Challenges and triumphs of 2021 in comms

What were the biggest challenges and triumphs for comms in 2021?

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And we thought 2020 in comms, marketing and PR was difficult – 2021 brought yet more challenges, forcing everyone to adapt to the constantly changing environment we found ourselves in.

In this part of our series of features looking back at this year, and forward to the next, seven practitioners from across the industry share what they saw as the biggest challenges of 2021 and some of the organisations, people and brands that did great work in 2021.

Sarah Waddington, Astute.Work and #FuturePRoof
Main challenges of 2021?
‘The biggest challenge for comms practitioners this year has been battling fatigue. Working practices and client expectations have changed throughout the pandemic, in part through people working from home, and it seems to have exacerbated the ‘always on’ culture we’ve been trying to move away from. The biggest challenge for the year ahead will be managing this and re-establishing boundaries so the workplace is a happy and healthy one.’

Comms winners this year?
‘I thought the Don’t Be That Guy video by Police Scotland was particularly well thought out and timed in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard and following the wave of anger up and down the country relating to violence against women. It actually looked at the cause of the problem, rather than place responsibility onto women to stay safe.’

Sudha Singh, The Purpose Room
Main challenges of 2021?
‘The world has changed and like everyone else comms practitioners have had to adapt to the fast-changing world. I think the biggest challenge has been to understand how best we can serve our clients’ needs, help them to stay authentic and relevant. The other big challenge was providing adequate support to the disparate (and ever evolving) needs of team members and employees.’

Comms winners this year?
‘Brands that were true to their core purpose and were authentic were the winners – Zoom, IKEA, UK Gov Comms (…not politicians), Deliveroo, football campaign against racism, Raheem Sterling’s campaign, and the Aldi Free Cuthbert campaign.’

Gavin Devine, Park Street Partners
Main challenges of 2021?
‘Maintaining focus has been really difficult in 2021. The year has been a rollercoaster of lockdowns and normality, international travel being impossible and then opening up, office working prohibited, frowned upon and then encouraged. It hasn’t always been easy to know how in practice to deliver for clients and to keep colleagues motivated and positive. These challenges are not unique to comms but we perhaps feel them particularly acutely because often we have been called in to help clients shape and communicate their responses to COVID-19. Entering more of a ‘steady state’ of near-normality in the last couple of months has been an enormous relief.’

Comms winners this year?
‘I can think of so many individuals and organisations who had a bad year in terms of comms in 2021. There were few real winners, although it would be hard to argue that Kate Bingham and Nadhim Zahawi didn’t have a great year in terms of their personal ‘brands’.’

Emmanuel Ofosu-Appiah, Mercer
Main challenges of 2021?
‘One clear challenge has been constant news flow and sheer amount of change since the pandemic hit. This has made it harder for clients and stakeholders stories to penetrate into the mainstream. PRs really need to think about what they are sharing externally and what key messages they want to get across. There has also been a shift with organisations focusing more on ESG and sustainability issues which has required practitioners to think outside of the box to get their stories heard.’

Comms winners this year?
‘I was blow away by the FIFA and EA Sports campaign for The Kiyan Prince Foundation and QPR. It was a genius creative idea from Engine Group with such a strong and moving message following such an unfortunate incident. I know many young people will be inspired by the campaign.’

Anne Gregory, University of Huddersfield
Main challenges of 2021?
‘Resilience and stamina, given the relentless nature of the on-going crisis. Working remotely – the watercooler moments are so important to ‘temperature check’ the organisation, particularly what is happening internally. Major flop to digital/online working. Educating senior managers on how to be really competent in genuine communication and not talking in soundbites.’

Comms winners this year?
‘Pfizer, Unilever and health scientists!’

Tolu Rachel Akisanya, Ariatu PR
Main challenges of 2021?
‘Not just this year, but for several years now, is the industry has struggled with the ability – or lack of – to switch off. This has always been an issue, however with the pandemic and working from home, it’s been harder to separate work life and personal life. Especially when both happen in the same room now (my front room is both my office space and leisure space). Additionally, with the growth of new social media platforms and media outlets, it means we’re constantly consuming media, even in our downtime, which often means we never really ever switching off. Whether we consciously or subconsciously realise it, we’re always looking for the next opportunity or connecting with a new contact online or horizon scanning – it can sometimes be information overload.

‘However, this has led to a positive movement and we’ve seen the wider industry acknowledge this issue and work towards raising awareness, providing support and resources, and creating more open and wider discussions about how to improve the mental health and well-being of PR practitioners.’

Comms winners this year?
‘I’ve really enjoyed seeing the work Ariatu PR has done with podcasts, such as Broccoli Content and Coiled. In a market that is oversaturated, being able to ‘cut through the noise’ and deliver impactful campaigns, generate coverage (in the likes of the Financial Times and Stylist magazine) to raise awareness and lead to listeners, for shows that are not celebrity led, has been incredible.’

Stuart Thomson, BDB Pitmans
Main challenges of 2021?
‘In public affairs, we have had to put up with seemingly continuous outrage caused by the behaviour of some serving and former Parliamentarians and their lobbying activities. It has done little to help the reputation of politics or public affairs. The CIPR and PRCA have been very firm in their condemnation of the activities but sadly such behaviour damages us all.

‘A large part of public affairs is the development of relationships and, however good online activity is, there is nothing to really replace face-to-face interaction. The extended lockdown at the start of the year and now worries about another wave has curtailed that. We really do need to get back to normal in-person political activity.’

Comms winners this year?
‘The Beatles. The brand of a band that ceased to exist before even I was born continues to astound. The release of Peter Jackson’s Beatles documentary Get Back has been trailed and tantalised for more than a year building up on the anticipation of its release on Disney+. A great piece of communications.’

Read predictions for the trends PR and comms professionals can expect in 2022 here and start your campaign planning with Vuelio’s media, PR, public affairs and political services – find out more here.

Trends in PR and communications for 2022

10 PR and Communications Trends For 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Want more from the above thought leaders sharing their predictions?

accessmatters with Asad Dhunna from The Unmistakables

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

BDB Pitmans’ Stuart Thomson on public affairs in 2021

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

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

International campaigns

Ensuring effective and successful communications across different cultures

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This is a guest post by Life Size‘s PR Intern Martha Lane.

If you’re running an international communications campaign, adapting your approach towards each individual audience is essential. However, this means much more than simply translating content into the appropriate language. Instead, a deep understanding of each of your target cultures must form the basis of your campaign. Here is how to achieve this and set your international communications campaign up for success.

Stage 1: Check the relevance of your topic in your target country
A good place to start is to dedicate some time to researching how the topic of your campaign is viewed in your target country. While it would be easy to assume that consensus on your topic is similar to your native country, this won’t necessarily be the case. Your research should provide answers to some key questions, such as:

– Is your topic widely discussed in the news there? Is it discussed by the mainstream media, or is it limited to industry press?
– What is the political importance of this topic? Is there any relevant legislation in place in your target country that you should be aware of?
– What are the current societal or environmental impacts and benefits relating to this topic? How do they meet the current discussion about the environment or other ongoing social issues?
– Has it received any negative press, or do you get the impression that it is a sensitive topic? If so, it would be worth offering a fresh perspective that can provide a positive spin on the topic.

It is worth noting that negative or lukewarm press coverage on your topic does not have to be a disadvantage. Rather, you can utilise your communications campaign to be one of the first to highlight the benefits of what you are offering, giving you a unique position in the target market.

This is also an excellent time to identify your audience and decide who will be the best group to direct your campaign in a particular country. Once you have identified who you are communicating with, you can move on to the next vital step: working out how to talk to them.

Stage 2: Take the time to understand the culture of your country
At this point, it’s essential to get to the very root of your target country’s culture, such as identifying the values and beliefs that form its basis. This may sound quite overwhelming, but some useful models can be used to break down cultures into a handful of the most important underlying characteristics.

