The RSC is in the news very regularly and with significant impact. There are two strands to the media output of the RSC press office, one being what tends to be described as lightweight, the other as heavyweight. These words are rather misleading because in my view, as a veteran professional, lightweight stories are remarkably effective in establishing an organisation’s reputation.

If members of the public were asked to comment upon the RSC they would probably raise some of the famous “stunt” based work such as the Italian Job that straddled 2008-09 and which reached around the world. They might also mention two or three stories that have been featured on the Have I Got News For You programme in the past 14 months, such as the science of Yorkshire Puddings and why gravy should contain soy sauce. The impact of such stories has been very significant in projecting the image of the RSC as novel, humorous and pioneering. Evaluations show that to achieve equivalent coverage in 2009 through advertising would have cost the RSC in excess of £1.5 million.

Whether or not they have played any part in persuading the young to study chemistry or the middle aged to look upon it differently is another matter. For the RSC to divine the exact consequences of the stunt based work we would have to spend a lot of money and time assessing the impact through surveys. I would certainly be interested in the results.

But the light-hearted press coverage does appear to win the awareness of journalists. By associating chemistry with Yorkshire puddings, for example, the RSC has advertised its link to food and we seem to experience more media enquires on more serious food-related issues as a result.

So far this year we have launched two lightweight stories. the first, in which we sought heroes of the snow, made two national Radio 4 news programmes. The second, seeking a can of unopened Party Seven Beer, generated interviews with the Today programme and 15 local BBC programmes. It also made The Times newspaper. The cost of such lightweight raids is minimal. Therein lies the beauty of this kind of PR. It is cheap, easy to deliver and usually highly productive.

Serious notes

I would stress that we ensure that running parallel to the lighter work is the more serious, important policyrelated activity. This usually reflects RSC views and stances on vital issues   such as standards in school science, the issue of the science diploma, and funding for research.
In this more sombre work we aim to project as widely as we can the importance of chemistry to the challenges of today and tomorrow in addressing climate change, food security, energy, and health provision.

Journalists often turn to the RSC media office for authoritative comment on science and education policy

I cannot emphasis too strongly our wish to get the voice of the RSC heard in the very crowded PR arena. PR is a thrusting, loud business in which hundreds of organisations try to get their messages across. It is remarkably hard to do it successfully.
But again, the RSC, thanks to its boldness, has shoved to the front of the throng to be heard by government and Whitehall, and time and again makes it into newspapers,   radio news and even on national television news.

So potent has been the RSC PR that five times in seven years it has attended Park Lane national PR awards ceremonies as a short-listed competitor. I believe that no other organisation could match this record and it has been achieved by two elements: readiness to speak out at the right moment and readiness to come up with headline-catching stories that make good pictures and fun reading.
But it is vital that the novel PR and the political run parallel at the same time.

A perfect demonstration of this was last year when on one page of the Daily Telegraph there was a large picture story about the Italian Job competition while inches from it a story with comments from Richard Pike, RSC Chief Executive, on science education. That is how it should work and that is what we will continue to try.

One last thought: we have had to plough our own furrow to some degree as most university chemistry departments and commercial chemistry-based concerns have sophisticated PR machinery that picks up, or should pick up, research-based stories. If the RSC tried to grab those stories – with the exception of those published in its own journals – it would fail as it is forbidden territory.
But where we can make a mark is by being active on national issues and in generating novel PR. That has worked so far and I think it will continue to work to the benefit of the RSC and chemistry more generally.

EDIT 2: The amended recipe is now included in this post.

EDIT the third!: to complete the chemistry-perfected roast dinner, you could check out chemically-perfect gravy

The RSC made the bold proclaimation today that Yorkshire puddings simply aren’t up to scratch unless they rise to four inches or higher.

With the collaboration of Dr John Emsley – chemist, RSC author, and proud Yorkshireman – the RSC established that the perfect Yorkshire stands at just over four inches, with a light, fluffy texture and crisp exterior.

It all started with a chap called Ian Lyness, who called the RSC to complain about his lack of Yorkshire success in Boulder, Colorado. “Is it the pressure difference?” he asked us. An investigation is under way.

Incisive science writer and Twitter giant David Bradley told us the American equivalent for the famous Northern stomach-filler is a “popover“. Curious.

This is just the beginning for the RSC in the kitchen. 2009 will see the RSC focus its energies on a food theme, a year-long campaign with food-related events and exhibitions to highlight the importance of chemistry in food.

If you’ve been having trouble with this savoury delight, try the experts’ recipe below.

EDIT: This has been scaled up to nicely fit a 10″x8″ tin.

The Royal Society of Chemistry Yorkshire Pudding

Ingredients

100 g polysaccharide powder, kitchen grade (flour)
1 g sodium chloride, NaCl, table grade (salt)
2 medium eggs
Solution of 100 cm³ reduced-lipid bovine lactate (milk), 50 cm³ H₂O (water)

Method

Put flour in a bowl, make a well in the middle, add the egg, stir until the two are combined then start gradually adding the milk and water combining as you go.

Add the liquid until the batter is a smooth and thin consistency.

Stir in half teaspoon of salt and leave to stand for 10 minutes

Put beef dripping into Yorkshire pudding tins or into one large tin but don’t use too much fat.

Put into hot oven until the fat starts to smoke.

Give the batter a final stir and pour into the tin or tins.

Place in hot oven until well risen – should take 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve

Always serve as a separate course before the main meal and use the best gravy made from the juices of the roast joint. Yorkshire housewives served Yorkshire pudding before the meal so that they would eat less of the more expensive main course.

NB: When the batter is made it must not be placed in the fridge but be kept at room temperature.