8 facts you need to know about brand reputation

Don’t be scared, be prepared: Stats on brand reputation you need to know now

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You and your clients have a rep to protect, and crisis can come from many different places. One big source of brand reputation problems? The digital space, where the negatives can spread just as quickly as the positives.

No PR can be omnipotent or always-online, so a reputational crisis will happen at some point. In our webinar ‘The AI Conundrum: paving the way for the future of comms’, Danebury Research founder Paul Stallard shared findings from our collaborative white paper to prove just how prepared PRs need to be.

Watch the webinar here.

Read on for the numbers on accountability, fake news, and how valuable public relations is.

Business leaders are worried about reputation…

– 94% of business decision makers have had to deal with a brand reputation issue
Every business needs to maintain their reputation, and this is a big concern for those at the top of the hierarchy. Causes of potential headaches and sleepless nights for industry decision makers come from both inside and outside of company structures. According to our data, 53% of reputation management cases were due to actions taken by an employee, while 46% came from a customer or external person.

– 67% worry that poorly managed brand reputation issues would seriously damage their company. Half of business decision makers would be unsure how to reduce the impact of a brand reputation issue
Ensuing damage is a concern for over half of polled business leaders across the financial services, utilities, pharma, media, retail, and transport sectors.While the number of decision makers that wouldn’t know how to stop a reputational crisis in its tracks is slightly concerning, business leaders do know who can help them.

…but the majority know that PR is a problem-solver

– 82% agree PR support would be vital to manage a brand reputational issue
Good news – 84% of business leaders proactively use PR to improve their reputation in the media and online, and 79% already have a plan in place to deal with any brand reputation issues.

Appreciation for public relations continues to rise. As we found in our previous white paper with Stephen Waddington and Dr Jon White (‘Elevating the role of public relations in management’), PR people are increasingly part of strategic decision making at the top levels of business.

Fake news and misinformation are a key concern in business now

– 77% believe fake news/misinformation would cause their company reputational damage
As mentioned by Polis Analysis’ Thomas Barton in the Vuelio webinar ’Why PRs need to take online misinformation and disinformation seriously’, fake news is predicted to be a significant challenge over the next 20 years.

80% of business leaders are already preparing and have taken steps to protect their company against fake news or misinformation. 75% believe fake news/misinformation is already on the rise.

Business leaders want the media to take more responsibility

– 71% think journalists and the media need to do more to validate sources to help prevent fake news/misrepresentation
Fact checking is baked into the journalist’s job, but what about AI content generation at publishing companies like BuzzFeed and Axel Springer?

37% of those on top of the business food chain believe content generators like ChatGPT will worsen the quality of media content, and that 83% of publications should mark when it’s been used to create a story. 37% even believe the technology could kill creativity completely. But is it all bad when it comes to AI?

AI is a source of trepidation for business bosses

– Only 22% of business leaders have personally used it for work-related purposes
AI technologies are still very much in their infancy for content creation – less than a quarter of decision makers have toyed with it so far. Perhaps due to this lack of personal experience of just what these apps can do, numbers show wariness. 37% believe ChatGPT is more of a risk than an asset, while a significant 65% think ChatGPT poses a threat to jobs.

AI is also a source of opportunity for PRs when building reputations

– While 62% of business leaders believe it’s too early for ChatGPT to be used in PR, 45% are actively investigating how it could be used as part of their communications

– 67% of business bosses believe ChatGPT prompting will be as important as SEO – a mainstay of comms – going forward.

On whether it really will take job opportunities away, a scary possibility much media coverage has put forward, not all business leaders agree. 45% believe it will improve productivity for the humans already working for them, and 78% agree the technology will free up time, enabling PRs to be even more creative with their strategies.

Whatever the future holds, anyone working in the field of reputation – whether building it, protecting it, or fixing it – will need to incorporate emerging technologies into their toolkit.

‘I have been in conversations with clients and they’ve asked what our stance is on the use of AI already, and whether we should be using it,’ said Paul.

‘We’re in the early stages in the PR industry so far – we’re excited about it, exploring and investigating it.

‘We need to embrace this as a tool and not be scared. We need to know the strength and weaknesses, so we can advise our clients correctly.’

Watch the full webinar ‘The AI conundrum – paving the way for the future of comms‘ and download the accompanying white paper ‘Reputation management: How PR and comms can maintain trust in an AI-assisted future’ for more on this topic.

8 things you need to know about the use of AI in PR and the media

8 things you need to know about the use of AI in PR and the media

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Will AI ultimately be a help to us in our jobs, or lead to a Skynet-level humans versus artificial intelligence showdown years in the future? We can’t answer that, but we can tell you how technologies like ChatGPT are already impacting public relations, the media, and politics – both for good and, when applied incorrectly, the not-so-good.

Here is what you need to know about the use of AI in PR and journalism now, taken from our latest white paper ‘Reputation management: How PR and comms can maintain trust in an AI-assisted future’ – download it here.

Want more on this topic? Sign up to our webinar with Danebury Research’s Paul Stallard ‘The AI conundrum – paving the way for the future of comms’ to join us on Wednesday 7 June, 11-11.30 BST.

1) A pro: AI is supporting the work of journalists (and helping the bottom line)

‘Over the last few years, we have seen the use of AI increasing because it’s valuable to support the journalists in different areas; in news gathering, in news production, but of course most importantly with the audience and the way in which you can enhance that and raise revenue.’
Charlie Becket, founding director of Polis and leader of the LSE Journalism and AI project

2) A con: AI could hinder the work of journalists to inform when applied incorrectly

‘We have to think about where we can use those tools, and when we shouldn’t. One of the things I want us to do is to demonstrate where our articles are coming from. People are using AI and putting together information without that source to show where that information came from.’
Jo Adetunji, editor at The Conversation

3) PRs need to be ready to fight AI-assisted PR disasters

‘We cannot escape conversations around ChatGPT at the moment – any activist or online troll could use that technology to spread all sorts of content on social media to trash the reputation of a corporation. If you are a bit more sophisticated, you could use deep fakes to impersonate senior figures in business to create a PR disaster. For a listed company, bad actors could move their share price.

‘And I am not making this up. The Eurasia Group has forecast this as a possibility in 2023. PRs must be aware of the reputational challenges posed by actors harnessing tech for malicious ends.’
Thomas Barton, founder and CEO of Polis

4) AI may not revolutionise comms, but it could streamline the way we work

‘Although ChatGPT is expected to continue to revolutionise the way we do PR and marketing, I still believe it won’t lead to smaller teams and massive layoffs.

‘Instead, the tool will further streamline PR processes to help PR professionals become more productive. So, the tool will only get better at proofreading your press release, refining your PR pitch, and helping you come up with ideas for a PR brainstorming session or social media posts. The tool will also get better at ensuring consistency across your PR (and marketing) material.’
Chris Norton, founder of B2B PR agency Prohibition

5) Entry-level jobs in the creative industries could disappear

‘Probably in lots of different sectors it is the ‘bottom rung’ that will be impacted — people who have just started their job.

‘I’m sure it’s the same in PR as in journalism — when you start out, you’re doing the unglamorous jobs. That work could be done better by AI, potentially. The bottom rung could be in a difficult position.’
William Turvill, associate editor for Press Gazette and media correspondent for the New Statesman

6) An increase in AI assistance means a need for more personalisation and authenticity (AKA humans)

‘With the rise of AI-generated content, storytelling will become even more relevant. Increased AI-powered content production will create more content, which will be more general as AI is not incentivised to be bold. This means personalised, unique voices will become more powerful, as it will help companies stand out from the crowd.’
Jan Bohnerth, CEO of Life Size

7) In the absence of regulation, PRs must hold themselves to account

‘Everything’s happening so fast — there needs to be big thoughts about regulation. At a firm level, there’s a lot you can do with making sure you don’t rip people off.’
Helena Pozniak, independent journalist writing for the Telegraph, The Guardian, the Institution of Engineering and Technology as well as various universities and specialist sites

8) Don’t be alarmed, but be realistic about the impact AI will have on you and your work going forward

‘I saw someone tweet that AI is going to kill us all in five years. I’d be so wary of any bold claims like that, because there is so much money behind this stuff, in doom-mongering or overexaggerating.
‘Future prediction is always a murky area — that’s something I would be hugely vary of.’
Amelia Tait, freelance features writer for outlets including The Guardian, New York Times, Wired, the New Statesman, and VICE.

Download the full Vuelio and Danebury Research white paper here.

Check out what you also need to know about the impacts of fake news, shared in our previous webinar with Polis’ Thomas Barton ‘Why we need to take online misinformation and disinformation seriously’.

Labour's NHS fit for the future plan

Labour’s ‘NHS Fit for the Future’ plan: Stakeholder responses

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Speaking at an ambulance depot in Essex last week, Sir Keir Starmer introduced Labour’s most detailed plans on NHS and health policy yet, as part of a series of keynote addresses intended to spotlight the party’s ‘missions’ which were announced back in February. Intended to form the backbone of the party’s next manifesto, the five missions are as follows:

• Secure the highest sustained growth in the G7
• Build an NHS fit for the future
• Make Britain’s streets safe
• Break down the barriers to opportunity at every stage
• Make Britain a clean energy superpower

In summary, Labour’s vision for the future of health policy is based on three fundamental shifts; a shift away from the hospital to community-based care, a shift towards innovative technologies and a shift towards prevention through a holistic view of public health which sees it as a cross-Government initiative. None of these ideas are particularly new – in fact, the basic principles of Labour’s plan have been generally well received by sector stakeholders.

There has been an emerging cross-party consensus going back to the Blair years; that principles such as prevention, early-intervention, a shift away from hospital-based care towards community services, efficient digitisation and a cross-Government approach to public health are not only best for patients but essential to the survival of the NHS.

Politicians from both sides of the House and across multiple administrations have all paid lip service to these principles. Sir Julian Hartley, Chief Executive of NHS Providers, the membership body for NHS trusts up and down the country, said that trust leaders ‘will agree with Labour’s goal to reduce waiting times. Trusts have made remarkable progress on the longest waits for planned operations given the recent challenges’. However, he added the caveat that ‘this goal will only be achieved if it’s underpinned by adequate funding for health and care workers as well as for infrastructure’.

The bulk of the press questions during the Q&A which followed the Labour leader’s speech focused on the issue of funding. Given Labour’s staunch commitment to ‘balancing the budget’ and ‘fiscal responsibility’, many journalists had questions about exactly how much money the party would give the NHS were it in government. Starmer avoided making any concrete commitments on funding; repeatedly stressing that Labour would not rely only on money to fix the NHS, but on reform and technology as well.

Critics may point out that this is a somewhat flawed argument; while reform and investment in technology are most definitely needed, these things will not come free of charge.

Nigel Edwards, Chief Executive of the influential health think tank Nuffield Trust, said that while Labour’s proposals on the NHS are ‘welcome and extremely ambitious… delivering them will require time, staff and more long-term funding than Labour have so far pledged’.

On a similar note, Chris Thomas, head of the Institute for Public Policy Research IPPR commission on health and prosperity, said that ‘Labour is right in its ambition to create a 21st century plan for a 21st century NHS. But there also needs to be a plan for investment alongside these bold reforms to help make such an aspirational target believable’.

Labour’s proposals are not final but rather intended as a blueprint for its next manifesto. Policy will be subject to debate amendment by the National Policy Forum, before being voted on during the annual party conference in September and finally by representatives at a ‘Clause V meeting’ ahead of a General Election.

Particular aspects of the party’s health policy, such as the use of the private sector to tackle NHS backlogs, will likely face internal opposition from the membership and some Labour MPs.

For regular updates on what is happening in UK politics and public affairs, sign up to our weekly Point of Order newsletter, going out every Friday morning.

How is the media covering the energy sector?

Trends in UK journalism: How is the media covering the energy sector?

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The cost-of-living crisis has impacted many areas of our life, from more expensive food shops to higher interest rates. One of the most dramatic rises in price came in energy bills, where for some businesses and homeowners it nearly doubled.

The media have therefore focused heavily on advising their audiences on how to cope with this as well as expert opinion on when things might improve. But what else have journalists been looking to cover in the energy sector recently? With help from the Journalist Enquiry Service, we are able to shed light on what they have been requesting and identify opportunities for PRs to get coverage.

Sign up to start receiving requests from the UK media direct to your inbox with the Journalist Enquiry Service.

For the purpose of this article, we decided to focus on the two most relevant categories to the energy sector on the Journalist Enquiry Service – Manufacturing, Engineering & Energy and Environment & Nature. In both categories, requests over the last three months have been dominated by staff journalists with 62% in the energy category and 53% in environment. Freelance journalists are the next biggest senders in both categories, with 29% in energy and 25% in environment.

Journalists are generally asking for the same thing across both categories, with ‘information for an article’ and ‘spokesperson or expert’ the top two requests for each one. The slight difference comes in the third most selected enquiry type option – 11% of journalists in the energy category requests were looking for case studies whereas in environment, 13% of requests were for review products.

