You know that feeling when you've had a terrible week and just about everything that could go wrong has done, but you walk through your front door at 6pm on a Friday, kick off your shoes and fall into the sofa with a glass of wine? Well that's what walking into Octopus felt like at 9.30am on a Monday morning.

Why you ask?

Well, before landing my job at Octopus, I was an intern at just about every London PR agency. Although I was constantly on an internship, I was never secure, and up until 3 months ago I wasn't being paid. So getting a job at Octopus and starting on Monday meant I could finally relax knowing that I'm here as a full time member of the Octopus team, and I can now get to work on my PR career.

So what have I been up to?

Well, my week starts in the Windsor offices, I'm walked around the office and introduced to a LOT of people; I can safely say that if I was tested on names, I would fail.  Tuesday I'm in the London offices as I'm split between the two. More names, another welcome lunch and a trip to a Soho pub to okay things for an event. I love it already.

Wednesday I was back in Windsor and had my 'buddy' lunch with another Account Executive. Luckily for me, we had actually interned together so it was great to catch up as well as find out more about life at Octopus.

Since then it has been a bit chaotic, I've been busy getting to grips with clients, projects, and names - oh so many names. I'm mostly enjoying being part of the team and getting involved with PR activity. The team I'm working with are great, lots of banter and never a dry moment. There's lots of talk about cake, chocolate and Friday's booze o'clock, so it's great to know they've got the social side locked down.

As for now, I'm just looking forward to getting stuck in with my clients and enjoying my time as an Account Executive at Octopus Communications!

Crystal @CrystalCJC

It was many moons ago that the team first sat down to brainstorm ideas to raise awareness of Cisco's role as the official network infrastructure supporter of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games - in particular to do something a little bit 'surprising' as far as Cisco marketing was concerned, whilst still driving lead generation. A tricky brief to nail, but we are a clever bunch and soon, in a moment of clarity (and after several custard creams), we had it - AN ONLINE 2012 THEMED GAME THAT USES LONDON VISUALS, SUPPORTED BY A KICK-ASS VIRAL CAMPAIGN!

Most pleased, we all went home for a sleep.

However, as with all good ideas, a lot of hard work and planning was needed. So when we came in the next day, battle commenced - pitching it to the client, commissioning the game and of course creating an all singing, all dancing media plan. The team has a wealth of experience when it comes to product launches, but this time we really wanted to challenge ourselves and blend traditional media with lesser known digital tactics.

The concept of the game was simple enough - one of the Cisco London 2012 Ambassadors is British sprint kayak gold medallist, Tim Brabants, and he became our inspiration. We put together plans for a game based on a kayak simulation against a London backdrop.

And what of the name? Well a quick brainstorm put that to rights - KAYAKATTACK!

Once again, we were most pleased.

Game in hand, next came the plan. We had all the components you would expect at the core; an internal, executive and partner comms strategy, a fully inclusive social media campaign, a media alert and an all encompassing press list. Next we focussed on a seeding campaign, instigating a partnership with gaming website, GameNet, who we signed up to host KayakAttack as its featured game on the home page.

The next, and frankly only logical, step was to source a bakery that could bake and decorate 50 massive cakes with a KayakAttack screen grab and URL details. These were set to go out to our top 50 publications - a mixture of technology, consumer, business and marketing (not forgetting one for us!)

Launch day arrived and we all met in the office tired but excited - it was here and all there was to it was to make it a bloody success! And low and behold it was! Almost as soon as the day kicked off we were receiving tweets of thanks and support for KayakAttack. The likes of Heat, PC Pro, Computing and Loaded tweeted pictures, plus Olympian Tim Brabants and the Cisco Executive team also joined in the celebrations. In short, the campaign was a hit; the blood sweat and tears paid off. As launch week drew to a close we had not only exceeded our target but exhausted our finger tips playing the game - it's really rather addictive you know!

It's been a massive learning curve for the Cisco gang, but we are all bigger and better for having gone through it. To date KayakAttack has had 520,603 plays and experienced a social media audience reach of nearly one million. Needless to say… we are most pleased.

