John Adams Dadbloguk.com

Blogging, homeschooling and me time: life as in influencer in lockdown

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John Adams has been writing about parenting, fatherhood and family life at Dadbloguk.com since 2012. He’s married to Gill and they have two daughters, Helen aged 11 and Izzy aged 7. John usually works at home; for the past fortnight Gill has also been working from home and he’s had to homeschool the children because their school was closed.

In this guest post, he shares how he’s getting on.

Picture the scene. My kids are sat opposite me at the dining room table, both of them supposedly doing online lessons set by their school. Instead, the two of them are squabbling.

‘She started it,’ said Izzy as she launched yet another minor invasion of her big sister’s personal space.

Desperately needing peace and quiet so I could get on with some work, I responded by saying THE most stereotypically dad thing ever said in the history of fatherhood:

‘Yeah, well I’m ending it.’

I cringed as those words came out of my mouth. Added to that, my intervention didn’t work. I ended up having to put the kids in different rooms because they continued to distract each other.

My new reality
With the schools closed courtesy of COVID-19, this is likely to be my reality until September – the three of us sat at the dining table with me simultaneously overseeing Helen and Izzy’s schooling and helping them while trying to do my own work.

As an influencer, I run my blogging business as a limited company. It’s a small venture and I simply can’t stop working. I have to try to balance homeschooling and working.

My wife is also working from home and has commandeered what I’d usually call ‘my’ office. As much as I’d love to split homeschooling responsibilities, her job is in management; she’s spending almost every moment on the phone during office hours.

By the end of the first day of this homeschooling adventure, I told Mrs Adams I wasn’t going to do any ironing until the kids were back at school. For a brief second I thought she was going to protest. I think she read the look on my face and realised this would be a bad idea.

Home am I handling this?
I’m very surprised at how quickly we’ve settled into the ‘new normal.’ I’m getting up at 5am and doing a couple of hours work. I then have to get the kids’ breakfast and ready for #PEWithJoe at 9am.

If you’re not familiar with the #PEWithJoe phenomena, it’s the brainchild of personal trainer Joe Wickes. He does a daily, 30-minute workout live on YouTube for families at 9am. It’s proven to be a massive hit, so much so I think Wickes has made himself a national treasure on a par with Dame Vera Lynn.

Between 9am and roughly 2pm, I am overseeing the kids while they work. For the most part, this means dealing with IT crisis after IT crisis because a kid forgets a password/the WiFi drops/a power cable can’t be found etc. When Helen and Izzy are working, they’re generally very focused but keeping the computers running is a job on its own!

Be warned, laptops are the new toilet roll. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve spent an eye watering amount on laptops so the kids can do online lessons but they’re increasingly difficult to get hold of. Employers are buying them for staff and parents are snapping them up for kids who are being homeschooled.

After 2pm, I get some ‘me’ time and get back to work. Not surprisingly, I’m getting a lot of requests to work unpaid promoting activities for kids or promote the most random selection of products. These requests come from everyone from make-up retailers and hook-up sites (yes, really) to watch and car manufacturers.

As you might expect, paid work is thinner on the ground right now. At the moment I’m updating my media kit and social media profiles etc. That said, I have some long-term projects to work on and smaller jobs have cropped up.

Looking to the future, I’m hopeful for when this COVID-19 craziness ends. Influencers like me have established, targeted audiences and we’re lean and can move fast. Once marketing budgets are released again, we can move at speed to help brands promote their goods and services. It’s tough at the moment, but I see opportunities in the future.

John won the Best Dad Blog at the Vuelio Online Influence Awards 2019 and 2016. Work with him with him through Dadbloguk.com.

Are you an influencer? Get in touch and let us know how you’re getting on during the COVID-19 isolation.

 

Pitching to busy newsrooms

How to pitch to busy newsrooms in busy times

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The battle to get through to a newsroom is intense, particularly now when the news and policy environment is so busy and journalists are under incredible pressure to meet deadlines while maintaining editorial standards.

News journalists, as every PR knows, are some of the hardest to reach and engage, but if you get it right then you’ll put your spokesperson, organisation or campaign front and centre of the coverage that sets the agenda.

Each journalist and media have their own production and publishing schedule, but we’ve compiled these top tips on how PR professionals have the best chance of getting through.

1. Do your research
There are two ways to target a newsdesk. The first, which is useful if you have ‘urgent’ news that you want to distribute as broadly as possible, is to email the generic news address at news agencies and national and regional titles. This has the potential for the whole news team to see your press release or pitch, so don’t then follow up by also emailing each person on the news desk individually. Trust that if the story is useful, it will be forwarded on to the relevant contact.

Alternately, if you have a specialist story, for example about health, a business or consumer trends, use your media database to find the reporter who covers what you’re looking to pitch. Then check what they’ve recently written to confirm you can hook your story on to a theme the reporter is interested in and get in touch with them directly. A carefully targeted message, in the manner they prefer (email, tweet etc) with your pitch or press release will have a much better chance of grabbing their attention.

2. Pick the right time to get in touch
Bad news – there’s never a ‘right’ time to pitch a news reporter who will always be on deadline. As every PR who has called a busy journalist knows, no one sets aside half an hour each morning to speak to PRs. Instead, the majority of news teams will gather every morning and afternoon to set their agenda and allocate assignments. Times will vary but are normally around 8.30am-9am and 2.30pm-3pm. This means that you have a better chance of being included in the day’s news planning if your stories reach them before these meetings so they could be pitched as potential content.

And, if you’re planning to contact journalists early in the morning, do it by email (don’t call) with clear to-the-point words that summarise your story and why it is relevant to them (and their audience). No waffle; remember, they don’t have much time.

3. Be prepared
Deadlines and timings to turn around copy are exceptionally short for newsrooms. This means that when you pitch, you need to make every word count. For email subject lines – keep them short and clear so they know what your pitch is before they open the email. Before you email your contacts, make sure you have all the materials they may ask for if they’re interested in your story.

