Email marketing trends

Email marketing: Top industry trends for 2022

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This is a guest post from April Mullen, director of brand and content marketing at SparkPost.

There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to marketing, especially in email. In order to keep ahead of fierce competition, it is vital that brands are on top of changes within the industry. Failing to adhere to new practices can damage brand trust and reputation and risk losing subscribers.

Generating more sophisticated email content can help increase customer engagement. This, in turn, leads to better deliverability, more conversions, and a stronger community for your brand.

With these challenges in mind, here are some key trends for this year, and how marketers can stay ahead of the curve.

1) Email design: the balance between engagement and accessibility
On the one hand, emails need to stand out with bold, engaging designs. But at the same time, they need to be easy to engage with. Are these two key email trends compatible? Sure! They just require marketers to be a little more thoughtful about how they construct their communications.

Dark mode: Over the past couple of years more and more marketers have been experimenting with dark mode in their emails. They are responding to consumers who like the option for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it’s easier on the eyes – especially in low light reading environments. Secondly, low brightness means more battery life can be preserved on mobile devices, and lastly some people just prefer it that way.

Dark mode should be treated like an email necessity, not an afterthought. If your designers are worried that it might limit their creativity, they needn’t be. In many ways it has the opposite effect. More thought goes into logos, brand colours, and layouts when considering dark mode.

Accessibility: It’s a golden rule of email marketing that messages should be able to be read by everyone no matter where they are, what device they are using or what their ability level is. But there is still some catching-up for marketers to do to achieve this. Not complying with accessibility can cause brand reputation challenges.

15% of the world’s population experience some form of disability. Why should they be prevented from interacting with your emails for the sake of a few lines of code and thoughtful design? Ensuring that minimum font sizes are used and that the text is properly aligned, among other tweaks, to meet accessibility requirements in 2022.

Emojis: Everyone loves a good emoji and for the most part, they work well in email – adding a sense of fun that is universally understood.
In 2021 more marketers began using emojis in email subject lines and headlines in a rather careless way. Some forgot that if emojis replace actual words, the overall message won’t make sense if images are blocked or won’t load.

The key, if you are going to use emojis in your subject line, header or in the main body of the text (which is good for mobile viewers as copy space is often limited), is to test and test again for effectiveness before you press send.

GIFs: A properly executed GIF in a marketing email can be a very powerful way of expressing brand values in a light-hearted way. But they must be used in the right way and within the right context.

Marketers need to ensure that GIFs used:
– Aren’t too flashy or overwhelming by having smooth transitions between each frame
– Include a static fallback just in case the GIF doesn’t load
– Always include ALT text for screen readers

2) Privacy changes continue to rock the boat
Privacy continues to be a hot topic for email senders, especially marketers. As the demand for relevant and personalised email increases in 2022, the barriers to collecting the actionable data necessary to meet that demand will increase as well. The loss of third-party cookies and new features, such as Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection, are likely only the beginnings of a paradigm shift that will continue to drive marketers to rethink data collection and usage practices.

Loss of third-party cookies: Third-party tracking involves data that’s not owned by the website you’re on – and it’s used after you leave. Let’s say you’re on Currys and look at a Camera, and then you go to John Lewis and see that same camera in an ad in your sidebar. That’s a third-party cookie tracking your internet habits. Firefox and Safari no longer support third-party tracking, and Google has announced they’ll follow suit with plans to sunset third-party cookies in 2022. The demise of third-party cookies puts a tailwind behind channels that leverage first-party data – email being the most pervasive channel using first-party data. We should all be gearing up for more investment in email and SMS because owned data is about to be more valuable than ever.

Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP): Back in June 2021, Apple announced MMP would be coming to their Mail app on all compatible Apple devices. According to Apple, “Mail Privacy Protection stops senders from using invisible pixels to collect information about the user. It prevents senders from knowing when they open an email and masks their IP address, so it can’t be linked to other online activity or used to determine their location.”

At a very high-level, since MPP will prefetch all images in an email, senders will need to be aware of the following:
– Open rates will be inflated
– Open times will be random and unreliable
– Device information will be unavailable
– User location will be approximated

As 2022 progresses, upwards of 50% of open data will become unreliable and no longer useful as a success metric. This means that marketers will need to take a more holistic approach to measuring the success of email programs. Below are some example alternative success metrics that senders can use:
– Clicks
– Conversion
– Engagement from other channels, such as your mobile apps

3) Generating personalised content with limited resources
Creating an engaging, interesting and personalised email can be a challenge especially if a marketer is limited in terms of time and resources. There are however a few shortcuts that they can employ to speed the process up.

Personalisation: Personalised content used to be the icing on the top of the cake in email marketing. In 2022 it is arguably the whole cake. With brands having to contend with privacy changes across the marketing spectrum there is more and more pressure to build personal relationships with customers and delivering bespoke emails is a highly effective way of achieving this.

Ultimately, brands that employ personalisation in a responsible way that truly drives value to customers and isn’t self-serving to the brand, will have happy customers.

Agile content: This is when marketers use feeds to pull in content such as product listings, job advertisements, properties, recent news directly from an organisation’s external source/website, etc.

Images, links, and copy can all be added in a few clicks without the marketer having to resort to additional technology to be able to do this.

4) Email production: the final step
Email production can involve a lot of different people within a company, often working remotely and invariably focusing on their own specific niche. Fortunately, there are tools that simplify the process while simultaneously unlocking the creativity of email teams.
Email Design Systems: The days of constantly creating an email from scratch will soon be gone forever. Email Design Systems are essentially modular templates that have been pre-coded. They enable marketers to deliver marketing emails quickly as automation means that there are fewer elements for them to be concerned about.

Email Design Systems enable:
– Seamless collaboration between everyone involved in email
– Fewer risks – e.g. less typos, more consistent branding, etc.
– Email campaigns that are quicker to produce and get to market
– More time to invest in better quality code, which means better quality email

BIMI: Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) is an initiative that was launched in 2019 that enables brands to send out emails with their logo appearing next to the email in the inbox.

BIMI is bound to be embraced by more and more companies this year for a number of reasons:
– Design: it helps emails stand out in an inbox
– Authentication: BIMI incentivises brands to adopt proper email authentication – DMARC in particular – when sending mass messages to consumers. Senders who put in the effort to implement DMARC are rewarded with the display of their logo
– Protection Implementing – BIMI protects brands against spoofing and phishing as customers can more easily recognise that the messages are legitimate

In our recent Benchmark survey, we asked which email innovations email marketers are considering adopting this year? BIMI was one of the main responses with 28% saying they are contemplating using it.

It’s never been more important to stay ahead of trends
Design, content and process are year-on-year major focuses for email marketers, but more so this year as privacy updates occur, changes to ways of working continue to take hold and brands fight to retain once loyal customers. If you haven’t got your design, content or process right, you can be sure that your email marketing will see an effect.

Ensure you’re targeting the right people for your campaigns with Vuelio’s Media Database and Monitoring.

Want more on email marketing and trends in PR and comms this year? Read this previous guest post from SparkPost company Taxi for Email on building strong foundations for a successful email campaign and this round-up of insight from industry thought leaders on what you need to plan for in 2022.

Fair recruitment in PR and comms

How can PR and comms teams make recruitment fair?

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It’s no secret that the creative industries have a long-established problem with hiring and promoting fairly and this needs to change. Don’t see an issue? If you haven’t experienced this yourself, you may need to pay attention to who exactly is working around you and then consider just how representative your team is of the wider society we serve.

You can take the time to consider the backgrounds the people you work with have come from. You can check out the data on the make-up of the PR industry, where 74% identify as white British (according to the 2021 PRCA Census). As Hotwire Global’s senior account director Natasha Gay warns – ‘We can’t yet consign to history the idea PR is only for young, white women’.

‘The good news is change is happening and progress is being made,’ says Melissa Lawrence, chief executive at the Taylor Bennett Foundation, which works to improve ethnic diversity in PR and comms. While initiatives like the Foundation, PRCA’s Race & Ethnicity Equity Board (REEB), the Social Mobility Foundation, Socially Mobile and A Leader Like Me are leading the change, organisations themselves have work to do.

‘The argument of not being able to find qualified Black candidates just doesn’t hold up in 2022,’ says Career Masterclass founder and CEO Bukola Adisa, who works to enable the progression of ethnically diverse professionals. ‘There are a plethora of resources available, from specialist talent sourcing organisations to AI solutions that are designed to help organisations to overcome individual and organisational biases in the recruitment process.’

The path to success starts with full understanding of what you’re up against, says Dr Femi Olu-Lafe, senior vice president, global inclusion at Kinesso: ‘The companies that have made the most meaningful progress took the time to firstly understand their current state and set a clear vision for the future state, before seeking input (internally and externally) about what was needed to make meaningful change. They also committed to short- and long-term goals on paper by building a roadmap with the steps to get there.’

We can’t find the talent – where should we be looking?
For a start, expand your aim.

‘Build strong partnerships with organisations and universities that have connections with people from historically excluded communities. When possible, this should be a two-way beneficial relationship; rather than companies just recruiting, companies could consider how they could also invest in the growth of these organisations, universities and communities,’ says Dr Femi.