If you haven't already - log on and get playing! http://www.kayakattack.co.uk/

Bevo @KeBeveridge

When you arrive at Stratford station and walk through Westfield into the Olympic Park - it's hard to believe that just a few years ago the same area in East London was something of a 'wasteland' characterised by railway lines, neglected waterways and a history of industrial pollution dating back two centuries.

Last night when the Octopus team turned up in Stratford for the official opening of Cisco House, the scene couldn't have been more different.  Bustling with life and modern architecture, the same space is virtually unrecognisable. As we made our way up to the venue, Cisco House, which is nestled in a unique roof-top location above Westfield Stratford City, the panorama of the Olympic Park from the balcony was stunning.  And the Octopus team weren't the only ones to admire the view!

70 members of the national, business and IT print, online and broadcast press joined Cisco to celebrate the opening of the House, which showcases the transformational opportunities of technology for countries, cities and organisations both today and in the future.

With drinks flowing and some interactive technology for visitors to test out, the evening was a great success - with journalists from the FT, The BBC, Sky News, ITN,  The Metro, The Mirror, The Evening Standard, Computing, Management Today and many more enjoying Cisco's 'business transformation experience' (and tasty nibbles!)

All in all it was a brilliant event and one of the most successful press launches we've done in terms of both quantity and quality for years.  With just 79 days to go until the opening ceremony of London 2012 - and plenty more events in the pipeline - we can't wait to see what's around the corner next!

Ellie @elliejanefry

So PR Week's industry rankings are out and we all get a bit of insight into what's been going on for the last 12 months. Once again, the industry average is still short of double digit growth which tells its own story.

For Octopus Group, this year's results mark another milestone…we're officially a top 50 consultancy. On top of that, once again we've outperformed the industry average by more than 100%.

That's great to see, but the fact that we've consistently managed to outperform the industry and steadily move up the rankings is far more significant. Whether the economy is sunny or gloomy, Octopus Group delivers the goods! That's down to a couple of fundamentals that define us.... hunger, commitment, hard work and talented people. Very talented people!

So what does 26% growth in PR fees achieve in 2012?

Well it means moving up five places from 51 to 46, but actually this year there were 19 'new entries' in the top 50 (agencies that didn't enter last year…ahem). If we're measuring like for like, that's the equivalent of a 25 place jump, which says it all!

We all know the PR industry is going through a big change. In our opinion, big, bold moves to embrace that change are the way to navigate challenging times. That's why we've outperformed the industry and this year - we plan to be even more courageous.

Watch this space....

Sandy

We are very lucky here in the Octopus' professional service team to have clients such as the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) that see us speaking to national broadcasters on a daily basis. The REC, as a professional recruitment body, talks about all things jobs related and in these economic times, there is always something happening on this front.

So what better place to voice your opinions than on TV or radio? Indeed I don't have to explain that for a PR professional there isn't anything more satisfying than having a client interviewed on telly or radio, and this month we did exactly that  - nine times for the REC, including BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live Wake Up To Money, Sky News and BBC News 24. With the new record comes a new challenge to break it and we definitely managed to push the bar a little bit higher!

So how do we do it?

I'd love to say that there is a science behind it, but there really isn't. It's about knowing who works at which desk, what they like and when they like it. To feel comfortable that you possess this knowledge you need to have regular conversations and plan your sell-ins in advance according to various deadlines and preferences. Only by talking to journalists and producers can you find out how and when various stations and programmes book their spokespeople, and trust me, they do vary a lot - some broadcast journalists we speak to prefer to be approached at 5pm for example - not a usual time to pitch stories.

One more piece of advice - broadcast journalists change their positions incredibly quickly so never assume you've finally cracked it - every month I seem to discover something new.

Ingrid @isemanikova

Last week I had a very interesting chat with a start-up founder on the various pros and cons of PR and the role comms plays (or indeed, perhaps doesn't play) in a start-up business. One comment particularly stuck, being that he had received around 15 unsolicited approaches from PR agencies in the last year, none of which were either personal or considered, and would fall quite happily under the 'spam' bracket.

