Archive for: Press and Bloggers

The PR and Communications Tracker from Carta Communications and The Pulse Business has found that mental health challenges and issues with staying motivated are bigger threats to UK PR teams than COVID-19.

Starting in late December 2020, the PR and Communications Tracker surveyed senior communications leaders in both in-house and agency MD positions and will run on a quarterly basis.

While 26% of industry leaders polled said that adapting to COVID-19 was the biggest threat being faced, this was behind the challenges of staff motivation and mental health, which was the top choice for 28% of those surveyed.

Despite this, 87% feel positive about the future of their business over the next year.

‘There are actually two pandemics running concurrently – COVID-19, and a shadow pandemic of mental health issues caused by social isolation, uncertainty and changes to working and living patterns,’ said Carta Communications’ founder and director Matt Cartmell.

‘We are fortunate in PR that we can work remotely and that there are always new opportunities, whatever the economic landscape. It’s great to see that so many leaders are feeling so positive – I look forward to seeing how sentiment changes through the coming year.’

The Pulse Business’ owner Imogen Osborne also sees potential in the results of the survey: ‘The findings from this Pulse suggest that once more, the PR and communications industry is bracing itself for re-invention. Some respondents are talking about how they are developing their company culture inside a flexible working model while others are coming up with new products and services that will appeal in a post-pandemic world.

‘Many of our comms leaders are bullish about the next 12 months, driven by an understandable focus on the numbers. Yet most acknowledge the issues around mental health are building and given the period for self-reflection the pandemic has necessitated, you wonder if this will lead to some radical changes in how people treat one another in an industry renowned for its competitiveness.’

The next Tracker is set to go live in March 2021 – those who wish to take part can email Imogen Osborne at [email protected].

Want more on PR trends to prepare for this year? Check out ten PR and communications trends for 2021 from industry thought leaders.

Results from the Global Women in PR Annual Index for 2020 reflect a lack of advancement when it comes to gender equality in the public relations industry, but highlight areas of opportunity for women with children.

Part of a five-year plan to measure and track the working practices of women in PR and communications across the globe, latest results from the GWPR Annual Index cover working environment, barriers to leadership, the pressures of work, impacts of being a parent and the continuing gender pay gap.

Despite two-thirds of the PR workforce identifying as female, men still held 64% of boardroom seats in 2020. Key findings in the index include:

– 80% of PRs believe that having women in the boardroom improves working practices, with 89% believing that more needs to be done to welcome women into board-level roles.
– 78% cited childcare and caring responsibilities as the biggest barrier to the boardroom
– 60% believe men promoting in their own image is a major barrier to senior roles
– 47% of women reported a negative impact on their career due to being a parent

Despite longer working hours for women in PR who are also tasked with homeschooling during the pandemic, the ability to work remotely is seen by many who took part in the Annual Index as a path to future advancement.

GWPR joint president Angela Oakes said: ‘We can see from our research that there has been little change in 2020 in the gender imbalance in the boardroom, despite the widely acknowledged link between boardroom diversity and a company’s financial performance.

‘However, the COVID crisis has created change and quickly accelerated the trend towards remote working. Two-thirds of PR professionals believe that flexible working allows women to have a family, or caring responsibilities and still progress in their career. There is clearly a demand for this, as 69% say they would be more likely to choose a job that offered flexible working over one that did not. Employers need to recognise this and acknowledge the benefits of flexible working, so we can retain female talent in the PR industry.’

PRCA Director General Francis Ingham also sees the positives that have come from homeworking: ‘COVID can provide us with a reset moment for women in PR. It can replace the painfully slow progress of the past decade with true transformation through flexible working. And when we get through this period of crisis, it will be one of the positive changes that will last.’

Read the full results from the GWPR Annual Index on the website.

The theme of ‘optimism and opportunity’ in PR ran through all of the presentations at the PRCA’s ‘PR Trends 2021’ event on 20 January.

I joined five industry leaders – Stephen Waddington, Vikki Chowney, Adrian Ma, Shayoni Lynn and Rohan Shah – to explore the emerging trends impacting public relations and communications practice in 2021.

We delivered quick-fire presentations on an industry trend that we felt would define this year, and beyond.

