PR Recruitment Crisis

Doing things differently – how to tackle the PR recruitment crisis by growing an agency from the ground up.

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This is a guest post from Alex Blyth, managing partner of design agency PR specialist Red Setter.

‘Hire people smarter than you,’ is a truism of business management. Variously ascribed to everyone from Steve Jobs to David Ogilvy, Richard Branson, and… err… former Leeds FC manager Howard Wilkinson, it always seemed like sound advice to me, so I followed it for years.

In the early days of Red Setter I interpreted it to mean I should hire experienced PR professionals. So that’s what I did. I hired people who’d been at the biggest agencies or who’d held senior in-house roles. However, with our tenth anniversary on the horizon, and our team of 20 now known globally as the go-to people in our brand design niche, I’ve realised I was wrong.

Like many people, I’ve done a lot of thinking during the pandemic. One conclusion I’ve come to is that we need to stop hiring senior people. We need to do things differently and grow our team from the ground up. In 2021 we’ve brought in four account executives, and one journalist in her first PR role.

It’s transforming our agency for the better, and has left us relatively insulated from the highs and lows of the recruitment market many agencies have struggled with this year. Here’s the why and how of we’re doing it.

Less gambling, more learning
In the early days, the allure of those senior hires is clear. You’re buying in expertise, credibility and perhaps above all else confidence. And don’t get me wrong, I’ve learnt a huge amount from many of those people. Our agency wouldn’t be where it is today without them.

But it’s not always the ‘here’s a job spec, client base, and large salary, now off you go’ scenario that many might hope for. Especially in a highly-niched agency like Red Setter, there is a lot to learn – about the brand design sector, our clients, our media, and the very specific way of working we’ve developed over the years. We’ve learnt that we need to invest time in training joiners on all this, regardless of how much experience they’ve had.

Those earlier in their careers are typically very open to learning. They rightly demand it. They’re in the habit of it. They come with a fresh perspective, unencumbered by what was hard-won expertise elsewhere, but which here can be limiting assumptions. You also tend to avoid high salaries, recruiter costs and organisational disruption by bringing in people earlier in their careers.

You then need to make sure you deliver the learning and development they expect. We’ve had to reshape our agency from one that was focussed solely on client delivery to build in space for workshops, on-the-job coaching, and ongoing conversations around progression. We’re building a set of sessions and materials for joiners, we’re growing education skills in the team (involvement, not lectures!), everyone from account manager up has development and coaching of colleagues in their KPIs, once a week we meet as a company to share expertise, team members have been on external courses ranging from a Guardian masterclass on what journalists want to a day workshop on vocal confidence. In our weekly catch-ups, each team shares not only a highlight but also something they’ve learnt. We do a lot but it’s still very much a work in progress.

That’s just the learning aspect – we’ve also had to find new sources of this raw talent. We’ve set up an annual internship programme with the University of Sussex. The first on it is now a valued member of our team, and recently gave a talk to this year’s PR students about life in our very specific type of PR. We’re doing more and more with the University and hope to expand the internship programme in 2022.

Right time, right approach
It’s not easy, but we’re discovering benefits far beyond our original intentions. A culture of learning is adding to our skills and knowledge at all levels. That makes us not only better able to deliver to our clients but also more inspired in the work we’re doing together. And as the PR talent pool dried up throughout 2021 it was far less of a problem for us that it would have been.

I don’t think this approach is right for everyone. Larger, more generalist agencies can bring in more transferable experience. When you’re starting out, you probably need to hire expertise in key areas – we wouldn’t be able to do this if we didn’t have an experienced, talented, senior team already in place. But for us right now it feels like the right approach.

Does it mean we’ll never employ at a senior level again? Never say never. And does it mean that Jobs, Branson and Ogilvy were all wrong? Of course not. The people we’ve hired this year might be less experienced than me, but I’m pretty certain they’re also smarter than me. I’m looking forward to seeing that smartness grow into expertise over the coming years.

For more on the importance of mentoring and investing in PRs early in their career, catch up on our interviews with A Leader Like Me’s Advita Patel and the Taylor Bennett Foundation’s Melissa Lawrence. 

In need of a central hub to keep track of your internal and external stakeholder relationships? Find out more about Vuelio’s Stakeholder Management solutions and book a demo here. 

Combating COVID

Communications and Combating the Omicron Variant

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This is a guest post by Louise Flintoft, associate director at Onyx Health.

The UK’s public health is in a precarious position. We’ve all seen in the news that the Omicron COVID-19 variant has been identified as a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization.

At the time of writing, there are still a lot of unknowns about the new variant. However, early indications are that it is likely to be more transmissible than the dominant Delta variant and that our existing vaccinations are less effective against it.

In response to the uncertainty, the Government has announced a series of new measures to reduce the spread of the new variant. These currently include compulsory facemasks for public transport and retail, expanding the booster jab programme to all UK adults, new requirements PCR tests and isolation for people entering the country, and ten-day quarantine for people in contact with an infected person

The last cycle of lockdowns and compulsory COVID-19 restriction prompted one of the biggest acts of civil obedience in our peacetime history. With new restrictions looming, the Government will need to communicate behaviour change again to avoid a potential crisis. At Onyx Health, we are healthcare communication specialists and have some ideas about how we use the power of PR to re-engage the public.

Fighting COVID-19 fatigue
Let’s be honest; we’re all sick and tired of the pandemic. The success of the Government’s initial vaccine rollout and the removal of official legal restrictions earlier in the year had led many people to conclude that it was mission accomplished. However, the threat has never gone away, and it risks getting worse again.

One of the biggest dangers from a public health communication perspective is that complacency, and an unwillingness to take the potential new threat seriously, derails the effectiveness of the new rules. Re-engaging the public will be essential to make the latest changes work in practice. There is also a balance to be struck between taking things seriously and avoiding mass panic. This needs a strong, emotionally resonant message that the public can connect with.

Encouraging people to get masked up and booster jabbed to save Christmas can link behaviour change to a shared desirable outcome. Last Christmas was tough for us all. We all want to make this year’s festive season better than the last.

Helping our healthcare heroes avoid a winter crisis
The NHS is always close to the nation’s heart, but this is especially true during a public health crisis. It is arguably the closest thing we have to a national religion. During the first lockdown, the weekly clap for healthcare workers brought the nation together to thank those frontline staff who risked their lives to help us through the pandemic.

Today, the NHS faces a perfect storm of a new COVID-19 variant, the seasonal spike in winter flu cases and a general public fed up with the pandemic. Calling on people to follow the rules to help our healthcare heroes has the potential to reconnect people with that shared sense of solidarity we saw at the beginning of the pandemic. People may be willing to go the extra mile to help those who got us through the COVID-19 crisis by caring for our friends and loved ones.

Accelerating booster jabs and getting people doubled dosed
The booster jab programme was originally targeted at the elderly and vulnerable to increase their immunity to COVID-19. This week, the Government announced that it will be extended to all adults over 18 in the UK. Problems beset the initial rollout of booster vaccines for complex reasons, including the rollout’s speed, limited uptake, and confusion over eligibility. The expansion of the programme magnifies the scale of the communication challenge.

There are specific audience demographics that require specialised targeting. Increasing the immunity of those most at-risk through medical education is a key priority. We need to reach out to the elderly, vulnerable and underrepresented groups using community groups, local champions and NGOs to foster grassroots engagement and build trust from the ground up.

Another big issue is getting younger people doubled dosed. The figures show that people aged 25-29 are more vaccine-resistant and statistically less likely to have taken up the offer of a single or double vaccine dose. Targeting young people through viral content, social media influencers and pop-cultural icons provides part of the answer to create a generational mindset change. Getting through the latest stage of the pandemic requires a renewed collective national effort; as communicators, we need to do our bit.

Keep track of the conversation in the media with Vuelio’s Media Monitoring services and our sister brand Pulsar’s series of social listening solutions. 

Successful email campaigns

How to build strong foundations for a successful email campaign

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Elliot Ross, Email Evangelist, Taxi for Email (a SparkPost company), discusses the foundation of a successful email campaign, and it all starts with your messaging.

How’s your inbox looking? If you are anything like me you receive dozens of emails every day, a good chunk of which you don’t have the time or the inclination to open, let alone read.

The question of how to get your branded email messages opened has been focusing the minds of marketing managers for well over two decades now. As the number of emails people receive has increased, so marketers have been forced to adopt ever more cunning ways of securing an opening. But why is it that we read some emails and consign others to the junk folder?

In spite of what some gurus claim there is no magic formula to getting your brand’s emails opened. There are however some golden rules to follow which will maximise your email’s chances of success and set you on the path to becoming an expert at creating the right branding and messaging for your emails.

Begin with a strategy rooted in your brand’s values
Before you even think about sending your first branded emails you need to ask yourself a few questions. Why am I sending emails as opposed to engaging on other platforms? What am I hoping to achieve? And most important of all, what does success look like?

