Every day we are bombarded with stories from the media. They crop up on breakfast TV, shout at us from websites, drone out of the radio and the faces of those we meet!

Stories are the heart of what makes public relations work. At Empica we believe our core skill is finding the story in the things that our clients do that perfectly illustrates the message they want to get across to an audience.

Then it is a question of making that story interesting and placing it somewhere that people will see it. If possible we then want something magical to happen – we want the people who we have told that story to pass it on to others.

It is having that skill of knowing what sort of stories people will tell others that can lift an average bit of PR into achieving great things.

One tip is to look at the BBC website section that shows what stories are the most shared – rather than looking at what the BBC journalists have decided are the most worthy and exciting.

Often these are not one and the same. As I write this the big story of the day is the Government’s plans for a ?33 billion High Speed Rail network. There is no doubt this is a brilliant story featuring a huge amount of cash and with relevance to just about everyone in the country – after all transport is vital.

But in the “most shared” ranking this story has interested less people than one about two kittens in Hampshire that have been found with 18 extra toes between them. It says something about people – but it also says something about what makes a story.

If you have a kitten with extra toes we can get you national publicity!

We never like to miss an opportunity to get publicity for the businesses we work for – but the festive period is one of the trickiest for getting the tone right.

The combination of family celebration, religious festival, consumerism and people just wanting a rest at the end of the year means that publicity stunts and hard sells are often the last thing that people want to hear.

Add to that the fact that everyone is at it – thrusting their 2012 desk calendar in your hand, ostentatiously donating to charity and taking people out for a drink and mince pie – and you will be lucky if your publicity stunt is noticed in the noise.

Plus the fact is that everything done before Christmas runs the risk of being forgotten during the week of turkey, tinsel, TV specials and Tia Maria!

So our PR advice is send off your corporate branded Christmas card – or like Empica make it an e-mail and a donation to a worthy cause; make sure you show your best customers you remember them at this busy time.

Put on some staff event that thanks everyone for the year and celebrates the festive period.

Then start planning the way you are going to gain publicity in the New Year with a well-targeted campaign aimed at your customers – whether they are the public or businesses – once they return in January.

Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

There seems to be a networking opportunity every day in business these days and nobody can deny that spending some time with other business people is likely to lead to you doing more business.

I’m not a great fan of the formal networking organisations. I’ve never been shy or found myself as a wallflower at an event so their techniques to get people talking are more useful to others than to me.

I’m also not backwards in trying to sell my services to others so the pressurised methods of ensuring people swap leads with each other seem just a little too forced for my liking.

In fact rather than networking I think people should be volunteering. It has the same effect on business but the emphasis is on giving rather than receiving.

Volunteer to get involved in an organisation and put something into it and pretty soon you will find that others involved in that organisation are willing to give you the time of day – and maybe buy something from you.

Going with the attitude that you are a volunteer, with something to contribute, is far less passive than going with the attitude that you are going to “network” in the hope that some benefit will come your way.

Of course the key thing is to pick the right organisation to which to offer your volunteer services. It could be a trade association; something that your clients are interested in; a big project in your town or city or even a charitable cause.

Pretty soon volunteering becomes a way of networking. But networking with a purpose.

Our regional newspaper has just had a makeover. The Bristol Evening Post has gone for an exciting new colour scheme and sections with headings such as “24 hours” “focus” and “highlights”.

It was a much-needed revamp and it has made us look again at the newspaper and its content. OK the headings could have read “news” “features” and “entertainment” but print media has to do something to attract a second-look in these internet-dominated days.

In fact changing the look of something can have a great effect. From time to time I buy a shirt that’s too big for me just so that I can enjoy a couple of weeks of people saying: “you?ve lost weight” without having to work hard at the gym!

Perception is reality and if people think you have changed?- then you have changed. It is a key lesson for products and businesses.

If your product and service looks the same all the time then soon it will become part of the background and you are missing a PR trick.

Make changes and shout about them. Of course changes for the better are always preferred. It may mean a change to packaging, the website, the way you do things or the introduction of a new service.

Changes are also an ideal catalyst around which you can build your public relations campaign.

It seems incredible that 10 years have passed since the world-shattering events in New York unfolded before our eyes.

Unsurprisingly the anniversary of the fall of the World Trade Centre has been high on the news agenda and it brings into sharp focus what shapes the decision-making of news editors on what should or shouldn’t be published as news.

It also demonstrates the public relations power of the landmark anniversary. At Empica we have been involved in promoting many anniversary events. They are important milestones that will always grab the attention of the media and the public.

At there best they can be used to reflect on progress made – some of the most fascinating news stories over 9/11 have been about the work going on to transform Ground Zero into a fitting memorial and a lively thriving part of New York in defiance of the terrorists.

Anniversaries are also a good time to look back and reflect on the original events with hindsight. With organisations this is often a chance to re-evaluate why things were created and how changes have been made to them since. With 9/11 it is a chance to look again at what happened on the day – hail the heroes and learn whatever lessons can be learned for the future.