‘And building your brand as a company that candidates seek out. Candidates want an inclusive culture where they can thrive. Being transparent about the long-term mission and short-term steps to get there will help enhance your credibility.’

‘Companies should be looking at a diverse range of places to advertise their roles, and attract talent,’ adds Melissa. ‘They can also engage with organisations who are actively working with the people they are trying to attract.’

And on the subject of such organisations…

Which initiatives can help with recruiting fairly?
‘Let’s start with the Taylor Bennett Foundation!’ says its chief exec Melissa.

‘We work really hard to engage people from ethnically diverse backgrounds at all levels. Our programmes are always oversubscribed and what we need are more opportunities for our candidate network to apply to. There are lots of other positive action initiatives out there, recruiters need to do a bit of work to find the right one for them.’

Bukola is also ready to connect businesses with talent: ‘Through our global community of professionals and access to our wide network of Black talent, at Career Masterclass, we are able to support organisations who want to recruit from a wide pipeline of diverse talent through our recruitment solutions including jobs board, executive searches and targeted outreach to our community and network.’

But before bringing in the experts, you may need to convince your hierarchy higher-ups that there is a problem that needs fixing…

How do I speak to my Board about this?
‘The tone from the top is critical to successfully building a diverse and inclusive culture in the workplace,’ says Bukola. ‘HR teams have to invest time in educating the board and senior management team on why diversity is not a ‘nice to have’ and how it is pivotal to building a sustainable and successful business as multiple studies have shown that diversity impacts businesses positively and contributes to the bottom line.’

‘There is so much information available on how important the contribution of diverse talent is to an organisation,’ says Melissa at Taylor Bennett.

‘There are multiple reports from the likes of McKinsey, Business in the Community and the PR/Comms industry bodies that highlight the moral, business and financial case that hiring managers can draw resources from to make their case to their boards.’

Some board members may need a short history lesson/update on how that impacts the present, warns Dr Femi:

‘Increase the awareness of those with the power to make decisions about what led us to where we are now (i.e. sharing context on the historical exclusion of some groups of individuals) and the current inequities that exist.

‘It’s also important to place emphasis on the benefits (e.g. increased employee engagement and retention, enhanced innovation, better understanding of customer base, stronger business results) and risks of not focusing on diversity and inclusion (e.g. gaps in decision making, clients and customers are being proactive about holding companies accountable around diversity and inclusion, lagging competitors).

Who is already doing recruitment right?
Melissa recommends TUC – ‘Antonia Bance, head of campaigns, communications and digital trade wrote a blog for the Taylor Bennett Foundation last year titled ‘Making your communications and PR recruitment more inclusive‘. In the blog she included six points on what she thought worked well from the attraction to conclusion stage – it’s a great read’.

Recruiting to put together fully representative teams is just the start of the journey for PR and comms – creating an environment where everyone feels safe and supported to do their best work is just as important.

‘Companies need to create an environment where people feel supported and encouraged to thrive,’ advises Melissa.

‘I personally feel an organisation that actively promotes equity and inclusion will ensure their team feels welcome, valued and safe in their roles.’

And if this all wasn’t enough to encourage you to ensure your recruitment processes are fair, it turns out that diverse and supported teams are better for everybody across a business, including their customers. Final word from Bukola:

‘A plethora of studies speak to the benefits of diversity for organisations. A 2017 McKinsey Study used a data set of 1,000 companies to determine that profitability and long-term valuation increased dramatically when teams were diverse. Diversity in People Management also advances better decisions: according to a study, researchers found that diverse teams outperformed individual decision-makers in making a business decision up to 87% of the time.

‘Diversity leads to a variety of perspectives, greater creativity, confidence in the team, fortifies loyalty, draws in talent, and even improves productivity. Diversity breeds innovation, and innovation breeds success. When leaders actively champion diversity in the workplace, the benefits become far-reaching, impacting not just employee engagement and satisfaction, but also the company’s bottom line’.

For more on building diversity into your team, watch our accessmatters sessions with Taylor Bennett Foundation’s Melissa Lawrence as well as the Social Mobility Foundation’s Sarah Atkinson and Proud FT’s Cassius Naylor. 

How to support and showcase sustainability in 2022

How to support and showcase sustainability in 2022

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This is a guest post by Sarah Salord, company director at GEC PR.

Sustainability was firmly placed in the spotlight last year thanks to high-profile events such as COP26 and the G20 Summit, and as a result we are all becoming more aware of the impact our actions have on the environment and natural resources.

Consumers are becoming increasingly discerning about the products they’re purchasing and the way they are travelling. The word ‘sustainable’ is now much more than a slogan or catchphrase – it’s a key influence in the consumer purchasing process.

With shoppers now looking more closely at the businesses they buy from, it’s more important than ever for brands to showcase how they as a business and individuals, are incorporating and supporting sustainable practices.

GEC PR works with several clients with a strong sustainable story to tell, and it’s something we as an agency have pushed more to the forefront of our PR and marketing activity during the last year. Here’s how you can do the same:

1. Understand that journalists are now expecting press trips to be carbon-balanced or to have an element of sustainable travel
For example, dropping off and collecting travellers from the airport (also known as ‘Kiss and Fly’) has more of a negative environmental impact when compared with pre-booking airport parking. Therefore, we alert journalists to the benefits of airport parking through carbon-balanced companies such as our client Airport Parking & Hotels (APH.com) which can be one of the most environmentally-friendly and affordable methods of travelling to the airport, ensuring a minimum number of journeys and less time spent on the road.

2. Ensure your client’s long-standing responsibility to sustainable practices is shouted louder than ever
If a client has a strong sustainable story to tell, then place this at the forefront of the communication content plan and strategy. For example, what commitments has the brand pledged to social, environment and economic sustainability for the year ahead and what investments have been made to reduce its environmental impact or avoiding it completely?

3. Adapt your communications strategy where necessary
A key learning during the last few years has been the need to be adaptable and flexible when it comes to creating and managing a communications plan. Find out what big sustainable stories or new developments are taking place for the year ahead, and tie this in with topical content ideas. Also keep it flexible if a big news announcement drops suddenly which provides a platform or hook to shout about the client.

Responsible tourism is one sector during the last few years which has become increasingly important to media, and as an agency specialising in working with travel and lifestyle clients, we have ensured our client’s brand stories reflect this and will continue to do so. The conversation around sustainability will continue to grow and new trends will emerge, and as communication specialists, this brings more opportunities for creativity.

Want to know what travel media professionals  find useful from PRs? Check out our feature on how to pitch to travel journalists, featuring insight from those working across national, consumer and trade publications. 

For more on trends to watch out for in travel comms, download our white paper PR & Media Travel Trends 2021. 

Comms as part of business strategy and planning

Comms: an integral part of decision-making and strategic planning for business

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Kicked off by the pandemic, 2020-2021 presented some of the greatest challenges to businesses this century. As 2022 brings additional topics and issues to contend with, comms leaders are at the heart of an important phase.

At this year’s Corporate Communications Conference, comms leaders from brands including Virgin Media O2, Shell, Kellogg’s and BT provided insight and advice on key short and long-term issues and reflected on how the past 24 months rapidly altered roles and strategies.

The importance of comms in business decisions

Many organisations with executive teams that included comms leaders, departments and data as part of their strategic decision making from the start of the pandemic, saw reputation levels remain steady (even increasing in some cases) and operations continue to function well. The importance of insights that comms can bring, notably the perceptions of the organisation from the media, industry influencers, political sphere, customers and the wider public is high, yet utilising this information to shape key corporate decisions hasn’t always been accepted practice.

Naturally, many executive leadership teams consulted their finance and legal departments early into the pandemic, but including comms in the process allowed businesses to understand the reality of the human impact of the situation and provide a greater level of authenticity in their messaging. As the industry continues to evolve it will be interesting to see how the dynamic between exec teams and comms leaders will develop, as we move away from pandemic-oriented strategies and into prioritising ESG-centred comms.

Sustainability comms and the role of businesses in future

In an era of heightened change in social activism, political change and environmental issues, comms from an ESG perspective needs to be part of every businesses’ strategy. In ESG comms, the wider public are as much a part of the debate as internal stakeholders, including investors and shareholders, as well as staff. Actions versus communications was a key message from the conference, highlighting the real challenge businesses face to ensure what they are talking about doing in relation to sustainability aligns with the reality of their actions.

With ESG comms, businesses have a chance to boost reputation and distribute key business values, particularly as the purpose of business in society changes. There is a growing need for corporations to consider how they position themselves on social issues as well as topics that can be seen to sit outside of their direct business interests.

What does this mean for comms leaders?

As we look ahead in this decade, one of the real challenges for Comms departments will be determining the role of their organisations in society and working with executive teams to balance the voices of their staff and stakeholders with the wider demands in an ever-changing social, economic and political climate”

Find out more about the trends to plan for in 2022 in PR and communications in our round-up of insight from industry thought leaders.

Want more on stakeholder management and engagement? Find out how Vuelio can help.

Accessible Communications Guidelines for Spring 2022

PRCA releases updated guide to help PRs deliver accessible content

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The Spring update of the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA)’s Accessible Communications Guidelines is now available for download.