Now the PR industry has collectively been blindly throwing ideas at journalists and bloggers without first checking if the idea is relevant, timely, or even vaguely of interest, for decades. For an industry so symbiotic with that of the media, we do a great job of winding them up.

However, it seems this same approach is still inherent in many approaches to potential clients as well - why is something so crucial as new business being approached so haphazardly?

Is it because the guy I talked to was a start-up? Is there an assumption that he doesn't know better? The day after we met, he sent me a typical example and it beggared belief. I won't reprint it here, nor name the agency, but it basically said:

"Chris,

Want an [insert improbable statistic] return on your PR investment?"

It then linked to a youtube video, and finished. No email sign off, just the signature. One sentence (poorly phrased), and that was it. It didn't even say 'hello'.

No context, no understanding, no consideration. Now, why on God's clean earth would a business owner think 'wow, these guys should handle my communications strategy' if you can't be bothered to communicate properly in the first place?

The founder had told me the day before that the PR industry is not valued among his peers - indeed, we're well below lawyers for value for money, and mostly seen as mercenary and full of guff.

Statements such as the "guaranteed 300% return on investment" included in the World's Shortest Pitch don't exactly add credibility to the industry - and I'm not certain, but I'd bet this waffle statistic is based on the archaic AVE, which is a rant waiting to happen…

It's massively frustrating when you hear journalist on a weekly, (if not daily), basis venting spleen on twitter about impersonal pitches ('Dear Insert Wrong Name Here'); and blatant email mail merges ('Dear Editor', 'Dear XXXX' et al.) proving just how much the PR cares about who they're emailing.

When you see it done as a new business pitch the day after hearing that the founder of a very exciting business sees PR as uncaring and just after money, it makes you slightly angry.

Seriously, we're the communications industry - can we not 'communicate'?

Chris @wonky_donky

It's exciting times at Octopus Towers! On Friday, our client Cisco showcased their virtual fashion mirrors in the flasgship John Lewis store on Oxford Street.

We invited a host of journalists from top-tier tech publications like Computer Weekly, V3 and TechWorld along to get demos of the technology and try on some virtual outfits. The mirrors are impressive pieces of kit and could shake-up the way we shop!

Shoppers can create a virtual collection which they can opt to have emailed to them, including images of their selected items and the QR codes, linking to johnlewis.com. Shoppers can then share their new look with friends and family via Facebook and receive feedback from friends before they decide to buy.

The Mirrors are located in the womenswear department on the first floor of John Lewis Oxford Street for six weeks. If the trial is successful, the mirrors will be a permanent fixture in the John Lewis' first flexible department store which opens in Exeter later this year.

Check out @CiscoUKI and @johnlewisretail for more info

JP @jp_charles

Yesterday marked a huge milestone in the countdown to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games - only 100 days left to go!

I don't know about you, but here at the Octopus Group, we are getting more than a little bit excited about this historic event hitting our capital city, and we'll certainly be making the most of it across the Group.

Now that the Games are within touching distance, businesses across the UK are provided with an ideal platform to introduce an employee engagement strategy that may have been lacking before, or to support what they already have in place. We  might not all be able to attend the London 2012 Olympic Games, but that doesn't mean you can't bring a little Olympic team spirit into the work place to celebrate together does it?

We are all busy people, and if you're part of a bigger team at work, you may struggle to even get to see or speak to them all that often - I mean, that's what email and social media are for right?

Wrong! We are all important assets to the businesses that we work for and the upcoming Games provide us with the perfect excuse to get together as a team and bring back a sense of community.

Whether you are interested in sport or not, there are so many great and affordable ways that you can get involved in team activities. Take us here at Octopus Towers for example - amongst other things, we've created a dedicated taskforce to make sure everyone can get involved somehow. We'll have the Games streamed live in our offices to make sure we don't miss any exciting Team GB action, we'll be keeping everyone up to date with regular Olympic breaking news, stats and facts AND (we couldn't let this opportunity go by without a little bit of cake action now could we?) we'll be holding the Great Olympic Bake Off!