Hofstede and Trompenaars are two cultural experts who have created models that, though built with business management in mind, are equally applicable in the world of international communications. Both see culture as existing on various spectrums, within which any culture can be placed with considerable accuracy. This way of quantifying culture makes the job of communicators slightly easier.

Of course, there is variation within cultures, so the models should be applied with a degree of caution to avoid stereotyping, as personal experiences within cultures create differentiation. But the research of these experts has found that there are some predictable ways in which people within a certain culture are the same, especially when it comes to the workplace, making them valuable guides.

Stage 3: Use research to adapt content to your culture
Having researched the reception of your topic in your country, now is the time to use the understanding you have gained from the cultural models to adapt your tone. Ask yourself, how does your audience want to be spoken to? This is a crucial stage of the process that requires thorough planning. It’s easy to lose your audience in the delivery of your campaign due to cultural misunderstanding, no matter how relevant your product or service is to them.

Final stage: Don’t forget the simple things
There are the more routine details of a communications campaign to consider that may seem obvious but can be easily missed when dealing with the more complex aspects. Before releasing content, make sure to consider:

– Translation: aside from making sure your communications are translated accurately into your target language, check the translation of your product or service – make sure it isn’t offensive or hasn’t got a confusing double-meaning.
– Time zone: what time are you sending out content for your campaign in your target country? Make sure you respect any time difference and different working days.
– Visual materials: the images you use as part of the campaign may also need to be adapted. For instance, make sure that images such as landscapes are relevant to your target country as they will then resonate more with the audience there.

Following all these steps should ensure that your international communications campaign will be a success. Admittedly, it can be a long and sometimes monotonous process. However, the potential negative impact if done incorrectly, and the high rewards if the time is taken to do so properly, make the thorough process outlined above worthwhile.

Connect with the right journalists, political contacts and influencers from around the world for your international campaigns with the Vuelio Media Database – find out more and book a demo. 

PR Recruitment Crisis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Combating COVID

Communications and Combating the Omicron Variant

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This is a guest post by Louise Flintoft, associate director at Onyx Health.

The UK’s public health is in a precarious position. We’ve all seen in the news that the Omicron COVID-19 variant has been identified as a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization.

At the time of writing, there are still a lot of unknowns about the new variant. However, early indications are that it is likely to be more transmissible than the dominant Delta variant and that our existing vaccinations are less effective against it.

In response to the uncertainty, the Government has announced a series of new measures to reduce the spread of the new variant. These currently include compulsory facemasks for public transport and retail, expanding the booster jab programme to all UK adults, new requirements PCR tests and isolation for people entering the country, and ten-day quarantine for people in contact with an infected person

The last cycle of lockdowns and compulsory COVID-19 restriction prompted one of the biggest acts of civil obedience in our peacetime history. With new restrictions looming, the Government will need to communicate behaviour change again to avoid a potential crisis. At Onyx Health, we are healthcare communication specialists and have some ideas about how we use the power of PR to re-engage the public.

Fighting COVID-19 fatigue
Let’s be honest; we’re all sick and tired of the pandemic. The success of the Government’s initial vaccine rollout and the removal of official legal restrictions earlier in the year had led many people to conclude that it was mission accomplished. However, the threat has never gone away, and it risks getting worse again.

One of the biggest dangers from a public health communication perspective is that complacency, and an unwillingness to take the potential new threat seriously, derails the effectiveness of the new rules. Re-engaging the public will be essential to make the latest changes work in practice. There is also a balance to be struck between taking things seriously and avoiding mass panic. This needs a strong, emotionally resonant message that the public can connect with.

Encouraging people to get masked up and booster jabbed to save Christmas can link behaviour change to a shared desirable outcome. Last Christmas was tough for us all. We all want to make this year’s festive season better than the last.

Helping our healthcare heroes avoid a winter crisis
The NHS is always close to the nation’s heart, but this is especially true during a public health crisis. It is arguably the closest thing we have to a national religion. During the first lockdown, the weekly clap for healthcare workers brought the nation together to thank those frontline staff who risked their lives to help us through the pandemic.

Today, the NHS faces a perfect storm of a new COVID-19 variant, the seasonal spike in winter flu cases and a general public fed up with the pandemic. Calling on people to follow the rules to help our healthcare heroes has the potential to reconnect people with that shared sense of solidarity we saw at the beginning of the pandemic. People may be willing to go the extra mile to help those who got us through the COVID-19 crisis by caring for our friends and loved ones.

Accelerating booster jabs and getting people doubled dosed
The booster jab programme was originally targeted at the elderly and vulnerable to increase their immunity to COVID-19. This week, the Government announced that it will be extended to all adults over 18 in the UK. Problems beset the initial rollout of booster vaccines for complex reasons, including the rollout’s speed, limited uptake, and confusion over eligibility. The expansion of the programme magnifies the scale of the communication challenge.

There are specific audience demographics that require specialised targeting. Increasing the immunity of those most at-risk through medical education is a key priority. We need to reach out to the elderly, vulnerable and underrepresented groups using community groups, local champions and NGOs to foster grassroots engagement and build trust from the ground up.

Another big issue is getting younger people doubled dosed. The figures show that people aged 25-29 are more vaccine-resistant and statistically less likely to have taken up the offer of a single or double vaccine dose. Targeting young people through viral content, social media influencers and pop-cultural icons provides part of the answer to create a generational mindset change. Getting through the latest stage of the pandemic requires a renewed collective national effort; as communicators, we need to do our bit.

Keep track of the conversation in the media with Vuelio’s Media Monitoring services and our sister brand Pulsar’s series of social listening solutions. 

Successful email campaigns

How to build strong foundations for a successful email campaign

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Elliot Ross, Email Evangelist, Taxi for Email (a SparkPost company), discusses the foundation of a successful email campaign, and it all starts with your messaging.

How’s your inbox looking? If you are anything like me you receive dozens of emails every day, a good chunk of which you don’t have the time or the inclination to open, let alone read.

The question of how to get your branded email messages opened has been focusing the minds of marketing managers for well over two decades now. As the number of emails people receive has increased, so marketers have been forced to adopt ever more cunning ways of securing an opening. But why is it that we read some emails and consign others to the junk folder?

In spite of what some gurus claim there is no magic formula to getting your brand’s emails opened. There are however some golden rules to follow which will maximise your email’s chances of success and set you on the path to becoming an expert at creating the right branding and messaging for your emails.

Begin with a strategy rooted in your brand’s values
Before you even think about sending your first branded emails you need to ask yourself a few questions. Why am I sending emails as opposed to engaging on other platforms? What am I hoping to achieve? And most important of all, what does success look like?

There are five key things to consider when you are setting out your strategy:
1. What are your email goals? Think about what you want to achieve from the emails you are sending and whether email really is the right channel to help you reach that goal.
2. Who is your audience – your subscribers? What email clients do they use? What’s the support for these devices/web clients?
3. What is the one thing you want your reader to do after opening your email? This is another key place to ask yourself if email is the right channel to use?

Think about the timing of your email send. Don’t just guess when the best time to send your email will be. Look back at previous send data and make a decision informed by this previous data. 5. Outline success measures before you start. Tracking things like downloads, clicks, opens, and revenue is great, but consider setting up A/B testing for different copy or segments.

By detailing the above into an overarching strategy before you start sending your emails, you can make creative emails whilst not going off-track with the email’s overall purpose – keeping you emails in sync and recognisable to subscribers.

What kind of language are you going to use?
The most important factor when writing copy for the email is that the wording should be authentic and reflect your brand. If you work for a B2B company whose target is senior executives write in an appropriate way for that audience. Authenticity is essential for building trust and ensuring that people know that what you are saying is legitimate.

Being able to personalise email content could also help build up authenticity and trust. Is there a way you can address an individual that takes into consideration the data you already have on them? Optimising your email by making it relevant to specific audience groups will also help. Think about geographical regions, types of customers, customer preferences, etc. That way you can deliver relevant messages to either audience as opposed to one blanket email.

