Social listening introduction

An introduction to social listening for PR, comms and public affairs teams

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If you work in public relations, communications or public affairs and you’re only tracking your brand or client’s reputation and impact across the media, you might be missing a significant part of the conversation.

For the basics of social listening and how it can inform your work and success rate, read on below…

What is social listening?

Social listening, in essence, is listening to any conversation that’s happening on the World Wide Web – it’s much more than a buzzword banded around by PR teams keen to appear in-the-know when it comes to digital.

Social listening can include Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, right through to blogs and online forums. Pulsar’s social listening solutions are also expanding to ‘newer’ platforms like TikTok and Twitch, beloved of younger, incredibly-engaged online demographics.

There are two forms of social listening particularly useful when planning for upcoming campaigns and tracking their impact.

Pre-mediated listening: Are there trends you want to track, like sustainability, rising sea levels, or air travel, but you aren’t exactly sure what the conversation around them looks like? Pre-mediated listening is where you can start zeroing-in on these conversational topics. They can be specific to your brand, your competitors, or sectors you wish to be associated with.

Organic listening: Perhaps you don’t know a lot about your intended audience yet – what topics do they care about, how do they feel about them? How should you position your own brand on the topic? This is where organic listening comes in.

Is social listening… legal?

In a word – yes. All social platforms have terms and conditions that social listening services such as Pulsar must adhere to. For social platforms that have both public and private profiles, only the datasets from the public ones, those that are in the public domain, can be listened to by third parties like Pulsar.

As for what social listening platforms are listening to, there’s a lot – keywords (topics), audience panels (focus groups of media users – demographic, political affiliation, even detractors or supporters of your band around your brand), and specific content and URLs (a press release, a YouTube video, or perhaps your website).

With social listening, you can understand who’s sharing what, what they’re saying about it, and the impact it has.

Is social media monitoring the same as social listening?

No – think of social media monitoring as more ‘top line’. It will give you the metrics, but not necessarily the ‘why’ behind all the sharing, or the silence.

Social listening can be more actionable – what’s happening in the conversation, is this something you want to react to? Using crisis comms as an example – should you ‘fan the flames’, or let them die down?

What does social listening offer?

On that subject of metrics, there are plenty that social listening can give you. There’s visibility (impact of content across different mediums), impressions, reach, shares, comments. Pulsar, for example, gives context; making metrics more useable.

There’s conversational insight – what is driving positivity, or negativity? What’s should your narrative be on specific topics?

For audience insights – you can find out who exactly is engaging with your content, whether you’ve reached your intended audience, and whether there are segments you should have been considering from the start.

Social listening allows us to track how information flows from person to person, how people engage with influencers, and where the information goes next. It helps to understand who is most central to specific online communities – is it bloggers who are making stories go viral? Who do you want to work with?

How can PR, comms and public affairs teams use social listening?

Extra insight on online conversations can slot into and enrich any part of a campaign cycle.

For pre-activity analysis, social listening can help you decide what your brand, clients, or spokespeople should be saying, including the tone. This data can even provide insight on whether you should engage at all.

Throughout your campaign, social listening will show you which media is useful for your audience. Your client may want to be on the front page of a red-top newspaper, but will the intended audience be picking up that paper from the newsagent?

For finding the right journalists, broadcasters and influencers for your next campaign, book a demo of the Vuelio Media Database.

Post-activity is where you can determine ROI and prove that what you’re doing is working. Benchmark against your previous activity, or your competitors’, check out real-time reaction, and the ebb and flow of engagement throughout your campaign. Did you reach the audience you wanted to reach, new sectors, or the same people you already engage with every day?

Ultimately, social listening can give you access to conversations you’ve always wanted to be a part of, whichever part of the comms industry you’re working in.

Find out more about Pulsar’s social listening solutions and how it can help you with upcoming campaigns here. 

What journalists want: requests from media interviews on ResponseSource

What journalists want: Requests from ResponseSource media interviews

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We regularly catch up with UK journalists, editors, podcasters, broadcasters and more for our Media Bulletin newsletters. One thing we always like to ask: how they prefer to work with PRs and comms professionals.

Sign up to the Media Bulletin newsletter for twice-weekly updates from the UK media industry. Want more details on new hires, new patches and new launches? Book a demo of the Vuelio Media Database.

Here is a round-up of requests from the journalists the Media Bulletin team have recently interviewed over on our sister ResponseSource blog – read on for what they’d find useful.

Peter Stuart, editor of Cyclingnews
‘I welcome pitches from PRs, but more general releases often fly under my radar. I would encourage PRs pitching their brands to really dive into our content at Cyclingnews and make the case for how an idea would engage our readership.’

Peter Stuart joined Cyclingnews as editor in March of this year following his time as digital editor for Rouleur and also at Cyclist. At Cyclingnews, Peter oversees all editorial and content strategy for the website, covering cycling sport, cycling lifestyle and road cycling gear.

Read the full interview for trends in cycling in 2022 and interesting facts you might not know about the sport.

Natasha Lunn, features director for Red magazine and author of ‘Conversations on Love’
‘For stories for Red, it’s best to pitch to me via email (bearing in mind we work three months ahead!).’

Alongside her role on Red magazine, Natasha Lunn published her book ‘Conversations on Love’ in November 2021, featuring fellow writers and experts including Alain De Botton, Roxane Gay, Dolly Alderton and Candice Carty-Williams.

Read the full interview for details of Natasha’s future projects and balancing book writing with work on a busy magazine.

Aaron Hurst, senior reporter for Information Age
‘We like to take on press releases telling stories that CTOs and CIOs can benefit from, including research and new products that fill a big gap in the market.

‘Also, we’re always looking to take on exclusive, vendor-neutral thought leadership articles that provide practical business tech guidance for leaders.’

As senior reporter for Information Age, Aaron Hurst delivers news and features of interest to technology leaders, particularly CTOs and CIOs. As well as covering tech topics including AI and cyber security to the cloud, edge and IoT, the Information Age team report on digital transformation across verticals like healthcare, education and retail.

Read the full interview for what Aaron thinks the long-term impacts of the pandemic will be on the tech sector and his dream story/commission.

Lucy Britner, editor at Drinks Retailing
‘Information and ideas that show they know the magazine or website, exclusive thought leadership pieces that aren’t thinly-veiled advertorials, decent images. Most of the PRs in the drinks industry are great – and they enjoy working in the drinks trade, too.’

A Keeper of the Quaich, Lucy has been covering the hospitality sector for almost two decades. Having started as a reporter for the Morning Advertiser, Lucy now covers the off-trade drinks market, keeping retailers in the know.

Read the full interview for what the future looks like for drinks retailing and Lucy’s career highlights so far.

Emilia Leese, journalist, editor of Heath & Hampstead Society Magazine and author of ‘Think Like a Vegan’
‘Contact me with relevant contributions via email, or through Instagram, LinkedIn. You can also contact me through my blog, Emi’s Good Eating.’

Based between London and the Highlands, freelance journalist, editor and author Emilia Leese focuses on contemporary social justice issues, in particular veganism and its intersection with a variety of human concerns and issues.

Read the full interview for Emilia’s thoughts on the importance of Veganuary and the growth of veganism.

As part of our Media Bulletin newsletter, we regularly catch up with both UK media professionals and PR people with interesting stories and advice on pushing the creative industries forward.

If you have a media client you’d like featured, or have something exciting yourself to talk about on trends happening within the comms or media industry, get in touch with the Media Bulletin team: [email protected].

Rwanda deportation policy

Overview of the Rwanda deportation policy

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On the 14 of April the British Government announced collaboration with Rwanda for a new Migration and Economic Development Partnership to redress the imbalance between illegal and legal migration routes.

This collaboration means those travelling to the UK from Ukraine via problematic and illegal methods and routes will be considered for relocation to Rwanda, whereby their asylum claim can be processed. However, the plan also includes consideration for any person who has arrived in the UK in this way since the 1 of January 2022. Under no circumstance will they be given the opportunity to return to the UK at any stage – rather, if rejected, they will be offered the chance to stay in Rwanda, or to return to their home country.

Under this plan, those considered for relocation will be provided with the appropriate legal advice on how to go forward, as well as a seemingly generous support package, including safe accommodation, food, healthcare provision and amenities. To further aid the legal advice provided, those seeking asylum will have full access to translators in order to support court decisions and appeals. This strategic alliance forms part of a suite of measures under the New Plan for Immigration. Sky News has compared the plan to immigration policies in Australia, Israel and Denmark.

The UK is providing substantial investment to boost the development of Rwanda, including jobs, skills and opportunities to benefit both migrants and host communities. This includes an initial investment of £120 million as part of a new Economic Transformation and Integration Fund. However, that doesn’t explain why Rwanda is the chosen one.

Rwanda is a State Party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the seven core UN Human Rights Conventions. It is also recognised globally for its record on welcoming and integrating migrants, including over 500 people evacuated from Libya under the EU’s Emergency Transit Mechanism working in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency, and 30,000 Burundian refugees.

This plan has apparent advantages. The agreement supports those in immediate and serious need of peace and safety, as well as providing stability and the structural opportunity and means to rebuild a safer life. Further, it disrupts the opportunity for organised gang crime, predominantly crimes relating to smuggling. This also has the potential to enhance the UK’s relationship with Rwanda and has the potential to enhance the economic prosperity within the Rwandan region.

Despite everything being compliant with our legal and international obligations, over 160 organisations have urged the UK government to scrap this so-called ‘cruel’ plan, including Amnesty International, who have labelled it a ‘shameful abandonment’ of human rights responsibilities. Religious institutions are not an exception to this with the Methodist Church claiming the UKs response gives ‘yet another insight unto its hostile, uncompassionate and ineffective response to asylum seekers and refugees’.
However, it doesn’t stop there, opponents of this plan (the British public) have headed to court for an appeals hearing on the 13 of June amid the political backlash following reports that our Prince Charles has described the policy as outrightly “appalling”. A coalition of groups, including immigration rights advocates and unions have asked the Court of Appeal to reverse a lower court ruling allowing for the first deportation flight to go ahead.

These reactions perhaps aren’t a surprise… though, Charles’s comments could be deemed problematic due to his position as heir to the throne, and the British monarch being supposedly distant or above the political fray. The United Nations’ refugee agency has also opposed these plans. Despite this, the Home Office and Johnson’s government show no signs of ceasing or altering these plans, and movement has begun.

For more news from the political and public affairs sector, sign up to Vuelio’s Friday newsletter Point of Order.

The Mass Conflict Behind Gene-Edited Produce

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Earlier this month, the UK Government announced plans to bring forward ‘The Genetic Technology Bill’, a new legislation that takes certain precision breeding techniques out of otherwise restrictive GMO rules.

With firm support from George Eustice, the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, scientists across the UK argue that these modifications to British produce would create significant benefits to our health, environment and food security. The decision has received strong criticism from the Scottish and Welsh governments, while the public has demonstrated concerns over the lack of labelling required when these products hit the shelves.

