95% of comms from PRs is crap

‘95% of comms from PRs is crap’ – is Amol Rajan right?

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Amol Rajan, media editor at the BBC, gave a speech at the PR360 and Media360 gala dinner last week, in which he made the claim that 95% of comms from PRs is crap. He said this comms is: ‘insulting, infuriating, irrelevant or a waste of time, or some combination of all of those’. Is he right?

Before we go further, it’s worth pointing out that Rajan doesn’t believe it’s all doom and gloom – he explained that the remaining 5% ‘makes all that crap worth it’, but this is a silver lining at best.

The short answer to whether Rajan is right is obviously no, PR comms is so much more than media outreach, which is surely the bulk of what Rajan is talking about. And we do hear this at Vuelio, whether it’s from journalists and editors like Rajan or freelancers, bloggers and social influencers, there’s a sense that some PRs are sending irrelevant, see-what-sticks comms in the hopes for success-by-numbers.

Losing control
But this isn’t the bulk of PR work, nor is it a majority of PRs. As Rajan continued, he said, in relation to public narratives: ‘All of us in this room have to a very significant degree have lost control, and taking it back is impossible. A lot of people think of this as democracy in action. But when it comes to controlling the reputation of a brand or an individual, or crisis management, I think a better description is anarchy.’

This suggest Rajan does have a more comprehensive understanding of PR, and that bad press releases is not where his issue really lies. Is this more problematic for PR? Perhaps not. The suggestion that everyone is losing control of public narratives highlights this not as a PR problem but as the entire media industry’s problem.

The rise of social media has to some extent given power to the people, but more so to the social media companies – the data aggregators who curate our experience online.

So, while direct access to individuals, businesses and leaders is surely a good thing for a democratic society, algorithms are creating oft-maligned echo chambers, and where once both PRs and journalist had control over their own, and others’, stories, that power has slowly slipped away.

What’s the solution?
Rajan offered two pieces of direction, if not full advice: ‘It means recognising the yawning demographic divide whereby reaching young and old increasingly happens on completely different platforms and channels, both of which require time and expertise to master.

‘It means realising, frankly, that your contacts book is not only constantly out of date, but is becoming more out of date by the minute.’

Let’s take these one at a time – no one in PR should be targeting their audience, via influencers or others, through one channel. Rajan breaks it down into young and old, but the truth is there’s a variety of reasons and demographic details that defines how someone consumes media, where they consume media and how they consume your narrative.

It’s not just about social media, either. It’s understanding the difference between all channels and mediums you and your audience use – that may be one of the myriad social platforms, print media (newspapers, local news or magazines), digital media or face-to-face at events or political surgeries. What’s important is you continue to understand, track and react to the way your target audience behaves.

As Rajan points out, it’s all of our jobs to stay on top of the tech and developments in the media, so we continue to reach our audience – our stakeholders – in the right places and understand how best to create messages for different platforms.

And then there’s Rajan’s final point – your contacts book is becoming out of date by the minute. We’re not sure we agree with that. Obviously, Rajan doesn’t use a media database that is continually updated by an in-house research team, which also allows you to record relationship status and search for new contacts based on the topics they’re covering today, right now.

Amol Rajan does not have the Vuelio Media Database, but he is listed on it. Whether it’s journalists, editors, broadcasters, bloggers, vloggers or social influencers – make sure your contacts book is always up to date; get a free demo of the Vuelio Media Database today.

Motor verso Paul Hadley

Automotive blog spotlight: Paul Hadley, Motor Verso

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Paul Hadley is the founder and editor of Motor Verso, a top 10 automotive blog. Joined by a team of writers, Paul tests the latest cars and products, helping consumers get a real impression of the cars to make the right purchasing decision. We caught up with Paul to find out about his blog’s audience, the effect of electric vehicles (EVs) on the industry and what advice Paul has for automotive PRs.

What content creation are you planning for the blog in 2019?
Every year we try to grow our audience size by focusing on content creation and delivering informative and current features to our readers. An example of this is we spent days researching the cheapest cars available to buy in the UK then created a high-value article that summarises all you need to know in one place. There will be more of this as the year goes on.

On another note, we are constantly striving to create high-quality car features. We have organised a trip around the Scottish Highlands to show off one of the latest SUVs and this will be a great opportunity to take some scenic pictures of the car.

How important is your audience to your content creation?
The audience is the most important part of our content creation. We focus our website traffic on organic search, so we typically start with a topic and then research the keywords that people are searching for. This tells us what readers want to know, so we can create the most informative content to please them. A good example of this approach is that we wanted to offer some guidance regarding the cost of car tax in the UK as this is a confusing area. We used tools such as Ahrefs to do the keyword research, then filled out the content to answer all the questions in one article. Our aim is to assist our audience as much as possible.

Porsche

Which social media channels work best for automotive (and why)?
For many years, using Facebook has led to hits on our website. However, it is a pay to play option for businesses. Our organic reach on Facebook is down overall and most posts need some kind of budget behind them for greater influence. However, we are not complaining as Facebook ads is a great way to target attention on our content creation and has worked well for us in the past.

What’s your all-time favourite car?
As you can imagine, we get asked this all the time. You could ask me three times in one day and get three different answers. But one that often comes up is the Tesla Model S P100D. I just love its straight-down-the-line supercar-killing performance and all the gadgets. Failing that, I would be happy with a large SUV like the Volvo XC60 T8, which I think is a good balance between raw power and usability.

What car do you currently drive?
For the past year between testing other cars, I have been driving a generation one Nissan Leaf to learn about electric cars and their infrastructure and create content around this. That has just been sold and I have replaced it with a Volkswagen Golf GTI. It should be a good compromise between fun and practicality. Throughout the year we will be creating content around this VW icon.

Which marque should we be keeping an eye on in 2019?
The Tesla Model 3 should be an intriguing proposition. A UK release date has not been confirmed as of yet, but it may be later this year. This vehicle could be the most interesting car to hit the roads here in a long time.

Tesla

How will/are EVs changing the landscape of the automotive industry?
I have some experience in this area after owning an EV for one year and testing many other models and using the charging infrastructure.

The problems with the charging infrastructure will need to be sorted out as demand increases. Even in 2019, living with an EV takes planning and consideration if your model has a shorter range than 200 miles per charge. Charge points can be out of order, combustion engine vehicles park in the bays and there can be long queues at the charge points. It isn’t as simple as it first appears.

But we will see more EVs being released and being purchased and they are credible replacements for the combustion engine in a lot of cases, but this transition will take time.

What about driverless cars?
Today we see a lot of assistive systems in the cars we test, such as motorway focused cruise control technology. However, these systems are meant to be used when you are fully alert and have your hands on the wheel.

Motor verso Volvo

Though they are not fully autonomous, they give you a flavour of driving in the near future. These systems will work well in some environments but not too well in others, I think. Again, it will take time for this to develop and be rolled out at scale on the roads.

What are the best PR campaigns you’ve collaborated on?
For me, one of the most enjoyable campaigns was working with Volkswagen to raise awareness about their hot hatches during the launch of the up! GTI. We got to spend the day on Ascari race circuit in Spain with the up!, Polo and Golf GTi. It was a great demonstration of just how capable these cars are and led to some great content created about the GTI range.

Motor verso

What advice would you give PRs in the automotive industry?
This is an interesting question. I think often with automotive PRs, I see lots of money being spent that could be used more wisely. I would encourage them to learn about effectively auditing an online outlet for readership and value before making decisions about working with a publication. I think if brands were more aware of a website’s readership, then they would get a greater return on their investments all year around and improve audience reach and sales.