Remember what your email’s primary role is too. Do you want it to be informative and supportive in building a relationship between you and your customer or are you more focussed on seeking instant clicks through to your website?

The winning formula for effective email design
Creating an email strategy also encompasses working on design guidelines. These are not just helpful for designers, but anyone involved in the email process. Guidelines can be a huge time-saver and enable you to produce high-quality emails without spending too much time going back and forth with your designer. You will need to consider ideas around fonts, colours, spacing and dimensions to keep your emails recognisable with your readers.

Ultimately the two key principles of email design are:
· Create something that is both beautiful and functional that will entice your recipients into reading to the end.
· Create a design that reflects your existing brand values, which are then consistent across every communication you send.

The answer? Use an email design system (EDS), where you can set up structured templates that empower your designers creatively, but at the same time enable them to work quickly and efficiently within set boundaries.

Once the structure is agreed you can work on the design elements and start to bring in other elements of your brand, such as bespoke imagery or illustrations, GIFs and embedded videos.

Consistency is king and the importance of branding
No matter who is making and sending your branded emails, they should always be consistent, even if you work with dispersed teams who are responsible for creating emails for different products or services.

Unless it is the first email you have sent, it won’t be seen by your reader in isolation. They will have seen and interacted with your branding on other platforms, so in order to strengthen your brands perception, your email design needs to be consistent with these.

Creating a library of assets your team can use to speed up email creation whilst adhering to consistency will help. If you have a core EDS for all parts of the business, updating brand assets will be much more manageable and spotting anomalies will be far easier. You could also look into building a set of sub-templates for each product or service within the brand, with altered footers, contact details and logos, so anyone creating an email will have the elements they need to create something aligned with the brand.

Navigating the minefield that is dark mode and accessibility, and how to get it right
One of the biggest challenges for email designers is to create striking emails that also work in dark mode – the extension that helps you quickly turn the screen (browser) to dark at night-time.

To ensure your emails adapt to recipients using dark mode, you may want to consider using transparent PNGs and add a white outline around elements in your EDS. You will want to think about designing your default images for dark mode, such as social icons, logos, link colours etc. and how they’re going to contrast with the dark background.

You will need to think about accessibility too. Smaller text and thin fonts might enable you to pack more into your email, but if short-sighted readers can’t see what you have written then you have wasted your time. It is also imperative to avoid walls of text. If the copy looks too cluttered, try to split it into a few paragraphs.

Summary
Preparation, strategy and messaging are everything to an email marketer – giving customers a consistent experience regardless of where they see your brand. And if you can construct creative, yet stringent guidelines you will save yourself and your design team so much time.

Email isn’t a website, but it is a good opportunity to replicate key website aspects such as navigation and CTA style. The chances are, if someone has seen your website you will be retargeting them at multiple touchpoints. And email needs to sit within the brand framework to offer users the consistency they would expect.

Find the right journalists, influencers and high-profile people in politics to target with your upcoming campaigns with the Vuelio Media Database – find out more and book a demo. 

How to get inclusion right in PR and comms

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anouska Leon and Rebecca Wagstaffe

PRCA relaunches Business Development Group

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The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) has relaunched its Business Development (BD) Group with co-chairs Rebecca Wagstaffe of 3 Monkeys Zeno and Anouska Leon of Richmond & Towers.

The relaunched group will aim to help PRCA members with business development activities by sharing materials on best practice, insight and opinion. Part of this will be its 7 December inaugural event with partner Ingenuity to explore the evolution of business development within the last 18 months as well as how agencies can make sure their channel strategy is right for attracting new business. Tickets for the free event can be booked here.

New co-chair Rebecca is the Head of Business Development & Marketing at 3 Monkeys Zeno, helping its European offices.

‘When it comes to agency growth, business development has always acted as the thread that ties together a company’s functions or departments,’ said Rebecca. ‘Coming out of the pandemic, our role as experts needs to be more sharp-focused than ever and I am very excited to co-chair this group, helping hone skills and best practice to develop the brightest minds in business development across our industry.’

Co-chair Anouska began her career in corporate sales before making the move into the creative industries. She moved to Richmond & Towers in 2014. Of the importance of the BD Group, she said:

‘Agency growth is always a top priority, but the last two years have shone a spotlight on Business Development like never before, proving once again that it is the lifeblood of agencies. During uncertain times, the going gets tough for BD professionals and the last 18 months threw a few curveballs our way with everything on Zoom, clients and prospects working from home and navigating the sensitivities of ‘selling’ during a global pandemic.

‘The inevitable consequence is ever more stringent procurement processes, budgets that need to ‘work harder’ and a focus on delivering tangible ROI.  I’m thrilled to have been invited to take up the position of co-chair of the PRCA Business Development Group during such an exciting period of change.’

Ingenuity’s CEO and founder Chris Kemp sees lots of opportunity for PRCA members:

‘As part of Ingenuity’s ongoing relationship with the PRCA, we’re thrilled to be working closely with the leading PR and Communications trade association to help their agency members understand the true potential of new business and B2B sales & marketing. We’ll be exploring the themes that are consistently of relevance to business development professionals, and to their agency’s growth potential.

‘Having worked with hundreds of leading agencies in our 16 years, and running 160+ pitches annually, we’ll be collating insights from both sides of the fence to deliver workshops around best-in-class agency shop windows, what brands are truly looking for in their partners, how to win pitches virtually and the evolution of effective channel strategies. This also coincides with a new chapter for our Events (link), of which PR, Social and Content will continue to be a focus next year.’

More information on the Business Development Group can be found here on the PRCA website. To book tickets for the 7 December event, find out more here.

To keep track of your business development, try Vuelio’s Stakeholder Management solutions – book a demo.

Alex Silver

PR Interview: Alex Silver, director of Alex Silver PR

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Moving from a career as a Junior Sister in the Casualty Ward to beauty PR extraordinaire probably isn’t the most common way of getting into comms, but it’s led to 25 years of industry success for Alex Silver and her beauty, celebrity and digital agency Alex Silver PR.

Having started her business from her kitchen table, Alex has been at the forefront of many star-studded events, red carpet moments and headline campaigns over the years. Alongside a passion for building start up brands into household names, Alex also happens to be the publicist for some well-known and long-established clients (including Dame Joan Collins, no less).

Read on for the lessons she’s learned on building strong relationships with the media, why inclusivity is so important for success, and what to do if your client hasn’t been behaving quite as they should…

What are the main lessons you’ve learned through your career?
Always have a plan B! Things can change with the drop of a hat so having a backup option and being able to think on your feet is essential in PR.

It’s not a done deal until the papers are signed – contracts and agreements can still fall through, even at the last stages of negotiations.

Credibility is everything – bringing credible experts to a campaign is like gold dust.

Don’t skip the venue recce. Even if you’ve been recommended a venue by a reputable source, I always recommend popping down to map out your event – you don’t want any nasty surprises on the big day.

How do you think the pandemic has changed comms, and are the changes here to stay?
Well, we’ve certainly all mastered the art of zoom-events, but joking aside, I believe the pandemic has helped shape a modern communication approach in many ways. Many companies (including press houses) are still testing the water when it comes to their new hybrid working arrangements, and I don’t think we’ll fully see the outcome of this until the dust from the pandemic settles.

In the meantime, communications should accommodate both in-person and online arrangements across meetings, events, launches, briefings and so on. Journalist contacts have shared that they enjoy online events as they don’t lose precious time travelling to/from venues and a recent influencer poll that we ran showed a 50/50 split in their popularity.

Celebrities are being increasingly held to account for bad behaviour/outdated views – what approach would you take with a high-profile client that runs into trouble with this?
Crisis management is at the core of many PR campaigns, whether you’re working with a celebrity or not. The art of addressing issues in a sensitive, effective and timely manner is an art that takes a carefully thought-out strategy.

It’s a case-by-case issue but sometimes it’s simply best to hold up your hands and apologise. Education and information on the topic at hand is key here – why has this caused upset and how can the talent become informed on this so that this doesn’t happen in the future.