In July 2019, as part of his first speech as prime minister, Boris Johnson announced the goal to ‘liberate the UK’s extraordinary bioscience sector from anti genetic modification rules’ and ‘develop blight-resistant crops’ that will feed the world (Royal Society of Biology, 31.07.19). Officials and food scientists have clarified the difference between gene editing, which involves the manipulation of genes within a single species or genus, and genetic modification (GM), in which DNA from one species is introduced to another. Since November last year, 236 news sources reported this distinction within the body of their coverage, first published by the UK Food Council.

At the John Innes Centre in Norwich, specialists have taken huge steps towards this goal with the creation of the first gene-edited tomato. In this instance, the fruit was enhanced with Vitamin D, a nutrient that over 40% of Europeans are deficient in (Science Daily, 23.05.22). Similar developments are being made in other British foods, such as anti-carcinogenic wheat and pigs immune to swine flu.

Volume of Coverage

Over the last 12 months, 2,306 gene-editing focused articles have been produced by print, media and online news sources across the UK. National coverage has seen significant growth over the past eight weeks, peaking in the final week of May:

As part of the initial research process, the fortified tomato case study received nationwide coverage as it evolved – the final stages of work and subsequent breakthrough were the highest source of volume over the last four months. The majority of this coverage was tied to print and online media until 10 May, which then saw a 309% upsurge in overall engagement due to a broadcasted mention of The Genetic Technology Bill in The Queen’s Speech. As the John Innes Centre also shared its final press release on 23 May, this was and will likely remain the highest performing month for volume + reach combined.

Top Speakers

Between May 2021-2022, The John Innes Centre was mentioned 694 times in relation to its gene-editing research, with regular contributions and comments offered from the associated scientists throughout. Professor Cathie Martin, group leader, was the second-most-mentioned name after George Eustice.

Top Topics

Since 1 March, the ‘sped-up’ progression of The Genetic Technology Bill was a headline in 288 UK-based news sources, with Mail Online and Agriland.co.uk creating the most content on this area of the discussion. Heightened media exposure through The Queen’s Speech was the key reason behind this, while the gene-edited tomato breakthrough came in a close second.

Ethical Concerns

Between March and June, 20% of all coverage focused on two overarching issues for the public. The first is the lack of labelling that will be required when gene-edited products hit the shelves of British supermarkets. This has prompted an outcry from some consumers who claim they ‘should be given a choice’ (Daily Mail, 27.05.22). Half of all label-related coverage had the term ‘frankenfoods’ in the headline, which started with an article by Mail Online and was syndicated a further 54 times by local and regional media until 5 June.

‘What has been removed is the need for an independent risk assessment and the need for transparency’ – Liz O’Neill, Director, GM Freeze

The other public issue is around the genetic modification of livestock. UK-based charities have also stepped into this discussion, with RSPCA leading the conversation. David Bowles, head of public affairs, was quoted by 21 national publications in calling the new legislation a ‘serious step back’ for animal welfare. In the RSPCA’s press release on 26 May, Bowles further argued that ‘there are potentially serious implications’ on both farm animals and people, stating we ‘simply do not know the long-term consequences’. Similarly, Kierra Box, of Friends of the Earth, believes gene-editing is genetic modification by a different name, that it ‘still focuses on altering the genetic code of plants and animals to deal with the problems caused by poor soils, the over-use of pesticides and intensive farming’ (The Guardian, 25.05.22).

Among the coverage that outlined potential issues with the bill, five were top national media outlets. The remaining 113 were regional and local news sources, science journals and agriculture websites.

Food Security

As the war in Ukraine and global inflation evolves, concerns around food security have been a significant incentive behind ‘speeding-up’ The Genetic Technology Bill. The topic of shortages has been widely distributed across UK media, while 25% of all coverage was produced by The Telegraph.

Independent farmers across Scotland and Wales have held the strongest share of voice on this issue, warning that we are ‘sleep-walking’ into a full-on crisis (The Independent, 25.04.22). The Government has used this angle in the press to suggest that gene-edited food is a way to become less dependent on importation and therefore less vulnerable to restrictions made by Eastern European regions (Farmers Weekly, 24.05.22). Moreover, National Farmers Union Scotland president Martin Kennedy has agreed that precision breeding techniques could ‘deliver benefits for food, agriculture and climate change’ (The Telegraph, 27.05.22).

Cross-Border Divide

Despite food shortage concerns, the Welsh and Scottish governments have repeatedly stated their opposition to genetically modified produce. Scotland, which has hopes to return to the EU, has been keen to ‘maintain alignment’ with the same stringent controls on organisms which contain no additional genes or DNA (The Scotsman, 25.05.22).

Màiri McAllan, environment minister for Scotland, has called the UK Government’s decision ‘unacceptable’ and insists that Scotland would not make the same changes as England if the Bill passed (Inverness Courier, 11.06.22). 7% of all coverage over the past four months has discussed this conflict, with the leading headline: ‘Gene-editing Bill should not “force products on Scotland” says minister’ (The National, 11.06.22). This article, which wrote extensively of McAllan’s ethical and financial concerns, was repurposed 24 times throughout the beginning of June.

The Welsh opposition received less coverage, though it has been confirmed that UK ministers plan to try to persuade devolved counterparts to align on policy at a cross-government meeting at the Royal Welsh Show on 20 July (The Times, 14.06.22).

George Eustice has written to the Scottish and Welsh governments to urge them to reconsider their opposition to the technique, stating that by joining in taking forward this legislation, the UK would be able to ensure consistency in food regulation and the approach to the precision-bred organisms across the UK, upholding our priority of ensuring consumer safety’ (BBC, 24.05.22).

Professor Lord Trees, a cross-bench peer and former president of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, was quoted 106 times since 1 March, in his warning that a failure to embrace more precise breeding technologies such as gene editing could be a ‘missed opportunity’ to deliver significant improvements in animal health and welfare.

A Need for Transparency

Both Eustice and the Government, supported by leading scientists around the UK, have made expansive efforts to change the gene-editing narrative in the media over the past 12 months. However, with a perceived lack of transparency on what genetically modified produce could look like for the consumer, public scepticism remains high.

In Scotland, a strong proportion of the farming population are in favour of the transition, whereas the environment minister remains firmly against the idea of a ‘forced’ legislation while trying to make amends with the EU. Similarly, leading climate activism and animal welfare non-profits have firmly expressed the unknown dangers behind making long-term modifications to the organic cycles of nature.

While local and regional media have remained closely in touch with ethical concerns by the public and opposing institutions, the positive aspects of gene-editing has been favourably represented by national online media. The first set of gene-edited produce is set to hit the shelves as early as next year, at which point both the Welsh and Scottish governments will have made their final decision on whether they are included in the first step towards the UK’s ‘extraordinary bioscience sector’.

As the war in Ukraine continues and inflation builds pressure on family support shelters, internal disagreements remain less of a concern to UK Government. Rather, food security is being treated as a priority and will continue to be a key motivator behind the swift progression of this change.

Want to know more about this data or how media insights can support your PR and communications? Find out more.

PR and media inclusion networks to join and work with

PR and comms inclusion networks to join and work with

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It’s Pride Month in the UK, but work on pushing the creative industries forward on inclusion and equity goes on all year round.

Everyone deserves to be heard, included, represented fairly and supported – just some of the many responsibilities of an effective PR team. Here are a selection of some of the groups, associations and initiatives in public relations, communications and the media working to make things better in our industries.

PRCA’s LGBTQ+ Network

PRCA LGBTQ+ Network

Relaunched in March of this year, the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA)’s LGBTQ+ Network aims to boost positive impact across the industry when it comes to inclusivity. We spoke to co-chairs Emma Franklin-Wright and Katie Traxton about their aims and what’s coming up this year, and have more on building inclusion into your workplace and work with these tips.

PRCA’s Race and Ethnicity Equity Board (REEB)

PRCA REEB

Headed up by chair Barbara Phillips, and having welcomed Emmanuel Ofosu-Appiah as Vice Chair earlier this year, the Race and Ethnicity Equity Board works to create immediate and long-term racial equity within the PR and comms industry. For how the board is sharing best practice approaches for ethnic and racial inclusion, catch up on our interviews with Barbara and Emmanuel.

Taylor Bennett Foundation

The Taylor Bennett Foundation is a charity helping BAME people into the PR and communications industry with mentoring and training programmes. In 2008, the year of the foundation’s launch, CIPR data found that just 6.3% of the PR practitioner population were from a BAME background. By 2020, that percentage was still ‘woefully low’ at 9%, according to the charity’s chief executive Melissa Lawrence. Watch our accessmatters session with Melissa, and catch up with the good work of the foundation in this interview.

The Financial Times’ Proud FT

The UK media has a long history of exclusionary hiring practices and reporting when it comes to marginalised communities. Helping to push back on this is the Financial Times’ inclusion group Proud FT, chaired by Cassius Naylor. As well as supporting transgender and nonbinary employees working within the organisations, Proud FT also works for fair representations of the LGBTQ+ community in the press. Watch our accessmatters session with Cassius to find out how the PR industry can help with fighting misrepresentation and misinformation.

The Social Mobility Foundation

There continues to be a class problem in the media and the communications industries, alike – CIPR’s State of the Profession report from 2020 finding that PRs are more likely to have a degree (76%) compared to the general public (35%), and that 41% of PRs have parents with university degrees. ‘Something isn’t working when talent still isn’t making as much of a difference as background,’ says The Social Mobility Foundation’s Sarah Atkinson who believes change is long overdue.

Sports Media LGBT+

Jon Holmes

Established in 2017 to advocate for inclusion in the media industry and across sport in general, Sports Media LGBT+ was founded by Sky Sports senior home page editor Jon Holmes. Starting as a way for LGBT+ people and allies in sports media to network, the group aims to broaden connection and community. For more on the group, check out Jon’s contribution to the ResponseSource white paper Diversity in Journalism and our interview on the Rainbow Ready initiative.

The Access Intelligence accessmatters series aims to amplify different voices across the creative industries. Catch up on previous sessions tackling social mobility, class, antiracism and more here.

Independent football regulator

Independent regulator for English football

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The UK Government is supporting the creation of an independent football regulator for English football following a fan-led review.

The ‘three points of crisis’ leading to its creation were the collapse of Bury FC, the European Super League and the financial insecurity caused by COVID-19. Sports minister Nigel Huddleston formally confirmed the Government’s support for the regulator in a Commons statement with further details expected to be published in a white paper this summer.

There were 10 recommendations made on the review of the game by Tracey Crouch in November and some of the key ones were to recommend that the Premier League should make ‘additional, proportionate contributions’ to support the game through fairer distribution of money; a review of women’s football; and to consider whether the sale and consumption of alcohol in sight of the pitch should be allowed at lower levels of football.

The collapse of Bury happened after the club fell into financial problems and the English Football League (EFL) expelled them. Creditors had initially approved a company voluntary agreement to help settle the debts but this did not satisfy the EFL’s requirement to provide enough evidence for being financially stable.