What other blogs do you read?
I don’t follow too many other motoring blogs, to be honest. My particular favourite is Drifted.com which I check out regularly and I also enjoy anything about a Charger or Challenger. The rest of the blogs I read are marketing-focused and deal with building audiences, business and technology.

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The Tomkins Times

Football Blog Spotlight: Paul Tomkins, The Tomkins Times

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The Tomkins Times was recently included as a new entry in the Top 10 UK Football Blogs. Created by Paul Tomkins, The Tomkins Times has a team of editors covering Liverpool FC in a grown-up, intelligent way. We spoke to Paul about Liverpool’s season, the importance of his community and paywall and the changing face of football fandom.

How do you describe what you do to other people?  
The Tomkins Times was originally set up in 2009 to be a platform for my football writing, which is almost entirely Liverpool FC-focused, with roughly half of the content paywalled to enable me to make a living from it – having had to give up my career as a designer years earlier due to being diagnosed with M.E.. So, it was just a small entity, hence the name.

In time the site has become a vehicle for other writers too, although we remain fairly niche. I pay no attention whatsoever to the number of hits the site gets, I just monitor the quality of work, and if we have enough subscribers to pay all the wages.

How important are the different social channels when they feed into your blog? 
I used to spend a lot of time on Twitter and built up a fairly big following, but I’ve barely used it for three years. It’s too negative and stressful. I occasionally log in and post, and use it to promote my work, but more than a few minutes makes me anxious. I have my own Facebook and Instagram accounts, and a Facebook page for The Tomkins Times, and post stuff to that, too. But it’s hard to run a site and various social media accounts, and with my health problems, it’s hard to rely on too many other people.

The aim of the business is not to grow and make more money – it’s to stay viable. This is our 10th year and it remains a viable business, even if it’s usually a case of making a small profit, after paying all my bills and paying all the contributors.

Which team is going to win the Premier League on Sunday? 
I obviously want to say Liverpool, but it’s in Manchester City’s hands. I’ll be at Anfield on Sunday, cheering the Reds on, but now Liverpool are also in the Champions League final, the league is not the only thing on the line.

Who’s your player of the season?  
My player of the year is Virgil van Dijk, who is quite simply the best all-round defender I’ve ever seen. You sense he could play as a striker or a goalkeeper and still be this good.

How is football fandom changing the way we consume football content?  
As a middle-aged writer with an older than typical audience – mostly men aged 30-70 – it’s perhaps hard for me to say. I started writing for various Liverpool FC blogs 20 years ago and now I’m one of the older guys. I was at the vanguard and an early pioneer of paywalls after someone suggested I try it, but I can’t keep up with all the developments. As is the way, the next wave will always come along and find a new way to do things.

There’s less patience in football in general and perhaps in society. And more football content seems to be about transfer speculation – living in the future, in terms of what some new signing will bring, rather than just enjoying the here and now and living in the moment. I love a bit of transfer speculation too, but it can become all some fans seem to care about; the actual football is secondary. So, we try to do some analysis of potential transfer targets using professional scouting tools, rather than just peddling speculation for hits.

What’s your view on esports and the likes of teams having their own esports players/teams? 
I’m probably in the wrong age demographic to answer this! I play the PS4 with my teenage son, and I love Overwatch, but beyond that I don’t really pay too much attention. I have enough difficulty finding the time and energy to follow everything about the ‘proper’ Liverpool team without any esports teams they have, but I did hear that they won the first ePremier League. Which is good, I guess!

As much as I love playing Overwatch, I still think of sport as being in the physical word, rather than online, but due to my poor health, and age, a bit of online team-based gaming can sometimes give me the feeling of when I used to play football! So, I can see how it all works, but it’s not something I’d watch if I wasn’t playing.

How important is the community to your blog? Do you accept press releases? 
The community has become everything. All comments are behind the paywall, even if articles are free, so a community was built up with a lack of trolls. The site became much bigger than initially intended, but equally, I don’t want it to become much bigger than it is now, as it would become harder to manage, and more impersonal. We only run original content, and don’t publish press releases, sponsored content or anything like that. We don’t really do ‘news’ articles either, just analysis and opinion.

As you have a paywall, do you work with PRs? 
If I find something I like – such as the film Free Solo – which I can work into my writing, I’ll do so, but nothing is ever sponsored. So sometimes I’ll give ’shoutouts’ to things I like, but never for anything in return. The same applies to other football blogs – if I find something I like, I’ll reference it with a link to their site. The one exception is one of our regular freelance writers recently having the chance to meet an ex-Liverpool player for an interview, and it was ‘in association with’ a betting company he also does some writing for. I’d never choose to go down this route, but as it was offered to me as original content that would be written by one of our regulars, and would be of interest to our readers, I thought it was okay.

I’ve unfollowed a lot of people on social media for promoting stuff without admitting that they are being paid for promoting stuff. I don’t mind if they make it clear, and don’t do it too often, but I’m only really interested in following people who are open about such things – once they lose their integrity in my eyes they’ve lost me as a fan/follower/reader.

What other blogs do you read? 
I read a lot of other football blogs and websites, but too many to mention. I listen to quite a few podcasts, often because I do so much writing I like to rest my eyes, and listen to something with a sleep mask on! A lot of football podcasts, but also true crime, and anything on psychology or writing/creativity.

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UN sustainable development goals

80% of PRs have helped meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals

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A PRCA analysis of the social impact of PR and communications agencies has revealed that 80% of practitioners have helped meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through their work.

Of the 17 UN SDGs, four stood out as the most popular; over 35% said their work was helping to achieve gender equality, with similar numbers reporting they have helped ensure healthy lives, promote sustainable economic growth and build resilient communities.

Launched by the PRCA Council, the survey of PR professionals has revealed that a third (35%) of respondents had declined or refused to engage in green washing (making unsubstantiated environmentally-friendly claims) and astroturfing (hiding the true source of a campaign to make it look grassroots) campaigns for clients.

Last year, the PRCA launched a new definition of the social impact of public relations and communications (you can see the definition here, and also get an assessment of your own social impact and a star rating), which was met with widespread approval from respondents, with over 90% backing the initial suggestions.

In addition to helping to meet the UN SDGs, the definition highlights further ways PR and communications can have a positive social impact.

Three quarters of respondents have encouraged workplace diversity through positive employment practices, two thirds had encouraged philanthropy and giving, with similar numbers involved in genuine corporate social responsibility programmes.

Simon Francis, founder member of social enterprise Campaign Collective, who worked on the definition said: ‘From PR Apprenticeships to working with Social Enterprise UK to buy social in the supply chain, PR and communications can have a huge positive impact on society over and above the impact of the work of communicators.

‘It is the responsibility of all practitioners to understand the social impact of PR and be aware of the actions they are taking. The new test will give agencies and in-house teams an easy way to calculate the social impact of their work and gain a social impact star rating to promote their organisations.

‘Campaign Collective will be using this to report on our own social impact, which in turn makes us more attractive to prospective clients.’

Francis Ingham, director general of the PRCA, said: ‘The social impact of PR is hugely important, but hardly talked about. From the impact of campaigns on target audiences and helping to deliver genuine corporate social responsibility programmes and encouraging workforce diversity, the communications industry can have a hugely positive role to play in the world.

‘All communicators should take an interest in this definition as proving social impact will be vital not just in recruiting new talent and in brand campaigns, but also in organisation’s procurement systems.’

Just 17% had used social enterprises in their supply chain, which Peter Holbrook, chief executive of Social Enterprise UK commented on: ‘It is fantastic to see that the PR industry is playing its part in helping meet the SDGs. If we’re to achieve these ambitious targets, then all businesses need to be actively considering and addressing their social and environmental impact.

