Back once again. There’s no time to spare so let’s get about it and see who has the hits and misses of the last seven days in the world of PR.

Heathrow comms fly high but National Grid comms power down

Heathrow Airport’s comms team deserves nothing but praise. They communicated clearly and swiftly in what must have been a high pressure moment.

Whilst the crisis was ongoing they also had to deal with an overzealous government demanding inquiries. Not what you need when you have Simon Calder turning up in your airport to issue his gloomy updates. He must now be the barometer of a crisis for an airport.

One company that was not so good was National Grid. In its attempts to defend itself for causing the airport fiasco it inadvertently broke the first rule of the crisis comms playbook; thou shalt never throw another under the bus to get yourself out of the Daily Mail firing line.

Its CEO John Pettigrew claimed that Heathrow did have enough power to keep going via other substations in the area. That may have been the case, but the time it takes for Heathrow to power down and then safely power back up after a power interruption, no matter how short, is phenomenal in length. There is nothing that can be done about that.

I have speculated publicly that the National Grid CEO may have fallen down this line of questioning, and had no intention of putting the blame back on Heathrow. If that is the case, he needs a spot more crisis comms media training, I am available.

As the story continues to evolve, courtesy of an MP committee (I have been the PR wonk sat behind a CEO during one of these, they are great fun), more is coming out of the woodwork. The body representing airlines said it warned of issues around its power supply because of electrical infrastructure thefts.

Heathrow has publicly acknowledged this and has defended its chosen course of action. I can’t see how it could have realistically done more than it did, with millions of people potentially being at risk, but the mudslinging continues. That mud seems to be one way though, towards the airport bosses and they are remaining dignified in the face of extreme provocation. Yet another reason why the PR team are globally respected.

I’m calling great comms for Heathrow, but bad PR for National Grid and the airline body.

23andMe’s data crisis

23andMe is likely to be no more unless its co-founder can raise some money. This should strike fear into everyone, including myself, whose data and genetic make-up info is stored on its servers.

One angle that has not been heavily explored in the media coverage is who might be lurking in the wings to snap up the remains of the DNA giant — aside from one report from The Block, speculating it could be blockchain business Sei Foundation.

I know exactly who has worked in the industry, and heard the underwriters discuss its treasure trove of data. It’s probably going to end up in insurance land.

No, that is not the most risk-averse theme park in the world. It is the big insurance companies who will be chomping at the bit to get their hands on everyone’s data.

If they do get it, get ready for premiums to rocket up.

Want life insurance? Providers could just consult your DNA info from the 23andMe archive, and give you an eye-wateringly high premium. The only hope is that if it does go fully under, the US Government steps in and destroys the data. Keep your eyes on Signal to see if they do have any plans like that. Bad PR for 23andMe.

Why don’t you come on over, Valerie?

After a few bleak stories, let’s go for something more positive. When I think of dogs (remember readers, I am not a fan) I think of the big-uns. The ones that could survive no matter what and could rip apart a lion.

At the other end of the spectrum we have Valerie. A miniature dachshund from Australia who went missing on a family camping trip in 2024. After a search and rescue mission turned up nothing, the family gave up and feared for the worst.

This was Kangaroo Island after all. Blessed with snakes, lizards, kangaroos (obvs) and crocodiles. This should have ended up with Valerie becoming dinner.

Fear not though, the world’s silliest looking make and model of hound survived. She has not yet been rescued, but is definitely alive.

Some tourists, over there to see the wilds of Australia, were startled to see a 20cm dog roaming the island. They got video footage for evidence and the pink collar gave away her identity.

Valerie is too savvy to be caught by the humans looking for her, and wildlife experts think she is surviving by hanging round with other wild dogs. Great PR for miniature dachshund’s and the feel good story we all needed today.

No more sleeping satellites

Ever been to rural Wales, Scotland or round the back of the Co-op in my local village and tried to make a call? Well, you will be disappointed because the phone signal is crap.

Ofcom has a solution to this which is especially handy during an emergency. It has opened up a consultation as to whether or not it should allow phone companies to enable calls from devices via satellites. This would be standard on pretty much all modern mobile phones.

It would make things a lot easier and safer in the likes of mountain rescue situations and other emergencies, like trying to get a taxi out of Doncaster in the early hours of a Saturday morning.

No idea yet on the cost of the calls and how this would be passed on in an emergency scenario but all in all, it is a solid idea. Just as long as tranquil parts of the UK, currently bereft of phone signal, don’t become TikTok viewing hotspots. Sensible move by Ofcom and worthy winners of good PR gong from me.

Sharks revealed to be chatty Cathy’s, or are they?

A story raced around the world that sharks do actually make noises. I immediately hoped that they hummed the Jaws music but sadly not. Killjoy’s, I bet they could if they tried.

Scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, New Zealand published their findings in Royal Society Open Science. Sharks apparently click, like your elderly arthritic relative, when they move side to side. It also becomes more prevalent when they are being handled…that should be the Jaws music moment.

All was going well, and head of the study Carolin Nieder was having her pic shown around the world for her findings. The debate then moved on to if the sharks were chatting to each other or maybe mimicking their prey.

Then, all of a sudden, one scientific paper asked if the machinery used for the recording was clicking. I imagine there was an awkward silence. Further investigation is now needed but hey, the story still went global.

Retail banter kings

Bluewater Shopping Centre, Dartford gets a banter nod today. After a recent football game that didn’t go to plan for Charlton Athletic, the manager made a comment that he hoped his players were not off to the retail giant for a Costa and a wander about.

The Bluewater marketing team, along with Umpf and The Content Emporium sprang into action and created a TikTok of staff searching for players across the shopping centre. None were found, the muggles and local media loved it and reactive marketing was ticked off the gantt chart for another week. Great PR for all involved. I love activations like this. Simple, effective and funny.