Meanwhile the European Super League was a proposed breakaway league by twelve of the biggest football clubs worldwide who wanted to establish a new midweek competition to replace the current one. Proposals came as dissatisfaction with the rewards of winning the current competition, the UEFA Champions League came to fruition, but this was seen as detrimental to the game by fans and pundits alike leading to mass protests against it. The regulator seeks to stop such future proposals to protect the game and its origins as fans were extremely upset with the motivations behind the breakaway which appeared to be financial gain.

The financial impacts of COVID-19 in football would have been felt by all football clubs across the country, but particularly the ones at the lower end of the spectrum. Sponsorship and commercial revenue is a big source of income for the top clubs as well as matchday revenue, but clubs in the lower leagues have a greater dependency on matchday revenue. Consequently, the empty attendances for matches during the pandemic due to restrictive measures was a massive hit for clubs that fall into that bracket. For example, the average revenue for clubs in the Premier League is £258 million, compared to just £6m and £4m for clubs in tiers 3 and 4 for England. These clubs were hit hardest and introduced salary caps for players in an attempt to keep costs in check.

Campaign group Fair Game has backed the move for a regulator but have called for a ‘firm timetable for change’. Department for Culture, Media & Sport secretary Nadine Dorris said ‘football is nothing without its fans and for too long the football authorities have collectively been unable to tackle some of the biggest issues in the game’. The Football Supporters’ Association also urged the Government to move fast because each day drafting the white papers ‘is another day when a club might cease to exist’. The Professional Footballs’ Association added that ‘support needs to be consistently and adequately funded, and we look forward to playing a major part in establishing a system that achieves this’.

For more news from the political and public affairs sector, sign up to Vuelio’s Friday newsletter Point of Order.

why accessible events are vital

Why creating inclusive and accessible events is vital

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Flashback to April 2020 where team meetings were swapped for video calls and panic-stricken events professionals around the world raced to take conferences, awards and tradeshows online.

We’re now back to ‘normal’ in the world of events but it’s important that we don’t forget the positives that came out of enforced virtual events.

Accessibility, accessibility, accessibility

As events all shifted online they became accessible to more people. No longer restricted by costly travel, inaccessible venues and lengthy time out of the working day, virtual events allowed people to consume the same content without leaving their house.

With the return to in-person events it’s clear that people have missed human interaction, and no virtual networking will ever equate to chatting to peers during a coffee break. However, it’s important to keep the accessibility progress that was made during the pandemic front of mind when planning in-person events.

Check when planning:

  • Does the venue have good disabled access? Is there a hearing loop?
  • Is the venue easy to get to on public transport?
  • Where is my audience coming from? Will travel costs impact attendance?
  • Is it possible to live-stream or record the event for a virtual audience?
  • If catering is needed, are all dietary requirements covered?
  • Creating events that are more accessible results in a more inclusive event which in turn fosters a wider audience and better discussions.

Work/life balance

Hybrid working has taken the place of the office for many with people valuing the work/life balance the pandemic gave them.

Being respectful of your audience’s time now needs to be worked into any event you’re planning. Whether it’s virtual or in-person, diaries are full so be mindful of the time you’re asking people to give up. Understanding your audience’s working habits is useful when planning, e.g. what days do they go into the office?

Ask yourself when planning:

  • Does the start/finish time allow for people to do the school-run, if needed?
  • Will the day of the week work for the audience?
  • Is the content as efficiently planned as possible?
  • Can you offer both in-person and virtual tickets?
  • If the event is over several days, can you provide single-day tickets?
  • Is it possible to record the event?

Virtual audiences matter

The webinar has become a key tool in every comms and marketers’ kit, providing a cost-effective way to communicate regularly with your audience.

Make sure you are not overlooking your virtual audiences and that these events are as inclusive as your in-person events, both in accessibility and representation. There are tools available that can help with subtitles, recording and editing so no matter who or where your audience are watching the webinar, everyone can enjoy the content.

Virtual events allow for plenty of engagement either with visual and audio or just audio but keep in mind that not everyone in your audience will feel comfortable contributing in a virtual event setting. Giving your guests the option to use their camera or not will make them feel more at ease and able to enjoy the event.

Check:

  • Is there subtitle functionality on the webinar platform and is it enabled?
  • Are you recording the webinar? And does the recording have subtitles?
  • Is your speaker line-up inclusive?
  • Does the time work for your audience based their time zone?
  • Is the sign up page accessible for the visually impaired?

Review and refine

Keep track of what works and what doesn’t so you can keep amending your events to make them as accessible and successful as possible. Look at the data from your sign ups to who shows up and always ask your audience for feedback to help you improve.

Test regularity, time, day and length of your virtual events. Many people suffered from ‘Zoom fatigue’ during the lockdowns so keep this in mind when deciding the length of your webinar or virtual event.

The world of events has changed for the better over the past two years, becoming more accessible and inclusive so more people can learn, network and grow without the restriction of geography, budget or lack of time.

Creating accessible events increases your audience and shows that you care about them and their experience.

For more on virtual events, read our previous posts with tips for moving your event online, why virtual events are more important than ever, and even video call etiquette for when you’re joining from home. 

The Rise of Ethical Branding: Is Fast Fashion Dying Out?

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Last week, news across the UK broke out that online fast-fashion retailer Missguided has gone into administration. 204 national and international outlets reported on the story, with an additional 1,751 publications coming from top regional sources and fashion-focused media. Frasers Group PLC, who bought out Missguided for £20m, has received equally prominent coverage for ‘rescuing’ the brand — a term used 535 times since the announcement on 30 May.

Michael Murray, CEO at Frasers Group, has been quoted in 23% of all coverage as ‘delighted to secure a long term future for Missguided’, which will ‘benefit from the strength and scale of Frasers Group’s platform and our operational excellence’ (The Guardian, 01.06.22). However, a long list of angry suppliers and a ‘limited knowledge’ of the young female demographic has many questioning if the acquisition was a ‘misstep’ or ‘masterful’ (Retail Week, 06.06.22).

Aside from logistical concerns, over half of all UK coverage has used the opportunity to discuss how the rising ethical concerns behind fast-fashion are effecting consumer choices. Missguided has received a variety of bad press over the years for its ‘unsustainable’ prices and ‘unethical’ working conditions (Financial Times, 17.05.18), as well as expansive contributions to climate change (Daily Mail, 17.06.19). With a correlative rise in sustainable fashion influencers such as Venetia La Manna and Mikaela Loach, more than two-thirds (68%) of Gen Z (18-24 year olds) say they avoid ecommerce companies which they believe to have dubious business practices (Charged Retail, 14.02.22). Moreover, a 2022 report by Barclays revealed that UK retailers have cancelled £7.1 bn in contracts across the last 12 months with suppliers that did not meet their ethical standards (Barclays, 10.02.22).

Love Island Drops Missguided For Sustainable Fashion

With this significant shift in values among the young female market, it’s no surprise that Missguided was one of multiple fast-fashion brands dropped by Love Island this year. The hit reality series has announced it will instead be sponsored by eBay, while all contestants will be wearing second-hand clothing (The Independent, 19.05.22). This environmentally-friendly move was reported 1,001 times only a week before Missguided went into administration, creating a huge upsurge in diverse negative sentiment that has been increasing since January:

Prior to the administration announcement on 30 May, positive coverage remained low as influencer marketing dropped in both volume and engagement. During this time, fashion magazines began talking more about ‘influencer fatigue’ — a term used 104 times since April. With influencer marketing being one of Missguided’s strongest sources of positive coverage, the decline in interest and relatability among the young female demographic has had a correlative impact on its performance and reputation. This approach also applies to other fast-fashion outlets, such as SHEIN and Boohoo, meaning the same effect may apply outside of Missguided if this social media engagement decline continues.

Female-Focused Brands: Common Trends

Since January, Missguided has taken the spotlight for the strongest array of controversies across UK media. Prior to the ‘company collapse’, continuous job losses and unhappy suppliers were the most popular areas of coverage between Jan-June. However, some of these topics also feed into the wider fast-fashion market. Both online and high street brands like Boohoo, SHEN, Zara and ASOS have had the spotlight cast upon them for unpaid workers and unethical practises. All of the above (and more) were called out by the viral ‘Gender Pay Gap Bot’, a Twitter account that rose to fame by using International Women’s Day to highlight continuous inequities in the workplace.

The Affordability Argument

Among positive coverage, common themes were almost exclusively based on affordability and celebrity style. For example, titles like ‘10 affordable corset tops that are giving us Kourtney Kardashian vibes from £11.99’ and ‘Cassie from Euphoria’s best outfits and where to buy them’ consumed just over 95% of all positive coverage between January-June. In these articles, Missguided and alike are praised for offering accessible ways to look like influencers. When Love Island chose to publicise their sustainable changes, local and regional media outlets used the term ‘woke’ or ‘wokeism’ in 242 publications between 8 May – 8 June, as fans accused the show of ‘virtue signalling’ and ruining their ‘guilty pleasures’.
The neurological pleasures of buying cheap clothing is the primary incentive that keeps fast fashion running, but as more people uncover the true cost, brands are being lead into a new era of transparency that is forcing many to change their approach.

Attempts of Changing the Narrative

The rise of sustainability trends is evident in the way that brands are swiftly changing their approach to labour, production and transparency. For example, Urban Outfitters has been called out 78 times since September last year for its contributions to climate change. Three days ago, PETA released a statement about three sustainability influencers who are now drawing the line and confronting the brand with demands for climate-focused vegan alternatives.

Large and ongoing backlash from target audiences has led brands to create eco-friendly collections that appeals to the new demand. ASOS, who created its ‘Responsible Edit’ on 2019, is one of many FMCG clothing companies attempting to use recycled materials as an avenue to appearing ‘conscious’ to consumers. Despite the attempts, the term ‘greenwashing’ has been used 5,445 times since 1 March, with significant peaks around the announcement of the Missguided sale and Love Island sustainability switch.

 

Despite their attempts, sustainable fashion advocates are calling out fast fashion brands for imitating green attitudes with misleading information about their production process. Good On You, a leading digital platform in ethical clothing, describes sustainable fashion as striving to ‘create good and avoid harm, whether to people, the planet, or animals’ (Good On You, 16.07.21). Under these terms, newfound FMCG eco-lines fail to meet the quota in comparison to 100% sustainable companies. For example, while Missguided followed suit in April 2021 with the launch of its ‘green’ collection RE_STYLD, some reports have focused on its history of not paying workers or suppliers.

Sustainable trends / Successful brands

In a two-month analysis of top UK fashion and general news sources, fast-fashion giant SHEIN received the highest proportion of negative and neutral coverage as well as the lowest volume of output overall. On the other hand, Patagonia, which is globally recognised for extensive environmental advocacy and company welfare policies, is continuously growing in the press as an inspirational standard for all fashion retailers. UK-based thrifting service Depop also outperformed SHEIN in both volume and sentiment ratio.

With the cost of living continuously increasing, the low-cost incentive of fast fashion likely means that it will not be going anywhere for the moment. However, with a visible decline in the impact of influencer marketing and an increase in demand for transparency and ethical branding, the foundations that allow such retailers to have such competitive prices may not be achievable for much longer. On 31 May, Primark announced that there will be ‘selective price increases’ in the Autumn due to inflation and the war in Ukraine (BBC, 31.05.22). With current events impacting fast-fashion’s long-established place on the UK high street, its future, ironically, could be unsustainable.