Which high-profile celebrities/politicians/brands do you feel have really great PR teams (apart from your own clients, of course!)?
People change teams often and can make a blunder at any point so it’s hard to say, however I did see something recently that I was impressed by! At the end of October, Chief Exec and Founder of Spanx surprised employees with two first-class plane ticket and $10,000 each to celebrate the company’s $1.2billion deal with Blackstone. The announcement was filmed live on Instagram and showed employees crying with happiness. The news was quickly shared around the word on national news sites such as The Independent, Good Morning America, MSN and the New York Post. I think this was a very clever, effective, and of course, generous communication strategy. It certainly grabbed the headlines!

Which campaigns have you seen from big brands that have made you think ‘I wish I’d worked on that’?
I really loved the recent Dove Self Esteem Project. The campaign aimed to bring light to young people’s self esteem and help to raise awareness of the pressures that social media puts on developing minds. With a 15-year-old daughter, this really resonated with me and I’d loved to have been part of this campaign with Dove’s aim to have helped a quarter of a billion young people with educational courses by 2030.

Over your time in the industry, how have things improved for women practitioners?
Working within the beauty sector, the industry is saturated with women so, luckily, I haven’t felt being female ever held me back. I understand this is a big contrast to other sectors and that while some areas have drastically improved, there is still a lot to be done in order to close the gender equality gap.

What more needs to be done to make the industry more inclusive and welcoming, on gender, race and class?
An inclusive workplace culture is essential for a strong workforce of empowered employees. It needs to come from the top and I think the more people in power address these issues, speaking about them openly, the bigger changes we’re going to see. There’s so much that can and needs to be done. Everything from integrating inclusivity into core company values to building trust by encouraging a culture of frequent check-ins and creating safe spaces. There are small changes that everyone can do, no matter their company structure, and I think smaller companies need to incorporate this as much as larger ones.

How do you maintain good relationships with journalists?
Do your research! Journo friends often share frustrations at being pitched stories and items that would never fit within their column space. Keep up-to date with what your target journos are writing so that you can make your communications relevant and targeted. Building relationships is a hard balance in today’s climate; journalists are under more pressure and time constraints than ever. A catch up over zoom/coffee, carefully curated pitches and developing events/mailers that will attract attention, all go a long way.

It can be hard for people in PR to keep a healthy work/life balance – how do you manage this (If you do…)?
While there’s definitely a work-hard, play-hard culture in PR, I think it’s about striking balance in all areas of your life. I like to get up earlier in the week so that I can have a bit of ‘me’ time, I’ll kick off with a run around Primrose Hill with my puppy Bella or a yoga session. In the evenings you’ll either find me catching up with a friend over a cocktail (or two) or unwinding with my latest book in an aromatherapy bath. My advice? Find what works for you and block out that time for yourself!

What do you think the big trends will be for comms and PR in 2022?
Honesty, transparency and sustainability. Gone are the days when we printed out press releases and posted them out in thick paper packages! Journalists, influencers and celebrities are rightly conscious of the packaging brands are using. It’s the PR’s job to advise on the most sustainable, eco-friendly ways of gifting and sampling products. This is a theme I expect to see become even more prevalent in 2022 with brands delivering what consumers are striving for – products which don’t harm the planet in their making. Online sharing of files and information is here to stay. In the same vein, while gifting can be a super effective way of communicating new launches, USPs and brand values, items should be considered, useful and something that the receiver will actually want or use. We’re increasingly seeing brands choose to give a charitable donation in the receiver’s name and I think this is another trend which might grow in popularity next year.

Authenticity is also a big theme in beauty. Consumers are highly informed on ingredients, ethos and social purpose. PR communications need to be carefully structured to authentically convey what the business stands for. I believe this movement for transparency, equality and positivity will continue to snowball in 2022. Good PR teams will set out guidelines and continue to learn, grow and adapt as the year progresses.

Monitor how your brand or clients are faring in the media with Vuelio Media Monitoring and get deeper analysis from our Insights team – find out more here.

5 tips for creating inclusive PR and communications campaigns

5 tips for creating inclusive campaigns

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Our latest accessmatters session focused on inclusivity and featured Asad Dhunna, founder and CEO of The Unmistakables. Recognised as a marketing industry changemaker and thought leader, Asad shared his experiences as someone who ‘didn’t quite fit in’ and decided to help with creating spaces for everyone.

Here is just some of the advice Asad shared for bringing inclusion into organisations and campaigns to represent and engage every audience out there…

1) Make space to make change within your organisation
Asad spoke about the importance of ‘inside-out inclusion’ – ensuring your own team is inclusive will build inclusive-thinking into your work, right from the start. Even the upcoming Christmas party brings opportunities to think about making changes for the better:

‘In my team, we’ve been talking about the Christmas party – the organisation of that can rely on what we’ve done previously – but how and who will feel included?

‘Take the time to ask yourself and not rush. If an event is centred around alcohol, will everyone be comfortable, will people feel safe? Create some space to think about this – how do we do things differently now?’

2) Market to your leadership team, too
‘If leadership don’t see a problem with inclusion at your business, show and frame it in a way that will be in line with what they’re thinking about.

‘If you work for an agency – you need to win new business. More and more, clients want to know what businesses are doing about this. If you’re taking a stance, this will attract new clients.

‘If you’re selling, how do you reach more people? If it’s a charity, how do you reach more donors. There is always a link between the bottom line and D&I.’

3) Support your organisation with long-term thinking
‘In marketing, we get addicted to the dopamine of “we’ve done something!” But how do you make inclusion a strategic priority?

‘Do a vision-setting exercise – what are the metrics we’d use as part of that? The sceond thing is to set those metrics, what are the KPIs? Ask, when we work with boards, is this a recurring item?

‘Because the change takes time and we live in an attention-deficit world, we want everything tomorrow. But we need to celebrate the small wins – we’re getting there. That helps keep the energy up.’

4) Avoid tokenism by amplifying the right voices
‘One way to avoid tokenism in campaigns is to define what we mean by ‘representation’– representative, of what, of where? If you’re targeting a certain demographic, is what you’re doing representing them, or the people you’d like to buy the product. How do you bring those people into the process?

‘Ask yourself what kind of representation you’re striving for. Is everyone on the team aligned on that? How does casting sit with the brand and who you’re trying to reach?’

5) Tell authentic stories
‘I think sometimes in the campaign development process, people can get attached to trends, and the latest influencers. It’s crucial to strip it all back – what’s the story? Who is telling it, and do they have the right to tell it?’

‘A past HSBC campaign I was involved in centred on transgender and nonbinary people being able to change their account details. They weren’t the first bank to do this, but their campaign told the story of Stuart, the person training employees on this. We didn’t put lots of bells and whistles on it – some people were going to hate it, because they hate the issue, but others would really love it. That’s how you do the authentic bit – tell the story.’

Find out more about our accessmatters here and catch up on some you may have missed this year in our round-up of previous sessions with industry thought leaders including Manifest’s Julian Obubo, The Social Mobility Foundation’s Sarah Atkinson and Taylor Bennett Foundation’s Melissa Lawrence.

Global ethics data

PRCA AND ECI collaborate on nation-specific ethics insight

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The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) and Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI) have rolled-out their collaboration on nation-specific ethics and compliance data, featuring commentary and insight from PR industry experts.

The data, pulled from the ECI Global Business Ethics Survey (GBES), will form country-specific fact sheets to be published over the following months. Each will highlight five key metrics: ethical culture strength; pressure to compromise ethical standards; observations of misconduct; reporting misconduct; and retaliation perceived by employees after they report misconduct.

The countries to be profiled are Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. With the mix of data and insight, the PRCA and ECI hope to start conversations on, and the adoption of, ethical management and strong standards across the global PR and comms industry.