The main difference between the categories is in the types of journalist that are sending requests in the respective categories. Consumer media journalists are much more prevalent in the environment category with 32% of requests coming from them, followed by trade/business/professional media on 25% and national newspaper/current affairs on 24%. Whereas in the energy category, trade/business/professional media dominates with 52% of requests, with national newspaper/current affairs on 18% and consumer media on just 15%. Radio and television also does well here on 8%.

If you have experts or information from the energy sector that you think you would fit well within a trade publication, there should be lots of opportunities. ReNews, Engineering & Technology, Industrial News, Net Zero Professional, Connected Energy Solutions and Energy Digital have all sent at least one request in the last three months.

We can delve further in and look at what keywords have been cropping up the most. ‘Business’ has featured in the most requests, with 27% of all energy enquiries containing this word. It must be noted that this doesn’t always mean that journalists are looking to write about energy businesses. The same goes for ‘companies’ which also performed well and appeared in 16% of requests.

However, we have seen requests such as ‘Businesses/economists/energy consultants sought for article on business action on energy supplies’ and ‘Looking for expert comment from a water company on whether a bath or shower is more energy efficient.’

‘Energy’ is unsurprisingly another keyword that performs strongly here, appearing in 19% of all requests. This is often followed by the word ‘bills’ which is in 7% of all the energy enquiries.

Journalists from the Express.co.uk, The Sun, ITV News and 5 News have all looked to cover this keyword; sometimes wanting an expert opinion on how to save money on your energy, a few around changes to the energy price cap and its effect on bills and broadcast outlets wanting businesses or people to talk to about the impact rising energy bills has had for them.

Another related phrase in ‘cost-of-living’ continues to crop up, appearing in 4% of the energy requests. The keyword ‘budget’ is also in 4% and ‘efficiency’ is in 6%, as again journalists focus on getting information and experts to talk about what people can do during this ongoing crisis.

Oil, gas and electricity all perform well as keywords, too – both in the energy and environment categories. ‘Gas’ appears in 4% of energy requests and 3% of environment. ‘Electricity’ is in 2% of all energy enquiries and 1% of those in the environment category, while ‘oil’ is in 3% of energy and 2% of environment.
Requests around these keywords have tended to be from trade publications, including one from a journalist at Net Zero Investor who was looking for ‘climate-conscious asset owners and asset managers’ to talk about engaging with oil and gas firms.

The keywords that performed strongly within the energy requests tend to do well again in the environment category with 15% of requests including ‘business’, 10% having ‘energy’ and 4% mentioning the ‘cost-of-living’.

‘Environment’ as a keyword does well within its own category, appearing in 12% of all requests. These come from consumer-based titles such as My Weekly, The Mayfair Musings and woman & home. This includes an enquiry around saving money while saving the environment and living a more sustainable and affordable life.
‘Sustainability/sustainable’ is another keyword which performs well in the environment category, appearing in 10% of all requests. A variety of outlets are looking for sustainability experts, from Retail Week to Country & Town House, to PA Media and The Times. While not always solely focused on the energy and environment side, this provides another opportunity to get clients coverage on an increasingly popular topic to write about.

The other forms of renewable energy sources such as ‘solar’ and ‘wind’ are also keywords with the former in about 2% of environment requests and the latter in 1%. Enquiries here come from trade titles such as New Energy World and consumer outlets like Ideal Home.

While the cost-of-living crisis might seem to dominate the conversation in the media around the energy sector, there are still lots of different avenues to explore. New information and experts are primarily what journalists are looking for, with plenty of opportunities to get clients featured in trade publications, plus some national newspapers and broadcast news, too.

For advice on pitching to the UK media, download our white paper ‘How to pitch to journalists‘, and get requests from writers, broadcasters, influencers and more directly to your inbox with the Journalist Enquiry Service. Want to start your outreach now? Check out the Vuelio Media Database. 

PRs on PR: How to pitch to the media

PRs on PR: How to pitch to the media

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Despite the sheer number of places to pitch to now – online, radio, and broadcast alongside traditional print outlets – pitching to the media as a PR has only gotten tougher as time has gone on.

‘Long gone are the days when an outreach email or pitch sent to a list of hundreds of journalists and news desks would result in instant links or coverage’ says JBH’s digital PR manager Lauren Wilden.

‘We now need to be much more strategic’.

Where better to get advice on successful strategies than the experts: your fellow PRs. Here are the steps to hit through all stages of the pitching journey – preparing, creating, and the post-pitch follow-up – from PRs and comms people regularly racking up coverage for their brands and clients in the UK media.

Want to know how Vuelio can help with your media outreach? Check out extra detail on the Vuelio Media Database and the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service.

Preparing your pitch

Do your research before you even think about getting in touch with a journalist

‘The first and most important thing you need to do is research. Spend time getting to know the publications you want to be seen in and the kinds of things that your target journalists write about.

‘It may sound old school, but buy print copies of the media, where possible, to get an overview of the publication as the context of where you want your story to appear is also important.’
Ceri-Jane Hackling, managing director at Cerub PR

‘All media pitches should be tailored to a specific audience, for example, based on geographic location, audience interests, and industry or sector specialisms. This means identifying a clear, concise and newsworthy angle that will appeal to each audience, and steering clear of industry jargon in non-specialist media.’
Lucy Wharton, Account Manager: PR at V Formation

‘Chat to PR colleagues to gain an insight into the journalist’s preferred way of working, personality and any gems of info that will show you’ve clearly done your homework. (without going too Big Brother!).’
Sheila Manzano, senior associate director at Frog & Wolf PR

‘Staying up-to-date with the latest demographics, audience research, features, news, and staff at a publication puts you ahead of the game, establishing you as a mindful, and reliable source for future opportunities.’
Connor Aiden Fogarty, Social & Influencer Marketing Assistant at DMC PR

‘Journalists are increasingly stretched and therefore don’t have as much time to be able to attend events or even have a quick chat on the phone which makes things tricky for PRs. Knowing the journalist’s background and key topics they write about is so important. Also, finding out how the journalist prefers to receive the pitch (this is usually email) is essential – tools like ResponseSource help with this.’
Jessica McDonnell, senior account manager at Source PR

‘B2B media pitching is fly fishing: the more times you cast/pitch, the more catches/placements you are going to get! But, it’s equally important to understand what isn’t catching – because you might need to change the ‘fly’.

‘The more diverse the audience, the larger the fly box – think vertical and geographical market expansion.

‘But there is one rule that holds true for media pitching: Understand your quarry/audience. Nearly half of journalists receive more than 50 pitches per week, so one of their biggest annoyances is getting spammed with irrelevant pitches. Read what they write and what they engage with on their social channels – and you shall find the perfect fly!’
Judith Ingleton-Beer, CEO at IBA International

Plan your strategy

‘Having a clear pitch strategy for your key contacts will help to naturally develop stronger, hyper-relevant stories and build stronger relationships with journalists. After that, it’s all about making sure you make life as easy as possible for journalists – understanding the best time and way to approach them and getting to the point quickly.’
Martyn Gettings, head of PR at Tank

Start small

‘Try contributing newsjacking comments to smaller sites and niche publishers first. This builds up your legitimacy and means that you have extra ammunition in your pitching arsenal.’
Mike Shields, Head of Digital PR at eComOne

Before you start typing – is what you have relevant and timely?

‘When pitching to journalists, it’s essential that as PRs, we offer them something of high relevance to the current news cycle. Linking the content to trending topics, awareness days, new research, or current affairs will show journalists that your content is timely, relevant and will be interesting to their current readers, heightening chances of success. Before pitching, ask yourself, ‘How newsworthy is this content, and how relevant is it to the current media landscape?’
Leah de Gruchy, senior digital PR executive at Kaizen

Creating a successful pitch

Sending a press release? Tailor your headlines/subject lines to fit

‘Crafting a strong subject line is key to sending a good digital PR pitch. It is the first part of your pitch that journalists are exposed to and could be the deciding factor as to whether they even open your pitch email. Avoid click-bait titles when pitching to journalists, we know they are already very busy people and do not have time to play guessing games.’
Amber Buonsenso, senior digital PR strategist at The Evergreen Agency

‘Adjust the headline to suit the types of style that they would typically write, so that they can envision how the piece would look. For example, Daily Mail often uses CAPITALS in their headlines, so we do exactly that, and for the Reach PLC titles, we try and make the titles slightly more inquisitive to encourage more clickthroughs, as we know their target is page “views, for example, did you know that THIS hack will help you fall asleep’, as oppose to counting sheep bed will help you fall asleep quicker”.’
Emma Hull, PR manager at Balance

‘Every publication has a specific framework for headline writing, so small quirks like knowing if a news outlet writes numbers numerically or alphabetically shows understanding, a passive form of personalisation. I also think writing headlines frames our releases in a journalistic style, helping to picture our pitches as newsworthy stories.’
Charlie Warner digital PR specialist at Seeker Digital

‘Be clear for when they’re scanning their inbox to see if anything jumps out. For me this might look like “Industry comment – Personal finance expert discusses latest Bank of England interest rates” or even “Interview opportunity – Education expert available to discuss GCSE Results Day”.’
Samantha Walker, head of PR at 10 Yetis Public Relations

Test what works best

‘I find a/b testing a different set of subject lines can work with bigger campaigns, and also tweaking the subject line to suit the journalists’ style or the publication they write for. This can be time consuming but a well targeted campaign is always better than a ‘spray and pray approach’ – where you send the same pitch to hundreds of journalists.’
Lauren Richardson, senior account executive at Marketing Signals

Think. About. Layout

‘This is a very laborious and boring sentence to read as it trails on and on without any particular direction and multiple points so it’s difficult to understand what the main argument of the piece is as there is no proper grammatical construction or interesting aspects of what I am saying standing out from the rest of the points in this long excruciating opinion I am writing and as a result I expect you will have fallen asleep by now and so will have any journalist you are pitching.

‘Instead. Pull out your main point. Put it at the start. Use short sentences. And make it easy to digest.’
Chris Cowan, associate director at Mixology PR

‘The feedback we get from journalists is that they want a story that they can essentially cut, copy, paste and publish if they wish – so good pitching starts with great copy.

‘Use straightforward and easy-to-understand language in short sentences in the pitch itself and make sure that the really interesting angles are all included.

‘If you have created a story that is already ready to publish, you are making the journalist’s life easier and your chances of getting your story published are vastly increased.’
Dan Thompson, account director at MOTIVE PR

Cut out unnecessary words (especially the adjectives)

‘Remember that you’re sending a pitch and not a blog stuffed with flowery language. This is especially important in your subject line, where you want the story of the pitch to be clear within 8-12 words. Front loading your subject line with stats can be a really great way to boost the impact of your pitch as well, so always try and include these where possible.

‘Feedback I’ve had is that journalists typically don’t want to read pitches longer than about 400 words as they don’t have time.’
James Lavery, digital PR manager at Bring Digital

Sell your story

‘When pitching to journalists, selling them on a story is key – what gets editors to sit up and pay attention and readers to take the time to click is a story they can engage with.

‘Ask yourself, is there a compelling narrative here? Colouring around the black and white of the article is vital and that’s where we find journalists engage with us the most.’
Connor Kirton, senior PR account executive at Make More Noise

‘“So what” is a good question to ask yourself. Why should this be of interest to the journalist and their audience?’
Rachel Murray, account Director at Fourth Day PR

‘The truth is, journalists don’t care about your press release, they care about their readers. And they have no interest in helping to promote your business to their readers unless you bring value to them. So, focus on the impact your story has on the reader, and see if it triggers one of these reactions:

1. This is me
2. I wish it was me
3. I’m glad it’s not me’
Petra Smith, Founder of marketing and PR agency Squirrels&Bears

‘A journalist will not want to read waffle. A pitch should be like a wine tasting, the journalist should have a small glass, and want to come back to you for the whole bottle’.
Peter Remon, senior account manager at BlueSky Education

Numbers go nicely with words – include some data

‘Use bullet points to bring out the most important facts of the topic you are pitching, and make sure it’s backed up with the latest research – no journalist would want to spend the time researching whether what you are saying is true.’
Dinara Omarova, director at Peach Perfect PR Limited

Sending your pitch

Get in there early and make it speedy

‘If you’re pitching to nationals, then emailing early on in the day really is key in my experience. Most editorial planning meetings happen before 10am, so if you’re pitching after this then the chance of your content getting used (unless its hyper topical) is much lower.

‘Regionals and lifestyle titles can work a little differently, but either way, morning pitching is still typically best as they’re more likely to be planning content then, and then writing it up later on.

