Media Monitoring

How podcasts shared the story of water pollution

Listen up: News podcasts share the story of water pollution in the UK

October 31, 2024/0 Comments/in PR, Communications, Media, Podcast PR, Press and Bloggers, Media Database, Media Monitoring, Media Analysis Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Bad news has the ability to spread quickly in our hyper-connected modern world of multiple platforms. For PRs, this means more channels to monitor than ever before for signs of crisis… but it also provides extra ways to boost important stories, connecting audiences to vital information.

One crisis with far-reaching implications for the UK audience over the last few years has been polluted waterways. This issue was put to politicians in the run-up to our General Election this summer, discussed with frustration across social platforms, and covered by the media in print, online, and in podcasts.

To highlight the impact of the podcasting format as an increasingly useful way to connect with audiences, we tracked the story of water pollution in the UK, and internationally, across podcasts from 1 November 2021 to 29 September 2024.

So many podcasts… and for good reason

2022’s Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers’ report on podcasting projected that the industry would generate $2 billion in revenue in 2023, and $4 billion by 2024. The prediction of podcasting’s emergence as a format for storytelling has proved right – not just among friendship groups sharing anecdotes on their sofas (of which there are many), but for publishers, too.

The Daily Telegraph’s political editor Ben Riley-Smith highlighted podcasts as ‘a huge booming area for news consumption’ when speaking on the changing political landscape in the UK in 2023, and other publishers and big media brands have capitalised on this in 2024:

‘It makes sense for publishers to be moving towards the podcast space,’ believes Reach Studio’s head of content Yara Silva, whose team launched The Division Bell podcast to coincide with the UK General Election, and the Euro Thrash vodcast for Euro 2024.

‘People are just busier and busier – it’s so easy to consume a podcast while you’re doing other things. Podcasts are only going to get bigger and more important to publishers’.

The importance of news podcasts to audiences is also clear when tracking mentions of the format on X since 2021:

Mentions of news podcasts reached a zenith on X in June 2023 as the industry ‘boomed’, and it continues to be a source of discussion on social media. It’s now a firmly established format to turn to for news, with listeners/viewers no longer posting about a ‘podcast’, but specific shows, namechecking where they heard about certain topics.

Examining mentions of the two biggest podcasts in the UK – The Rest is Politics, which launched in March 2022, and The News Agents, launched in August 2022 – proves podcasting’s utility as a news source. Peaks occur around key events in the news cycle – the obvious example being the UK General Election causing a spike in mentions for both podcasts this summer.

Podcasts aren’t just for entertainment – they are also turned to by the public as a way to stay informed on events happening around the world, as well as closer to home.

How podcasts reached audiences with reports of water pollution

Water pollution is an issue faced across the world to varying degrees – tracking related news shows a firm focus on the topic in UK and US regions especially. Following mentions also shows how these stories reached further audiences with publisher-affiliated podcasts.

UK media outlets including BBC News and The Guardian have an outsized impact on the global conversation. Their influence on ‘greener’ socially progressive conversations is to be expected within their UK base, but this international dominance is surprising… Until the impact of their podcast brand extensions is considered. Both outlets reported on water pollution, and then took up the story in their podcasts to share extra information and delve deeper into the specifics. By contrast, US and Australian outlets like The Washington Post or ABC Australia produced a significant amount of written content, but did not fully utilise their podcast channels.

The ‘boom’ of podcasting as a format for news reporting isn’t just the result of a faddish focus within the publishing industry – audiences are listening (and watching, when there is accompanying video). PR and comms teams tasked with raising awareness by securing coverage in the press should expand their focus to aural formats alongside the traditional written word – important stories can reach audiences across every platform out there to engage with.

For connecting with podcasts relevant to your brand or niche, try Vuelio’s Podcast Monitoring – providing access to 65k podcasts as well as insight into audience sentiment and emerging trends within the world of audio content.

Not sure which platform is right for your next campaign? Check out the benefits of each social media platform – and how Vuelio can help you make the most of them – in this blog post.

TikTok Journalism: The platform’s impact on news audiences

October 23, 2024/in Media Monitoring, Political Database, Political Monitoring, Media Database /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

The emergence of short-form video has forced an evolution in news rooms and editorial teams across the publishing industry at large. Media organisations big and small have adapted to audience appetite for quick updates across apps, and PRs must be prepared to switch platforms when necessary.

Our new report ‘TikTok Journalism: the platform’s impact on news audiences’ uncovers audience patterns and the impact this is having on journalism by analysing online news and social media data from 1 January to 20 October 2024.

We examine how mainstream media channels are utilising video to reach new audiences, and the rising influence of independent ‘citizen’ journalists sharing news in vertical formats.

This report covers:

How, and why, public and media interest in TikTok journalism has grown so quickly
The most influential voices and the audiences they attract
What the rise of this new type of journalism means for ‘hard news’, including elections and global politics
The rise of news as entertainment

Fill in the form below to download the report

Lifelines for local journalism: How the media is reconnecting with communities

October 17, 2024/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, PR, Communications, Media Media Database, Media Monitoring, Media Analysis, PR, Press and Bloggers Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Aiming to engage local audiences with media outreach for an upcoming PR campaign? First for the bad news, and then for the good…

Fortunes have undoubtedly been rather bleak for local journalism in the UK for a while now. Newspapers relied upon by their local communities for generations have closed in favour of shiny new centralised news hubs. Long established publishers have been bought out and absorbed into larger organisations. Where did the readers go? Many to social media, joining private Facebook groups or following hashtags on X to find out what’s happening in their area – risking misinformation, and further increasing the pressure on existing local journalists.

But now for the good news: local journalism is fighting back. It’s the perfect time for comms teams tasked with connecting with communities across the country to take another look.

To examine the ways local journalism is making a comeback across the UK, we analysed mentions of the phrase across online news and social media from 2019 to 2024. The story told by the data – a more positive outlook for the UK in comparison to other regions across the world.

What renewed public interest in local journalism?

Examining spikes in discussion of ‘local journalism’ across the UK in comparison to the US highlights commonalities in times of increased interest over the last four years.

To be expected – April 2020’s discussion of local journalism spiking as the effects of the pandemic on the job market also hit newsrooms. In the US, posts focused on job losses at papers including the Tampa Bay:

Support from local journalism came from senators in Virginia and even Ben & Jerry’s in Vermont. Since then, interest has tended to taper off. That is not the case within the UK.

Back in 2020, #buyapaper trended as local outlets faced closures, with reminders to support local journalism coming from within the media itself, and the public:

January 2022 saw a huge spike in discussion around local journalism in the UK, driven in part by recognition for the stories it remained capable of breaking, even after successive years of declining budgets and readerships.

Political controversies and coverage in the wake of, and run up to, our respective election seasons in the UK and US are causing discussion of local journalism to rise in both regions again. While trust in ‘mainstream’ media channels has fallen, confidence in localised reporting appears, by comparison, to have strengthened.

A ‘continued rise in community journalism’ was how Sefton Council’s senior communications officer Ollie Cowen described this trend when talking about his team’s task to raise awareness of changes in UK voting laws across the UK in 2023. They reached out to local reporters to do this, also making the most of ‘geographically centred pages on social media that had either been created or grown exponentially as a result of the increase in “good neighbour” behaviour during lockdown.’ As the pandemic kept people apart physically, it would eventually bring local communities back together – this has been a boon for local journalism, too.

Publishers and journalists have had to find news ways to connect with audiences and rebuild followings in the wake of how the world changed – advocating for communities across the UK with targeted, audience-first reporting.

For an example, let’s head to Manchester…

‘What local journalism should be about’: The Manchester Mill finds its community online

The Manchester Mill was launched in June of 2020 by Joshi Herrmann, a journalist with experience at national outlets including The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Telegraph, the Evening Standard, and The Spectator. Unlike these publications, the Manchester Mill is not available on newsstands to pick up in person, but is instead accessible online on Substack, a newsletter platform.