There are five key things to consider when you are setting out your strategy:
1. What are your email goals? Think about what you want to achieve from the emails you are sending and whether email really is the right channel to help you reach that goal.
2. Who is your audience – your subscribers? What email clients do they use? What’s the support for these devices/web clients?
3. What is the one thing you want your reader to do after opening your email? This is another key place to ask yourself if email is the right channel to use?

Think about the timing of your email send. Don’t just guess when the best time to send your email will be. Look back at previous send data and make a decision informed by this previous data. 5. Outline success measures before you start. Tracking things like downloads, clicks, opens, and revenue is great, but consider setting up A/B testing for different copy or segments.

By detailing the above into an overarching strategy before you start sending your emails, you can make creative emails whilst not going off-track with the email’s overall purpose – keeping you emails in sync and recognisable to subscribers.

What kind of language are you going to use?
The most important factor when writing copy for the email is that the wording should be authentic and reflect your brand. If you work for a B2B company whose target is senior executives write in an appropriate way for that audience. Authenticity is essential for building trust and ensuring that people know that what you are saying is legitimate.

Being able to personalise email content could also help build up authenticity and trust. Is there a way you can address an individual that takes into consideration the data you already have on them? Optimising your email by making it relevant to specific audience groups will also help. Think about geographical regions, types of customers, customer preferences, etc. That way you can deliver relevant messages to either audience as opposed to one blanket email.

Remember what your email’s primary role is too. Do you want it to be informative and supportive in building a relationship between you and your customer or are you more focussed on seeking instant clicks through to your website?

The winning formula for effective email design
Creating an email strategy also encompasses working on design guidelines. These are not just helpful for designers, but anyone involved in the email process. Guidelines can be a huge time-saver and enable you to produce high-quality emails without spending too much time going back and forth with your designer. You will need to consider ideas around fonts, colours, spacing and dimensions to keep your emails recognisable with your readers.

Ultimately the two key principles of email design are:
· Create something that is both beautiful and functional that will entice your recipients into reading to the end.
· Create a design that reflects your existing brand values, which are then consistent across every communication you send.

The answer? Use an email design system (EDS), where you can set up structured templates that empower your designers creatively, but at the same time enable them to work quickly and efficiently within set boundaries.

Once the structure is agreed you can work on the design elements and start to bring in other elements of your brand, such as bespoke imagery or illustrations, GIFs and embedded videos.

Consistency is king and the importance of branding
No matter who is making and sending your branded emails, they should always be consistent, even if you work with dispersed teams who are responsible for creating emails for different products or services.

Unless it is the first email you have sent, it won’t be seen by your reader in isolation. They will have seen and interacted with your branding on other platforms, so in order to strengthen your brands perception, your email design needs to be consistent with these.

Creating a library of assets your team can use to speed up email creation whilst adhering to consistency will help. If you have a core EDS for all parts of the business, updating brand assets will be much more manageable and spotting anomalies will be far easier. You could also look into building a set of sub-templates for each product or service within the brand, with altered footers, contact details and logos, so anyone creating an email will have the elements they need to create something aligned with the brand.

Navigating the minefield that is dark mode and accessibility, and how to get it right
One of the biggest challenges for email designers is to create striking emails that also work in dark mode – the extension that helps you quickly turn the screen (browser) to dark at night-time.

To ensure your emails adapt to recipients using dark mode, you may want to consider using transparent PNGs and add a white outline around elements in your EDS. You will want to think about designing your default images for dark mode, such as social icons, logos, link colours etc. and how they’re going to contrast with the dark background.

You will need to think about accessibility too. Smaller text and thin fonts might enable you to pack more into your email, but if short-sighted readers can’t see what you have written then you have wasted your time. It is also imperative to avoid walls of text. If the copy looks too cluttered, try to split it into a few paragraphs.

Summary
Preparation, strategy and messaging are everything to an email marketer – giving customers a consistent experience regardless of where they see your brand. And if you can construct creative, yet stringent guidelines you will save yourself and your design team so much time.

Email isn’t a website, but it is a good opportunity to replicate key website aspects such as navigation and CTA style. The chances are, if someone has seen your website you will be retargeting them at multiple touchpoints. And email needs to sit within the brand framework to offer users the consistency they would expect.

Find the right journalists, influencers and high-profile people in politics to target with your upcoming campaigns with the Vuelio Media Database – find out more and book a demo. 

How to get inclusion right in PR and comms

‘How do we get this right?’ – accessmatters with The Unmistakables’ Asad Dhunna

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‘How do you introduce yourself? Listing jobs and experiences, what that does is put a mask up over who I am as a person’ – for our latest accessmatters session, The Unmistakables’ Asad Dhunna talked how ‘not fitting in’ was a spark for him create space where everyone can.

‘Throughout my life, I recognised I didn’t really fit in. Right from Primary School. At home, my family pronounces my name in the Hindi way, so who I am in the world and who I am at home is different, automatically.

‘I did languages and people were like, “Shouldn’t you be doing Sciences or Maths?” It’s what people expected me to do. When I got to university, I had people say “Obviously, you’ll do accountancy” or “You’ll do law – something that’s expected of someone like you”. I realised by that they meant “Asian” or “of Indian heritage”.

‘That feeling of not fitting in carried on – I lived in Germany for a year and people would ask “Where are you really from?”

‘I went to work in marketing and comms. I had a push and pull – push of family saying “Really, you could get a job in a bank”. And I was thinking, do people like me belong in this industry; should I be here? In the early days of my career, I was trying to use “not fitting in” as a value rather than as a bad thing. Then I started to realise, as I became a leader, that people didn’t look like me, or have my experiences.’

The Past
The way the communications and media industries have tried to welcome people from communities and backgrounds other than the predominantly white, middle-class, university-educated and heterosexual mould has often been very well-intentioned, but not quite right.

‘Back then, people were starting to use “ERG”, “LGBTQ”, “BAME” and set up networks. I had this funny moment of people asking if I wanted to be part of the BAME or LGBTQ network – I thought I didn’t quite fit into either of these. And then someone told me about the word “intersectional”…

‘How do we make the industry more inclusive? People that look like me are more likely to set up a shop on the high street than set up an agency – I set up The Unmistakables.’

The Present
The world has had to change since the pandemic, forcing conversations that have previously been avoided or given short-shrift – businesses are having to do the work.

‘Having conversations with clients now: “how do we get this right?” – inclusivity is treated really differently today. The pandemic and George Floyd’s murder made us all sit up and engage with the conversation. Partly because we were stuck at home and we were all going through the same experience. The brutality towards marginalised communities and the systems in place made us confront that privilege is in how we live. Society has been structured in ways that doesn’t benefit all.

‘We realised the only way we could help with inclusion was an “inside-out” approach – campaigns backed by more inclusive cultures. Marketing and comms is what we see in the world, how we are communicated to and how culture evolves. And within businesses, how do employees feel with their inclusion levels? You might be really good at your job, but you might not feel included. We spent a lot of time trying to work that out.’

The Future
The Diversity & Confusion Report, released by The Unmistakables this year, found that people are more comfortable taking about death than topics like race and sexuality at work.

‘Language is always changing – people don’t know how to talk about this. 40% of professionals in our industry are afraid to use the word “black”. Why? There are political nuances with that term, so some people don’t feel comfortable using it. People are also afraid to use the terms “gay” or “disabled”. One-in-six fear that they could lose their job if they use the wrong terms. If you’re in marketing and comms, fear is the biggest thing that stops creativity.

‘We also found that people would rather use the wrong term than say what they mean. We hear “diversity” a lot – our question to those we work with is, what do you mean by “diverse”? Is it background and class, sexuality, race? I always like to encourage people to see what’s inside of that word.

‘We’re at a time where we’re rethinking a lot and we don’t want to go backwards. There’s a curve of change, and not everyone is going to be on top tomorrow, but we’ve got an opportunity to think how we want to do things differently.’

For more from our accessmatters sessions with The Unmistakables’ Asad Dhunna, read his five tips for creating inclusive campaigns.

Find influencers and media professionals to work with on your upcoming campaigns with the Vuelio Media Database and keep track of your stakeholder relationships with our Stakeholder Management services – find out more here.

Anouska Leon and Rebecca Wagstaffe

PRCA relaunches Business Development Group

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The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) has relaunched its Business Development (BD) Group with co-chairs Rebecca Wagstaffe of 3 Monkeys Zeno and Anouska Leon of Richmond & Towers.

The relaunched group will aim to help PRCA members with business development activities by sharing materials on best practice, insight and opinion. Part of this will be its 7 December inaugural event with partner Ingenuity to explore the evolution of business development within the last 18 months as well as how agencies can make sure their channel strategy is right for attracting new business. Tickets for the free event can be booked here.

New co-chair Rebecca is the Head of Business Development & Marketing at 3 Monkeys Zeno, helping its European offices.

‘When it comes to agency growth, business development has always acted as the thread that ties together a company’s functions or departments,’ said Rebecca. ‘Coming out of the pandemic, our role as experts needs to be more sharp-focused than ever and I am very excited to co-chair this group, helping hone skills and best practice to develop the brightest minds in business development across our industry.’