Accessibility in email

How to make your next PR email campaign accessible for everyone

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This is a guest post from Elliot Ross, Email Evangelist at Taxi for Email – a SparkPost company.

Did you know that for every five people who receive your email four won’t even open it?

That’s the reality of email open rates, but it’s not all bad news. Getting consumers to actually open emails has always been a challenge for email marketers, but there are two ways of looking at it: On the flip side, given that there are around 15 trillion commercial emails sent each year, there are still a lot of emails which are being read.

The big question for marketers is inevitably: How can open rates be improved?

The answer is by ensuring emails are accessible for everyone.

Why do consumers ignore emails?

There are many reasons why branded emails remain untouched – after all, the average person receives over 100 emails a day, and that’s not even counting work emails. For some though, the reason the email has been left unopened is not because they didn’t want to read it, but rather that they can’t actually read or understand the email in the first place.

As email marketers,we need to ensure that our messages can be read by anyone who wants to access them. According to the World Health Organisation, 2.2 billion people globally have a near or distance-based vision impairment. In addition, have you considered the 3.6 billion internet users across the planet for whom English is not their primary language?

Emails need to be easy to read and understandable for everyone, regardless of disability or language. That is why accessibility considerations should be central to the entire email creation process.

Adhering to basic accessibility guidelines for the creation of email also has the added benefit of ensuring that the marketing messages don’t end up being overly complex. Which in turn could also have a positive impact on open and interaction rates.

Meanwhile creating emails in different languages should also not be seen as a nice-to-have for marketers. If you are a brand with a global footprint or global ambitions, multi-language emails are a must!

Developing an accessibility mindset

This process is about marrying company branding guidelines with a set of basic rules to deliver accessible and effective emails.

In some instances it might mean tweaking design elements but in my opinion the benefits of higher open rates significantly outweigh the cons of potentially slightly diverting from brand design rules.

Take point size, for example. It could be that your business has an established type point size which it may have stuck with for decades. However, if that point size is less than 14 pt when it comes to email marketing you may have a problem.

Text needs to be large enough so that everyone can read it. If your readers are squinting, zooming in or – even worse – popping off to get reading glasses, you may have already lost their attention and any chance of any interaction will be gone. So stick to a font size of at least 14pt, and think about line height so readers have enough space between lines to read clearly.

Ask yourself too, is your company typeface easy to read? Before you send out emails, test the font to see what it looks like and how legible it is on different screen sizes and devices (find out, for example, what percentage of your target audience reads your emails on mobile and, if appropriate, optimise emails for smaller screens). Simple, classic fonts work best. There is a reason why some typefaces are more widely used than others…

The dangers of embedded images

For many marketers the jury is out on the effectiveness of embedding GIFs and videos into email newsletters.

From an accessibility perspective there is a very good case for not using GIFs at all. Firstly, not all your readers will see them, as background images and GIFs aren’t fully supported in Outlook. Further, a flashy GIF with fast-moving frames will not only annoy some of your readers, but it can actually trigger seizures in people who suffer from photosensitivity.

If you are insistent that including GIFs will raise engagement levels then make sure you include ALT text to provide context. This helps readers with visual impairments understand the message of the image or GIF.

Other things to bear in mind include ensuring that links are clear and underlined – if you just colour them they could be overlooked by people with colour blindness or low-vision – and breaking up text with clear, bold subheads. If you have specific title, header, and subheader elements in your template screen readers can identify these are different areas of the email and treat them so rather than adding it all into a text field.

Offering multi-language emails

Creating email newsletters in different languages is something that many marketers should be aspiring to. Once you have optimised a newsletter to the point that it works effectively in one language, if you are a global company, explore localisation next.

By offering multi-language emails, people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to read newsletters can receive and engage with them. At the same time, even people who speak English as a second language would have to make less effort to read their emails which might make them more inclined to open the email in the first place.

There are simple ways to translate content using online tools like Google Translate. Yet these are only partially effective and may end up creating content that is confusing to readers and possibly damaging to your brand.

At the other end of the scale you could invest in local translators, though this may create cost and efficiency issues. Employing 20 different staff to translate a newspaper into their local language is both expensive and time consuming.

Images need to be optimised so that they work in local markets. An obvious short-cut is to make the images of people you use as diverse as possible with different ages, ethnicities and genders, etc. That said, nothing beats offering bespoke images on a market-by-market basis. Visuals should reflect the real world and therefore help to make the newsletter as customer-centric as possible.

Email continues to be the leading customer communication tool for marketers

No other platform can compete with email’s direct, dynamic, interactive approach. Ensuring emails are accessible to as many people as possible is not only vital from a social perspective, but if it can also help improve overall read rates then it’s a win-win solution.

Savvy marketers and PRs are all too aware their customers receive a lot of emails and only have a limited amount of time each day to consume content, and so the pressure is on to work as hard as possible to make their branded emails stand out, for everyone.

For more on effective email strategies from Taxi for Email’s Elliot Ross, check out this previous guest post How to build strong foundations for a successful email campaign. 

Want to find the right audience for your next email campaign? Book a demo of the Vuelio Media Database – more information here. 

Hinkley Point C

Nuclear power: the future of UK energy?

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Nuclear power has been a hot topic in parliament lately, largely as one of the Government’s answers to how they’re responding to the energy crisis. The Conservative Party’s Energy Security Strategy, published in April, is part of the Government’s attempt to diversify the UK’s energy mix in order to build our resilience against outside shocks to the energy market. A key element of the strategy promises to reach 24GW of nuclear by 2050, which would meet 25% of the UK’s electricity demand. But to what extent can nuclear power be relied upon for energy supply, while also maintaining commitments to tackling the climate crisis?

A common battle line used by the Prime Minister Boris Johnson against the New Labour administration is their decision to turn their back on nuclear in the noughties, an allegation that Keir Starmer has responded to by asserting that the Labour line now backs new nuclear. Due to a pause in nuclear investment, most existing nuclear capacity is to be retired by the end of the decade as nuclear stations come to the end of their life. Therefore, the Government has decided to kickstart the nuclear process once more, committing to building up to eight new reactors by 2030, the first of which (Hinkley Point C) is currently under construction. This station, combined with potential developments at the Sizewell C project in Suffolk, would produce 6.5GW power. The Government is also supporting Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) which work on a smaller scale to nuclear plants. The new investment is on top of the decommissioning costs needed for end-of-life treatment.

Though it is clear from Government (and Labour) policy that nuclear holds a future in the UK’s energy mix, there are questions over whether it is wholly compatible with climate change policy. Nuclear power is heralded as a ‘clean’ energy source because it doesn’t directly produce carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases, but this underestimates the large scale at which carbon emissions are produced from the construction of nuclear plants, uranium mining and manufacturing operations. Furthermore, at multiple stages of the nuclear process, large volumes of radioactive waste are produced. Without concrete, scientifically and environmentally-proven plans on nuclear waste management, fallout from nuclear power would cause long-term harm for the environment and communities. Environmentalists have been critical of the Government’s focus on emissions when discussing the climate crisis, urging them to look at the ecological system as a whole and consider the impact of solutions such as nuclear on future generations.

Instead, campaigners have been arguing for the focus to be on renewable energy, saying that sources such as wind and solar would be genuine solutions to the climate crisis, providing ‘no’ rather than ‘low-carbon’ solutions at a much smaller cost. Greenpeace said that ‘a thriving renewable energy industry will create jobs, provide cheaper electricity and help cut emissions much faster than nuclear power’ while nuclear power is ‘incredibly expensive, hazardous and slow to build’.

The Government has defended nuclear by saying they are committed to using Geological Disposal Facilities to dispose of nuclear waste (considered ‘the best long-term solution for dealing with radioactive waste’). They have also denounced renewable energy as the central option for investment, saying it would be too difficult to roll out on such a large scale, necessitating the use of nuclear power. Whilst speculation exists on both sides, what is certain is that people across the political spectrum are calling for greater investment and ambition in alternative energies, to help tackle the energy crisis in the short-term, and the climate crisis in the long-term.

For more news from the political and public affairs sector, sign up to Vuelio’s Friday newsletter Point of Order.

fintech investment boom in travel

Is a Fintech ‘Investment Boom’ Emerging in the Travel Sector?  

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In an effort to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the travel industry is exploring contemporary payment trends that suit the varying new financial perspectives on tourism. Whereas some have more money than ever to spend, others are seeking new ways to budget for their next getaway. The increasing convergence of fintech and travel is significant – with many predicting an ‘investment boom’ on the near horizon. 

Financial technology (Fintech) is a term used for several types of specialised software that digitise financial services.​​​ Companies, business owners and consumers use fintech to better manage their finances and operations, while also opening the door to significant growth in revenue and market share. Examples of successful fintech brands include Paypal, Experian, Klarna, Monzo and so many more.

Forecasts by Eurocontrol have predicted that, by August 2022, travel volumes will return to 89% of what they were in 2019. In response to the post-pandemic changes in personal finance and global cost-of-living crisis, firms are investing in fintech more than ever to provide new and accessible payment options. Media discussion around the emergence of financial technologies in the travel sector has been growing since January, with significant peaks across national online publications (i.e. The Financial Times) in May:

 

In an Amedeus report from this month with 90 leading travel agencies, an ‘investment boom’ was predicted following a survey of airline and travel agency leaders — a term used by 1,753 national publications in travel and fintech sectors since January. Four out of five companies said they plan to match or surpass their 2019 FinTech investment this year, with nine out of 10 identifying payments as a priority (Travolution, 18.05.22).

Huge steps are already being taken towards achieving this brand image – on 28 January, Air Asia rebranded its corporate name to ‘Capital A’ to better reflect its mission to become a diversified ‘digital travel and lifestyle group’, with fintech playing a major role in its new revenue strategy.

Additionally, Booking.com recently hired 400 experts for its newly created fintech division with a view to ‘simplify the payment experience’ across its brands (Skift, 22.07.21). While travel agencies are benefitting from investing in fintech, fintech is also benefiting from investing in travel. For example, UK-based Revolut, which claims 16 million users, branched out beyond banking and financial services for the first time recently and began selling stays in hotels, homes, and guest houses.

Media Type Split: Who is talking about the emerging ‘investment boom’?

Data analyses all UK online media since January 1, 2022.

‘Fintech stands out as an area of the travel business where you can provide new value-added services that bring revenue while improving the traveller experience’
— David Doctor, Amadeus Executive

Areas of interest

With fintech viewed as a high priority by 90% of UK-based airlines, what are the key areas of interest in travel and fintech publications?

Buy Now, Pay Later

Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) has become a de facto payment option in retail and fashion and is swiftly making the same impact on travel. In a survey with 5,000 travel consumers, 68% said they would be likely to spend more on a trip if they could buy now, pay later, as it is quicker than a traditional loan (PhocusWire, 07.01.22). Since January, 328 travel and fintech publications have commented on this option in relation to Gen Z and millennial demographics. Around half of all Brits under 40 now use BNPL whenever it is available, meaning it is a huge source of revenue from those with flexible credit (WalesOnline, 20.05.22).