If you’ve pitched an expert, make sure you already have the spokesperson available, and their quotes and comments ready to share. The reporter may want high-res pictures, so have them ready (either to attach in a follow-up email when asked for, or file hosting link). Think of alternative angles for your story as well, in case the reporter comes back with a request for something different. All of this will have to be done quickly – asking a journalist in a busy newsroom to wait, or disappearing on them before their deadline, will sour your relationship just as quickly as a deadline can get missed.

4. Make your story essential
You’ve found the right journalist and you’ve got a brilliant press release with a spokesperson available should more commentary be needed, but how can you make sure your content is indispensable? The key is to think about all the elements that a journalist will need both to potentially write up your story or to incorporate your story into a broader piece they could be working on.

Have additional details ready, such as a summary of the research your client or brand has access to; a range of experts who could provide alternative point of views; products for testing; consumer case studies or quotes from trusted third-party experts. This means that if they can’t cover your story at that moment, you are making it clear how useful you (and your content) will be in the future when they come to plan their next article.

5. Following up (don’t)
It is essential for reporters to track down stories their readership will be interested in and they are always on the lookout for the next story. They won’t ignore or forget a good story, so if you’ve pitched one piece of content, once is enough – if it’s useful, the journalists will use it or ask for more detail. They may even save your pitch for another day, or your details as a potentially useful source of content for future.

That will be ruined with excessive ‘I’m not sure if you saw my email’, or ‘trying one more time’ follow-ups, no matter how well-intentioned or kindly phrased. Don’t hassle – you don’t want to be known as a menace, but as someone who understands what makes a good story for the journalist and might have something useful later. The journalist will remember you – keeping a raft of useful contacts is one of the important parts of their job.

6. It is all about relationships
Just like newsroom journalists, as a PR you’ll also be working at a fast pace to tight deadlines with multiple stakeholders. There is a special balancing act between the pressure you’re under to secure coverage and the need for journalists to have a story. For this to work successfully, you need to think through what the journalist needs then make sure you’re realistic in what you can provide – don’t oversell your story or when you can turn additional research around because you’ll end up letting down the journalist you later need to rely on. To become a trusted source for content for news journalists, be prepared, knowledgeable, helpful and, most of all, sensitive to the environment they’re working in.

Find the right journalists for your pitch – with information on how they like to be contacted – with the Vuelio Media Database. Want more pitching tips? Get tips from freelancers on how they like to be pitched to here.

online wellbeing

WFH: Wellbeing From Home

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As we start to get used to the mechanics of long-term working from home it’s easy to neglect both our physical and mental health. We asked our wonderful Wellness Manager, Roxy Danae, for her key advice for staying active and taking care of your mental wellbeing during these challenging times.

Here are Roxy’s top five tips:

  1. Find a routine

Keeping a regular routine will not only give structure to your day but it will help you separate your working day from your downtime. Get up early, have something to eat and get dressed. It might be tempting to stay in your pyjamas all day, but you’ll be more productive if you put on proper clothes. Plus, you won’t get caught out on any improtu video calls!

  1. Be mindful

Meditation can be something that many people find difficult or simply avoid. Now is the perfect time to practice meditation and find time to soothe your stress. There’s plenty of self-guided online meditation apps such as Headspace and Calm, which can help you practice meditation for ten minutes every day. Meditation helps reduce inflammation in the body, forms new neurological pathways in your brain, helps with productivity and creativity and keeps us grounded.

  1. Get creative

We now have more time to take up a new hobby or learn a new skill, and with so much technology at our fingertips the options are endless. You don’t have to be artistic to get creative, try your hand at knitting, tackle a paint by numbers or learn a new language. The benefit of having added time is you can try more than one hobby. Not a fan of cross stich? Try a yoga class for beginners online!

  1. Practice gratitude

Taking time out of your day to remind yourself of the things you’re grateful for can be transformative. Work it into your daily meditation or take a few minutes at the start or end of your day to reflect on what you have. The act of practicing gratitude helps us to reframe a negative situation into a positive.

  1. Stay active

It can be very easy to avoid exercise when working from home but it’s vital for both mental and physical wellbeing. Use this opportunity to train areas of your body you’ve previously neglected, invest in a kettlebell or a pair of dumbbells and add some variety to your workouts. There’s a number of free exercise classes on YouTube so try something different to your normal routine.

To support the industry’s wellbeing, we’re pleased to announce that we will be launching a weekly Virtual Yoga for Comms class. The hour-long classes will for four weeks, every Wednesday at 6pm starting 8 April. Register for your personal wellness and enjoy a yoga class from the comfort of your home.

PRCA free membership

Six months of free PRCA membership offered to PRs impacted by COVID-19

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The PRCA is offering six months of free individual membership to PR professionals who have lost their job or who are self-employed and have experienced a decline in their income as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

The offer is open to those who are already members of the PRCA as well as non-members, and the industry body plans to accept the word of practitioners who report financial losses.

‘Sadly, plenty of people in our industry have already lost their job or their income, or will do so in the coming months,’ said PRCA Director General Francis Ingham of the move.

‘There is no small print – we shall take accept people’s own judgement when they say they’ve lost a ‘significant’ amount of self-employed income. It’s important that all of us in the PR community do our best for one-another, and this is our attempt to do just that, so that people can pick up new jobs and new contracts as quickly as possible.’

Read more about the offer from the PRCA on the group’s newsroom here.

Access Intelligence

Supporting the industry: Vuelio confirms three-month payment pause for freelancers

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We’re committed to supporting the industry as we navigate together the disruption caused by COVID-19.  

The challenges faced by the PR industry go hand in hand with the need for businesses to increase communications as they manage multiple stakeholders in this rapidly changing environment. We’re hearing from teams across the country who are under intense pressure and grappling with new ways of remote working.

This is why its vital that we, as a software provider to the industry, can be relied on including by the considerable number of our clients who are NHS, Police or Emergency Service organisations. Whether workflow or stakeholder management, database research or political insights, our clients need our tools to deliver.