‘The Mill is my attempt to build a media company around readers rather than advertisers,’ reads Herrmann’s mission statement. ‘We won’t copy and paste press releases. Instead, we will dig deeper into local stories that matter – whether they are about crime, culture, business, or new ideas.’

The Manchester-focused Mill publishes one in-depth article via email and online daily to paying members (also known as ‘Millers’), and provides a free option in the form of a weekly digest email. This is paying off in both engagement and revenue. Meanwhile, its journalists have become part of the local ecosystem, helping to spur engagement with other localised reporters and continually grow the audience for the publication.

In terms of the most influential local voices, Herrman himself drives much of the conversation, generating the most engagement overall with almost as many posts as the main Mill account.

Manchester Mill employees actively share news articles and express positivity about their contributions to local journalism and the work the Mill is doing – something its community of ‘Millers’ are also grateful for. Subscribers number 50k so far, with reader reaction to its success highlighting commitment to community ‘collaboration’ and its focus on breaking important stories, including its Sacha Lords scoop.

Summing up this commitment to localised reporting, senior editor Sophie Atkinson said ‘Nowhere else do you get this level of engagement, comments, emails, tips. It’s exciting and rewarding’. And, from looking at the numbers, it’s working.

Nichification: Success in Suffolk?

Centralised news hubs dolling out automated updates to readers living across the country removed journalism from its audience in other ways than the physical. How can local news publications reconnect with locals? By tapping into existing loyalties through coverage of local heroes – their sports teams.

By analysing how often audiences (and other media outlets) link to these publications, we can get a sense of what’s driving growth or re-engagement among audiences.

Clearly, sport is playing an outsized role here – and the story becomes clearer still when we break things down on a topic-by-topic basis.

Outside of the football pitch, engagement goes to reporting on the local environment, including stories on crime (with spikes for fox hunting and a local criminal case) and amenities (road closures, criticism of Anglian Water, and the construction of a local solar power plant).

It could be argued that the extra interest – and potential revenue – driven by engagement with a local team (one experiencing its greatest success in decades) is in some senses underwriting more traditional local journalism topics. Recent promotional campaigns from The East Anglian Daily Times suggests they certainly view it this way, touting a subscription model that appears closest to that of The Athletic (which sells subscriptions based on unparalleled attention on local teams).

However, this comes with two potential problem points. Firstly, the financial implications of this engagement (whether it is truly able to support dedicated local journalism over a prolonged period) is yet to be tested, Likewise, a local team enjoying back-to-back promotions to the Premier League is hardly a model for all local journos.

Similarly, some would point to the Mill’s success and suggest it could only work within parcels of the wider country – namely those boasting large, youthful populations.

Whether or not these approaches could work for the local journalist scene at large, it proves that publishers and journalists are continuously finding ways to breathe new life into a sector long neglected. A local football team cannot be counted on to drive a mass of feelgood engagement – but it does provide a model for nichification, around sporting or cultural institutions. Likewise, the Mill shows the opportunity latent in an increasingly tech-savvy population, used to getting its news via non-traditional means.

The story told by the data – people care about what’s happening in their local community. News teams that make the effort to find their communities where they share and consume news – and pay attention to what they genuinely want to read and react to – are providing a lifeline to local journalism as a whole, as well as a place for longer-term loyalty and connection.

To connect with local communities through media outreach, find out about the Vuelio Media Database and the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service.

Want to know more about the state of journalism in 2024? Check out our analysis of audience attitudes across the globe.

The state of journalism in 2024: What do audiences think?

October 10, 2024/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, PR, Communications, Media Media Database, Media Monitoring, Media Analysis, PR, Press and Bloggers /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

PRs will always need journalists, and journalists – in turn – will always need an audience. But how do audiences across the world see journalism in 2024?

While the media has always had to evolve to meet the changing needs and expectations of its audiences, this requirement has only accelerated in recent years. The changing role of journalists in our fast-moving modern climate presents challenges – for society as a whole, media organisations, and for the PR and comms industry professionals who navigate the media landscape.

How has citizen and independent journalism on platforms including TikTok, and in increasingly popular formats like podcasting, impacted the way news is shared? How are international news brands and local reporters each effected by these alternatives to ‘traditional’ news sources? And how do stories spread across media, platforms, and audiences in this climate?

Journalism is…

These are all questions we’ll be exploring over the coming months, as we conduct our research into journalism and news audiences. But first, to investigate the current perception of journalism across the world, we’ve analysed over 1.2 million media and social data points internationally, tracking mentions of ‘Journalism is…’ from May to September 2024.

Let’s begin with a look at the differing attitudes towards journalism across the world, and specifically, the UK…

How is journalism perceived in the UK in comparison to other regions?

The short answer – not in a particularly positive light. When tracking words commonly used following the phrase ‘Journalism is…’ online, ‘dead’ tracked the highest in the UK, followed by ‘biased’, and ‘corrupt’.

The source of this negativity isn’t hard to find, with press coverage of this summer’s UK General Election sparking criticism from the public across social media en masse. As debates, interviews, and analysis filled television schedules and column inches, the people watching and reading at home went online to share their frustrations, with high-profile journalists bearing the brunt.

The US audience shared a similarly dim view of journalism across social and online media – also unsurprising, perhaps, considering the political unrest stirring in the light of their own leadership race.

While the US and UK are aligned on attitudes towards the media, the ways in which they are expressed in public spheres and the media is where they differ (and not just in the UK audience’s willingness to share opinions with a sprinkling of swear words in their X posts).

So which audience of those we tracked considers journalism most important? Those in Australia and New Zealand. ‘Journalism is important’ was a more popular opinion shared online than ‘journalism is dead’ in these regions. A higher number also believed journalism to be ‘crucial’ than in the US and UK.

Is journalism ‘dead’?

Aside from UK fans disagreeing with reporting regarding their favourite sports team, celebrity, or other niche personal interest, the sharing of the view that journalism is ‘dead’ among UK news audiences has been rampant.

2023’s Edelman Trust Barometer found that the UK is one of the countries with the lowest faith in the media. Of the 27 countries surveyed, respondents were only less trusting of the news industry in Japan and South Korea.

While trust was up by 2% from Edelman’s previous survey in 2022, regaining confidence from the public is going to be hard going for the UK news industry. A consideration being taken seriously, as shown by the debates happening at media industry events across the country, including last year’s Society of Editors’ Media Freedom Conference.

The past year has also seen criticism of media reporting on the ongoing Gaza conflict, with disconnects between images and video shared on social media, public protests happening across the world, and the choices made in media coverage sparking further distrust.

Is journalism still ‘crucial’, ‘essential’, and ‘important’?

While use of positive descriptors by those sharing their view of journalism in the UK was much lower than use of the more negative ones, news reporting – in all of its different formats – continues to be cited as ‘important’…by invested communities. Journalists themselves, and those in adjacent industries, see and share reasons for optimism, but how can this be transmitted to audiences who have become distrustful, and disconnected?

Among the challenges facing the news industry – misinformation, lowering revenues, and distrust – audiences still seek information, and reporters, broadcasters, and content creators of all kinds are adapting to provide this.

Media brands making the effort to stay attuned to changing audience needs are building back loyalty and trust. For some recent examples: The Independent has doubled its profit and revenue over the last five years; the Financial Times is adopting data-driven personalisation as part of an audience-first strategy; and Reach plc’s launch of its Reach Studio hub is bringing each of its brands to new viewers in new formats.

The current state of journalism in the UK is in flux, and the prognosis can perhaps seems bleak. But there are causes for optimism to be found in emerging audience behaviours, platforms, and brands, which we’ll be exploring as part of our continued State of Journalism series.

Interested in how the media is evolving? Sign up for the 23 October Vuelio and Pulsar webinar ‘The New News Audiences’.

