Scott Guthrie

PR Blogger Spotlight: Scott Guthrie

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Scott Guthrie’s blog focuses on informing PRs on everything to do with influencer marketing, alongside content around wider comms topics. Scott Guthrie is one of our Top 10 UK PR Blogs and we caught up with him to talk about influencer marketing issues in 2019, top tips for pitching and why The Body Shop is winning at influencer marketing so far this year. 

What’s in store for the blog in 2019?
More of the same. I wrote 47 articles on influencer marketing for my blog in 2018 plus a dozen or so covering public relations in general. Increasingly my aim is to peer over the brow of the hill at the issues influencer marketing is likely to face in the near and midterm.

Last year I foresaw three major issues for the nascent industry: influencer fraud; lack of transparency in disclosing advertisements; and a media backlash. These issues will rumble on throughout 2019 but we will also look beyond compliance to consider the ethics surrounding influencer marketing. For example, we will consider why it’s not okay to promote gambling sites to young, impressionable audiences, and why ‘merch’ shouldn’t be so oversold. The industry will also start to ask questions about kidfluencers, image manipulation and virtual influencers. I’ll be writing about these issues and how the industry approaches them via regulation and trade body codes of conduct.

How has PR changed since you first got into the industry?
I can still (vaguely) recall foot messengers delivering financial results and press releases by hand to the City editors. While in newsrooms rip and read printers spewed out headlines from the Press Association. Press releases were usually faxed to newsrooms. The importance of a good story told well from a trusted source hasn’t changed. The technology surrounding news acquisition and distribution has. Technology has splintered the entire media landscape.

How much is Brexit affecting comms in the UK?
Brexit is affecting comms in two ways: by seemingly keeping all other news from front page for almost two years; and, by heightening a sense of anxiety. My clients are typically small businesses. Small business accounts for over 99% of all private sector businesses in the UK. Yet, just 6% of small and medium-sized businesses feel the Government is listening to their concerns about Brexit. That is causing them anxiety and preventing them from making any significant business decisions.

What’s the biggest issue facing the industry (outside of Brexit)?
Influencer marketing offers an amazing opportunity to the public relations industry. The discipline can transcend ‘selling stuff’ to embolden positive reputation, communicate an organisation’s purpose, assist in a crisis situation, or scale subject matter expertise heightening employee advocacy in the process. The biggest issue is the risk that these opportunities are passed up by the PR industry. The risk that these opportunities are squandered; handed over to the other creative industries only for us to look back in future years and realise our mistake. The same mistakes of missed opportunity that we saw with failing to shape the future of social media, SEO or content marketing.

Are traditional media outlets losing their importance to the industry?
There is no secret that the media has fragmented from print, to online and social media. In turn influencers have emerged on every media, in every market. This does not mean that traditional media outlets are no longer important. It does mean that, as effective communicators, we need to know which mastheads, broadcasters and individuals are influencing the important people we are seeking to influence on behalf of our clients. Our opportunity is to work with these organisations and influencers and to engage with their networks in the way we have traditionally done solely with journalists.

What’s the best campaign of 2019 so far?
The Body Shop works with influencers in two very separate ways: to sell product; and to affect positive social change. For its Forever Against Testing campaign, the cosmetic company sought to gather eight million signatures in the form of a petition to take to the United Nations. The campaign over achieved its objective in under the time allocated: 8.3m signatures in 3/4 time. The campaign demonstrated a fundamental element of influencer marketing – that influencers can help affect change in behaviour and opinion. And that the change needn’t be confined to a purchase decision. The campaign also highlighted the importance of an integrated communications programme.

What advice would you give students looking to join the PR industry?
Read widely and read deeply. Acquire a firm understanding about how the PR industry is put together and look to specialise in a particular area. Follow relevant hashtags on LinkedIn and Twitter. Start to form your own opinion then codify and collate those opinions into your own blog. Writing about a subject is a wonderful way to better understand that subject. It is great way to showcase your mastery of the subject and mark yourself out from other graduates looking to enter the industry.

What’s your best pitch tip for PRs?
Never pitch blind. Know who you’re pitching to. Know what they’ve written or broadcast recently. Know their point of view. Understand their audience. Attempt to establish a degree of relationship before you need to pitch. That might mean following the journalist on social media, sharing their articles and commenting on them. My best pitch advice is to be useful to the journalist.

What other blogs do you read?
I am a major fan of Richard Bailey’s work at PR Place. He edits the site and his Friday morning round-up posts are a must-read for PR practitioners regardless of whether they are just starting out or well-established in their careers. I also enjoy talkinginfluence.com, stedavies.com, influenceonline.co.uk,orlaghclaire.com, and the Vuelio Blog natch!

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Breaking News

How long does a news story last?

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Research from Google Trends, in partnership with Schema and Axios, has found that the average ‘big’ news story lasts for around seven days before the public moves on to the next crisis.

The study, based in America, used Google Trends to look at a range of news stories throughout 2018 and found that searches for events — the Hawaii false missile alert or Thailand cave rescue, for example — seemed to deteriorate after just seven days.

Axios said: ‘The news cycles for some of the biggest moments of 2018 only lasted for a median of seven days — from the very beginning of higher-than-normal interest until the Google searches fizzled out.’

Research by Cornell University also found that bad news seems to go away faster than good news, with negative news hitting hard at first then disappearing while positive stories continue to ripple over many hours. 

Public searches are not the same as how long outlets report the story for, but one certainly informs the other. We looked at some of the biggest news stories in Google Trends from last year to see how long searches lasted in the UK. 