‘If you’ve managed to get your pitch email opened, then naturally you want to keep that journalist’s attention and you need show them why it’s a good story super quickly. Long email pitches that fail to explain the story quickly and clearly (and why it’s relevant to that title now), should be avoided! Bullet points with key facts or figures can help with this.’
Cheryl Crossley, head of digital PR at WMG

It may surprise you, but news desks do forward your pitch to the right editor

‘Publications have editors who specialise in specific industries or regions. For this reason, it’s always a good idea to identify the right person to pitch to. While a mass-sent press release with BCC’d email addresses may still generate attention if it’s compelling enough, it lacks the latter’s allure.

‘If I need to figure out who the right person is to contact for my story at a publication, I use a generic email address that’s monitored.

‘With such email addresses. publications always hint that they are monitored to centralise incoming messages to help dispatch them to the right people to avoid missing out on great stories. So, I check to see if a general email like info @, tips @ is being monitored.’
Malineo Makamane, digital PR specialist at Sweet Digital

Remember to add the extras

‘Having good imagery drastically increases your chances of selling in a news story. Better still, if you do have a great image to accompany your press release, then include it in the body of the email! Show journalists that you have visual content readily available.’
Matt Neicho, senior communications executive (STEM) at Definition Agency

‘Include a link to a Dropbox or WeTransfer folder which contains your release, a selection of images to choose from, as well as a contact sheet with your details in case they need anything further.’
Lauren Dall, director at boutique PR consultancy Dall Communications

How to follow-up on your pitch

Engage, don’t badger

‘Don’t send multiple emails about the same story. Once you’ve sent a press release, give it at least 24 hours. Then, a follow up asking a journalist to confirm receipt and explaining you are available if they need anything else is perfectly acceptable. Anything more and you will be deemed a pest.’
Nick Owens, founder of Magnify PR

‘I like to follow up in a timely manner and with a short note that provides a summary of what I’m offering and asking the journalist for any relevant feedback.

‘I also focus on building relationships by actively engaging with their work, sharing articles, and offering valuable insights. It’s important to understand that each journalist is unique, so PRs should continuously adapt their approach based on feedback and the ever-evolving media landscape.’
Katya Beadsworth, account manager at Fleishman UK

‘Three is the magic number – I have learned that to follow up more than three times is plenty enough when you are attempting to secure a story. If your client is particularly keen on the opportunity, it is always one you can revisit in a month or two.’
Sarah Lloyd, founder of IndigoSoulPR

Share your successes

‘When media coverage is secured – if appropriate, share it on social media channels tagging the journalist and publication. After all, we all like a bit of further amplification.

‘A simple thank you doesn’t go amiss either.’
Niki Hutchinson (she/her), founder & managing director at LarkHill PR

Not a winning pitch this time? Keep the channels open

‘If your pitch doesn’t land – don’t give up. Ask the journalists about the kind of stories they would be interested in, go back to the drawing board, and try again with a different angle.’
Barnaby Patchett, managing director at One Nine Nine Agency

‘I think the most important aspect of pitching to journalists is by far being both respectful and pleasant with them. Even if you have a reply saying that your pitch isn’t relevant, keep the channels open by asking for specifics on what they do cover so you can send them relevant topics in the future.

‘This relationship can easily become twofold as well, not only giving you a potential stream of coverage and backlinks for press releases, but also providing the opportunities for journalists and other marketeers to come to you first for comments for their upcoming pieces and projects. It’s a transactional relationship with continual benefits for all parties involved, so build that rapport as well as some links!’
Josh Wilkinson, senior reactive PR executive at The Audit Lab

‘You shouldn’t expect positive results after pitching a journalist once – get into a routine of following up, as this will give you more chance of success.

‘Furthermore, PR professionals should invest time in building relationships with journalists. Adding them to suitable press lists and following and engaging with them on social media are good ways of keeping you on their radar.’
Lee Lodge, International PR Director at Life Size

Be human

‘Journalists are human, they’re people like you and me simply trying to do a good job, one they enjoy and where they feel they’re progressing. Help them. But, also ask how they’re doing. Be kind and be genuine. It’s all about building real relationships and relationships are two-way, they also take work. Don’t just ask for a favour and expect all the time.’
Anna Morrish, director of Quibble

‘Once you are friendly with journalists then a good way to maintain relationships isn’t just to keep pitching stories at them, like it’s a one-way transaction. Ask for their thoughts and opinions on potential stories, make them involved in the process and you’ll find those relationships only grow stronger.’
Simon Boddy, PR consultant at AMBITIOUS PR

Build your network and nurture your relationships

‘Work hard to build your contacts – actively network and invite journalists to lunch and/or coffee. Building media contacts and relationships is invaluable.’
Danielle Hines, account director and head of the Liberty Communications media taskforce

‘COVID has definitely changed the way we communicate and pitch to journalists. Building and nurturing relationships has always been an important part of pitching, but I think it has become increasingly more important as a result of the pandemic.’
Olivia Bence, senior PR manager at Campfire

Be a reliable port of call for journalists

‘Focus on building relationships and make a name for yourself in providing good quality and accurate information, quickly and within deadline.’
Steve Lambert, account director at Freshwater

Remember – all the hard work is worth it

‘Putting the effort and time into your pitches is all made worth it when you get that piece of coverage through that wows your clients or makes your campaign.’
Nick Brown, PR director at Pearl Comms

For all stages of the pitching journey, Vuelio and its sister services can help. Find relevant journalists, broadcasters and influencers via the Vuelio Media Database, receive requests from them directly to you inbox with the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service and track how your coverage is being shared and received with Vuelio Media Monitoring, Vuelio Insights and Pulsar, a social listening platform. 

The AI conundrum webinar

Vuelio webinar: The AI conundrum – paving the way for the future of comms

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Love it or fear it, artificial intelligence is here to stay.

Its impacts are transforming the comms industry and PRs must come to terms with the new technology both as creators and as communicators. While there are several benefits to the adoption of new tools, crises are emerging.

Increases in misinformation, biased results and lack of ethics and transparency in the information gathering process are just some concerns sweeping through the industry. So what does this means for brands? How can comms teams prepare for reputational risks brought on by AI?

Join our webinar ‘The AI conundrum – paving the way for the future of comms‘ on 7 June 2023 to hear Paul Stallard, former international MD of Berkeley Communications and the founder of Danebury Research, talk through new research on how UK communicators are adapting to the use of AI in their day-to-day roles.

Sign up here to learn:

  • Why PR plays a vital societal and organisational role in the deployment of AI
  • How individuals making AI-assisted decisions could become the new driving force of reputational issues
  • Why the focus now needs to be on upskilling teams

Can’t join us live? Register and we’ll send you the recording.

For more on misinformation and AI and how the two are impacting PR and comms, check out this write up of our previous Vuelio webinar ‘The fight against fake news is not lost: How PRs can combat misinformation and disinformation‘. 

Vuelio webinar on misinformation

The fight against fake news is not lost: How PRs can combat misinformation and disinformation

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‘I don’t think we’re in a post-truth world yet, but we need to act now to avoid that worst-case scenario,’ believes Polis Analysis CEO and Founder Thomas Barton.

In our webinar ‘Why we need to take online misinformation and disinformation seriously’, Thomas shared the problems we face as a society with fake news, predictions for how it could impact politics, business and health, and the vital role of PR practitioners in the fight for truth.

Watch the full webinar here.

What can PRs do to fight misinformation, disinformation and fake news?

1) Report misinformation whenever you see it

This isn’t about surveillance mindset – this is simply about protecting the health of our public debate and discussion. Just as you would point out incorrect information around the table at the pub, you should feel a responsibility to call out something that could undermine trust online.

This is about proactively taking action to have content taken down when you come across information that’s untrue.

It’s important to remember this isn’t about undermining free speech – it’s about preserving the quality of our free speech. That means any discussion we’re having should be rooted in the facts.

2) If a client mistakenly shares misinformation, speak up quickly

As we know, content spreads fast. False information being shared on social media for a couple of hours is all it takes to have a pernicious effect on misinforming individuals. The best thing a PR professional can do in this situation is to flag that false information has been published, take it down, and then ensure the company or client understands to be more rigorous with its fact-checking before publishing anything.

We all have a responsibility to ensure that we fully understand what we’re publishing and that it’s based on facts when we put content online.

For more on how to handle a PR problem spreading across social media and in the press, check out advice from our previous webinar ‘Should you speak up or shut down in a PR crisis?’.

3) Challenge trusted institutions and authorities when necessary

We all have a responsibility to raise concerns even about a trusted organisation.

This is where legislative solutions are useful. If you’ve got an institution of a certain size, with a certain platform, something like the Online Safety Bill could provide an opportunity to ensure they abide by the same duty of balance as traditional broadcasters.

That combination of a top-down legislative and bottom-up educational approach in media literacy is crucial.

4) Recognise the risks emerging technologies bring

Technology, by definition, is disruptive; it’s always going to be a double-edged sword. Advances in AI are welcome and can bring all sorts of efficiencies to various industries, including PR and journalism. But there are risks involved.

Malicious actors could run misinformation campaigns by using software like ChatGPT to pump out deliberately false information across social channels. Spreading misinformation was an issuebefore AI, but the problem we face now is the increase in proliferation across the online space.

5) Back calls for extra accountability from social media giants

There has been a shift in accountability from social media companies recently, and that’s because they have done little-to-nothing for a long time in this space. Pushes from regulators and political institutions mean these social giants are now taking more ‘voluntary’ action.

The European Union passed the Digital Services Act (DSA), which compels social media companies to provide more transparency on how their algorithms work – the EU has shown that it’s willing to take steps. But despite this, the big social media companies aren’t taking it seriously enough.

This Wild West approach where we have no regulation and anything goes is simply not sustainable – legislation is necessary for these companies to take their responsibilities seriously.

6) Train new PR recruits to question content

There are workshops out there – from The Guardian and The Times, for example – on how to identify content that’s false and misleading, instilling more general critical thinking skills. Other resources can show you the difference between a headline that’s fake or true; how you can look at the originality of sources; how to do a reverse image search if you’ve got a doctored image; and determining the intent of the source. This is all housekeeping and hygiene practices we can instill in those early in their career.

Our focus is on education right now, because if those in school can develop their critical thinking skills, they’ll be better equipped to deal with these challenges at work. But we need to think about bringing these resources into current workforce environments, too.

7) Remember we aren’t in a post-truth world yet

There are people that have already succumbed to their echo chambers and only read content that re-enforces their own existing biases, but the fight is not lost.

There’s still an opportunity to fight false information with the facts – the problem is that we haven’t taken any action yet.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak always talks about the importance of teaching Maths– really, we should be talking about the importance of digital literacy.

The US government is preparing for a polarised society in 15 to 20 years, so we still have some time to deal with this problem. But we must act fast to fight back and take the necessary action now.

For more on Thomas Barton’s work with Polis Analysis, read our previous interview ‘The fight against misinformation, disinformation and fake news is just beginning’.

Find out how big brands including Coca-Cola, FIFA, and British Airways have dealt with PR crises in our webinar ‘Speak up or shut down: The value of proactive PR in a crisis’ and track your own company and clients’ reputations in the press with Vuelio Media Monitoring.

Local elections 2023

Local elections 2023: wins and losses

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The Conservatives lost 1,060 seats in last week’s elections, relinquishing control of 48 councils across the country. As was widely predicted, Labour made significant gains across marginal and Red Wall councils, picking up more than 500 seats. Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats swept across the Blue Wall, winning 12 councils.

Labour Leader Keir Starmer has claimed his party’s performance has set them ‘on course for a Labour majority at the next general election’ with Labour now the largest party in local government, surpassing the Tories for the first time since 2002. Labour took control of authorities across the general election battleground, including High Peak, Swindon and Plymouth.

At a meeting of his shadow cabinet on Tuesday, Starmer said ‘people who turned away from us during the Corbyn years and the Brexit years are coming back’. The leaders of the 22 councils won by Labour have been tasked with drawing up ‘emergency cost-of-living plans’ within their first 100 days.

Labour does indeed seem to be bridging the Brexit divide, as the party made its largest gains in areas with the highest Leave vote. Many of Labour’s biggest gains came in Brexit heartlands such as Stoke, Mansfield and Hartlepool. The Johnson 2019 strategy was focused on attracting Red Wall Leave voters while holding on to Blue Wall Remain voters, however, with both Brexit ‘done’ and Corbyn gone, this strategy has collapsed.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has described the loss of more than 1,000 councillors as ‘disappointing’ but insisted he would ‘strain every sinew’ to fulfil his pledges on the economy, NHS waiting lists and small boats. On Tuesday he insisted those pledges are ‘the right ones’ to win back voters. However, some Conservative MPs have suggested Sunak will need to do much more than reiterate those pledges in order to improve the Conservatives’ position ahead of a general election. The Conservative MP for Swindon Justin Tomlinson said the results were ‘devastating’ and should serve as a ‘wake-up call for the party at all levels’. Talking to Times Radio, he criticised the Conservatives’ pitch to voters, adding it lacked a ‘coherent message’.