We are taking steps to help. Last week, we announced a raft of measures including free online monitoring for frontline organisations and free daily stakeholder analysis to help industry get ahead of COVID policy. This is with free additional product functionalities to support our clients in working remotely.

I can also confirm we will pause any subscription payments for three months by a customer who is freelance and contacts us to confirm they are eligible for the Government COVID-19 relief scheme.  Please speak to your account manager to find out more.

These are exceptional times. We hope by working together with our clients and with the industry to be able to help.

PRCA-Confidence-Tracker

Majority of PR professionals remain confident about the future according to PRCA survey

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This week’s results from the PRCA Confidence Tracker has found that senior PRs are still confident about the future of their agencies despite current challenges facing the industry.

Replies from both senior agency and in-house workers to the question ‘How confident do you feel about the future of your organisation right now?’ broke down as:

– 18% very confident
– 36% quite confident
– 29% neither confident nor unconfident
– 11% not very confident
– 7% not confident at all

The weekly PRCA survey will aim to report on levels of optimism among senior PRs during the COVID-19 outbreak, tracking how sentiment changes during the crisis.

‘The PR industry remains remarkably confident in the face of these new challenges,’ said PRCA Director General Francis Ingham of the latest result.

‘Essentially, half of respondents are confident at the moment; a fifth are unconfident; and the rest are neutral. It’s a net confidence score of +36 points. We will be asking the same question of the same group of people every week for the foreseeable future.’

Read more about the PRCA Confidence Tracker results here.

Lord Clement-Jones: If we truly want people to stay home, they need the cash to get by

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Liberal Democrat House of Lords spokesperson for Digital, Lord Clement-Jones, urges the Government to think again about how best to support the self-employed who cannot survive until June without any financial help, and to do more for people who weren’t helped at all by the package announced last week.

Throughout the coronavirus crisis the self-employed have been neglected by the Government. Even with Rishi Sunak’s announcement last week of a financial package for the self-employed, it seems they will not receive a single penny until June.

This took far too long to come, but with consistent pressure from the Liberal Democrats such as through tabling amendments in both Houses of Parliament, finally the Government came forward with something. We consistently made clear that millions of individuals had been plunged into financial insecurity, and subsequently far too many were wondering if they can even afford to put food on the table over the next few months. However, this then begs the question how do they expect people to wait months before they see any material financial support?

The self-employed are not high-flying entrepreneurs as often pictured – they are taxi drivers, hairdressers, builders or child minders. Many of these people will not have savings large enough to cover the cost of living for months on end without any money coming in.

The majority of the self-employed have taxable incomes of less than £10,000 a year, and that compares with just 15% of employees on incomes that low. Without any money before June, they won’t be able to pay their mortgages, rent and bills, and potentially face financial ruin.

Another industry largely forgotten about is the creative industries. The Creative Industries Federation survey last week revealed that 60% of creative freelancers estimate that their income will more than halve in 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak, and almost 50% of freelancers who responded to their poll have already had 100% of their work cancelled.

The wait until June is not the only concern Liberal Democrats have. The scheme proposed by the Chancellor also ignores all those who have been self-employed for less than a year. Between November 2019 and January 2020, the number of self-employed workers increased by 194,000. Many of these individuals will have risked their savings to get started and it looks like they will get nothing from the package. Equally, the Chancellor’s pledge that the self-employed can access loans is also useless to the majority who cannot to afford the personal guarantees banks are saying small businesses need.

If we truly want people to stay home, we must ensure people have the cash to get by now. This is not just about protecting their finances, but also their health. We need to protect them and those around them from the virus – this cannot become a luxury for those who can afford to. If we have seen anything over the past few days, it has been how easily and quickly this virus can spread. The financial packages announced are not just there to protect people’s bank accounts, but to give them the ability to follow the advice we have been given regarding social distancing. If we truly believe that no-one deserves better healthcare because of who they are, where they’re from, or how much they earn, then I would urge the Government to think about how soon they can get the funding to the self-employed during this crisis.

Lord Clement-Jones is a Liberal Democrat peer and the party’s House of Lords Spokesperson for digital.

Annabel Dunstan

Working from home (WFH) – the new norm in extraordinary times

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This is a guest post from Annabel Dunstan, founder and CEO of Question & Retain.

Question & Retain was set up as a virtual company eight years ago, and as all the team work remotely, we are well versed in running meetings via Zoom and harnessing other technology and software products for seamless joined-up working. Dotted around the M25, and in Romania, our team all have home-based workstations, are self-directing in their work streams, and are on the ball about staying in touch and keeping everyone in the loop on activity and any challenges they are facing.

For many companies, the move to remote working is still new. In light of the Government asking everyone to work from home to slow the spread of coronavirus, we asked 1,000 business leaders in the communications sector what the biggest challenge was when working from home.

One quarter (26%) of respondents said they felt demotivated and lack lustre without the stimuli of office life. 20% flagged the challenge of juggling the needs of children at home while keeping a focus on work. And nearly a fifth (17%) were finding it hard to switch off from work with ‘always on’ technology in the house.

Those that had previous experience of WFH seem very comfortable with the new status quo with fellow team members now also working remotely. Below we share some of the top tips offered up by respondents that may help you and your teams as we all adjust.

Top Tips

Getting organised

1. Make sure your workspace is comfortable and properly set up – the last thing you want is musculoskeletal problems because your desk or chair is the wrong height; don’t sit for too long looking at the same four walls.
2. Don’t work in your PJs (I don’t dress up in business dress but that does work for some people).
3. Use the phone and video – make an effort to speak to people every day at scheduled times.
4. Set a todo list. Celebrate every tick on that list.
5. Allocate specific tasks to specific times of the day. Decide how much time each task should take and set an alarm for when that time is up.
6. Give in to your concentration span. After a decade of WFH, I know that mine is no more than 45 minutes.
7. Don’t clean the house or – even worse – go to the toilet (!) on conference calls (unless you are an expert muter for audio and visual).