Let's not forget that the Olympic torch is also going to be making its way across the UK before reaching London, so even if your work place is based outside of the Capital - why not take an hour or so to go and watch the Torch pass through your local area? We'll certainly be lining the streets of Windsor and Southwark to take in the Olympic excitement! Maybe we'll see you there... J

Events like this don't come around too often, so make the most of it and get involved!

Jodie @jodslake

I think it's fair to say that the consumer team at Octopus are often viewed as a being a little bit different, but different is good right?

To celebrate the feast of Easter we sent a delivery of 24 Easter egg piñatas and 72 boxes of eggs (that's 288 Easter eggs), no dead goldfish here, to our favourite consumer tech journalists.

Why, you may ask?  Well besides wanting to make some friends, and eat chocolate, we also wanted to treat everyone to a taste of Trend Micro's latest tech, DirectPass!  It's a really cool new piece of software designed to fight the growing menace of identity theft by simplifying and securing the log-in process for users -  no matter how many different accounts they manage online.

Where are we going with this? Piñatas and chocolate eggs... are you passwords as easy to crack as these?

Long live the media mailer, the cheesier the better. Do excuse us; we're off to find a blindfold and stick!

Kasia @kfwojciechowska and Naomi @missbarry

… Is there substance to Apple's new approach to China or is it PR Spin?

When it comes to addressing a company crisis there are all kinds of nuances to consider when deciding on a PR strategy. Multiple factors come into play, not least legal considerations and impact on share price (if the company is listed).

But to put things in their most simple terms - and this is often how the outside world sees things - there really are two approaches. Batten down the hatches and weather the storm, or get out and take on the issue head-first. Neither is right or wrong and are entirely dependent on the circumstances and mitigating factors.

For some years it seems as though Apple - the world's most valuable corporation - has adopted the former of these two strategies when addressing fierce criticism over the treatment of workers in its Chinese factories. Accusations that Apple and its partners in China - in particular Foxconn - have repeatedly broken human rights and employment law have been made on numerous occasions.

In February 2011 Foxconn opened the doors of its Shenzhen plant to Joel Johnson of Wired. The decision to let a journalist tour the plant was part of a PR attempt to counteract the widespread negative PR caused by a highly-alarming spate of suicides (11 in total) at the facility. The resulting article was certainly not a PR puff-piece and presented a very balanced account of what Johnson saw in Shenzhen - the good, the bad and the ugly.

However, this week saw Apple dramatically step-up its attempts to address the ongoing issue of its operations in China. In an unprecedented move, Apple CEO Tim Cook visited China (something Steve Jobs never did) and went to the Zhengzhou Technology Park, where a staggering  120,000 people are employed. Cook announced that Apple will work with Foxconn to improve conditions, the measures include:

-          Hiring tens of thousands of new workers

-          Clamping down on illegal overtime

-          Improving safety protocols

-          Upgrading worker housing

Cook's visit coincided with the publication of a damning report published by the Fair Labor Association which amongst other issues found that, more than 43% of workers reported experiencing or witnessing an accident at the three plants audited and also, health and safety breaches included blocked exits, lack of or faulty personal protective equipment and missing permits.

The Fair Labor Association Report has received widespread coverage in national press today. But by arranging Cook's visit to China to co-ordinate with the publication of the report, means that many of the articles seem more balanced and nearly all lead with the photos of Cook - in a yellow jacket - touring the plants and 'getting his hands dirty'. As the old adage goes 'a picture paints a thousand words' and the site of the CEO on the shop floor is infinitely more beneficial for Apple than pictures of 'battery farm-style factories' and over-burdened workers.

So is this a shift in strategy for Apple and more importantly has it worked… time will tell. We welcome your thoughts and comments on this subject.

Stephen @STEPHENDSSMITH