Branson rocks Adelaide and charms PRs: “Head of PR is one of the most important people in a company”
Virgin supremo and self made entrepreneurial success story Sir Richard Branson gave a lively masterclass and Q&A on Tuesday morning addressing Adelaide’s Business Chicks breakfast.
"A business is simply a group of people"
Sir Richard, renowned for his personal fondness for publicity grabbing stunts underlined the significance of PR and the commercial value of being the centre of attention.
“The Head of PR is perhaps one of the most important people in a company and a good Chairman will have them by their side,” he told the gathering, in a headline grabbing remark that immediately hogged the Twittersphere.
“They are critical for managing the brand and save millions in advertising; people talking about your company is much more important than anything,” he added.
“A business is simply a group of people - get them to love the brand & the company - that's half the battle.”
The event was hosted by Ten News Adelaide’s Rebecca Morse, with whom Sir Richard flirted with throughout the event.
“@RebeccaMorse10 doing a great job interviewing mr Branson - what a flirt! “ tweeted Nicole Underwood @nicoleunderwood.
Speaking of his well known habit of fronting publicity stunts, Sir Ricahrd told the audience: "I didn't have the money to spend on advertising, so I would make a fool of myself."
His appearance was greeted enthusiastically my many attendees who helped the event trend on Twitter.
"An absolutely inspiring Business Chicks Breakfast this morning with Sir Richard Branson at the Adelaide,” @SuburbantaxisSA tweeted.
Rachel Crawford (@rachelcrawford) said: “Inspiring Business Chicks breakfast with Sir Richard Branson this morning.”
Elizabeth Reid (@DrElizabethReid) agreed, tweeting: “Very inspired by Sir Richard Branson's affable talk at brekky for Business Chicks. Nice little swag of goodies too!”
However, not all were impressed by Sir Richard’s presence in the city. “Is the warm day today proof that Richard Branson is full of hot air?” asked Derek Bradley (@derekbradley).
Biela McMillan, Principal Public Relations Consultant for bPR attended the event; her analysis can be read here.