Co-chair Anouska began her career in corporate sales before making the move into the creative industries. She moved to Richmond & Towers in 2014. Of the importance of the BD Group, she said:

‘Agency growth is always a top priority, but the last two years have shone a spotlight on Business Development like never before, proving once again that it is the lifeblood of agencies. During uncertain times, the going gets tough for BD professionals and the last 18 months threw a few curveballs our way with everything on Zoom, clients and prospects working from home and navigating the sensitivities of ‘selling’ during a global pandemic.

‘The inevitable consequence is ever more stringent procurement processes, budgets that need to ‘work harder’ and a focus on delivering tangible ROI.  I’m thrilled to have been invited to take up the position of co-chair of the PRCA Business Development Group during such an exciting period of change.’

Ingenuity’s CEO and founder Chris Kemp sees lots of opportunity for PRCA members:

‘As part of Ingenuity’s ongoing relationship with the PRCA, we’re thrilled to be working closely with the leading PR and Communications trade association to help their agency members understand the true potential of new business and B2B sales & marketing. We’ll be exploring the themes that are consistently of relevance to business development professionals, and to their agency’s growth potential.

‘Having worked with hundreds of leading agencies in our 16 years, and running 160+ pitches annually, we’ll be collating insights from both sides of the fence to deliver workshops around best-in-class agency shop windows, what brands are truly looking for in their partners, how to win pitches virtually and the evolution of effective channel strategies. This also coincides with a new chapter for our Events (link), of which PR, Social and Content will continue to be a focus next year.’

More information on the Business Development Group can be found here on the PRCA website. To book tickets for the 7 December event, find out more here.

To keep track of your business development, try Vuelio’s Stakeholder Management solutions – book a demo.

Alex Silver

PR Interview: Alex Silver, director of Alex Silver PR

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Moving from a career as a Junior Sister in the Casualty Ward to beauty PR extraordinaire probably isn’t the most common way of getting into comms, but it’s led to 25 years of industry success for Alex Silver and her beauty, celebrity and digital agency Alex Silver PR.

Having started her business from her kitchen table, Alex has been at the forefront of many star-studded events, red carpet moments and headline campaigns over the years. Alongside a passion for building start up brands into household names, Alex also happens to be the publicist for some well-known and long-established clients (including Dame Joan Collins, no less).

Read on for the lessons she’s learned on building strong relationships with the media, why inclusivity is so important for success, and what to do if your client hasn’t been behaving quite as they should…

What are the main lessons you’ve learned through your career?
Always have a plan B! Things can change with the drop of a hat so having a backup option and being able to think on your feet is essential in PR.

It’s not a done deal until the papers are signed – contracts and agreements can still fall through, even at the last stages of negotiations.

Credibility is everything – bringing credible experts to a campaign is like gold dust.

Don’t skip the venue recce. Even if you’ve been recommended a venue by a reputable source, I always recommend popping down to map out your event – you don’t want any nasty surprises on the big day.

How do you think the pandemic has changed comms, and are the changes here to stay?
Well, we’ve certainly all mastered the art of zoom-events, but joking aside, I believe the pandemic has helped shape a modern communication approach in many ways. Many companies (including press houses) are still testing the water when it comes to their new hybrid working arrangements, and I don’t think we’ll fully see the outcome of this until the dust from the pandemic settles.

In the meantime, communications should accommodate both in-person and online arrangements across meetings, events, launches, briefings and so on. Journalist contacts have shared that they enjoy online events as they don’t lose precious time travelling to/from venues and a recent influencer poll that we ran showed a 50/50 split in their popularity.

Celebrities are being increasingly held to account for bad behaviour/outdated views – what approach would you take with a high-profile client that runs into trouble with this?
Crisis management is at the core of many PR campaigns, whether you’re working with a celebrity or not. The art of addressing issues in a sensitive, effective and timely manner is an art that takes a carefully thought-out strategy.

It’s a case-by-case issue but sometimes it’s simply best to hold up your hands and apologise. Education and information on the topic at hand is key here – why has this caused upset and how can the talent become informed on this so that this doesn’t happen in the future.

Which high-profile celebrities/politicians/brands do you feel have really great PR teams (apart from your own clients, of course!)?
People change teams often and can make a blunder at any point so it’s hard to say, however I did see something recently that I was impressed by! At the end of October, Chief Exec and Founder of Spanx surprised employees with two first-class plane ticket and $10,000 each to celebrate the company’s $1.2billion deal with Blackstone. The announcement was filmed live on Instagram and showed employees crying with happiness. The news was quickly shared around the word on national news sites such as The Independent, Good Morning America, MSN and the New York Post. I think this was a very clever, effective, and of course, generous communication strategy. It certainly grabbed the headlines!

Which campaigns have you seen from big brands that have made you think ‘I wish I’d worked on that’?
I really loved the recent Dove Self Esteem Project. The campaign aimed to bring light to young people’s self esteem and help to raise awareness of the pressures that social media puts on developing minds. With a 15-year-old daughter, this really resonated with me and I’d loved to have been part of this campaign with Dove’s aim to have helped a quarter of a billion young people with educational courses by 2030.

Over your time in the industry, how have things improved for women practitioners?
Working within the beauty sector, the industry is saturated with women so, luckily, I haven’t felt being female ever held me back. I understand this is a big contrast to other sectors and that while some areas have drastically improved, there is still a lot to be done in order to close the gender equality gap.

What more needs to be done to make the industry more inclusive and welcoming, on gender, race and class?
An inclusive workplace culture is essential for a strong workforce of empowered employees. It needs to come from the top and I think the more people in power address these issues, speaking about them openly, the bigger changes we’re going to see. There’s so much that can and needs to be done. Everything from integrating inclusivity into core company values to building trust by encouraging a culture of frequent check-ins and creating safe spaces. There are small changes that everyone can do, no matter their company structure, and I think smaller companies need to incorporate this as much as larger ones.

How do you maintain good relationships with journalists?
Do your research! Journo friends often share frustrations at being pitched stories and items that would never fit within their column space. Keep up-to date with what your target journos are writing so that you can make your communications relevant and targeted. Building relationships is a hard balance in today’s climate; journalists are under more pressure and time constraints than ever. A catch up over zoom/coffee, carefully curated pitches and developing events/mailers that will attract attention, all go a long way.

It can be hard for people in PR to keep a healthy work/life balance – how do you manage this (If you do…)?
While there’s definitely a work-hard, play-hard culture in PR, I think it’s about striking balance in all areas of your life. I like to get up earlier in the week so that I can have a bit of ‘me’ time, I’ll kick off with a run around Primrose Hill with my puppy Bella or a yoga session. In the evenings you’ll either find me catching up with a friend over a cocktail (or two) or unwinding with my latest book in an aromatherapy bath. My advice? Find what works for you and block out that time for yourself!

What do you think the big trends will be for comms and PR in 2022?
Honesty, transparency and sustainability. Gone are the days when we printed out press releases and posted them out in thick paper packages! Journalists, influencers and celebrities are rightly conscious of the packaging brands are using. It’s the PR’s job to advise on the most sustainable, eco-friendly ways of gifting and sampling products. This is a theme I expect to see become even more prevalent in 2022 with brands delivering what consumers are striving for – products which don’t harm the planet in their making. Online sharing of files and information is here to stay. In the same vein, while gifting can be a super effective way of communicating new launches, USPs and brand values, items should be considered, useful and something that the receiver will actually want or use. We’re increasingly seeing brands choose to give a charitable donation in the receiver’s name and I think this is another trend which might grow in popularity next year.

Authenticity is also a big theme in beauty. Consumers are highly informed on ingredients, ethos and social purpose. PR communications need to be carefully structured to authentically convey what the business stands for. I believe this movement for transparency, equality and positivity will continue to snowball in 2022. Good PR teams will set out guidelines and continue to learn, grow and adapt as the year progresses.

Monitor how your brand or clients are faring in the media with Vuelio Media Monitoring and get deeper analysis from our Insights team – find out more here.

5 tips for creating inclusive PR and communications campaigns

5 tips for creating inclusive campaigns

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Our latest accessmatters session focused on inclusivity and featured Asad Dhunna, founder and CEO of The Unmistakables. Recognised as a marketing industry changemaker and thought leader, Asad shared his experiences as someone who ‘didn’t quite fit in’ and decided to help with creating spaces for everyone.

Here is just some of the advice Asad shared for bringing inclusion into organisations and campaigns to represent and engage every audience out there…

1) Make space to make change within your organisation
Asad spoke about the importance of ‘inside-out inclusion’ – ensuring your own team is inclusive will build inclusive-thinking into your work, right from the start. Even the upcoming Christmas party brings opportunities to think about making changes for the better:

‘In my team, we’ve been talking about the Christmas party – the organisation of that can rely on what we’ve done previously – but how and who will feel included?

‘Take the time to ask yourself and not rush. If an event is centred around alcohol, will everyone be comfortable, will people feel safe? Create some space to think about this – how do we do things differently now?’

