SAScon is one of the UK’s finest Search, Analytics and Social Conferences, hosted each May in Manchester.

This year one of the most interesting panel debates was entitled "Are PRs from Venus and SEOs from Mars? When will the planets ever collide?".

It explored whether PR practictioners and SEO techies could and should work together. If the answer was "no", which one group would be more influential in the future?

Among several important side issues was whether AVEs (advertising value equivalents) had any relevance as a matrix for assessing clients' traditional media and/or digital coverage.

On the panel was James Crawford of PR Agency One, Peter Bowles of Dynamo PR and Simon Wharton of online marketing agency PushON. The session was moderated by Lexi Mills of Distilled, a web development agency turned online marketer.

If they were growing he was prepared to claim the credit, seemed to be the inference.

He went on: "PR agencies are full of clueless, johnny-come-latelies."

Peter admitted that in the past convincing clients of the effectiveness of PR using AVEs was often "like a gameshow".

Although he no longer uses AVES, he confessed that, historically, if a particular bit of coverage in the Dail Mail was actually worth £50,000 (in AVE terms) PRs would often "double it" and call that £100,000.

Simon said AVEs were not quite dead yet because clients are "still not asking the right questions".

When they did some PRs could be in trouble, he intimated.

James agreed: "Sometimes you get a bean counter who has heard about AVEs and still asks for it."

Peter said neither the CIPR or PR Week used AVEs for judging success for awards.

PRs and marketers should go on courses and learn about analytics, said Simon.

Should SEOs attend all agency meetings?

There were advantages and risks, said the panel.

What if SEOs took the client away from the PR agency?

Simon said it was vital that if a PR wants to place a good story there should be initial input from SEO and Pay-Per-Click specialists to drive initial engagement.

PRs therefore need a broader knowledge if this "all agency" approach is to happen.

But he also argued the old fashioned methods of marketing could still be effective.

"Sometimes the best way is just to pick up the phone."

Skype and Google hangouts were other ways of "getting people together".

Good contacts, they all agreed, were crucial.

Peter revealed how one London Radio station dealt with Press releases.

If they didn't include the words "London", "Boris" or "Olympics" in the first few lines they tended to end up unread and in the bin.

He added that the media landscape had changed completely in the last five years.

James argued that in the next five years the whole debate could be irrelevant if Google moves the goalposts and ranks sites by something other than links.

In the event of all out war between PRs and SEOs, Lexi concluded, which camp would emerge victorious?

Simon was convinced that SEOs already held all the aces.

We'll see.

You can see James' slides on the issues here.

I have been doing quite a lot of networking over the past eight months. The organisation I prefer is 4Networking and here's a sample of how meetings operate.

I have just come across a company called Jargon PR. Apparently they seem quite good and have won awards. But I can't help but think the name is so negative.

Why would you call your company Jargon? It's like a business consultancy calling itself Red Tape or Complexity. Or a children's nursery calling itself Risky House or Sharp Objects.

Maybe it's me. Maybe it's reverse psychology. What do you think?

At a networking event I met a guy whose company, selling cheaper phone connections, was called Tel-e-phony.

I couldn't help thinking the "phony" bit was going to cause him problems.

Names are clearly part of your branding and therefore important.

My company's name Avante was invented by a creative pal.

Apart from sounding a bit like the Italian for "forward" he was thinking a business starting with the letter "A" would be at the front of directories.

When you check directories, however, you see absurd companies called "Aardvark" or "AAA Designs".

Never mind.

It also always amazes me when people use long winded names which then translate into e mail addresses the size of crazy Welsh railway stations.

Having an e mail address like "john@innovativeaccountancysolutions.org.uk" not only vastly increases the chances of correspondents getting it wrong and messages bouncing back, it's also a nightmare for group messaging on Internet Service Providers like AOL for instance which only allows about 15 characters in its automated filing system.

Have you examples of business names that inspire?

The lyrics of the F.R.David song always make me smile. That is because many senior executives seem to have great difficulty finding the right ones at the most important times for their companies.

But when communicating, especially to the media, "words" is all you have. No natty iPad, no "emotional crutch" Power Point to rely on. Just you...and words. 

So words are vitally important. Say the wrong thing and you can easily demotivate an entire workforce. Or, as Gerald Ratner discovered, destroy an empire and lose £500m.

