Archive for: Press and Bloggers

This is a guest post from Niki Hunter Ekins, managing director at Splendid Communications.

2020 has been a year of extremes. The rise in mental health issues, food poverty, job losses and isolation at the hand of COVID-19 has been matched by unprecedented levels of community spirit, empathy, neighbourly connection and better work-life balance thanks to flexible working.

Beyond the pandemic, 2020 was the year where politics became yet more polarised, and Black Lives Matter and Extinction Rebellion went head to head with the establishment to try to drive forward a better future for all.

2021 will be no different. The vaccine rollout will bring hope but not before we are impacted by both Brexit and a new lockdown at the hands of a mutating virus. A deep financial recession and high unemployment seems almost inevitable, so how will brands and agencies continue to improvise, adapt and overcome? Will we remember the lessons learned?

For agencies

The triple bottom line
2020 has made people stop and think. Like many others, it has given us at Splendid a renewed focus on ensuring we don’t just deliver to the bottom line, but that we’re creating a diverse work environment and reducing our impact on the planet. Reporting on people, profit and planet will keep these goals on track.

Protecting work-life balance and mental health
This year has only intensified the impact that our busy and stressful industry can have on mental health. Agencies that put a focus on solutions and support for their staff will be the ones that successfully attract, retain and grow great people.

Offices as collaboration hubs
Agency life is all about problem solving and being creative and we’ve found methods to maintain excellence in delivery for our clients. When lockdown eases, offices are likely to become spaces for creative collaboration, learning and team building rather than day to day delivery. My expectation is most people will be office based for something like three days per week rather than five as the default.

Proving ROI
With a recession imminent and Brexit set to increase the cost of goods for clients, we have to expect that more eyes will be on performance and ROI. Agencies or teams that have already established clear measurement models will be top of the pile for receiving new briefs.

Meetings with purpose
Video conferences aren’t going anywhere. I anticipate only critical meetings will be in-person, saving valuable travel time, money and carbon emissions. But in a creative business where people buy people, we need to make time to find ways to make real connections with both clients and team members.

…and no more kissing
Whether you love it or hate it, cheek kissing won’t return anytime soon. Social distancing will be a hard habit to break and for good reason. Long live the elbow bump!

For brands

Product and price isn’t enough anymore
Data from Global Web Index shows that people now care more about brands that support people during COVID-19 and are eco-friendly, and more than 40% say brands should place more focus on social causes and the wellbeing of their employees. ‘Purpose’ has gone mainstream.

Actions > words
For brands wanting to do more than just make a great product, it’s critical that they weave it into the fabric of their business and not just use it as a marketing campaign. People are actively researching the ethics of a brand more than ever so they will be called out and lose customers if they are seen to not deliver. Seeing rival supermarkets come together to stand up against racist comments was a great moment and I hope we’ll see more of this inter-category collaboration in 2021.

Watch where your money goes
If brands aren’t careful, their ad spend can support sites that promote climate denial, anti-vaxxers, white supremacy or hate speech. The Conscious Advertising Network is making strides in bringing this challenge to the front of mind of every brand.

Make money go further
Brands will need to balance satisfying consumer desire for more ‘purposeful’ businesses with the need to deliver better value as we head into a recession. This is no easy task, and we should be revisiting the lessons from the 2008 recession to help guide us. Brands that manage to offer quality alongside value and purpose will thrive. Help people make their money go further by providing tangible, real-world help e.g. recipes that feed the family for £5. Convenience becomes critical, so give people products or services that save both time and money. Lastly, give people some affordable enjoyment, whether that’s staycations, days out or mealtime indulgence. They’re going to need it.

For more 2021 PR and communications trends to prepare for, read our round-up of predictions for next year from 13 industry thought leaders. 

‘I wanted to fly a flag for communicators and recognise the amazing work they and we do each week, each month, and each year’ – Darren Caveney shares the catalyst for launching comms2point0 (highly recommended in the PR and Comms category at this year’s Online Influence Awards) over nine years ago and his big plans for celebrating and supporting the PR and comms industry in 2021.

How does it feel to be highly commended in your category at the Online Influence Awards this year?
comms2point0 has been my baby and passion for more than nine years now. But I felt like the recognition was more for the 500+ comms pros who have written posts and case studies and shared insights in that time, and everyone else who has supported the comms2point0 community and its events and initiatives. It really is the best community.

What started your passion for your subject?
Well the real start point was joining the PR degree course at Leeds Business School back in 1993 with the great Anne Gregory.