The Conservative Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, who is up for election next year, said the Conservatives’ losses were in part due to ‘the turmoil and upheaval of the last 12 months’. Similarly, in Swindon, where Labour took control for the first time in 20 years, overthrown Tory council leader David Renard blamed ‘the cost-of-living and the performance of the Government in the last 12 months’ for his party’s poor results.

In much of the country, it was the Liberal Democrats who benefited from the Conservatives’ decline. Achieving a share of 20% – the highest since the coalition in 2010 – Lib Dem Leader Ed Davey called it their ‘best result in decades’. Davey said he would table a vote of no confidence in the Government when Parliament returns: ‘The local elections showed that the public clearly has no confidence in Sunak or the Conservatives, so it’s time for a general election now. There’s only one reason Rishi Sunak would deny British people a say at the ballot box: because he is running scared and knows he’d lose.’ However, the Lib Dems are not able to force a debate on the motion, so it is likely to end up being mainly symbolic.

The Green Party gained 241 seats – their best-ever result in local elections – and gained its first majority on an English council, in Mid-Suffolk, although they were overtaken as the biggest party by Labour in Brighton and Hove.

For regular updates on what is happening in UK politics and public affairs, sign up to our weekly Point of Order newsletter, going out every Friday morning.

What is SEO PR? Why using a combined Digital PR and SEO strategy is the key to success

What is SEO PR? Why using a combined Digital PR and SEO strategy is the key to success

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Good content and outreach are the foundation of digital PR and SEO, so it makes sense to formulate a combined strategy to help drive traffic, increase visibility and generate valuable publicity for your content.

In this article, we’ll explore how Digital PR and SEO can come together to form an integrated SEO PR strategy and the benefits of bringing these disciplines together to accelerate success online.

What is SEO?

SEO, short for Search Engine Optimisation, refers to the process of driving organic traffic from search engines to your website, using a set of practices designed to get your content to rank better in the SERPs (search engine results page).

Most people discover content online from organic search results, so a good SEO strategy is key for driving traffic to your website.

Google’s algorithm is responsible for determining where pages rank for a specific search query, and this is dependent on how compliant pages and content are with Google’s ranking factors.

To optimise your content to rank highly in search engines, you’ll need to consider:

1. Keyword research

Keyword research is the vital first step when optimising your content for SEO purposes. Paid SEO tools such as SEMrush, Moz and Ahrefs provide extensive keyword data, covering everything from competitor analysis, gaps in your keyword research and keyword difficulty to help you make informed decisions when finding keywords to target in your content.

However, free platforms such as Google’s Keyword Planner and Google Trends are also valuable for finding relevant keywords. You’ll still find essential insights like search volume to help you select the higher-priority keywords that will help you drive traffic, but paid sites offer more data to ensure you utilise the right keywords for your content.

2. On-page SEO and page structure

On-page SEO is the vital optimisation stage. Once you know which keywords you’re targeting and you have your content written up, on-page SEO techniques are essential if you’re hoping to drive traffic and get your content ranking highly in the SERPs. On-page SEO includes:

Header tags
Structuring your content with appropriate header tags. This not only makes your content more readable for both users and search engines, but gives you the opportunity to highlight your primary and secondary keywords. The H1 on your page should also include the primary keyword and acts as the main title at the very top of your page, while H2s and H3s mark the following subheadings.

Page title and meta description
A page title and meta description are the first element of your content users will interact with in the SERPs, giving them a chance to preview the subject of your content as a snippet, ultimately influencing whether they engage and whether your snippets attract clicks. Beyond that, a well-structured page title and meta description, including your keywords, will indicate to crawlers and search engines what your page is trying to rank for.

Keywords
So, now you’ve done all your keyword research and selected the most relevant phrases with significant search volume, using keywords doesn’t stop at your header tags. Using your keyword throughout the body of your content is essential for indicating to both users and search engines that the entirety of your content is relevant and adequately answers the search query the keywords are targeting.

While the first section of your content is arguably most important for engaging the user and keeping them reading on to lessen the chance of a high bounce rate, using variations of your keyword throughout you can signal to search engines what your content is about, helping you rank higher in the SERPs for your primary keyword.

However, using keywords in the body of your content will only be effective if you avoid keyword stuffing. Only include your keywords if it feels natural and purposeful, as search engines like Google can pick up on the relevancy of keyword use, and black hat SEO tactics often do more harm than good.

Images and videos
Using visual aids on the page works alongside your content by enhancing your overall message and engaging the user by splitting up large chunks of text that would appear weighty. According to Search Engine Land, web content done right should be designed for skim reading, as it’s found that online audiences ‘scan through it in order to find quick visual cues that will help them get the information they want. When they see something that appeals to them, they’ll stop and read more thoroughly’.

But, beyond ensuring your content is user-friendly and readable, optimising your images and videos with relevant file names and alt text helps to boost both SEO and accessibility. From an SEO perspective, descriptive alt text helps Google understand your image and how it relates to your content.

Internal and external links
Internal and external links with optimised anchor text focused on relevant keywords are vital for your content to rank highly in the SERPs. The first step is to understand the difference between internal and external links.

Internal links direct to a target page on your site, increasing engagement by providing users with a call-to-action where they can follow up on further information about a particular topic. As well as that internal links also help to direct crawlers around your site, helping search engine bots navigate your site and find other related pages. On the other hand, external links point to another website – linking to trustworthy material that helps to back up your content from an authoritative source improving your content’s credibility.

When using internal and external links, it’s also essential to optimise your anchor text to ensure users and search engines understand what the webpage you’re linking to is about and how it relates to your content. Anchor text, or link text is the clickable text of a link within the body of your content; it’s typically displayed in blue and underlined. Using keyword-rich anchor text that’s relevant, natural and varied will help your content rank.

3. Building links to your content

Link building is arguably one of Google’s most significant ranking factors in SEO. As mentioned in the above point outlining internal and external links, relevant links pointing out from your content to authoritative sites can help to position the article as trustworthy in the eyes of Google.

The other side of that, however, is that other websites can also link to your content, positioning it as an authoritative and expert source of reference – in SEO, these are called backlinks. An easy way to think of a backlink is as a ‘vote of confidence’; the more backlinks you acquire from credible sites, the higher your content can rank in the SERPs.

Acquiring backlinks are where traditional PR techniques come to play, as outreach is a common theme for both PR and SEO. While creating high-quality content means you’ll increase the chance of your article being found and linked to organically, SEOs regularly practise outreach for link building to promote the article and ask relevant people, bloggers, organisations or websites to link to your content.

Knowing this, the natural affinity between PR and SEO is apparent. Backlinks are one of the most fundamental elements of successful SEO, and Digital PR methods can aid this enormously.

What is SEO PR, and how is it different to traditional PR?

Aided by the knowledge of SEO foundations, it’s time to apply all you already know about Digital PR with SEO techniques to build your SEO PR strategy.

Now more than ever, PR and SEO are being thought of less as separate disciplines but as intrinsically linked due to their shared requirements for success – high-quality content and credible and authoritative media coverage or backlinks.

So, what is SEO PR, and how can it be understood? In short, SEO PR isn’t too dissimilar from traditional PR. SEO PR is still centred around creating high-quality content or campaigns and pitching to media to secure coverage but with the bonus of SEO-optimised content stemming from keyword research and on and off-page SEO tactics to generate organic traffic and discoveries from the SERPs.

SEO PR shouldn’t be considered a replacement for traditional PR methods but as PR and SEO working together and complementing each other for even greater success within campaigns, content and coverage.

However, one key difference is how PR and SEO professionals track the success of content and campaigns and the metrics they measure. While traditional PRs measure content success using metrics such as volume, reach, media opportunities, social engagement, and sentiment, SEOs measure organic traffic, keyword rankings, search visibility, revenue, sessions, and bounce rate.

The beauty of Digital PR and its primary focus on online forums is that PRs can use SEO metrics to measure the success of their online campaigns, all while propelling the reach of their content through SEO optimisation. On the flip side, SEO benefits from quality backlinks and general brand awareness – strengthened and supported by Digital PR expertise.

Top ways to implement a SEO PR strategy as a Digital PR professional

So, now you know how to optimise your content using SEO techniques, it’s time to combine what you already know about Digital PR and SEO to implement your winning SEO PR strategy.

Below, we’ll explore the synergy of PR and SEO to weave out the top ways you can actualise your combined strategy as a Digital PR professional:

Better understand your target audience with keyword research

The best way to guarantee your content creates a buzz and becomes a newsworthy piece picked up in the media is by directly appealing to your audience and what they’re currently talking about online.

With keyword research tools, as previously discussed, you can find out which keywords your audience is interested in and the volume of the search queries surrounding a specific subject.

Once you have a better idea of your audience, the topics of interest, and the keywords they’re using to discuss the subject online, you can tailor your word usage to reflect your target audience and become more aware of the media outlets your target audience are likely to engage with.

Target sites with a high Domain Authority (DA)

Domain Authority (DA) is a metric devised by Moz to measure how authoritative a site is. Websites are given a score from 1 – 100, 100 being the best possible score and a greater probability of ranking highly in the SERPs.

Link data is the principal determiner of an authority score. Sites with a large amount of high-quality external links will have a higher DA, and smaller sites with fewer external links pointing to them will have a lower DA.

With this in mind, it makes sense to consider the DA of sites you’re outreaching as part of your SEO PR strategy. Use SEO tools, such as Moz and SEMrush, to factor in a site’s DA when compiling your media outreach hit list, as a backlink from a website with a high authority score is an SEO PR win.

PR link building: focus on building high-authority backlinks through Digital PR campaigns

As we all know, PRs are experts in outreach, which is why Digital PR and SEO work together so well. Once you’ve compiled a list of relevant websites with high DAs, it’s time to start the SEO PR outreach effort to ‘earn’ high-authority backlinks.

Digital PRs are specialists in media relations, pitching and press release distribution, making them experts in outreach and acquiring links – something many SEOs describe as one of the hardest parts of the job.

In SEO, for a backlink to be considered high-authority, the links must be ‘earned’ and not paid for, meaning obtaining links from sites with high DAs, such as the BBC or Forbes, is a challenging endeavour that can often take time.

Digital PRs have the expertise of putting time into researching journalists and knowing how to grab their interest with a tailored pitch, making Digital PR link-building essential to successful SEO.

So, is SEO PR the future for Digital PR professionals?

The natural synergies between Digital PR and SEO make both disciplines invaluable to the other. By using these SEO techniques, PRs can optimise their content to increase visibility across search engines, drive traffic for your brand and monitor the success of Digital PR campaigns. On the other hand, SEOs can utilise the expertise of Digital PRs to acquire high-quality backlinks to increase the authoritativeness of a website.

While SEO PR isn’t a replacement for traditional PR techniques, it embraces the natural link between Digital PR and SEO that professionals can combine to form a strategy that brings substantial success.

For more guidance on SEO best practices, download our white paper.

Illegal Migration Bill overview

Overview of the Illegal Migration Bill

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On the 26 April the Illegal Migration Bill – or so called ‘stop the boats’ Bill – made significant progress and cleared the Commons with a majority of 59. The Bill will place duty on Home Secretary Suella Braverman to remove migrants who enter the UK illegally, it will also narrow down the range of legal challenges and appeals that could suspend their deportation.

This promised legislation has been on the cards since Prime Minister Rishi Sunak came into power, pledging to boost the economy, cut hospital waiting lists and stop migrant crossings in the Channel. However, due to its highly controversial nature, the Labour Party alongside many organisations and charities have heavily criticised the nature of the Bills agenda. The Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) expressed deep concern about the Bill and its lack of compliance with core elements of the Council of Europe convention on action against trafficking in human beings. The Refugee Council have also criticised future plans, accusing ministers of shattering the UK’s long-standing commitment under the UN Convention to give people a fair hearing, regardless of how they get to the UK.

Home Secretary Mrs Braverman has already acknowledged that the Bill might not comply with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), setting up the prospect of a legal battle with Strasbourg judges.

The Bill essentially places a new duty on the Home Secretary to detain and remove those arriving in the UK Illegally. Those entering illegally will be sent back to their home country, if deemed safe, or to a third country such as Rwanda, whereby support will be offered to help safely ‘rebuild their lives’. This new duty takes precedence over their rights under modern slavery and human rights laws, meaning people who come to the UK illegally will be prevented from settling in the country and will face a possible permanent ban on returning. Further, the number of appeals and challenges available to suspend removal will be radically narrowed.

The Bill further promises a new ‘safe and legal’ route for those seeking sanctuary in the UK, the numbers allowed in will be capped by Parliament, with an annual vote to set each year’s cap, which will take into account local authority capacity for housing and public services. However, if there is a humanitarian crisis within the world that requires a response, then the UK will step up and offer sanctuary to those in need.

The UK is not the only country to launch a crackdown on immigration and asylum issues. US President Joe Biden’s administration has recently announced his toughest border policy yet, warning migrants who cross the border illegally that they will almost all be deported. In Sweden, the new coalition government (formed in October 2022) toughened its migration and asylum laws. Further, Copenhagen is looking to sign a similar deal to the UKs with Rwanda for offshore asylum seeking.