Seaborne Freight no deal Brexit ferries
First set of searches lasted for 12 days

Brits were shocked when they heard that a company with no ships had won the ferry contract in the case of a no-deal Brexit. From the point the story was first mentioned, searches lasted 12 days as people tried to learn more about this seemingly unknown transport company. A small peak occurred more recently when the topic was back in the news again after the contract was cancelled. 

Seabourne Freight Google Trends graph

Death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi
First set of searches lasted for two months

UK Google searches for Jamal Khashoggi rose when his name hit the headlines after he disappeared at the beginning of October. Rather than coming out all in one go, the story slowly revealed more details, which was mirrored in the searches that continued at a slower rate towards the end of last year. 

Jamal Khashoggi Google Trends graph

Chequers deal
First set of searches lasted for three weeks, the second lasted for 10 weeks

No big surprise that this search team came up a few times since it featured in the political headlines on multiple occasions over the last year. The most searches came when the plan was finalised, and when it was rejected by the EU. 

Chequers deal Google Trends graph

Salisbury poisoning
Searches continued throughout the year with the first drop at around 10 weeks

A story with lots of new developments will reoccur in search terms. For the Salisbury poisoning, searches never really stopped last year, but did peak a number of times as new information and details were shared.

Salisbury poisoning Google Trends graph

Beast from the East
First set of searches lasted for five weeks

If you were anywhere in the UK in February last year it would have been hard to miss the big snow storm nicknamed the ‘Beast from the East’. Although the storm took the country hostage and was trending on Twitter for days, searches for the storm only lasted about five weeks with a little peak again this winter as new bad weather fronts were being compared to the Beast.

Beast from the East Google Trends graph

When it comes to the lifespan of a story, if the media find new developments, then people will continue to search around the story. Things that directly impact people seem to have more searches, as well as anything slightly complicated that the audience wants clarification on.

Public searches are one thing, but what about your news stories in the press? Track your news stories throughout 2019 with Vuelio Media Monitoring.

Naomi Narrative, Naomi Lewis

Dating Blogger Spotlight: Naomi Lewis, Naomi Narrative

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Created by Naomi Lewis as a way to get things off her chest after a terrible date, Naomi Narrative is featured as one of our Top 10 Dating and Relationship blogs and focuses on all things sex, love, relationships and dating. Naomi shares why she will be posting even more about her relationship this year, why you should put away your phone during a date, and why she likes reading all about the different perspectives of dating. 

What’s in store for the blog in 2019?
This year, I’m getting personal. Of course, I’ll continue writing about all sorts in the world of dating, sex and relationships but I’ll be sharing bits and pieces about dates I’ve been on in the past – the good, the bad, and the ugly, and more about my current relationship. I think as much as it’s important to share advice and experience about dating when single, it’s equally important to share advice and experience about things that happen in a relationship. There’s too much faff on social media these days and at times, I feel people have totally unrealistic expectations of relationships – quickly forgetting that they take work, so more nitty gritty in store! 

What are your dating no-nos?
Where do I begin with a question like that? My biggest dating no-nos would be: 

  1. Don’t lie – You’ll always get found out in the end. Don’t use photos on dating apps from 20 years ago, don’t lie about your job, etc. You are who you are, and you want someone to find the you that you love. Simple. 
  2. Don’t be unhygienic – There’s nothing worse on a first date than meeting a modern man (or woman for that matter) who doesn’t seem to know how to brush their teeth or slap on a bit of deodorant. It’s not only poor hygiene, but it’s also common courtesy to keep yourself clean and fresh, not just when you’re dating!  
  3. Don’t be lazy – If you’re having a conversation, keep it going by returning a question with an answer and a question to follow, don’t continue to allow your potential partner to plan your dates and holidays. A relationship is a two-way street – you get what you give.  

How does Valentine’s Day affect your content?
As you can imagine, Valentine’s Day is a real hotspot for dating bloggers. You’re getting press releases and samples thrown at you left, right and centre. I wouldn’t say it affects my content as the bulk of my blog discusses dating, sex and relationships all year round. However, with that being said, I always feel that it’s important to remind people of the real meaning behind Valentine’s Day: it’s not about getting yourself into debt to lavish your significant other with material goods, it’s about setting aside some time and not letting life get in the way and celebrating your love for one another. Of course, I’m not saying don’t buy gifts if you like to do that, just don’t forget what it’s all about.  

What’s your idea of the perfect date?
I think the ‘perfect date’ is totally dependent on the two people involved. For instance, for two thrill-seeking go-getters, their ideas of a perfect date might be bungee jumping off a bridge in South America, whereas that’s probably my worst nightmare. I think that if the date is well thought out with the two people involved in mind – taking into consideration their likes and dislikes – alongside dedicating real, quality time to spend together (that means no phones or distractions), that could certainly be pretty perfect. Time and thought are key to showing someone that you really care. THAT’S romance.  

How has the rise of dating apps changed the dating scene?
There are an awful lot of pros and cons to dating apps. Unfortunately, dating apps have had a significantly negative impact on a lot of people – simply due to their very nature. People – both men and women – frequently describe themselves as feeling ‘disposable’. Now, with apps, there is access to so much ‘choice’ in terms of potential partners online that a lot of daters get FOMO and can’t seem to commit. However, on the flipside of that, apps allow you to meet and date people you may never have met in ‘real life’. It’s swings and roundabouts, but as long as you’re using the right apps for the right reasons – with the right attitude – they’re great. 