Following its original release in April 2021 and produced in partnership with Current Global, the guide aims to aid PR and comms practitioners ensure that their content is accessible for all audiences they’re hoping to engage.

PRs who want to learn more about accessibility and improve their current offering can find advice and information on creating video and animated graphics as well as the use of language and the importance of representation. In addition to advice on digital and print content, the guide also features best practice on hosting fully-accessible events, both virtual and physical.

PRCA Director General and Chief Executive of ICCO Francis Ingham said:

‘Our guidelines for accessible communications are designed to help every member of the PRCA and the wider industry create more inclusive content and campaigns. The technology and tools to help us do this are readily available. The key priority is to update the way we work to adhere to best practices laid out in the Spring Edition document.

‘I want to recognise Current Global for partnering with the PRCA to develop these guidelines and for helping us instigate change across the industry. I would also like to thank our Digital Inclusion Partner Texthelp for their invaluable contribution to the Spring Edition.’

Current Global co-founder and CEO George Coleman added:

‘Every day content is published that isn’t accessible to all. Over a billion people worldwide have some form of disability, a significant audience many are excluding by default or design. We must change this. Morally, and commercially, it’s the right thing to do. It’s been extremely encouraging to see how well the guidelines have been received to-date; but it’s dynamic space, so a year on it felt timely to do a refresh. We hope they continue to be a valuable practical resource that contributes to meaningful change across the industry.’

The Accessible Communications Guidelines can be downloaded in both PDF and Word format.

For more on accessibility in the public relations and communications industry, here are five ways to make your workplace more inclusive for dyslexic people as well as this interview with Mark Webb and Sudha Singh on fairer representations of disability in PR.

Statistics on four-day working week in comms

‘Yes’ to four-day working week say a third of comms leaders

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Three out of ten (29%) decision makers in the UK communications sector are seriously considering the move to a four-day working week, according to the latest UK Confidence Tracker from PRCA and ICCO.

A further 8% of comms leaders – a mix of CEOs, directors and heads of department – polled for the study carried out by Question & Retain have already adopted the working structure. This positive message for fans of the model reinforces a recent PRCA MENA study that found UAE professionals believe they work more efficiently under the new four and a half day working week adopted in UAE.

The quarterly Confidence Tracker from PRCA and ICCO tracks market confidence across the worldwide public relations industry. This year shows a boost in confidence and investment within the sector, as over two-thirds (72%) of in-house teams and PR agencies are hiring. In an increase of 3% from the last tracker update in October of last year, around nine in ten (87%) feel ‘confident’ or ‘very confident’ about the future of their business.

‘The data from our latest Global Confidence Tracker is very encouraging,’ believes PRCA director general and ICCO chief executive Francis Ingham.

‘Market confidence around the world is now higher than at any point since the beginning of the pandemic and the growing confidence is reflected in the number of organisations hiring. The four-day working week is an interesting proposition for agencies and in-house teams, many of whom are looking for creative ways to attract and retain the most talented professionals. The model won’t work for everyone but there are clear benefits for those willing to embrace change.’

The full PRCA and ICCO Confidence Tracker results for this quarter can be downloaded here.

Previous tracker findings from May 2020 can be found here, as can this update from March 2021.

For more about the work of Question & Retain, check out this guest post from its founder and CEO Annabel Dunstan on the benefits of working from home and the difference it has made to her team.

CIPR Communicating in a Crisis

CIPR celebrates the value of PR with publication of ‘Communicating in a Crisis’

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The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is showcasing the strategic value of PR to organisations with the release of its new guide ‘Communicating in a Crisis’.

21 case studies – entries from the 2021 CIPR Excellence Awards’ Best COVID Response category – detail the way organisations utilised public relations to manage crisis and includes tips for businesses on making the most of their own PR teams.

The award-winning case studies featured include:

– King’s College London & ZOE (Giving scientists real-time data to fight COVID-19
– NHS in the North East and North Cumbria (The Great North NHS Comms Network
– Lloyds Banking Group (Helping Britain Recover)
– Scouts #TheGreatIndoors (The Scouts’ response to COVID-19)
– AstraZeneca (Emerging strong from the pandemic)
– Liberty Communications Limited (Tech for good – hacking for humanity)
– Ascenti (Using health and wellbeing to support staff returning to work after lockdown)
– University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust (Communications: a critical role in an effective response

Examples of valuable work done by the featured comms teams include their fight against misinformation, uniting remote teams, vaccine rollout support, and adapting to a changing economic environment.

‘The breadth of case studies in this guide demonstrates how public relations enables organisations to confidently communicate through difficult times,’ said CIPR President Rachel Roberts.

‘This guide demonstrates the versatility of public relations and how irrespective of the challenge faced by organisations, communications consistently acts as the bridge to enable organisations to inform and reassure their stakeholders. This guide will act as a great resource for all PR professionals as they scenario plan for the future and is a welcome addition to our industry knowledge resource.’

CIPR’s Alastair McCapra said:

‘PR professionals have shown what can be achieved in the midst of an overwhelming crisis. Now, however, the world has shifted again. We [had] all believed that COVID-19 was something that would leave scars but something that as a society we would be able to put behind us and return to normal. From the vantage point of early 2022, perspectives are now shifting on this.

‘COVID-19 has taught the world many lessons, one of the lasting ones must be that the resilience and power of communications professionals should never be doubted.’

The full ‘Communicating in a Crisis’ report from CIPR can be downloaded here on the website.

For more on managing communications effectively during difficult times, read this guest post from Onyx Health’s managing director Karen Winterhalter on learning the lessons from the COVID-19 crisis.

Why PRs should work with marketing

PRs – here are seven reasons to team-up with marketing

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Trends in the integration of marketing and public relations, our latest whitepaper by Stephen Waddington, features insight from thought leaders across the two functions… though, are the two really separate?

Download Trends in the integration of marketing and public relations here.

The crossover between the sectors has been under debate for at least 50 years and this conversation will likely continue as they further evolve. Here are seven takes on why close connections between comms and marketing is a positive for businesses and brands.

1) Success is the ultimate aim, not separation
‘Senior professionals in traditionally structured companies love to create silos. In commercial life, caring about definitions or silos is usually in inverse proportion to the importance of the task’ – Tony Langham, executive chair and co-founder of Lansons.

2) Close connection means the creation of good ideas
‘You need to be comfortable in asking for support from other operational functions, where they have expertise, as good ideas can come from anywhere. Openness and respect are also the key to having a collaborative working environment. You can spot the brands where marketing and PR are tightly integrated and work well together side by side. Especially when there is a crisis situation or a brand needs to respond quickly’ – Lexie Jenkins, senior press officer & publicist at Costa Coffee.

3) Collaboration opens up opportunities across teams
‘Ideas can come from anywhere […] That’s a tremendous opportunity for the communication team. It unlocks resources that it might not otherwise have been able to access’ – Suman Hughes, director of communications, UK for Mastercard.

4) Marketing and comms already share goals
‘Brand and product messaging are fundamental to both marketing and communications. They lie at the heart of how an organisation differentiates itself and engages with its markets’ – Ruth Jones, founder and managing director of 3THINKRS.

5) Social media management flows directly into sales
‘A modern crisis typically starts with an issue on social media. Monitoring provides an early warning signal. The social media team often acts as a first responder on customer services issues and matters that might otherwise escalate into a crisis to internal operational teams’ – Tamara Littleton, founder and CEO of The Social Element.

6) Marketing measurements can proof the efficacy of public relations
‘Clicks, comments and downloads can all be analysed as part of a customer journey. We can connect digital earned media with actions such as behaviour change and sales’ – said Shayoni Lynn, founder and CEO of Lynn PR.

7) Want to target influencers and editors? You may have them within your marketing team already…
‘We used to have a stakeholder group of 20 to 30 editors that we worked with around the world. Now social media has meant that everyone is now an editor’ – James Andrew, executive director – communications & PR at Group Lotus.

The global pandemic has underlined the importance of comms and marketing teams for the overall success of businesses and brands in communicating to their audiences and client-bases. When teams are under increased pressure to perform and prove their worth, the finding of efficiencies and quick wins are even more important. While there are definitely differences and lines between comms and marketing, closer collaboration can mean stronger campaigns, content planning and crisis management.

Not particularly close with your marketing department/team/in-house expert? Maybe it’s time to set up a virtual brainstorming session over coffee.

For more interesting statistics and facts on the integration of marketing and public relations, download the full white paper here.

For keeping track of your campaigns and client wins, try Vuelio’s Stakeholder Management and Insights services.

B2B PR Strategy

12 ways to maximise your B2B PR strategy

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B2B PR doesn’t often grab the headlines, especially when it is compared to what is seen (incorrectly) as more creative consumer communications. But the benefits of good PR for business to business activities are plentiful, and clear to everyone working in this industry both in-house and in agency.

To gather the best expert advice for anyone putting together a B2B public relations strategy, we submitted an enquiry through the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service. The response was enormous, and very clear – B2B PR is valuable and for many businesses, vital to their success.

James Murray, client services manager at Definition Agency spelled it out quite simply: ‘PR is about building brand awareness so organisations feel comfortable aligning themselves with you. After all, brand trust is an important part of the buying decision.’