2) Market to your leadership team, too
‘If leadership don’t see a problem with inclusion at your business, show and frame it in a way that will be in line with what they’re thinking about.

‘If you work for an agency – you need to win new business. More and more, clients want to know what businesses are doing about this. If you’re taking a stance, this will attract new clients.

‘If you’re selling, how do you reach more people? If it’s a charity, how do you reach more donors. There is always a link between the bottom line and D&I.’

3) Support your organisation with long-term thinking
‘In marketing, we get addicted to the dopamine of “we’ve done something!” But how do you make inclusion a strategic priority?

‘Do a vision-setting exercise – what are the metrics we’d use as part of that? The sceond thing is to set those metrics, what are the KPIs? Ask, when we work with boards, is this a recurring item?

‘Because the change takes time and we live in an attention-deficit world, we want everything tomorrow. But we need to celebrate the small wins – we’re getting there. That helps keep the energy up.’

4) Avoid tokenism by amplifying the right voices
‘One way to avoid tokenism in campaigns is to define what we mean by ‘representation’– representative, of what, of where? If you’re targeting a certain demographic, is what you’re doing representing them, or the people you’d like to buy the product. How do you bring those people into the process?

‘Ask yourself what kind of representation you’re striving for. Is everyone on the team aligned on that? How does casting sit with the brand and who you’re trying to reach?’

5) Tell authentic stories
‘I think sometimes in the campaign development process, people can get attached to trends, and the latest influencers. It’s crucial to strip it all back – what’s the story? Who is telling it, and do they have the right to tell it?’

‘A past HSBC campaign I was involved in centred on transgender and nonbinary people being able to change their account details. They weren’t the first bank to do this, but their campaign told the story of Stuart, the person training employees on this. We didn’t put lots of bells and whistles on it – some people were going to hate it, because they hate the issue, but others would really love it. That’s how you do the authentic bit – tell the story.’

Find out more about our accessmatters here and catch up on some you may have missed this year in our round-up of previous sessions with industry thought leaders including Manifest’s Julian Obubo, The Social Mobility Foundation’s Sarah Atkinson and Taylor Bennett Foundation’s Melissa Lawrence.

Global ethics data

PRCA AND ECI collaborate on nation-specific ethics insight

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The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) and Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI) have rolled-out their collaboration on nation-specific ethics and compliance data, featuring commentary and insight from PR industry experts.

The data, pulled from the ECI Global Business Ethics Survey (GBES), will form country-specific fact sheets to be published over the following months. Each will highlight five key metrics: ethical culture strength; pressure to compromise ethical standards; observations of misconduct; reporting misconduct; and retaliation perceived by employees after they report misconduct.

The countries to be profiled are Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. With the mix of data and insight, the PRCA and ECI hope to start conversations on, and the adoption of, ethical management and strong standards across the global PR and comms industry.

ECI CEO Dr. Patricia Harned, who also serves on the PRCA Ethics Council, said:

‘Findings from the GBES provide indications of the strength of efforts by organisations to reduce wrongdoing and to promote integrity. To that end, we are pleased to partner with PRCA to distribute these profiles, and we hope that they will inspire authentic conversations in workplaces around the world.’
PRCA Director General Francis Ingham also commented:

‘The PRCA is committed to a truly global remit of elevating standards in the PR industry and beyond, inclusive of diverse nations and cultures, and with an understanding that PR ethics dialogues should not transpire solely through a Western construct. We share ECI’s commitment toward a data-centric approach, and the PRCA is most pleased to partner with the ECI team on this particular project, in service to the PR industry worldwide.’

The publishing of country-based GBES data with PR insights will begin this month and continue through the first quarter of 2022. The PRCA and ECI are also set to field GBES among PR/Communications professionals in 2022, with the results expected to be shared by April 2022.

With future GBES research projects, ECI aims to expand the quantity and diversity of data sets, with global inclusion. Find out more about the research here.

The AI and Big Data Readiness Report

Artificial Intelligence: Huge potential but the PR industry needs to know more

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The Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ AIinPR Panel report ‘AI and Big Data Readiness Report – Assessing the Public Relations Profession’s Preparedness for an AI Future’ has found that while the industry sees potential in artificial intelligence and Big Data, practitioners still have limited knowledge on the associated technicalities.

Set up to provide an overview of public relations’ preparedness for AI and how the industry can protect itself against its potential dangers, the report found that:

· 41.5% of PRs claim to understand what AI as a technology means but don’t consider themselves technically-minded
· Over one in three (38.9%) of the PR practitioners taking part in the report feel ‘excited’ about AI, while 3.9% feel ‘overwhelmed’
· 30% are familiar with the tech but wouldn’t feel confident applying this know-how to their job
· One in five professionals (20.7%) feel very comfortable using data and analytics as part of their work compared to the 8.2% who feel comfortable using AI
· Around one in five practitioners are familiar with the relevance of both AI and Big Data on comms and PR.

While a large number of PRs have limited knowledge of artificial intelligence and low confidence in using it (43.2%) in comparison to the much smaller number (13.9%) who feel ‘very comfortable’ with it, the report shows that the industry is optimistic and ready to learn – the issue will be knowing where to begin.

‘There is clearly a mix of optimism and fear in the PR industry with regard to AI – excitement at the potential and possibilities, and concern that the role of the practitioner will be eroded away,’ said CIPR’s AIinPR Panel Chair Andrew Bruce Smith.

‘There is clearly a willingness to learn and adapt – but knowing where to start and a lack of time, training and skills seems to be putting a brake on progress. However, doing nothing is not an option either. AI is already impacting every aspect of PR from strategic planning to writing content. Anyone who wants to have a valued and meaningful career in PR in the coming years should pay great attention to the implications and recommendations from this report.’

The #AIinPR Panel’s AI and the Professions’ report, which warned of the dangers of sleepwalking towards the inevitable changes coming up in the use of tech, was published two years ago now – its co-author Professor Anne Gregory believes not much has changed since then:

‘Unfortunately, nothing has really changed. The knowledge and skills that have been acquired, driven partly by the COVID 19 pandemic, have been largely tactical. We need to get a strategic grip and determine for ourselves what our enhanced role and contribution can be in the organisations we serve. Otherwise, others will make the decision for us and it won’t be in our favour.’

Find more information on the CIPR AI in PR Panel here on the website and check out our overview of 2019’s AIinPR Panel report here on the Vuelio blog.

6 stats on diversity from PRCA's UK PR and Communications Census 2021

6 stats on diversity from PRCA’s UK PR and Communications Census 2021

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This year’s PR and Communications Census from the PRCA has encouraging numbers when it comes to industry growth and the potential for even more next year. But how do we make sure all the important metrics are even better by the time November makes its way back around?

We’ve gathered some of the key points on diversity and representation from 2021’s report – make note of the numbers that need boosting as we head towards this year’s end and 2022’s beginning…

1) The industry is mostly female… but the pay gap isn’t in their favour
Non-binary gender identities aren’t included in this year’s census, which splits gender by male and female. The report concludes that in the UK PR and comms industry, 67% are female and 33% are male. As with almost every other industry known to humankind, this doesn’t mean women get paid more – in fact, they continue to be paid less, comparatively. The gender pay gap in our industry is lower than last year’s 14.8% in March and 21% in September, reaching a low of 12.7%. That’s going in the right direction, but isn’t quite there yet – 30% of those polled said ‘no’ when asked if their organisation was doing enough to address this gap.

2) The industry is mostly white… and the pay gap is in their favour
74% of the PR industry identify as ‘white British’, 13% as ‘other white’ and only 13% as ‘non-white’. While this is a 2% increase since last year, the ethnicity pay gap in PR is still shocking – a discrepancy of 16%. The data also shows the impact inequality on general wellbeing – those who identify as white are 10% more likely to rate their organisation as good or very good. On trust in the working environment, non-white respondents were 10% more likely to respond negatively when asked if there is a line manager they could confide to on mental and workplace wellbeing.

3) Overall, there are (slightly) more LGBTQ+ people in the PR workforce this year
The number of LGBTQ+ practitioners in PR and comms is higher than last year, but still lower than the national average. The majority (84%) of the current workforce identify as heterosexual, with only 5% identifying as gay or lesbian and 4% as bisexual (which has increased by 3% since 2020). Around 1% of those who took part in the census use another descriptor, and 6% prefer not to disclose their sexuality.

4) PR isn’t representative with disability yet
Around 5% of practitioners that took part in the census this year identify as disabled. While this is an increase of 1% since last year, there is far to go until our workforce truly reflects the audiences we aim to fully connect and engage with. For more on this, check out our interview with Disability@thetable host Mark Webb and PRCA Equity & Inclusion Advisory Council (EIAC) co-chair Sudha Singh from earlier this year.

5) Social mobility is a bit stagnant
To get an idea of social mobility among UK PR professionals, the census asked respondents to describe the main income earner in their household while growing up. The majority (40%) described the main earner as occupying a higher managerial, administrative and professional role. 25% grew up with a household earner in an intermediate managerial, administrative and professional role, while just 2% described them as casual and ‘lowest grade’ workers, unemployed with state benefits only, or state pensioners. On education, which is another key factor for determining mobility (as explained by The Social Mobility Foundation’s Sarah Atkinson in this accessmatters session), 27% have a Master’s degree and 74% have an undergraduate degree.

