Sir Cliff Richard awaits judgment on legal battle with BBC
BBC
Sir Cliff Richard awaits judgment on legal battle with BBC
The BBC said they could not have sat on the story as they would have been accused of protecting the star, but Sir Cliff’s former PR Mark Borkowski considers the coverage was a grave error of judgement.
“I don’t think we’ll see the same ever again where the BBC became like a city news station in an American capital,” he said.
“Very, very poor journalistic response to what was a plot, some people would say.”
https://news.sky.com/story/sir-cliff-richard-awaits-judgment-on-legal-battle-with-bbc-11365598
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The Guardian
“Why wouldn’t you make it commercially available? If they say they are supporting the women’s game but then not making it available for fans to buy then that doesn’t really sit right,” she said. “I understand that they maybe want to try it out but I am sure it would prove popular.”
Media commentator Mark Borkowski said that the launch was “a publicity stunt”. He added: “If it’s not commercially available, you put it out there to generate a huge amount of media interest, see what the interest is and then, perhaps, produce it further down the line. It’s a well-known, clever, marketing ploy.”
A spokesman for the FA denied the all-female set was a gimmick and said the organisation was in discussions with Hasbro about producing a commercially available all-female set. “There are ongoing discussions looking at opportunities going forward,” said a spokesman.
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Where next for Ant and Dec and ITV?
BBC
Strategic PR consultant Mark Borkowski agrees: “Could Morecambe go on without Wise? They are a double act. Would Dec have the same impact? What would that say to his pal who’s recovering (if Dec went on alone)? This is a very deep friendship that goes back to childhood.”
Mark says there’s a lot riding on Ant’s recovery.
“It’s incredibly difficult. They are proper A-list. It’s not dissimilar to the problems with Jeremy Clarkson but look what happened when he overstepped the mark – you lost the potency of the format (the Top Gear line-up featuring Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond),” he explains.
“Now it’s about putting some context into these issues, trying to focus on his ill health.”
But he cautions that there’s much more at stake in the modern age.
“There are some real issues – the commercial pressures of putting people back on the screen. If someone says they’re fit enough to go back on screen what are you going to do?”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-43469574
The Generation Game returns to the BBC on Easter Sunday
The Guardian
Slapstick family favourite revived with just two episodes after bumpy ride.
However, the publicist Mark Borkowski said revivals could backfire and get the “wrong kind of publicity … if you lean too heavily on the nostalgia. It can set the bar too high for the new talent who feel they’ve got to become the next Brucie.”
He added: “It’s a double-edged sword. A lot of the big shows such as Blind Date were extensions of stars’ personalities such as Cilla Black.”
Borkowski said broadcasters were keen to find new programmes as their big hits such as Strictly Come Dancing – itself a reworking of the BBC’s ballroom dancing competition, Come Dancing – or The X Factor have been around for years.
“It’s a very small gene pool of talent these days, which makes it hard for producers,” he said. “It’s a different world, where reality shows are giving us Rylan Clark-Neal or kids with massive characters are going on YouTube thinking they can make money presenting for four minutes. It’s not the same as being able to carry a large shiny floor show.”
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/mar/21/generation-game-returns-to-the-bbc-easter-sunday
Ant and Dec: why are the BGT & I’m a Celeb stars so important to ITV? – Radio Times
Radio Times
Mark Borkowski, the public relations expert, believes that a lack of talent waiting in the wings is a big problem for ITV.
“The talent pool of top notch presenters is so small and Ant and Dec are so good at their jobs but there is no one else who can take their place,” he says. “Who else could step into their shoes? It’s hard to imagine anyone. They are a cash cow for the advertisers and that is why they are worked hard and so they are knackered. They have worked so hard and it’s really tough. The vortex of fame is a thing people don’t understand and may struggle to sympathise with. But it’s real.
“It’s gruelling being in the public eye, being followed, having your every move scrutinised, social media dogging you 24 hours a day. I feel for the bloke.”
http://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2018-03-23/why-do-ant-and-dec-matter-so-much-to-itv/
As John Lewis suffers, is the era of the grand British department store over?
The Express – 16th March 2018
Today’s bargain-savvy shoppers are increasingly hungry for the sort of discounts that can only be offered from soulless units in business parks rather than elegant Victorian buildings with sky-high rents and rates in prime locations.
“Because we are time-compressed the experience of going shopping is no longer so pleasurable,” says brand guru Mark Borkowski.
“Today you might pop into the shop to look at the £4,000 telly but you will use an app on your phone to find out where you can buy it cheapest online.”
Selfridges has stayed ahead by making a £300million investment in transforming its emporia, as well as its online offering.
“The brand has reinvented itself by creating a sense of wonder in the stores,” argues Borkowski
Barack and Michelle Obama ‘in talks with Netflix over TV series’
The Guardian – 12th March 2018
Former president and first lady in advanced negotiations with streaming service, report says
Whatever the cost of the deal one thing is clear: it would be a television coup of gigantic proportions. “It’s a massive deal for both parties and the only thing we can also be sure of is that it will also involve a massive amount of money,” said the PR and branding expert Mark Borkowski. “This is another magical signing in the race to get as many eyeballs as possible.”
“MBS, and the million-dollar Saudi charm offensive you can’t ignore” Middle East Eye
Middle East Eye – 9th March 2018
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 some estimating 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.”