Trust is at the heart of every relationship, and relationships are what PR are all about. As Claire Lamb, director at B2B agency Skout said: ‘A B2B relationship marketing renaissance is coming. Companies need to get human interaction back into their businesses. And remember, people don’t want to be sold to, they want to be helped.’

While some of this advice may prove valuable for all PR, B2B requires special attention. Sarah Carpin, head of PR for Spike explained: ‘Effective B2B coverage, whether it be coverage for brands looking to increase their wholesale client base, or to position themselves as respected and trusted brands within their sector, needs specialist management. B2B PR also covers things like non-competing brand collaborations and charity partnerships, providing client support at trade shows and conferences; hosting customer networking events; submitting award entries and supplying relevant content for LinkedIn, blogs and email newsletters.’

Without further ado, here are 12 tips to improve your B2B PR strategy:

Think about your business strategy
‘A well-thought out, strategically driven media relations programme that’s closely aligned with your business goals will deliver impact, credibility and authenticity, drive loyalty and communicate values. You want the reaction from your customers that they see you “all over everywhere”. If you’re front of mind, you’ll be first on the call list.’ – Felicity Read, managing director, Leapfrog PR

‘It all begins with your objectives – tell us what they are, and we’ll deliver a holistic strategy which is measurable. That’s because we may love words, but we’re big fans of data too. Every decision we make and piece of content we write, all loops back to those long-term ambitions.’ – Katie Mallinson, founder and MD at Scriba PR

‘As a business, pretty much everything you do is public relations so connecting your business strategy with your PR strategy will help you create impactful campaigns that communicate the right messages to the right people at the right time. It will also make you aware of new opportunities while keeping you ahead of the competition.’ – Anastasia Psarra, account director, Cerub PR

Connect through thought leadership
‘When crafting a B2B PR strategy, it’s important not to forget that people buy from people. B2B PR provides an invaluable opportunity for businesses to authentically connect with their target customers through thought-leadership.’ – Julia Clements Roche, Write Thought Communications

‘Thought leadership remains crucial to B2B PR strategies, as it helps to build trust, credibility and influences brand perception and purchasing decisions. To make an impact, thought leadership needs to be original and deliver real value and expertise to the intended audience.’ – Gemma Eccleston, associate director at PR Agency One

‘A strong thought leadership led public relations campaign helps businesses to get heard above the background noise and create brand awareness that amplifies other marketing campaign elements, while also providing critical ‘air cover’ to the sales campaign.’ – Ashley Carr, founder and managing director, at Neo PR

Build up internal profiles and personal brands
‘Contributing articles, making yourself available for comment and securing interview and podcast opportunities will all help to build your organisation as a trusted source of information and opinion and hopefully someone that other companies will want to consider doing business with.’ – The PR Team at Progeny

‘Newsrooms are shrinking, content is increasing digitally and editors are looking for vendor neutral thought leadership bylines on an ongoing basis. If you have subject matter experts on your team, you are missing a huge PR opportunity if you are not writing and having your PR agency place these articles with your target media.’ – Joanne Hogue, partner at Smart Connections PR

‘Think about smaller-scale, but potentially more effective, comment opportunities around industry news and trends. Although the client may not have a huge pull to their name, and may not get featured in nationals, don’t forget to send these insider comments to lesser-known, but still extremely valuable, industry-relevant blogs.’ – Lydia German, marketing and outreach coordinator at Tao Digital Marketing

Think digitally
‘Join things up. B2B can provide fundamental support to other marketing functions, such as lead gen and SEO, so make sure you fully leverage the opportunities available.’ – Louise Findlay-Wilson, funder and managing director of Energy PR

‘Not only does digital PR help with building brand awareness, but it can also be used to increase the overall domain rating of your website, drive traffic to specific product pages and help to rank above your competitors for certain terms.’ – Chloe Deans, PR and content manager at Access Mintsoft

‘Over 70% of B2B purchase decisions start with a search, according to Google. Allow PR to do what it can do best – leverage relationships, create link-worthy PR stories and earn coverage with links.’ – Proactive PR, which specialises in B2B technology PR

Make your content work for you
‘PR is not an isolated tool – amplification is a core part of any PR strategy. Simply sending out a press release or a thought-leadership article is not enough. It deserves more. So, make sure you’re using your other assets – your blog, social, email – to amplify that message to your core audience. Make your content work as hard for you as possible.’ – Tom Bestwick, content marketing and PR consultant at Hallam

Keep it simple
‘Make your copy to the point, jargon free and easy to understand. If the journo has spent three years writing for Coil Winding Intl and then moves to Mobile Europe as feature editor, they are not going to understand the importance of the 5G frequency spectrum for connecting to multiple IOT devices in the first few months. Guide them.’ – Mark Casey, founder and CEO of Dais Comms

‘Simplicity is at the heart of B2B PR. Not simplistic ideas or lazy thinking, but the ability to make complex and nuanced information understandable. Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.’ – Lynsey Barry, co-founder of B2B PR agency Five not 10

Provide context in your content
‘We’ve found that a greater focus on macroeconomic data helps. Adding more background to communications can help clients make sense of what’s happening in the wider world and how the service/product you are marketing resonates in context. We’ve been focusing on this over the past year and saw an almost 50% increase in coverage in 2021 as a result of this and other actions.’ – Leor Franks, business development & marketing director at Kingsley Napley LLP

Be creative and collaborate
‘Reach out to other brands who aren’t direct competitors but whose service offering can interlink with yours. At the very least, propose a blog post exchange. Or go bigger with a podcast/webinar!’ – Heather Wilkinson, content manager, Addition

‘There are now various mainstream examples of B2B brands being as creative, if not more, as their B2C counterparts. The likes of Slack, Salesforce and NICE are all investing huge sums in ad space that would historically be reserved for B2C brands, often with big name celebrity endorsements. So, you shouldn’t feel restricted in your creativity as a B2B brand.’ – Lee Simpson, account director at Fourth Day PR

Uncover opportunities in your data
‘If content is king, data is queen. Many B2B companies are already sitting on a wealth of useful data that can be used for PR. Highlighting product/service trends, regional variations or industry insights within a particular targeted sector is usually really appreciated by journalists and has the resulting effect of positioning the organisation involved as an expert on the subject.’ – Ali Cort, client services director, Browser Media

‘Data is your friend: Make the most of the research and the data team. Find out what they can pull from customer experience or from the back end of the site and see if there is a story within it.’ – Jodie Harris, head of digital PR at www.BlueArray.co.uk

Maximise your social channels
‘Social media can be your biggest asset. A little bit can go an awful long way to drive additional reach and engagement with a brand, if you get your strategy right. Don’t let clients tell you their audience isn’t on social – they just haven’t found them yet.’ – Louise Watson-Dowell, PR & digital strategy director at Definition

Understand your audiences
‘Really understanding your audience — PR at Degreed is about building our authority as a market leader. We cannot achieve this if we aren’t hyper-focused on the major opportunities and pain points facing our target market today. Our PR outreach is global, so instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, we tailor everything to each region including our angles, research, experts, and even our timings.’ – Jade Emmons PR manager at Degreed

‘Know your verticals – B2B brands often have very specific sectors they’re selling into and the message and offering may change wildly from sector to sector. As a PR professional, you must be able to adapt the message and adapt your pitch to secure coverage in a range of publications, across different verticals.’ – David Clare, head of PR at B2B tech marketing agency Fox Agency

Adapt for a sectorised approach
‘In the property sector, the best B2B results often come from integrated corporate and consumer campaigns, with audiences sourcing news and information from a range of sources.

‘Whether developers, agents, funds, charities or other, all organisations working in real estate need to earn trust from their stakeholders to achieve their objectives – if you’re considering whether to grant planning permission or invest millions, that market-wide reputation really matters to seal the deal. That means B2B PR in the property sector needs to ensure you’re building authenticity in your brand, in everything that you do, whether it’s how you show up in your audience’s LinkedIn feed and your share of voice in the investor circuit to what is being said about you or your projects in the weekend papers they read, by an influencer they trust or by your customers.’ – Laura Leggetter, one of SEC Newgate UK’s heads of communications

For more information on how Vuelio can help your B2B public relations and marketing, find out more here.

Want to try out the Journalist Enquiry Service for yourself? Start contributing relevant data, expert comment, product news and much more to the UK media – book a demo.

BBC license fee

Looking behind the abolishment of the BBC license fee

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The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Nadine Dorries shocked many stakeholders and parliamentarians when she tweeted that 2027 will be the end of the BBC’s license fee funding model with a link to an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail.

The announcement is to set in motion a move away from the funding system that the BBC has used since 1923, and a reconsideration of its legal powers to collect and enforce the license fee. Dorries has personally been talking about ‘taking on’ the BBC on Twitter since 2014 and the organisation has attracted challenges of impartiality from across the political spectrum.

