At SkyParlour security is a topic we deal with on a daily basis, whether it is the latest piece of technology designed to keep data safe, PCI DSS compliance issues or the challenges retailers face in combating criminal activity.
But why is security (or lack thereof) such a big ongoing story? Why do fraudulent activities, security gadgets and data protection issues continually capture the imagination of not only the trade press but also the national media? Why do we maintain such an interest in the story and developments that persistently arise?
A story currently doing the rounds, with the support of SkyParlour, is the Retail Fraud Study, a major research project into the UK retail sector, that has uncovered a 10% increase in retail losses to £3.4 billion – as a result of theft and fraud. The story has been extensively covered but why does it create such widespread interest?
It could boil down to two reasons. Firstly people love to see the big dog struggle. In a sporting arena everybody loves the underdog, few want to see the favourite succeed and that transpires into everyday life. It’s part of what helps sell the Retail Fraud Study as a story as it shows big hitting retailers failings. With well known high street names suffering huge losses the story almost escalates to a scandal and we all love a good scandal – just ask Russell Brand!
This scandal factor has a big impact on a lot of stories across the security sector and it ties in nicely with the fact that people like to be shocked.
As all successful PR or Journalist professionals are aware people like, no love, to be shocked. Negative news sells. It is a morbid concept but nonetheless unearthing ‘bad’ news remains at the heart of any Journalistic training course and therefore dominates media headlines.
The success of any retail/payment/data security story in the press is the capacity to be interesting and appeal to a wide target audience. That is a concept that is vital in preventing PR activity from becoming the love child of awkward sales pitch and pushy propaganda. For example, the Retail Fraud Study contains all the elements of a good news story and has hard facts to back up its claims. It is interesting because it is about well known names coming up against problems backed up with almost incomprehensibly high numbered statistics that appeals to an audience.
Often PR’s forget the fact they deal in stories and what appeals to the audience instead allowing their clients or organisations to dominate in the foremost of their thinking. It too often comes to be that PR’s try to carry a story on the back of their clients, put their clients ahead of what the audience wants to read. If perhaps they reversed that thought process more frequently they would see success for their clients.
The Retail Fraud Study is not the story, the issues it uncovers are but those findings in itself carry the Retail Fraud Study into the limelight. News is an out-of-the-ordinary occurrence that catches attention. This is accurately summarised by the old journalistic adage first brought to my attention by a former deputy editor at The Times: “Dog bites man is not a story; man bites dog now that’s a story.”
A study isn’t out of the ordinary, a £3.4 billion loss however is not an everyday occurrence. And that’s what makes the Retail Fraud Study a really good story.
At SkyParlour security is a topic we deal with on a daily basis, whether it is the latest piece of technology designed to keep data safe, PCI DSS compliance issues or the challenges retailers face in combating criminal activity.
But why is security (or lack thereof) such a big ongoing story? Why do fraudulent activities, security gadgets and data protection issues continually capture the imagination of not only the trade press but also the national media? Why do we maintain such an interest in the story and developments that persistently arise?
A story currently doing the rounds, with the support of SkyParlour, is the Retail Fraud Study, a major research project into the UK retail sector, that has uncovered a 10% increase in retail losses to £3.4 billion – as a result of theft and fraud. The story has been extensively covered but why does it create such widespread interest?
It could boil down to two reasons. Firstly people love to see the big dog struggle. In a sporting arena everybody loves the underdog, few want to see the favourite succeed and that transpires into everyday life. It’s part of what helps sell the Retail Fraud Study as a story as it shows big hitting retailers failings. With well known high street names suffering huge losses the story almost escalates to a scandal and we all love a good scandal – just ask Russell Brand!
This scandal factor has a big impact on a lot of stories across the security sector and it ties in nicely with the fact that people like to be shocked.
As all successful PR or Journalist professionals are aware people like, no love, to be shocked. Negative news sells. It is a morbid concept but nonetheless unearthing ‘bad’ news remains at the heart of any Journalistic training course and therefore dominates media headlines.