Taking care of your mental health

1. Don’t say ‘quick lunch’ in the skype group or ‘quick break’ – say ‘I’ll be walking the dog in my lunch hour’ or ‘I need some fresh air, back in half an hour’. Using the word ‘quick’ for your breaks implies you think they are not worth spending time on – they are.
2. Get out and get fresh air at least once a day if you can, making sure to abide by Government guidelines.
3. Stay connected and organise time to talk ‘socially’ around work updates.
4. Encourage and create a sense of community e.g. a morning team briefing in the Zoom café, end of workday chat in the Zoom pub, or share talents e.g. singing, playing guitar, themed fancy dress etc.
5. As a leader, watch out for who is not ‘showing up’ and check in 1:1 via telephone.
6. Switch off from screens early, at least two hours before going to bed, to help ensure a better night’s sleep.

Taking care of your physical health, where possible

1. Try to exercise every day – walk, cycle or run outdoors if possible and in line with Government guidance.
2. Use technology to download exercise apps that inspire you and get you moving – yoga, Zumba, plank challenge etc.
3. Avoid turning to alcohol and comfort food to zone out from stress.
4. Set yourself achievable goals to get/stay fit.

Personally, I make a point of getting outside first thing, e.g. cycling or running, or swimming in the sea before I dress for work (say no to PJs), slap on the lippy and crack on. I schedule breaks and group calls with members of the team for work and virtual water cooler catch ups. Working in 40-minute bursts, punctuated by sax practice or a cuppa in the garden refreshes my brain and restores the concentration.

I take and make calls standing up and switch off the phone and email alerts when drafting stuff. Emails get taken care of three-four times a day in batches to avoid serving the inbox and thinking that is work. I finish work by changing clothes and playing some kick-ass music very loudly. It’s key for me to make that delineation and properly switch off.

It is a big (but understandable) ask to tell everyone to WFH, but I trust that one of the positives that may come from these strange times is a better acceptance by business leaders that it can and does work, and effectively too.

virtual networking

How to network. Virtually.

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These are unprecedented times and as we adapt both our professional and personal lives, we need to find a ‘new normal’ for both socialising and networking. Virtual drinks over video chat have replaced meeting up at the pub, with apps like Zoom and Houseparty becoming essential.

As people work remotely and, in some cases, need to self isolate, it is more important than ever that we stay in contact with our peers and colleagues in the industry. Social media was already a fundamental function for PR and comms, but it now plays a vital role in keeping people connected, allowing them to discuss the issues and challenges they’re facing, and offering support and advice to colleagues and clients.

If you’re missing the social aspect of the working world there are several ways to combat the isolation blues and keep you connected.

  1. Twitter chats

Whether you’re an active Twitter user or you prefer to lurk in the threads, following a conversation hashtag is a great way to see who’s talking about a topic and what they think. From mental health to diversity, #PowerAndInfluence is our recommendation for anyone wanting to join an animated and engaging discussion. Lead by Ella Minty every Wednesday at 8pm GMT, people are encouraged to share their thoughts on a particular topic, offering their advice and own experience to fellow practitioners. One thing’s for sure, you can expect these Twitter chats to get more popular as the current situation develops.

  1. LinkedIn Groups

Joining a group on LinkedIn can allow you to discuss the current challenges faced across PR and comms without having to share it with all of your personal connections. Vuelio has set up two LinkedIn groups, the PR and Communication Network and The Monday PR Club. These groups are open for anyone in the industry to join and once we accept your invitation you can use these as a more intimate place for conversation and catching up with past and present colleagues.

  1. Virtual hangouts

Over the coming weeks we’re going to see more virtual event invites in our inbox and as these become the norm, so will virtual hangouts. Networking in person allows for informal discussions and relationships to be built, which is the aim of taking these meet-ups online. PRFest is running free regular catch ups over Zoom so you can chat, vent and share ideas with your industry colleagues, the perfect antidote to remote working.

  1. Virtual yoga

We started our accesswellbeing initiative back in February to address the issue of mental health in the PR industry and we’ve not let social distancing stop us continue to offer yoga to comms professionals. Moving our #YogaForComms class online not only brings wellbeing to the industry but creates an online community, allowing more people to attend from the comfort of their own living room.

The Public Affairs working from home challenge: Think about reading

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The Head of Public Affairs at the law firm BDB Pitmans, Stuart Thomson, offers his suggestions on how to best use the additional time we have when working from home, to further our personal development.

The time that we now all have working from home can be used productively. We have the ‘day job’ to be getting on with, but we should think about personal development as well. And what better way than reading a book or two!

Working from home can be quite challenging and there is a real danger of simply being sat staring at a screen all day. So, one way that you could choose to bring a bit of useful variety into your set-up is to put some time aside each day to read.

While I am sure that you have a stack of fiction books to get through, there are some really useful non-fiction titles out there for your personal development as well. This applies across the whole of the communications profession but I’ll stick to public affairs!

So, here are a few thoughts that I’ve had about some useful public affairs reading:

  • The systems and processes – books on political processes can often be really quite dull and technical. However, take a look at Besly and Goldsmith’s ‘How Parliament Works’ for a good guide to the Westminster parliament. The Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly both have good online guides.
  • Campaigns and strategies – I can’t rate the materials freely available on the Government Communications Service highly enough. There is everything from evaluation to digital communications and the OASIS framework for campaign planning.
  • How To Guides – there aren’t many ‘how to’ guides available covering public affairs. The most comprehensive ones are probably Lionel Zetter’s ‘The Art of Political Persuasion’ and my own ‘Public Affairs in Practice’. Both cover everything from the basics of what public affairs is through to effective engagement and political processes. While ‘Public Affairs in Practice’ is mainly UK and Brussels based, Zetter has an international dimension. If you are interested in how public affairs is done in different countries around the world then my ‘Public Affairs: A Global Perspective’ would be a good starting point.
  • Best practice – it is always useful to take a look at the CIPR and PRCA They both have great resources, guides and case studies as well. I’d also suggest taking a look at the training options they have. Both are working on more online courses for obvious reasons, but they have some already available.
  • Others – there are also some more general communications books that really help with public affairs. I’d point to Measure What Matters, which gets you thinking about KPIs, Good Strategy / Bad Strategy, with some constructive thoughts that I found useful when starting off with new campaigns, and Words The Work, which helped me to focus even more on every word I write.