How do you work with brands for the blog?
I think the most successful way to work effectively with brands is to ensure your communication is spot on. Be totally clear about your requirements, and make sure they are clear about theirs. There are PRs and brands I’ve worked with on an on-going basis and the reason (I believe) it’s worked is because there has always been a clear brief from both ends, and everything’s totally transparent. With expectations and honesty from the outset, it becomes a really easy process for everyone to get what they want from a collaboration.  

What’s the best collaboration you’ve worked on?
I’m currently working with a brand called The Sway and I love it. Not just because of how we’re working together, but because of what they’re attempting to do. The Sway is a subscription box service, where every two months, you receive a pleasure package packed with products, toys, tips, hints – all based on a particular theme – which in essence, is to empower women to explore their sex lives. I adore the concept and think it’s going to be huge.  

What other blogs do you read?
I love reading other dating blogs, especially posts from Eve Greenow’s Never Settle and James Preece. Dating is something that affects everyone at every point in their lives so it’s great to be able to read about various topics and trends from differing perspectives.

Reach-the-right-influencers-with-the-Vuelio-media-database

Whatsapp

How to use Whatsapp to spread news

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WhatsApp is increasingly being used by news outlets to share content. The Reuters Digital News Report 2018 revealed another year-on-year increase in WhatsApp being used for news across the world.

This report also found that people use the words ‘honest’ and ‘reliable’ when describing WhatsApp, in comparison with ‘creepy’ and ‘ego-centric’ for social media’s big news-sharing platform, Facebook.

But it’s not just Facebook’s ‘creepy’ side that is making it less relevant for news. Changes in the Facebook algorithm mean news is less of a priority in the platform and has forced publishers to look for an alternative way to distribute news.

In light of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook also now faces issues with trust, whereas WhatsApp’s use of end-to-end encryption means that messages are only seen by the sender and recipient, and cannot be intercepted or changed.

Of course, it’s worth noting that WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, so gains by one platform are not necessarily losses for the other.

Reach plc’s Nottinghamshire Live is an avid user of WhatsApp for sharing its top news stories. At newsrewired, Natalie Fahy, digital editor at the outlet, talked about how they make the most of the channel.

Natalie explained how they started by sharing ‘what’s on’ and lifestyle news, but people were calling out for the ‘real news’. They set a format of sending one teatime message a day – in order not to overload people – containing links to three news stories.

They found this process worked especially well for building a more loyal audience and encouraging people to regularly click through to the news stories. People were more engaged on the channel, even providing additional information in relation to published stories.

Natalie has written about how Nottingham Live uses WhatsApp, growing the service to over 3,500 subscribers through trial and error and the introduction of breaking news alerts.

For PR professionals, signing up to news outlets’ WhatsApp channels can be a great way to stay on top of the news that is important to you, spot trends and seize on opportunities for additional comment and brand information. However, this blessing can also be a curse because – due to the encryption – news on Whatsapp can’t be monitored.

Frank Marr

7 tips for creating an award-winning campaign

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Planning your PR and marketing campaigns for 2019? AM+A Marketing and Media Relations has picked up two awards in 2018: the Campaign Challenges Award at the PRCA Dare Awards and the Arts, Culture or Sport Campaign 2018 at the CIPR Excellence Awards – both were for its work on the Paisley UK City of Culture 2021 campaign.

Here, the agency’s managing director, Frank Marr, reveals seven tips for creating an award-winning campaign, from developing a cross channel strategy to improving your web ranking.

1. Campaign Creativity
The most effective campaigns are often down to the creative process. Ideas can come from anywhere and anyone. Once an idea is there it’s just a matter of strategically managing it. Using creativity to build brand stories and memorable content is a key way to entice your customers.

2. Campaign Strategy
It’s vital to have a clear outline of how a creative idea can be brought to life – whether it’s the development of a new product or a seasonal celebration. You should always start with a timeline of asset creation, media communication and which platforms you need.

3. In-house & Freelance Team Assets Creation
Decide which assets will be required from an exciting video and imagery to infographics and promotional material. Consider cross-platform social media material, signing up influencers and managing data capture with tracking links.

4. Improving Web Ranking: AdWords & PPC
If the creative campaign focuses on a new package, there are often opportunities to get a competitive advantage by reviewing low performing or non-existent AdWords. Look at how your organisation can boost its web ranking by creating new search engine terms.

5. Press Office, Contacts & Media Trip Programme
Whether you’re planning a short campaign or a 12 to 24 month promotion, communicating the right messages to gain the media’s attention is key. Make sure you’ve planned your media lists, media assets and a campaign timeline. If you’re doing a product launch or exclusive event, make sure you get the media to the right place at the right time, considering when you want the publicity to appear.

6. Social Media Campaign & Owned Online Content
Find stories around your campaign that aren’t necessarily commercially oriented but do create a story that benefits the reader. From your owned content, you can implement a strong tone of voice on social media, engage with influencers and promote campaign messages. Pre-plan your budgets for targeted posts, core target audiences and geo locations.

7. Sales & Results
Measure Google Analytics, monitor online engagement and tweak content as you go to maximise brand reach and monitor the scale of publicity.

AM+A can be found sharing PR and marketing tips on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

Ready to make an award-winning campaign? Find out how Vuelio can help.

The future of social media for comms

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The way that PR and comms teams are using social media channels is changing, with more focus on paid campaigns and less on customer service.

