the crisis engulfing Andrew is more controversial than anything on The Crown.
Read full article here:
The Corporate Cost of Prince Andrew’s Jeffrey Epstein Mess
Fortune
No one wants to be tied to someone who’s an alleged pedophile, says PR executive Mark Borkowski, who’s worked with the likes of Led Zeppelin, Prince, and Luciano Pavarotti via his London-based agency, Borkowski.
“No one wants to be associated with negativity. The dominos fell and there was no way of pulling them back up. It was like watching a man drown in his own hubris.”
Read full article here: https://fortune.com/2019/11/23/prince-andrew-jeffrey-epstein-corporate-cost/
Queen would be ‘horrified’ at Prince Andrew’s ‘inevitable’ resignation
The Mirror
Public relations and crisis consultant Mark Borkowski described the events as the biggest crisis the royal family has faced since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Speaking about the Netflix drama The Crown, which chronicles the monarchy, he said: “This actually kicks The Crown into a cocked hat, the producers of The Crown must be kicking themselves because they haven’t got anything in the current series that is so topical and real as this, because it’s got all the stuff of the past, wrapped into now.
“I read that statement and thought it’s a fantastic statement but three years too late, if he had written that statement three years ago distancing himself from Epstein none of this would’ve happened.”
Read full article here: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/queen-would-horrified-prince-andrews-20924900
Prince Andrew BBC Newsnight interview branded ‘biggest crisis since Princess Diana’s death’
Birmingham Mail
Mark Borkowski, a PR and crisis consultant, said the issue was like a “tractor beam” sucking the Royal Family into Andrew’s “black hole” but whoever had taken the decision to issue the statement had saved the monarchy.
Read full article here:
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/prince-andrew-bbc-newsnight-interview-17290885
Prince Andrew BBC Newsnight interview branded ‘biggest crisis since Princess Diana’s death’
The Independent
Mr Borkowski said the crisis would have overshadowed the work of all the Royal Family who would have been questioned about Andrew for months, just like the political leaders of the two main parties were in their televised debate on Tuesday night.
Read full article here: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/prince-andrew-news-epstein-bbc-interview-death-diana-royal-family-news-a9211571.html
Prince Andrew to step back from royal life
RSVP Live
Speaking about the duke’s BBC interview, public relations and crisis consultant Mark Borkowski said: “I have never seen anything so disastrous. For any students of PR that is how not to do it.
“It was like watching a man in quicksand and unfortunately, I don’t think anyone would have thrown him a line to get him out.”
Read full article here: https://www.rsvplive.ie/news/celebs/prince-andrew-step-back-royal-20924172
So what does a royal like Prince Andrew do in life if charities desert him?
Stuff
When asked why Andrew may have taken part in the BBC interview, Mark Borkowski, a public relations and crisis consultant, said that perhaps the duke was “looking ahead at year in front of him 2020, 2021, and probably 50-70 per cent of work he’d do in any given year not there,” because of the Epstein scandal.
“When your purpose is threatened and challenged, and when your status is not what it was, for a man reaching 60 he doesn’t want to be that person he used to be on the golf course, so he had to up his game and draw a line under it,” Borkowski said.
Read full article here: https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/life/117554815/so-what-does-a-royal-like-prince-andrew-do-in-life-if-charities-desert-him
There’s an unspoken set of contemporary rules behind the Royals, TV and PR – and Prince Andrew broke them all.
PR Week
There’s an unspoken set of contemporary rules behind the Royals, TV and PR – and Prince Andrew broke them all. As a masterclass in PR disaster, the interview will not be knocked off the top rank for some time. The Royal Family and TV has generally been a toxic marriage and given the long-term negativity around Prince Andrew as a starting point, his hubris was always going to raise a few eyebrows.
Designed as a PR exercise to dampen the flames, it did the opposite, igniting global negative headlines and a million social memes. Prince Andrew should have been counselled and he most likely was. If you want to garner positive media you have to tread with caution, put in the hours and build some good relationships before you step into the spotlight.
Never before has a plan been so liable to exposure nor so important, and if you only have inefficient sweat glands, selective memory and pizza to back you up, you need to be prepared to challenged; listen to good and impartial advice. It will now be even harder for him to rebuild any kind of voice or brand that we can listen to or believe.
Read full article here: https://www.prweek.com/article/1666041/prince-andrew-interview-will-reign-masterclass-pr-disasters-time-industry-reaction
Is Meghan Markle ‘Hated’ By The Media?
Last month, Harry sued the owners of The Sun and The Daily Mirror over alleged “illegal interception of voicemail messages,” according to a report by Fox News. The Duke of Sussex likewise sued the Claim over “the intrusive and unlawful publication of a private letter.”
However, a few royal family observers believe that taking the tabloids to court might backfire on the Sussexes. “It’s a really, really dangerous game,” PR specialist Mark Borkowski told The Guardian. “You’re going to make a lot of lawyers rich, they’ll be rubbing their hands from both sides.”
Read full article here: https://www.latintimes.com/meghan-markle-hated-media-450987
I have never seen anything so disastrous
The Independent
Speaking about the interview, public relations and crisis consultant Mark Borkowski said: “I have never seen anything so disastrous. For any students of PR that is how not to do it.
“It was like watching a man in quicksand and unfortunately, I don’t think anyone would have thrown him a line to get him out.”
Read full article here: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/prince-andrew-bbc-newsnight-interview-epstein-queen-emily-maitlis-royal-family-a9206791.html