In her statement to the House of Commons, Dorries recognised the channel as an ‘great institution’ with a ‘unique place in our cultural heritage’ but said raising the license fee couldn’t be justified against the increasing cost of living. Julian Knight, the DCMS Committee chairman, said later that the cost ‘may not be much to presenters like Gary Lineker, but it’s a lot to constituents like ours’. It’s this sentiment that shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell challenged in her response, stating the license fee is a drop in the ocean when compared to the hike in energy bills and the Government’s plans to raise tax and national insurance contributions in April. Labour MP Chris Bryant pointed out the £159 yearly fee is the same as the proposed average national insurance increase. Nevertheless, Dorries stated that ‘the Government are committed to supporting families as much as possible during these difficult times’.

Following the announcement, Director General of the BBC Tim Davie stated the freeze will impact the BBC’s frontline output, and suggested the resulting funding gap would be £285m in the final year. He said the organisation remains focussed on providing household value.

How the BBC can prove themselves to have adequately addressed the ‘impartiality and groupthink’ Dorries accused them of in her statement to Parliament is yet to be seen, as well as if the Government can independently judge this redirection. The decision to freeze the license fee comes despite the BBC launching a 10-point plan focused on impartiality, whistleblowing and editorial standards last year. Clear progress so far has been insufficient; the broadcaster was only recently protested over how it has depicted transgender and other minority communities. In the Commons, Powell stressed the danger posed in this explicit link between charter renewal with editorial decision. In her statement, the culture secretary said the BBC must now put its words into action and ‘convince the British public’ that those changes are being made. Dorries also suggested the BBC’s legal powers to enforce the license fee should also be curtailed, which could go some way to tackle other issues with the BBC’s funding, like the disproportionate impact of prosecution for TV license evasion.

While some may agree with Labour’s sentiment that the announcement on this longstanding issue serves as a distraction from the current crisis over alleged parties during lockdown, it might take something bigger to distract the public from ‘partygate’.  And while Conservative MPs have endorsed scrapping the license fee over the years, there was reportedly lots of skepticism from the party following the announcement.

The pressing issue raised by several MPs is how the license fee will be replaced, to which there has been no answer. Dorries suggested her announcement allows for a solution to be debated, supported by the work of the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, while others suggested it should be decided by the public. Sir Peter Bottomley, the father of the house, questioned whether an assessment of alternatives have been undertaken with no direct response.

As supporters of the channel point out, a change in funding arrangements should be balanced with the good the BBC has to offer, both as a contributor to the UK’s soft power globally and at home, as a provider of education and supporter of local news. As the announcement of the freeze sat alongside a further £7.5m invested in S4C, the first channel to be specifically geared towards a Welsh speaking audience, the Government appears to be aware of the importance of the BBC in devolved and regional matters. Powell suggested to Times Radio following the announcement that ‘what we are getting for (the license fee) payment is incredibly cheap’.

Whether or not the inspiration behind the decision to freeze the license fee was to distract from bigger issues, it may appease Conservative Party critics of the BBC. They are not alone; if YouGov polls are anything to go by, the public don’t currently find the fee good value for money. However, the sudden announcement on social media, coupled with the lack of an alternative, kicks a complicated issue into the long grass for now, as a job for a different minister.

For how the scrapping of the BBC license fee could impact public relations and communications, read our previous post PR needs the BBC.

Regulated industries

6 tips for being creative and compliant in regulated industries

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Compliance doesn’t have to stop the flow of creativity when putting together campaigns within regulated industries. For our webinar Bold Communications in Regulated Industries, Edelman’s director, client strategy Lisa Stone and Investec’s head of PR Luke O’Mahony shared solutions for sectors including healthcare, pharma, fintech and financial services.

1) New KPIs mean new opportunities
‘In healthcare, it’s really difficult because we can’t promote products,’ said Lisa. ‘I see that as an opportunity. We don’t have that as a KPI – there’s no “how many brand or product mentions did we get?” Instead, we really get to focus on the cultural insight, the patient population we’re trying to track.

‘When we talk about product in healthcare, it’s actually about client need. What is the trigger we’re trying to solve? If you take product out of it, it becomes a lot easier.’

2) Parameters can provide you with a blueprint
‘From the outset, we have a basic understanding of what you can and can’t do in a regulated industry,’ said Luke of working in the financial services sector. ‘That’s the key constraint, more than money in many cases.

‘When agencies are involved, there’s an interesting tension there. You want an agency to be aggressive with their ideas and push you, but it’s also got to be sensible.’

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3) Make the most of your clients’ and agencies’ existing knowledge
‘Because we’re all in the same space, we all usually understand the parameters,’ says Lisa.

‘Clients are really involved in that journey. If we’re talking about a new drug launch, we’ll need to consider from a client or healthcare professional perspective, and in a way, that’s freeing. Instead of talking about a drug, how instead do we talk about the challenges in a way that will really resonate and encourage a dialogue that will lead them to consider other treatment options?’

The same is true in the finance sector, says Luke: ‘The business understands what’s required of us, in my experience; nobody’s saying, “Well, why didn’t you do a load of TV ads?”

‘The way we like to work with clients is to consult. We’ll engage with them. Sometimes they’ll say, ‘maybe you’ve been overcautious’ – we work compliance in right from the beginning, rather than at the end.

4) Compliance considerations covered = quicker sign off from stakeholders
‘Involving compliance from the get-go really helps with getting the sign off,’ says Lisa.

‘KPIs should be built into your programming from the beginning. In the healthcare industry, so many of our clients are trying to build trust within stakeholder groups and that’s something we can really measure effectively. There’s lots of room for us to look at how perception has changed and how the campaign has impacted that. There is value in investing in that kind of work.’

See the impact of your content with Media Monitoring

5) Use caution – find different ways to be creative
‘Be cautious,’ says Luke. ‘You’ve really got to read the room – it’s really important that your campaign ties into something broader in regulated industries.’

‘We find that personality can come through when it’s a personal communication. As a company, we have to have a certain tone, but we encourage our research analysts, for example, to let their own tone of voice shine through in comms. I think that reflects positively and makes the content more engaging.’

6) Anticipate change to get your sector ready for what’s on the horizon
Is your sector not regulated yet, but it’s on the way? Act like you’re already regulated, advises Luke.

‘The worst thing a business can do is think “let’s make hay while the sun shines.” Be a trusted company before the regulation comes in – that pays off in the long term.’

‘The latest Edelman’s Trust Barometer found that businesses are the institution most trusted by the public,’ adds Lisa.

‘This represents a huge opportunity – know your audience. Share thought leadership – as a trusted sector, you can really take the lead.’

More Vuelio webinars sharing best practice for both agency and in-house comms and public relations practitioners can be found here. 

Expanding into Europe

Supporting your clients in their European expansion: 4 points to consider

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This is a guest post from Nikki Scrivener, director & co-founder of Fourth Day PR.

It has been a challenging couple of years for UK businesses and pandemic-driven uncertainty has forced many to adapt their strategies. Budget cuts – paired with restrictions on international travel and events – have also made launching in a new market difficult.

But, while the complexities brought about by COVID-19 and Brexit are not completely behind us, organisations are still optimistic about expansion. For many, this might mean entering a new market or region.

Your client may be looking to replicate their UK success in Europe, particularly where there are opportunities in the sectors they are targeting. Energy, healthcare, and manufacturing are growth industries in France, for example, while automotive, food, and electrical engineering are buoyant markets in Germany.

Regardless of the industry your client is in, there’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach when it comes to international comms. Don’t be tempted to just replicate what’s worked in the UK. Here are just a few things to consider when planning a PR campaign across multiple countries.

1. Understand the landscape
The PR landscape differs greatly across Europe. The UK, for example, is more open to direct PR approaches, due in part to the ratio of journalists to PR practitioners. With smaller newsrooms, many outlets will accept PR content that is of editorial standard – making it possible to place the right stories in high quality publications.

The numbers are different in Germany, however, with two-thirds of journalists to one-third PRs. When the PR landscape is vastly shaped by journalists, they are in firm control of what makes it onto their pages. Understanding how the media operates in a new territory, and the types of stories that resonate, will help you to adapt your strategy and content.

2. Adapt your tactics
Your usual PR tactics might yield different results across Europe, so it’s important to understand media preferences when planning your launch.

Obviously, in the UK, journalists expect a quick turnaround on content and often request last-minute, data-rich quotes from top-level executives. Companies that can be agile and act quickly can land the best coverage, including in national titles.

Bylines are also a powerful PR tool in the UK, but mainly in the B2B media arena. In France, however, national newspapers regularly accept bylines from company execs, provided they address a newsworthy, trending topic.

In Germany, the PR landscape is slightly more traditional. The importance of print is undeniable, and there’s a certain prestige attached to magazine coverage. With deadlines months in advance for B2B print media, companies often pitch stories in May and have them published in September, so a long-term content strategy is needed for this market.

3. Build relationships
As face-to-face meetings slowly make a comeback, knowing how to network with journalists in a new market can be a real boost for your PR campaign – whether you are setting up a meeting to introduce your client to a journalist, or simply trying to build connections with local editors yourself.

Europe’s bustling events calendar – packed with annual trade shows and industry showcases – presents a great opportunity to meet with journalists, introduce your client, and build meaningful connections. While these opportunities do exist in France, French journalists often prefer one-to-one lunches or desk-side briefings.