Last week, the PRCA’s Digital PR and Communications Report found that the majority (55%) of marketing budgets is now being spent on paid social media advertising. Buffer’s 2018 State of Social survey found that businesses using social media advertisements are more than twice as likely to report social media marketing as ‘very effective’, which, on top of algorithm changes, may be why brands are more eager to spend more on social.

Social media being used for customer service had its biggest drop, to 35% this year – 11% down on 2017 and 21% since 2015. But it’s not just the way social media is being used, there’s also been changes in who is creating the content and where it’s being posted.

Who is creating social content?
Over 57% of respondents said their social media content is created by the PR and comms departments, an increase of 12% from the last two years. Dedicated social media teams are down by 28% from 2014, at just 12%, showing the move to more mixed-role responsibilities in PR. In the CIPR State of the Profession survey this year, social media relations was rated as an activity undertaken by 54% of respondents, 65% of those in non-managerial roles. This shows that it is definitely still an integral part of comms.

What are the biggest challenges?
The PRCA found that both lack of staff and lack of time have increased as reasons why brands are not using social media. Lack of budget and fear of attack from campaigners also remain high.

Which channels are brands using?
91% of agencies and 94% of in-house comms teams say they use Twitter, followed closely by Facebook. The use of Snapchat and Pinterest has dropped, while Instagram has increased to 56% in-house and 70% in agencies. In the next 12 months 78% of agency respondents expect to use the platform.

Looking at Google Trends, there’s been a decrease in people searching for the term ‘social media marketing’ since its peak in April 2017. Facebook marketing hit its high in February 2011, Twitter marketing in October 2014, and Snapchat marketing in April 2016 – although it’s always been relatively low compared with the others. Instagram marketing is the exception as it continues to grow in search volume.

Social media comms google trends

Social media certainly isn’t on its way out, but brands will need to adapt to make the most of the platforms.

Instagram is up, Snapchat is down. Platforms like Twitch will start to take the limelight as brands search for new ways to reach more engaged audiences. Social will be used more and more as part of integrated campaigns, and paid is likely to be more important than ever.

Ready to plan and implement your social media campaign? Find out how Vuelio can help. 

Channel 4 in Leeds

Did Leeds agencies win over Channel 4?

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Channel 4 has announced its new headquarters – outside of London – will be based in Leeds, ending a lengthy pitching process and fierce competition. Leeds defeated many other cities, including Manchester, Cardiff and Birmingham, to be named the new home of some 300 Channel 4 staff – but how much of this was down to the creative agencies, PRs and marketers who banded together for the All in. Leeds campaign?

All In. Leeds was launched at the beginning of September by Leeds Council and over 50 agencies as a collective effort to showcase creativity in the region. Initially presenting a ‘love letter’ to Channel 4 – thanking them for prompting the creation of All In. Leeds – at the campaign’s heart was a manifesto that aims to shape the future of the creative sector in five areas: education, community, talent & diversity, businesses and creativity.

All five manifesto pledges are linked by the agencies’ desire to work together, as a collective, for the greater good of creativity in the city and region.

This collective undoubtedly played a part in the city’s victory, as Channel 4 said, in its official announcement, that Leeds is home to ‘a thriving digital industry and a strong digital talent pool’, which will help support Channel 4’s new Digital Creative Unit.

Alex Mahon, chief executive of Channel 4, said: ‘Leeds put forward a compelling and ambitious strategy for how they could work alongside Channel 4 to further build the strong independent production sector in the city and develop new diverse talent from across the region. Locating our National HQ in Leeds enables us to capitalise on a strong and fast-growing independent production sector in cities across the North of England.’

The move is a huge opportunity for agencies outside of London and signals a potential shift in the future of the media landscape. Channel 4 was forced into this decision by the Government, and it may now open the floodgates for more regionally-diverse media representation across the country.

Good news, perhaps, for the three Leeds-based PR agencies that are big enough to appear on PRWeek’s Top 150 – the industry’s barometer for PR success – but maybe a concern for the 122 that are London-based. A surge in regional PR offices is now likely, as PRs look to remain close with decision makers and stakeholders increasingly spread out across the country.

This is all opportunity for PRs, but perhaps the biggest opportunity is the results that can come out of working together. All In. Leeds showed how simple it is to work together and how many common goals competing agencies have. It’s a reminder of the power of the existing collectives in industry – the CIPR and PRCA – and a reminder that PR is buoyant and strong in its own right.

Congratulations Leeds, we’re excited to see what’s next.

University of Westminster

How Vuelio improved the University of Westminster’s media outreach

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The University of Westminster has an international reputation and strives to ensure the very highest standards are met and maintained. We spoke to Poppy Crispin, Head of Communications at the University, to find out more about the university, why it needed an integrated platform and how Vuelio has improved its media outreach and reporting.

The University of Westminster
The University of Westminster boasts a vibrant learning environment attracting more than 20,000 students from over 150 nations and we continue to invest in our future with new developments, research projects and new ideas.

We offer highly attractive practice-based courses that are independently rated as excellent, many with international recognition. Our distinguished 180-year history has meant we lead the way in many areas of research, particularly politics, media, art and design, architecture and biomedical sciences, and our position in the city of London allows us to continue to build on our close connections with leading figures and organisations in these areas as well as in the worlds of business, information technology, politics and law.

Our commitment to educating graduates for the needs of professional life attracts high quality students from within the UK and around the globe.

Internationalisation, employability and sustainability are key elements in the University of Westminster’s vision for the future and we strive to ensure the very highest standards are met and maintained.