Multi-currency charges

In order to find the best deals, many consumers find themselves working with multiple currencies when arranging a holiday. The conversion charges associated with traditional banks is a significant barrier that a third of all travel agencies are prioritising this year, an area that fintech has proven successful at overcoming (FinExtra, 14.04.22). Wise is one of many digital banking services that allows users to hold multiple currencies in the same account, alongside highly competitive exchange rates. By leveraging this sort of financial technology, travel firms can alleviate losses tied to such international fees.

Leading FX fintech companies in National UK Media

A correlative increase in brand mentions has followed the emerging interest of travel and fintech – particularly banking apps that offer competitive foreign exchange services:

Drawbacks to the public

While fintech may benefit a certain portion of society in both financial management and expenditures, some believe it exacerbates the privileges of those above working class and is not as accessible to those who truly need it. Lord Chris Holmes of Richmond, co-chair of the APPG on banking and fintech (financial technology), commented that the UK is ‘home to hundreds of fintechs’ who are creating products that help people manage their money or create saving pots. However, the reality is that ‘if you don’t have access to a smartphone, broadband or the necessary skills or confidence, then you are effectively cut out’ (The Independent, 04.03.22).

Investment boom?

While there may be some consumer diversity and accessibility issues, the convergence of both travel and fintech is mutually beneficial; both industries may eventually become dependent on one another to be sustainable. For example, while BNPL app Klarna has announced plans to lay off 10% of its workforce (CNBC, 26.05.22), rival fintech firms Revolut and Wise say they’re hiring for hundreds of open roles. The difference between the former and the latter has been an early investment in the rapid changes of tourism.

As tourism returns to a steady volume, media discussion is rapidly growing around the clear fintech-focused response by the travel industry. The ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ system holds the strongest share of public interest and potential ROI, whereas competitive foreign exchange services are considered valuable but already have established names in the sector (i.e. Revolut, RHB). Since January alone, the upsurge in new fintech hires and rebrands has significantly increased – meaning that the anticipated ‘investment boom’ is no longer on the horizon, but already here.

Want to know more about this data or how media insights can support your PR and communications? Find out more. 

PR and brand consultant Siobhan Sharpe

Pop culture lessons for PR: from Dunder Mifflin and beyond

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There is much to be learned from the PR and comms professionals portrayed in the media – mainly ‘Wow, I do not want to be like that person’. And thankfully most practitioners bear no resemblance to them.

For our latest webinar ‘Somehow I Manage. PR. Pop Culture Comms Lessons from Dunder Mifflin & beyond’, we scoured TV and film for examples of pop culture PR lessons we can all learn from.

Here’s what we can learn from Michael Scott, Siobhan Sharpe, Don Draper, Alexis Rose and Captain Raymond Holt:

1. Understand your audience

Understanding target markets through research ​is a key part of strategy and must come before your activities. Captain Holt tries to tell his audience what he wants them to hear rather than understand their perspective and what would actually help.

You are not your target market. As soon as you work in an organisation you lose that perspective. So, you have to conduct research, which can come from as many sources and channels as your budget allows, from first-party data and focus groups to third party online research and sales information. Only once you know your audience(s) and know their perspective, should activities and campaigns be created.

2. Network smarter

Networking events, conventions, award ceremonies – all fantastic opportunities for forming connections and winning new clients. Also, all places filled with the pitfalls of pleasure over business – socialising and swag.

Heading to an event? Maximise your time by focusing on who you want to meet. Understand where your customers spend their time, adapt your networking style and head in with a clear plan.

And you can be like Michael Scott – it’s possible to have lots of fun and see the benefits of smart networking. Make sure people estimate you.

3. Build the right media relationships

Just like Leslie Knope and the Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department, you need to build relationships with a variety of media contacts and maintain those relationships throughout your career. But not every contact will want to hear about everything you’re doing or be spoken to in the same way. The best media outreach is always targeted and never ‘spray and pray’.

Nurture your media relationships by keeping them in the loop with relevant content, and make yourself available if a journalist needs a story – particular if it’s a ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry.  ​

4. Values – ensure you and your clients align

A shout-out to Monumental’s senior account executive Liam Pitts for this one on agency values. We couldn’t find the exact clip from Schitt’s Creek but here’s brand Alexis, and one of the greatest TV moments from Schitt’s Creek, as an introduction.

Liam said: ‘In season 6 of Schitt’s Creek, Alexis Rose starts her career as, in her words, a “freelance brand invigorator”, agreeing to represent a brand that the eventually finds out is a cult. I think the lesson we learn here is that a little research beforehand is never a bad thing – and neither is turning down a client that might not exactly align with your values and beliefs. In PR, when we sign on a client, we are agreeing to be public advocates of the brand. That means we have to understand that might include the bad elements alongside the good.

‘Alexis teaches us that we always have to consider our integrity and credibility when working with clients – something which she learns the hard way.’

5. Be transparent and honest

As a wise erotic dancer once told Dwight Schrute in The Office: ‘Secrets, secrets are no fun. Secrets, secrets hurt someone’.

In the Public Relations episode of Mad Men, two lies lead to very different outcomes with the press. While Pete and Peggy’s fake fight campaign leads to great coverage and increased sales, it puts the agency’s reputation at risk and costs bribe/hush/bail money down the line.

For Don Draper, he doesn’t open up in his interview with Advertising Age, which damages the agency’s reputation, threatens client accounts and leads to his reputation as an enigma (not in a good way). In this clip he decides to reverse that, opening up to the Wall Street Journal, which is delighted to finally get the truth.

Cover-ups and lying lead to reputational risk for you and your brand. A better story can be found in telling your brand’s truth, and it is ultimately what the journalist is after. It is also possible to recover from bad press with good press, just as Don does, as long as you have your strategy aligned with your truth and your business goals.

6. Control your narrative in a crisis

Crises happen – whether it is a supplier’s disgruntled watermark or something a bit less niche. Best practice is to have a crisis comms plan already in place for every eventually, but if not, decide how you want to respond and get ahead of the story​.

It is key that all your stakeholders are fully briefed and stick to the agreed statement, message or lines to take.

Also, make sure your response is proportionate to the crisis and targets only the stakeholders that need to be targeted.

7. Don’t be a stereotype

PR has a PR problem. People who don’t really ‘get’ public relations may scramble for examples from TV and film in a bid to understand how it works. But as we all know, those examples often aren’t good and don’t reflect the PR and communications we see every single day.

So, the last lesson is don’t be a stereotype, which really means be proud of the excellent work you’re doing in PR. And keep it up!

 

Not only does Vuelio support thousands of clients with all their PR and comms software needs, we also post heaps of PR content and welcome guest posts. For more information, get in touch with our Content Manager Phoebe-Jane Boyd. 

 

Stephanie Forrest

PR Interview with TFD – Think Feel Do founder and CEO Stephanie Forrest

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‘I love tech – you never stop learning,’ says Stephanie Forrest, CEO and founder of disruptive technology agency TFD – Think Feel Do.

Having specialised in technology since her first job almost 30 years ago, Stephanie has since worked with influential tech disruptors including Motorola, Skyscanner and many more.

With tech more important than ever when it comes to connecting people across the world, Stephanie shares what makes the tech sector different to others in the PR industry, what everyone should be planning for and the importance of taking time to rest (luckily, there’s plenty of tech out there to help with that).

How did you originally get into the emerging tech comms sector, and what keeps you in it?
From my first ever job almost thirty years ago I’ve been working in tech. I basically fell into tech and have never looked back. Also, I have been extremely fortunate to work with some of the really great tech disruptors. Companies like Motorola changed the way that we communicate. It was Motorola, for example, that developed the first mobile phone . Also, the people that I’ve worked with have been hugely inspirational. People like Margaret Rice-Jones who was previously the chair of Skyscanner when it was sold for £1.4 billion to Ctrip.

As the founder of TFD – Think Feel Do, what were your original aims for the agency – what did you want to do differently to existing agencies out there? And how did you come up with the name?
I love the name. I knew straight away that it was right. I was reading an article, in the Harvard Business Review no less, that talked about Think Feel Do as a marketing framework, and it really spoke to me. Think is about understanding your audience and environment; feel is about the channels you engage with your target audience through and do is about how you reach them.

I set up TFD – Think Feel Do as I feel strongly that the relationship between agency and client needs to change. There needs to be a partnership between companies and their agencies. It’s about mutual success. And this is what we’ve aimed to do. We are passionate about what we do, and we work as an extension of our clients’ team, their strategy and how they think. In a number of cases, we are our clients’ marketing team. It’s really rewarding.

How did the pandemic impact the way you work, and do you think the changes it has made to the wider PR and comms industry are here to stay?
In some ways we can work anywhere so the impact was, to a degree, limited. On the other hand, as communicators we tend to like being around other people and we thrive on human interaction and collaboration that being in the office allows. Well, I do, anyway! Looking after the team has never been more important. We’ve been supporting the team’s well-being since the business began but this has become even more important over the past few years. We have a quarterly wellbeing budget for example that the team can use to buy a yoga mat or join a class that they love. We’ve also got one of the team going on a sabbatical this summer. This need to really take care of the wellbeing of people is definitely here to stay and so is greater flexibility of how and where you work. It’s a great thing to have come out of the pandemic.

What are the biggest differences between the tech sector and others in the PR industry?
Overall, if you work in tech you have to be able to handle often complex industries that are constantly evolving. There’s a lot to understand, keep up with and learn so to be successful it makes a big difference if clients see you as part of their team. The other big difference is you have to be even more creative in some ways to make a product, for example, easier to understand or interesting to a larger audience.

Are the creative industries doing enough to encourage diversity within their workforces?
Although there are a number of great initiatives, there’s a lot more to be done to drive diversity. One key area that needs to change still is paid parity between employees. It’s disappointing to me that this is still a point that companies haven’t resolved.

What are the big trends in tech that fellow comms people, and the media, should be planning for over the next year?
A key area to focus on is how do you build meaningful engagement with customers and prospects post pandemic from building awareness to driving sales leads to business growth in the hybrid world that we are now in. My advice would be to focus on storytelling as this is more important than ever, as is driving cut through.

Which media helps you stay ahead of trends?
I am lucky enough to work with some amazing CTOs so I get to hear and see first-hand about some of the trends and products that will be coming to market. My go-to read is the FT but I also like to tune into the #mouthwashshow on Twitter hosted by Paul Armstrong. I really enjoy listening to podcasts to stay ahead of what’s happening. The Pivot podcast series is one of my favourites but anything Scott Galloway does is generally interesting and insightful!

Check out our previous interviews with practitioners working across all sectors of the industry here. 

Does the Research Excellence Framework (REF) Have a Sustainable Future?

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The results of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) for 2021 have just been revealed – the first since 2014. REF is a UK-wide assessment carried out by four education funding bodies, assessing over 76,000 academics at 157 universities. The final ranking determines the amount of quality-related research (QR) funding that universities receive from the Government each year for the next seven years. 

