Just had a call from BBC WM, the regional radio station for the West Midlands.

Would I do a live interview this afternoon about this Tesco publicity stunt? Absolutely!

But 5 minutes later, another call from the BBC… seems they have gone for another PR expert instead. Some bloke called Max Clifford… personally, haven’t heard of him.

(actually I’m delighted to be on the same press contacts list as Max Clifford! And the BBC were lovely in the way they ‘let me down’, promising to turn to me for help in the future. Nice people)

In London today I did a double take… when I thought I saw a Smart car covered in grass.

It was a bit too speedy past St Pancras for me to see the name of the business, but a quick Google search found this photo and the company behind it.

Here’s the YouTube video of the Grass Bugs:

Stunning! There are lots of business that would talk about doing something like this, but very few would have the balls to actually do it. Easigrass deserves to do well.

It’s almost always about the story.

Good contacts can open doors and set up opportunities. But a great story gives you the biggest shot you’ll get at major PR coverage.

I caught the end of our regional BBC TV news tonight, where they did a live outside broadcast from an Indian restaurant that had introduced a curry so hot, no-one could eat a whole plate of it. And they had to fill in a disclaimer form before they did.

A classic publicity stunt. Getting plenty of valuable air time on a BBC TV show.

Fantastic.

OK, so it must be a slow news day. But you don’t get coverage like that “because you know a journalist”. You get coverage like that because you had a great story at the right time (exactly the timem the BBC had a slot to fill).

Two great examples over the weekend.

A small pizza restaurant chain created pizzas featuring the faces of the The X Factor judges.

And firebox.com introduced a wrapping service called CrapWrap, where the wrapping is done badly by men.

Brilliant!

A consulting firm has ripped apart Google’s business model and put together a report for anyone to see.

Probably a good week’s work, but a smart way to demonstrate their analytical skills.

Pity for us UK folk then that the English version of the company’s website is still written in French…

Like VAT going down and income tax up for top earners.

Accountants and computer support companies can warn of potential chaos as small businesses struggle to implement the VAT changes on their computer systems (we have already issued this as a reaction release for a client).

Retailers could apply the VAT change a week early as an early Christmas present to customers.

Off licences could pass on the VAT reduction, despite it not applying to alcohol.

Accountants who advise top earners could issue top tips for execs to avoid the extra 5% tax.

Businesses seeking top end sales people could say their top people are threatening to move abroad!

How do these changes affect your business? And how would your target media use that as a story? Remember, with any reaction release, speed is everything.

This new advert of some model writhing in bed has been banned, and now it’s all over the media, getting a load more free exposure than it would have done as an approved advert.

The Fat Duck in Berkshire is an amazing restaurant with a limited number of covers meaning it is constantly booked up three months in advance. The phones go mad every morning as another date is released.

What can you do with your business to restrict something and create a demand?

This is because of the Great British Summer Getaway. Fewer people here means fewer stories. And it’s a big opportunity for your business to get free publicity. But you need to start planning now.

Surveys and trends are a safe bet as are publicity stunts. Think unusual and don’t forget the visual aspect – providing a great photo or photo opportunity will help increase the amount of coverage you get.

Just stumbled across a fantastic example from a website called Zoopla. Their entire business is about crunching data, but they have used it to great effect to work out the cost of buying every single house in Britain would be £6 trillion.

Clever stuff.

He got his point across OK and created a demand within me the listener to learn more. But when the interviewer asked him to give out his website address, he screwed it up.

The address he gave was “www.bobscharity.wordpress.something.icantremember.org.uk/badgers”… or something utterly forgettable like that.

What he should have said of course was “www.bobscharity.com”. That would have cost what, £10 a year to buy?

Yes you could rely on Google searches. But really, to be remembered, your website address must be small, easy to remember and relevant to your subject matter.

Also remember that spelling website addresses doesn’t work on radio. If your website is “newsoftheweak”, when DJs read it out some people will hear “newsoftheweek”.