The PR department uses the Vuelio Media Database and Media Monitoring to support our reactive and proactive media engagement work to promote the University and to create PR Reports shared across the University to demonstrate our outreach and impact each month.

The Challenge
Before using Vuelio we were unable to create effective media lists, target the right journalists or report on our coverage in a holistic way. We wanted a system that would provide monitoring and database in one, that could accommodate international and national media and all the tags and categories we need to represent a large scale international university.

The Solution
The initial demo was really good and I saw features in all areas that would support our work.

Vuelio offered the best value for money, a single platform for our needs but also have a dedicated Higher Education team who understand the needs of a university.

Vuelio is our one stop shop for easy and accurate media outreach and reporting.

We get daily monitoring through Vuelio enabling us to stay on top of breaking stories. We are also able to create bespoke monitoring to cover major campaigns individually and deliver these to key stakeholders across the university. We are able to create media lists and issue statements to relevant journalists at home and abroad, creating an international reach for the university and strengthening our relationships with media at home.

Our account manager Katherine has been fantastic – she is always responsive and has been really helpful in troubleshooting issues that always occur when using a new system. She has also been instrumental in enacting changes we have requested that can be used across the Vuelio system.

Benefits and Results
Our reporting is now more accurate and detailed, and we are able to create individual reports for different people and campaigns.

We are able to quickly find the right contacts for quotes and campaigns and have expanded our reach in the media exponentially.

 

Find out more about how Vuelio saves clients time and money here. 

Fred

How Vuelio improved Fred Marketing’s media outreach

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Fred Marketing is a full-service marketing agency based in Hull. We spoke to Mat Ombler, PR Account Manager at Fred, who told us how Vuelio is a ‘blessing’ for the agency’s media outreach, with accurate information in the influencer database and a responsive platform to help prove ROI to clients. 

Fred Marketing
One of our core services is PR and we distribute a lot of press releases as a result. We needed access to a database of media contacts that’s regularly updated with useful information to help us tailor any pitches accordingly. We also needed a responsive platform to help us pull coverage reports quickly and efficiently with as much detailed information as possible to show the value of our PR activity to clients. And we wanted to monitor keywords related to our clients and keep an eye on what other businesses in our clients’ sectors are up to.

The Challenge
We struggled with our previous media database supplier because the platform was very slow and unresponsive, making it very difficult to search for contacts as well as create and distribute press releases. We also found that contacts on the platform weren’t being regularly updated – in one case we discovered a reporter had left the publication we believed he was working at six months ago! Any problems we did report usually took a long time to get a response back to – at least two to three working days.

Since moving to Vuelio we’ve felt more in control of our PR and saved a significant amount of time. The team coded all of our press release templates into HTML, making all of our communications consistent and on-brand, as well as saving us time.

The Solution
The initial demo of the product was great and one of the main things that stood out to us was how detailed the information was on individual contacts on the platform. We were also surprised to see an editorial calendar containing feature lists for a variety of different publications, both offline and in print, saving us a lot of time for forward planning.

The account management and support overall has been fantastic, completely overshadowing our previous supplier. Any problems we do encounter on the platform are quickly resolved within a few hours. We receive a response within the hour for any enquiries we have– although it’s usually minutes! Knowing that there’s someone at the other end of the platform who is there to support you really makes a big difference and makes you feel valued. The onboarding process and training process for new staff members here has been fantastic too.

Benefits and Results
Finding the right contacts is now much easier than ever before and we no longer feel like we have to cross check every single contact with their social media platforms to ensure they’re still working at the place the platform says they are!

Because the platform doesn’t crash and works quickly, it’s saved us a lot of valuable time.

Vuelio is a blessing when it comes to media engagement, providing us with the information we need on who to contact, how to contact them and when to contact them.

 

Find out more about how Vuelio saves clients time and money here. 

Nigel Milton

How Heathrow used an integrated campaign to win its third runway

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Nigel Milton, director of communications at Heathrow Airport, recently spoke at the CIPR’s Influence Live event and explained how the airport went from being called ‘Heathrow Hassle’ to having its third runway approved by Government.

Heathrow airport is the busiest in Europe, with some 78 million passengers passing through it in 2017. It’s also recently had plans for a third runway approved – fulfilling the UK’s need for increased air traffic capacity.

But getting to this point wasn’t an easy journey; while a third runway was initially supported by Gordon Brown’s Government in 2009, the policy and politics all changed when the coalition Government came to power and immediately scrapped it.

Milton told Influence Live that when he joined in 2010, the airport already had the reputation of a ‘national embarrassment’, with ‘Heathrow Hassle’ in the lexicon. This made finding political supporters almost impossible.

So, how did they manage to turn it around? With the help of an international event, the London Mayor and an integrated campaign like no other.

In 2012, London hosted the Olympics and Heathrow became the official airport of the games. For Milton, it was an opportunity to reset the dial as the Games could effectively make or break the airport’s fortunes. In Milton’s own words, they ‘nailed it’.

Part of the success was leaving nothing to chance. Not only did Heathrow prepare for the oddly-shaped luggage carried by international athletes (oars, bikes, racquets etc), it also increased spending on toilet maintenance because, bizarrely, the number one factor that makes a difference to someone’s opinion of an airport is the cleanliness of the toilets.

Major incident-free, the London Olympics were a huge success for Heathrow and, what’s more, the Government had changed its position on the need to expand UK airport capacity. This policy reversal was, in no small part, thanks to the London Mayor at the time, Boris Johnson.