If it’s helpful, I have added the books, as well as a few others, to an Amazon page.

It would be great to hear ideas from others about what books they have found useful and maybe why as well. There are no end of really good books available but personal recommendations are always worth just that little bit more.

You’ll have to forgive me a little cross-selling as well but you may also find my regular (and free!) blog useful as well: www.stuartthomson.co.uk.

I look forward to hearing what I should be adding to my book list. Happy reading!

Panic buying during COVID-19 outbreak

Labour calls on the PR industry to help curb panic buying during the COVID-19 crisis

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While panic buying is causing empty shelves across the UK’s stores and preventing vulnerable people’s access to essential items, Labour has called on the PR and advertising industries to join efforts to better educate the public with campaigns using #covid19advert and #dontshoptillyoudrop hashtags across social media.

‘Panic buying is causing real harm to vulnerable groups and creating anxiety amongst all,’ said Labour’s Shadow Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Luke Pollard. ‘Ministers have not reacted fast enough or far enough, and that is why Labour is calling for a mobilisation of advertising and PR agencies to create new TV adverts, newspaper, digital and billboard advertising to take on panic buying.

‘Those who specialise in persuading us to buy products now have the opportunity to save lives with their work. Please step up and help. We need people to do the right thing at this time of national crisis: shop sensibly, stay at home and slow the spread of the virus.’

The PR and comms industry has already been working to support both the businesses they work with and the general public to adapt to life during the outbreak. Labour’s urging for more from an industry ideally placed to communicate best practice during difficult times is particularly welcomed by in-house PR Harold Podol at Modern World Business Solutions, who is already planning how his team can help spread the message.

‘I am truly appreciative to Labour for spreading and pushing this campaign, as it needed to be started. We’ve spent our careers creating viral campaigns and building out marketing strategies that go global. We’re naturally trained and skilled in spreading the word.

‘We felt a fair portion of people bulk buying were relatively young, so while most others will be pushing this campaign on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, we thought we’d try to reach a different audience set by making videos on TikTok to spread the word. We have also been reaching out to influencers we’ve worked in the past about making a video.’

Even where panic buying is bolstering profits for independent companies seeing a surge in sales, the impact is causing unnecessary pressure. Sales at craft company Stitch & Story have increased by over 900% when compared to the same period in 2019 – good for the bottom line, but the team are struggling with demand as people take up knitting to pass the time in self-isolation.

‘We’re hearing from customers who are worried that a lockdown will stop businesses such as ours from functioning and we are having to reaffirm that it is business as usual,’ says co-founder Jen Hoang, who has joined calls for the public to stop panic buying.

Some agencies already creating free campaigns to support #covid19advert and #dontshoptillyoudrop include Scribe PR and One Minute Brief, who have challenged people to take part in creating posters to stop panic buying. How many more will choose to support the effort remains to be seen, but the quick reaction to the COVID-19 crisis from the PR industry shows it has the tools to communicate the right message when it matters.

Read more on how you and your agency can help with the initiative to better educate the public on panic buying in the full statement from Labour here.

Navigating uncertainty

Navigating uncertainty: the Vuelio toolkit for communicators

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PR and comms are playing a critical role in delivering information during the COVID-19 outbreak.

From creating and maintaining consistent messaging, which aligns with brand values, to getting used to new working arrangements, teams are stretched and still expected to provide value to all their stakeholders, both internally and externally.

On top of all this, each organisation must keep up with the latest Government guidelines, which are evolving daily.

Navigating uncertainty: The Vuelio toolkit for communicators has been created to support the industry in these challenging times.

The toolkit includes stats and information on the coronavirus outbreak, including its impact on the media landscape, linked resources to help with everything from virtual events and networking to staying focused while working at home, and it also includes our top 10 lessons to keep your comms effective in a crisis.

It also includes links to our COVID-19 daily bulletin and our next yoga session on Thursday, which will hosted virtually. We hope you can join us there.

Download the toolkit and find out more about how Vuelio can support you.

 

collaboration

Tips for using Vuelio to collaborate effectively

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Whether your team is in one place or remote working in different locations, Vuelio can help you keep on top of your comms activity and maintain a consistent message.

Here are our top tips:

Create an Issue to keep track of activity around a topic

Keep your messaging consistent by using the SRM’s Issues module, which has lines to take and briefing tools. You can link all of your media enquiries, releases and coverage to help you see exactly what’s going on around a particular topic and who everyone is speaking to about it.

Communicate with stakeholders

Use the built-in email distribution tool to keep your stakeholders and the media up to date.

Create groups in your Vuelio Media Database or add private contacts and send them emails directly. You’ll then be able to see who you’ve engaged using the email distribution report as well as on each contact’s profile.

Keep track of who is talking to whom

Use the module in SRM to keep track of inbound media enquiries and outbound comms. This will help everyone organise and avoid duplicating efforts with media and influencer outreach.

You can link Interactions to contacts, subjects and releases, assign to a colleague and create follow-up tasks to help manage your team’s workflow effectively.

Automated tagging of coverage

We can automatically tag your monitoring content, making it simple to report on coverage by emerging topics, keywords, brands or competitors.

ResponseSource Journalist Enquiries

While you’re managing new ways of working, the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry service continues to be a source of great PR opportunities for your organisation. Requests come to you by email allowing you to react to relevant requests, including lots of non-coronavirus content being sought by the media right now, and expand your network.

Bob Blackman MP: Homelessness Reduction Act was the first major legislative change for 40 years

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Conservative MP Bob Blackman writes about his journey from being drawn second in the Private Members’ Bill ballot to passing a ground-breaking piece of legislation: the 2018 Homelessness Reduction Act. The Act ‘places a duty to refer on to agencies like the NHS, the prisons service and Jobcentre Plus, to try to ensure no one is missed in the system’ and ensures local authorities offer help up to 56 days before the crunch occurs, reducing the need for unsuitable temporary accommodation.