At a time where ‘Zoom fatigue’ is high, the number and quality of the questions from attendees highlighted both the desire and energy that exists to shape modern PR practice.

Here’s the video for those who were unable to attend the live event.

In my presentation (which starts at 31:20), I suggested history has taught us that a crisis and shocking global events can provide a reset button and be catalysts for reflection, focus and innovation.

Many comms and marketing professionals have seized the opportunity to think differently and approach their challenges in a different way.

I highlighted that leading comms and PR agencies, specialists and in-house practitioners are using data in a smarter way.

There is a growing ‘data maturity’ in PR.

Comms professionals need to capture, track and analyse media, social media, search data, web analytics and first party data to inform corporate comms, brand messaging, creative, content strategy, campaigns and even which influencers or communities to focus on and work with.

The really smart ones are, of course, using Vuelio and our sister platform Pulsar to capture and blend this data.

Here’s a summary of what was discussed by each panellist.

Vikki Chowney, H&K Strategies

Vikki joined us from New York during Inauguration Day and focused on content trends:

• We’re still ‘in the weeds’ but there is much optimism
• The pandemic has meant that we’ve found new ways to be creative and we have found a real “creative resilience”
• There are cost efficiencies to content today – clients are much more accepting of what can be realistically achieved against the backdrop of COVID and production restrictions
• The five core themes in content in 2021 are:
  • Remote Directing – teams and individuals from around the world can be successfully brought into the creative and production process using remote technologies.
  • ‘Rough & Ready’ content is okay – content was mostly raw and realistic in 2020 and the world of content didn’t stop turning
  • Creator Inclusivity – events that would have been exclusive, behind closed doors or only seen by a few people can now be accessed by wider and global audiences
  • Humanising the spokesperson – we’re seeing a whole new side to corporate comms and company spokespeople. Virtual events have brought us into the homes of business executives and leaders and we’re seeing a new side of them
  • Influencers finding shared values – influencers are seeking to work with brands and businesses in ways that go beyond product placement. They want to work with those who share their values and are seeking partnerships and campaigns with meaningful societal impact

Stephen Waddington, Wadds Inc

Ever the consummate pro, ‘Wadds’ published his presentation during the event on his PR Top 10 Vuelio blog.

He highlighted the opportunity for value creation for PR agency start-ups and agencies scaling in 2021.

Stephen acknowledged that 2020 was a difficult year for many PR professionals working in sectors that have shut down, including culture, entertainment and travel.

But he also highlighted the 30 new agency start-ups in the UK that have seen the opportunity of building a business in a pandemic.

He recommended agency propositions should focus on the opportunities for value creation by helping organisations navigate these key topics:

1. Britain’s place in the world
2. COVID-19 recovery and rebuild
3. Climate crisis
4. Societal fractures
5. Dispersion of education, healthcare, retail and work
6. Media change: social and mainstream media
7. Misinformation
8. Workflow automation and artificial intelligence

Shayoni Lynn, Lynn PR

Shayoni focused on the trend towards increased application of data-driven behavioural science in communications campaigns.

As one of the ‘new breed’ of PR agencies carving a niche in this area, Shayoni and her team use audience data, behaviours and testing to inform their activity for their clients.

• Behavioural insights help us understand conscious and the unconscious motivations that drive decision making
• The application of behavioural science in communications campaigns can help improve vaccination take-up, convince people to adopt protective behaviours, engage with mental health services, etc.
• We can’t afford to ‘stumble blindly’ anymore and we need to adopt a data-driven approach to communications planning
• We need to understand audiences more deeply, including why they behave the way they do, why they make certain choices that they do, and what will drive them to take action.
• Deeper insights into attitudes, habits and preferences can ensure our communications remain relevant, meaningful and effective
• Nudge theory strengthens content, increases the visibility of calls to action and encourages users to take action
• Cognitive bias are unconscious motivations that affect things like brand proposition, brand recall, consumer action, retention and loyalty
• Consider yourself a ‘choice architect’ and design the optimum choice environment using human factors to help your audiences make better decisions quicker
• Data has to monitor audience behaviour in real time
• Behaviour changes are about context and what works once may not work again in a different context
• Test in a randomised way, extract your data insights, learn from your test insights, and continually adapt your programme to ensure that you’re responding to your audience’s responses

Adrian Ma, Fanclub PR

Adrian talked about the role of PR in creating data and delivered the best joke of the day: ‘There were two types of forecasters, the ones that don’t know anything. And the ones that don’t know, we don’t know anything.’