While Johnson may have more recently been elected as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip with the promise there would be no third runway at Heathrow, he was at the time considered the airport’s champion politician – Milton said, ‘Without Boris, we wouldn’t have secured a third runway’. Johnson had argued that London needed more airport capacity, favouring the creation of an island in the Thames. While this wasn’t realised – his desire for more capacity was and so the long road to an extra runway began again for Heathrow.

The success of the Olympics put Heathrow in a strong position for its runway plans, as it could now trade on its national and international reputation of excellence, making it the frontrunner for expansion.

Milton’s approach was two-fold, a public relations campaign was designed to bring everyone, from its staff and local residents to Scottish businesses, on board and a public affairs campaign to gain political support.

The airport’s four business priorities were at the centre of its PR campaign:

  • Mojo – getting staff onside by making the airport a great place to work and risk-free when increasing staff numbers
  • Service transformation – proving it can deliver the best service for passengers and airlines
  • Beating the business plan – staying ahead of its plans so it could meet deadlines and expectations
  • Sustainable growth – working with local communities to impact them negatively as little as possible and positively as much as possible

The campaign was complex, with thousands of stakeholders to be considered, influenced and managed. It required a national strategy, and the airport reviewed both passenger and freight journeys, so it could prove that it wasn’t just London’s airport, but Britain’s airport. It got Scottish business to back the plans, explaining the benefits locally because, Milton explained, ‘My accent saying Heathrow expansion is good for Scotland, in Scotland, means nothing compared to a Scottish accent saying it’.

The PR fed into the public affairs, Heathrow using the wins up and down the country to gain additional political support. It also polled politicians to show MPs they were not alone in their support. With a comprehensive integrated campaign that took everything into consideration, Heathrow was successful and a third runway has now been approved.

But the challenge isn’t over yet, as Milton is all too aware. When Vuelio asked if he was planning for a change in Government, Milton responded that yes – administrations and policies change and Heathrow was still preparing for every eventuality.

Do you want to run successful campaigns that combine public relations and public affairs? With Vuelio, everything you need is in one place, on one platform. Find out more.

Elton John

What PR did on its holidays – 6 inspirational campaigns from the summer

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Summer is over, the Hogwarts Express has departed Platform 93/4 and it’s time to go back to school. But getting back into the swing of things can be daunting after the holidays, and it is often difficult to find the inspiration for an excellent end to the year.

Not everyone was on holiday this summer and many PRs have been truly outstanding while creating brilliant campaigns. We’ve rounded up 6 of the best to give you the inspiration you need to have a killer year.

1. The celebrity campaign – Snickers and Elton John
Snickers has bagged one of the biggest names in pop (ever) as part of its ‘You’re not you when you’re hungry’ campaign. The video features Elton John in a rap battle, singing his own song, until he eats a Snickers and turns back into the rapper he actually is. It’s simple, it’s consistent with the existing campaign and it’s quite funny. The agency is AMV BBDO – check out the video below:

 

2. The reactive campaign – Kit Kat’s proposal
Back in June, Kit Kat inadvertently became the subject of a viral tweet:

Kit Kat – and its agencies Ketchum and Anomoly – got in touch with the boyfriend and together they planned a Kit Kat-themed marriage proposal using a custom-made Kit Kat ring box. Thankfully, #SheSaidYes, and the campaign was completed less than a month after the original tweet:

 

3. The undercover campaign – Will Smith, JUST water and Boots
Will Smith working in Boots. No, really. Will Smith dressed as a Boots employee and promoted his son’s JUST water brand in the Westfield branch. The campaign generated a heap of public attention within the shopping centre and an amazing video.

Boots has partnered with the eco-friendly water brand for its UK rollout and benefitted hugely from the celebrity connection. Obviously, this campaign is easier if your dad is one of the most famous actors on the planet.

 

4. The stunt – NOW TV’s #JurassicJeff
This campaign was fairly basic in its creation and execution but, as is always the way with communications, simple is best. NOW TV placed a giant statue of seductive Jeff Goldblum next to Tower Bridge to celebrate 25 years of Jurassic Park. The oversized model hit social media during a quiet news spell and managed to generate lots of coverage in the mainstream press. Not bad considering NOW TV were just promoting the fact they stream the film:

 

5. The print campaign – Stabilo’s highlighters
Print campaigns sometimes trend on social media for all the wrong reasons, but Stabilo’s ‘Highlight the remarkable’ campaign went viral for all the right ones. The simple campaign displayed historical photos with a yellow highlighter picking out a significant woman from a massive human achievement. The campaign hit all the right buttons, championing amazing women from history who are so often overlooked, while showing the simplicity of its product. The agency was DDB Germany, and the ads can be seen on PR Examples.

 

6. The political statement campaign – Trump balloon
The campaign from 13 July already has its own Wikipedia page. The ‘Donald Trump baby balloon’ was flown above Parliament Square to protest the visit of the American president in the UK. Paid for through crowd-funding (raising £16,000) the six-metre tall Trump blimp (Trimp?) drew a massive amount of attention online and in print, extended by the fact it followed the President to Scotland as he took a rare break to play golf.

The balloon upset many who believed it was disrespectful. A group crowd funded £58,182 to create a Sadiq Khan in a bikini copycat campaign, possibly expecting it not to be approved.  It was and Sadiq Khan even joked about it, so that campaign fell rather flat.

Whether this is now the new ‘floating something down the Thames’, remains to be seen.