6) The industry is young
On average, at least. The median age of the public relations industry is 38, according to the census. Meaning there’s plenty of time for those in PR and comms to improve on the numbers included above – let’s get to work…

Read more on the PRCA UK and Communications Census for 2021 here and access the full report on the PRCA website. For more on this year’s trends and how they will form 2022’s, check out data from the ICCO World PR Report. 

ICCO World PR Report

Global PR industry profit expectations are almost 50% higher than last year

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The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO)’s World PR Report for 2021 – 2022 shows expectations of high profitability for the industry as well as great positivity for the future.

Produced in partnership with Opinium, the trends, opportunities and ongoing issues highlighted in the report include the impact of the pandemic, mental health, technology, the decline of AVE as an important metric and the growing importance of reputation and CSR.

Key findings from the report include:

– 79% of practitioners cited the pandemic as having an impact on their agency’s client fee income over the last year
– Agency heads pinpoint corporate reputation, purpose, CSR, and strategic consulting as potential high growth trends over the upcoming five years
– Formal mental health and wellbeing support for staff is only offered by 48% of global firms
– While the industry continues to search for new and meaningful metrics to measure success, global AVE usage is on the decline
– The most important technology for PR organisations in the future is Artificial Intelligence, according to report respondents
– Retaining top talent is the biggest industry challenge, according to 52% of respondents
– PR leaders polled in North America, Eastern Europe and Africa had the highest levels of agreement on the difficulties in differentiating between fake news and accurate information

When it comes to recovery following the devastation of the ongoing pandemic, results revealed in the report are good. Expectations of future profitability are particularly high in the United Kingdom, North America and Asia-Pacific, with 95% of all respondents expecting an increase in client income – a rise of 50% from last year’s report. In terms of optimism for the growth of the public relations market, the global average among PR leaders was 7.3 in a 10-point scale.

Where this growth could be triggered, according to respondents responsible for making the big decisions across our industry – IT and technology, healthcare, and financial and professional services. Among these areas of opportunity, the online needs of clients are a main consideration – three of the top four areas PR firms are planning to invest in are digitally-focused (social media management, multimedia content creation and influencer communications).

‘The numbers within this year’s ICCO World PR Report show a resurgent industry, growing again, and having proved that its fundamentals were absolutely sound,’ said ICCO chief executive Francis Ingham. ‘They also show an industry that continues to have the best of both worlds -old school skills are still heavily in demand, but insight, corporate reputation management, and strategic counsel continue to power ahead.

‘Against the backdrop of such positive news, it is of course important to be realistic. Challenges of ethics, fake news, talent, mental health and diversity remain.

‘While our industry is recruiting again at scale, there will be practitioners reading this report who lost their job and who are yet to find a new one; agency owners and managers whose agencies didn’t make it; people who have been scared mentally by this period. But to them, I would say that I hope the picture painted here provides grounds for optimism about the future.’

Find more information about ICCO’s World PR Report, and download the findings, here on the PRCA website.

Planning for a successful 2022 in comms? Check out how Vuelio’s Insight and Stakeholder Management services can help you.

For more data on this year in PR, and what’s coming up in 2022, read our overview of the latest UK PR and Communications Census from the PRCA.

PRCA PR and Communications Census 2021

Financially buoyant PR industry still has pay gap problem

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The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA)’s UK PR and Communications Census for 2021 has heartening financial results for the industry as a whole, but a clear message that more needs to be done on fair compensation for practitioners.

According to the Census, sponsored and carried out by 3Gem, the PR and comms sector has grown over 6% since last year and has contributed a record £16.7 billion to the UK economy. While 9% of practitioners were furloughed following March 2020, with 2% were made redundant, 69% are back to work full-time, with 26% now working part-time.

The long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are clear throughout the findings. Only 16% of practitioners are back to full-time in-office working. When it comes to mental health – a major pressure point within the profession, as shown by the PRCA’s recent Mental Wellbeing Audit – 40% of those polled admitted to suffering from mental ill health.

One long-term problem beyond the pandemic is the industry’s pay gap, which continues to be an issue. The current gender pay gap is 12%, with women earning an average of £48,293, and men an average of £55,312. The ethnicity pay gap is even worse, at 16% – 46% of white professionals earn over £50,000 on average, while just 32% of non-white practitioners earn an average salary of more.

‘I applaud the buoyancy in this year’s Census while welcoming you to the world of Black, Asian, mixed race and ethnically diverse practitioners,’ says PRCA REEB Chair Barbara Phillips.

‘Revenues up? Great! Let’s be rid of the 16% ethnicity pay gap. The PRCA Race and Ethnicity Equity Board has led the way in 2020 and showed everyone how. Employees returning to the office? Great; let’s dismantle the toxic cultures that meant many non-white groups found sanctuary working from home (especially Black women) and are now reluctant to come back to microaggressions and lower pay. It’s great to be back but let’s leave the discrimination behind and instead create psychologically safe cultures where all protected groups are welcomed, then perhaps, we can say our industry is finally moving in the right direction.’

‘While there are obviously many challenges ahead, our industry’s resilience has been verified,’ said PRCA Director General Francis Ingham. ‘Its value has been confirmed. And its future is a fantastically positive one.’

President of Women in PR Anna Geffert also sees great opportunity in the results of the Census:

‘The pandemic has opened the door for a reset – humanising the workplace and providing a real opportunity to place equality and diversity at the heart of our businesses. We are moving in the right direction, but now is the time to accelerate. The industry has proved its resilience and that should give us the confidence to reimagine how we recruit, promote and pay our colleagues; encouraging people from all backgrounds to join our incredible industry. The onus is on us to raise the bar.’

Read the full PRCA PR and Communications Census 2021 here on the website.

Find out more about PRCA REEB in our previous interview with its Chair Barbara Phillips. 

5 PR webinars and online events to catch up on

5 PR webinars and online events to catch up on

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The popularity of webinars and online panels boomed during the early days of the pandemic, and they continue to be extra convenient for those who can’t, or just don’t want to, attend in-person meet-ups and events.

Is that you? Here are five super-useful webinars and online panels for PR and comms pros that are worth a revisit or first-time viewing if you missed them…

Building better relationships between PRs and journalists
While the public relations and journalism sectors rely on each other for the mutually beneficial exchange of information and coverage, it can be a very difficult relationship. Journo Resources’ Jem Collins, national press and freelance journalist Faima Bakar and Freelancing for Journalists’ Lily Canter and Emma Wilkinson offered advice on building useful connections with journos working across a variety of sectors – watch it here or read our summary.

Building better relationships between PRs and journalists

One Step Forward Two Steps Black
UK Black Comms Network partnered with Opinium to conduct the first ever report into the lived experiences, pay and promotion of Black comms professionals – this webinar revealing its findings featured insight and reaction from the network’s founder and CEO Kamiqua Pearce, Opinium Research’s Susan Bello, Black Woman in HR’s Adesse Okojie and Birchwood Knight’s Seri Davies. Sign up to watch it via the UK Black comms Network and check out some of the key findings here.

Statistics on Black communications professionals

Neuro PR: Strengthening the Brain and Brand Connection
Harvey & Hugo PR’s managing director and Leader of the Pack Charlotte Nichols led this webinar on creating lasting impressions on your audience by engaging their minds with neuroscience. No pHd in brain chemistry required – watch and see how you can fire up neuro pathways with your day-to-day PR activities here. You can also read our write-up on the Vuelio blog.

Neuro PR Vuelio webinar

Discovering TikTok and Pinterest data
TikTok and Pinterest – two very different social media platforms filled with useful insight on audience behaviours and preferences. Luckily, there’s one place where you can mine both –the team at our sister brand Pulsar shared analysis of datasets from studies covered by Vogue Business and Elle Décor to demonstrate how to get the most out of data analysis. Sign up to watch here.

Discovering Pinterest & TikTok data

Making Sense of Net Zero – Corporate rewards of being in the climate action driving seat
This New Statesman live event from September featured The Climate Group’s Communications Director Luke Herbert, JLL’s Global Chief Sustainability Officer Richard Batten and Vuelio’s Insights Lead Amy Parry speaking on the risks and rewards for comms and PR teams leading on environmental action. Not only is working towards net zero the right thing to do, it will also future-proof your business. Sign up to watch the full webinar or read our summary of the key points.

Net Zero New Statesman webinar

Find out more about Vuelio’s webinars here.

Ready for more knowledge-sharing? Check out these Vuelio accessmatters sessions covering disability in PR, how to be antiracist and supporting transgender and nonbinary colleagues in this round-up.