More recently, Italy passed a law requiring NGO search and rescue ships to sail to a designated port, and prevents them from looking for other migrant boats in distress. Ship captains face fines of up to £44,462 for failure to comply. In late March, France introduced an immigration bill that wants to grant temporary residency permits to illegal migrants working in sectors ‘under strain’ and place those ordered to leave the country on a ‘wanted list’ in a bid to speed up their expulsion.

The Bill clearly pushes the boundaries of international law, however, it currently sits in the House of Lords after successfully passing through the Commons stages. Despite this, three key challenges are likely to stand in the way: the lack of return agreements, the stalling Rwanda plan, and practical difficulties and costs involved in returning migrants.

For regular updates on what is happening in UK politics and public affairs, sign up to our weekly Point of Order newsletter, going out every Friday morning.

How have the UK media been covering industrial action in the travel sector

Trends in UK journalism: How is the media covering industrial action in transport?

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In the last few months, the news headlines have been dominated by the ongoing strikes across different sectors. Nurses, train drivers and Post Office workers have been among those calling for wage increases to match the rises in inflation.

One of the sectors calling for industrial action that has probably impacted the most people is the transport industry. Regular train strike days have affected commuters, airport and passport office strikes have altered holidaymakers plans, while bus and taxi drivers have also taken action.

We decided to take a look at what newspapers and broadcasters have been requesting and researching on this topic via the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service, alongside other subjects trending in the media.

Sign up to start receiving requests from the UK media direct to your inbox with the Journalist Enquiry Service.

There are 25 categories in total on the Journalist Enquiry Service but we’re honing in on four that are most relevant to the transport industry: Transport & Logistics, Motoring, Travel and Public Sector, and Third Sector & Legal.

If we look at all four categories over the last six months, 61% of the journalists sending requests are staff while 21% are freelance journalists. There is then quite an even spread for the media types they are coming from. Trade/business/professional media just comes out on top with 30% of the total requests, with consumer media just behind on 29% and national newspaper/current affairs on 23%. Journalists sending requests in these categories have mainly been looking for information for an article (36%), with enquiries for a spokesperson or expert next on 28%, review products on 12% and personal case studies on 10%.

This gives us an overall picture, but we can delve further into each category and see what media types and publications are sending requests. Firstly, we will look at the Transport & Logistics category. 47% of requests in this category came from trade/business/professional media titles. These included the likes of Logistics Manager, Industrial News and BizClik.

There was also a request from Future Rail magazine looking for the ‘rail industry trends for 2023’. The majority of the journalists sending requests in this category were also looking for information for an article (48%) with 30% asking for a spokesperson or expert. This provides ample opportunity for PRs to get experts and information featured within the trade media.

National press journalists are the next biggest users of this category with 23% sending an enquiry. Newspapers like The Daily Telegraph and The Times used the service. The nature of the requests varied quite widely with an I paper journalist looking for information on how to handle travel disruption, a Daily Star reporter looking to speak to a female pilot in the airline industry and a MailOnline writer asking for case studies around the ULEZ expansion.

This gives lots of opportunities to get clients featured in national press across a variety of different angles. There is also a fair amount of broadcast media journalists sending requests in this category with 12% coming from the radio & television media type. This has included the likes of ITV News, 5 News and GB News. Mainly, they have been focused on covering the strikes, either looking for locations to film at or case studies of commuters/people affected by the industrial action.

The Motoring category differs from Transport & Logistics, with national press journalists being the biggest users (42%) here over the last six months. This has included titles such as The Sun Online, The Independent and Metro. Requests have not focused specifically on the industrial action, but instead looking for an expert on petrol stations (for The Mirror Online) and case studies of slashing car insurance by buying a dash cam (for The Sun).

Consumer media is the second biggest media type within the motoring category, on 26%, with titles like Parkers sending requests, followed by trade media on 13%, with outlets such as Automotive World and Car Mechanics.

One of the keywords that comes up within the motoring category over the last six months is ‘EV’ or electric vehicle. This has occurred in over 4% of requests within this category. EV Magazine, Saga Exceptional, Verdict and ITV News have been among those looking for information and expert comment within this area. Any clients with expertise in this field could therefore be featured in consumer, trade or broadcast news.

The Public Sector, Third Sector & Legal category is not specifically aimed at the transport industry but a lot of requests around topical issues such as the strikes mean that journalists will select this category to get different viewpoints.

It’s mainly been used by trade titles over the last six months, with 53% of all requests coming from this media type. This has often been focused on the sustainability angle with ‘sustainable’ as a keyword appearing in 4% of all enquiries across all four categories we’ve focused on. Open Access Government, for example, was looking at sustainable development in the UK transport sector and achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

National press journalists are second in this category with 21% of all requests coming from them. The Daily Express, PA Media and Reuters all sent enquiries in the last six months. The vast majority were looking for a spokesperson or expert, which was the most popular enquiry type on 48%, followed by information for an article on 36%.

The Travel category is usually more consumer-facing and therefore it’s little surprise to see consumer media as the biggest user on 45%. Titles like GoodtoKnow and Pick Me Up! have sent enquiries around industrial action and strikes, but generally these enquiries are geared more towards holidays and tourism.

Overall, the keyword we saw most frequently across all four categories was ‘import’ which appeared in over 4% of the total requests.

‘Environment’ cropped up in 3% with ‘customers’ back on 2.5% and ‘strike’ at just over 1%. ‘Road’, ‘train’ and ‘rail’ all finished at around 1% with ‘airport’ and ‘aviation’ in about 0.5% of all the enquiries.

Depending on what you or your client has to offer, there are opportunities to get featured across all of the various media types. Experts on the transport sector and sustainability and information and case studies around the strikes and imports and exports are just some of the areas that you can look to target.

For more on how the UK media are reporting industrial strikes action in the travel sector, read our Vuelio Insights report ‘On the right track – which train companies are derailing negative press?‘. 

Want to start receiving requests from UK journalists with detailed information on what they want from PRs? Check out how to make the most of the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service. 

The impact of journalism on AI so far

The impact of AI-generated content on journalism so far

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The UK media industry is generating plenty of think pieces on the potential impacts of artificial intelligence and news on the changes it is already making. Going beyond the headlines, how concerned are journalists in reality about AI when it comes to their own work? Will the adoption of technologies like ChatGPT and Bard ultimately be a positive or negative innovation for journalism?

Our Journalist Voices by Vuelio panel considering the implications of AI included Press Gazette associate editor and New Statesman media correspondent William Turvill, Helena Pozniak, an independent journalist writing for the Telegraph, The Guardian, the Institute of Engineering and Technology and more, and freelance writer Amelia Tait, who contributes to outlets including The Guardian, The New York Times, Wired, the New Statesman, and VICE.

Already affected in their work by AI, the panellists discussed the possible problem areas ahead alongside the opportunities, as well as what PRs need to know about AI assistance in the creative industries.

It’s still early days for AI

As pointed out by William, even ChatGPT and Bard would admit that their technology is not 100% reliable and fool-proof just yet, and each of the panellists had examples of AI going wrong.

‘I was pitching an article, and I used ChatGPT for fact finding,’ shared Helena, who regularly writes about the impact of technology on society – ‘clean energy, to freedom of information, smart motorways to the environment’. The accuracy of information and reliability of sources is of utmost importance in her work – how did the AI app perform?

‘I’m so glad I double-checked the information it offered, because it had completely fabricated a massive landslide that killed thousands that never happened. So, I’m very wary and just playing around with it at the moment.’

William, who reports on the inner workings of the media itself, pointed out problems with bias already creeping into AI:

‘I’ve messed around with it. I asked it to provide a summary of the day’s news for me, and it wasn’t too good. When asked which UK news sources I could trust, it was very pro The Guardian and the BBC, but told me I couldn’t trust the Mail, the Mirror or The Sun. But I feel there is potential there’.

For Amelia, its use as an alternative to Thesaurus.com when searching for the right word came with feelings of uncertainty –

‘I asked ChatGPT to rework a sentence for me; I ultimately didn’t use what it suggested. It opened my mind a little more, but I felt a little bit dirty. I didn’t know what the ethics were on it’.

Helena offered that AI can already provide assistance on some elements of research for journalists – ‘It can summarise a research paper brilliantly and can do a lot of background research.’

What isn’t so great – the writing itself:

‘It’s just so bland. The copy AI apps come out with is so dire’.

Understanding the difference between content and journalism

‘I would distinguish between what is journalism and what is content,’ said Amelia.

‘I’ve worked for websites where you’re churning out content, and for that kind of thing, companies that aren’t investing much in talent could start using AI. And that comes with dangers on misinformation.’

That many journalists – and PRs – start their careers with duties that could be automated in future was a concern William spoke about:

‘It could be challenging for media companies that produce ‘clickbait’, or repurpose information from other sources. Those jobs are definitely at risk.’

‘Many journos don’t want to be doing that anyway, but there’s a danger of cutting off the entry level jobs into journalism; those jobs you have to do to find your bearings as a journalist. I would be concerned as someone entering the industry now.’

‘I’m sure it’s the same in PR – when you start out, you’re doing the unglamorous jobs. When doing work experience, I was walking a dog every day. AI couldn’t do that, but it could do the background research for a law firm. The ‘bottom rung’ could be in a difficult position’.

For Helena, the negatives would also reach audiences: ‘There might be a diminishing desire for longreads. You can see it on websites already with short-form summaries at the top. When time-pressed, are people really going to read something you’ve slaved over for days?’

Quality journalism requires human journalists (and journalists need human sources)

While coverage of AI can come with fearmongering, it is already embedded in parts of the journalist job successfully – as pointed out by Amelia, journalists regularly use AI transcription services for interviews, cutting hours out of the work of a writer:

‘We need to perceive these things as tools that we’ll use, that can help us rather than replace us.

I could waste ten minutes thinking of a particular word, and that’s not a skill or talent, that’s just time consuming. Using AI as a tool, that’s really encouraging and exciting’.

William underlined the importance of the human aspect of journalism. Ultimately, journalism has a human audience interested in human stories, and who better to share that than fellow humans (with assistance from AI on the admin side):

‘This has really solidified for me which journalism is going to be important in future as AI takes on some of the more basic writing and research – the journalism that journalists are going to want to do is original journalism. We will be looking for more personalisation, more research, more insightful interviews from PRs and a lot of thought going into pitches.

Something I’ve really been thinking about is stories I should be writing, I’ve set myself a test – could an AI do this research, if not now in five years. Is this useful? We’ll be looking for original stuff and any help with that is always appreciated.’

For more on how the media industry is covering AI, read our Vuelio Insights Report ‘Media attitudes to AI journalism’.

Want to connect with human journalists with stories of interest to their human readers? Check out how you can help them with sourcing experts, spokespeople, case studies and data via the Journalist Enquiry Service and find journalists covering your specialist topics on the Vuelio Media Database.

PR predictions for 2023

5 predictions for PR in 2023

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This is a guest post from Chris Norton, founder of B2B PR agency Prohibition, former University lecturer, author of “Share This Too” and his social media training blog.

The PR landscape is changing at a fast pace. New PR approaches are coming up every day and PR professionals have to always think outside the box to run effective campaigns.

In light of all this, there are a few overarching trends that are expected to have ripple effects across the public relations field. They are, ultimately, expected to shape the public relations landscape in 2023.

I’ll take you through five main PR predictions for the year 2023 so you can tap into them for PR success. Let’s get started!

1. More Prevalent Use of ChatGPT

Since OpenAI released ChatGPT in 2022, the hype about the tool has raged on. That isn’t about to change in 2023. After all, tech giant Microsoft has inked a $10-billion deal with the startup, vowing to incorporate the technology into Bing. Also, Google has declared a Code Red in response to the release of the tool. All these developments only mean one thing: we can expect a better ChatGPT and more similar tools to crop up in the near future.

Although ChatGPT is expected to continue to revolutionise the way we do PR and marketing, I still believe it won’t lead to smaller teams and massive layoffs.

Instead, the tool will further streamline PR processes to help PR professionals become more productive. So, the tool will only get better at proofreading your press release, refining your PR pitch, and helping you come up with ideas for a PR brainstorming session or social media posts. The tool will also get better at ensuring consistency across your PR (and marketing) material.

With an increased awareness of the ways an improved ChatGPT can help in PR, expect a more prevalent use of the tool in the field in 2023.

More PR professionals will adopt the technology and similar ones seamlessly into their workflow in 2023. The goal is to not be left behind by their colleagues who have already had the foresight to adapt to changes in the technological landscape early on. I covered how ChatGPT could improve PR processes in much more detail last month here.

2. Growth of Influencer Marketing

There’s no doubt that influencer marketing will continue to grow in 2023. The Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report 2023 predicts that influencer marketing will be worth $21.1 billion in 2023.