• Successful companies are deploying the use of big data and automation really well
• Marketing has a larger technology ecosystem than PR
• PR is one of the most powerful and impactful and cost-effective methods for generating brand awareness and managing reputation, but it hasn’t moved as fast as other marketing disciplines
• BUT, more comms people are using the same data-driven language as marketers
• 61% of all PR and comms departments are responsible for both digital and social content
• PR provides a ‘smell test’ that marketers can use – ‘if we come up with an idea, and we can pitch it to a journalist and editor and a publisher, that is a proof point’
• When PR is combined with content marketing it can drive much more value
• PR should be tracking leads and mapping against customer journeys where we can
• If we can do that, we create more trust in PR as an effective tool and can demonstrate ROI to ‘upper left brain’ results-focused marketers

Michelle Goodall, Access Intelligence

I highlighted that the leading comms and PR agencies, specialists and in-house practitioners are starting to use blended data in a much smarter way.

Drawing and acting upon evolving audience insights from blended data sources should be a big focus for comms professionals in 2021.

• Crisis can provide a reset button
• It’s an opportunity to think differently and approach our challenges in a different way
• Many PR and marketing professionals are doing exactly that and looking at innovative ways to evolve and improve
• It’s right to be optimistic about things – it’s a time of change in the industry
• Many PR professionals have adapted to marketing and the converged space around paid, owned, earned and shared content and campaigns
• There’s an evolving understanding of the breadth of data that’s available to PR practitioners to help shape messaging, creative campaigns and content.
• Leading brands, organisations and agencies and specialists increasingly have ‘data maturity’
• At a basic level, data enables us to develop insights and to measure the impact of our work
• But there is an increasing sophistication in the way that agencies and brands and organisations capture, track and analyse that data to inform corporate communication strategies, brand messaging, creative content, strategy, campaigns, and even which influencers all communities and communities of interest to focus on to drill into
• We’re moving from simple brand, competitor and messaging monitoring towards something much more sophisticated
• For example, different groups of people talk about the same topics, brands and issues differently in social media
• The shape of conversations around topics like Brexit, COVID, shopping, fashion and the way I talk about them and discuss them in my groups will be different to other audience groups or ‘communities’
• Communities discussing the same topics can be segmented by demographic data, socio economic data, media, influencer and brand affinity, their interests, their habits, their mindsets, etc.
• Identifying how multiple audience segments or communities discuss specific topics, brands and issues differently in social media, and how that evolves, can inform the shape of your campaigns and messaging over time
• Technology enables this and we offer solutions to do this

Rohan Shah, Reuben Sinclair

And finally, Rohan provided an optimistic overview of the state of Comms and PR recruitment:

• In April 2020, PR recruitment activity dropped by 80% with an uptick in September
• Today, we’re back to pre-COVID levels and it looks promising – Tech, Finance, Healthcare are buoyant markets
• Competition is fierce for talent – ‘be open to seeing good quality candidates when you can’ and tap into your network
• No real evidence of change in salaries
• Not having to travel to the office doesn’t mean a reduction in salary for job seekers – candidates should hold on to their true value
• There is still demand for ‘publicists’, but agencies have been diversifying their services
• Future proof your skills
• There is demand for social media content marketing, research and insights and paid social media
• Comms professionals need to understand data and connect it with impact
• The industry is focusing on attracting people with these skill sets at entry level.
• Get ahead on your remote training and development programmes now
• Protect and enhance your employer brand – ensure the recruitment and retention experience is no different to how you treat your clients.
• Make your recruitment processes robust and fair as possible. It’s an indicator to people of the type of company they want to work for

The optimism from the panellists was also shared by attendees on Twitter after the event.

It feels like 2021 could well be the start of a new and exciting era in the communications industry.

If you’d like to find out how tools can help you capture, track, analyse and provide insight for your communications campaigns, please book a demo.