‘One easy way to do this is to buy from social enterprises, businesses which trade to meet a social purpose. Whether its stationary supporting female entrepreneurs in the Global South or coffee creating jobs for the homeless, switching to social enterprises suppliers will enable you to use your everyday business spend to change lives and make the vision behind the SDGs a reality.’

 

PRCA Census 2018 diversity

PRCA Census 2019: Majority is female, white and British

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The PRCA’s PR and Communications Census 2019 has been published showing an industry in rude health. The topline stats show that the industry value has grown by 7.9% since 2018 and is now worth £14.9bn while the number of practitioners has shot up to 95,000 – some 9,000 more than last year.

While the industry has improved, diversity is still lacking – the majority of the industry is still white, British and female, and the median age is 33. And while the industry is dominated by women, the gender pay gap is still in men’s favour, sitting at 13.6% (7.4% lower than 2018’s).

On average, female employees earn £40,651 and male employees earn £47,063. The pay gap is higher than the industry average at agencies but lower in-house.

Bibi Hilton, president of Women in PR and managing director of Golin London, said: ‘It’s positive to see the gender pay gap in our industry reducing, but in an industry which is 67% female, we should have no pay gap.

‘The lack of change in the ethnic diversity of the industry is even more concerning. Talking about the issues is not enough, we have to collectively take action – from overhauling outdated recruitment practices to championing flexible working and increasing the representation of women from all backgrounds and all ages at leadership level. At Women in PR, we are doing this through our mentoring programme, speaker directory and monthly events which give leaders of all genders and backgrounds a platform but there is a lot more work to be done.’

The ethnic diversity of the industry is a huge concern, with no improvement from 2018; white practitioners still make up 89% of the industry and a bigger group in this segment are white British than in 2018. The Census points out that the 13% of the younger portion of the industry that ‘identifies as non-white’ brings hope that the industry is changing, but the fact it has grown 10% and the ethnicity breakdown remains the same, suggests otherwise.

The full report gives a fascinating insight into a burgeoning, but in many ways problematic, industry with year-on-year trends as well as new stats – for the first time it’s asked about mental health and discovered that 32% have suffered from or been diagnosed with mental ill health.

Much like the CIPR’s State of the Profession survey earlier this year, the PRCA Census has revealed an industry in need of help, guidance and change. Shining a light on the problems is a good place to start so we can see where we are now, but that’s the easy part. What comes next is the challenge.

Cats Protection

How Vuelio helped Cats Protection save time and money

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Cats Protection is the UK’s leading feline welfare charity with a nationwide network of over 250 volunteer-run branches, 36 centres and over 100 charity shops that together helps around 200,000 cats and kittens each year.

We spoke to Kate Angel, Media Assistant at Cats Protection, who talked us through the charity’s need for a new solution and explained how Vuelio had saved them time and money. 

Cats Protection’s Media Team promotes the charity throughout the UK and provides PR support for volunteers and other departments. The team sends out a daily Media Update to the network that summarises news stories from print, online and broadcast outlets that have featured Cats Protection or are relevant to the charity in some other way.

The charity uses Vuelio Media Monitoring to source the stories using a list of keywords that is continually reviewed. It also uses Vuelio to send out press releases, for media contact management, evaluation on a monthly basis, and for specific communications campaigns.

The Challenge
Prior to working with Vuelio, Cats Protection used a different supplier that was ‘more expensive and less innovative’. The charity found that it was rarely using the supplier to send out press releases as the method was clunky.

The Solution
Cats Protection got quotes from three suppliers prior to its contract with its previous supplier ending. It was given a demo of Vuelio and shown what it could do – the team was looking for a one-stop-shop, which Vuelio was able to offer. The price was a big factor as well as Canvas, which allows Cats Protection to display its coverage in a modern, visually attractive and user-friendly way. The team is also now able to track the success of press releases and campaigns more effectively.

Benefits and Results
The team now use Vuelio to send out all its press releases and find it helpful to see the tracking of how many have been opened. The contacts and influencer functions are more detailed than the charity’s previous supplier.

The hourly coverage alerts mean the team is able to see coverage when it appears, and the reporting process is much improved with Canvas.

Looking for a one-stop comms software solution to save you time and money? Find out more about Vuelio. 

Top eco green blog

Number 1 Green Blog Spotlight: Wendy Graham, Moral Fibres

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Wendy Graham is the creator of Moral Fibres, which was recently ranked number one in the top 10 green blogs. Designed to help anyone easily, affordably and stylishly live a greener life, Wendy is on a mission to bust myths about sustainable living.

In this spotlight, Wendy told us about the changing perceptions of environmentally conscious people, the power of people, the best ways to collaborate with PRs and her five tips for individuals to live greener lives.

How do you describe what you do?
I write at Moral Fibres – a blog that seeks to inspire people to live a little greener, by suggesting habits and actions to adopt. This includes tips such as reducing plastic, shopping ethically and cleaning your home in greener ways. It’s all wrapped up in the tagline ‘sustainable living that’s hip, not hippie’ because when I first started the blog in 2013, I had been working professionally in the environmental sector for nearly 10 years and there was still very much a widespread belief that caring for the environment was for ‘lentil weaving tree huggers’, and I wanted to challenge this preconception. Things have changed massively since then – environmentalism is seen as less of a niche interest thanks to people like David Attenborough and the actions of amazing activists like Greta Thunberg – so maybe one day I should look at changing my tagline!

How important is social media to your blog – are any channels more important than others?
Social media has always been hugely important to the blog – being able to continue to conversation off the blog and build community with likeminded individuals has always been a key goal of mine to help spread the word about green living and climate change, because one person alone can’t bring about change on the scale we need to help reduce the impact of climate change. It needs lots of people talking and doing things, and social media can help you feel part of that wider movement.  There are lots of great hashtags to follow to feel connected to the wider environmental efforts, no matter where your specific green interests lie.

In the last six and half years, different platforms have brought more traffic to the blog. In the early days, Twitter brought the most traffic, then Facebook took over and right now Instagram is the biggest social driver. Different platforms have different strengths and you have to adapt your approach to each platform to get the most out of them.

Moral FibresClimate change is in the news a lot, do you think it’s getting the attention it needs?
It’s certainly been on the news more recently, but it’s definitely not given the attention it needs, considering we don’t have long to make the changes we need to make to help limit the impact of climate change. It’s where bloggers, like the other bloggers in the Top 10 Green Blogs, and social media comes into play – keeping that conversation going when it’s missing from the media.

What do you think Extinction and Greta Thunberg have done for the conversation?
Their impact has been massive. With Parliament declaring a climate emergency, and more and more people joining the climate conversation, it’s proof that activism works, and of the impact that using our collective voices has.

Who is ultimately responsible to make change?
Ultimately, it’s everyone’s responsibility to make change. The Government, corporations and manufacturers undoubtedly have a huge role to play in driving change, but as individuals we need to make change too, by consuming less and consuming better. These individual changes will help drive change at the business level – businesses adapt to changing consumer demand, for example, packaging products in compostable materials rather than plastic.

What are the most important steps people can take at an individual level to be more green?
If you want to bring about big changes fast then there are five easy things you can do:

  1. Switching who you bank with to an ethical bank that doesn’t use your money to invest in fossil fuels is a great place to start.
  2. If you own your home, then insulating it to current standards using the grants and funding available is an incredible way to save a load of energy (and fossil fuels) in heating your home, and conveniently a whole lot of money. We’ve insulated our house – we got free loft and cavity wall insulation through the green grants available and reduced cost underfloor insulation – and the difference has been incredible. If you rent your home, try talking to your landlord to see if they will apply on your behalf.
  3. Switching your electricity to a 100% renewable tariff is a great step that doesn’t necessarily cost more. Shop around on uswitch.com to find a good renewable deal.
  4. If you eat meat, try to cut back on your lamb and beef consumption, and see if you can have at least one meat-free day a week. If you’re vegetarian, try to cut back on your dairy consumption. This is the best vegan milk I’ve found.
  5. For being such a small island the UK has some truly amazing spots to holiday in that you don’t need to fly to get to; from beaches to mountains, forests to cities, there really is something for everyone.