Knowing where the media are based in each market is also important when trying to secure quality time with journalists. In the UK, for example, most (but not all) trade publications are based in the South of England, whereas in Germany, trade outlets tend to be located in sector-specific hubs. So, you will typically find more tech outlets clustered in Munich and more financial outlets in Frankfurt. And unlike the UK – which has strong regional business outlets – most French news outlets are headquartered in Paris, so meetings with journalists will need to take place in the capital.

4. Localising your content
My last piece of advice is simple – localise! At a very basic level, content should be translated and adapted using local insights where possible. Having local spokespeople is also advised if you are planning to make a lasting impression with the media. In Spain, for example, a local country manager who can talk about local plans will be more interesting than an English-speaking CEO addressing the ‘global picture’.

And when it comes to the subject matter, proceed with caution when it comes to promotional or product-led content. The UK media are sometimes happy to include product details if it ties in with a feature, but the German press are less lenient and will more than likely offer you a paid opportunity instead.

Once you’ve had a taste of success launching your client in one market, it’s great to be able to replicate that elsewhere. However, with each location having its own cultural nuances, it’s crucial to have a tailored communications plan that can work in each region. To launch successfully in Germany, France – or beyond – take your time to assess the PR landscape, adjust your tactics, and localise, localise, localise!

For targeting the right journalists with the right content internationally, try the Vuelio Media Database – book a demo here. 

How to make the most of your PR internship

How to get the most out of your PR internship

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This is a guest post from Miriam Chumbley, account executive at Red Setter.

When I first joined Red Setter this past summer, I knew that an internship was the perfect way to kick-start my career in the PR industry, learning on the job from talented practitioners around me with years of experience under their belt.

With lockdowns and restrictions putting many opportunities at risk, securing a placement during a pandemic was a triumph in itself – so I’m doubly proud to have turned my internship into a full time, junior account executive role (and promoted to AE in the last week!).

While the learning is always ongoing for me, here are some ways to help you make the most out of an internship in PR.

Get stuck in
Starting at Red Setter in the summer of 2021, I was lucky to get to be physically in the office and to dive into live client projects from day one. From the get-go, my day-to-day involved direct facetime with clients, building relationships with key journalists and brainstorming with my team to arrive at the best ideas. My eyes were opened to a whole new world of agency PR, and I realised my ability to adapt to different tasks working across several projects at a time.

It’s simple, but the bottom line is to get as much experience as possible – seize every opportunity to contribute, and you’ll get as much out of it as you put in.

Use your voice
For a career in PR, communication is key – and this goes hand in hand with confidence. I learned early on that sharing my unique point of view as a newcomer could help my team test ideas. Don’t be afraid to speak up, share your opinions and challenge ways of doing things – your perspective will always be appreciated.

PR is also a people business: the relationships you build with your clients and the media are important, and those with your team are vital, too. Ask away and get to know their passions as much as possible – you’ll collaborate better, learn better and ultimately help to make sure you’re enjoying the work you’re doing!

Be honest
While sharing your point of view is key, what’s equally important is being totally honest with yourself and your colleagues about where your blind spots are, and what you know you need and want to learn. Always ask people for help when you need it.

In an industry as rapid and reactive as PR, your team are there to share their expertise and guide you. We have a ‘no stupid questions’ rule across the company where I’m never scared to ask about something at the risk of feeling penalised for not knowing the answer.

Feed your passion
I studied modules in Graphic Design and Public Relations at university, so I really hit the jackpot with an internship at Red Setter – a PR agency for world-leading design studios.

Having a genuine passion for design was a crucial part of my interest and success in my role, and I think the same applies for any industry you want to be in. Find that thing that you find yourself doing outside of work, then channel that into your day-to-day to enrich your process and improve your output.

Don’t be scared of socials
LinkedIn can be an intimidating place, a constant stream of everyone else’s success. For employers, it’s a fundamental way to find out about who you are. So just as it plays an important role in getting you the internship in the first place, LinkedIn is also a huge resource for once you’re in it. Build your profile and keep active!

Apart from the obvious of monitoring your client’s social pages, it’s an important tool to connect with key journalists, industry figures and follow key publications and hashtags as a quick and easy way to keep up-to-date with the latest news.

Make time for you
It’s easy to get swept up in the momentum of PR and start to blur the boundaries of work-life balance when you’re trying to prove your worth in a new role. Taking care of you is crucial for your wellbeing and will help you be better at work as a result. Find your go-to for completely switching off and re-energising for the next day or week ahead. For me, that’s yoga class at home with Adriene or BODYCOMBAT at my local fitness studio. Getting moving is a great way to let off steam when your day hasn’t gone quite right, and there’s nothing like a downward dog to get the creative juices flowing or throwing some boxing punches to release built-up tension from a busy day!

Believe in your team – and yourself
Heading into the world of work isn’t going to be perfect, there’s always going to be the pressure and nerves that come with this big step. Hopefully these tips will make the step a little easier, and remind you that you aren’t alone, so you can focus on doing your best. Relish in the creative energy of those around you and above all believe in yourself – you never know where an internship could lead you.

For more insight into the day-to-day of a career in PR, read this guest post from Prezzybox Alex Spencer, who offers a whole week’s-worth of wisdom. 

Trends in PR and communications for 2022

10 PR and Communications Trends For 2022

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2022 has certainly been… a year. At the start, hopes were high for an easing of the setbacks caused by the pandemic and that the lessons we’d all learned would help us evolve our purpose and ways of working. Did this happen?

In some ways, yes. And despite the challenges we’re all still working through, we can do even better as an industry in 2022.

Here are predictions from nine public relations, communications, marketing and public affairs experts on what the big trends to plan and prepare for will be for the year ahead.

1) Sustainability and purpose
‘It feels to me like purpose is becoming more and more important for organisations, and communicating it is a really important task. A big plank of that is of course sustainability but we have been talking about the environment for years; a big growth area in terms of messaging is likely to be fairness and social inclusion. Particularly in a time of inflation and with the UK Government still trying to define what it means by ‘levelling up’, being able to talk about the impact of clients on less advantaged areas is going to be more important than ever.’
Gavin Devine, Park Street Partners

2) Inclusion
‘There has been an increased focus on diversity and inclusion within the industry with many new initiatives launched. As a Board Member of the PRCA’s Race and Ethnicity Equity Board I am keen to see how firms continue to push for greater equality within our industry. It is important to see leaders from diverse backgrounds and we just do not have enough within the PR industry. A key challenge will be moving from talking about increasing diversity to now making it a reality at more senior levels.’
Emmanuel Ofosu-Appiah, Mercer

4) Net Zero
‘We have hundreds of businesses who are signed up to science-based targets… but there are hundreds who haven’t.
‘We can’t just do this in 2029 when it’s too late – this needs accumulative reduction.’
Luke Herbert, The Climate Group

5) AI + human effort
‘AI will transform the tactical, ‘doing’ bit of our work even more, leaving space for us to be more strategic… are we up to it? We need to regulate the social media platforms and ourselves – the basic business model that drives the social media algorithms needs changing. We have to do something about the polarisation in society. The ESG agenda will become more pressing, too.’
Anne Gregory, University of Huddersfield

3) Hybrid working (for good and bad)
‘Finding, keeping and training more junior colleagues looks set to be a major issue in 2022 and beyond. Working from home and even hybrid working is great for people with comfortable home offices and at a more settled stage of their careers; it is self-evidently less so for those at the start of their careers. And honing your skills is so much less easy if you and your senior colleagues are not in the office every day. At the same time, the pandemic has led many people to question their career choices and think about alternatives. All of this means we are likely to see a shortage of high-quality people with a few years’ experience. That will fuel a race for talent; retention will be an issue.

‘One way that this will manifest itself may well be in pressure on pay. This will be part of an economy-wide challenge, the like of which we haven’t seen for years: inflation. Life is about to become more expensive and this will be true for comms agencies as much as it is for anyone else. We will also have to think of new messages for our clients to use in the media and with stakeholders about why prices are going up.’
Gavin Devine

6) Personal development, with healthy boundaries
‘Working practices and client expectations have changed throughout the pandemic, in part through people working from home, and it seems to have exacerbated the ‘always on’ culture we’ve been trying to move away from. The biggest challenge for the year ahead will be managing this and re-establishing boundaries so the workplace is a happy and healthy one.

‘PR practitioners can help businesses deliver their objectives in terms of articulating purpose, managing change and communicating with stakeholders. With the right skillset, there are plenty of opportunities to be had but personal development is crucial to success.’
Sarah Waddington, Astute.Work and #FuturePRoof

7) Flexibility to new working models
‘Both a challenge and opportunity for the industry will be how we continue to adapt and evolve new working models. A lot has changed in just two years, new social media platforms, media outlets, key stakeholders, and influencers are developing at a rapid pace, the industry is constantly learning, paired with the pandemic and working from home, stricter/looser social distancing restrictions (depending on what the Government feels like that week), we have successfully made it work to our benefit and for our clients. I think we must embrace this and try not to rush or force employees to return back into the office and rigid working conditions. What the last few years have proven is that we as PR practitioners are resourceful and creative. We must continue to adapt and be flexible.’
Tolu Rachel Akisanya, Ariatu PR

8) Realistic risk management
‘We need to be realistic about the economic situation and the potential for growth.  It is likely to be a challenging year and if growth isn’t as high as hoped then that could affect the spending available to government.  The implications would be enormous.