CIPR’s guide From Comms Professional to CEO posits that PR professionals have the right skills and experience to become CEOs.

Written and researched by 2020 CIPR Board member and How-Now Communications founder Mike Browne, the report examines what factors hold communications practitioners back from applying for leadership roles and offers advice for making the leap.

Those interviewed for the report include United for All Ages director Stephen Burke, Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association CEO Ruth Davison, Political Studies Association CEO Michelle Doyle Wildman, Ellwood Atfield founder Gavin Ellwood, British Medical Association CEO Tom Grinyer, Kings College Hospital Charity CEO Gail Scott-Spicer and Future First CEO Lorraine Langham.

‘I’ve always thought the skill set of senior communications professionals makes us ideal CEO material but haven’t seen lots of people having made the leap,’ said report writer Mike Browne.

‘I think this is partly about self-confidence and partly because of a lack of visible role models. I hope this report will help tackle both of these issues and support any communications professional thinking about taking the step up to a CEO role to “just do it”. I would like to thank the chief executives who have made the journey and gave me their time, career stories and learning. Their insight along with the thoughts of a leading head-hunter give hints, tips and inspiration for anyone who thinks they have CEO potential.’

CIPR President Mandy Pearse is encouraged by industry practitioners’ willingness to continue to upskill throughout their careers: ‘Whatever stage of your career you are at, and whatever your ambitions, this guide should fill you with confidence that you can go as far as you choose by merit of your experience and skills. In particular, I was pleased to see the importance of committing to CPD as a clear and recognised way to demonstrate one’s professionalism, adaptability and commitment to best practice.’

Find out more about From Comms Professional to CEO at CIPR’s free event on Friday – details can be found here on the CIPR website.

Losing weight, going to bed earlier, keeping active – traditional New Year’s Resolutions aren’t going to cut it for PR and communications in January 2021 as we get stuck into more working from home, uncertainty in the market and, well, uncertainty everywhere.

If you haven’t made your own resolutions yet, or are curious how fellow PR and communications people are getting ready for the challenges of a new year, here are a selection of vows for 2021 to consider taking up yourself.

For more New Year’s Resolutions in PR and comms, check out Part Two here.

Carnsight Communications’ Georgia Christley will be kinder to herself
‘To do more exercise at my desk and ensure I take regular screen breaks. It’s easy to get sucked into emails and forget to take yourself away! To push myself out of my comfort zone more. To establish a better sleep routine, I find being a mother of two young children I squeeze as much me time in the evening as possible but forget to recharge my batteries sometimes! To take part in a charity event to raise money for Sightsavers/Age UK/British Heart foundations in honour of my father who passed away in Nov 2019 and I miss so much every day. Being kinder to myself and taking a family holiday somewhere HOT (when possible).’

…and Carnsight Communications’ Leigh-Ann Hewer is taking up healthy habits
‘To incorporate healthy habits into my working day such as walks at lunchtime and more nutritious meal choices. Cut down on caffeine and get better at making the swap to decaf – it pains me to say!’

Life Size’s Lee Lodge will be shaking off the cobwebs
‘I want to put more emphasis on respecting the boundaries between work and the personal lives of myself and my colleagues. I’m a bit of a slow starter, so like to begin at least a couple of mornings during the week with a run to shake off any cobwebs. I’m going to block out these mornings in my calendar as ‘focus time’, and concentrate on a particular task once I’m back from my run. My colleagues will know not to schedule any meetings with me during this time.’

…And Life Size’s Manon Thomas is improving homeworking
‘Workwise, my priority will be improving homeworking while it lasts. While most of us are still working from home, I want to find new opportunities and ways to engage more socially with the people I interact with daily, whether they’re my colleagues, clients or journalists. It’s harder when you can’t meet face-to-face, but these discussions are one of the aspects I enjoy the most in my job.’

Zapp Communications‘ Louise Burke is out on her bike
‘I honestly find I get the best ideas when I’m out exercising. It’s a great way to plan with a clear head and obviously it doesn’t have to be a bike it could be a walk, run or swim etc. So if you can take an hour and use it for planning. I guarantee you won’t regret it!’