Wendy GrahamWhat advice would you give PRs and comms?
Do your research before contacting bloggers. Take a look at recent content on their site to see what they blog about and how they tend to work with brands before contacting them. I’m often contacted by PRs and comms about matters unrelated to green living, but if they had spent a minute on the blog they would realise it wouldn’t be something I would cover.

What are the best campaigns you’ve collaborated on?
I really enjoyed working with Little’s Coffee recently. They have switched to using 100% recyclable and plastic-free packaging materials across their entire range of instant coffees and packaging materials and it was a pleasure to work with such a forward-thinking company to help spread the word and deliver exactly the kind of content Moral Fibres readers enjoy and find useful.

Do you accept press releases?
No, Moral Fibres is a one-woman show that I work on part-time. I don’t have the capacity to post news articles on a daily basis, but if your press release has been published elsewhere then do send me that link and if it’s relevant then I might include it in my weekly environmental news roundup that I publish every Sunday.

What other blogs do you read?
Aside from the other blogs in the Green Blogs Top 10 (there are some great ones in there, and it’s a pleasure to be in their company!) I enjoy Reading My Tea Leaves and Peppermint Magazine.

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The Green Familia

Green blog spotlight: Brenda Cuby, The Green Familia

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Brenda Cuby is the blogger behind The Green Familia, which was recently ranked in the top 10 Green Blogs. Helping families shop green and live a more eco-friendly lifestyle, The Green Familia is packed with tips for anyone who wants to be more environmentally conscious.

We caught up with Brenda to find out how everyone can make changes to make a difference, climate change starting to get the attention it needs and how she works with PR.

The Green FamiliaHow do you describe what you do?
I am a light green blogger, who blogs about easy ways to make eco/ethical changes to your life. We highlight products that you can use that will help our readers to become greener and do their bit. If we all make small changes then the world makes big changes.

How important is social media to your blog – are any channels more important than others?
Social media is very important it drives traffic to our blog and allows new people to find out what we do and the different ways they can make a difference. I find Twitter used to be a big platform for us, but Facebook has become more popular. I know we need to do more with Instagram and YouTube and eventually we will move into these platforms.

Climate change is in the news a lot, do you think it’s getting the attention it needs?
I think that finally attention is gathering traction, but I think there is still more that can be done. I notice more friends are thinking about the planet now than they used to which is great.

What do you think Extinction and Greta Thunberg have done for the conversation?
I think they have been brilliant for the conversation. Greta has caught the attention because of her age and her passion for the cause and because she is very articulate. I love seeing how engaged this generation are with the conversation and that gives me hope.

Who is ultimately responsible to make change?
We are all responsible for change, if we stop using plastic bags, they have to stop manufacturing them. If we stop eating junk and start looking at what we are consuming and how we consume it then we take the responsibility.

What are the most important steps people can take at an individual level to be more green?
Recycling on all levels will help. Make ethical choices, learn and educate ourselves into how we can make changes. Try to reduce our carbon footprint.

What advice would you give PRs and comms?
Keep engaging in the conversation.

What are the best campaigns you’ve collaborated on?
Frugi, E-on, Wikaniko and Electric Transport.

Do you accept press releases?
Yes.

What other blogs do you read?
Little Green Blog and Moral Fibres in the green sector.

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ICO charity tips

How charity comms teams can stay data compliant

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The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published data protection tips for charities. Charities rely on data – from their donors, beneficiaries, clients, partners, media contacts, influencers, staff and trustees – in order to achieve their goals and ultimately support those in need. Charity comms teams often have to juggle data from all of these otherwise disparate groups, making data compliance a key part of the modern comms role.

The ICO has presented charities with five data compliance tips:

  • Set compliance goals
  • Host training sessions
  • Prepare for the unexpected
  • Keep on top of data housekeeping
  • Be transparent about people’s data

It suggests that ‘data protection compliance should be one of the main priorities of an organisation’, and as we’re almost one year on from the implementation of the GDPR, most charities should now have a good understanding of their data management processes and how they are compliant.

As a reminder, the General Data Protection Regulation requires every organisation that processes data to have a legal basis for doing so, which should also be made clear to everyone whose data you’re processing.

There’s also a requirement for staff to know why and how you’re processing data, which is why the ICO includes advice to ‘Host training sessions’. This is good advice for both new and existing team members. While it may seem like we all swallowed the GDPR dictionary last year – at Vuelio we produced a large number of resources for PR and comms professionals (you can see them all here) – how many new team members have you taken on since 25 May 2018? And how much do you remember from the advice at the time?

Refreshers and training for communications teams are great, but if you don’t have the right tools in place then it’s all talk and no substance, and compliance can prove complicated. Vuelio helps you stay fully GDPR compliant, with tools to automatically send your privacy policies out, record consent and record an audit trial so if anyone ever requests their data, you can prove how and when you’ve collected and used it.

This means when the unexpected happens, not only are you more prepared – as the ICO recommends – but you’re also equipped to quickly and easily produce evidence of your data compliance, keeping your stakeholders happy.

If you’d like to find out more about how Vuelio can help you manage your GDPR requirements and data protection compliance, fill out our dedicated form here and one of our compliance experts will be in touch.

PRWeek Best places to work

Mental health is key to the best PR workplaces

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Looking to escape an office with drippy taps in the kitchen, no teabags or… something even worse? PRWeek has released the Best Places to Work Awards 2019, which represent all sectors of the industry, from the largest agencies to in-house comms. In PRWeek’s overview of the winners, there’s no mention of in-office teabag situations (if that’s what’s important to you), but there is something much more vital – a culture of mental health support and employee wellbeing.

‘It’s a cliché, but in our industry, people really are our most important asset,’ believes Nicky Young, group MD at Mid-Size Agency and Culture winner MullenLowe Salt. ‘Employees and prospective candidates rightly and increasingly demand a workplace that nurtures their wellbeing rather than destroying it. Our working lives have the potential to be hugely fulfilling and enjoyable. As employers we need to strive to create working environments that make this possible.’

MullenLowe Salt’s approach includes mental health ‘champions’ among its 40-strong team (with more being trained) as well as ‘Head Talks’ to help employees work through any issues they may be facing. The agency’s B-Corp status also highlights its commitment to its workers, something that’s integral to its success.

‘We were a founding B Corporation in the UK and that philosophy (that business can and should be a force for good) combines with our own purpose – to drive positive change through communications – to inform the way we prioritise and manage our culture.’

If you’ve ever checked out Glassdoor for the goss on which companies are good (or very bad) to work for, cultures of support and even protection is what gains staff loyalty, or as Glassdoor has put it: ‘The three top drivers of long-term employee satisfaction are company culture, career opportunities and trust in senior leadership.’

‘We’ve worked hard to put processes in place to schedule support for the team,’ says UKTV’s director of comms, consumer and social, Justine Bower, of its win in this year’s In-House Communications Department category. ‘We are particularly proud of the work being done at UKTV to ensure a consistently open and understanding approach to mental health […] The whole team is delighted and proud to have such a prestigious award as testament to our culture. It’s never taken for granted.’

