Virgin Fuel? P.T. Barnum a Brit?

Who: Sir Richard Branson, and his family of Virgin Companies.
What: Global warming issues. Virgin is a contributor and Branson wants to use his resources to help stop that trend. Branson wishes to get into the clean fuel business.
When: This PR issue has been brewing for a long while, but came to a head in early October 2006. Global warming has been an issue since the invention of coal burning machinery so this issue is old; it’s just recently that global warming has become a major issue in most people’s minds.
Where: This case takes place in Virgin’s home of England, but Virgin is a worldwide company and will take this idea to the corners of the globe.
Why: This case is significant because it is an issue that affects everyone globally. It’s also PR worthy because Virgin is branching into an industry that has nothing to do with his original business (record sales), this is a trend that Virgin has been successful with in the past.
How: This is an ongoing PR case. This case won’t be done until Virgin Fuels succeeds and changes the industry standard, or fails and becomes another PR case.


This case doesn’t fit into any niche trend in the Public Relations world, but it does appeal to the masses, and that’s what makes it news worthy. I’ve always liked the Virgin story and the events that have surrounds Sir Richard Branson’s life. It seems natural that Branson would branch his company into an industry that seems totally removed from its core values. The fact that Virgin is contributing to earth’s betterment is great, and that is what makes this case appealing to me. There is a great quote in the story as well, “What we love about Branson is that he's part Warren Buffett, part P.T. Barnum.” What makes this quote significant is that there is a mention of P.T. Barnum, perhaps the world’s first PR practitioner. It would appear as though Branson has bridged the gap between business tycoon and people friendly PR guy. Most CEO’s would rather build the bottom line then care about the people that they serve, but Branson knows that the people that Virgin serves are the reason that his bottom line grows.

Link:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2006/08/01/8382250/index.htm?postversion=2006100211