While many have opted to celebrate the stronger diversity of nationwide results this year, the overall system has also been heavily criticised by unions and independent researchers. In the week that followed the results on 12 May, we analysed the trending areas of discussion among 133 journalists across 515 UK-based publications, alongside 34 journalists across 102 international media outlets.   

Strong Distribution of ‘World-leading’ Research  

84% of UK research assessed by REF has been dubbed as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Oxford University had the highest volume of world-leading research and made the largest submission of research compared with any other university, submitting more than 3,600 researchers in 29 subject areas. (Mail Online, 12.05.22).  

The term ‘northern powerhouse’ was trending in the first two days, with 162 articles referencing the strong representation of highly ranked universities in northern regions of the UK. The leading example was University of Northumbria, which was mentioned 189 times for soaring from 52nd to 28th in market share of future funding. Of this selection, 90% of all articles featured a quote from Andrew Wathey, Northumbria’s vice-chancellor, who commented that the achievement will move them ‘into territory formerly the preserve of the Russell Group’ (The Independent, 12.05.22).  As a result, the ‘golden triangle’ universities have lost 2.4 percentage points since the 2014 REF results, a statistic shared 85 times by both regional and national publications.  

Similarly, Scottish universities received strong prominence due to every institution in the region delivering ‘world-leading’ research (The National, 12.05.22). Among the 62 Scotland-focused articles across several UK news sources, 23% featured the terms ‘Scottish universities’ and ‘world-leading research’ in their headlines. 

Diversity and the ‘Levelling-Up’ Agenda 

As REF results are only released every seven years, a leading point of discussion in this cycle has been the ‘even spread’ of success in all four nations across the country (Mail Online, 12.05.22). This term has been used 155 times across UK and international media outlets, highlighting newfound diversity and funding allocated to universities outside the Russell Group.  

The Government has used this opportunity to outline how such results support the ‘levelling-up’ agenda, a seven-year plan to reduce (primarily economical) imbalances and increase public investment in areas outside the Southeast of England by 40%. The agenda has been mentioned 164 times by national news and business publications, as well as in a small percentage of coverage in North America, Australia and New Zealand. 96% of this coverage featured a quote from Steven Hill at Research England, and subsequent Chair of the REF steering group: ‘There’s lots of myths about where our research excellence is, but the truth is that it is more broadly distributed, as the results from this exercise show’, adding that the UK research system is ‘well placed to meet the Government’s ambitions for levelling up’.  (New Scientist, 12.05.22). An article by The Independent, titled ‘University research triumphs will help with levelling up agenda’, was syndicated 143 times by local and regional press such as The Reading Chronicle, Cotswold Journal and South Wales Argus. 

Share of Voice: Prominence of REF Opinions  

Hidden Layers of Inequity 

While almost 78% of coverage shares either a positive headline, themes or ‘levelling-up’, many unions and independent researchers have described the REF process as a ‘bureaucratic nightmare’ which can ‘entrench inequality’ given how the results impact funding allocations (Evening Standard, 11.05.22). Dr Jo Grady, General Secretary at University and College Union (UCU), has the strongest share of voice for those in opposition of REF. Grady’s critique has been quoted 93 times since the results were released on 12 May, also taking to Twitter to expand her reach: 

Trending Areas of Criticism in UK Media 


 

 

Multiple trending areas of controversy have emerged in and out of UCU, primarily being:                             

 

Poor Working Conditions  

With almost three in four researchers set to leave higher education, multiple unions across the UK have described the celebrations as ‘unfair’ and ignorant (Daily Mail, 12.05.22). UCU released a public statement describing vice chancellors as ‘utterly hypocritical’ after ‘severe cuts’ to researcher pensions, adding that they are ‘hijacking and seeking to capitalise on the hard work of research and academic related staff’ (UCU, 12.05.22).  

 

Excessive Cost on Public Funds 

While the ethics and structure behind REF have been heavily debated, one aspect that most parties agree with is the excessive administrative burdens and use of public funds. Between just the 2008 and 2014 exercises, costs increased from £66 million to £246 million. A combination of 31 university new sources, education journals and regional news publications have shared their concerns, leading some members of REF funding councils to recognise the ‘radical shake up’ that may be necessary to create a sustainable and ‘healthy research culture’ (Nature, 12.05.22). A professor at Cambridge University added that the costs exceed far beyond monetary value – the REF now ‘looms over the daily lives of institutions and individuals like a massive headache’ (HEPI, 10.05.22).   

 

Unfair Evaluation Methods 

Approaches used to assess university research have also been questioned, as many requirements are not attainable in all disciplines. For example, use of citation data is cautioned as an indicator of quality. Scholars in arts, humanities and many social sciences are particularly critical of this approach, not least because many publications in these fields extend well beyond traditional academic journals into books and physical objects (to include, for example, paintings). Catriona Firth, the associate director for research environment at Research England, is one of many who believes this has a negative impact on the type of work carried out at universities: ‘What institutes think is going to be valuable in the REF is what they encourage staff to do and what they invest in’ (Nature, 12.05.22). Another argued that the process was ‘dampening initiative and originality’, replacing ‘the object of desire (good research) with its proxy’ for the sake of a higher ranking (HEPI, 10.05.22).   

 

Political Engagement  

This year’s REF results have cut through to Parliament with a Early Day Motion being tabled to congratulate the University of Dundee on it’s performance by the SNP. Elsewhere, Paul Howell MP congratulated Northumbria University on its leap to No23 in the latest ranking. Daniel Zeichner MP spoke of the exercise as evidence of UK universities success, arguing this should be the focus of the Government instead of the ‘stoking [of] culture wars’ which has dominated debate in recent years.     

The framework received criticism in the House of Lords, with Viscount Hanworth referring to it as part of a burdensome audit culture. Blogs posted on the Higher Education Policy Institute reiterated that it is a ‘highly complex system of assessment’, but did caution that reforms should not aim not to throw the baby out the bath water.  

The University and College Union were also critical, drawing comparisons between universities celebrating their REF results with the reality for university staff, two-thirds of which they say ‘are considering leaving the sector’.  

  

MP Engagement  

Professor Geoff Rodgers noted the obligatory celebrations of Universities post- REF results are one of the most important aspects of the design of the whole exercise for the sector’s interaction with the Government. However, given only 13 MPs tweeted about REF in response to their local universities’ success, there may still be some way to go.   

 

The Future of REF: 2028 

The future of REF is uncertain. While steps towards the ‘levelling-up’ agenda suggest more diverse funding opportunities, Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, warned that there was ‘no consensus on the value of the REF’. The Labour Party has described the REF as ‘discredited’ and the current shadow minister for science, research and innovation, Chi Onwurah, has complained it ‘encourages a cut-throat environment’, calling instead for more ‘strategic direction from the Government’ and ‘a more equitable funding formula’ (University News, 13.05.22). Moreover, Peter Mandler, professor of Modern Cultural History at the University of Cambridge, believes REF is ‘no longer all that much about excellence or even about research’. In his blog with HEPI, he described the ‘sketchy’ assessment of university impact and environment as a ‘dirty secret’ within the REF system, adding that the whole process is less of a research assessment and ‘more of a public-relations assessment exercise’. Though a professor at one of the ‘golden triangle’ universities, Mandler is one of many in favour of the radical shake-up – or beyond that, to simply ‘rip up the rulebook and start again’ (HEPI, 10.05.22).  

Want to understand more about this story and data, or find out how the Vuelio Insights team can support you? Get in touch. 

Economic Crime Manifesto is launched

Economic Crime Manifesto is launched

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Rt Hon Dame Margaret Hodge MP and Kevin Hollinrake MP, Chairs of the APPG on Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax and the APPG on Fair Business Banking, launched their ‘Economic Crime Manifesto’ last Thursday. The Manifesto comes as the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill was announced during the Queen’s Speech last week.

Dame Margaret Hodge noted the £290bn a year that is lost from the UK economy through ‘dirty’ money, with London as a laundromat for washing dirty cash. As the biggest financial centre in the world, the UK now has an unique opportunity to take leadership and to clean things up. Set out in the Manifesto is a cross party set of proposals with an aim to make real change.

The Manifesto calls for the Government to consider four principles for reform in its new Economic Crime Bill and beyond:

• Transparency – identify who really owns companies, trusts and assets so that law enforcement, journalists, civil society and more can readily follow the money
• Enforcement – toughen up policing agencies with enough resource to consistently enforce existing laws and deter wrongdoing
• Accountability – empower Parliament, journalists, civil society, the courts and whistle-blowers to unearth criminality and hold Government to account
• Regulation – strengthen supervision of the professions so that enablers of economic crime answer for their actions

In her speech, Dame Margaret Hodge talked in more detail about these four principles. On transparency, she argued that the Foreign Office must ensure that public registers of beneficial ownership in the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are faithfully implemented by early 2023. Moreover, they want the register for overseas entities to be introduced with speed and for the UK trust register housed in HMRC to be much more transparent.

On enforcement, she noted that key national level agencies continue to suffer real term declines in budgets – the National Crime Agency has seen a real term decrease in its budget of 4.2% in the past five years, while the USA is significantly expanding capacity. She thinks the Treasury should at the very least increase spending targeted at economic crime enforcement to £300m in this Spending Review to match private sector funding raised through the economic crime levy. The Government should also establish an Economic Crime Fighting Fund with a proportion of proceeds reinvested to fight economic crime.

Kevin Hollinrake noted a lack of accountability, stating his belief that the Government should legislate to introduce new ‘failure to prevent’ offences for economic crimes that applies to both companies and senior executives. On the topic of criminal liability, during Treasury oral questions this week, Kevin Hollinrake noted that NatWest and HSBC have been hit with big fines for facilitating money laundering, and Danske Bank will probably see a fine of £2bn for £200bn of money laundering. He said this is seen not as a deterrent, but as a cost of doing business for these big banks. He asked whether the Minister agrees that the only way that we will tackle this is through criminal prosecutions both at a corporate level and of senior managers. The Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Glen mentioned that the Law Commission is undertaking an in-depth review of laws around corporate criminal liability for economic crime will make an announcement on this subject imminently.

On accountability, Dame Margaret Hodge suggested a new Select Committee of both Houses, which will hold agencies accountable for activities related to economic crime. Moreover, Kevin Hollinrake mentioned that most cases don’t come to light because of enforcement agencies but from whistleblowers. He added a request for the establishment of an Office for Whistleblowers to provide protection and compensation for those who speak out and uncover economic crimes.

Lastly, Dame Margaret Hodge called for smart regulation, not more regulation – recent data shows that 4 out of 5 of professional money laundering supervisors don’t have a proper system to supervise members of their professional organisation. She called for a  complete overhaul of how supervising bodies work, noting that at the moment banks fill in a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) form when there is a suspicion of activity, but in 2019/2020, there were 500,000 SAR forms filed yet the NCAs Financial Intelligence Unit only has 118 employees to scrutinise them.