Taking employee satisfaction – and their resulting effectiveness – for granted is something agencies cannot do if valuable staff are to be retained and growth is to be achieved. UKTV has trained mental health first-aiders as part of the team, partnered with CALM and supports Mental Health Awareness Week and Time to Talk day – and it’s all paying off. For Justine, it has to: ‘Communications and social is ‘always on’ – we are hard-wired for news and it can be difficult to switch off […] We try to be honest and supportive, if someone is too busy they put their hand up and ask for help.’

If you think this sounds too warm and fuzzy, or you came up in harder times when enforced pub visits and borderline-lethal working hours were the norm in PR, consider the statistics from CIPR’s State of the Profession report around mental health – nearly a quarter of those surveyed had taken time off work due to stress, anxiety, or depression.

And even if the human aspect doesn’t concern you, it’s just really bad for business.

‘Our industry does attract high potentials who are proven to be more prone to give too much of themselves, often to their own detriment,’ says Nicky. ‘There may be additional pressures that come from wanting to serve and delight, to please clients quickly and from being only as good as the quality of your last piece of work. We know that when culture feels the strain, so does the business.’

For Nicky, she uses her own experiences to make MullenLowe Salt special: ‘One of my first roles in the country was at an unsupportive workplace and it made me realise what I didn’t want from a workplace; that I wanted to enjoy going into work every day.’

And a welcoming environment is one Justine also advocates at UKTV: ‘I’m a big believer in team as family – you support each other and create an atmosphere of trust.’

More successful than access to caffeine and long working hours? Those warm and fuzzies – especially if you want to be a winner in building worthwhile and happy teams that work.

Farhad and Maz PR and Journo 'blind date'

PR and Journalist ‘Blind Date’: When Ahmadiyaa Muslim Community met a Freelance Journalist

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Our latest professional pairing were Farhad Ahmad, press officer and Imam at Ahmadiyaa Muslim Community and Maz Halima, a freelance journalist. Here’s what happened when they met for their PR and journalist lunch. 

How was your lunch?
Farhad: It was great. The food was excellent and we had the chance to get each other’s thoughts on so many issues, such as religion, tolerance, how news media works and we agreed on so many things.

Maz: It was really good. Networking can feel like a necessary evil depending on who you are speaking to – so it is great when you connect with another media professional and actually learn something new, and of value to your role. Also, the food at Paternoster Chop House was to die for!

Did you learn anything new about their role? If so, what?
Farhad: I did, particularly the fact that going freelance is quite a daunting experience because you always have to be on a lookout for stories. Also, on top of being a freelance journalist, Maz has to have a stable job too for job security for the time being.

Maz: Farhad filled me in on the vast amount of community work he does locally and internationally, which was inspiring. As a journalist it made me want to make more of an effort to report on my local community in Croydon, to help shed light on the section of society who need it most.

Were you surprised by anything they told you about their job?
Farhad: I was surprised by the fact that only around 0.2% of journalists are Muslim! That is so not proportionate to the number of Muslims in the UK, which is around 5%!

Also that when you pitch an opinion piece to an editor, you often get given a 48-hour deadline to write a piece, if the issue is current.

Maz: Probably just the extent of his community outreach as mentioned. Unfortunately, one thing I wasn’t surprised hearing about was the struggles he has experienced in getting the narrative of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community into the public eye in the positive light it deserves.

We went on to discuss the portrayal of Islam in the media and the media’s responsibility to showcase a more positive view of the religion. Not to say that it is solely their responsibility, but it is vital they do more positive reporting on Muslims rather than constant sensationalist reporting – particularly in a time where anti-Muslim hate crimes in the UK have increased greater than tenfold.

If you could share one top tip from lunch what would it be?
Farhad: Contact more Muslim journalists as they are more likely to be able to relate to the challenges we as Muslims face and can relate to issues we see in the media regarding the portrayal of Islam.

Maz: We discussed society at large a lot over lunch, and it was a refreshing reminder to me that people want what they invest in to mean something. Consumers and journalists don’t have the desire to consume soulless brands with cliché press releases attached. We are in an era of being actively conscious. Genuine communication and connection are really important, inclusivity is vital, and so is an innovative thought process when creating press releases. Journalists can smell a half-hearted press release quicker than you can say ‘delete’.

Do you think this lunch will change how you interact with PRs/journalists in the future?
Farhad: I think it has given me a better understanding of the challenges journalists, and in particular freelance journalists, have to face. So when I meet or contact journalists in future, I’ll definitely be more aware of their perspective.

Maz: Yes, I think it may. I came to a realisation that I don’t connect with fellow media folk much beyond email anymore, and emailing people just doesn’t have the same impact as sitting opposite somebody and having a chat. While it can be hard to align schedules to meet for that coffee, when you do make the time, the professional relationship you build is far more rewarding.

Did you disagree on anything? If so, what?
Farhad: We generally agreed on most things but there were one or two things we had a different perspective on. However it was great to see that Maz had a big heart to listen and not be judgemental, and to focus on things which we shared in common, as that is how you move forward in life I guess. Otherwise there is a tendency for us to get stuck on things we disagree on and not focus on things that we share in common, which far outnumber our disagreements.

Maz: We agreed on most things! But agreeing to disagree can be just as refreshing – it’s interesting to hear different viewpoints.

If you could change one thing about PRs/journalists what would it be and why?
Farhad: This does not really apply to Maz. However, my general experience with journalists has been that often journalists are having to report on issues relating to Islam, yet many of the journalists have not often had the opportunity to speak in detail to someone that looks at things from an Islamic perspective, to get their thoughts on the current issues. As an Imam, I’m happy for any journalists to reach out to us and we’d love to talk and discuss, perhaps over a coffee or for lunch or dinner at our Mosque (I’m based in Morden, where we have Britain’s biggest Mosque, so do come round for a tour and a curry!).

Maz: I know PRs have to connect with a vast amount of media professionals, but my biggest pet peeve might be when someone forgets to change the name from the last email they sent, and I receive ‘Hey *random name*! I thought you might be interested in…’ it happens a lot. I lose interest straight away when an email has been obviously copied, pasted and sent to me with no thought. It is also vital to research what a journalist covers before sending them a press release that has no relevance to what topics they report on.

Finally, do you think you’ll stay in touch?
Farhad: Yes definitely!

Maz: Absolutely, it was an enlightening afternoon.

Farhad and Maz’s ‘blind date’ took place at the Paternoster Chop House aka the First Dates restaurant! If you’re a PR or a journalist and you’d like to be set up on one of Vuelio’s professional ‘blind dates’, please email Rebecca Potts.

The PhD Runner

Running blogger spotlight: Emma Neachell, The PhD Runner

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Emma Neachell is The PhD Runner and was recently ranked in the top 10 UK running blogs. A self-confessed injury-prone runner, Emma finds the balance between recovery and competition. We caught up with Emma to find out how she describes her blogging to the uninitiated, the best places to run, her favourite shoes and her love of testing and reviewing products.

How do you describe what you do to other people?
I’ll be completely honest; I don’t think my family and friends understand blogging and social media. On the very rare occasion I get asked about this blog, I describe it as an online running diary with bonus product reviews. As for my full-time ‘proper’ job, I’m a hydrologist and find that people don’t tend to understand what I do on a day-to-day basis.

How does social media feed into your blog – are any channels more important?
I share all my new blog posts on Twitter and occasionally in a couple of Facebook groups. Twitter is definitely my preferred social media channel and I’m trying to get to grips with Instagram. Otherwise, I don’t think I’m very savvy when it comes to social media. I could definitely do more to promote my blog.

