Public relations fans assemble as I am back for another dollop of Good and Bad PR.

Glastonbury impressed me much

I am not really a fan of festivals. Packed full of people who make their own clothes and all smell of biscuits. Not for me, thank you very much. That being said, you can’t help but marvel at the PR war-horse that is Glastonbury. Our first Good PR of the week.

It is a commercial machine dressed up as a 'peace and love' dream and it gets all the big-ticket global media coverage every year that it is on the telly. This year was no different, with the likes of Cold Play, Mike Skinner and Shania Twain ensuring it dominated the weekend media cycle, even knocking the General Election off the top spot.

It is also a newsjacking dream, and brands were once again out in force to try and get some coverage on the back of it. Hat’s off to my old mates at GWR (First Group) for rebranding one of their locomotives to, “Shania Twain”… complete with leopard-print dressing and a grant unveiling. Loved it. They also get a Good PR for that alone, it impressed me much.

Queen Camilla solidifies her place in our hearts

If you are under 30, this will blow your mind; Queen Camilla used to a national villain. Say whaaaat? She is one of my go-to case-studies of a high-society rebrand that is all down to a PR campaign. Watch Netflix's popular series The Crown, it is a fairly accurate depiction of who King Charles turned to, to get her brand to where it is today.

I digress. Queen Camilla once again demonstrated why she is now the true Queen of Hearts. A young lad who is a double amputee was unable to attend the King’s Garden Party because of a traffic jam. Queen Camilla stepped in and invited him down to a private garden party at Bucky P this week and the national media (quite rightly) loved it. Great PR all round.

Revolut PR machine is a licence to print money

Let’s end on a fintech brand that has had a great PR week. Revolut’s strategic PR machine was in full effect this week. The online bank has been after a UK banking licence since 2021. The UK banking regulators have so far not granted them one, for various reasons, including the share structure of the company.

This week Revolut used its very strong financial results to secure a series of comprehensive media placements. That move enabled the banking brand to talk up its financial resilience, alongside making it very public that the share structure issues are now fixed. This is a major coup in terms of strategic media attention. It is also a classic example of how lobbyists and public relations people can effectively work together to help a business achieve its strategic goals. Nice one Revolut and their comms teams.