Marking anniversaries also provide a chance to look forward to the future, set new goals and make promises about intentions for change within an organisation.

Do not miss the publicity opportunities that come from the anniversaries of your business or organisation. Plan them well in advance and you will find they are a fantastic hook for gaining media coverage and educating the public about your product or service.

Empica Public relations has the advantage of being based in the beautiful city of Bristol. A city that boasts more Georgian buildings than Bath and some beautiful structures, statues and interesting streetscapes.

This year an army of – moulded gorillas have been added to the scene to celebrate the birthday of Bristol Zoo and the Wow! Gorilla initiative has certainly been a hit with tourists and locals alike.

You can hardly walk around the city centre without seeing people posing by the brightly decorated apes having their photo taken – to such an extent that the Bristol Evening Post devotes at least a page to such photos every day!

What the gorillas have on their side is good PR and an enthusiasm that is being passed around by word-of-mouth and through both traditional and new social media means.

The power was demonstrated to me as I walked through Queen Square, Bristol where there is a statue of William III by the great 18^th century Flemish sculptor John Michael Rysbrack.

Many people say it is the finest equestrian statue in Europe and the muscle definition on the rearing horse is certainly worth stopping to admire. A wondrous piece of sculpture produced more than 200 years ago by a genius.

Of course as I walked past it was being totally ignored by a crowd of about 50 people waiting to have their photographs a couple of feet away next to a plastic mass-produced gorilla with some words on its backside!

That’s the power of a good PR campaign!

The three Ps – police, politicians and press all have questions to answer as a result of the News of the World phone hacking scandal.

As a journalist it is sad to see one of the country’s long-running newspapers disappear – but I won’t really miss it. For too long it has concentrated on bringing us tittle-tattle about this week’s celebrity instead of uncovering real stories and scandals. In fact I’m struggling to remember the last time I bothered to buy it, although I always flick through it.

Prime Minister David Cameron has promised an inquiry – hopefully that will include looking into the relationship between the Conservative Party and News International, which switched its allegiance to his party in the run-up to the last election – but don’t hold your breath.

The police must also be answerable as to why some of their officers have handed over phone numbers to press people and why previous investigations into the scandal were handled so poorly.

It is the fourth P – the public – who have really been let down by all this. We need honest politicians, decent journalists and police who are above corruption and question.

The death of the News of The World is not the end of this scandal. There will be many twists and turns yet. Let’s hope there is still some media left at the end to report it!

One of the casualties of the recession is sponsorship. Businesses have cut back on sponsoring events, awards and functions as every penny counts.

Some sports teams and some major events in my home city of Bristol, such as the Harbourside Festival, have got round the problem by making their headline sponsorship a competition where everyone pays a small amount and one firm is drawn out of a hat to be the headliner.

That at least helps to get in vital sponsorship cash and gives some smaller businesses a chance to see the benefits of being a sponsor.

At Empica we encouraged SEGRO to sponsor the Bristol Evening Post Business Awards and the benefits have gone way beyond the name awareness of being associated with a major media organisation.

It has provided excellent opportunities for senior SEGRO people to network with businesses in Bristol and countless opportunities to explain about how SEGRO runs its bristolworks property portfolio and what it does for businesses in the area.

Of course those who want sponsorship have to put together an attractive package and in these tough economic times every sponsorship opportunity has to be examined for the value for money that it gives.

With sponsors few and far between it is important to spell out all the benefits that will come with the package, how many people will see the name of the company, what kind of people they area and how many media opportunities might be created.

Sponsorship plays a vital part in the public relations mix but in times of recession the once hidden benefits have to be brought to the fore.

The toughest challenge for everyone in public relations is coming to terms with the fact that public perception is not always in tune with reality.

At Empica we constantly have to help clients realise that no matter what the real situation is – it is what people think the real situation is (no matter how wrong they are) that is important!

For example if people believe you provide a shoddy service or are trying to ride roughshod over local views then no amount of telling them the opposite is true will change that perception.

That is why it is important to protect your reputation at all costs and deal with those people who say bad things about you as quickly, politely and efficiently as possible – especially in these days when some bad-mouthing about you on the internet can stay in the ether for a very long time.

The planning process in the UK is such that perfectly reasonable ideas for new development are debated in public by politicians with an axe to grind, who can, and will, say anything to win a vote or court local publicity.

No matter that the developer has spent months carefully talking to planning officers who are experts in their field and honing their planning application so that it is recommended for acceptance as it fits in perfectly with the desired local needs.

Once at the planning committee politicians will label the plan “a slum” “an eyesore” “outrageous” and other adjectives aimed solely at gaining the headlines – and of course that is all the public sees.

Recognising the local agendas of the various political parties is vital in any planning process. Keeping them informed and on board is the way to smooth the way – and ensuring that the politicians are handled as well as the planning officers is key.

Architects, developers, lawyers and designers can ensure that the planning officers needs are met and a plan is technically sound – it is the public relations advisers who can help to win the hearts and minds of the politicians and the people they represent.