Back in 2011, I felt there was a gap for where comms and PR professionals could share lessons, experiences and work examples, especially across the public sector, and as a way to support one another. We’re often all doing very similar work, and I felt there was an opportunity for us to be smarter, so I created a free online resource for the community to make use of, be a part of and add to.

I also wanted to just generally fly a flag for communicators and recognise the amazing work they and we do each week, each month, and each year.

How has the pandemic impacted your work?
First off, I’m lucky that neither me, my loved ones or friends have been impacted health-wise by COVID-19. And if 2020 has taught us anything it’s to be grateful for what we do have.

My consultancy – Creative Communicators Ltd – had a full five to six months of work, training and events lined up when Lockdown 1 hit in March. Watching much of it get cancelled in a matter of days was a really weird experience. And I won’t lie, I had been so busy for the previous five years that initially the rest was quite nice. But after two weeks of sitting drinking coffee I grew bored and fortunately the work began to return, albeit a little different to what had gone before. Now it was about very tailored consultancy and training requests to support very specific needs of organisations. For example, helping lockdown councils reframe their communications strategies so that it recognised the demands and impacts of COVID-19 and gave them at least a chance of protecting their mental health and wellbeing in what, was becoming clear, was a long-term crisis.

Much of my work previously has been face-to-face training, consultancy and events so of course it’s bound to be reduced by COVID. But I’ve been busy and felt like I have really been able to support teams and individuals during a really difficult year for them.

What do you love most about being a blogger/influencer?
Well, I’ve never thought of myself as an influencer – my kids would mock me mercilessly if I ever claimed to be. But I think the comms2point0 website has had influence within the public sector communications community over time. The stats, growth, reach and traffic back this up. But also, the work requests which come in to me.

The site has over 1.5k blog posts on it now and it’s an absolute treasure trove of comms and PR learning. And other free resources – such as my essential comms planning guide, which has had over 5k downloads – make it a good place for comms pros to look to support their own work and development.

What I love most are the very personal posts that shine a light on important topics such as mental health, bullying and equality in our profession. I’ve lost count of the number of people who have contacted me to thank me for hosting these posts and for the positive impact they’ve had on them in realising that they are not alone in sometimes struggling with these issues.

How do you like to work with brands and PRs?
I have a trusted set of brands and companies I have worked with on projects such as The UnAwards over a number of years. I think of them more as partnerships and collaborations and we can learn so much from good industry suppliers, and the skills, knowledge and resources they bring to the table.

After 25-years in the industry I’m very clear on the values and ethos which are important to me – this includes always trying to do the right thing for the right reason, rather than trying to just make a quick buck.

I’m open to new collaborations if the products and services are of genuine value to the comms community. And I love a new project and initiative – I love to create new things which can support the industry and the people in it so if you think we have some aligned ambitions and values, then shout me.

What plans do you have for 2021?
Big ones. I’m incredibly excited about my plans for the 7th annual UnAwards to take place in the summer of 2021. And that is a chance for new partners to come on board. Following that will be the winner’s masterclass too, where attendees can, for free, hear from the winners, their lessons and their insights.

I’m rolling out a new series of training workshops for 2021 – everything from supercharged social media and strategy surgeries, through to podcast training and how to engage with Generations Z and Alpha with a couple of leading fellow consultants.

I look forward to helping deliver the brilliant Comms Unplugged event which will take place in Dorset in September. It’s another thing I’m really proud of and has aimed to push mental health and wellbeing much higher up the agenda and equip us all with the skills and knowledge and deal with the growing problem in an effective way. It’s more of an experience than an event and we think it’s pretty unique in our industry. Come along, I promise you’ll love it.

I’ll continue to mentor a number of comms pros, which is something I’ve done for a decade now and really enjoy.

I set up a consultants group during Lockdown 1 as a place for small business owners in the industry to have a place to check-in with like-minded people. We have a lunchtime coffee chat via Zoom each Monday and it’s become a special group and we’ll look to develop that in 2021, and even get to that much anticipated face-to-face meet-up.

And of course I’ll continue to deliver strategic comms consultancy for organisations across the UK.

Which other influencers/podcasters do you follow/enjoy?
All of the people who write guest blog posts for comms2point0. That’s a weekly treat to see those come in.

My friend Sally Northeast produces the lovely CU on the Air podcast, and pal Adrian Stirrup the fun Talking Comms Pod, which I help with.

I really like the weekly email from The Joy of Work author, Bruce Daisley (who, incidentally, is our keynote speaker for next year’s Comms Unplugged), and the research he shares around the changing dynamics of the workplace especially as we battle through COVID-19.