6 reasons to stop using JournoRequests and start using the Journalist Enquiry Service

6 reasons to stop searching #JournoRequest and start using the Journalist Enquiry Service

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In need of media coverage for your brand, client or research? Ransacking the #JournoRequest hashtag for asks from UK journalists might seem like a quick solution for finding contacts, but here are six reasons why you should give the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service a try instead…

1. Requests come straight through to your inbox
No searching required – relevant requests from UK journalists looking for contributions for their upcoming pieces (whether products for review, expert comment, statistics or survey results) are sent directly to the inboxes of Journalist Enquiry Service subscribers. And how often requests come through is up to you – sign up for a steady stream of requests as they’re released, or a daily digest of enquiries you might be able to help with.

Screengrab of ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service digest email

2. You’ll receive all the details you need
Sometimes 140 characters just aren’t going to tell you everything you need to help a journalist fill and finish their feature; you need to know exactly what they want, and when for. While you won’t want to read through an enquiry that’s the same length as the article the journalist is writing (nobody has time for that – certainly not the journalist), the Journalist Enquiry Form has enough space for the media professionals using it to be clear on what they want.

Screengrab of Journalist Enquiry Service email

You’ll find which publication they’re writing for, when the piece is likely to be published and more.

3. You can filter requests so they’re relevant to your specific sector
#JournoRequests is a busy hashtag filled with enquiries from journalists writing across almost any sector you can imagine – that’s a very noisy place to navigate when you need to find something useful for you, fast. The Journalist Enquiry Service, in comparison, requires journalists to target their requests to the sectors they’re writing about, right from the get-go.

Journalist Enquiry Service categories for journalists

Working in the Home & Garden comms space? The service has a category for that. After requests from fashion journalists? Retail & Fashion is for you. You can pick the request categories relevant to you when signing up and start receiving enquiries from UK journalists you can help with relevant contributions.

4. It’s secure
DM etiquette and email sharing doesn’t even have to be a consideration when starting a (hopefully long-term and fruitful) relationship with a journalist working in your sector. Once a journalist has sent their request via the Journalist Enquiry Service, contact between you starts through the service’s internal network. Email replies come via [email protected], until you’re ready to share your contact details.

5. You have a set deadline to work to
While there are many differences between those in comms and those working in the media, keeping to strict deadlines throughout the day are a necessity for both. Knowing when you need to get information over to a journalist is a vital part of information easily missed on tweet threads. Requests sent through the Journalist Enquiry Service include the date and time the journalist needs the contributions by, as well as when their piece is likely to be published. When request deadlines are up, they fall off of the system, meaning no confusion – just fresh requests to look through.

6. Journalists at high-profile media outlets use the service
The Journalist Enquiry Service has many different users working across the media landscape. As well as staffers and commissioning editors on national press dailies, there are freelancers writing for a variety of consumer and trade magazines, broadcast journalists reporting for mainstream television and digital channels as well as influencers with swathes of followers across social media. Many who use the service have created useful working relationships – instead of searching for journalist connections across social media, sign up for targeted requests from media professionals who want what you have to offer.

Examples of recent requests sent via the Journalist Enquiry Service

Find more information about becoming a ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service subscriber here.

Already a subscriber? Get the most out of the Journalist Enquiry Service with this piece on how to respond to journalist enquiries as well as these quick tips.

Get started now and track all your mentions across every type of media channel with Vuelio Media Monitoring.

COP26: what PR and comms need to know

COP26: What comms and PR teams should know

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‘We have fires, floods and droughts in all corners of the Earth currently. Many, many people are suffering in the Global South already with famine and untold hardship – our world is only heading one way. To be frank, Mother Nature will simply not allow us to slip back into “business as usual” after COP26,’ believes Compassion in World Farming’s Philip Lymbery.

Exhibiting in the Blue Zone and preparing to release a report into the impact of animal agriculture on the climate crisis later this week, Philip sees COP26 as ‘one of the most crucial meetings of nations the world has ever seen’. He isn’t alone. While the long-term impact of the decisions and agreements that will be made during the summit remain to be seen, business leaders, decision makers and the communications industries can – and should – support and continue what the summit has sparked; increased awareness of what needs to be done on climate change.

Read our sister brand Pulsar’s deep-dive into the social media conversation in the lead up to COP26.

‘There is significant movement in this space already, as many companies are starting to increase their plant-based offerings, manage food waste more effectively and promote more sustainable diets to their customers,’ says Philip.

‘Compass Group, IKEA, Aldi UK, Globus, Unilever, Tesco, Nomad Foods and Premier Foods are all doing good work promoting their sustainable diets and encouraging a decrease in meat consumption, for example.

‘Other noteworthy food brands are Barilla, who won the Compassion in World Farming 2021 Special Recognition Award under the Planet Friendly Award banner. Another example of action is McDonald’s UK & Ireland and Danone, who are actively working on regenerative agriculture projects.

‘The big brands across the world have a huge responsibility to accelerate significant change so that we can avoid dangerous climate change.’

Philip Lymbery

What can businesses do to continue the work, without greenwashing?

‘These days, greenwashing covers a range of claims, from the vague text on packaging to marketing USPs. Luckily for consumers, amidst a sea of companies and manufacturers under pressure to be more sustainable, regulators are becoming more proactive. However, it’s still hard to spot the integrity of claims and to a large extent consumers rely on companies fearing a loss of brand ‘trust’, should they over-exaggerate their environmental efforts and be discovered.

‘Some brands are prepared to act in some ways, for example, by introducing plastics recycling, but not in others. For example, Coca-Cola has been criticised for stating the business would not move away from plastic bottles on the basis that customers “preferred plastic”.

‘The tragedy is that many global brands have been caught greenwashing. It’s long past time for corporate technical and creative teams to work on becoming genuinely sustainable, rather than using smoke and mirrors marketing approaches.’

Optimism dominating talk about COP26

While the social media conversation leading up to the summit showed much optimism from the public, Sir Vince Cable’s take on the British Government’s previous assessment of the odds of a successful summit at 60:40 was that ‘my heart is with the 60%; my head with the 40%’. Does Philip agree?

‘I hope and pray that this will not be the case – the stakes are simply too high. It is easy to become pessimistic, but the world is watching COP26, conversations are happening and the future of our children, and their children, is in the balance.

‘However, according to national pledges already made, the numbers have been crunched and world leaders are falling short of the action that needs to be taken.

‘This is undoubtedly a time for unity and for all parties, all countries and all peoples to come together to help solve the greatest crisis we will ever face in our lifetime. We all have a part to play.’

Philip Lymbery is Global Chief Executive of Compassion in World Farming, Visiting Professor at the University of Winchester, President of Eurogroup for Animals, the Brussels-based umbrella for 70 leading animal welfare societies in Europe and founding Board member of the World Federation for Animals (WFA), a membership organisation that maximises the efforts and resources of the animal protection movement. Philip has also been appointed as a United Nations Food Systems Champion for the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit. He’s an award-winning author, ornithologist, photographer, naturalist and self-confessed animal advocate.

Read former leader of the Liberal Democrats and a former Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Sir Vince Cable’s look at COP here on the Vuelio blog as well as Green peer Baroness Bennett’s guest post on the importance of protecting our biodiversity.

For more on the importance of sustainability for future-proofing your business, download the Vuelio Insight Team case study Sustainability Initiatives and the Impact on Businesses.

Find out more about monitoring coverage of your brand, competitors and the issues that affect you in print, broadcast, online, blogs and social media.

Solutions for difficult clients

When client relationships go wrong: two sides of the story and a solution

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This is a guest post from ADPR owner and MD Kate O’Sullivan.

As much as I hate to admit it, client relationships don’t always turn out the way we expect or hope. If you work in the service industry, the chances are you will have experienced ‘that client’. The one where no matter how hard you try, something always feels off kilter and you constantly find yourself on the back foot. If you haven’t come across them yet, I’m sorry to say that you almost certainly will at some point.

Clients are critical to many businesses, and any decent service provider will endeavour to go above and beyond to keep them happy. Equally, it takes a lot of trust (and expense) for a client to allow an outsourced provider into their business. So, if it’s safe to assume that both the client and the service provider anticipate a successful relationship, why does it sometimes go wrong, and can anything be done about it?

One thing we can all agree on is that when a relationship fails it’s a horrible feeling and prevention will always be better than cure.

Rather than entering into a game of blame, let’s consider some of the common frustrations on both sides of the relationship, and whether a slightly different approach and a deeper level of empathy could result in ‘that client’ becoming a dream client.

That Client: The one who always lands something on you with an urgent deadline.

Your perspective:

You’ve started the week with an orderly task list and before you know it a client has asked you to complete a ‘quick’ unplanned task for them that is needed urgently. You know that you have deadlines to meet for other clients, you know that very few jobs are actually quick, and you also know the urgent deadline probably isn’t a matter of life and death.

You want the best for your client, so you juggle things around and work late to ensure you can complete the task without letting any other clients down. You finish work feeling tired and grumpy, and don’t feel that you’ve been given the time to do the task justice. You’re more than happy to put in the extra graft now and again, but when it becomes a habit it’s hard to avoid feeling frustrated.