 

In April 2018, I was proud to see my Homelessness Reduction Act given Royal Assent to become the first major change to legislation on the subject in England for nearly forty years.

This piece of ground-breaking legislation came about after I was drawn number two in the Private Members’ Bill ballot in 2016. It is a comprehensive change to the law that has shifted the emphasis firmly towards preventing homelessness from ever occurring in the first place, and it ensures that care leavers, ex-offenders, NHS patients, armed forces veterans and other vulnerable groups will receive help and advice for the first time.

From the moment I was drawn in the ballot, I was inundated with requests to use the opportunity to further interests or a particular cause by multiple groups. I settled on homelessness reduction after giving thought to issues I have seen in my time in politics, having been a councillor and member of the London Assembly before entering the House of Commons.

A lot of work went into ensuring the Bill would be workable and credible and I was naturally pleased that it gained valuable backing from the Government and all opposition parties. My colleagues on the Communities and Local Government Select Committee deserve particular mention for their support, as this was the first time a Private Member’s Bill was given pre-legislative scrutiny by a Select Committee and it made a big difference in ironing out the finer points at an early stage.

The homelessness charity, Crisis, deserve a great deal of credit for helping to support the early formation of the Bill through its extensive groundwork, and I also owe thanks to Shelter and several other charities for their support as well. The Residential Landlords Association, and London Councils, to name a few are also to be commended for having the insight and vision to recognise the need for this legislation and I am also grateful for their support. Throughout the process I was repeatedly surprised by how dated homelessness law was and how long had passed since proper scrutiny by lawmakers.

The experience gained from the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 was perfectly timed to help inform measures put forward in the Homelessness Reduction Act. Wales saw a 69 % decrease in the number of households owed the main homelessness duty for example. While there are obvious differences between the nations, this was a demonstration that shifting the balance towards prevention work could really make a difference.

Drawing on lessons from Wales, there is a strong evidence base to suggest that the costs of transforming local authority services towards prevention work will rapidly offset the savings to local authorities on temporary and emergency accommodation. As of the end of 2018, there were 78,930 recorded households in temporary accommodation, with 69% placed in temporary accommodation in London, and the number of families with children stuck in completely unsuitable B&B-style accommodation on the rise. The National Audit Office (NAO) report on Homelessness in September 2017 showed that, of the £1.1bn spent by English local authorities in 2015-16, £845 million was spent on temporary accommodation, and this figure has only continued to increase.

I am very pleased that the Government is funding the initial implementation of my Act to the tune of £72.7 million, helping local authorities to make the adjustments and provide the new services needed to turn things around and change how we approach homelessness entirely. As a result, I believe there will be fewer people hitting the point of becoming homeless in the first place, with local authorities empowered to step in and offer help and advice up to 56 days before the crunch occurs, in turn causing a reduction in the need to use unsuitable temporary accommodation.

Of course, this piece of legislation cannot be considered a fix-all. Homelessness is typically the end point that occurs due to numerous other issues and no one thing can provide a complete solution. The Act places a duty to refer on to agencies like the NHS, the prisons service and Jobcentre Plus, to try to ensure no one is missed in the system, and it also reinforces legislation to ensure Private Rented Sector accommodation has been inspected for suitability prior to it being offered. I hope all the different measures contained within this legislation will really make a difference on the ground and I intend to continue to press the Government to keep monitoring it and listening to local authorities as they feed back.

Bob Blackman is the Conservative MP for Harrow East.

CIPR and PRCA issue joint statement

Industry bodies join forces to urge Government support for freelance workers

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The CIPR and PRCA have issued a joint statement praising the work of communications professionals during the COVID-19 outbreak while urging the Government to do more to protect the industry’s freelancers.

Highlighting the impact of the coronavirus on the public relations industry, the statement from the CIPR and PRCA points out the frontline role many PR practitioners have in providing the public with real-time updates and advice. While the Government has committed to protecting the nation’s businesses as well as individual jobs and salaries, the bodies urge further support for freelancers working in PR, detailing the lack of income assurance for the self-employed in a letter to the Chancellor.

‘We welcome the Government’s approach of paying people to stay home,’ says the official letter. ‘All of us need those who are infected to self-isolate and those who are not to practice physical distancing. To achieve this everyone must have the assurance of an income until this crisis is over – not most people, but everyone’.

Detailing the many small PR businesses working during this crisis, with the biggest companies only employing a few hundred staff, the letter puts forward that the plans announced by the Government so far will not be enough to support ‘microbusinesses, home-based or virtual’ workers or freelancers who cannot take advantage of Small Business Rate Relief or Universal Credit.

Signed by CIPR CEO Alastair McCapra and PRCA director general Francis Ingham, the letter asks for a response from the Government today with specific details of how a new system can be put in place for the PR industry and its people.

‘Our members are on hand to support the Government in your effort to ensure the public have access to timely, reliable and transparent news and will play our part in the national effort to change behaviour and provide reliable information. We will continue to push for the Government to commit the resources for you to be able to do so.’

Read the joint statement from the CIPR and PRCA and letter to the Chancellor in full here.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Reflections on Coronavirus – Test, Test, Test!

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Former Business Minister and Tesco director Baroness Neville-Rolfe writes: ‘Supermarkets are on the frontline in crises such as this one with their unique knowledge of the supply chain, a vast employee base of all ages and skilled operational mangers’.

The importance of establishing the facts clearly, the unintended effect of the counter measures adopted, and the sheer unpredictability of events are themes that recur in all crises. The point is to overcome these problems. I speak as a former supermarket executive at Tesco and civil servant at No 10, and now as a peer and former Government Minister.

You might be surprised how impressive the exchanges have been in the House of Lords on the virus. Gnarled politicians and former ministers who lived through the 1987 crash, BSE, 9/11, SARS and the financial crisis; Bishops reminding us of the plight of the vulnerable and of prisoners; distinguished doctors; and pillars of the voluntary and education sectors. All have contributed positively and wisely.