By definition, influencer marketing involves brands tapping into online influencers so they can market or promote the brands’ own services or products. This is an effective strategy since the influencer holds sway. After all, they have hundreds or thousands of followers.

Companies that harness the power of influencer marketing and add it to their PR budgets will create structured systems of sourcing and engaging influencers.

3. Continued Importance of Social Media

One notable PR prediction for 2023 is the continued importance of social media in PR.

Social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook allow brands to have two-way communications with their customers and followers.

This helps them build a community of like-minded people around their products and services.

So, businesses won’t just continue to build their brands using social media. In the end, as customer engagement becomes even more important, they will continue to build social communities as well. They will strive further to get more Instagram followers, increase Facebook shares, and boost retweets in the hopes of expanding those social communities.

But Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other major social media platforms won’t be the only ways brands will engage with their customers and prospects.

Brands will tap into newer social platforms like TikTok for brand marketing and social commerce. This is especially so since it has been shown that TikTok is effective as a sales and marketing platform:

Additionally, one of the PR predictions is that owned platforms like social media will be more of a focus for brands than paid media. Around 60% of communicators said that their organisation is placing more emphasis on these.

With this greater emphasis on their own online platforms, brands are also expected to increase their cybersecurity budgets.

4. Greater Focus on Transparency and Authenticity

Audiences are expected to value transparency and authenticity even more when choosing the brands to transact with. As a result, in 2023, brands will be more open with their prospects and customers. Whenever any newsworthy events occur in the company, they will continue to reach out to niche media outlets that will help them reach their target audience.

Consumers will be even more exacting in their standards during a PR crisis. Businesses are expected to admit when things go wrong. They will be expected to communicate the clear action steps they’ll take to solve the problem. With the rising role of technologies that enable quick communication, consumers will expect brand responses in an even more immediate manner.

As brands place more value on transparency and accountability, I expect to see the digital storytelling angle of PR taking the lead in 2023. This will be even more important in 2023 as more people use social media and other communication platforms online. Businesses that continue to refuse to incorporate the use of online channels into their PR strategy will be left behind.

Brands will also share even more personal stories and authentic content. The goal is to establish brand relevance and make their business more relatable to the audience.

This is because as they look back on their interactions with consumers, brands will be more aware that authentic conversations help build strong brand communities. They will also understand that transparency will boost customer trust and portray brands as companies that care about their buyers’ needs.

5. More Targeted and Personalised Messaging

Here’s another one of my PR predictions for 2023: Targeted messaging will be even more important.

Consumers will have an even more heightened awareness of the continued development and growth of technology. As such, brands that don’t use these technologies to tailor their messages to them aren’t likely to make it.

This demand for more targeted and personalised messaging applies to journalists as well.

As it is, journalists don’t only love to see their names on pitch emails. They also want to see that brands are familiar with the work they do and what they represent.

Therefore, we will see more communication pros creating pitches that speak directly to each individual journalist’s niche and interests. In other words, the one-size-fits-all pitch approach will no longer work in the future of PR. Personalisation gives brands a better chance of being published by their target media outlets.

We will also see PR pros and communications teams embracing more diverse media in 2023. Instead of only focusing on traditional media outlets, brands will reach out with their personalised messages to podcasters, video content creators, and YouTubers for coverage.

In Closing

With the public relations landscape constantly changing, public relations professionals have to remain on top of their game to keep their companies afloat. A knowledge of PR predictions can help them do just that.

You learned five of these PR predictions from this article.

The first PR prediction is the more prevalent use of ChatGPT for PR. We will also see the increased importance of influencer marketing and the continued rise of social networks for PR. Expect to see PR pros focusing more on transparency and authenticity as consumers become even more exacting in their standards.

Finally, a more targeted and personal approach will continue to play a critical role as PR professionals pitch, not just to their target consumers, but to media outlets, podcasters, and other content creators.

If you use these PR predictions to your advantage, getting through 2023 will be a breeze for your brand.

For more trends to watch out for in 2023 in PR and comms, check out these predictions from industry experts. 

Ready to start reaching out to the media with targeted contributions? Try the Vuelio Media Database and the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service. 

Why we need to take online misinformation and disinformation seriously

Vuelio webinar: Why PRs need to take online misinformation and disinformation seriously

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Disruptive technologies from ChatGPT to AI image generators are revolutionising the way we share information. While there are many benefits to this new technology, unethical use of AI is also on the rise and fuelling the spread of misinformation in online spaces.

A recent US global trends report found that our inability to agree on what the facts are poses the biggest threat to social trust over the next 20 years. From false content around vaccines to global politics, social media users in the UK are frequently faced with the threat of disinformation.

How can PRs act now on the misinformation crisis?

Our webinar ‘Why we need to take online misinformation and disinformation seriously’ with Polis founder and CEO Thomas Barton on 27 April 2023 from 11.00 – 11.30 BST will explore how the PR industry can mitigate the threat and impact of false information through an effective comms strategy. Thomas will also talk about his work educating on the threat of misinformation and disinformation in UK Government and in schools.

Sign up here to learn:

• How legislation such as the Online Safety Bill and the Digital Services Act provide an opportunity to protect your brand and spokespeople online
• The importance of understanding the use and effects of AI generator tools
• Which audiences are most vulnerable to the impact of misinformation

Can’t join us live? Register and we’ll send you the recording.

Find more information about Thomas Barton’s work with Polis and the extent of the misinformation problem in our previous interview covering the opportunities of the Online Safety Bill and the importance of education.

For pointers on the impact of misinformation in medical communications, download our Vuelio white paper ‘Medical Misinformation: How PRs can stop the spread’.

When your expert's expertise is in question

PR & comms conundrum: When an expert’s expertise is in question

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Working in PR and comms means connecting experts and spokespeople to the media, the charities you work with, and perhaps even the occasional regulatory body.

What happens if an expert’s expertise is called into question? What if their recommendations have resulted in regulation that otherwise would not and should not have been put into law? And most importantly, how do you right the wrongs before they cause real damage?

Doing due diligence on experts you provide PR services for – particularly in the medical field – is a must before signing any contracts, particularly as there are plenty of past horror stories that should trigger a shudder from any comms pro. Here are a few, as well as expertise you can trust on how to counter similar situations that could arise.

The challenges of vetting medical experts

Remember the case of former daytime doctor du jour Dr Raj Persaud? After admitting to plagiarism during a General Medical Council hearing in June of 2008, the high-profile TV expert lost media bookings and trust. Press reports of the time highlighted Dr Persaud’s ‘disgrace’ and ‘dishonesty’, while The Telegraph characterised the time following as his ‘wilderness years’. This case impacted the television brands that had worked with the expert, too – including ITV’s This Morning, which was tasked with finding a new health expert and rebuilding trust with its audience.

A more recent tale of a medical expert raising eyebrows is the case of Dr Ryan Cole, a pathologist and member of America’s Frontline Doctors who faced scrutiny after lending his credentials to misinformation related to the COVID-19 vaccine. With anti-vax sentiment having potentially dangerous consequences on public health, The Washington Medical Commission (WMC) issued a statement of charges against Dr Cole’s Washington physician license in January 2023.

Very different in scope to both examples, but no less impactful, is the case of Dr Paul McCrory – an example which has been covered with gusto by the UK media and had repercussions for sport across the globe.

When expert guidance can have dangerous impacts on the public

Called ‘one of the most influential figures’ in his field by The Guardian, a significant part of Dr McCrory’s work throughout the 2000s – including a paper published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine during his tenure as editor-in-chief called ‘When to retire after concussion?’ – centred on the impact of multiple brain injuries on sports players.

Thinking from his work in this field was included in the Zurich concussion consensus of 2009 – a document funded and endorsed by FIFA, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the IRB (now known as World Rugby). Rugby union players were impacted directly by assertions that concussion procedures used by many sports regulators at the time were ‘arbitrary’ and should be updated; the former mandatory three-week stand down for those with concussion was changed to a six-day graduated return to play after the IRB’s medical conference in 2011.

But there’s a slight problem with the expertise that helped these changes along. The original piece published in BJSM has since been retracted due to findings of plagiarism, among other issues. World Rugby moved away from the six-day return to play rule, while long-established practice regarding concussions in sports came into question.

PRs must be part of the fact-checking process

Stone Junction’s owner Richard Stone regularly connects experts with relevant organisations and media contacts and believes that as a PR person, you need to be ‘certain, within reasonable doubt, that the information you are communicating is true and the experts you are putting forward for interview are telling an accurate story to the best of their knowledge.’

‘Frankly, the media – in which I include the PR sector – is tasked with making information interesting to its readership or audience. It’s inevitable that this means it won’t fully and comprehensively communicate the contents of a piece of scientific research – but that doesn’t mean it has to be inaccurate. You will have your angle, you will select which bits of the story to tell, but it’s still possible to make those bits of the story factually accurate.

‘Journalists are much less of a problem in this context than scrapers, bots, AIs and biased sources. There are far fewer instances of reputable journalists getting it wrong than there are of unreputable communicators telling a story founded on something which is untrue or inaccurate. The echo chamber of choice is much more damaging than the flaws in the economy of truth.’

Ultimately, avoiding issues with inaccurate expertise is part of the PR toolbox:

‘You must develop understanding of your sector, fact check everything,’ says Richard.

‘If you weren’t doing that beforehand, you can spend as much time on Retraction Watch as you like, but you aren’t going to suddenly make better decisions.’

For more on the fight against misinformation and ensuring the stories you’re helping to amplify are worth sharing, download our white paper ‘Medical misinformation: How PR can stop the spread’.

Kind comms in cleantech

Kind comms in cleantech: Interview with Life Size CEO Jan Bohnerth

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‘Our founder and former CEO Alisa Murphy has always had the desire to enact positive change, and this spirit has led her to her next career move – becoming a coach. Alisa stepping back from her role as CEO raised the question: what should happen to Life Size?’

Jan Bohnerth recently stepped into the role of CEO at Life Size – just one of the big changes happening at the cleantech company. Along with former CEO Alisa’s move to a coaching role, the company has evolved to adopt a ground-breaking employee-ownership business model.

What does such a change involve for a comms company, and could this work for your organisation too? Jan shares what sparked the decision, the importance of preserving team culture and values, and how ethics in climate comms is also translating to kinder, human-led approaches in business.

‘A transition to a trust-based model emerged as the natural choice for us,’ says Jan. ‘Now, an Employee Trust owns our company, ensuring we can remain independent and maintain the culture and values that make us special. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.’

What are the challenges and opportunities that can come with employee-ownership?

The opportunities far outweigh any potential disadvantages. In fact, the choice to move to an employee-ownership model was a response to the potential disruption that the departure of Alisa could bring. By transitioning to an employee-owned model, we can guarantee the preservation of the culture and values that make us unique.

An obvious advantage is the incentivisation of the team. Once we’ve fully repaid Alisa, our whole team will profit directly from the work we put in. This also means that the quicker we are successful, the sooner this moment will come.

However, the financial benefits are almost secondary for me. The ability to feel our work’s impact excites me the most. A business model which truly allows us to work for ourselves and feel closer to the impact of our work is a business model for the 21st century.’

What advice would you give to businesses considering a move to this model?

We benefitted from our great advisors from Baxendale. The team we worked with was instrumental in guiding us throughout the process. Transitioning to employee ownership is not simple, yet Baxendale gave us peace of mind by ensuring we correctly set up a potentially complicated process.

Being transparent about the move was also crucial. Our whole team was involved from the start, from the moment Alisa first voiced the idea to the completion of the transition. We informed the team during every stage of the process and encouraged questions. We also reassured employees that nothing would change on a day-to-day basis, as our business model remains the same.

How has the cleantech space changed since you began working in the industry?

Cleantech has really grown up over the last five years. When I first started working in the industry, it mainly consisted of small companies. As a result, it was hard to battle for journalists’ attention, as those interested in sustainability mostly focused on traditional renewable energy companies, such as those focusing on wind power or start-ups working in e-commerce.

This has recently shifted as the world’s understanding of the climate crisis increases. The growing recognition of the challenges the world faces in decarbonising has led to a burgeoning interest in the technologies being built to achieve net zero. The rise of global players like Northvolt, for example, has also helped draw attention to cleantech and the smaller start-ups operating in the space.’

What trends do you see coming up for cleantech that brands in the sector should be ready for?

A big trend is the personalisation of communications. In the past, charismatic or powerful leaders like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerburg dominated tech communications. The key to their commercial success came from their ability to tell a story and portray a vision for the future that their product could deliver.

The issue for cleantech companies is that their product is typically grounded on research and development tech, which in many ways is on the opposite side of the storytelling spectrum. We work with engineers solving incredibly difficult questions, which we know are important because they have technologies that make an impact. But the technicality of their work means they are naturally less equipped to tell stories. Our job is to find the story behind their tech to make people listen.

With the rise of AI-generated content, storytelling will become even more relevant. Increased AI-powered content production will create more content, which will be more general as AI is not incentivised to be bold. This means personalised, unique voices will become more powerful, as it will help companies stand out from the crowd.