Sugar & Health: A PR guide to healthy FMCG & HFSS comms

October 7, 2024/in Political Monitoring, Media Database, Media Monitoring, Political Database /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

HFSS (High Fat, Sugar, and Salt) public health initiatives are complex to navigate, with regulation for food and drinks communications and advertising in the UK in flux.

As food and drink brands prepare for the UK Government’s upcoming ban of HFSS food adverts on television before 9pm, what do PRs need to know about public perceptions, political maneuvering, and media interest around sugar and health?

Our latest report ‘Sugar & health: A PR guide to healthy FMCG and HFSS comms’ uses political intelligence from Vuelio, audience insights from Pulsar, and media expertise from ResponseSource to gain a complete picture of how the topic is discussed and understood. Featuring insights from social media, online news sources, the press, and journalist enquiries, uncover key information for crafting impactful comms, generating positive media coverage, and supporting stakeholder engagement.

Download the full white paper to learn….

How the sugar conversation has grown in UK politics, the press, and across social media since the UK Government’s initial announcement of firmer regulation in 2022
What PRs in the FMCG and HFSS space need to know to get the attention of relevant journalists and broadcasters, and achieve positive coverage in the media
The brands that have been successful in their comms campaigns, amid the current climate of changing regulation and fluctuating audience expectations

Download the report by filling in the form below 👇

How PRs can get media coverage in October 2024

Media trends: How to get press coverage in October

October 4, 2024/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, PR, Communications, Media Media Database, Media Monitoring, PR, Press and Bloggers Blog Posts /by Andrew Strutt

Wondering what the media are covering as we ‘fall’ into October? The change of season and weather is often a popular angle for journalists and requests sent to PRs via the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service this month backs that up.

Read on to find out what else journalists were asking for in September, and what you can do to catch their attention, and gain press coverage, in October.

Halloween on the horizon

Journalists have been getting their Halloween content sorted early – just over 2% of the total enquiries in September were around ‘Halloween’.

PA Media, The i paper, Bella, and Stylist.co.uk have all sent requests to PRs via the Journalist Enquiry Service, looking for a variety of things, from Halloween snacks to home decor, costumes, and spooktacular themed days out for families.

Going forward? With Halloween at the end of the month, journalists will likely be making short deadline requests to get information and products. Be prepared to have product samples to send over with easy-to-read information, and you could get featured in a national press title or consumer magazine.

Gift guides and advent calendars in high demand

Requests for Christmas content have been coming in since July, and September saw a significant increase with ‘Christmas’ appearing in just under 14% of all enquiries. This is over double the amount we saw in August and a 3% rise on this time last year.

A lot of the festive requests are for ‘gift guides’, with that phrase cropping up in nearly 9% of enquiries last month. ‘Advent calendars’ are also popular, with 3.5% of journalists looking to review them. It also meant big increases for the consumer-focused categories on the Enquiry Service with Children & Teenagers seeing a 44% increase between August and September, 39% for Men’s Interest, 31% for Food & Drink, and 21% for Women’s Interest & Beauty.

Going forward? October is usually the most popular month for ‘Christmas’ content on the Journalist Enquiry Service. Last year, 18% of enquiries were for festive material. The majority of journalists will be looking for gift guide products and advent calendars, as well as Christmas events, decorations, and recipes. You could get media coverage in The Guardian, Good Housekeeping, The Independent, or The Sun.

Autumnal advice, mental health experts, and fashion in focus

Seasonal content is frequently requested on the Journalist Enquiry Service and the change of season has seen nearly 4% of journalists in September including the keyword ‘Autumn’. The topics have varied from interiors to wellbeing, to staycations, and beauty products for the new season.

Fashion has also featured in the Autumn requests and on its own as a keyword appeared in just under 4% of the requests. This is possibly linked to the London Fashion Week taking place. 2% of enquiries in October were also for ‘mental health’, with journalists looking to get expert opinion and advice ahead of World Mental Health Day on 10 October.

Going forward? Now that we are firmly into Autumn, journalists often send requests about heating and how to stay warm in colder months, plus skincare advice, and what to do with your garden during this season. Have expert commentary ready and there is the potential to feature in The Metro, The Times, Ideal Home, and The Daily Telegraph – journalists from all of these outlets sent requests last month about ‘Autumn’.

Other opportunities for PRs in October and beyond

While both still a little way off, Bonfire night (5 November) and Black Friday (29 November) are approaching. Journalists will be looking for the best places to watch fireworks and any related events, plus the best deals and offers on at different retailers for Black Friday.

The Health category, which had an 8% increase between August and September, could rise further as October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and includes World Menopause Day (18 October). Experts in these fields could get media coverage as a result. Food & Drink should also perform well again as a category with International Chefs Day (20 October) and World Pasta Day (25 October). Have chefs ready to interview, and pasta recipes to share.

To connect with the media on these topics, and much more, check out the Journalist Enquiry Service and the Vuelio Media Database.

Find out more about how Vuelio can help you gain and track your coverage in the media here.

What trade can learn from brands: How to raise your media profile through media evaluation

September 10, 2024/0 Comments/in PR, Communications, Media Media Database, Media Monitoring, Media Analysis, PR Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Vuelio was a proud sponsor of the Trade Association Forum’s Best Practice Exchange 2024, a space for professionals across UK trade associations to share sector insights and predictions for what lies ahead.

Want to raise the profile of your organisation or association in the UK media? Check out advice shared during the Vuelio masterclass on what can be learned from big brands, including client stories to illustrate use cases adoptable for trade associations

Why learn from brands?

Sharing her expertise on how brands can amplify their message in such a saturated media landscape was Vuelio’s head of account management Katharine Feltwell, who talked tactics for cutting through the noise.

‘There are clear similarities between brands and trade associations,’ said Katharine.

‘Where the customers drive the revenue for brands, members drive the revenue for trade associations.

‘Where the brands make their money through customers purchasing their consumer products, trade associations make their money through members buying into things such as training and events.

‘Brands strive for a clear brand identity against their competitors, and trade associations strive to develop a brand identity which is industry linked.’

Key differences to consider:

‘Brands are usually the most well-off organisations. They tend to have the most financial freedom to be seen as early adopters of new tech and trends. As they are consumer facing, they generally have more competition and can have to try harder to be the loudest voice in the room to have the most commercial or b2b impact.’

The key challenges of amplifying your voice?

Katharine shared challenges frequently faced by industry clients who want to amplify their voice in the media, highlighting:

– Difficulties in ensuring messaging is both cohesive and concise
– A lack of audience consideration and understanding
– Struggles with rebuilding trust once it has been lost.

In light of these, how can trade associations facing the same issues overcome them?

Understanding your audience and where to aim your comms

Katharine shared two case studies from her experiences aiding clients in getting their messages out to the world, the first being a top 100 charity based in the UK who successfully reached its target audience with its comms.

Starting right at the ideation stage, the charity didn’t know who to contact with its story, or which publications should be in its target outlet list for coverage.

‘Ensuring a not-for-profit budget is channelled in the best direction, with the best return, is of utmost importance,’ said Katharine.

‘This charity wanted to work smarter not harder, and put its effort into reaching specific key audiences rather than just shooting wide and hoping for the best. This particular charity had five different audiences of financial donors that it wanted to reach, spanning from so-called “traditional wealth” to “concerned neighbour”.

‘We focused on something the charity already knew – its own donor personas.’

By enhancing Vuelio’s own analysis with the audience intelligence of sister company Pulsar, it was possible to understand which media and social profiles these personas would engage with – and the ‘traditional’ publications they may read – resulting in a robust list of media to target with messaging.

‘Every month, our team of analysts work together to create a report for this charity. These reports delve into what topics resonate best with each target audience. I.e. Do fundraising case studies appear more commonly in the types of publications that “concerned neighbours” read rather than “traditional wealth”? Is the “traditional wealth” demographic is mostly interested in the policy change stories?