‘Government will want to continue to be interventionist and any organisation that simply leaves them to it is playing a very dangerous game. Engagement with government should focus on the development of trusted relationships, which needs to be built over time.  For those that choose not to invest in their engagement there could be a lot of emergency public affairs required.  Aside from the obvious failure to manage risk, the success of that approach is much more variable and more expensive.’
Stuart Thomson, BDB Pitmans

9) New metrics and measurements
‘One of the big challenges for measurement is the starting point of any campaign – do we have clear measurable business objectives; do we have data on the starting point or audience insights? In the last year we have definitely moved from impressions/clicks and likes to measuring engagement and that is going to be the direction of travel.’
Sudha Singh, The Purpose Room

10) Listening
‘You can involve everyone in the process of D&I. I’ve learned about navigating my own space, my own bias and what I bring. And really listening. Taking that time to stop my voice and hearing what people are feeling.’
Asad Dhunna, The Unmistakables

Want more from the above thought leaders sharing their predictions?

accessmatters with Asad Dhunna from The Unmistakables

Interview with Sudha Singh and Mark Webb on fairer representations of disability in PR

BDB Pitmans’ Stuart Thomson on public affairs in 2021

The Climate Group’s Luke Herbert on the New Statesman panel Making Sense of Net Zero 

Emmanuel Ofosu-Appiah on PRCA’s Race & Ethnicity Equity Board

PR Recruitment Crisis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Adult Social Care

Is the Government’s latest white paper on adult social care reform enough to help the sector?

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After much anticipation, the Government quietly published its adult social care proposals last week. The Putting the Heart into Care White Paper included headline announcements such as £300m to develop the housing for the elderly sector as well as details on the Government’s £500m investment in the social care workforce.

The reforms promise to create a care system that will give people a greater choice and independence and give the people who work in social care better routes for career progression. Introducing the reforms to Parliament, Minister for Care Gillian Keegan said: ‘Today’s White Paper is an important step on our journey to giving more people the dignified care that we want for our loved ones, setting out important changes that will last for generations and stand the test of time.’

Any indication of reform to the sector is welcome, given the intense capacity and workforce issues seen in recent years. However, many critics have accused the Government of not going far enough.

On the opposition bench, Labour’s Shadow Care Minister Liz Kendall argued that the White Paper has ‘utterly failed to deal with the immediate pressures facing social care, as we head into one of the most difficult winters on record’. She also continued Labour’s attack on the social care cap which will cap personal care costs at £86,000. Labour voted against the measure as they argue it will still leave people with unaffordable care costs.

The Liberal Democrat’s Daisy Cooper said that the measures laid out are ‘incredibly thin’ and will not address the problems with fragmentation and integration between the NHS and care. Meanwhile, Philippa Whitford has called for the Government to follow the lead of the Scottish National Party in Scotland and introduce a national care service.

Much of the criticism of these reforms is focussed on the lack of additional funding which the sector will see. This is despite the Health and Care Levy, announced in September, which will raise £36.5bn for the health and social care sector over the next three years. As most of this money will initially be spent on addressing the waiting lists in the NHS, the proportion to be spent on social care is only £5.4bn. Moreover, with £3.6bn of this funding being spent on the social care cap, the remaining funding for investment in the sector is just £1.7bn over the next three years.

The Health and Social Care Committee Chair Jeremy Hunt argued that the funding set out in the White Paper doesn’t even give enough funding for local authorities to carry out their core responsibilities, let alone give them enough to deal with demographic change and national living wage increases. He highlighted that the Committee had called for a £7 billion-a-year increase by the end of the Parliament to address the current challenges. This was echoed by the Health Foundation which has argued that the reforms will ‘feel like hollow words without the money to deliver it’. The Think Tank has suggested that additional funding of around £7.6 billion in 2022/23 is needed, rising to £9 billion in 2024/25.

There are some positive notes for what is included in the reforms – ADASS have said that although the sector needs more funding, the White Paper is a good foundation for reform with ‘strong values and principles’. Likewise, Skills for Care have welcomed the workforce components of the reforms, including the investment in professional development processes. ARCO has also praised the White Paper’s attention on developing the specialist housing sector.

Overall, although the White Paper doesn’t contain anything particularly contentious for the sector, there are concerns that it does not go far enough to address the long-term challenges, particularly on funding and within the workforce. With this, the sector can expect more proposals in the coming months. A standalone strategy for people with dementia and their carers is planned, as well as an Integration White Paper which will set out measures to improve the join up of care in local areas.

Vuelio’s weekly Friday morning political newsletter Point of Order shares insight and opinion to help public affairs, policy and comms professionals stay ahead of political change and connect with those who campaign on the issues they care about. To find out more or contribute, get in touch with Vuelio Politics.

How to get inclusion right in PR and comms

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cabinet Office

What the Shadow Cabinet Reshuffle means for the UK political environment

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Lucy Grove and Charlie Campion from the Vuelio political team take a look at the Shadow Cabinet reshuffle. 

Labour leader Keir Starmer surprised us with a reshuffle this week, beginning with the resignation of Cat Smith, who had continued to serve as Shadow Secretary of State for Young People and Democracy under Starmer’s leadership, following her appointed to the role by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Nick Thomas-Symonds has been removed as the Shadow Home Secretary having served in the role since Starmer’s victory in the Labour Leadership Election last year, but having come under some criticism for his performance in the role, has been moved to serve as Shadow International Trade Secretary. He has been replaced in Shadow Home Secretary by Yvette Cooper, who has returned to the role having previously served in the same position under the leadership of Ed Miliband. The former Chair of Home Affairs Select Committee has received some acclaim for her scrutiny of Government during her stint in the role including an exchange with current Home Secretary Priti Patel on the lack of up-to-date figures related to COVID-19 and border issues in July 2020. The MP for the marginal seat of Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford will arguably add some experience to Keir Starmer’s senior leadership team, where few have had the opportunity to serve in government.

Lisa Nandy will see her portfolio switch from meetings with foreign dignitaries to a role more focused on local communities and government. The co-Founder of the Centre for Towns and active campaigner for towns and communities will be a popular choice with social media users who turned her passion for towns into an internet sensation during the 2020 Labour Leadership Election. The MP for Wigan has long taken an interest in local government repeating her calls for a ‘functioning bus network’ and will shadow Michael Gove as the government rolls out its Levelling Up agenda.

Ed Miliband retained a quarter of his former post, moving from the Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to the newly-created position of Shadow Secretary of State of Climate Change and Net Zero. Although not having a direct opposite in Government makes it unclear who Miliband will be shadowing, the creation of this role indicates a commitment from the party to one of the most central issues plaguing Government, particularly after a last-minute compromise at the COP26 summit. The appointment also acknowledges Miliband’s passion for the topic, demonstrated in his challenge to Boris Johnson over COP26 ambitions.

There was movement in store for Wes Streeting and Jonathan Reynolds, who took on the roles of Shadow Secretary for Health and Social Care and Shadow Secretary for Business and Industrial Strategy respectively. Streeting, the Member of Parliament for Ilford North, has been an MP since 2015 having taken the London seat from the Conservatives in an upset win, he then went on to serve as Shadow Secretary for Child Poverty. Meanwhile, Reynolds is moved to the Business and Industrial Strategy role having previously served as the Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary.

The reshuffle also saw Cardiff Central MP Jo Stevens move from her previous role shadowing Nadine Dorries, the recently appointed Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, to return to the Welsh portfolio. She replaces Nia Griffith, MP for Llanelli, who has now taken a step back from frontbench politics.

Former Shadow Secretary for Justice David Lammy has been promoted to the Foreign Affairs brief opposite Liz Truss. Albeit a slightly surprising appointment, former barrister Lammy is a powerful speaker and will be well placed to hold the Government to account on a challenging foreign policy landscape. Following his appointment, he said he looks ‘forward to setting out Labour’s vision for a values-led foreign policy’. Working alongside him will be Shadow Cabinet Minister Preet Gill, who has been in post since September 2020.

Some quarters were perhaps left surprised as Dr Rosena Allin-Khan wasn’t moved to a more senior role in the Shadow Cabinet, especially with Jonathan Ashworth vacating the Health portfolio. The MP for Tooting in South London has been touted as a rising star in the Labour Party and while she saw no promotion in this reshuffle she will continue to attend the Shadow Cabinet in her role as Shadow Minister for Mental Health.

Peter Kyle, the MP for Hove, joins the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. He was previously Schools Minister and replaces Louise Haigh. Another member of the 2015 intake, like Wes Streeting, he upset the Conservatives turning a 4% Conservative majority into a 3% Labour Majority before winning a 30%+ majority in the 2017 and 2019 General Elections.

There were rumours that Wes Streeting was on the cards to take over Shadow Secretary of State for Education from Kate Green after his appointment as Shadow Schools Minister in 2020 and his long history of being an active voice in education. Phillipson, the former Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, is the first MP representing a northeast constituency to be Shadow Education Secretary since Pat Glass, who held the role for two days in 2016 and has spoken about the poor outcomes for young people in her area. Conclusions could be drawn here about the parallels between this and the Government’s ambitions for levelling-up education.
Jim McMahon has become the Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, moving from the Transport portfolio. He has been the MP for Oldham West and Royton since 2015 having previously served as the Leader of the Council.