Emma NeachellHow important is the right clothing/gear for running?
Vital! In my tips for completing the Couch to 5k, I recommend people buy a decent pair of running shoes. You can get by without technical running clothing to start with but a decent pair of running shoes is essential. Female runners should also consider purchasing a sports bra. You don’t really need technical gear to start with. Just wear clothes that are loose fitting and comfortable in a breathable material such as cotton. If you do want to invest in technical running gear, then shop around for bargains. Running doesn’t have to be an expensive sport.

What’s your favourite pair of trainers?
Definitely Brooks Adrenaline GTS trainers.

Where’s the best place to run in the world? 
I may be a little biased but Sutton Park in the north of Birmingham.  

How many races do you compete in a year?
It varies depending on how many injuries I pick up during the course of the year. Last year, I completed 21 races, this year I’m yet to make it to the start line of any races.

What advice would you give PRs?
Please give me time to complete my product reviews. Some PRs have slightly unrealistic expectations and expect bloggers to be able to produce meaningful reviews after a week. I like to test products thoroughly before writing a review. Also, I know that PRs are busy people, but please remember to acknowledge emails.

Do you accept press releases?
If they are relevant to my blog and I’ll think my readers will find the content useful, yes I do.

What’s the best collaboration you’ve worked on with a brand or PR?
Now this is a really tricky question! I’ve worked with some awesome brands recently, but I would have to say Supacore Compression. PRs if you read this please get in touch; I love testing and reviewing products!

What are your favourite blogs?
I read a lot of running blogs but these (not in any particular order) are my favourites: AnnatheApple, Maria Runs, A Healthier Moo, HelsBels and Lazy Girl Running.

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

Trust

Who can you trust? Newsguard ranks the UK’s news brands

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Picking the right news brand used to mean careful considerations, such as: ‘Does this brand align with my ethics?’, ‘Can I open this one on the tube without elbowing someone in the face?’, ‘Do I really need to see past this paywall?’ But no more – here to help with the decision on what to read/cite/trust/work with comes NewsGuard’s UK launch, rolled out midweek with traffic lights to lead the way.

The US news rating tool is simple – green is good, red is bad – and decided by nine key factors:

  • Not repeatedly publishing false content
  • Gathering and presenting information responsibly
  • Regular corrections and clarifications (where necessary)
  • Handling the difference between news and opinion responsibly
  • Avoiding deceptive headlines
  • Disclosing ownership and source(s) of financing
  • Clearly labelling advertising
  • Revealing who is in charge and any conflicts of interest
  • Providing names of content creators with either contact or biographical information

Aside from a short stall with the MailOnline earlier this year – NewsGuard originally placed the brand as a red for its US product, later backtracking on the rating – the big UK news brands have, by and large, come out clean (well, green). Purely green reads include The Guardian, the Financial Times and Buzzfeed News UK, but the colour is also assigned to outlets that don’t get a full score across the nine factors.

These slightly fuzzier greens go to brands like BBC News (which failed on providing the names of content creators, and contact and biographical info), Sky News (not perfect on correcting and clarifying errors) and The Independent (issues with disclosing ownership and financing, and labelling its advertising, apparently).

As for the reds, PressGazette reports that Politicalite UK is the first to be publicly named.

Tastes may differ on which media outlets are most nourishing, but, according to Wikipedia co-founder and NewsGuard global advisory board member Jimmy Wales, NewsGuard offers a ‘unique tool for helping people understand who is feeding them the news’. And Wikipedia has form with this, having questioned the validity of Daily Mail reporting in the past (also backtracked, by the way).

It’s not just the usual suspects that have been classed as red or green, however, as 150 websites were reviewed by the news rating tool’s team for its UK launch – accounting for 90% of online engagement across the country, when it comes to traffic and social media statistics.

Not taken into consideration for each are issues like the arm span needed to open a print copy, or whether you should be embarrassed to be found with it on your mobile screen during the commute. But trustworthiness? That’s what everyone in the media, those working with it and those looking to consume it, need to be aware of.

A NewsGuard-commissioned YouGov poll for the launch found that nine in ten of those surveyed believe misleading information online is a problem. There’s proof of that easily found in the real-life impact of the online anti-vaxxer movement as we watch it play out across school playgrounds and in the media (both red and green). There’s the rise of fake news and other disturbing trends, like, say, the enduring belief that Goofy is actually a cow (he isn’t).

Those looking for information – whether vital, or frivolous – deserve trustworthy sources, and in a world filled with misinformation, the easier it is to access them, the better.

Know which news brands you want to work with but don’t have the right contacts? You need the Vuelio Media Database, which lists over 1 million contacts, influencers and opportunities. 

the5krunner

Running blogger spotlight: the5krunner

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Running blog, the5krunner, has again ranked in the top 10 running blogs. Anonymously written, the5krunner covers running tech and the best routes, as well triathlon training and competing. We caught up with the5krunner to find out about blogging in secret, the right gear for running and the best kinds of press release.

How do you describe what you do to other people?
I am somewhat secretive about my blog. Even to friends. So, I suppose I should have a good answer to that question.

I would say that I probably angle my repose about what I do between the blog’s three main pillars: journalistic research and analysis of emerging sports tech; product reviews and opinions; and a good dose of lifestyle blogging about a wannabe age group triathlete’s trials and tribulations.

How does social media feed into your blog – are any channels more important?
It has taken me a long time to better understand my readership and it is THEIR use of social media channels that I invest in rather than ones that I think I ought to or that some expert or other has told me that I ought to. Eg. I wasted a lot of time with Instagram last year.

The blog itself is by far the most important channel although a notable number of readers use Facebook. I use Twitter as email proxy for one-to-one communications rather than as a means of capturing traffic. YouTube would work for my type of reader but I don’t have the skills or time to take that further right now… if anyone who is reading this does then give me a call.

How important is the right clothing/gear for running?
I would give the classic ‘it depends’ response. Most of the time it does not really matter in the UK but if there are specific weather or performance requirements then clothing is very important. Ranging from: keeping arms warm in the winter; to stopping chaffing on long runs; to allowing cooling on hot days; all the way to simply providing a means of carrying a gel, smartphone and key.

What’s your favourite pair of trainers?
I have the New Balance Fresh Foam Zante v4 right now. I bought three pairs (no freebies). I don’t especially want to like them but I rarely seem to get injured when wearing them so that is a massive bonus for me. No injury = favourite.

Where’s the best place to run in the world?
The London Borough of Richmond-on-Thames is pretty cool in a very safe-cum-pretty-cum-boring kind of way. Maybe I should get out more? but I love the Royal Parks here and the Rivers, nearby canals and more besides.

How many races do you compete in a year?
Excluding parkruns, it would probably be about six races with two of them being ‘A’ races. I train properly for them as best I can yet always set myself goals that are unachievable! If you are of a competitive nature then the beauty of triathlons is that there is a good level of ‘proper’ competition in age-group events. My goal is to win a medal at a national triathlon championship at some distance or other. That will be difficult but possible for me this year or next.

What advice would you give PRs?
The advice would be to understand the motivations of the blogger they are contacting. Some of us do it for fun, some for freebies and some for money. If your pitch to me is that you want 500 words and original photographs syndicated over all my channels in exchange for a free pair of running socks, then perhaps you might want to reflect on how much you are paid and how much of my free time you are requesting.

Do you accept press releases?
Yes. I probably look at all I receive. I probably act on 5% of them. That would be the 5% that are either of interest to me or to my readership.

What’s the best collaboration you’ve worked on with a brand or PR?
I can think of generous brands/PRs, stingy ones and I can think of prestigious ones. The BEST collaborations are those where the PR can respond quickly and intelligently to requests to clarify facts.