‘If you are starting from the very beginning of your strategy and are not sure where to start – begin with something that you already know, or expertise you already have, and work backwards to your end goal.

‘As a trade association, you will have incredible amounts of industry data from your members. This is powerful information that can help shape your media activities.’

How to cut through the noise with your comms

Want to be seen as a leader in your industry sector? Learn from the story of an international bank that wanted to share its ESG credentials in the media, without incurring greenwashing accusations (a pitfall many brands have fallen foul of over the last few years).

‘What we did for this client was to provide a status quo report,’ said Katharine.

‘Our team of analysts examined a group of six international banks (themselves included) and the tactics used when talking about each element of ESG; which ones resulted in a positive and neutral result versus negative coverage, and where the reach was the highest.

‘We created an eight-page report filled with charts, graphs, and written analysis, finding that banks that relied heavily on press releases, blog content, and quotes from CEOs did not see the largest volume of high quality, high reaching positive/neutral coverage.

‘Instead, those who focused on press announcements of actionable changes made the most splash. Actions speak louder than words when it comes to creating a credible ESG profile as a bank – sweeping statements do not work.’

The client pivoted to communicating actions, and has gone on to win multiple sustainability awards.

‘Learn from other people’s mistakes and victories and craft your plan based on what has already happened in the story so far,’ said Katharine.

Key takeaways to remember when elevating your voice

– Simplicity is key when it comes to working smarter not harder
– Look around you and think about the voices that are already loud on your chosen topic – what is and isn’t working for them?
– Create your ideal audience from information you already hold, analysis of external channels, and the right support
– Once you have decided what ‘good’ looks like for you, consistent tracking of your performance against goals will ensure lasting success

‘Doing these four things will allow you to create your own bespoke playbook for managing your own reputation,’ advised Katharine.

‘This ultimately will enable you to take this strategy whatever may come your way – be it a curve ball from the Government where you have to amplify your external voice at pace, or a positive opportunity for change.’

Learn more about Vuelio’s Media Monitoring and Insights solutions, and Pulsar’s audience intelligence tools, for sharing your organisation’s story and successes.

What the UK media are looking for in September and beyond

September 5, 2024/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, journalism, PR, Communications, Media Media Database, Media Monitoring, PR, Press and Bloggers Blog Posts /by Andrew Strutt

Looking for insight on what journalists will be covering in September? What will make the news isn’t always predictable, but the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service can give a strong indication of what will be trending and popular with the press.

Below, we analyse what journalists have been requesting from PRs during August and shed light on what we expect them to be sending enquiries for this month and beyond.

Christmas content in demand

In July, we saw the first flurry of ‘Christmas’ requests. August saw a more substantial covering as over 6.5% of requests contained the word last month.

The majority of enquiries in August were focused on gift guides. This meant lots of requests for review products. However, we also saw journalists looking for Christmas decorations, throwing a successful Christmas party and festive events taking place around the UK.

Going forward? September 2023 saw the amount of Christmas requests double from the August number and we would expect similar numbers again this year. Gift guides and advent calendars will likely be the most in demand. Journalists from The Independent, PA Media, Country Living and Prima all sent enquiries last month, presenting opportunities to get featured in high profile media titles.

Summer season falls into Autumn

A lot of media professionals use the Journalist Enquiry Service to source seasonal content and August saw a shift from requests for ‘Summer’ towards ‘Autumn’. 2.5% of the total enquiries last month were for ‘Summer’ but this was surpassed by ‘Autumn’ which appeared in just over 3% of journo asks.

These encompass all sorts of topics and angles, and included health and wellbeing, fashion, home decor, fitness, and recipes. Journalists from The Daily Express, Good Homes, Bella, The i Paper and Sunday Brunch all sent requests last month.

Going forward? Topics such as getting your garden ready for Autumn, changing your wardrobe for the new season, and health concerns as we head into the colder months are all common requests around this time. Make sure you have gardening and fashion experts ready and doctors and health professionals to comment on these areas.

Four day work week, winter fuel payment, and AI

UK politics is always a focus for the media, even more now with the change of government. Topical issues like the proposed four day working week, the cuts to the winter fuel payment, and changes to pensions have all been the subject of enquiries by journalists during August.

‘Work’ proved popular as a keyword, appearing in over 3% of enquiries, and ‘pension’ cropped up in over 1%. ‘AI’ also regularly performs well on the service and in August even more than usual as 5% of the total requests included the topic. That could be in part due to the Government’s plans to scrap funding for an AI project.

Going forward? September in the UK is annual Party Conference season and journalists will be keen to cover the major policies and announcements. If you have political commentators as clients then have them ready to provide comment – you could get coverage in titles such as The Times, Metro and Reuters. Information and experts on AI are also likely to get write-ups, as it remains a popular topic to cover in the media.

Other opportunities for PRs in September and beyond

Halloween is just over six weeks away and journalists are always keen to cover it. Requests are usually for products to review such as costumes or party decorations. This presents a good opportunity to get items featured.

Fashion experts are likely to be in demand with London Fashion Week (12-17 September). Fitness proved popular in September 2023 with nearly 3% of requests containing the keyword, likely linked to National Fitness Day, coming up on 25 September this year. We also expect the Food & Drink category to get lots of enquiries, with many towns and cities holding events for Oktoberfest. If you have experts or information about this, relevant journalists will want to hear about it.

To connect with the media on these topics, and much more, check out the Journalist Enquiry Service and the Vuelio Media Database.

Find out more about how Vuelio can help you gain and track your coverage in the media here.

Winners and losers: Who placed on the PR podium for the 2024 Olympics?

August 15, 2024/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, PR, Sport, Communications, Media Press and Bloggers, Media Database, Media Monitoring, Media Analysis, PR Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

There are no medals for PR at the Olympics (yet), but comms teams across the world were busy bigging-up sponsorships and superstar athletes throughout the 2024 event in Paris. Which PR campaigns were successful and deserving of plaudits, and which could have done better?

With the Paralympics (and a whole new load of PR moments) on the way, here is our overview of what worked, and what didn’t, at this year’s Olympics…

Our gold medal goes to… cheese

Probably an unsurprising choice (if you’ve been online at all throughout the games) is Italian gymnast Giorgia Villa’s partnership with cheese brand Parmigiano Reggiano. Sponsored by the cheese since 2021, Villa’s past photoshoot with wheels of the good stuff was rediscovered by X users at the end of July, to widespread joy and social virality.

As said by one X user: ‘Dunno how much the Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese Consortium has been paying Giorgia Villa since this deal was arranged in 2021 but they’re certainly getting their money’s worth this week’.

Will Villa further build her own brand with other tie-ins, like Usain Bolt, George Forman, and Mo Farah have in recent years? It’s a solid PR strategy for sportspeople, and the brands they work with, for getting attention online and press coverage.

Silver goes to… Mongolia’s opening ceremony uniform

Way before the serious sporting even started for this year’s Olympics games, competition was rife among the countries taking part… around the release of their uniforms.

While Team USA had tagged in fashion heavy-hitter Ralph Lauren to clothe their competing athletes, it was Mongolia’s uniform that received the majority of attention online, as shown by analysis of social and news platforms using Pulsar.

A common feeling among the takes on Mongolia’s uniform – positivity for the nods to tradition, careful crafting, and textile choices.

Reaction to the US’s uniform – perceived laziness for the choice of ‘dated’ brand Ralph Lauren.

Mongolia’s uniform got the public talking, with pleasant surprise. All this, despite the lack of a big PR and comms function behind the team.

When looking at brands involved in the Paris Olympics, Ralph Lauren received plenty of mentions on social and news write-ups – both prior to and post-competition – much of it negative.