Client’s perspective:

You’ve started the week with an orderly task list and before you know it your boss has asked you to complete an unexpected task for them. You’ve recently brought on-board a skilled provider to help you with such tasks, and really need their help if you’re going to get everything else on your list done, without letting anyone down.

You know it isn’t ideal, but the agency never seem to mind and always have time to help. In-fact, they’ve actively encouraged you to reach out if you need them. You’re actually under pressure to prove their weight in gold to your boss, so this is the perfect way for them to support you right now.

That Client: The one who ghosts you.

Your perspective:

You haven’t heard from a client for a while. A nagging feeling that something isn’t quite right starts to set in, and you start to imagine what you’ve done to upset them! You know they’re busy but you really need to speak to them in order to get the agreed work done. You’ve tried everything and there’s only so many ways to send gentle reminders without seeming like a) a complete nag b) desperate or c) a stalker.

You don’t know what else to do but you keep trying, because you really want to get good results for them.

Client perspective:

Your agency won’t stop hounding you! You have a huge task list and you have to prioritise. You have received a lot of emails from them and each one seems to be asking for something different.

You brought in an agency to help with your workload. They’re costing a lot of money and you don’t understand why they can’t be more self-sufficient. You do want to communicate, but surely there’s an easier way? The way they’re going about it at the moment isn’t helpful and you really don’t appreciate being nagged.

That Client: The one who likes to tell you how to do your job.

Your perspective:

There is nothing worse than being micromanaged! You’re an expert in your field and you know what you’re doing. Instead of placing value on the work you’re producing, the client does nothing but question or make changes to everything you do. Nothing is getting signed off in time and all of the amends are starting to knock your confidence. The situation is preventing you from achieving results and you are wasting precious time and budget making unnecessary changes. You can sense your client’s dissatisfaction, but you know you’re right and they don’t seem to listen!

Client perspective:

You had great hopes for your agency and want to be wowed by them, but you don’t really like the work they’re producing. They keep explaining why they’ve done something in a certain way, but it’s not the way you would do it, and they don’t know your business the way you do! You don’t have time to be ‘correcting’ their work and are rapidly losing your patience as well as your trust in their ability to deliver.

Good communication is always the solution!

Whether you sit on the side of the client or the service provider, you’ve probably encountered at least one of the above scenarios. It probably comes as no surprise that establishing good communication and clear boundaries from the outset will always be the best way to prevent problems further down the line.

In reality, new relationships are often seen through rose-tinted glasses and this step often gets overlooked among the excitement of winning a shiny new client.

Learn from experience and invest some time thinking about the reasons why previous relationships have come to an end and how they could have been prevented from the outset. Make a conscious effort to pre-empt all eventualities by discussing them with your client in advance.

For example, the above scenarios could have been avoided by the following:

Let your client know that you understand that last minute things happen and you will always try to help. But if they want to be certain of your assistance they need to try and give you adequate notice to do the job (and be sure to spell out what you deem to be adequate!). Of course, if something really is a matter of life or death – drop everything and help!

Ask your client how they like to be communicated with and how often. Make them aware that you will need their input and let them know what they can expect and what is required from them. Agree a communication process and always encourage them to give you more than one point of contact to go to when urgent information is requested.

Make sure your client is fully aware of your expertise and always explain the rationale behind the decisions you make and the approach you’re taking with your work. Encourage them to focus on the outcomes rather than the outputs and make it clear that they are hiring experts, not yes men.

If your gut is telling you that something isn’t right in the relationship, don’t bury your head in the sand, instead address the situation. Uncomfortable conversations are never easy, but it will always be better than crossing your fingers and praying for change! Most clients will respect your integrity and will welcome the opportunity to discuss the issue with you before it escalates further.

Remember that you never need to accept outright rudeness or abuse from your client. We are all human and all have a right to demand a basic level of respect from others. Sometimes the chemistry just isn’t right and when this happens it is better to face the situation, draw a line under the experience, hold your head high and move on.

The reality is that once a client relationship turns sour it can be difficult to recover, but it isn’t impossible. The key thing to keep in mind is that everyone will have entered into the relationship with the right intention, and nine times out of ten a negative situation can be resolved through good communication and compassion for others.

For keeping track of your client and stakeholder communications, check out Vuelio’s Stakeholder Management solutions. 

A week in the life of an in-house PR

A Week In The Life Of An In-House PR (and what to consider when looking for an in-house role)

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This is a guest post from Prezzybox PR & marketing executive Alex Spencer.

As in-house PRs, it’s the job of me and my colleague Chloe to manage Prezzybox’s brand reputation, promote the brand as much as we can, plan and run events and, of course, secure coverage – both in print and online.

But our roles don’t stop with PR. Like many other in-house PR roles, our jobs extend to copywriting, creating email newsletters and even getting involved with design!

Here’s an insight into life as an in-house PR exec…

Monday

It might only be mid-October, but we’re in the full swing of Christmas here at Prezzybox HQ. In fact, for us, planning for the festive period starts in June and doesn’t slow down until the day itself.

People always ask us if focusing so much on Christmas makes it harder to enjoy it, but we’re the complete opposite – the more time spent talking about the festive season, the better! We do have a ban on playing Christmas songs in the office until November, though. We’re not crazy…

Chloe starts the week off by sending some product samples out to journalists at top-tier publications for their Christmas guides. We check every journo request that comes through because we can often help journalists out with high-res imagery and samples. It goes without saying that reacting quickly to these requests is key!

As every PR does, we also start the week by checking our social feeds, the news and what’s trending.

Tuesday

We recently attended our first in-person event since the start of the pandemic – The Big Christmas Press Show – where we showcased our favourite gifts for Christmas, and we spotted coverage today that we secured as a result of the show.

We’re also working on gathering data for our hero Christmas campaign, the idea for which came up completely randomly in a meeting (about something else, bizarrely). It got everyone in the office talking, so we decided to turn it into a full campaign! Watch this space…

Wednesday

A big part of my role is ensuring all of Prezzybox’s communications are on-brand and our tone of voice is consistent. I spend most of the day writing copy for our newsletters, and get some product description copy done, too. I absolutely love the variety of my job.

My colleagues and I also get together to discuss how we’re going to push our Christmas campaign. We figure out a strategy and come up with a plan B (and C!) too. As every PR knows, flexibility is key!

Thursday

Today we’re discussing next year’s events (yep – already). We’ve taken part in some awesome virtual PR events in the last couple of years, for obvious reasons, so we’re deciding which would be best for us to continue with. We think a mix of in-person and virtual events is definitely the future.

We’re also testing out some of our new products in the office today. And by ‘testing out our products’, we mean cracking open boxes of our personalised Celebrations.

Friday

We end the week on an exciting note – choosing how to redecorate the office. Some of us are back in the office part time and we’re thinking about how we can extend our branding to the walls! We already have the best office, thanks to our resident dogs and goats, but talk of neon Prezzybox signs, flower walls and floating egg chairs has got us excited… it doesn’t take much, really.

Things to consider when looking for an in-house role

1. The brand

Working as an in-house PR means working for one brand, and one brand only. Spending every day thinking about how you can promote the company you work for is heaps easier when you genuinely love the brand, and what it stands for!

2. The role

Many in-house PR roles encompass much more than just PR. My role isn’t just about gaining coverage – it’s my job to make all of our communications consistent and on-brand. My week varies from securing product PR to acting as the brand’s spokesperson to building email newsletters to writing blog posts. I love the variety, but it’s worth bearing in mind.

3. The team

Will you be part of an in-house team focusing on PR or will you be a one-person band? Will you have the budget to outsource work to PR agencies or freelancers if you need to? Knowing what resources you’ll have and what you’ll be expected to achieve is key before you make the move in-house.

Looking to help with finding and listening to your audience to make connections? Try out Pulsar’s social listening solutions and Vuelio’s media database and media monitoring.

Reactive PR and newsjacking

Reactive PR: Turning Something Out of Nothing

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This is a guest post from Fibre’s Alice Wilks, digital PR specialist.

When you hear the term ‘reactive PR’ you might imagine frantically releasing press releases to counteract a scandal. That’s one kind, for sure!

But what if there was another kind of reactive PR, a far more positive and proactive one? One that could bolster your company’s presence online, and improve your SEO game?

Good news – there is! And the best part is that it’s a relatively straightforward strategy to implement. It turns out you don’t have to spend a fortune to gain publicity for your company. All you have to do is keep on top of the news…

In our busy modern world, the news cycle moves fast. To use reactive PR successfully, you’ll have to be even faster. However, making this effort is definitely worth it. After all, reactive PR (also known as newsjacking) has the potential to be even more effective that expensive marketing campaigns.

Intrigued? You should be! Read on to find out what reactive PR consists of, its multiple benefits, and how to successfully incorporate this strategy into your public relations plan.

What is reactive PR?
Reactive PR consists of responding to trending news topics within your industry and the wider media. It’s an alternative to waiting around for something newsworthy to occur within your organisation, and it’s one smart way to gain free coverage for your company!

The value of reactive PR can be found in the fact that it’s fresh and relevant. When people rush to understand unfolding news, your company’s content can position itself at the top of their to-read list.

