Good PR of the week
 

Celebs love Nando’s
 

Chicken chain Nando’s does celebrity engagement very well, having previously captured the attention of the likes of Ed Sheeran, JLS, Pixie Lott and Jay Z with its famous Black Card. Ed Sheeran and Example even freestyled a song they called the Nando’s Skank:

PR works best when the product or business you’re promoting is actually worthy of the attention you achieve for it – those of you who’ve worked with products you wouldn’t give your least-favourite kid for Christmas know what I’m talking about – and to many people’s tastes, Nando’s ticks this box.

I’ve never understood the fascination personally, nor the need for everybody who goes there to keep us updated via Facebook before, during and after their meal, but as far as brand advocacy goes, it must be the top-down approach by the chain that gets people yapping.

This week, Nando’s sent singer Tinie Tempah some personalised bottles of Peri-Peri sauce, to gain some cheap and cheerful promotion. He responded in the perfect way, tweeting:

“Love it. Best/most creative present ever!”

Celebrity endorsements may be out of reach for many businesses, but if you have the brand to do so, think small and personal before you think about shelling thousands out on personal appearances.

Red Bull takes it to extremes
 

From Red Bull Stratos, arguably the biggest and best marketing stunt of our generation, the brand has gone for a comparatively lower-key, but still brilliant follow up.

The energy drink brand's ability to create videos that both reflect the company's ethos perfectly and beg to be shared is a wonder to behold and although not PR in the traditional sense, it just seems to get it right every time.

Enjoy The Athlete Machine, a giant cause-and-effect video that, in just a few days, has had more than 4 million views. It uses more than 25 tons of material, took 17 days and more than 100 builders to create and features 12 professional athletes:

Bad PR of the week
 

Taxing issues
 

Starbucks, Google and Amazon appeared before the Public Accounts Committee this week, with each company admitting it used ‘favourable European tax jurisdictions’ for its UK businesses.

Starbucks has taken perhaps the hardest hit, after a four-month Reuters investigation revealed that Starbucks reportedly paid just £8.6m in corporation tax in the UK over 14 years, as well as reporting accounting losses when it was profitable. Starbuck’s chief financial officer Troy Alstead says it is ‘not at all pleased about [its] financial performance’ in the UK.

Although it’s for far greater corporate PR minds than mine to comprehend the long-term damage to these brands, if any, it’s plain to see that both the media and members of the public are unhappy with the situation. Speaking anecdotally, many claim to be boycotting the three companies, with Starbucks the easiest to avoid seemingly, with Alstead admitting that the UK is the most competitive market they face globally.

Have you seen any good or bad PR?
 

Contact PR Rich Leigh with it by tweeting him @GoodandBadPR or by emailing rich@10yetis.co.uk throughout the week and we’ll happily credit you for your trouble.

Good and Bad PR is a feature on the blog of 10 Yetis PR Agency.