There’s a lesson here for those tasked with tie-ins and team-ups for the upcoming 2028 Olympics: find out what your intended audience actually wants to see by researching their interests. Integrating cultural relevance into branding was effective in this case. Well-researched choices can spark those watching at home – an average of 30.6 million people watched coverage of the Paris Olympics on Comcast Corp.’s US media outlets, by the way – to dive into the conversation.

Bronze goes to…Snoop Dogg and Flavor Flav

Bringing ‘delight to the games’, as reported by The Guardian, was superstar Snoop Dogg, who served as a special correspondent for NBC’s Olympics programming.

Plenty of celebrities featured at the Paris Olympics – including, confusingly, the Minions during the opening ceremony – but none got quite the same level of fondness in their press write-ups. Apart from Flavor Flav.

Fellow musician and memetic star Flav’s signing of a five-year sponsorship deal with the US women’s and men’s water polo teams, and help with landing sportspeople brand deals, has strengthened his profile. AND, more importantly, is sure to help more people of colour into the sport – a hope he shared during an interview with NPR.

And the ‘better luck next time’ award goes to… a well-intentioned misstep in memeing

Shout-out to the PRs who flagged this one – a brand post aimed at highlighting inspirational female athletes… with subtitles related to relationships.

‘I mean, it’s 2024, right? […] It’s sad to see this stereotype being used yet again. Are we not past the point of thinking women are only interested in men and relationships?’ was one take on LinkedIn. The company later deleted their Instagram post – a wise strategy when a piece of PR isn’t winning over the audience.

Want to connect with journalists who’ll be reporting from upcoming sporting events, and track your coverage? Try Vuelio’s Media Database and Media Monitoring.

How the creation of interactive content can help you gain coverage

July 30, 2024/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, PR, Communications, Media PR, Media Database, Media Monitoring Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

This is a guest post from Anna Morrish, director of Quibble.

Whether you’re a startup or an established company, interactive content can provide substantial benefits and it’s not just for big brands to utilise and benefit from.

Understanding interactive content

Interactive content is any digital content that requires user participation. It includes quizzes, polls, surveys, calculators, games, assessments, and even AR (Augmented Reality) or VR (Virtual reality) experiences. The key is that it actively engages users, creating a memorable and personalised experience.

Why should your business invest in interactive content?

1. Enhances user engagement: Interactive content typically sees higher engagement rates than static content, on average 2x more conversions and 4-5x more pageviews than passive content, making it more likely to capture and hold your audience’s attention.
2. Builds trust and loyalty: By engaging users directly, interactive content fosters a sense of connection and investment, which can build trust and loyalty.
3. Improves SEO and PR: High engagement can lead to increased sharing and backlinking, boosting your SEO and attracting PR coverage.
4. Gathers valuable data: Interactive content can collect data on user preferences and behaviours, providing insights that can inform your marketing strategies.

Interactive content and digital PR

Digital PR in general is all about collaboration and building relationships. When diverse minds come together and share ideas, they create powerful stories that resonate and forge genuine connections in the digital world.

This approach is especially important when creating interactive content, as it allows a gathering of a wider range of thoughts and ideas from those with different skills and mindsets, including further insight into the technical considerations required when developing interactive content pieces.

Successful examples of interactive content

Let’s look at some real-world examples of how UK businesses are successfully using interactive content:

1.Gamification and Duolingo: Gamification is a powerful form of interactive marketing. It involves incorporating game elements and mechanics into non-game contexts to make them more engaging. The goal is to increase participation, interaction with the brand, and actions that achieve specific marketing objectives.

A prime example is Duolingo, a language eLearning tool that uses gamification to boost user engagement. Users build streaks, earn achievement badges and crowns, and climb higher on the leaderboard. The drive to compete and maintain an impressive streak are key motivators, demonstrating how gamification can effectively captivate and retain users.

2.USB Makers Data Transfer Speed Calculator: USB Makers develop customised USB drives, integrating unique designs and personalised branding to meet client needs. To promote their product they needed an engaging PR tool. Implementing an interactive calculator on their website, allowed users to easily estimate costs and select options, which significantly boosted user engagement and streamlined the ordering process. Over three months this calculator helped increase organic traffic by 50%, gain 250 new links and 700 new keywords.

3. Tesco’s ‘Food Love Stories’ Recipe Hub: Interactive content can be a game-changer for businesses looking to enhance their visibility and engage audiences, as demonstrated by Tesco’s award-winning ‘Food Love Stories’ campaign. This campaign, which earned the Cannes Lions award for media planning, stands as Tesco’s most effective effort to date, achieving a remarkable 38% year-over-year sales uplift and generating an additional £231 million in sales. The success was also reflected in an 18% increase in YouGov quality scores, with 75% of this improvement directly attributed to the campaign. By leveraging engaging and relatable stories, Tesco not only captured the attention of consumers but also drove significant commercial results, proving that interactive content can substantially elevate a brand’s presence and impact.

4.Thomas Cook and virtual reality: Thomas Cook revolutionised the travel booking experience with its ‘Try Before You Fly’ campaign, allowing users to virtually explore destinations such as the US, Greece, Singapore, and Egypt using Samsung Gear VR. Customers could virtually snorkel in Sharm-el-Sheikh, visit the pyramids in Egypt, or take a helicopter tour of Manhattan. This innovative campaign made Thomas Cook the first travel company globally to offer in-store virtual reality experiences. The results were impressive, with a 180% increase in NYC bookings, 500,000 YouTube views, an 11% increase in followers, and 22,000 competition entries, significantly boosting engagement and conversion rates.

5. Rebel Therapies and LinkedIn poll: Even smaller organisations can harness the power of interactive marketing. For instance, Rebel Therapies utilised a straightforward LinkedIn poll to foster engagement and raise awareness. Through this simple yet effective tactic, they not only garnered increased interaction but also gained valuable new contacts in the process. This demonstrates that interactive marketing strategies can be accessible and impactful for businesses of all sizes.

Boosting engagement through newsjacking in interactive content

Incorporating newsjacking strategies into your interactive content endeavours can further enhance engagement and relevance. By leveraging current events, trends, or breaking news in your interactive content, you can capture the attention of your audience and capitalise on the buzz surrounding these topics. For example, if there’s a viral challenge circulating on social media, you can create an interactive quiz or game that ties into the theme of the challenge. This not only increases the likelihood of your content being shared but also positions your brand as timely and in touch with the latest trends. Additionally, newsjacking allows you to inject personality and creativity into your interactive content, making it more memorable and impactful.

Creating interactive content on a budget

You don’t need a massive budget to create impactful interactive content. Here are some cost-effective ideas:

Social media contests: Host simple contests on platforms like Instagram or Facebook. Ask followers to share your post or tag friends to enter. This can increase engagement and grow your online community.

Quizzes and polls: Use tools like Typeform, Google Forms, or SurveyMonkey to create engaging quizzes or polls. These can provide valuable insights into your audience while entertaining them.

Calculators: Create useful calculators relevant to your industry. For instance, a mortgage calculator for real estate businesses or a calorie calculator for a fitness brand. Online tools and templates can help you build these with minimal investment.

Intermediate interactive content ideas

If you have a bit more budget, consider these options:

Interactive infographics: Combine data and design to create infographics that users can interact with. Platforms like Canva or Piktochart can help you design these affordably.

Interactive videos: Tools like Wistia or Vidyard allow you to create videos with clickable elements, branching narratives, or embedded quizzes. These can increase engagement and provide a more immersive experience.

Virtual try-ons: For fashion or beauty brands, virtual try-ons can be a game-changer. Use tools like ModiFace or YouCam Makeup to let customers try products virtually before they buy.

Advanced interactive content for bigger budgets

For those with more resources, consider these advanced interactive content types:

Custom games: Develop simple yet engaging games related to your brand. This can be a fun way to educate users about your products and encourage them to spend more time on your site.