To conclude, Kevin Hollinrake stated that ‘one of the real opportunities with where we are today is that this is right in the viewfinder of Government because of what has changed in Ukraine’. When asked about the possibility of vested interests preventing the manifesto’s measures from being implemented, Kevin said that while vested interests are still there, and there will be a pushback, there is a better mood within Government than ever before. Dame Margaret Hodge noted they are building a strong cross party coalition and are getting more and more confident they will build a strong consensus.

For more news from the political and public affairs sector, sign up to Vuelio’s Friday newsletter Point of Order.

Building LGBTQ+ inclusion into your PR and comms campaigns

Building LGBTQ+ inclusion into your PR work and workplace

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We recently caught up with co-chairs of PRCA’s relaunching LGBTQ+ Network Katie Traxton and Emma Franklin-Wright to find out why inclusion initiatives are so important for workplace wellbeing and the evolution of the creative industries.

Watch our previous accessmatters session with ProudFT’s Cassius Naylor on inclusion in the media industry.

Need tips on where to start with launching your own support network, ready to fight media misinformation, or just want to know more about being a better ally to the community? Katie and Emma have extra advice and insight on how to build inclusion into all aspects of work in PR and comms.

With some corners of the UK media industry under fire for their coverage of the transgender community, can the comms industry help to combat misrepresentation?

Katie Traxton: It’s important firstly to remember that while we often speak about the LGBTQ+ community as one group, no one part of that community represents the whole and different groups are on different stages in their journey to being accepted for their true selves.

The first event I did when I took my position running the PRCA’s LGBTQ+ group was with transgender racing driver Charlie Martin. It was important to me for our first event to be with a trans speaker, who is inspirational, was happy to share her story and is bursting with talent. For any of you who don’t know who Charlie is, look her up. She’s become a friend and is a role model for so many people – men and women, trans and cisgender.

In terms of the media; don’t believe everything you read. The press has a responsibility to think to before they speak, but we also have a responsibility to think before we accept or repeat everything we read. Do your research. I know it’s almost impossible on any subject to say something everyone will agree with, but balance and accuracy should be basic principles of all reporting. I’m not sure that at present both sides have their voices shared equally.

It’s also important to remember that while publishers want to sell papers, get viewers or clicks or subscribers or be top in any other metric, they’re discussing real people’s lives. It’s a privilege to be given access into another person’s life and a responsibility to treat that access with care. Not everyone sees it that way, but they should. We’d all be better off. Imagine being the one whose private essence is being interrogated in a public spotlight.

Emma Franklin-Wright: The point around sharing both sides of an argument is interesting. I’ve seen so many trans people say that they decline media opps as they don’t want to put themselves in that position where their identity is being put up for debate in front of the nation. They know the sorts of people they will be put up alongside and just know how it will be for them.

Some things we absolutely should debate, but people’s right to exist isn’t one of them. Impartiality is discussed around trans people like it is a discussion about town centre planning and whether or not you should pedestrianise a town centre. It’s embarrassing and offensive to trans people to say denying their right to exist is a ‘debate’, so maybe the media (and us as communications professionals) can stop making every mention of trans people a ‘debate’. Simple representation – such as the Starbucks ad I mentioned or the character of Elle in Netflix’s brilliant Heartstopper series – humanises trans people in a way that debating them for political point scoring does not.

No support networks and initiatives in place at your organisation yet? There are still many ways to support LGBTQ+ colleagues…

Katie: Don’t make assumptions. Don’t think or speak on behalf of individuals or any group of individuals based on what you believe to be their truth, their perspective or their needs. Talk to your LGBTQ+ employees or colleagues, listen to them and then work together to make sure you’re creating an inclusive environment. Seeing LGBTQ+ role models in leadership is also important. All of us look up to people who for any number of reasons we feel an affinity with and if you don’t see an organisation welcoming people from diverse groups at leadership level, then it’s easy to start questioning the opportunities for you as your career progresses.

Emma: Speak to them – make sure it feels an emotionally safe space for them to come to you with what they need. Also, remember to ask yourselves ‘what if’ questions. What if someone in your team tells you they are changing their pronouns to reflect their gender identity? What if someone asks you about your parental leave policy? What if they need medical time off while transitioning? Are you ready for those things? Try and think proactively and not just reactively about how you create a safe and supportive working environment for LGBTQ+ workers.

Want to start your own inclusion network or group at work? Help is on the way…

Emma: One thing we are very aware of is that different agencies and organisations are at different stages of their journey on LGBTQ+ inclusion. Sometimes that is to do with the size of the agency but not always. One of our big priorities this year is to work with relevant organisations to create a tool kit that any agency can use to help them set up their own ERGs. Stay tuned!

Fancy getting involved with the PRCA’s LGBTQ+ Network? 

‘Email [email protected]! It’s literally that easy. Do it! We want to hear from you!’

Check out our full interview with Katie Traxton and Emma Franklin-Wright and find out more about the relaunch of the PRCA’s LGBTQ+ Network. 

Want more on inclusion in the PR and comms industry? Catch up on our accessmatters sessions, covering topics including social mobility, anti-racism, mentorship and more.  

The pain points of a marketing campaign

The pain points of a marketing campaign

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This is a guest post from Yasmin Russell, head of marketing at digital agency Engage.

Yasmin Russell, Campaign

There are a number of things that can cause issues during a marketing campaign, from KPIs to time, however there are things that can be done to mitigate these problems and even solve them to ensure a campaign runs effectively. 

KPIs
It’s essential to establish the KPIs of a campaign early on. Not having clear KPIs when starting a campaign can lead to unrealistic targets being set, or KPIs that don’t reflect what the client is looking to achieve with the campaign.

Realistic KPIs, in particular, are crucial. A client’s expectations must be managed to ensure achievable goals for a campaign are set at the start of the relationships. There’s no point in having a client expecting to achieve one million followers in one month, for example, as this generally simply isn’t possible.

The user journey
If the full user journey hasn’t been considered, it’s very likely that there’ll be touchpoints that are missed which therefore don’t portray a consistent message, including copy and creative.

It’s important to ensure the campaign offers users or consumers a cohesive journey to keep them on the right path that aligns with key objectives, such as awareness. A cohesive user journey can be developed through a number of avenues such as making sure the campaign has a consistent look and feel to support memorability, or ensuring every step of the journey is optimised to support conversion.

The audience
It’s very easy to forget that the audiences you’re trying to target are actually made up of individual people. Marketing is about giving an audience what they want, not what the marketer or company wants.

People are increasingly savvy to overtly advertising content. People will often go online to achieve a goal, escape, be entertained, or informed, and content and campaigns should be tailored to meet these goals.

A campaign shouldn’t just be posted and begin running. It’s important to build a community and rapport with an audience. This can include replying to DMs in good time, responding to comments, and resharing tagged posts.

Taking the target audience on a journey through a campaign and considering all aspects of the marketing funnel is crucial, as people are often unlikely to part with their money on the first touchpoint.

The checkout journey
The checkout journey is crucial to engage users and encourage repeat purchases. It’s very frustrating for a user to reach the point of purchase, only for them to give up because the checkout journey takes too long or some of the fields are broken.

Offering Apple Pay, PayPal, Google Pay and other systems, alongside taking the time to optimise and user test this part of the journey is very important.

More time
Campaigns can always do with more time than is available, particularly for any company trying to reach a seasonal deadline. For example, receiving a Christmas brief in December isn’t ideal.

Working one month ahead is a good place to start, while big seasonal events should ideally have planning and ideation begin at least one quarter in advance. By setting realistic goals and expectations a marketing campaign will run much more smoothly, and be more likely to achieve the KPIs that have been set.

Feedback
Feedback on a marketing campaign can be tricky to navigate, particularly when balancing best practice with brand requirements and personal opinions.

There’s always going to be a degree of both subjective (for example, disliking text colour), and objective (the price being incorrect) feedback. It’s important to rationalise any choices and keep an open dialogue on these points. As for objective feedback, the more detailed the brief and the more people that proof the campaign before it goes live, the less likely objective feedback will be required.

For more on building strong campaigns, read this guest post from Taxi For Email’s Email Evangelist Elliot Ross on how to build strong foundations for a successful email campaign.

Jane Latham from Splendid

Supporting mental health in PR beyond Mental Health Awareness Week

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In this guest post, practising therapist and Head of Wellbeing at Splendid Collective Jane Latham shares her advice for agencies, in-house teams and professionals on how to keep a balanced mind in this fast-paced industry.

While calendar moments like Mental Health Awareness Week serve as great reminders, mental wellbeing is a conversation that needs to be sustained above and beyond crunch points and calendar hooks. But for employers and professionals alike, thinking about tackling mental health and wellbeing can be daunting – perhaps now more than ever, given the range of challenges currently being faced in the industry.

As a ‘Human Givens’ therapist, I’m a firm believer that The Human Givens approach is a helpful starting point. This approach is based around the insight that, as humans, we have emotional needs which evolved to support our survival as a species. They can be categorised into eight need states: security, control, status, headspace, inclusion, connection, development and purpose. In the workplace particularly, when our needs for security, control and status are not being met, we will feel stressed, undermining our ability to perform to the best of our ability across all aspects of our life.
On a busy day, it’s easy to ignore the signs of stress building up and continue to plough on, ending the day feeling tired and emotional. However, if we can start to recognise how we are feeling, moment to moment, we can develop an awareness of any emotional arousal, and take action to address it before stress takes hold.

Using a calming technique such as slow breathing can then help. It works because it helps access the rational mind, so we can validate the emotions and put them into perspective as understandable, given the circumstances. With practice we can also learn to override any negative self-talk and be kinder to ourselves, putting us in a better place to address the issue that has arisen.

Identifying which of our three basic emotional needs are being undermined can also help to inform the best course of action. For example, a heavy workload will undermine our need to feel in control of our lives, as well as our needs for status and security, as we start to worry that we can’t do everything. We can restore a sense of control by writing down a schedule for the week and meeting with a manager to discuss priorities. We could also choose as our next task something that makes us feel good about ourselves, or remind ourselves of all the things that went well in the past week, restoring our sense of positive status.

This simple approach can be applied to the people we work with, too. Imagine being let down by a member of your team missing a deadline. Any feelings of anger that arise can be validated as understandable given the situation, but do not need to be expressed strongly to the team member, who is likely to be feeling pretty stressed already. Instead, being kind and understanding towards them will help restore their sense of security and status, lowering their stress levels and therefore enabling them to get on and complete the work. Afterwards, you can review the situation, discuss how to meet future deadlines together and learn from it.

It’s worth recognising that kindness, towards ourselves and others, can be a powerful tool for restoring emotional balance, and it’s a theme I return to throughout all my wellbeing workshops at Splendid.

Fundamentally, the emotional needs framework helps to remind us that everyone is human. Over the longer term, applying this simple approach to all that we do at work will help us to feel better about ourselves and be more understanding of the needs of others, improving performance across the business.