The success of any retail/payment/data security story in the press is the capacity to be interesting and appeal to a wide target audience. That is a concept that is vital in preventing PR activity from becoming the love child of awkward sales pitch and pushy propaganda. For example, the Retail Fraud Study contains all the elements of a good news story and has hard facts to back up its claims. It is interesting because it is about well known names coming up against problems backed up with almost incomprehensibly high numbered statistics that appeals to an audience.
Often PR’s forget the fact they deal in stories and what appeals to the audience instead allowing their clients or organisations to dominate in the foremost of their thinking. It too often comes to be that PR’s try to carry a story on the back of their clients, put their clients ahead of what the audience wants to read. If perhaps they reversed that thought process more frequently they would see success for their clients.
The Retail Fraud Study is not the story, the issues it uncovers are but those findings in itself carry the Retail Fraud Study into the limelight. News is an out-of-the-ordinary occurrence that catches attention. This is accurately summarised by the old journalistic adage first brought to my attention by a former deputy editor at The Times: “Dog bites man is not a story; man bites dog now that’s a story.”
A study isn’t out of the ordinary, a £3.4 billion loss however is not an everyday occurrence. And that’s what makes the Retail Fraud Study a really good story.
At SkyParlour security is a topic we deal with on a daily basis, whether it is the latest piece of technology designed to keep data safe, PCI DSS compliance issues or the challenges retailers face in combating criminal activity.
But why is security (or lack thereof) such a big ongoing story? Why do fraudulent activities, security gadgets and data protection issues continually capture the imagination of not only the trade press but also the national media? Why do we maintain such an interest in the story and developments that persistently arise?
A story currently doing the rounds, with the support of SkyParlour, is the Retail Fraud Study, a major research project into the UK retail sector, that has uncovered a 10% increase in retail losses to £3.4 billion – as a result of theft and fraud. The story has been extensively covered but why does it create such widespread interest?
It could boil down to two reasons. Firstly people love to see the big dog struggle. In a sporting arena everybody loves the underdog, few want to see the favourite succeed and that transpires into everyday life. It’s part of what helps sell the Retail Fraud Study as a story as it shows big hitting retailers failings. With well known high street names suffering huge losses the story almost escalates to a scandal and we all love a good scandal – just ask Russell Brand!
This scandal factor has a big impact on a lot of stories across the security sector and it ties in nicely with the fact that people like to be shocked.
As all successful PR or Journalist professionals are aware people like, no love, to be shocked. Negative news sells. It is a morbid concept but nonetheless unearthing ‘bad’ news remains at the heart of any Journalistic training course and therefore dominates media headlines.
The success of any retail/payment/data security story in the press is the capacity to be interesting and appeal to a wide target audience. That is a concept that is vital in preventing PR activity from becoming the love child of awkward sales pitch and pushy propaganda. For example, the Retail Fraud Study contains all the elements of a good news story and has hard facts to back up its claims. It is interesting because it is about well known names coming up against problems backed up with almost incomprehensibly high numbered statistics that appeals to an audience.
Often PR’s forget the fact they deal in stories and what appeals to the audience instead allowing their clients or organisations to dominate in the foremost of their thinking. It too often comes to be that PR’s try to carry a story on the back of their clients, put their clients ahead of what the audience wants to read. If perhaps they reversed that thought process more frequently they would see success for their clients.
The Retail Fraud Study is not the story, the issues it uncovers are but those findings in itself carry the Retail Fraud Study into the limelight. News is an out-of-the-ordinary occurrence that catches attention. This is accurately summarised by the old journalistic adage first brought to my attention by a former deputy editor at The Times: “Dog bites man is not a story; man bites dog now that’s a story.”
A study isn’t out of the ordinary, a £3.4 billion loss however is not an everyday occurrence. And that’s what makes the Retail Fraud Study a really good story.