If you’re lucky, the day’s headlines might directly relate to your industry. If they don’t, you’ll just need to be a little more creative. Don’t worry – there are unexpected ways you can connect your business activities to the news, no matter what it is!

Examples of reactive PR:
• A jewelry company that releases a blog analysing engagement rings every time a celebrity announces their upcoming nuptials.

This information might be used by traditional media sources to complement their celebrity coverage. The company could also take this opportunity to compare rings from their collection, thereby promoting their own products.

• Any company that launches competitions or campaigns in line with significant events such as the Oscars, the Superbowl, the World Cup, or a Royal Wedding.

People are likely to search for information about these events, which could attract a whole new audience to the company if they stumble across their content.

• A business that acknowledges a period of political or societal upheaval in its content.

It may promote a positive message or show how its products or services could be useful at this time. One example would be how the Calm mindfulness app suggested using its services to relieve tension during the US election cycle.

The benefits of reactive PR
Some of the benefits that a reactive PR strategy could bring to your company include:

1. Attracting a new audience
When you ‘newsjack’, you have the potential to reach people who may never have come across your company otherwise. Their interest in the topic will lead them to your content, and from there it’s up to you to convert this interest into sales.

2. Improving SEO
Successful reactive PR will generate links from external sources, which will boost your rankings in search results. Effective ‘newsjacking’ could place your company at the top of Google’s news search, too.

3. Gaining coverage in traditional media
Traditional media is hungry for content that can supplement their coverage of current events. If you can provide a unique angle on today’s trending topic, you might make headlines of your own!

4. Saving money on advertising campaigns
Writing a blog post is more cost-effective than crafting a full advertising campaign, but it could be just as impactful if done correctly. You may find that people disseminate your content independently, helping you go viral.

5. Building your brand
If your business is constantly reacting to the news, it gives the impression that it’s a dynamic and switched-on company. That means your business will seem cutting-edge, relevant, and ahead of the trends.

Keep up with trends in the media with recent article and category searching on the Vuelio Media Database – find out more here. 

How to build a close-knit team when working from different places

How to build a close-knit team when working from different places

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This is a guest post from Degreed’s Global Head of Comms, Content & Client Advocacy Teams Sarah Danzl.

Sarah Danzl

As the saying goes, teamwork makes the dream work and it’s a priority for all team leaders. Especially given the past few months, when all of us were suddenly flung into unprecedented times and had to upend our working practices in a matter of days. Make no mistake, remote and hybrid working will remain a core part of our new reality. Indeed, 85% of people wish to continue working remotely some, or all, of the time post-pandemic. This poses unique challenges in fostering a close-knit team — especially when they’re based in different locations and time zones.

You have to be more intentional about work/life balance, sharing personal experiences, and building strong working relationships. But the benefits are tremendous. For starters, you can pick the very best talent from across the world. Geography is no longer a limiting factor in your recruitment. You also broaden your diversity of thought and experience. It can enable people to work who otherwise may not be able to access a workplace, like neurodiverse individuals or those with caring commitments. Finally, it offers greater flexibility and autonomy to your team.

This is something I’ve experienced for a long time. I lead a team of 14 people based in six time zones and four countries. Some of them have never met their fellow team members in person. Here are some of the ways I’ve ensured that they feel (and support each other) like a traditional team.

Have regular meetings
My personal preference is to hold a weekly team meeting along with one-on-one meetings with each team member. This way, you can update your team on everything they need to know and also get dedicated time to discuss their work, any blockers or concerns, and long-term career growth.

Key to a successful team meeting is having a structure that allows for team updates alongside social discussions, spontaneous questions, exchanging ideas and troubleshooting. Setting an agenda beforehand is a must, to focus people on the task at hand. I also recommend having 10 minutes at the start or end of each meeting for informal chats and to discuss how everyone is feeling that week.

Be results driven
In an office, it’s easy to equate performance with time at work. In a remote environment, people may not always be at their desks all day, or at the same time. Your measures of good performance need to evolve. Looking at output instead of time at work is an effective way to get the results you want, without micromanaging someone or setting specific working hours. Of course, people do need to be available to collaborate with their team members or answer questions. So there does have to be a way to asynchronously communicate (through a messaging platform like Slack, for example) or agreed availability hours that everyone knows about. In my team, we have ‘Slack’ hours when we’re available for quick chats and questions in real-time. As for results, we have team and individual KPIs (key performance indicators) that we update quarterly. Meeting these goals are more important to me than time at a desk.

Make your expectations clear
This links closely with my KPI point above. By communicating what you expect of someone in their role, you’re ensuring that they meet those expectations. If they don’t know what you want from them, they’re working blind. Write and speak clearly, so your instructions are not misunderstood. Because in a remote team, it can be easier to overlook a task or deadline.

Hire the right people
Being part of a remote team isn’t for everyone — and that’s okay! But make sure that the people you hire have the aptitude and skills to thrive as part of a remote or hybrid team. Good time and project management skills are a must, as is a self-motivating attitude as you won’t be there all the time to guide and push them.

Set time boundaries
Work/life balance can be a challenge when working remotely, particularly if your home computer is also the one you use to socialise and relax. It can be too tempting to answer one last email… at midnight. Let your team set their boundaries, when they are logging off and will answer any emails or messages in the morning. Ensure they know that they can disconnect. And let the rest of the team know when someone is and isn’t available. This is especially important when working across multiple time zones.

Socialise
All work and no play is, quite frankly, draining. Your team will work better if they socialise together too. This doesn’t have to be in-person. My team has recently done cocktail and cooking classes. The wider Degreed team have held virtual casino nights, workouts, yoga and more.

For more on working from home, read our previous guest post from Question & Retain’s Annabel Dunstan, featuring advice for balancing work and home life. 

Heading back to the office soon and feeling nervous? Check out advice from mental health professionals on how to prepare for your return to in-office working. 

How to engage with Generation Z

How to engage with Generation Z

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This is a guest post from Life Size PR Trainee Helene Lamprecht.

Generation Z (Gen Z), which refers to all those born after 1995, is dominating and reforming the global economic landscape. Currently, they make up the largest group of consumers worldwide. If you want to attract their attention, then you need to know how to communicate with them.

Before diving into detail with actions you can take to successfully engage with Gen Z, let’s look at who exactly it is that you want to communicate with.

Digital Natives
Gen Z was born into an already digital world that becomes more globally connected each day. They grew up with high-speed internet and electronic devices, making them familiar with mobile from an early age. Being so tech-savvy means that Gen Z demands the highest quality digital experience and expect any business to have an online presence.

Short Attention Span
All Gen Z has known is a hectic world full of stimuli, so they are accustomed to filtering information – anything that does not immediately stand out is unlikely to catch their attention. As they are used to absorbing as much information as possible in a short amount of time, the content they consume has to be clear and straight to the point.

Environmental and Social Awareness
On average, Gen Z is quite wealthy compared to previous generations, with their desires going beyond meeting their basic needs. They aim for self-actualisation and are determined to achieve their full potential. In this context, a fulfilling job and pleasant working climate are of high priority to them.

They also strive for social parity and are passionate about the environment. The Fridays for Future demonstrations are just one impressive example of the commitment Gen Z is showing. Gen Z also fights for equality and demands diversity and non-discrimination, not only in society but across all forms of communication.

Once you understand what Gen Z is looking for, it’s time to adjust your communications accordingly. Here are four main actions you should implement:

1. Make it digital, mobile and an experience
Show that you are a modern company that cares about the environment by providing links instead of flyers. Keep your website up to date, and ensure that all your content is optimised for mobile devices. Additionally, try to make the content you produce more than just text. Think of how you can transform your website into a web experience – keeping it clear and straightforward yet exciting and diverse at the same time.

2. Communicate frequently and visually
Gen Z uses social media almost constantly; therefore, you must share social media content regularly. If you stop, you will appear inactive, so always think of interesting and engaging content to share. Set up editorial plans for social media and stick to them. Make sure to make your content easy to understand, and remember to actively engage with your audience.

3. Talk to them personally
Gen Z knows the internet better than any other generation. Do not try to fool them: they demand authentic and personal relationships. Gen Z relates to genuine voices, especially those they are already familiar with, such as real-life friends or influencers they share passions with. Be cautious with the latter, however. Ensure any influencers you use represent your values and are interested in a mutually beneficial collaboration, rather than one-sided in their favour.

4. Give them something to identify with
Make sure to communicate your beliefs and values. Gen Z has been involved in social activism since a young age, and they will consider a company’s value more than any generation before them. Find easy words to make them understand what you do and how this can help people or the environment. If you get them to understand you and support your vision, they will be more inclined to share it. Be prepared to equip them with the right facts and messages and let them promote your company for you. For example, you could provide them with material for convincing Instagram Stories or informative YouTube videos.

If you want to engage with Gen Z, you need to think about your purpose first because this is what matters to them the most. Try to build on this and adjust your communications by making sure they are digital, mobile, authentic and personal.