Interactive storytelling: Create a narrative experience where users can choose their path. Tools like Twine or Unity can help you develop these interactive stories.

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR): Invest in AR or VR experiences that allow users to interact with your products in a virtual space. This can be particularly effective for industries like real estate, automotive, or retail.

Tips for creating effective interactive content

1. Start with clear goals: Understand what you want to achieve with your interactive content. Is it increased engagement, data collection, or brand awareness?

2. Keep it user-friendly: Ensure your interactive content is easy to use and accessible to your audience.

3. Promote your content: Share your interactive content across all your channels, including social media, email newsletters, and your website. Reach out to journalists and influencers who might be interested in sharing your content.

4. Measure success: Track engagement metrics and gather feedback to understand how your content is performing and where you can improve.

Conclusion

Interactive content stands as a formidable asset for any business seeking to expand its reach, foster engagement, and cultivate customer loyalty. Whether operating on a shoestring budget or with ample resources at hand, there exists a multitude of avenues to craft and capitalise on interactive content to great effect. Embark on your journey of exploration today and witness firsthand how interactive content can revolutionise your online presence.

Are you following the Green Claims Code with your comms?

July 22, 2024/0 Comments/in Politics, PR, Marketing, Communications, Media Media Analysis, PR, Press and Bloggers, Media Database, Media Monitoring Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

A growing awareness of the impacts of climate change has meant greater accountability for PRs communicating company ESG credentials.

Alongside the potential for bad press if you’re doing it wrong are the dangers of falling foul of legislation – the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)’s Green Claims Code, this Autumn’s DMCC, and incoming EU regulations being just three possible pitfalls.

In our latest webinar ‘Navigating the Green Claims Code: How to avoid the pitfalls of greenwashing’, The Grocer’s editor-in-chief Adam Leyland explained the clampdowns, why your words matter, and how to communicate your credentials to the media.

The clampdown on ESG claims

‘Greenwashing has been going on for a long time – it’s rampant,’ said Adam.

‘In the FMCG space, sustainability-related terms are used liberally – words like ‘eco’, ‘green’, and ‘sustainable’ are scattered into comms. Sometimes this is innocent and well-meaning – linked to positive initiatives to minimise the impact on the environment. Sometimes it’s cynical and glib – and PRs are among the worst offenders.’

Is PR all bad, then? No, explained Adam.

‘The point is this is all relative. Using different packaging doesn’t make a product ‘green’. To make that claim now, you have to undertake some onerous lifecycle analysis of all aspects of the supply chain – packaging, sourcing, catching, energy, water, and what happens to it at the end of the cycle. It’s a difficult thing to make these claims when you have to be so exhaustive.’

While there have been rules set in place on sustainability to be aware of already – Trading Standards and International Standard ISO 14021, for example, Adam warned that ‘it’s only getting more onerous’.

‘The Green Claims Code was established in 2021; Autumn’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC) could mean great whacking fines – the pressure is on,’ said Adam.

‘The market is saying enough is enough. It’s unfair to claim you’re green and gain an economic advantage if you’re really not that green, or you’re being highly selective about it.

Why words matter

‘The reason I said that PRs are the worst offenders for greenwashing is because of the frequency of the stuff you’re putting out,’ explained Adam.

‘All brand marketers are looking for ways to make claims. But when you’re producing that many words, that frequently, things can slip out. It’s different with ads, which have to be ratified by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) – they’re going through a level of scrutiny before they go out.

‘With PR, you’ll see certain words everywhere – people pick journos up when we use these words, too.

‘“Ethical” is contentious, even words like “responsibility” come with difficulty. This also applies to images – leaves, skies, all these things that suggest a perfect world are under scrutiny.

‘Phrases like “saving the planet” – remember, the planet is going to be fine. It is lifeforms that are in danger from climate change. The planet will still be there, even if it’s a nuclear wasteland. We need to be careful with the words we use.’

Mistakes to avoid

On what not to do, Adam shared what the team see at The Grocer:

‘Setting targets, and then backtracking is incredibly embarrassing. You’ve traded on something you will do, rather than something you have done. That gives a halo that may not be warranted.’

‘Another issue is dressing up simply following rules and regulations, and putting out press releases about it.

‘Hyperbole isn’t good and neither is hypocrisy. Or glibness. But there are degrees of seriousness, and as much as I’ve been critical, there are worse things than trying to do something good, to reach for the stars and not be able to get there. There’s lying, there are cover-ups, and avoiding the truth – that is the worst form of PR, burying the truth.’

‘Sometimes brands get away with it, and sometimes they don’t.’

The difficulties of the Green Claims Code

‘While the principles of the code sound really simple, the truth is that practicing these principles is actually really difficult,’ said Adam.

‘There are those who don’t know where they’re going wrong. You have to avoid technical jargon while being clear and meaningful. It’s not that straightforward.’

What do journalists want from PRs on ‘green’ topics?

‘The first thing I’d say is honesty’ said Adam, highlighting an example of Abel & Cole rectifying a claim around recyclable packaging in an ad that ran in The Grocer.

‘This is where PR can disarm criticism – admitting that something you did was wrong’.

Abel & Cole went on to win a Grocer Gold Award for Sustainability Initiative of the Year.

‘There’s huge amounts of data needed, and PRs need access to toolkits, and business insights. Start with the data and then make your claim, not the other way around.’

‘Seemingly small things are interesting – we wrote about Quality Street changing their wrapping. We also wrote about British Snack Co working with Aquapak to produce recyclable packaging. You don’t have to make major claims.

‘There are marginal gains, little changes, that chime with the consumer.’

But be careful – as highlighted by Adam, even something as ‘small’ as teabags can come with greenwashing dangers. Moving from plastic? Claiming a teabag is sustainable also means double-checking the tea’s own lifecycle.

Reaching for the stars on ESG

‘I do have a concern for the future in terms of comms. And a concern for a lack of progress towards sustainable development goals. I worry that people will only change because of legislation,’ said Adam.

‘But I think there is a competitive advantage in reaching for the stars with comms. It requires you to do the work on transparency, on data, because without that you can’t take action.

‘If you stop communicating with shoppers, it makes it harder for them to know what’s more sustainable. Those who do the right thing, try to lessen their impact on the environment, and communicate what they’re doing clearly, honestly, and carefully, will be those that flourish.’

For more on PR’s part in ESG, download the Vuelio white paper ‘The perception of PR in sustainability communications: How to avoid greenwashing and be an advocate for change’.

Journalist Enquiry Service overview July 2024

Political commentators, destination experts, and sports professionals: What the media are looking for in July

July 8, 2024/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, PR Media Analysis, PR, Press and Bloggers, Media Database, Media Monitoring Blog Posts /by Andrew Strutt

Want to get your clients featured in the media in July? While the General Election has been the media’s focus for the last six weeks – and will be a priority for a while yet – there are plenty of other opportunities for coverage, and the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service is a good gauge for what is trending. Here is what journalists have been requesting throughout June, and what we predict their focus will be in July.

General Election fallout

Unsurprisingly, ‘election’ became a popular keyword on the Journalist Enquiry Service, appearing in 2% of all enquiries in May, growing to 2.5% in June.

Journalists focused on gathering interviews, and the viewpoints of CEOs and leaders from different sectors, including technology, retail, and business. There have also been requests for information on tactical voting, analysis of the manifestos, and for an expert to comment on election marketing and advertising.

Going forward? Journalists will most likely be looking for expert comment on what to expect from the new Government, the impact on the public, and the economy. The Times, The Independent, Reuters, and ITV News all sent requests concerning the election in June, giving an opportunity to feature you or your client in the national news now.