What has been the lasting impact of the pandemic on your work, and the comms sector at large, in your opinion?

We had an agile working policy in place well before the pandemic. So the main change was moving away from having offices at all, as the need is no longer there. When we still had offices, we were limited to hiring people from London and Berlin. However, now we can employ excellent people from almost anywhere. Since 2020, we’ve hired core team members from across Europe.

We’ve always wanted to integrate work and life, which the shift to fully remote working has helped us achieve. Our wellness team has devised solutions for those who prefer in-office environments by creating easy-to-follow processes for booking co-working spaces. It also means that when we see each other in person, we try to make these encounters more valuable. These meetings are not always project-related, but always about human connection.

Some brands and organisations have been criticised for greenwashing – how would you advise brands ensure their comms and actions are authentic?

Thankfully we don’t encounter this problem 95% of the time because our clients work with clean, impactful technologies they have created themselves. However, I’ve noticed that the public is becoming more aware of greenwashing patterns, and it’s in vogue to use buzzwords like ‘net-zero’, ‘carbon-neutral’ and ‘climate-friendly’ to claim sustainability credentials.

It may be tempting to hop on the trend, but I strongly advise against making these claims unless they can be backed up. It isn’t worth it to make false climate claims, as it will do more damage than good in the long term.

What are your plans for Life Size for the year ahead?

Our plans are two-fold. Firstly, we want to be even more impactful in our work. We’ve never been an agency that just executes a brief. We see ourselves as a sounding board ready to question assumptions and develop the best solutions for our clients. We want to do more of this impactful work to drive commercial success for cleantech companies.

Our other main aim is to increase our European reach. We started in the UK and have since expanded and found success in the DACH region and the Nordics. We now want to replicate this success in other European geographies. We benefit from many European cleantech companies being international from the start, with teams and customers spread globally, so their communications must be global too. That’s why we, with our international team and position as Europe’s only specialist cleantech communications agency, are well-equipped to serve European start-ups.

How did you originally get into comms and cleantech, and what keeps you passionate about it?

I’ve always been interested in tech and complex solutions. Natural sciences were always an interest of mine, but at the same time, I was good with languages and the business side of things. So. a decade ago, when I felt a real urge to leave my profession and enter the cleantech space, I discovered that I was most suited to working in the communications sector, as it combined my interest in technical questions and my expertise in business and communications.

Now that I’m involved in the sector, I find it incredibly exciting to learn about new cleantech solutions every day and to work with leadership teams and engineers to help them tell their stories to the rest of the world.

For more on authentic person-led comms, check out our previous post on the rewards of net zero, featuring best practice advice from the Vuelio Insight team. 

 

The future of the media

What PR and comms needs to know about the future of the media

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The media industry is constantly changing – to prepare for the future, PR and comms will need to change alongside it.

How is the UK media looking to the future? Here are key takeaways from The Society of Editors’ Media Freedom Conference – panels covered the importance of investing in mental health, rebuilding trust with audiences and holding power to account.

1) Mental health coverage matters

Journalists are under increasing pressure, with smaller editorial teams with responsibilities across a variety of formats. This, combined with the topics and issues that they have to cover, can put a real strain on their mental health.

Headlines Network founder and co-director Hannan Storm advised the creation of a culture in newsrooms where journalists feel safe to talk mental health.

Suggestions included regular ‘town halls’, where colleagues can share resources, or Google hangouts. Leaders were advised to openly share any problems they have faced themselves to show empathy and vulnerability with their staff. Also, wellbeing workshops or sleep clinics can be a big help at relieving stress and fatigue from the job.

2) Rebuilding trust with audiences

The rise of misinformation has caused audiences to lose trust in news providers and outlets – the future of news depends on rebuilding this. Sky News deputy head of newsgathering Sarah Whitehead shared the broadcasters’ introduction of more Q and As in an effort to open the door to the audience. Welcoming audience involvement via social media allows to public to tell their truth and call out disinformation.

Freelance journalist Abbianca Makoni shared that there is more trust in local reporters, as people see them out in their communities regularly covering local stories. Young people are keen to see more collaboration between the national and local press as a result.

It was also advised for newsrooms to be as transparent as possible about their procedures and processes, admitting when a mistake has been made.

As shared by Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) chief executive Charlotte Dewar, journalists value being held to account. There is a willingness to learn and change, and hopefully regain trust and respect as a result.

3) The future is multi-channel

Publishers now offer print products, a website, a podcast, newsletters, a YouTube channel and much more besides.

Polis founder director Professor Charlie Beckett believes the future of news will be found in data, which will be passed to journalists to distil down to what will interest and engage their audience most.

This increase in the number of places that publishers are sharing their content means there is a huge amount for audiences to consume. Professor Beckett said that abundance could therefore be the biggest problem for the media and possibly result in news avoidance. Ultimately, though, it will be a good thing for people to have a healthy news diet that they are in control of.

VICE World News senior news reporter Sophie Smith-Galer feels it is important that the media adopts a future proof ethos. VICE has done this by focusing on more agenda setting stories and building expertise in silos/fields that aren’t being covered by the bigger news outlets. The audience are therefore more likely to seek this out as it is content they will not find anywhere else.

How PRs can help with this? Give journalists something they can use to retain and build their audiences, rebuild trust and make the most of all the channels at their disposal.

For more on how PRs can help journalists in the fight against misinformation, read our previous interview with Polis’s founder Thomas Barton: ‘The fight against misinformation, disinformation and fake news is just beginning‘. 

What has the UK media been requesting from PRs

How are national press and broadcast news using the Journalist Enquiry Service?

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The headlines across national newspapers and news broadcasts have been dominated in recent months by the cost-of-living crisis, numerous strikes in different sectors, the Russia/Ukraine war and the fallout from Prince Harry’s book ‘Spare’. However, plenty of other stories have made their way into the UK news cycle, and many start with a request sent by a writer via the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service.

What exactly have national press and broadcast journos been looking for recently? Below we take a deep dive into the main categories that our users have been interested in and the keywords that we are seeing most frequently. Read on to see how you can get your expert coverage or the best place to get that case study out.

Sign up to start receiving requests from the UK media direct to your inbox with the Journalist Enquiry Service.

Firstly, we will have a look into national newspapers as journalists from these titles use the service more frequently than broadcast – 26% of all requests in 2022 came from national press. Outlets like The Daily Express, PA Media and The Daily Telegraph also regularly feature in our top ten outlets sending requests from month to month.

We looked at all the requests sent from the start of November until today and the category with the most enquiries was Women’s Interest & Beauty, representing 11% of all national press requests. This proves particularly popular with the tabloid papers as The Sun, The Daily Express and The Daily Mail all feature in the top five outlets sending requests for this category.

National press enquiry types

In terms of what they are looking for within this category, it tends to be for products to review or feature on their website. This varies from lipsticks and eyeliners to new beauty treatments and jewellery and fashion accessories. There are also requests around men’s beauty and grooming including requests for face creams and beard shavers. This presents a great opportunity to get client products featured in national newspapers or on their websites.

Often picked alongside the Women’s Interest & Beauty category is the Health category, which was the second most popular and made up 10% of the total requests from national newspapers. The Daily Express was again among the top senders with journalists from The i paper and Metro also sending numerous requests for health stories.

The trend here is more for spokespeople and experts and for case studies. A lot of requests are for doctors and GPs to give medical advice on certain conditions and there are frequent requests as well looking for case studies for people with certain conditions or illnesses. Both provide avenues to get clients and experts national press coverage.

The Health category also features several strongly performing keywords with ‘fitness’ appearing in 4% of all national press requests, ‘diet’ in 2% and ‘wellbeing’ in just over 1%. Again, this is often linked to enquiries for experts such as nutritionists, psychologists, mental health experts and sleep experts. This also links to the strong performance of both the Food & Drink and Leisure & Hobbies categories as they both received around 6% of the total national press requests.

Men’s Interest finished as the third most popular category. As we touched upon earlier, men’s grooming and beauty were part of these requests along with many around men’s health and also fashion too. This also links into the strong performance of ‘fitness’ as a keyword with requests for personal trainers and male gym instructors.

Fourth on the list for national press categories is Personal Finance which links into another key phrase that we have mentioned often in our monthly reports, which is the ‘cost of living’. This appeared in just over 3.5% of all national press requests with associated words like ‘energy’ on 3%, ‘bills’ on 2% and ‘mortgage’ on 1%.

This category attracted different national press outlets with both The Daily Telegraph and The Times featuring in the top ten. The type of enquiry did vary but a lot were looking for finance experts to give advice on ways to make savings during the cost-of-living crisis. There we are also enquiries for energy experts to provide analysis of the rising gas and electricity bills. Plus, mortgage experts to provide suggestions for what first-time buyers should do and those looking to renew their mortgage during increasing interest rates.

There has also been requests from the national press looking for case studies to find out how families are coping during the tough economic times and also to provide information on what businesses can do. This gives lots of scope to push out information and experts around personal finance.

The bigger news stories over the last few months have created a bit of traction on the Journalist Enquiry Service. ‘Strikes’ appeared as a keyword in 1% of all national press requests as papers like The Independent and Daily Mirror looked to cover the issue by getting case studies. ‘Royal’ was in around 3% with The Daily Express and The Guardian among others looking for royal experts to cover news around Prince Harry and Meghan and the Royal family in general. However, there have only been a handful of requests around the Russia/Ukraine war.

The focus for broadcast journalists using the service has been quite different with the most requests going to the Business & Finance category. 7% of the total requests from broadcast were for this category with 5 News and ITV News sending the majority.

These have tended to be for case studies and most often looking to speak with businesses that have been affected by the cost-of-living crisis. Just over 8% of the total requests in broadcast included the key phrase ‘cost of living’ and over 7% were for ‘energy’. This shows a much greater need from broadcast outlets to cover this issue and a great chance to get your clients featured on television, speaking about how their business has been impacted – especially in regard to rising energy bills.

Broadcast media enquiry types

They have also dedicated more coverage to the strikes as well and ‘strikes’ as a keyword appears in 9% of the total requests from broadcast. This also links into the strong performance of the Public Sector, Third Sector & Legal category which was the fifth most popular for broadcast journalists. All three of the big broadcasters (BBC, Sky and ITV) appear in the top five outlets here.

These enquiries were again focused mainly on getting personal case studies and seeing how businesses and people were being affected. The majority of requests were for the rail strikes but broadcast contacts were also covering the nurses strike, the teachers, Royal Mail, ambulances and buses. With more strike action likely in the coming months then this should present more opportunities for television coverage.

The more consumer related categories of Food & Drink and Women’s Interest & Beauty both received 6% of the total broadcast requests, placing them second and third overall. The Food & Drink category was used quite frequently for Steph’s Packed Lunch, whereas the Women’s Interest & Beauty category had several enquiries from This Morning.

Again, several requests were for case studies, providing opportunities for people to feature on the show. However, we saw more enquiries looking for products. This varied from health and fitness gadgets to make up and fashion items to new chocolate and sweet brands. A good chance to get products featured on two well established daytime shows.

The Health category had around 6% of all the broadcast requests and finished as the fourth most selected. ITV and 5 News were again sending regular requests in this category along with GB News and BBC Radio 4.

Personal case studies were the main focus of requests looking to cover issues around social care and also around illnesses such as Strep-A. There were also several requests for experts as well, looking for medical experts to give advice and information.

Overall, while the media coverage may seem to focus on certain issues, there is room and opportunities for products, experts and case studies to get coverage on both national press and broadcast media for a variety of topics and matters. The news cycle is difficult to predict but the cost-of-living crisis looks set to rumble on, along with strike action. We are also starting to see more requests around ‘TikTok’ which as a keyword appeared in 1% of all national press requests and just over 1% of broadcast requests. Therefore, any experts or info around the media app could be vital to journalists in the coming months.

For more on how the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service can help with getting your stories into the UK media, read our previous how-tos: 

No PR budget? No problem – using the Journalist Enquiry Service to gain coverage as a small business

How to tackle vague requests from journalists

6 reasons to stop searching #JournoRequest and try the Journalist Enquiry Service

 

How to take advantage of awareness days for your PR

Which awareness days should you take advantage of for your PR?

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This is a guest post from Niamh Boylan, junior PR account manager at Hatch.

There is an industry term that has been known to divide opinion amongst PR and social professionals: awareness days. While some view them as a less creative approach to generating media coverage, it cannot be denied that awareness days are an incredibly useful newsjacking tool for PRs and a great way to leverage seasonality.

Not only do they serve a great purpose in drawing attention to important calendar events and charitable causes but awareness days offer an opportunity to give your PR campaigns, stunts or social content a relevant news hook. By jumping onto a topic or event that’s already got some newsworthy attention, it is an effective way of gaining brand exposure, positioning your client as a thought-leader in its specific sector, and driving all-important engagement for your campaign.