The reshuffle also sees Emily Thornberry stay in the Shadow Cabinet, but she returns to her role of Shadow Attorney General, despite rumours of her ending up in home affairs. She brings expertise from her substantial work in the legal profession before entering Parliament as a barrister to the role.

Steve Reed moves from Shadow Secretary for Communities and Local Government to justice. His first shadow ministerial role was in home affairs from 2013-2015, providing some background to the role, as well as having been commended for his work establishing the Co-operative Councils Network, which sought to transform local public services prior to his election. Although he hasn’t worked as a lawyer, like his predecessor, Reeds’ background publishing includes spells with the Law Society. Following his appointment, he reminded Twitter of his work introducing Seni’s Law to secure justice for mental patients.

Lucy Powell moves from Shadow Secretary of State for Housing to her new role shadowing Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries. She takes on this role following a brief period as Labour’s front-bench housing spokesperson, which some argued lacked a strong campaign against the Government’s actions over the leasehold scandal. Powell has relevant experience for the appointment, introducing the Online Forum’s Bill way back in 2018, arguing unregulated ‘echo chambers’ on social media are allowing the online spread of abuse, including racist conspiracy theories, revenge porn and illegal trading. Despite achieving cross-party support, the Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament.

Jonathan Ashworth has held previous shadow cabinet positions for the Department of Health and Social Care, for which he served longer than any other Labour politician, as well as the cabinet office. He will be shadowing incumbent Work and Pensions Secretary Thérèse Coffey, who welcomed Ashworth to his new job, stating that the two have a ‘shared mission to improve the quality of life for millions of people in this country’.

Also noteworthy, Angela Rayner kept her former roles in the November 2021, but nonetheless hit the headlines as the reshuffle coincided with her long-planned speech on Labour’s plans to clean up politics at the Institute for Government. Papers reported that the deputy leader appeared blind-sided, while sources close to the Labour leader said Ms Rayner was told a reshuffle would be taking place.

Louise Haigh was moved from being Northern Ireland’s Shadow Secretary of State a week after being criticised by some for suggesting the UK Government should remain neutral in the event of a border poll. Upon her appointment she said she was looking forward to ‘getting stuck into the Tories on behalf of communities who have been sold out by their transport betrayal’.

Vuelio’s weekly Friday morning political newsletter Point of Order shares insight and opinion to help public affairs, policy and comms professionals stay ahead of political change and connect with those who campaign on the issues they care about. To find out more or contribute, get in touch with Vuelio Politics.

Green world

Baroness Bennett: The future of the world has to be Green

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Green peer Baroness Natalie Bennett of Manor Castle writes about the challenges of getting the Government to agree to environmental standards and the kind of people therefore needed in opposition.

There are, it appears, two Government trade policies. One is a cutting-edge, environmentally revolutionary plan to be ‘world-leading’ in standards of environmental health, slashed carbon emissions, best-in-game workers’ rights and respectful of human rights. The other is ‘Singapore-upon-Thames’ Elizabethan ‘buccaneering’, polluting, rights-abusing goods flowing through wide-open freeports where the rules are abolished and neoliberal capitalism rules raw in tooth and claw.

It is a function of our first-past-the-post politics that profoundly incompatible coalitions, such as that between the Thatcherite ideologues of the South East and the fed-up impoverished, ignored ‘Red Wall’ seats, get into Government and produce such policy paradoxes.

The issue of making the UK a democracy is something I’m always working on, but in the meantime I’m also doing what I can on trade to push us in the direction of a policy that acknowledges that there is no exchange of goods and services on a dead planet, and ours is right at, or beyond, its physical limits.

One tactic is to try to get the Government to commit, as the House of Lords has collectively been trying to do for years through the Trade Bill, the Agriculture Bill, the Internal Market Bill and many others, to put ‘on the face of the Bill’, as we say, commitments to decent standards. Even the National Farmers’ Union has, however, been unable to get Tory MPs from the rural seats to stand with us in what we call the ‘Other Place’.

Second-best, but still worth trying, is to get verbal commitments, which is why this week I asked the Government if it planned to sign up to the New Zealand-led Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS), a still fairly modest but important initiative, operating within the World Trade Organisation framework, that aims to end fossil fuel subsidies (in the UK now at about £10 billion a year, far above what is being put into renewables), agree tariff-free trade in environmental goods and services, and agree a global eco-labelling scheme.

You can see the debate here, or read the debate for yourself in Hansard. If you watch the video through once, you might be positively surprised. It is clear, as the Talk Radio host Julia Hartley-Brewer grumbled to me last year, that everyone is now talking Green.

But were you to sit down to analyse every sentence, check the meaning of each clearly very careful assemblage of works, you have to conclude that when it comes to the Government’s commitment to, or even interest in, ACCTS, as Politico’s morning trade newsletter put it: ‘close but no cigar’. It concluded: ‘Trade minister Lord Gerry Grimstone, who will also lead on the Government’s new Office for Investment, sidestepped.’

Which is where we come back to the politics. The Government won the last election with a strategy of mobilising the disaffected, uniting and energising the angry and the self-interested, with a populist, Trumpian, evidence-free repeating of simple slogans. It is clear which policy approach fits with that.

The politics seems unlikely to change any time soon. Which indicates that we need to build new coalitions in opposition, of the sensible, the evidence-driven, the practical people – who know that the future of the world has to be Green.

People who know that businesses that get ahead of the curve for the transformatory circular economy, one-planet living, model, will flourish. That communities built around strong local economies with food and good production for local consumption, promoting biodiversity and wildlife (just look at Paris), providing security for all (hello Universal Basic Income) will be attractive to the educated and capable in a world in which human resources are in increasingly short supply with plummeting birth rates.

Buccaneering belongs in the time of Queen Elizabeth (the First that is). As we’ve seen with its management of Covid-19, it’s New Zealand that’s the truly leading world nation, with a very different model of politics, society and trade. But it is equally clear this Government has no intention of following its lead.

This blog post is part of a cross-party series on Vuelio’s political blog Point of Order which publishes insight and opinion to help public affairs, policy and comms professionals stay ahead of political change and connect with those who campaign on the issues they care about. To find out more or contribute, get in touch with Vuelio Politics.

Whitehall

2021 Will Be Good For Public Affairs

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Dr Stuart Thomson, head of public affairs at law firm BDB Pitmans and winner of the Current Affairs category at the Online Influence Awards 2020, explains why public affairs is essential in 2021, and offers advice to maximise success.

The management of political risk became mainstream in 2020 as organisations saw the value of engagement. There is every indication that 2021 will be good for public affairs but only if we continue to deliver value.

The early months

As we have already seen, the early months of 2021 will be dominated by continued lockdown and the Covid vaccinations rollout. But once that is over, we can then expect the Government to engage in some serious policy development and communications activity. There will be the mother of all relaunches as it attempts to build on any goodwill created by the vaccine rollout and starts to put forward an agenda to try to win the next General Election.

There are a huge set of elections coming up in May, should Covid allow that timing. But even if the timescale slips slightly, the Government won’t want to delay them too long; there is every indication that these elections, across England, Scotland and Wales, will reflect the Government’s handling of Covid.  Anyone expecting a major Cabinet reshuffle would do well to look for one after these elections. If the Government doesn’t do well then this would be a good time for a ‘refresh’ of the team.

Red wall challenges

Many of the challenges that the Prime Minister faces will come from his own side. His MPs seem quite upset to the approach adopted to lockdown and the apparent reliance on the power of the ‘U turn’ to solve bad headlines.

The replacement of Dominic Cummings gave some hope that a new approach was on its way and that may still be the case. It appears though that Covid continues to stop all else in its tracks even a new approach to working with colleagues.

There is no doubt that the new red wall Conservative MPs will need to show that the Government has made progress by the time of the next election. Certainly, Brexit has been delivered in a way that most supporters find acceptable but that will not be enough.

Implications for public affairs

What should we in public affairs do to ensure that we continue to deliver value during the course of these and other events during 2021?

  • Be ahead of events – many of them we know about in advance, such as the elections but also the Budget, a more detailed Spending Review etc, but also consider the more unexpected as well. Do such events offer opportunities for engagement? What happens with their outcomes? Do you need to react?
  • Think policy – the Government’s need for a relaunch and the emphasis on pre-General Election delivery means that they will need to come up with a constant stream of ideas and make others, such as those promised for devolution, work. That needs constructive engagement and an emphasis on supplying solutions.
  • Think projects – particularly across the Red Wall, building things will be important. Something that means the local MP can cut a ribbon and the silver plaque outside commemorating the opening can have a Union flag as well. Can you help deliver such schemes or, at least, support them?
  • The environment – with the COP 26 conference coming up at the end of 2021, the Government will have a particular emphasis on climate change. Is there anything you can do to help deliver on the environmental challenge?

Even as Covid starts to fade as a top line issue, the Government’s political challenges remain. Good public affairs engagement is increasingly about political risk management and if 2020 taught us anything it is that dialogue with Government is essential. That will continue to be the case in 2021 and beyond.