Let's take a hypothetical situation of a company that has to make 12 per cent of its employees redundant. Say around 1,000 people.

Sounds like bad news eh? Heart is already thumping, tongue feels like the floor of a birdcage, nervous twitch appears.

What if I'm up against Paxman? Or the General Secretary of the Union?

What to do...? 

Some spokespeople go for what I call the "sackcloth and ashes" interview....

"Well, it could be worse. We're not as bad as company XYZ. I blame the recession/government/banking crisis...Morale is very low but we hope it'll pick up."

That'll really engage the troops, who let's face it, are your front line ambassadors.

But wait a moment.

How about looking for the "good news"?

What's good about 1,000 job losses, you ask?

Well, for a start, you are safeguarding the jobs of 88 per cent of the workforce (VERY good news for them and also for the shareholders, of course).

And these jobs, well they are not going immediately but in a year.

The "colleagues" (not employees, by the way) actually may not go after all because you are in fact outsourcing the roles to another company.

It is the other company's decision in the long run, based on the economic climate in 12 months.

And who can tell right now what that will be?

If anyone does go they'll receive full counselling on seeking a career change and a generous settlement.

"We" (not "the company") want to thank them for the great service they have given and we're sorry if anyone eventually does have to leave. 

The decision has been forced on us because most of these colleagues work in call centres and more and more customers now want to buy online.

We've listened to our customers and want to give them the best service possible and the keenest prices (good news for the customers, too).

We have engaged with the unions and will continue to do so.

The company, therefore, has been open, honest and transparent.

Company spokespeople have to learn to tell the story properly.

And to use the correct words.

Yet so many approach the task with their management head on...looking only for the "problems".

I have a video clip of a joint presentation made by Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern shortly before the Good Friday Agreement was sealed.

There was a glitch, a delay.

They both spoke for about four minutes but they used very different language and the impact of what they said was totally different.

Blair conveyed optimism, Ahern pessimism.

So, when facing the media, think about the story you wish to tell and take care with those words.

We were asked at very short notice (two hours) to film David Whitehouse from Duff & Phelps, one of the administrators of Glasgow Rangers. The 45-minute shoot took place in the company's Manchester city centre offices. The video was needed for a presentation to Rangers' shareholders at 10am the following day.

David Whitehouse

The film was edited and duly delivered for the important meeting, designed to keep shareholders up to date with rival bids for the club.

We have been filming two charismatic speakers and business gurus for the public speaking and networking venture MojoLife.

Dawn Gibbins is the daughter of the great British inventor, Peter Gibbins, the genius behind seamless resin flooring, better known commercially as Flowcrete. Long term chairman and managing director, Dawn sold the family-run business in 2008 for mega millions. Now she has a new passion, inspiring others and supporting a raft of charities. She dubs herself a “Philanthropreneur” and has appeared on TV’s Secret Millionaire. A much sought-after public speaker, she is currently exploring how Feng Shui can influence people’s attitudes and minds. Spend just a few minutes in her company and you cannot fail to be energised. You can read more about pocket rocket Dawn here.

Management consultant John Woodruffe came into Dawn’s life when her company was managing to make a £500,000 loss on a £20m turnover. Following John’s strategy the company went on to grow revenues to £50m and achieve profits in excess of £5m. His catchphrase is “be prepared to call your baby ugly”. In other words, be ready to see the faults and weaknesses in your business. You can access John's website here. He helps businessmen and women to shape a clear vision and mission, shows them how to be lean and efficient, how to construct profitable marketing campaigns and to define a “Unique Sales Proposition”.

You’ll soon be able to view their wit and wisdom on MojoLife’s TV channel.

We began our video work for MojoLife by filming an interview conducted by MojoLife co-founder Andrew Thorp with Richard McCann, the son of one of the victims of the Yorkshire Ripper. Richard turned his life around after the murder began a spiral of decline in his childhood. He is now a much sought after public speaker. Above is the full the interview.

www.mojolife.org.uk

Here is some previously unseen footage from the day we filmed the launch of Scotland's new football kit at Hampden Park for Adidas.

This was shot by Tim of Dividia (07761 582 429) who was working for the Scottish FA.

A sign of the times and the pressures on newspaper sub editors (or their lack of experience). This from the Manchester Evening News.

Yet another PR fail. A Turkish firm is using Hitler to sell shampoo.