Supermarkets are on the front line in crises such as this one with their unique knowledge of the supply chain, a vast employee base of all ages and skilled operational mangers. They have to deal with panic buying – a gut instinct in the absence of facts. My four-year-old granddaughter was yesterday piling up her toy food under the kitchen table because she had heard we ‘have to stockpile’.

The fact is that there is enough food for everyone during the current crisis although home demand will be higher because people will eat at home more. And cupboards can only take so much spaghetti and loo paper! The Competition and Markets Authority need to help by indicating that the enforcement of competition law will be temporarily relaxed to make it easier for supermarkets and food businesses to act in concert for the public benefit. Also keeping prices down in all circumstances is not always wise; the laws of supply and demand are still true.

Supermarkets rely on the news networks to keep customers informed, because when information is scarce, they are inundated with queries. The Government’s daily press conferences are a wise step forward. However awful things might seem, there is a need to ‘stay cheerful’. The free to air broadcasters are a lifeline in times of crisis providing repeats of Foyle’s War and Sunday services now the churches have closed.

Pandemics start in a small way so there is a tendency to delay radical action for too long. I remember that in the foot and mouth (FMD) crisis of the early 2000s the country was shut down too late. Later, the wider impact of shutting footpaths did vast damage to the tourist industry, an economic impact significantly larger than the damage FMD caused to the meat sector.

In the terrifying circumstances of a pandemic, we have to rely on scientific advice. However, like economists, scientists can be wrong, so it is wise to draw on a range of expertise. In the BSE crisis some scientists published a paper speculating that deaths might amount to 100,000. The figure to date is below 200.

What can we do now? The Government is overwhelmed with suggestions. Today I have one demand which would do more than anything else to ease current strains. Get on top of testing so actions and behaviour can be informed by the facts. We must find a way of testing more people for the virus so those infected can be isolated and those not infected can contribute their skills.

Also, we must accelerate and make widely available the new test for anti-bodies. This will ensure that vital workers can get back to work quickly. In Taiwan, in Singapore and one brave Italian town this emphasis on Test, Test, Test has slowed the pandemic significantly.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe is a former Treasury & BEIS Minister and a Conservative peer. She is a former Director of Tesco.

Effective communications in disrupted times

Effective communications in disrupted times

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These are extraordinary times that are intensely challenging for our customers’ as they work to maintain coordinated, effective communications to multiple stakeholders in a fast changing environment. This has never been more important and we want to help.

We recognise that every organisation is grappling with exceptional enquiry volumes so from today we’re offering all clients complimentary access to the Vuelio Interactions module for three months. This will enable you to track and manage contact with your stakeholders so even though your team are remote working, you can manage and keep all communications consistent.

We have seen our customers’ manage high coverage volumes so to streamline reporting we will provide Vuelio Canvas, which will also be complimentary to clients for three months. This is a digital coverage tool that quickly and powerfully presents coverage in a way that can be easily shared to keep your stakeholders up to date on coverage, social media and latest published information.

We know that the work of front line, emergency organisations in communicating latest information to stakeholders is critical in managing this health crisis. So, from today, we’re offering NHS, police, fire service, and health and social care charities three months of online media monitoring including news alerts, at no cost. This will support you to understand the changing news agenda and implications for your organisation.

Please contact your account manager to find out more.

We are in a fast changing policy environment so to keep ahead of what this means, we’re offering a free daily bulletin from our political team, summarising COVID-related announcements from official Government sources, key Government spokespeople, industry and community stakeholders. Sign up to the bulletin here.

Alongside offering access to our products, we also want to support your teams to build their confidence in using the platform as they work remotely. From next week, every day at 3pm we will run online Vuelio Training Academies. These 30-minute sessions will be facilitated by Vuelio experts and explain how to get the most from functionalities including:

  • Interactions logging
  • Canvas
  • Media Monitoring
  • Media Database
  • Press Release Distribution

These sessions can be signed up to here, where the weekly schedule will also be available. If there are other areas of the product that it would be useful to cover, please do email your account manager to ask for them to be added.

These are challenging economic times that we all face. If you have any concerns that we can help with, get in touch with your account manager who can be contacted by phone or email as normal.

Online event

Virtual events and why they’re more important than ever

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SXSW and Coachella were first and now with Glastonbury cancelled and the Euros being postponed until 2021, it is clear that no event is impervious to the current situation. Large mass gatherings are no longer part of the calendar and as we all adapt to social distancing, events have had to adapt too.

Over the coming weeks, and possibly months, all in-person events will stop following Government guidelines. For anyone hosting any kind of event there is a decision to be made: cancel, postpone or take the event online. With more people now remote working, holding a virtual event is fast becoming the preferred option.

There’s a wealth of technology that can allow organisations to share their content with audiences across the globe. Webinars have long held an important place in any marketer’s toolkit and now they are even more vital; allowing guests to ask questions and interact with the hosts encourages discussion, which replicates experiences of in-person events.

As museums start to offer virtual tours, so begins the start of virtual expos where delegates can ‘visit’ the different stands, download the relevant collateral and speak directly with the supplier through a messaging app.

While it’s harder (but not impossible – watch this space) to take networking drinks online, small conferences or seminars benefit from this way of working. Livestreaming these events not only helps with keeping costs down (no venue, no catering, etc.) but it also makes it more accessible for both the audience and the speakers. Although you may need to be flexible with time zones, it opens up your list of potential speakers to those who are not just based in your city.

For smaller virtual meetings and seminars, Zoom has a free offering for live streaming meetings of up to 100 participants that last for 40 minutes or less. With a chat function built in, you can easily communicate with your guests and get a lively Q&A going at the end of the session. There’s an option to record your meeting too so if anyone is unable to attend they can still enjoy the content at a time that works for them.

When it comes to promoting, inviting and keeping track of your attendees Eventbrite is an accessible and easy-to-use tool. Plus if you’re hosting a free event, then it’s free to use.