Mark Borkowski, a media analyst and PR strategist, tells Newsweek that the Obamas’ deal could eclipse both of those
News Week – 9th March 2018
Mark Borkowski, a media analyst and PR strategist, tells Newsweek that the Obamas’ deal could eclipse both of those. He says Netflix may offer the former first couple $500 million.
“Competition between streamers is so intense. We see money being flown at [creators],” says Borkowski. “It depends what it is, what that program is, what it becomes…is it [related] to a foundation or charity work? It could make it a less [expensive] deal. But it’ll still be a big deal.”
As Isabella Rossellini returns to Lancôme at 65, ‘grey advertising’ continues to boom
As Isabella Rossellini returns to Lancôme at 65, ‘grey advertising’ continues to boom “Advertisers are following the money as well as the political tide,” says PR expert Mark Borkowski. “Women of a certain age have been ignored before but that is no longer the case. Increasingly people are looking to the baby-boomer icons and feeling their influence.”
People have gone chicken crazy’: what the KFC crisis means for the brand.
According to the media commentator Mark Borkowski. “Scarcity creates demand. It’s reminded people about KFC, even those who haven’t had one for years,” he said. “When they get everything back running again, you can expect a stampede.”
I’m A Celebrity winner Georgia Toffolo ‘forced to hand over 30 per cent of her £1million earnings to ITV’ after jungle victory
The Sun, 17th December 2017
Top PR guru Mark Borkowski told us how Toff would be “snapped up” by companies to be the face of their brands.
“She’s got a very bright future in front of her,” says Mark, who is the head of Borkowski PR. “She won’t be an immediate millionaire but she’s on the road to make a million.”
Mark says that when Toff leaves the jungle, she’ll be inundated by offers of everything from book deals to being the face of fashion and lingerie brands.
Shamed PR man Max Clifford dies after collapse in prison
The Times, 11th December 2017
Max Clifford, the mastermind the of kiss-and-tell sex scandal, has died in what a fellow publicist described as “the end of a very dubious legend”.
The public relations man, who was 74, died today at a hospital in Cambridgeshire near Littlehey Prison, where he had been serving an eight-year sentence for sex offences. He died after a heart attack.
From rags to riches and back again and the arch schemer – a PR man’s view of Max Clifford
The Drum, 11th December 2017
In the not too distant future when a dogged eared text book on fame is read by a cultural historian referencing the impact of Max Clifford. From that they will ponder on one long chapter. For any student studying the history of public relations now, one common theme can be tracked; those who manipulate the zeitgeist of any media of age understand the need to feed the “herd’s” insatiable appetite for celebrity. Max Clifford, who died yesterday, was that modern exemplar.
Comms pros react to death of Max Clifford
PR Week, 11th December 2017
PR professionals reacting to the death of Max Clifford have distanced him from the comms industry, providing scathing testimony about the former publicist who died in the middle of a prison sentence for sex offences.
Shamed PR man Max Clifford dies after collapse in prison
The Times, 10th December 2017
Mark Borkowski, a PR agent and brand consultant, said: “I think he was preparing to come back into business. He was having meetings [with clients] in prison.” The Ministry of Justice confirmed Clifford’s death in a statement, in which it said there would be an investigation by the Prisons & Probation
The lowest paid celeb on I’m A Celeb has been revealed
theinsidercarnews.com, 7th December 29017
And according to The Sun, she was ITV’s smallest gamble too, being paid just £13,000 for her stint in the jungle, making her this year’s lowest-paid star.
“He’s the highest-earning contestant ever, even eclipsing what they paid Katie Price”.
I’m A Celebrity fans, who widely condemned the challenge as particularly “horrendous”,’ flocked to social media to praise the reality TV star. The report claims that Made In Chelsea star Georgia “Toff” Toffolo, 23, is earning the lowest fee – £13,000 for her three weeks in the jungle.
Why Toff is already I’m A Celebrity’s biggest winner
tellymix.co.uk, 7th December 2017
Win or lose, things are looking good for Toff on I’m A Celebrity 2017.
Made In Chelsea’s Georgia ‘Toff’ Toffolo is the favourite to be crowned Queen of the Jungle in Sunday’s final, but according to some she’s already won. PR guru Mark Borkowski has suggested Toff could end up making a million from the show after winning over viewers.
SWIMMING IN CASH I’m A Celebrity’s Georgia Toffolo takes a dip in the jungle bath as it’s revealed she’ll ‘make a million’ through lingerie deals
The Sun, 6th December 2017
I’m A Celeb’s Georgia Toffolo broke out her khaki bikini again as she took a dig in the jungle bath.
It comes after The Sun Online revealed Toff will make a million through lingerie and fashion deals, endorsing products and possibly even a book deal.
The reality star has wowed fans with her amazing wardrobe of bikinis and even said she’s been enjoying the cold jungle shower and that it helps her to wake up in the morning.
No-one wants to hear you talking about politics. But Get I’m a Celebrity right Kezia, and it’s panto at the Glasgow Pavilion next year
inews, 25th November 2017
“Most celebrities only go in the jungle for the money, which is good if you have a decent agent,” said Borkowiski. “The real winner is always ITV and the format. You can’t control how you are edited which determines how you come across. But the casting is always genius.”