Whether it is food, drink, sport or leisure, there is an awareness day for absolutely everything.

What 2023 awareness days and events should you make note of

We can break down our newsjacking into three key areas: recurring annual holidays, 2023-specific events and hero awareness days. All three of these are easy to plan for, so long as you have the right strategy.

Annual Holidays

First and foremost, we have our recurring holiday dates that everyone should have marked in their calendars. These are usually centred around seasonal celebrations; think Pancake Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Halloween and Christmas – you know the drill. All of these holidays offer a wealth of opportunities for PRs to create campaigns. While the media is heavily saturated around these occasions, they are simple to prepare for as we know what they are all about and we know when the journalist requests start to come through.

To get ahead of the game, the best thing to do is to start planning your campaigns well in advance and try to think outside of the box to ensure cut through in the highly saturated media landscape. For example, if you have a foodie client, avoid just reworking last year’s lamb roast recipe in the lead up to Easter. Why not work with an acclaimed sommelier to curate the best wine pairings to go with your Easter roast dinner? Or work with an expert tablescaper to share top tips on the best table layout for first-time hosts? There are endless angles that you can explore to really position your brand as a thought-leader on the subject matter.

Some key 2023 annual holidays for the diary:
• Easter Sunday – 9 April
• Father’s Day – 18 June
• Halloween – 31 October
• Bonfire Night – 5 November
• Thanksgiving – 23 November
• Christmas – 25 December

2023-specific holidays

Next up, we have our 2023-specific holidays. As PR professionals, it is our job to predict what key events are going to be most-talked about in the press, identifying what is relevant to our clients and how we can take advantage of these occasions for campaigns.

These events are typically highly-anticipated national events, usually around sporting occasions, big anniversaries or anything to do with the state and the royals. For example, this year marks HRH King Charles III’s Coronation, which we know already will be a huge focus for the press. To get ahead of the curve, think about whether or not your clients’ offerings have something to say about this occasion. Perhaps you represent a sparkling wine brand that can offer some predictions on what the royal family may be drinking to toast the occasion? Or maybe you have a party decor company that can launch a new range of street party decks in honour of the big day? There are many ways in which you can take one big event and royally impress the media…

Some key 2023-specific holidays for the diary:
• HRH King Charles III’s Coronation, London UK – 6 May
• Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final, Liverpool UK – 13 May
• FIFA Women’s World Cup, Australia & New Zealand – 20 July-20 August
• Netball World Cup, South Africa, July 28–6 August
• Rugby World Cup, France – 8 September–28 October
• Ryder Cup 2023, Italy – 29 September–1 October
• ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, India – October-November

Awareness Days

Finally, we have our classic Awareness Days. These are a little trickier to plan for but we can easily prep content in advance once we have identified the right awareness day for the job. One thing to keep in mind is that there are now endless awareness days, some of them so niche that the media may not have heard of them, never mind the end-consumer. This can make things trickier to land coverage, but on the flipside, the more niche the awareness day, the more opportunity there is for your client to really ‘own’ the space that they are an expert in.

Cornish Pasty Week, you say? Time for the Cornish Pasty Co. to launch their latest perfect bake. Zero Waste week? Perfect opportunity for your makeup brand to shout about their zero-plastic packaging credentials. Awareness days are one of the best ways to really take a niche corner of an industry and give your press releases an added layer of authority and relevance for the press.

Some awareness days to expect in 2023:
• Earth Day – 22 April
• Pride Month – June
• National BBQ Week – 29 May-4 June
• World Environment Day – 5 June
• Clean Beaches Week – 1-7 July
• Great British Pea Week – 3-9 July
• Breast Cancer Awareness Month – October
• Black History Month – October
• Yorkshire Pudding Day – 13 October
• Cheese Toastie Day – 27 October
• World Television Day – 21 November
• Pigs in Blankets Day – 5 December

Top tip for using awareness days: Be authentic

The key to successful newsjacking with awareness days is ensuring that you are always being authentic. Avoid jumping on the bandwagon of an awareness day because it loosely links to your brand. It must be relevant, it must make sense that you are using this particular day as a hook, and above all else, you must be adding something to the conversation. If your brand does not feel authentic, consumers will see right through it and you could be doing more damage than good. Always remember, your authenticity is your USP.

Good luck with your newsjacking and I’ll reshare this blog on National Awareness Days Day. Or perhaps not…

For more information on making the most of awareness days throughout the year, check out this previous guest post from Bottle PR’s Jamie Wilson on nailing your PR story to an awareness day. 

Want to track how your story is being reported in the press, or looking for an easy way to receive requests from journalists directly? Try Vuelio Media Monitoring and the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service. 

How women can achieve the PR career of their dreams

How women in PR can create the career of their dreams

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This is a guest post by Ariatu PR founder Ronke Lawal, who specialises in PR and communications for clients in a range of B2C industries; including lifestyle, consumer goods and the creative enterprise sector, with a particular focus on reaching Black audiences and engaging with African and Caribbean diaspora communities.

To be a woman in PR is to sometimes be erased, under-appreciated and undervalued. According to statistics shared by Women in PR, the PR and communications industry is female-dominated (67%) overall, yet at senior levels it becomes male-dominated, with only a third of boardroom positions filled by women.

Despite this, PR can also be a phenomenally rewarding career path for women, particularly Black women. In an industry in which PR professionals often stay ‘behind the scenes’, I wanted to take the time to shine a spotlight on the work of some phenomenal women. This industry is as diverse as the people who work within it, so here are a few life lessons from Addy Frederick, Kamiqua Lake, Ebony Gayle and Karen Campbell to celebrate Women’s Month.

Success is very much subjective. Some would argue that in our industry it is tied to client outcomes, financial goals or awards won. I wanted to know what these women think makes a successful PR professional.

‘You have to be as good at listening as you are at speaking or writing’

Addy Frederick

For Addy Frederick – Admiral’s head of group communications – listening is an essential part of success:

‘To fully appreciate what is relevant to your internal and external stakeholders, you need to hear what they want or need, be able to read between the lines – then you can offer a solution.

‘You also need to have a sense of perspective, especially when things don’t pan out, which is easier said than done. You have to be able to prioritise and reprioritise as the day progresses and your early morning to-do list becomes a wish list…and it then graduates to be a page that you occasionally glance at as you do the big task of the day or week that hadn’t even featured.

‘You have to be curious (and sometimes creative) as to how emerging trends, issues and channels could provide opportunities for you to deliver against your current objectives.’

‘You have to actually want to do a good job’

Karen Campbell

‘I’d say a strong contacts book, great sense of what makes a good story and excellent relationship building skills is important,’ believes Shiloh PR co-founder Karen Campbell.

For Kamiqua Lake, founder and CEO of the UK Black Comms Network and Coldr, being discerning, adept at problem-solving, a good listener and fearless about asking the right questions, are invaluable.

Kamiqua Lake

Ebony Gayle, independent consultant and founder of Ebony Communications, agrees with Addy that communication and creative thinking are important:

‘You need to have a passion about your work and enjoy finding new and creative ways to tell your clients stories that hit home. Staying on top of new trends and developing compelling messaging that resonate with your target audience. You also need to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Having a thick skin is needed for working in PR as we often are dealing with demanding clients and deadlines. It’s very important to be able to challenge your client where necessary, leaning on your skills and experience and not be afraid to speak up on ethical issues.’

Ebony Gayle

‘Heritage and identity have been important parts of my journey’

As a British Nigerian woman born in Hackney, heritage and identity have been important parts of my journey. I asked these women if they felt the same way and whether their backgrounds empowered them at all throughout the course of their careers.

Karen believes that having a strong connection with, and understanding of her heritage and identity has given her a certain level of security and assurance in herself:

‘Throughout my journey, it has not only kept me centred, but also empowered me to see value in my lived experience.’

Ebony is South London born and raised, with Caribbean heritage:

‘I feel my background has helped to empower me to go for what I want and embrace stepping outside of my comfort zone. It also encouraged me to find my voice, and to not be afraid to challenge and speak up for myself, which is an important skill to have working in the PR industry. ‘

Addy takes a slightly different view:

‘I’ve only ever been me, so without any ‘Sliding Doors’ scenes, we’ll never know what my career would look like if any part of my identity changed. However, I think there are several experiences that have shaped me and my approach to all aspects of my life: having parents that supported all of my ever-changing dreams (you can do anything you want); going to an all-girls’ school (your gender doesn’t limit you); being an army cadet (don’t underestimate the power of focus and discipline); and playing rugby (it may hurt but it probably won’t kill you – so do it).’

For Kamiqua, family has shaped who she is today:
‘More and more I can see that I am a blend of my mum, dad and Nonna (my gran fell in love with Italy and used to spend lots of time there). I got creativity from my mum who is a fine artist, and consistency from my dad who always used to say, ‘find something you are good at and stick to it’. My gran loved to see the world and she inspired my curiosity about life, the world we live in, and my love for travel.’

‘I can be too helpful’

Throughout my business career I have faced challenges, which at the time felt like they would break me. However, I always managed to overcome them and ultimately come out on the other side wiser. I wanted to know how these women dealt with challenges in their own lives.

Dedication to work for herself opened up challenges for Ebony:

‘Making the transition not only in terms of setting up a business and attracting and securing clients, but also the mental adjustment of going from an employee to business owner. In terms of overcoming it, I really just embraced it and took the opportunity to design my work style, including the types of clients I wanted to work with. As an independent consultant I can choose who I want to work with, which is very empowering.

Addy was candid: ‘It sounds like a cliché interview answer, but I can be too helpful. That’s not actually a positive especially if you’re looking for that work/life balance. I constantly have to remind myself to consider the best and most effective ways I can deliver meaningful results and add true value – and crucially allow others to grow.’

‘One of the things I now do when people come to me with an issue is ask what they think a good solution would be. When people start to realise that they’re just as likely as you to have an answer, many of the “problems” disappear and they grow in confidence.’

For Karen, the biggest challenge has been feeling underrepresented in the PR industry:

‘Less so as a woman – as it feels like there have been significant strides in the numbers of women, but the diversity seems to end there. My experience has often been that there’s very little racial diversity and very few from working class backgrounds, so there’s the challenge of feeling a sense of belonging or even having access to certain environments. Honestly, it is not something I’d say I’ve necessarily overcome (it’s a long-standing industry challenge), but one of the main drivers of what we do at Shiloh PR is to help bring more diversity, not just tokenism, to do our part to change things.’

For Kamiqua, being an outsider has been her challenge:

‘Whether that was not being cool or connected enough when I was studying for my Fashion PR and journalism degree, being stereotyped as a younger mum in my 20s or just generally underrated during my career.’

‘I’ve very much learned to embrace the difference I bring to the table to the point that I’ve established two businesses, Coldr and the UK Black Comms Network, that show the value of thinking, feeling and being different.’

‘I believe that the lessons we learn from our past offer us teachable moments’

I don’t have regrets. I believe that the lessons we learn from our past offer us “teachable moments”, moments which we can use to help ourselves and others. I asked these accomplished women what advice they would give themselves based on their own lessons.

‘I’d definitely say to trust your gut more and be confident in your skills and abilities,’ says Karen.

‘Also, ‘go where you’re celebrated’. It took me longer than I’d like to admit to get to that point, so if I went back in time, I’d like to get that advice much sooner.’

Don’t downplay your achievements, advises Addy:

‘This is a cheat, as it is advice I was actually given by an MD when I was first heading up a team: Don’t use “we” when it should be “me” and don’t downplay your achievements. In life you may come across people who want to diminish what you do for various reasons, and you cannot be one of them. A decade later and he probably doesn’t remember saying it, but I think about that moment often.’

Embrace challenge, says Ebony:

‘If I could go back in time I would say, ‘You are amazing and can do anything you put your mind to’. Don’t get trapped in your comfort zone, step outside and embrace any challenges and be the best version of you.’

Keep learning, says Kamiqua:

‘You’ll learn from every past mistake, there is no need to stress so much about the future, live more in the present.’

PR is a worthy industry to work in and we need more women to ultimately see it as an industry that deserves their time.

Here are some final pieces of advice for aspiring women in PR:

‘Do what makes you scared and makes your brain hurt. No one develops from a place of comfort and fear has a crazy way of sharpening your performance. But don’t take on a task simply because no one else will. If it doesn’t serve you, embrace the silence, sit on your hands – don’t volunteer.’ – Addy Frederick

‘Build relationships and don’t feel like you always have to go it alone. Collaboration, supporting each other and working together makes us so much stronger.’ – Karen Campbell

‘Go for it, PR can be a fun and rewarding career so take the leap of faith and bet on yourself. Make connections, join networks and also consider getting a mentor.’ – Ebony Gayle

‘Don’t shrink yourself to fit in and build your professional circle – those who will celebrate your wins, and provide much-needed levity, advice or support when you need it most!’ – Kamiqua Lake

For more on the challenges women in PR face, check out our International Women’s Day piece for 2023 – How can the PR industry evolve for the better?