Which other media do you always make time for?
There are so many. For my factual news fix and update I tune in to the brilliant James O’Brien show on LBC whenever I’m free. It’s stripped of opinion and uses those old-fashioned skills of research and evidence, and boy do we need more of that. I love Marina Hyde in The Guardian for her humorous take on the week’s big events. In a similar vein, I love the work of Birmingham artist Cold War Steve.

I’m a proper film and TV nerd so there are too many to name here. But rest assured I have worked my way through Netflix and Amazon Prime’s finest during 2020.

I have really missed the cinema in 2020 and can’t wait to remedy that next year.

For the first time in its history, the PRCA has released details of its ethnicity and gender pay gaps.

Based on a survey completed by its UK-based and full-time employees, the data reveals that half (50%) of PRCA employees are from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, the median ethnicity pay gap is £8,000, and that ethnically diverse employees are more likely to be working in lower paying roles.

For gender composition, the PRCA found that its workforce largely reflects the PR and communications industry at large, with 67% of employees identifying as female and 33% as male. The PRCA’s median gender pay gap is £11,000 (26%), which is 5% higher than the industry average of 21%, according to the PR Census.

Of the results, PRCA director general Francis Ingham said: ‘This is an important exercise and something we wholeheartedly encourage our members to do. From 2021 onwards, we will include data on our ethnicity and gender pay gaps within our annual report so that we can effectively track and measure our progress on these important issues.’

This data from the PRCA follows the publication of its Race and Ethnicity Equity Board (REEB) guide ‘Closing the ethnicity pay gap in the PR and comms industry’ in November.

Full results from the pay gap data can be found here on the PRCA website.

Read more on the aims of the PRCA Race and Ethnicity Equity Board in our interview with its chair Barbara Phillips.

This is a guest post by Frank Marr, co-founder of AM+A Marketing & Media Relations.

This autumn AM+A Marketing and Media Relations conducted a survey targeting decision makers in the transport and tourism sector to learn more about their marketing and PR activities. A total of 45 senior decision makers responded – including national and regional tourist boards, managing directors of transport groups, senior communication leaders and business owners.

Key findings

Our six-question survey focused on marketing in the wake of COVID-19 and aimed to uncover insights into the following:

– Shortfalls and areas for improvement within existing PR and marketing strategies
– Frequent external purchases in relation to marketing and PR
– The importance of marketing and PR during the pandemic
– Key campaign starting periods and areas for investment

Has COVID-19 changed planning dates? How are companies preparing?
Organisations are reimagining strategies in light of the ‘new normal’. The first quarter of 2021 will be an important moment for organisations to decide how to invest and forecast what their sense of purpose for commercial survival will be.

COVID-19 has had a major impact on both short term (monthly) and long term (the next 12 months) marketing/communication strategies.

Key months for campaign planning
In our survey 57% of respondents claimed the biggest period for planning was January to April 2020. After a sluggish winter of trading for many sectors, organisations will be looking to turn 2021 into a sustainable and profitable year. Early investment in campaigns to attract customers will be essential.

The second highest period for PR and marketing campaign planning was between August and October with 28% of respondents considering late summer a good planning period.

Areas for improvement – technology, research, data and content output
In terms of key areas for improvement, our survey indicated a need to combine data findings gained from market research with SEO and online content. The results are a clear indicator of the need to maintain a healthy competitive position online whilst boosting traffic and online engagement.

Our polls suggested the most important area for internal improvement was SEO, followed closely by market research and content with clear calls-to-action. When it comes to marketing spend, Facebook was one of the biggest investment areas for respondents, with over 50% of people investing heavily in the platform.

Summary – the future of tourism marketing
The need for brands to grab attention while maintaining brand awareness and familiarity has never been so important. The pandemic has altered the way humans move and behave – gaining attention from publicity and traction from online activity is increasingly challenging. This is where owned new media such as podcasts and online magazine can help.

Building a social purpose and appealing to consumer desires with beneficial ideas and content is key. It’s important to build your own online following and engage them with positive, feel good messaging.

Researching and understanding how to improve society and the world through your organisational behaviour is a core component of post-COVID marketing. Implementing technology for online commercial activity is also important. Creativity remains key, as does the need to generate publicity that can benefit SEO backlinks alongside quality online marketing content.

The Survey Results and Tips

The optimal time to start new campaigns, shortcomings within PR and marketing, and which three areas of PR and marketing our respondents would choose to invest in.

1. What months do you typically spend the most on marketing and PR?

Summary:
When it comes to knowing the right time to start a new campaign, it is important to monitor when countries will be receiving a COVID vaccine to help ease the risk in investing in marketing activity.

A second factor is the understanding of movement within a country or region, as well as how long this will likely last. For example, the UK has established a tiered regional system which will likely be in place until March 2021. Our survey results clearly indicated that campaign planning and asset building typically begins between January and April.