ECI CEO Dr. Patricia Harned, who also serves on the PRCA Ethics Council, said:

‘Findings from the GBES provide indications of the strength of efforts by organisations to reduce wrongdoing and to promote integrity. To that end, we are pleased to partner with PRCA to distribute these profiles, and we hope that they will inspire authentic conversations in workplaces around the world.’
PRCA Director General Francis Ingham also commented:

‘The PRCA is committed to a truly global remit of elevating standards in the PR industry and beyond, inclusive of diverse nations and cultures, and with an understanding that PR ethics dialogues should not transpire solely through a Western construct. We share ECI’s commitment toward a data-centric approach, and the PRCA is most pleased to partner with the ECI team on this particular project, in service to the PR industry worldwide.’

The publishing of country-based GBES data with PR insights will begin this month and continue through the first quarter of 2022. The PRCA and ECI are also set to field GBES among PR/Communications professionals in 2022, with the results expected to be shared by April 2022.

With future GBES research projects, ECI aims to expand the quantity and diversity of data sets, with global inclusion. Find out more about the research here.

The AI and Big Data Readiness Report

Artificial Intelligence: Huge potential but the PR industry needs to know more

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The Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ AIinPR Panel report ‘AI and Big Data Readiness Report – Assessing the Public Relations Profession’s Preparedness for an AI Future’ has found that while the industry sees potential in artificial intelligence and Big Data, practitioners still have limited knowledge on the associated technicalities.

Set up to provide an overview of public relations’ preparedness for AI and how the industry can protect itself against its potential dangers, the report found that:

· 41.5% of PRs claim to understand what AI as a technology means but don’t consider themselves technically-minded
· Over one in three (38.9%) of the PR practitioners taking part in the report feel ‘excited’ about AI, while 3.9% feel ‘overwhelmed’
· 30% are familiar with the tech but wouldn’t feel confident applying this know-how to their job
· One in five professionals (20.7%) feel very comfortable using data and analytics as part of their work compared to the 8.2% who feel comfortable using AI
· Around one in five practitioners are familiar with the relevance of both AI and Big Data on comms and PR.

While a large number of PRs have limited knowledge of artificial intelligence and low confidence in using it (43.2%) in comparison to the much smaller number (13.9%) who feel ‘very comfortable’ with it, the report shows that the industry is optimistic and ready to learn – the issue will be knowing where to begin.

‘There is clearly a mix of optimism and fear in the PR industry with regard to AI – excitement at the potential and possibilities, and concern that the role of the practitioner will be eroded away,’ said CIPR’s AIinPR Panel Chair Andrew Bruce Smith.

‘There is clearly a willingness to learn and adapt – but knowing where to start and a lack of time, training and skills seems to be putting a brake on progress. However, doing nothing is not an option either. AI is already impacting every aspect of PR from strategic planning to writing content. Anyone who wants to have a valued and meaningful career in PR in the coming years should pay great attention to the implications and recommendations from this report.’

The #AIinPR Panel’s AI and the Professions’ report, which warned of the dangers of sleepwalking towards the inevitable changes coming up in the use of tech, was published two years ago now – its co-author Professor Anne Gregory believes not much has changed since then:

‘Unfortunately, nothing has really changed. The knowledge and skills that have been acquired, driven partly by the COVID 19 pandemic, have been largely tactical. We need to get a strategic grip and determine for ourselves what our enhanced role and contribution can be in the organisations we serve. Otherwise, others will make the decision for us and it won’t be in our favour.’

Find more information on the CIPR AI in PR Panel here on the website and check out our overview of 2019’s AIinPR Panel report here on the Vuelio blog.

6 stats on diversity from PRCA's UK PR and Communications Census 2021

6 stats on diversity from PRCA’s UK PR and Communications Census 2021

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This year’s PR and Communications Census from the PRCA has encouraging numbers when it comes to industry growth and the potential for even more next year. But how do we make sure all the important metrics are even better by the time November makes its way back around?

We’ve gathered some of the key points on diversity and representation from 2021’s report – make note of the numbers that need boosting as we head towards this year’s end and 2022’s beginning…

1) The industry is mostly female… but the pay gap isn’t in their favour
Non-binary gender identities aren’t included in this year’s census, which splits gender by male and female. The report concludes that in the UK PR and comms industry, 67% are female and 33% are male. As with almost every other industry known to humankind, this doesn’t mean women get paid more – in fact, they continue to be paid less, comparatively. The gender pay gap in our industry is lower than last year’s 14.8% in March and 21% in September, reaching a low of 12.7%. That’s going in the right direction, but isn’t quite there yet – 30% of those polled said ‘no’ when asked if their organisation was doing enough to address this gap.

2) The industry is mostly white… and the pay gap is in their favour
74% of the PR industry identify as ‘white British’, 13% as ‘other white’ and only 13% as ‘non-white’. While this is a 2% increase since last year, the ethnicity pay gap in PR is still shocking – a discrepancy of 16%. The data also shows the impact inequality on general wellbeing – those who identify as white are 10% more likely to rate their organisation as good or very good. On trust in the working environment, non-white respondents were 10% more likely to respond negatively when asked if there is a line manager they could confide to on mental and workplace wellbeing.

3) Overall, there are (slightly) more LGBTQ+ people in the PR workforce this year
The number of LGBTQ+ practitioners in PR and comms is higher than last year, but still lower than the national average. The majority (84%) of the current workforce identify as heterosexual, with only 5% identifying as gay or lesbian and 4% as bisexual (which has increased by 3% since 2020). Around 1% of those who took part in the census use another descriptor, and 6% prefer not to disclose their sexuality.

4) PR isn’t representative with disability yet
Around 5% of practitioners that took part in the census this year identify as disabled. While this is an increase of 1% since last year, there is far to go until our workforce truly reflects the audiences we aim to fully connect and engage with. For more on this, check out our interview with Disability@thetable host Mark Webb and PRCA Equity & Inclusion Advisory Council (EIAC) co-chair Sudha Singh from earlier this year.

5) Social mobility is a bit stagnant
To get an idea of social mobility among UK PR professionals, the census asked respondents to describe the main income earner in their household while growing up. The majority (40%) described the main earner as occupying a higher managerial, administrative and professional role. 25% grew up with a household earner in an intermediate managerial, administrative and professional role, while just 2% described them as casual and ‘lowest grade’ workers, unemployed with state benefits only, or state pensioners. On education, which is another key factor for determining mobility (as explained by The Social Mobility Foundation’s Sarah Atkinson in this accessmatters session), 27% have a Master’s degree and 74% have an undergraduate degree.

6) The industry is young
On average, at least. The median age of the public relations industry is 38, according to the census. Meaning there’s plenty of time for those in PR and comms to improve on the numbers included above – let’s get to work…

Read more on the PRCA UK and Communications Census for 2021 here and access the full report on the PRCA website. For more on this year’s trends and how they will form 2022’s, check out data from the ICCO World PR Report. 

ICCO World PR Report

Global PR industry profit expectations are almost 50% higher than last year

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The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO)’s World PR Report for 2021 – 2022 shows expectations of high profitability for the industry as well as great positivity for the future.

Produced in partnership with Opinium, the trends, opportunities and ongoing issues highlighted in the report include the impact of the pandemic, mental health, technology, the decline of AVE as an important metric and the growing importance of reputation and CSR.

Key findings from the report include:

– 79% of practitioners cited the pandemic as having an impact on their agency’s client fee income over the last year
– Agency heads pinpoint corporate reputation, purpose, CSR, and strategic consulting as potential high growth trends over the upcoming five years
– Formal mental health and wellbeing support for staff is only offered by 48% of global firms
– While the industry continues to search for new and meaningful metrics to measure success, global AVE usage is on the decline
– The most important technology for PR organisations in the future is Artificial Intelligence, according to report respondents
– Retaining top talent is the biggest industry challenge, according to 52% of respondents
– PR leaders polled in North America, Eastern Europe and Africa had the highest levels of agreement on the difficulties in differentiating between fake news and accurate information

When it comes to recovery following the devastation of the ongoing pandemic, results revealed in the report are good. Expectations of future profitability are particularly high in the United Kingdom, North America and Asia-Pacific, with 95% of all respondents expecting an increase in client income – a rise of 50% from last year’s report. In terms of optimism for the growth of the public relations market, the global average among PR leaders was 7.3 in a 10-point scale.