What are your favourite blogs?
I have a web dashboard thingy that brings up new content as the blogs that I follow produce it. It’s very much informational/transactional for me. I don’t really enjoy them. Only a very small number that I follow tend to inject an element of personality into what they do but not enough for me to call them my favourite. My favourite channel would be the GCN channel for cyclists on YouTube.

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

The runner beans

Spotlight with the No. 1 Running blog: The Runner Beans

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Charlie Watson writes The Runner Beans, which was recently ranked as the number one running blog in the UK, a title it’s held for years. Charlie has been blogging her passion for running since 2011 and now runs around the world – this year she’s running three marathons!

We caught up with Charlie to find out how important running gear is, the rise of Instagram and how she works with PRs.

How do you describe what you do to other people?
It’s a tricky one – I think it depends who I am talking to (and their age!). I tell a lot of people that I ‘have a blog and Instagram’ whereas to the older generation I often say I’m a ‘freelance writer’.

How does social media feed into your blog – are any channels more important?
Yes, my Instagram is so helpful for driving traffic (through the swipe up feature) to my blog. I would say that recently brands are more keen on doing collaborations on Instagram and Instagram stories, with the other social and blog as supplementary channels.

How important is the right clothing/gear for running?
There is NOTHING worse than running 20+ miles in shorts that ride up/fall down, a sports bra that chafes and shoes that give you blisters. I’ve tried and tested enough shorts that I’ve found the right pairs for me (I love lululemon Track and Train and Oiselle pocket joggers), and I won’t wear anything other than Triumph Triaction sports bras.

What’s your favourite pair of trainers?
I just bought myself another pair of the Nike Vaporfly 4% for my marathon in November – there’s something so light and bouncy about them that make you feel like you’re flying.

The runner beans

Where’s the best place to run in the world?
For me it’s anywhere near water – I love the Thames towpath in west London from Putney to Richmond, but equally love running on the coast when abroad, or in Central Park in New York.

How many races do you compete in a year?
I’ve honestly never counted – but I do know that this year I’ll run three marathons!

What advice would you give PRs?
Don’t send blanket emails – engage with the blogger and target them with the right product for them. Understand how they work and it will create a more symbiotic relationship for everyone.

Do you accept press releases?
Yes – but again, when they have been targeted and personalised.

What’s the best collaboration you’ve worked on with a brand or PR?
I’ve worked on some incredible partnerships over the years, but most recently I am loving the partnerships that involve travel for races – like a recent partnership with Visit Savannah and the Savannah Women’s Half Marathon for the weekend, and the LA Marathon back in March.

What are your favourite blogs?
My favourite blogs are honest recaps, sharing fashion, fitness, recipes and real life – anything with beautiful photography but a sense of realness. I like A Foodie Stays Fit, Cat Meffan, Hello Fashion, Pumps and Iron, Fit Foodie Finds, Run to the Finish and so many others!

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

Top 150 2019

PRWeek Top 150 2019 – who came out on top?

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PRWeek has published this year’s top 150 PR agencies – cue social media delight from the agencies that made it…

…and the sound of silence from those that didn’t quite make the cut for 2019…

 

…but will no doubt be back for 2020 to claim their places. Because growth is one of the big takeaways from this year’s list, despite industry woes including GDPR and the efficacy of social media. It’s been a difficult year for PRs, but one the industry rose to, with expansion in staff counts, and growth in revenue – the total for 2017’s list was £1.26bn. This year? £1.32bn.

The top slots are unchanged with the biggest players – Edelman, Weber Shandwick and Brunswick Group – still in first, second and third. The majority of the top 10 are very familiar; all but nine were in the top 10 last year, with only Havas PR conspicuous by its absence (Finsbury has moved up to take the spot).

Also familiar is the prominence of London-based agencies across this year’s swathe. But look at the new entries and you’ll find new bases, suggesting growth outside the capital – new locations include Hertfordshire (Sassy at 54), Winchester (BECG at 56), Manchester (Tangerine at 91), and Edinburgh (Stripe at 92).

The UK PR sector is on the up in 2019, with financial communication agencies enjoying a particularly successful period. Brunswick’s global deals, for example, were up 26.2% (according to the Mergermarket PR Advisors league table). A broader focus continues to bring success for the bigger agencies – Rachel Friend, chief executive of Weber Shandwick UK, attributes its growth to reach: ‘We are a very broad church; we are multi-disciplined, across B2B to corporate to consumer through to health. We probably flex a little bit more because we are full service.’

But flexing isn’t just for the top three – independents in the middle of the industry are able to adapt quickly to client demands, and make their way up the ladder.

‘Agencies that can come up with creative work […] are winning and we’re growing the market as a whole,’ said James Gordon-MacIntosh, co-founder of Hope&Glory, and he’s right – Hope&Glory rose five places this year, to 50.

Being able to revise and rework an approach or focus has been important for securing accounts over the last year, with competition furious in a climate of hesitancy from clients. Even a few industry giants felt the pinch – as PRWeek notes in its analysis of the figures, M&C Saatchi Public Relations saw its revenue and head count fall this year following its loss of two big accounts. Red Consultancy, Lansons and APCO Worldwide also faced a drop in revenue.

With agencies including Tulchan Communications (20), The Communications Store (21) and Exposure (26) hitting high in the line-up after being left out last year, this year’s results show that the landscape is open to change. Sure, the economy is uncertain and regulations are changing, but agencies across the UK are securing interesting work with their creativity and adaptability. And with all the change in this year’s list, who knows what agencies will be at the top in 2020.

What do the top agencies have in common? Access to the best products and tools, including the industry’s worst kept secret – the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service. 

Innocent blue drink

3 social media lessons from the Easter weekend

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We missed Monday PR Club, so for one week only we present Tuesday PR Club, with three very different examples of social media success and lessons for PRs from Twitter.  

1. Innocent’s Blue Drink

Over 10K likes and thousands of retweets and replies, Innocent is rocking wilful denial and baiting Twitter users into engagement. The company’s new drink, which is green, is called Bolt from the Blue and the drinks maker is claiming it’s the colour blue. Cue many thousands of people pointing out the obvious – it’s actually green.

But this drink isn’t called blue when it’s green by mistake, and Innocent has replied to hundreds of tweets correcting people who call it green.

Over…

…and over….

And over again…

What’s the lesson?
When you’ve built up a playful persona on Twitter, you can be playful with your audience and people don’t mind. Also – people love pointing out mistakes, and you can be sure of engagement if you make one.

UPDATE: We’ve received a request for a number of corrections from Innocent about some ‘errors’ in the above text. We’re delighted to update the post with the following:

 

2. M&S Mojito
Diane Abbot was snapped drinking from a can of Mojito from M&S on TFL’s Overground Line. The media picked up on the picture and it blew up on social media as Abbot was forced to apologise:

This may seem like a trivial matter but for M&S this was excellent coverage.

Many people started using the hashtag #IDrinkWithDiane and some even posted pictures of themselves enjoying alcoholic cans on the Underground. M&S didn’t even have to comment, all the work was done for them, and while Tesco tried to jump on the bandwagon – (the scamps):

The only real winner was M&S:

What’s the lesson?
Know when to comment and know when not to. But when a story breaks – and this story made headlines across nearly every major news site – make sure the rest of the business knows. Just because you’re not communicating publicly, doesn’t mean you can’t communicate internally and make sure your stock of ‘tinnies’ doesn’t run low…

 

3. A whole bunch of lessons
This is a bit of a cheat, like having three wishes from a genie and using one of them to wish for more wishes. But we came across a thread of excellent advice from Ben Jack Thomas, senior brand strategist at Twitter:

What’s the lesson?
When writing a listicle, find someone to do the heavy lifting for you.

 

Ready to launch the greatest social media campaign ever? Make sure you have the right tools for success. 