Jane currently divides her time between her Head of Wellbeing role at Splendid and seeing private clients as a Human Givens therapist. Jane will host the free webinar ‘Feel Human at Work: an Introduction’ for all professionals working in the communications industry on Wednesday 18th May from 5-6pm. Learn more and register your place here. Further information on the Human Givens approach can be found at HGI.org.uk

Emma Franklin Wright and Katie Traxton

‘Inclusion isn’t a bolt-on’: Interview with PRCA LGBTQ+ Network co-chairs Katie Traxton and Emma Franklin-Wright

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Pictured: Emma Franklin-Wright (left) and Katie Traxton (right).

‘We need to make sure that the industry understands the work we’re doing is integral to creating an inclusive community that is better for the individual and better for organisations,’ says Katie Traxton, co-chair of the PRCA’s LGBTQ+ Network.

Having relaunched the network in March of this year, Katie and co-chair Emma Franklin-Wright are ready to make real change in the industry. Read on for what’s coming up from the group and which organisations and campaigns are getting it right with representation.

What prompted the relaunch of the LGBTQ+ Network?
Katie Traxton: I took over running the PRCA’s LGBTQ+ group in mid-2019. At the time we were starting from scratch. Since then – including navigating moving online during the pandemic – we’ve built firm foundations, discovering what works well, how we can make the biggest possible impact and assembling a committee who are now raring to go!

Of course, the most important change in that time was Emma joining me as co-chair. We all need allies, in work as in life, and I so value being able to put our heads together on how best to make a positive difference. With all that in place, it seemed like the ideal time to relaunch as a network ready to gather as much momentum as possible over the weeks, months and years to come.

Emma Franklin-Wright: I’ve been involved in the network for about a year, and in that time have realised that to fulfil the potential for positive impact we can have on our industry, we needed to grow. That’s partly about having shared resource and support, but also different points of view both across all identities within the LGBTQ+ community and different types of PR and Communications professionals. A small independent agency has different challenges in inclusion to a global network which is in itself different to an in-house division.

It was obvious Katie and I couldn’t cover everything ourselves so we wanted to relaunch the network, bring in a new committee, and really see how we can make a difference to the industry.

What are your big aims for this year?
Katie: Raising our profile is a must, but we don’t want attention for attention’s sake. It’s important we have something substantive, relevant and actionable to share. We also need to make sure that the industry understands that the work we’re doing isn’t a ‘bolt on’. It doesn’t sit alongside everyone’s day-to-day. It’s integral to creating an inclusive community that is better for the individual and better for organisations.

Emma: Katie and I have created two work streams for this year, one around raising our profile and creating educational and informative external events and blog posts, and one around creating research and resources that help employers in PR and Communications understand how to create inclusive workplaces. I’m leading the latter so obviously I’m going to say I’m most excited about that! We have seen a record number of new agencies start up in the last two years, so creating a tool kit of resources that means it doesn’t matter if you are in a large agency with a dedicated DE+I team, or a small start-up, you can create an inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ staff.

Why did you want to get involved with the LGBTQ+ Network? 

Katie: Creating inclusive, welcoming, accessible cultures is important to me and it’s my belief that to be inclusive we all need – and need to be – active allies. It’s so much easier to speak up on someone else’s behalf than on your own. For me, having the chance to work with an incredible group of people to help the PR and communications industry ‘show up’ for the LGBTQ+ community as colleagues and consultants was one I couldn’t pass up. It isn’t an opportunity that only relates to the LGBTQ+ community, either. We should be aware of all under-represented groups in our workplaces, the benefits of having input from diverse minds and championing an environment where everyone can thrive.

Emma: Katie asked me to join a PRCA panel in early 2021 – I’m something of a serial joiner, so afterwards when she asked if I would join the committee I, of course, said yes. The PR and Communications industry has such power to shape the narrative around LGBTQ+ inclusion. I see so much incredibly frustrating reporting and representation – especially around trans and non-binary inclusion – and just think if as an industry we harnessed our potential to impact on this we could make a real difference.

Are the comms and creative industries doing enough to support LGBTQ+ members of their workforce?
Katie: It’s hard to define ‘enough’. The simple answer is ‘no’, but the real question isn’t about where we are now, which we can all judge based on personal experiences, it’s about what the plan for progress is. I’d like to see industry-wide commitments to creating inclusive work and workplaces.

Emma: The workplace advocacy report we ran with YouGov last year suggests things could be better – 20% of respondents said they had been discriminated against based on their gender or sexual identity and 29% of respondents were not aware of any LGBTQ+ colleagues holding senior leadership positions. Really though the only people who can answer this question are those leading the workplaces. They need to ask themselves this question, and not only look at what is happening in their workplaces now, but ask some tough ‘‘what if’if’ questions as well. What if a member of your team comes out as trans or non binary – is your workplace set up for them? What if someone raises an instance of discrimination to you – how will you handle it?

Is the comms industry inclusive enough in its creative and campaign work?
Katie: Again, it’s hard to treat the entire industry as one entity. There will be pockets of great, inclusive work, there will be places where unfortunately work does still tend to be exclusive of under-represented groups, and then there’ll be the times where ‘inclusive’ creative and campaign work is borne from a desire to be perceived as inclusive rather than from an inclusive reality. Work can therefore become tokenistic or guilty of virtue-signalling, which is a step in the wrong direction. It’s easy for all of us to get wrapped up in our own communities and concerns, but it takes the same amount of energy to look out for someone else as it does for yourself, so if we all look out for each other, then we don’t lose anything and we gain a lot.

Emma: I agree with Katie – it varies hugely. Often, we need to communicate a lot in a short space of time so we fall on stereotypes to make sure people ‘get it’. For an industry that talks so much about impact we often forget that crucial element – what is the human impact on the people we are representing?

Which brands/organisations in particular do you think have been doing a good job on inclusion with their campaigns and approaches over the last few years?
Katie: My background before working in wider sport and entertainment was the automotive/motorsport industry and I loved the Renault Clio ad that told the love story of a same-sex couple over multiple decades, showing real depth, emotion and making you care.

The Gillette ads where a father shows his transgender son how to shave are also really powerful, taking the most ordinary of daily activities and infusing them with human connection. Of course, lots of other brands/organisations do great creative work that celebrates other under-represented groups; I love the Maltesers ads featuring disabled actors. They’re brilliant.

Beyond the connection you may feel to a single piece of content or even a campaign that makes you care though, what’s important is – what next? Is the brand recognising its responsibility? Is the content underpinned by a commitment to act and support groups who are often marginalised? I think that the most important lesson you learn when campaigning for inclusivity is what questions to ask yourself and others. No one has all the answers – I definitely don’t – but remembering to ask the important questions and hold yourself to account is a big step in the right direction.

Emma: I think authenticity is key – the Clio ad Katie references made sense as they were celebrating thirty years of the car model. There was a nostalgia and emotion to the story that just made sense.

The one that really gets me is the Starbucks ad where a young trans guy is getting dead named by friends and family then you see their joy and relief in seeing their name written on a Starbucks cup. The ‘what’s your name’ moment, and writing on the cups, is intrinsically linked to Starbucks so as an ad concept it makes sense. What’s as important is they backed it up with in store donations to Mermaids. That’s authentic representation and brave representation.

As a football fan I also loved a really sweet advert by Deutsche Bahn called ‘The Fan’ from a few years ago where you see a football fan follow his team all over the country then at the end you realise the star striker is his boyfriend.

For more on inclusion in the PR, comms and media industries, catch up with our accessmatters sessions here.

Bricks being laid ahead of the Queen's Speech

Which housing bills could be in the Queen’s Speech?

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Six bills were passed last week ahead of prorogation – the end of the parliamentary session, which brings nearly all parliamentary business including most bills and all motions and parliamentary questions to a halt.

These six bills include the Building Safety Bill – now the Building Safety Act – which lays out the Government’s attempt to overcome the building safety crisis following the Grenfell tragedy in 2017. It has faced opposition from peers in recent months but received Royal Assent just before the end of the parliamentary session, on 28 April.

The Act details how leaseholders caught up in the crisis will be protected from paying for repairs to the buildings where they live. Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove recently announced a mechanism for property developers to pay up to £5bn to cover the costs of remediating cladding in buildings between 11 metres and 18 metres in height, as well as a building safety pledge to force developers to carry out works. But campaigners have warned the new legislation does not go far enough. Lib Dem Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson Baroness Pinnock told the Lords that the Bill’s passage through the House was a ‘shattering defeat’. The UK Cladding Action Group have said that its next steps ‘will be to look at the secondary legislation and lobbying to make sure that it comes with protections for leaseholders’.

The beginning of the next parliamentary session begins on 10 May, with the Queen delivering a speech to Parliament to outline the Government’s plans for the coming year. It is an important year as it is likely to be the last year major legislation is taken forward before the next general election, expected in 2024. Written by Government ministers, the speech details a list of Bills – but not everything announced in it is guaranteed to become law. The Prime Minister brings the list of Bills to the attention of MPs before the Leader of the Opposition has the chance to respond, and then in turn all other MPs.

It had been expected that the Planning Bill which was announced in the 2021 Queen’s Speech may be taken forward into the new session, however, several newspapers have suggested that planning reform will not be addressed through standalone legislation due to back bench Tory and opposition MPs’ concerns that the proposals in the Planning Bill would mean less elected councillor scrutiny over individual planning applications and less public involvement in the planning process. Some measures on planning reform will instead feature in a new Levelling Up Bill.

Potential subjects of legislation for the 2022-23 session include social housing regulation. The Government’s Levelling Up White Paper features a commitment to delivering the proposed measures in the Social Housing White Paper to bring forward a Social Housing Regulation Bill. Giving evidence to the House of Commons Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee in February 2022, Michael Gove said that the Government hoped to introduce the Bill in either May or June 2022.

Another potential subject is leasehold and commonhold reform. On 11 January 2021, the then Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick stated that leasehold reform would be carried out through two pieces of legislation.

The first piece of legislation, the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill, gained royal assent on 8 February 2022. The act sets future ground rents to zero, and, when in force, will apply only to new lease agreements. Retirement properties are also in scope of the act.

During the Bill’s Committee stage in the House of Lords in June 2021, the Minister of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Lord Greenhalgh said that the Government aimed to pursue a ‘second tranche of reforms’ in the third session of this Parliament.

The Government has previously suggested that this may include:

  • Reforming the process of enfranchisement valuation that leaseholds must follow to calculate the cost of extending a lease or buying their freehold
  • Abolishing marriage value
  • Capping the treatment of ground rents at 0.1% of the freehold value and prescribing rates for the calculations at market value
  • Introducing an online calculator to ‘further [simplify] the process for leaseholds and ensuring standardisation and fairness for all those looking to enfranchise’
  • Retaining existing discounts for improvements made by the leaseholder and security of tenure, alongside a separate valuation methodology for low-value properties known as ‘section 9(1)’
  • Giving leaseholders of all types of property the same right to extend their lease ‘as often as they wish’, at zero ground rent, for a term of 990 years
  • Allowing continuation of redevelopment breaks during the last year of the original lease or the last five years of each period of 90 years of the extension, subject to existing safeguards and compensation
  • Enabling leaseholders, where they already have a long lease, to buy out the ground rent without the need to extend the term of the lease