Events may never be the same after this, as budgets get tighter and the need for more accessible events goes from nice-to-have to essential. Expect more virtual event invites over the next few weeks and video catch up content if you miss it. We’ll see you online.

Government promises all the tools every UK Citizen needs to get through this

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Vuelio’s Sam Webber assesses the latest Government response to the Coronavirus pandemic, including a new fiscal stimulus and school closures.

The Coronavirus pandemic has now affected every aspect of Government and public life in a way that this country has not experienced since the Second World War.

The Chancellor’s comprehensive Budget, announced last week, has already had to be updated and overhauled with a far more generous package of measures to safeguard businesses and families. After pressure from MPs representing tourist destinations and from key cultural institutions like small attractions, pubs and restaurants that are set to be particularly affected, the Chancellor increased measures offered to this sector: ‘I announced last week that for businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, with a rateable value of less than £51,000, they will pay no business rates this year.

‘Today, I can go further and provide those businesses with an additional cash grant of up to £25,000 per business – to help bridge through this period. Additionally, I also am today extending the business rates holiday to all businesses in those sectors, irrespective of their rateable value.

‘That means every single shop, pub, theatre, music venue, restaurant – and any other business in the retail, hospitality or leisure sector – will pay no business rates whatsoever for 12 months, and if they have a rateable value of less than £51,000, they can now get a cash grant as well.

‘I also announced last week that we would be providing £3,000 cash grants to the 700,000 of our smallest businesses. In light of the new circumstances, and to support their cash flow, today I can increase those grants to £10,000.’

Hinting at additional measures for other sectors of the economy he added:

‘Some sectors are facing particularly acute challenges. In the coming days, my colleague the Secretary of State for Transport and I will discuss a potential support package for specifically airlines and airports.’

For those affected by COVID-19 who will lose income and not be able to pay their monthly mortgage, the Chancellor also offered support: ‘Following discussions with industry today, I can announce that for those in difficulty due to coronavirus, mortgage lenders will offer at least a three month mortgage holiday – so that people will not have to pay a penny towards their mortgage while they get back on their feet.’

While he was immediately criticised because this statement offered nothing to those in rented accommodation, they have now been offered additional protections too.

Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government said: ‘The Government is clear – no renter who has lost income due to coronavirus will be forced out of their home, nor will any landlord face unmanageable debts.’

His detailed statement includes a promise that: ‘Emergency legislation will be taken forward as an urgent priority so that landlords will not be able to start proceedings to evict tenants for at least a three-month period. As a result of these measures, no renters in private or social accommodation needs to be concerned about the threat of eviction.’

An announcement from Education Secretary Gavin Williamson on Wednesday also confirmed what many parents had been expecting: ‘After schools shut their gates on Friday afternoon, they will remain closed until further notice except for children of key workers and vulnerable children, as part of the country’s ongoing response to coronavirus.’

While this has serious implications for those studying for exams that will now not be taking place in the usual way, the Government is clear it will do whatever is necessary to ensure no students are adversely affected by these challenging conditions.

Finally, the Government has set up a new structure of four implementation committees focusing on health, public sector preparedness, economy and international response to deal with the crisis.

  • Healthcare: chaired by the Health Secretary to focus on the preparedness of the NHS, notably ensuring capacity in the critical care system for those worst affected
  • General Public Sector: chaired by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to look at preparedness across the rest of the public and critical national infrastructure, excluding the NHS
  • Economic and Business: chaired by the Chancellor, with the Business Secretary as deputy chair, to consider economic and business impact and response, including supply chain resilience. It will also coordinate roundtables with key sectors to be chaired by relevant Secretaries of State
  • International: chaired by the Foreign Secretary, to consider our international response to the crisis through the G7, G20 and other mechanisms, including like-minded groups, and the UK five-point plan

This shows that as well as relying heavily on the advice from his Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Adviser, the Prime Minister is receiving support from his Cabinet colleagues Matt Hancock, Michael Gove, Rishi Sunak, Alok Sharma and Dominic Raab and all their respective teams of civil servants to feed into the UK’s holistic approach to defeating this virus.

As Rishi Sunak said this week: ’I want to reassure every British citizen, this Government will give you all the tools you need to get through this.’

Industry membership bodies react to COVID-19

Industry membership bodies act in reaction to COVID-19

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Public relations membership bodies the CIPR and PRCA are launching initiatives to support the sector in reaction to the potential impact of COVID-19 on the PR industry.

PRCA
Following a survey of around 200 PR professionals on the subject of COVID-19, the PRCA will create a Global Covid-19 Public Communications Taskforce to provide free practical support to practitioners around the world. The association welcomes help from senior professionals able to assist with:

– Advocating for the role of PR in planning and response
– Advice and models for working from home for PR professionals and their stakeholders
– Mental health and wellbeing communications in the current climate
– Guidance on best practice and crisis response across all comms disciplines
– Reporting on COVID-19-related industry data and how the virus is impacting the PR industry

‘The coronavirus is a human tragedy with serious implications for business and public relations,’ said PRCA director general Francis Ingham of the decision behind the taskforce launch.

‘Our industry is uniquely positioned to adopt a leadership role during this time of crisis, and deliver a public good. This offering will be global and it will be free.’

CIPR
The CIPR will support its members during the coronavirus outbreak with an online resource of advice and information as well as new guidance for communicators working in both the public and internal sectors. The online guides will be regularly updated to reflect the latest government recommendations.

Independent PR practitioners will also be able to request a three-month CIPR membership payment break while continuing to receive information about upcoming training and events from the association.

‘We know many of our members will have increased responsibilities to communicate with stakeholders, customers and staff on activities and policies for their own organisations and clients,’ say CIPR on the need for industry support.

‘Our priority as an institution is the health and wellbeing of our staff, their families and our members. This page contains information on what the CIPR are doing to support members and the profession at a time when the importance of good, clear and ethical communication has never been more important.’

More on the PRCA taskforce can be found here and information on CIPR resources can be accessed here.