SheHearts

Luxury lifestyle blog spotlight: Laura Scott, SheHearts

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Laura Scott is the blogger behind SheHearts, the luxury lifestyle publication. Covering a huge range of subjects, from travel to beauty, Laura draws on her own experiences and SheHearts benefits from Laura’s expertise as a social media consultant. We spoke to Laura about living a luxury lifestyle, when she realised she had ‘made it’ and her advice for others.

How would you introduce SheHearts?
SheHearts is a luxury lifestyle publication run by myself and blog partner covering travel, fine dining, fashion, beauty and events, emphasising personalised experiences. Creating unique and in-depth features are incredibly important to our readership.

Creative thought goes into our content curation and editorial, it’s important that readers feel at home on SheHearts by providing personalised content people can relate too. SheHearts started off as a blog with the main foundation being ‘all things that I love’ and that is at the heart of the brand.

How did you go about setting up the luxury blog?
Being in social media consultancy, photography and PR, after organising a specialist event in London for a luxury client, a fellow blogger suggested I started my own blog and of course it had been at the back of my mind due to my love of photography, editorial and social media. I started off as I meant to go on, if I’m going to create anything, the heart has to be authentic, personalised and photography-driven. Telling a story through the use of image is a powerful tool, where passion shines there’s truth, and for me that happened to be in unique and luxury experiences in any aspect of life. SheHearts was born.

When did you start getting invites to events?
Being in social media consultancy for many years, I created events so I had a knowledge of how things worked. It was through my own events I met other industry connections and in turn got invited to their events. I’m incredibly thankful to have met many inspiring individuals through SheHearts and my profession.

How much of your content is paid-for collaborations?
It’s truly dependant on the project and nature of the collaboration.

SheHearts 2019 When did you know you’d made it?
When it comes to any aspect of business what is important in terms of success isn’t just about income, but authenticity – set out to be yourself and to inspire others. Personally, for me having the opportunity to work on a one-on-one basis with couture luxury fashion designers, management in the luxury hotel and food industry and creating unique and in-depth visual features makes me feel accomplished.

Some highlights: A personalised tour around The Ritz London and having a menu created for us by executive chef, John Williams MBE was an honour. Interviewing and collaborating with international designer Omar Mansoor has been wonderful and supporting Top Model where Omar showcases his work. Top Model also supports the charity Children with Cancer so it’s wonderful supporting a fantastic cause.

How do you balance blogging and personal life – do you find you always have to be on?
When it comes to lifestyle I treat each experience as such, life is all about balance and taking time to embrace special moments.

What’s your favourite luxury?
Cherished moments and unique experiences with brands, for example when warmth shines through in terms of hospitality during travel/hotel review collaborations in turn creates fond memories for me to promote to my readership. Personalisation goes a long way and hospitality is important. Dining experiences with welcoming touches adds appeal, and brands who enjoy creating personalised experiences are just wonderful.

What advice do you have for luxury brands who want to work with bloggers like you?
Reach out and talk, communication is key and great collaborations are always a result of purpose-driven conversation. Adapting is also important and being flexible to create something truly unique is important. Just be friendly as I absolutely love talking to people and getting to know the heart of their company or brand. Creating on-going relationships is personally important, I love reviewing conceptual change and developing relationships with companies who truly love building trusted friendships in a digital space.

What advice would you give someone who is just starting their blog?
Create a blog for the sheer purpose of creating something you love personally, talk about what you truly enjoy and you will relate to others. Be yourself and don’t compare, enjoy your creativity. Your blog is your online space online to express through digital expression.

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

Lush Ltd

Is Lush building its own social network?

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Lush hit the headlines last week when it announced the closure of its main UK social media accounts. The announcement claimed social media is ‘making it harder and harder for us to talk to each other directly’, the company is ‘tired of fighting with algorithms’ and Lush doesn’t want to ‘pay to appear in your newsfeed’.

Its plan is to highlight more voices, and some have read this as more influencer marketing, but that still requires a reliance on existing social media channels whether the company is using them directly or not. On the announcement to quit social media, Lush encouraged people to engage directly via live website chat, email or phone.

Within 24 hours, most major news sites, both mainstream and trade, had picked up the story in what’s undeniably a publicity win for a company that doesn’t spend money on traditional advertising. Unfortunately many of the stories focused on how confused Lush customers were by the news – like this story from the Mirror – with many suggesting that Lush’s target audience are unlikely to call, chat or email the company.

While there is likely to be a bigger plan to come (more on that in a moment), this is half an announcement. Without explaining the ‘What’s next’ part of ‘we’re quitting social media’, many have been left in the dark. To some, this tease may be exciting and the intrigued superfans will be on tenterhooks. But in the age of social media, where attention spans are measured in seconds, this tactic is also likely to lose members of its audience who lack the patience for a protracted stunt.

Not everyone is against the move though, Lush has a fan in David Parkinson, managing director of Brave & Heart who, writing for The Drum claims to have considered this type of move for many of his clients. He says: ‘For several global clients, my agency has looked at similar strategies […] we have started to think beyond the platform and back to the purpose and the people. Asking “who?”, “why?” and “where?”, not just “what?” and “when?”.

‘This is why a brand the size of Lush gets my thumbs up; its big enough for people to take notice, small enough to have the chops to do it.’

Signs of a new network
On the surface it may seem like a baffling move for a company such as Lush, for whom social media engagement seems to come easily for both its products and ethical campaigns. And it’s that level of content engagement that Lush won’t want to lose, which is why the final line of the announcement points at more to come: ‘This isn’t the end, it’s just the start of something new. #LushCommunity – see you there.’

The accompanying image says Lush is ‘switching up social’ – not abandoning it. Clarity can perhaps be found in the company’s annual report, which was published the week before this announcement. The report highlights a growth in online sales and the claim that it is ‘optimistic that our new global website launch will help generate further growth’.

The company is investing heavily in its ‘digital estate’, which is being created to ensure a ‘safe haven for our Lush communities online’. It is continuing to focus on ‘developing features in beta, an evolving brand led commerce experience online’. Beta.lush.com, or #LUSHLABS, is already open to UK customers with plans for it to roll out globally by the end of June.

At the moment the site is ‘by invitation only’ and encourages registered users to ‘invite collaborators’. Users – who have to create an account – will ‘hear it here first’ with ‘early-bird content reveals and news’.

The homepage finishes with the line ‘Want to know a secret? By joining you’re helping us build a new Lush platform. Lush has always been a community-led company. Lush Labs is the next step in putting your feedback at the front and centre’.

An online community with free-flowing engagement for registered users? Sounds like a social network to me.

What do you think of Lush’s move? Tempted to quit the Gram or leave Facebook? We’re still on social media so let us know your thoughts on Twitter @Vuelio.

Your guide to local elections

Your Guide to Local Elections

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This year, local elections will take place on 2 May and thousands of councillors will be elected across the country.

No every council is having an election – in England its split as follows:

  • 33 metropolitan district councils electing by thirds
  • 116 district councils holding whole council elections
  • 53 district councils electing by thirds
  • 30 unitary authorities holding whole council elections
  • 17 unitary authorities electing by thirds
  • Elections are also being held in many areas for parish, town, community, neighbourhood and village councils

In addition, local elections are being held for all 11 local authorities in Northern Ireland.

Local councils are vital to public relations and public affairs and any organisation working with an audience at a local or regional level.

Vuelio has published Your Guide to Local Elections, which breaks down what different councils and councillors do, the local election timeline, the rules around purdah and the biggest future issues facing councils.

As local councils are responsible for a broad range of services – from education, libraries and highways to local planning, council tax and rubbish collection – few comms teams can afford to ignore them.

Download the guide here.