 

How are you planning your campaigns? How are you informing the press, measuring your coverage and results, and presenting this to the board? Whether it’s a PR stunt, political campaign or reactive tweet, Vuelio has everything you need on one platform.  

press release blueprint feature

The Press Release Blueprint

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The Press Release Blueprint cover

One of the essential building blocks of PR and media relations, the press release, has endured as a way of communicating with journalists and, more recently, digital audiences online.

Download the white paper by filling out the form below.

How to create an award winning campaign II

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How do you create an award-winning campaign that challenges consumer perceptions?

Creative PR specialist Tin Man knows how – as its recent win at the CIPR Excellence Awards shows. Its #ISeeMore campaign tackled the challenge of getting young girls to consider careers in engineering for The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).

Join Mandy Sharp, founder and CEO of Tin Man, and Hannah Kellett, External Communications Manager, The Institution of Engineering and Technology, as they explain why the campaign worked, what it takes to win awards and what lessons can be taken from their success.

Award Winning Campaign II

Diversity in Comms – How the PR and comms industry can improve

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The PR and comms industry is not diverse enough, but the Taylor Bennett Foundation is trying to change that. Taylor Bennett Foundation alumnus Kuldeep Mehmi tells his own inside story of diversity in the industry and what we can all do to improve it.

Listen to the recording to hear how Kuldeep has worked his way to the top and learn:

  • How diverse our industry truly is and why diversity matters
  • What the Taylor Bennett Foundation is doing to promote diversity and how you can help
  • How we can change attitudes to improve the PR and comms industry

Diversity in comms webinar

Crisis Comms – Lessons from Greater Manchester Police

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What if a crisis is a matter of when, not if? What if it’s both unpredictable and inevitable? What can you do to make sure you expect the unexpected?

Amanda Coleman is one person who knows how to stay cool in a crisis.

As head of corporate communications at Greater Manchester Police, Amanda has been through some challenging times, including last year’s Manchester Arena terrorist attack and the August 2011 riots.

Amanda has learned valuable lessons from every crisis she’s been through and will share all of them with you on an exclusive Vuelio webinar.

Crisis Comms webinar

Amanda Coleman

5 Crisis Comms lessons with Greater Manchester Police’s Amanda Coleman

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Amanda Coleman recently presented the Vuelio webinar: Crisis Comms, Lessons from Greater Manchester Police. Amanda, who is head of corporate communications at GMP, talked us through the Manchester Arena bombing and the importance of keeping people at the heart of your response.

The webinar included a live Q&A, but due to the flood of questions coming in, we didn’t have time to answer them all. Amanda has very kindly found time to answer the rest, so we can present five (additional) Crisis Comms lessons.

Can you walk us through exactly what steps you took after the Manchester Arena attack?
The on-call press officer was contacted and called me, as head of branch, to run through a tweet we were putting out to say we knew something was happening and that we would provide further updates. That was sent out without any further authorisation around 20 minutes after the first call to police.

A more detailed statement confirming it was an explosion and that there were fatalities went out 40 minutes after the first call coming in. Regular updates were provided via Twitter and the first press conference was given by the Chief Constable at 3am and then another at 7am. During the night there were four staff in and we worked closely with the operational commander to ensure we could provide accurate and timely information.

I spoke to heads of communications in key agencies including Manchester City Council, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, and British Transport Police during the night. In the first few hours it was about preserving and protecting life and that had to be our focus. There was so much more we did after but that gives you the initial response.

What did you learn from the Manchester attack? What didn’t go well and what would you have done differently? Did you have any issues with other public services?
With every major incident there is a huge amount of learning. For me, it is very much along the lines of what I said within the webinar: people have to be at the centre of everything, welfare must be a priority for organisations and we need to be better at recognising the impact on us as comms teams.

I was really clear about what I would have done differently on the webinar, and that is to call for mutual aid much quicker. We also needed to recognise that the national plans would not fit and the liaison between the national counter terrorism communication structures in London and us in Manchester was going to add some delays into our plans. Working with the partners and other public services was good and, because we knew each other, we were able to have open conversations from very early on in the night. We have a strong network and meet regularly, so working between services was much easier to manage.

Do you ever have situations needing internal crisis communications at Greater Manchester Police?
Yes and the approach is very similar. We need to provide an open and honest response, provide timely information and do it over the whole lifetime of the event or incident. Being visible from the top of the organisation is also critical. Above all, keep the views of the people affected at the heart of how you decide to respond.

Do you have any experience of benefiting from ‘coming clean’ before a crisis is otherwise revealed/comes to light?
Being proactive is at the heart of communication for me. We should ask why we are not providing information rather than why we should provide information. If organisations or businesses look like they are withholding information, even if it is not the situation, then it will lead to concern and will impact on confidence. We have to make sure that we are as transparent as possible even when this may be challenging.

Can you provide any examples of poor crisis comms?
This is difficult as I know that often the response we see is something that may have been challenged by comms teams but senior executives take a different approach. For me, it is anything that fails to keep people at the heart of it, and which may appear overly legalistic. Thomas Cook is one I have mentioned before in relation to the death of two children in 2006.

If you want to focus on people during a crisis, take the pain out of process. Find out more about Vuelio and how it can help. 

Coming home

6 PR Goals for a winning 90 minutes

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Want to go one better than England? Score six quick PR goals in the next 90 minutes AND keep a clean sheet.