Teamspirit’s Adam Smith will keep up a culture of creativity
‘When we work remotely, we can still maintain creativity. We want to find new ways to stay interesting, evolve and adapt our working behaviours in a hybrid workplace – whether it’s having a walking brainstorm, or holding virtual workshops with breakout rooms to keep our training programme going.’

TDC PR’s Tim Duncan is focusing on kindness
‘The challenges and anxieties that 2020 brought has made me realise, even more, how important kindness is in leadership, especially in stressful, fast-paced industries where this simple human trait is often ignored or sneered at as a weakness. I argue that it’s kindness that keeps team morale up when things are down. It’s the glue that keeps teams together, motivated and aligned to make a business viable. For me, it’s a strategy that works. PR should not lose sight of its humanity and its duty of care of its practitioners.’

Visibility coach Natalie Trice will be putting herself front of the queue
‘Saying no to things that I do not want to do is something I started to do in 2020 – when we take something on that we don’t really want to do, it takes up so much headspace and stops us from doing what we really want to do, and can also lead to feelings of resentment and anxiety.

‘In January, I will be finishing on Friday at 3pm, put my out of office on and heading to the beach with my dogs. Finding a balance in 2021 is a real priority for me and while I love working with clients and seeing them shine, I know that to keep my energy high, I need to put myself at the front of the queue from time to time.’

Red Lorry Yellow Lorry’s Hannah Patel won’t be overcommitting
‘In 2021, my resolution will be to maximise time with friends and family, but not to overcommit.

‘Life pre-pandemic was crazy. And I only realised it when everything ground to a halt in March. I seemed to manage to pack a ridiculous amount in and constantly burn the candle at both ends (as my mum would say!). So, although I miss seeing colleagues in real life, going to the pub with friends, having dinners with family etc (and feel very lucky to be able to do those things), I’ve realised that slowing down is OK. And that sometimes, you can enjoy things more the less you’re able to do them.’

Down At The Social’s Emily Alice Valentina Sutton is expecting the unexpected (in Russian)
‘My New Year’s Resolution is to go with the flow, that you can adapt campaigns and stories easily, that nothing has to be set in stone, but you can use any situation to create something tangible and relatable.

‘My own personal resolutions outside of my work life are to finally do the things I’ve always said I wanted to do but as the year goes on, I forget about them as I get tied down with other priorities. So, I will learn to surf and ski, finally get to see New York and improve my Russian!’

Skout PR’s Rob Skinner is focusing on the day
‘It may sound obvious but the importance of making time and space to focus on the task in front of you shouldn’t be underestimated. When you’re running an agency it’s very easy to always be thinking ‘what’s next?’ and ‘where are we going?’ These things are important, of course, but if 2020 taught me anything it’s that what you do today is as important as where you are headed in the future.’

…and Skout PR’s Claire Lamb will be ready for planning taxis home
‘2020 has taught us to allow staff to work how they want where possible. That said, we’re looking forward to getting back in the office when we can and to celebrate the end of COVID-19. By my reckoning we’ve missed at least two big company events and nights out, and although we did hold them virtually, it would be nice to do in real life – even if it does mean sorting the taxi home!’

Aura Ads’ Bella Adams is getting some fresh air
‘My resolution for 2021 is to leave my desk and take a walk outside in the fresh air during my break. I’ve found that taking even ten-or-so minutes away from my screen and grabbing some fresh air is super helpful. It clears my head (which is often thinking of about 100 different things at once) and I often return to my desk feeling happy, focused and in-the-zone.’

Foundation Agency’s Emma Hull is wearing her glasses (Emma – please wear your glasses)
‘One of my new year’s resolutions for 2021 is to wear my glasses more while at work (she types, without her glasses on). I’ve been told I need to wear them because my eye strains on the one side, but I also paid a little more for the anti-glare glasses, so I really should be wearing them to protect me from any future damage and to get my use of them. The original reason for not wearing them is because my face doesn’t suit glasses (stupid reason, I know!) but now I’m working at home and nobody can see me, I literally have no excuse. I know a lot of people that should be wearing glasses and they don’t, me included, so hopefully a few people hop on board this resolution!’

Need more motivation for taking on 2021? Here are 8 tips for getting motivated for work and predictions for what to expect in PR and communications this year from 13 industry thought leaders.