Tips from our findings:
– Start planning now: Start campaign preparation now to ensure your organisation is on track for recovery by spring/summer 2021
– Find a new sense of purpose: Reposition your organisation and find a renewed sense of purpose. Establish new goals for how you can help society and the environment. If the world is able to start looking beyond COVID in summer 2021, new methods to meet climate change targets and social agendas will be key.

2. Where do you feel you fall short when it comes to marketing & PR?

Summary:
Responses to our survey indicated that many decision makers felt that it was primarily the SEO and market research aspects of their PR and marketing strategies that fell short. Increased market research allows decision makers to fine tune their SEO and increase quality traffic to their websites.

It is also notable that many responses showed an interest in furthering their podcast and new media offerings, which is unsurprising as now 12% of the UK population listen to podcasts weekly.

Tips from our findings:
– Learn more about your customer: Increase market research to learn more about what your customer needs. This will help dictate content messages and your marketing narrative. The Boston Consulting Group recently stated the most successful organisations during the pandemic have been those who have been customer focused.
– Knowledge is power: Use this increased knowledge to update your campaigns and website SEO in line with what customers are looking for. Plan campaigns that can include new media such as podcasts.

3. If you were to invest in three areas of your marketing & PR what would it be?

Summary:
Our survey found that decision makers are most likely to invest in social media, website improvement and SEO.

In the current technological climate, social media is one of the primary ways brands build presence and communicate key messaging effectively. Furthermore, social media platforms breakdown the barriers between provider and consumer. This allows for a more nuanced and immediate understanding of which campaigns are effective.

Tips from our findings:
– Use social media for purpose-led content: brands need to use social media to cut through online noise. Content now needs to focus on how it maintains brand awareness and attention.
– Make web improvements: Integrate your website into your marketing and PR plans – ensure your website has relevant data collecting feeds. Data from cookies and Google analytics can feed into marketing and content campaigns.
– Quality content generates traffic: The better the quality of content on your website, the more likely you’ll increase online bounce rates and session duration. Share ideas and information that will directly benefit your audiences.

Read more from the results of the survey here. 

Results from the PRCA’s annual PR and Communications Census show a snapshot of an industry with much to do to protect the mental health of practitioners, close the gender pay gap and become racially equitable – issues that have either stagnated or worsened during the economic struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020 Census, sponsored and undertaken by Norstat, brings together data from March and October and is based on responses from 1,251 public relations practitioners across the UK.

The impact of the global coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on PR professionals at both home and at work, according to the results. 34% of respondents having suffered from or been diagnosed with mental ill health, and work/life balance has taken a hit since March, with 44% of respondents admitting to sending emails and making calls outside of work hours.

While data gathered in March predicted another year of growth for the industry, with a workforce of 97,300 before the pandemic and a contribution of £15.7bn to the economy, 34% of survey respondents now report organisational redundancies. A widening of the gender pay gap is also a worrying statistic from the report – the 14% gap in 2019 rose to 15% in March 2020. October’s data suggests a further rise to 21%, which, even with the proviso that a larger number of senior respondents took part in the later survey, is startling for a year where equality has been a major discussion across the globe.

On the work being done to welcome more ethnic diversity into the PR industry across all levels, the data shows slow progress. 10% of 2019’s PR workforce identified as Black and ethnically diverse, while 2020’s percentage has risen a miniscule amount, to 12%. Practitioners from these backgrounds are also mainly in junior roles. 88% of managing directors identify as White British, while 54% of account executives identify that way. Class inequality also continues to be a problem – the percentage (21%) of PRs who attended fee-paying schools is three times the national average (7%).

Of the results, PRCA REEB chair Barbara Phillips said: ‘We know we are better than these latest statistics. We are the ones who convince and cajole our client’s customers and audiences to engage with products and services because they identify with a narrative. What narrative do these latest stats tell? Currently the PR and communications narrative in regard to ethnic diversity is one that urgently needs rewriting.

‘We already have a great deal of qualitative information and these latest numbers are shocking. Let’s refresh our industry’s reputation among diverse groups and make the changes that welcomes everyone to an industry that, if you stay, can offer the most amazing experiences.’

PRCA director general Francis Ingham sees an opportunity for change: ‘For too long, our industry has recruited and promoted in its own image. There is no place for unethical cultures that tolerate inequality; next year will see the launch of our new diversity module within the CMS designed to raise standards across the industry. Our industry must do better – empathy and ethics must form the heart of our industry’s recovery from the pandemic.’

Read the full results from the PRCA PR and Communications Census here.