Where this growth could be triggered, according to respondents responsible for making the big decisions across our industry – IT and technology, healthcare, and financial and professional services. Among these areas of opportunity, the online needs of clients are a main consideration – three of the top four areas PR firms are planning to invest in are digitally-focused (social media management, multimedia content creation and influencer communications).

‘The numbers within this year’s ICCO World PR Report show a resurgent industry, growing again, and having proved that its fundamentals were absolutely sound,’ said ICCO chief executive Francis Ingham. ‘They also show an industry that continues to have the best of both worlds -old school skills are still heavily in demand, but insight, corporate reputation management, and strategic counsel continue to power ahead.

‘Against the backdrop of such positive news, it is of course important to be realistic. Challenges of ethics, fake news, talent, mental health and diversity remain.

‘While our industry is recruiting again at scale, there will be practitioners reading this report who lost their job and who are yet to find a new one; agency owners and managers whose agencies didn’t make it; people who have been scared mentally by this period. But to them, I would say that I hope the picture painted here provides grounds for optimism about the future.’

Find more information about ICCO’s World PR Report, and download the findings, here on the PRCA website.

Planning for a successful 2022 in comms? Check out how Vuelio’s Insight and Stakeholder Management services can help you.

For more data on this year in PR, and what’s coming up in 2022, read our overview of the latest UK PR and Communications Census from the PRCA.

PRCA PR and Communications Census 2021

Financially buoyant PR industry still has pay gap problem

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The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA)’s UK PR and Communications Census for 2021 has heartening financial results for the industry as a whole, but a clear message that more needs to be done on fair compensation for practitioners.

According to the Census, sponsored and carried out by 3Gem, the PR and comms sector has grown over 6% since last year and has contributed a record £16.7 billion to the UK economy. While 9% of practitioners were furloughed following March 2020, with 2% were made redundant, 69% are back to work full-time, with 26% now working part-time.

The long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are clear throughout the findings. Only 16% of practitioners are back to full-time in-office working. When it comes to mental health – a major pressure point within the profession, as shown by the PRCA’s recent Mental Wellbeing Audit – 40% of those polled admitted to suffering from mental ill health.

One long-term problem beyond the pandemic is the industry’s pay gap, which continues to be an issue. The current gender pay gap is 12%, with women earning an average of £48,293, and men an average of £55,312. The ethnicity pay gap is even worse, at 16% – 46% of white professionals earn over £50,000 on average, while just 32% of non-white practitioners earn an average salary of more.

‘I applaud the buoyancy in this year’s Census while welcoming you to the world of Black, Asian, mixed race and ethnically diverse practitioners,’ says PRCA REEB Chair Barbara Phillips.

‘Revenues up? Great! Let’s be rid of the 16% ethnicity pay gap. The PRCA Race and Ethnicity Equity Board has led the way in 2020 and showed everyone how. Employees returning to the office? Great; let’s dismantle the toxic cultures that meant many non-white groups found sanctuary working from home (especially Black women) and are now reluctant to come back to microaggressions and lower pay. It’s great to be back but let’s leave the discrimination behind and instead create psychologically safe cultures where all protected groups are welcomed, then perhaps, we can say our industry is finally moving in the right direction.’

‘While there are obviously many challenges ahead, our industry’s resilience has been verified,’ said PRCA Director General Francis Ingham. ‘Its value has been confirmed. And its future is a fantastically positive one.’

President of Women in PR Anna Geffert also sees great opportunity in the results of the Census:

‘The pandemic has opened the door for a reset – humanising the workplace and providing a real opportunity to place equality and diversity at the heart of our businesses. We are moving in the right direction, but now is the time to accelerate. The industry has proved its resilience and that should give us the confidence to reimagine how we recruit, promote and pay our colleagues; encouraging people from all backgrounds to join our incredible industry. The onus is on us to raise the bar.’

Read the full PRCA PR and Communications Census 2021 here on the website.

Find out more about PRCA REEB in our previous interview with its Chair Barbara Phillips. 

5 PR webinars and online events to catch up on

5 PR webinars and online events to catch up on

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The popularity of webinars and online panels boomed during the early days of the pandemic, and they continue to be extra convenient for those who can’t, or just don’t want to, attend in-person meet-ups and events.

Is that you? Here are five super-useful webinars and online panels for PR and comms pros that are worth a revisit or first-time viewing if you missed them…

Building better relationships between PRs and journalists
While the public relations and journalism sectors rely on each other for the mutually beneficial exchange of information and coverage, it can be a very difficult relationship. Journo Resources’ Jem Collins, national press and freelance journalist Faima Bakar and Freelancing for Journalists’ Lily Canter and Emma Wilkinson offered advice on building useful connections with journos working across a variety of sectors – watch it here or read our summary.

Building better relationships between PRs and journalists

One Step Forward Two Steps Black
UK Black Comms Network partnered with Opinium to conduct the first ever report into the lived experiences, pay and promotion of Black comms professionals – this webinar revealing its findings featured insight and reaction from the network’s founder and CEO Kamiqua Pearce, Opinium Research’s Susan Bello, Black Woman in HR’s Adesse Okojie and Birchwood Knight’s Seri Davies. Sign up to watch it via the UK Black comms Network and check out some of the key findings here.

Statistics on Black communications professionals

Neuro PR: Strengthening the Brain and Brand Connection
Harvey & Hugo PR’s managing director and Leader of the Pack Charlotte Nichols led this webinar on creating lasting impressions on your audience by engaging their minds with neuroscience. No pHd in brain chemistry required – watch and see how you can fire up neuro pathways with your day-to-day PR activities here. You can also read our write-up on the Vuelio blog.

Neuro PR Vuelio webinar

Discovering TikTok and Pinterest data
TikTok and Pinterest – two very different social media platforms filled with useful insight on audience behaviours and preferences. Luckily, there’s one place where you can mine both –the team at our sister brand Pulsar shared analysis of datasets from studies covered by Vogue Business and Elle Décor to demonstrate how to get the most out of data analysis. Sign up to watch here.

Discovering Pinterest & TikTok data

Making Sense of Net Zero – Corporate rewards of being in the climate action driving seat
This New Statesman live event from September featured The Climate Group’s Communications Director Luke Herbert, JLL’s Global Chief Sustainability Officer Richard Batten and Vuelio’s Insights Lead Amy Parry speaking on the risks and rewards for comms and PR teams leading on environmental action. Not only is working towards net zero the right thing to do, it will also future-proof your business. Sign up to watch the full webinar or read our summary of the key points.

Net Zero New Statesman webinar

Find out more about Vuelio’s webinars here.

Ready for more knowledge-sharing? Check out these Vuelio accessmatters sessions covering disability in PR, how to be antiracist and supporting transgender and nonbinary colleagues in this round-up.

6 reasons to stop using JournoRequests and start using the Journalist Enquiry Service

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

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In need of media coverage for your brand, client or research? Ransacking the #JournoRequest hashtag for asks from UK journalists might seem like a quick solution for finding contacts, but here are six reasons why you should give the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service a try instead…

1. Requests come straight through to your inbox
No searching required – relevant requests from UK journalists looking for contributions for their upcoming pieces (whether products for review, expert comment, statistics or survey results) are sent directly to the inboxes of Journalist Enquiry Service subscribers. And how often requests come through is up to you – sign up for a steady stream of requests as they’re released, or a daily digest of enquiries you might be able to help with.

Screengrab of ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service digest email

2. You’ll receive all the details you need
Sometimes 140 characters just aren’t going to tell you everything you need to help a journalist fill and finish their feature; you need to know exactly what they want, and when for. While you won’t want to read through an enquiry that’s the same length as the article the journalist is writing (nobody has time for that – certainly not the journalist), the Journalist Enquiry Form has enough space for the media professionals using it to be clear on what they want.