1. Research, research, research
No journalist, blogger, member of the public or politician is going to take you seriously if they don’t think you know what you’re talking about. In-house? Take 15 minutes to read the latest news and features on your company’s sector. Agency? If you specialise in a sector, great, take 20 minutes to read about the latest news – especially anything that’s about your clients. No specialism? Focus on just one area you have important clients in; you can catch up on the others later, tomorrow or next week.

2. Grow your network
Take 15 minutes to find new contacts that are relevant to your sector. Make sure their bio says they work with comms and check out their latest content to see if it’s a good fit for a future pitch (football or otherwise). If you grow your network by just five people each week, you’ll know an extra 260 people at the end of the year.

3. Send out a comment
It may be one of the simplest press releases to create, but journalists are always keen to hear from experts to add colour and richness to the news. If you work in sport, you should be all over this after the weekend saw the Queen’s tennis final, Lewis Hamilton’s victory in the French Grand Prix and signs from the World Cup that football possibly IS coming home. If sport’s not your thing, check out the political headlines, or any news headlines and see where your management or clients could intelligently add to the news agenda. And check what’s coming up; planned events (whether it’s the World Cup or otherwise) give you time to plan comments in advance.

Half time
Take a break and have lunch – you’re only human.

4. Check out the competition
Don’t make this an obsession; it can be easy to be so focused on your competitors that you lose sight of what you’re doing (and probably doing well). Take 20 minutes to run through your competitor monitoring, see what’s being said, and check if they’re controlling the conversation or if the conversation is controlling them. Staying on top of the competition is a great way to benchmark your own brand, spot opportunities and avoid abject failures.

5. Prove your worth
How often do we hear that PR and comms have to prove themselves to get a seat at the table? Why won’t the c-suite take our industry, and its value to their business, seriously? Take 25 minutes to prove your worth by putting together proof of your success, and show how you are meeting your objectives. Maybe you’ve achieved coverage, maybe you’ve got your CEO on TV, maybe sales have increased off the back of a viral campaign, or maybe your business is now the number one in your sector. Whatever it is, measure it and own it.

6. Call Vuelio – 0203 426 4125
We’re in stoppage time, but that’s okay because it only takes one minute to call Vuelio and get the software you need to achieve your goals. Want a database of amazing media and political contacts, with detailed bios to help you target them? No problem. Need a distribution service that targets your network and includes special features so you are GDPR compliant? Easy. How about monitoring that keeps track of your sector, your company and your competition so you know what’s being said and by whom? Certainly. And high-level analysis, showing levels of coverage and campaign success, with beautiful reports and presentations that can be shared with a simple link? Naturally.

Vuelio has everything you need to make your life easy and takes the pressure out of the game. Whether it’s our Influencer Database, News Distribution or Canvas – Vuelio’s integrated software is in your starting XI so you know you’re guaranteed a win.

Train

How integration improved Greater Anglia’s PR

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Public relations has never been an industry that relies on one skill set or a single speciality. As the PRCA’s recent census showed, PR and communications covers a vast array of disciplines from reputation management and strategy planning to writing articles, SEO and sales promotion.

Your role is increasingly diverse, so the last thing you need is lots of different platforms when you want to manage everything in one place. That’s why Vuelio is fully integrated software to cater for all your needs, whether it’s finding new influencers to build relationships with, monitoring your coverage (and automatically linking it to your distribution), creating reports and proving how awesome you are or managing relationships with the press, clients and public.

True integration takes the hard work out of PR. But don’t take our word for it – Juliette Maxam, media manager at Greater Anglia, told us how Vuelio’s integrated platform has made their PR ‘seamless’.

Find out more about integrated software

Greater Anglia

The problem
Before Vuelio, we were collating press coverage manually, reading everything individually and producing our own analysis – it was a hugely time-consuming process. Now, Vuelio has freed up our time so we can focus on the PR we want to do.

The solution
Vuelio has given us to ability to do a number of things on one platform.

We distribute press releases, which makes things much easier to send out, and the monitoring allows us to track our coverage back to the releases – it’s seamless. The distribution is also great for sending out pictures and video, and allows us to see who is opening and not opening releases, so we can better manage our follow up.

One of the best features is the media analysis and reporting – it is so flexible and allows us to drill down into so many different topic areas and analyse enquiries. Also, the charts are presented clearly in the graphic dashboard and we can customise different parts. So, with things like sentiment, we can tweak individual articles, which is much quicker than having to do each one manually (like we did before).

The reporting function is useful for a number of reasons, from when we’re internally asked how well a particular release or campaign has done, for example the new range of trains, to creating regular reports for different teams. And, because we can tag all our coverage, it allows us to easily report on different areas, like competitors.

We also use Vuelio to log press enquiries, giving us a record of what we did in the past. The media team finds it particularly useful as they can easily see what (and when) previous enquiries were made.

And we use Canvas, which we really like – it allows us to quickly and easily send a single link out with all our coverage in one place.

Joining Vuelio
With Vuelio, everything is all in one place, and everything is connected. We can see how much coverage we’re getting and for what releases, which will ultimately make planning future campaigns more successful.

The whole process of joining Vuelio, from our first point of contact, was really good. The Vuelio team worked really hard, especially as I feel like we were really demanding with what we wanted, including good value for money. The set up was also great; one of our requirements has been face-to-face customer support and that’s what’s happened – which is really important for us.

Vuelio is a really useful, efficient and smart way of distributing press releases, tracking enquiries and analysing our coverage.

Ready for integrated software? Fill in this form and we’ll be in touch.