Summer holidays and gardening remain popular

‘Summer’ was the top keyword on the Journalist Enquiry Service for a second month in a row, as it featured in 9.5% of all requests. This is also an 8% increase compared to this time last year, maybe a sign that we’re in for some better weather as well? ‘Holidays’ cropped up in just over 3% of the enquiries in June this year. ‘Gardening’ proved even more popular as it appeared in 5.5%, and this is a 51% increase compared to June 2023.

Requests around ‘summer’ varied widely last month with everything from fashion to health to skincare to food and drink. The enquiries about ‘holidays’ tended to look more for travel experts and information on places or activities for the school summer holidays. Journalists sending requests about ‘gardening’ were primarily looking for experts to give tips and advice.

Going forward? Journalists will be looking for gardening experts and travel experts/information on destinations, so have these clients ready to engage with these media coverage opportunities.The nature of summer requests are harder to predict, but fashion experts could be needed to comment on the best clothing to wear and health advice/information on what to do to stay cool during warmer temperatures. Journalists from The Guardian, The Sun, The Daily Telegraph, Homes & Gardens, and Woman’s Own all sent requests on these three topics last month.

Other opportunities for PRs in July and beyond

It’s just a couple of weeks until the Olympics starts in Paris and in June, just under 1% of all enquiries featured ‘Olympics’. This will receive a lot more traction this month as we approach the games, with journalists looking for former athletes and sports professionals to interview. ‘Euro’s’ has also featured as a keyword and if England continue to progress in the tournament, journalists will likely look for information on the best places to watch the matches, as well as the impact it could have on the economy. Both of these events, plus Wimbledon as well, means sports spokespeople will be in high demand from journalists.

There are several food and drink related days this month including World Chocolate Day (7 July), National Hot Dog Day (19 July) and the whole of July is National Ice Cream Month. Journalists could be looking for food experts to give related recipes and advice. Finally, while school will only just be finishing, the media will begin in July to look for information on back to school items. This could be for uniform, stationery, lunch boxes, and more. This will gain in popularity throughout July and into August, so have the information you need prepared to send to journalists and get media coverage in both national press and consumer media.

To connect with the media on these topics, and much more, check out the Journalist Enquiry Service and the Vuelio Media Database.

Find out more how Vuelio can help you gain and track your coverage in the media here.

Reform UK releases ‘contract’ manifesto – what was the press and public reaction?

June 18, 2024/0 Comments/in Politics, PR, Communications, Media, Public Affairs Media Monitoring, Political Services, Political Database, Political Monitoring Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

By Phoebe-Jane Boyd, Dahye Lee, and Ingrid Marin.

After a wave of manifesto releases last week, Reform UK have released their ‘contract’ for the UK General Election.

In rebranding the manifesto as a ‘contract’, and repositioning the vote for country leadership as ‘the immigration election’, have Farage’s efforts to distinguish his party from its competitors, and get people talking, made an impact?

Here is analysis of the UK General Election 2024 conversation across online and print news, TV, radio, and podcasts as well as TikTok, Threads, Facebook, blogs, and forums, from midday 17 June, as we map the media and audience reaction.

What topics cut through the conversation regarding Reform UK’s manifesto?

Reform UK’s manifesto/’contract’ has significantly impacted one theme – immigration. As anticipated by anyone paying attention to Farage’s media appearances, the data shows just how much the topic has cut through into the public consciousness – immigration (+15.04%) emerges as a critical topic.

The party’s primary commitment to freeze what it has branded ‘non-essential’ immigration, and deport individuals crossing the Channel in small boats, has dominated the news coverage alongside the switch to the ‘contract’ nomenclature.

Perhaps surprisingly, this narrative has gained momentum on TikTok – the home of Gen Z – through Channel 4’s coverage, amplifying engagement among younger supporters of the Reform UK party.

While conversation across other social media platforms has been comparatively quiet in comparison to that of other parties, Labour supporters – particularly vocal pro-Palestinian activists – have passionately engaged with Reform UK’s immigration agenda. This segment of social media users are actively positioning Labour as the antidote to Reform UK’s potential influence on the 2029 election.

Energy and sustainability, largely overlooked in Reform UK’s pre-manifesto discussions, have also come into focus with a modest increase (+1.02%). The controversial move to abandon Net Zero goals in favor of bolstering fossil fuels has been extensively covered by the press, including BBC, ITV, LBC, and Sky News, alongside the party’s core policy pledges.

The practicalities of Reform UK’s manifesto – will it help the party’s chances at the voting booths this year?

The ‘contract’ was ambitious and could be considered somewhat scattergun in its policies – perhaps a reflection of Reform UK’s diverse voter base. Reform committed to around £140bn in spending commitments and tax cuts including raising income tax thresholds; abolishing stamp duty; tax relief for independent schools; and abolishing inheritance tax for all estates under £2 million. The party revealed this would be funded through £156 billion in savings in public spending and an assumption of increased tax revenue from higher growth.

These plans have drawn criticism around credibility, with the Institute for Fiscal Studies noting that Reform’s tax cuts and spending commitments would cost more than stated. Meanwhile, the Tax Policy Associates observed that £33bn of Reform’s commitments were found to be uncosted – this amounts to nearly double the unfunded commitments in Liz Truss’s mini-budget.

Concerns around the fiscal credibility of Reform UK’s manifesto are maybe not so important, however. A recent poll by Ipsos revealed that a significant portion of voters do not believe the main parties will be able to fund their own manifesto commitments anyway. The poll showed that 50% did not believe Labour could afford their plans, while 62% thought the Conservatives’ plans were unaffordable. 57% were not confident in the affordability of the Liberal Democrats plans either.

Perhaps this best encapsulates the relative apathy in the UK right now regarding choices at the 2024 General Election: with the UK facing significant economic and political challenges in the forthcoming years, a majority of voters do not believe that the main parties’ manifestos can deliver.

Could Farage’s warning during the 7 June TV debate that change is on the way, with support for Reform UK set to grow, prove true?

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

Ambition, ‘bad ideas’, and pushes to be ‘bolder’: General Election 2024 manifesto reactions among audiences and the media

June 14, 2024/0 Comments/in Politics, PR, Communications, Media, Public Affairs Media Monitoring, Political Services, Political Database, Press and Bloggers, Political Monitoring Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

By Phoebe-Jane Boyd, Dahye Lee, and Ingrid Marin.

This week represented the midpoint of the General Election campaign and it was a pivotal moment for all parties to pitch to voters.

Manifestos from the main parties were released throughout the week – with the exclusion of Reform UK, due to come on Monday 17 June.

To understand how the releases impacted press coverage and online discussion, here is analysis of the UK General Election 2024 conversation across online and print news, TV, radio, and podcasts as well as TikTok, Threads, Facebook, blogs, and forums, from 11 – 14 June, as well as a deep dive into political stakeholder reaction as the week progressed.

First, a look at the big two – the incumbent Conservatives, and the party expected by many to oust them come 4 July, Labour.

Manifesto coverage and conversation – Conservatives vs Labour

Following the passionate clashes during the ITV and BBC debates between Conservative and Labour, the main impact of their manifestos is focused on tax.

Conversation has risen around this topic following Labour’s manifesto pledge to increase taxes, in a potential boost to the Tories.

Did Labour’s manifesto make an impact?

As to whether Labour’s manifesto has changed reporting and social media discussion around its policies and promises, analysis of the pre- and post- release shows an impact on the topics of tax (+5.3%) and energy policy (+7.5%).

The increase in coverage and discussion of tax is driven by diverse news narratives surrounding Labour’s related policies. The highest engagement is for ITV‘s focus on Labour’s tax lock, while GBNews highlights voter concerns about Labour’s proposed tax increases.

Why the spike for energy? Labour’s pledge to ban new petrol and diesel cars and ensure ‘certainty to manufacturers’ in energy and sustainability has prompted Conservative communities to generate criticism.

Did the Conservative manifesto make a difference?

The Conservative manifesto also made an impact on Tax (+8.2%), alongside Housing (+2.3%).