Screengrab of Journalist Enquiry Service email

You’ll find which publication they’re writing for, when the piece is likely to be published and more.

3. You can filter requests so they’re relevant to your specific sector
#JournoRequests is a busy hashtag filled with enquiries from journalists writing across almost any sector you can imagine – that’s a very noisy place to navigate when you need to find something useful for you, fast. The Journalist Enquiry Service, in comparison, requires journalists to target their requests to the sectors they’re writing about, right from the get-go.

Journalist Enquiry Service categories for journalists

Working in the Home & Garden comms space? The service has a category for that. After requests from fashion journalists? Retail & Fashion is for you. You can pick the request categories relevant to you when signing up and start receiving enquiries from UK journalists you can help with relevant contributions.

4. It’s secure
DM etiquette and email sharing doesn’t even have to be a consideration when starting a (hopefully long-term and fruitful) relationship with a journalist working in your sector. Once a journalist has sent their request via the Journalist Enquiry Service, contact between you starts through the service’s internal network. Email replies come via [email protected], until you’re ready to share your contact details.

5. You have a set deadline to work to
While there are many differences between those in comms and those working in the media, keeping to strict deadlines throughout the day are a necessity for both. Knowing when you need to get information over to a journalist is a vital part of information easily missed on tweet threads. Requests sent through the Journalist Enquiry Service include the date and time the journalist needs the contributions by, as well as when their piece is likely to be published. When request deadlines are up, they fall off of the system, meaning no confusion – just fresh requests to look through.

6. Journalists at high-profile media outlets use the service
The Journalist Enquiry Service has many different users working across the media landscape. As well as staffers and commissioning editors on national press dailies, there are freelancers writing for a variety of consumer and trade magazines, broadcast journalists reporting for mainstream television and digital channels as well as influencers with swathes of followers across social media. Many who use the service have created useful working relationships – instead of searching for journalist connections across social media, sign up for targeted requests from media professionals who want what you have to offer.

Examples of recent requests sent via the Journalist Enquiry Service

Find more information about becoming a ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service subscriber here.

Already a subscriber? Get the most out of the Journalist Enquiry Service with this piece on how to respond to journalist enquiries as well as these quick tips.

Get started now and track all your mentions across every type of media channel with Vuelio Media Monitoring.

COP26: what PR and comms need to know

COP26: What comms and PR teams should know

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‘We have fires, floods and droughts in all corners of the Earth currently. Many, many people are suffering in the Global South already with famine and untold hardship – our world is only heading one way. To be frank, Mother Nature will simply not allow us to slip back into “business as usual” after COP26,’ believes Compassion in World Farming’s Philip Lymbery.

Exhibiting in the Blue Zone and preparing to release a report into the impact of animal agriculture on the climate crisis later this week, Philip sees COP26 as ‘one of the most crucial meetings of nations the world has ever seen’. He isn’t alone. While the long-term impact of the decisions and agreements that will be made during the summit remain to be seen, business leaders, decision makers and the communications industries can – and should – support and continue what the summit has sparked; increased awareness of what needs to be done on climate change.

Read our sister brand Pulsar’s deep-dive into the social media conversation in the lead up to COP26.

‘There is significant movement in this space already, as many companies are starting to increase their plant-based offerings, manage food waste more effectively and promote more sustainable diets to their customers,’ says Philip.

‘Compass Group, IKEA, Aldi UK, Globus, Unilever, Tesco, Nomad Foods and Premier Foods are all doing good work promoting their sustainable diets and encouraging a decrease in meat consumption, for example.

‘Other noteworthy food brands are Barilla, who won the Compassion in World Farming 2021 Special Recognition Award under the Planet Friendly Award banner. Another example of action is McDonald’s UK & Ireland and Danone, who are actively working on regenerative agriculture projects.

‘The big brands across the world have a huge responsibility to accelerate significant change so that we can avoid dangerous climate change.’

Philip Lymbery

What can businesses do to continue the work, without greenwashing?

‘These days, greenwashing covers a range of claims, from the vague text on packaging to marketing USPs. Luckily for consumers, amidst a sea of companies and manufacturers under pressure to be more sustainable, regulators are becoming more proactive. However, it’s still hard to spot the integrity of claims and to a large extent consumers rely on companies fearing a loss of brand ‘trust’, should they over-exaggerate their environmental efforts and be discovered.

‘Some brands are prepared to act in some ways, for example, by introducing plastics recycling, but not in others. For example, Coca-Cola has been criticised for stating the business would not move away from plastic bottles on the basis that customers “preferred plastic”.

‘The tragedy is that many global brands have been caught greenwashing. It’s long past time for corporate technical and creative teams to work on becoming genuinely sustainable, rather than using smoke and mirrors marketing approaches.’

Optimism dominating talk about COP26

While the social media conversation leading up to the summit showed much optimism from the public, Sir Vince Cable’s take on the British Government’s previous assessment of the odds of a successful summit at 60:40 was that ‘my heart is with the 60%; my head with the 40%’. Does Philip agree?

‘I hope and pray that this will not be the case – the stakes are simply too high. It is easy to become pessimistic, but the world is watching COP26, conversations are happening and the future of our children, and their children, is in the balance.

‘However, according to national pledges already made, the numbers have been crunched and world leaders are falling short of the action that needs to be taken.

‘This is undoubtedly a time for unity and for all parties, all countries and all peoples to come together to help solve the greatest crisis we will ever face in our lifetime. We all have a part to play.’

Philip Lymbery is Global Chief Executive of Compassion in World Farming, Visiting Professor at the University of Winchester, President of Eurogroup for Animals, the Brussels-based umbrella for 70 leading animal welfare societies in Europe and founding Board member of the World Federation for Animals (WFA), a membership organisation that maximises the efforts and resources of the animal protection movement. Philip has also been appointed as a United Nations Food Systems Champion for the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit. He’s an award-winning author, ornithologist, photographer, naturalist and self-confessed animal advocate.

Read former leader of the Liberal Democrats and a former Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Sir Vince Cable’s look at COP here on the Vuelio blog as well as Green peer Baroness Bennett’s guest post on the importance of protecting our biodiversity.

For more on the importance of sustainability for future-proofing your business, download the Vuelio Insight Team case study Sustainability Initiatives and the Impact on Businesses.

Find out more about monitoring coverage of your brand, competitors and the issues that affect you in print, broadcast, online, blogs and social media.

Solutions for difficult clients

When client relationships go wrong: two sides of the story and a solution

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This is a guest post from ADPR owner and MD Kate O’Sullivan.

As much as I hate to admit it, client relationships don’t always turn out the way we expect or hope. If you work in the service industry, the chances are you will have experienced ‘that client’. The one where no matter how hard you try, something always feels off kilter and you constantly find yourself on the back foot. If you haven’t come across them yet, I’m sorry to say that you almost certainly will at some point.

Clients are critical to many businesses, and any decent service provider will endeavour to go above and beyond to keep them happy. Equally, it takes a lot of trust (and expense) for a client to allow an outsourced provider into their business. So, if it’s safe to assume that both the client and the service provider anticipate a successful relationship, why does it sometimes go wrong, and can anything be done about it?

One thing we can all agree on is that when a relationship fails it’s a horrible feeling and prevention will always be better than cure.

Rather than entering into a game of blame, let’s consider some of the common frustrations on both sides of the relationship, and whether a slightly different approach and a deeper level of empathy could result in ‘that client’ becoming a dream client.

That Client: The one who always lands something on you with an urgent deadline.

Your perspective:

You’ve started the week with an orderly task list and before you know it a client has asked you to complete a ‘quick’ unplanned task for them that is needed urgently. You know that you have deadlines to meet for other clients, you know that very few jobs are actually quick, and you also know the urgent deadline probably isn’t a matter of life and death.

You want the best for your client, so you juggle things around and work late to ensure you can complete the task without letting any other clients down. You finish work feeling tired and grumpy, and don’t feel that you’ve been given the time to do the task justice. You’re more than happy to put in the extra graft now and again, but when it becomes a habit it’s hard to avoid feeling frustrated.

Client’s perspective:

You’ve started the week with an orderly task list and before you know it your boss has asked you to complete an unexpected task for them. You’ve recently brought on-board a skilled provider to help you with such tasks, and really need their help if you’re going to get everything else on your list done, without letting anyone down.

You know it isn’t ideal, but the agency never seem to mind and always have time to help. In-fact, they’ve actively encouraged you to reach out if you need them. You’re actually under pressure to prove their weight in gold to your boss, so this is the perfect way for them to support you right now.

That Client: The one who ghosts you.

Your perspective:

You haven’t heard from a client for a while. A nagging feeling that something isn’t quite right starts to set in, and you start to imagine what you’ve done to upset them! You know they’re busy but you really need to speak to them in order to get the agreed work done. You’ve tried everything and there’s only so many ways to send gentle reminders without seeming like a) a complete nag b) desperate or c) a stalker.

You don’t know what else to do but you keep trying, because you really want to get good results for them.

Client perspective:

Your agency won’t stop hounding you! You have a huge task list and you have to prioritise. You have received a lot of emails from them and each one seems to be asking for something different.

You brought in an agency to help with your workload. They’re costing a lot of money and you don’t understand why they can’t be more self-sufficient. You do want to communicate, but surely there’s an easier way? The way they’re going about it at the moment isn’t helpful and you really don’t appreciate being nagged.

That Client: The one who likes to tell you how to do your job.

Your perspective:

There is nothing worse than being micromanaged! You’re an expert in your field and you know what you’re doing. Instead of placing value on the work you’re producing, the client does nothing but question or make changes to everything you do. Nothing is getting signed off in time and all of the amends are starting to knock your confidence. The situation is preventing you from achieving results and you are wasting precious time and budget making unnecessary changes. You can sense your client’s dissatisfaction, but you know you’re right and they don’t seem to listen!

Client perspective:

You had great hopes for your agency and want to be wowed by them, but you don’t really like the work they’re producing. They keep explaining why they’ve done something in a certain way, but it’s not the way you would do it, and they don’t know your business the way you do! You don’t have time to be ‘correcting’ their work and are rapidly losing your patience as well as your trust in their ability to deliver.

Good communication is always the solution!

Whether you sit on the side of the client or the service provider, you’ve probably encountered at least one of the above scenarios. It probably comes as no surprise that establishing good communication and clear boundaries from the outset will always be the best way to prevent problems further down the line.

In reality, new relationships are often seen through rose-tinted glasses and this step often gets overlooked among the excitement of winning a shiny new client.

Learn from experience and invest some time thinking about the reasons why previous relationships have come to an end and how they could have been prevented from the outset. Make a conscious effort to pre-empt all eventualities by discussing them with your client in advance.

For example, the above scenarios could have been avoided by the following:

Let your client know that you understand that last minute things happen and you will always try to help. But if they want to be certain of your assistance they need to try and give you adequate notice to do the job (and be sure to spell out what you deem to be adequate!). Of course, if something really is a matter of life or death – drop everything and help!

Ask your client how they like to be communicated with and how often. Make them aware that you will need their input and let them know what they can expect and what is required from them. Agree a communication process and always encourage them to give you more than one point of contact to go to when urgent information is requested.

Make sure your client is fully aware of your expertise and always explain the rationale behind the decisions you make and the approach you’re taking with your work. Encourage them to focus on the outcomes rather than the outputs and make it clear that they are hiring experts, not yes men.

If your gut is telling you that something isn’t right in the relationship, don’t bury your head in the sand, instead address the situation. Uncomfortable conversations are never easy, but it will always be better than crossing your fingers and praying for change! Most clients will respect your integrity and will welcome the opportunity to discuss the issue with you before it escalates further.

Remember that you never need to accept outright rudeness or abuse from your client. We are all human and all have a right to demand a basic level of respect from others. Sometimes the chemistry just isn’t right and when this happens it is better to face the situation, draw a line under the experience, hold your head high and move on.

The reality is that once a client relationship turns sour it can be difficult to recover, but it isn’t impossible. The key thing to keep in mind is that everyone will have entered into the relationship with the right intention, and nine times out of ten a negative situation can be resolved through good communication and compassion for others.

For keeping track of your client and stakeholder communications, check out Vuelio’s Stakeholder Management solutions. 

A week in the life of an in-house PR

A Week In The Life Of An In-House PR (and what to consider when looking for an in-house role)

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This is a guest post from Prezzybox PR & marketing executive Alex Spencer.

As in-house PRs, it’s the job of me and my colleague Chloe to manage Prezzybox’s brand reputation, promote the brand as much as we can, plan and run events and, of course, secure coverage – both in print and online.

But our roles don’t stop with PR. Like many other in-house PR roles, our jobs extend to copywriting, creating email newsletters and even getting involved with design!

Here’s an insight into life as an in-house PR exec…

Monday

It might only be mid-October, but we’re in the full swing of Christmas here at Prezzybox HQ. In fact, for us, planning for the festive period starts in June and doesn’t slow down until the day itself.

People always ask us if focusing so much on Christmas makes it harder to enjoy it, but we’re the complete opposite – the more time spent talking about the festive season, the better! We do have a ban on playing Christmas songs in the office until November, though. We’re not crazy…

Chloe starts the week off by sending some product samples out to journalists at top-tier publications for their Christmas guides. We check every journo request that comes through because we can often help journalists out with high-res imagery and samples. It goes without saying that reacting quickly to these requests is key!

As every PR does, we also start the week by checking our social feeds, the news and what’s trending.

Tuesday

We recently attended our first in-person event since the start of the pandemic – The Big Christmas Press Show – where we showcased our favourite gifts for Christmas, and we spotted coverage today that we secured as a result of the show.

We’re also working on gathering data for our hero Christmas campaign, the idea for which came up completely randomly in a meeting (about something else, bizarrely). It got everyone in the office talking, so we decided to turn it into a full campaign! Watch this space…

Wednesday

A big part of my role is ensuring all of Prezzybox’s communications are on-brand and our tone of voice is consistent. I spend most of the day writing copy for our newsletters, and get some product description copy done, too. I absolutely love the variety of my job.

My colleagues and I also get together to discuss how we’re going to push our Christmas campaign. We figure out a strategy and come up with a plan B (and C!) too. As every PR knows, flexibility is key!

Thursday

Today we’re discussing next year’s events (yep – already). We’ve taken part in some awesome virtual PR events in the last couple of years, for obvious reasons, so we’re deciding which would be best for us to continue with. We think a mix of in-person and virtual events is definitely the future.

We’re also testing out some of our new products in the office today. And by ‘testing out our products’, we mean cracking open boxes of our personalised Celebrations.

Friday

We end the week on an exciting note – choosing how to redecorate the office. Some of us are back in the office part time and we’re thinking about how we can extend our branding to the walls! We already have the best office, thanks to our resident dogs and goats, but talk of neon Prezzybox signs, flower walls and floating egg chairs has got us excited… it doesn’t take much, really.

Things to consider when looking for an in-house role

1. The brand

Working as an in-house PR means working for one brand, and one brand only. Spending every day thinking about how you can promote the company you work for is heaps easier when you genuinely love the brand, and what it stands for!

2. The role

Many in-house PR roles encompass much more than just PR. My role isn’t just about gaining coverage – it’s my job to make all of our communications consistent and on-brand. My week varies from securing product PR to acting as the brand’s spokesperson to building email newsletters to writing blog posts. I love the variety, but it’s worth bearing in mind.

3. The team

Will you be part of an in-house team focusing on PR or will you be a one-person band? Will you have the budget to outsource work to PR agencies or freelancers if you need to? Knowing what resources you’ll have and what you’ll be expected to achieve is key before you make the move in-house.

Looking to help with finding and listening to your audience to make connections? Try out Pulsar’s social listening solutions and Vuelio’s media database and media monitoring.