BBC’s coverage of Keir Starmer’s condemnations of Sunak’s National Insurance cuts dominates the tax narrative, as the Tory campaign becomes increasingly embattled. Over on social media, the proposal to scrap National Insurance for the self-employed is provoking negative reaction due to perceived unfairness.

Unsurprisingly, Nigel Farage is enmeshed in discussion of Conservative chances at the election, as the Reform UK leader criticises policies as they are announced – this week’s manifesto included. Gaining traction online now – his comment that a Conservative promise regarding its Rwanda Bill was ‘another lie’.

Political stakeholder reaction – a look back at the week

Monday: Liberal Democrats got ambitious
The week began with the Liberal Democrats releasing their party manifesto. They pledged a £8.35bn NHS and care package – funded by reversing tax cuts for banks and closing tax loopholes – and set out long-term plans for rejoining the EU.

Nuffield Trust Chief Executive Thea Stein responded to the manifesto, calling it highly ambitious. However, she also said the funding proposed appeared ‘insufficient’, and that the sums ‘simply don’t add up’. Additionally, IFS Director Paul Johnson said that the tax measures would not raise the £27bn a year that the party claims, and that some of the tax raising proposals are, economically, a ‘bad idea’.

Tuesday: Conservatives sparked questions regarding costings
Questions about how proposals will be paid for were also raised on Tuesday when the Conservatives released their manifesto and pledged to cut taxes (including entirely scrapping the main rate of self-employed National Insurance) and introduce a new Help to Buy scheme by abolishing stamp duty for first-time buyers (on homes up to £425,000).

Paul Johnson from the Institute for Fiscal Studies said that the manifesto promised £17bn a year of tax cuts, alongside a big hike in defence spending, and questioned how this would be paid for. The Conservatives suggest they will fund some of their commitments by cutting the rising welfare bill, but Johnson questions how achievable this is.

Similarly, Labour leader Keir Starmer said it was a ‘Jeremy Corbyn-style manifesto’, suggesting the Conservatives had not explained how they would pay for their policies. He promised that Labour’s manifesto would be ‘fully costed’ and would only include ‘promises that we can keep and that […] the country can afford’.

Wednesday: Green Party pushed Labour to be bolder
Wednesday marked the release of the Green Party manifesto, pledging to raise taxes on the wealthy to fund more spending on housing, the NHS, and the climate crisis.

The manifesto includes the introduction of a wealth tax and a raising of National Insurance on annual wages above £50,270. Focusing on the four seats which the party believes are winnable, the co-leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay said electing Green MPs would ‘push Labour to be bolder’, particularly on net-zero climate change policies, which they accused other parties of ‘running away from’.

Thursday: Was Labour too cautious?
On Thursday, Keir Starmer launched the Labour party’s manifesto, where he pledged to prioritise ‘wealth creation’. As commentators expected, the document was relatively light on policy detail, and didn’t contain any big surprises.

Some commentators have suggested that Labour’s spending plans are more cautious than the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. If Labour are firmly committed to not raising taxes, this does raise questions about how they would be able to avoid cuts to public services.

Former Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls warned the manifesto could be a ‘straitjacket’, and make the first year of a Labour Government very difficult. Senior Labour figures have responded to such criticisms by saying they would deliver growth, and therefore expand the total revenue available for public services without having to raise taxes.

Still to come: Reform UK
Ahead of the Reform UK manifesto being released on Monday 17 June, a poll found that Reform UK had overtaken the Conservatives for the first time. Farage has said his party ‘are now the opposition to Labour’, and that a Tory vote would only ‘enable’ Starmer’s party.

Whether the release of Reform manifesto adds solidity and credibility to their challenge, or else sees their recent progress melt away, is something that will be closely monitored by politics watchers.

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

The rise of AI in journalism and its impact on PR

June 12, 2024/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, PR, Communications, Media Media Database, Media Monitoring, PR, Press and Bloggers Blog Posts /by Andrew Strutt

Could the use of AI have an impact on the relationship between journalists and PRs?

This year’s Newsrewired conference featured several panels discussing AI and the benefits it can bring to journalism. Here is how journalists are using AI already, and what this could mean for PR.

Fact-checking and misinformation

The rise of misinformation is a continuing problem for journalists to contend with. Charlotte Maher, social media editor at Bellingcat, explained its impact on politics:

‘In regards to deep fakes in election periods, something that we’ve seen – which is a very worrying trend – is the rise in deep fake audio. Video and imagery – there’s a lot of tools out there and more data to analyse in the video and images. With audio, it’s a lot harder.’

To combat this, various AI tools and programmes have been and continue to be developed to aid journalists fact-checking information and identifying manipulated images or repurposed content. Charlotte Maher recommended GitHub as a platform, full of open source, easy to access tools.

Impact on PRs: Journalists are now more cautious when putting content into print or online. To be seen as trustworthy and reliable to the media, be ready to back up sources or statistics included in press releases to set yourself apart.

Being able to give journalists an exclusive case study or information will be more likely to result in coverage. Repurposed or recycled material is not as useful to journalists, as it can include misinformation.

Winning back time

Regional publisher Newsquest has developed an in-house tool to draft articles based on trusted information from verified sources. However, there is always a human at the beginning and end of the news cycle. Jody Doherty-Cove, head of editorial AI at Newsquest, spoke about how this benefits the editorial process:

‘Around 3,500 AI assisted news articles are published across Newsquest each month, and we’re reinvesting that won-back time into our newsrooms, allowing journalists to get back out into their communities and focusing on specialisms, like getting back into court’.

Impact on PRs: Regional and local editorial teams have been getting smaller and smaller in the past few years. Journalists at this level have less time to engage with PRs as a result.

If other publishers follow Newsquest’s example, and win back more time for reporters to get out to cover stories, this could mean more engagement with PRs, and an increase in coverage of community news initiatives, as well as local projects and events.

Help with vertical video

Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are becoming increasingly popular with younger audiences as a way to consume news. However, there are still comparatively few journalists using these social media sites as a way to promote their journalism.

Sophia Smith-Galer, a freelance journalist who has previously worked for the BBC and Vice, is a pioneer of TikTok journalism, with over 500,000 followers on the platform, plus over 250,000 on Instagram. Using this expertise, Sophie trained an AI tool (called Sophina) to help write viral video scripts for journalists:

‘Current AI tools don’t do what we want them to do. We don’t know the training data, for example, on ChatGPT. I wanted to build an ethical tool where you knew the knowledge base was being used consensually.’

Impact on PRs: An increasing number of journalists will be using TikTok and Instagram in the future and will need press materials to work in a vertical video format.

Make sure what you’re offering journalists is adaptable to fit into various formats. As well as how it could work in print and online, think how it could appear in a TikTok video or an Instagram reel. This is particularly important for product placement or general product review articles you’re aiming to feature in.

Connect with journalists directly via the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service and Vuelio Media Database.

Want to know more about pitching to the media? Download the Vuelio white paper ‘How to pitch to journalists’, covering national press, consumer media, trade outlets, and freelancers.

From Mordaunt vs Rayner clash to Farage winning popularity poll: Impact of the second TV debate

June 11, 2024/0 Comments/in Politics, PR, Communications, Media, Public Affairs Media Database, Media Monitoring, PR, Press and Bloggers Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

By Phoebe-Jane Boyd, Dahye Lee, and Ingrid Marin.

Representatives from seven parties took to the stage for Friday 7 June’s BBC Election Debate 2024. Following on from ITV’s broadcast of Sunak vs Starmer’s debate the previous week, which topics grabbed the attention of the viewers and sparked political media reports this time around?

We analysed social and news in the UK General Election 2024 conversation across X, TikTok, Threads, Facebook, blogs, forums, online news, print news, TV, radio, and podcasts, from Friday 7 June 7:30pm, to Monday 10 June.

Did the Conservative’s Penny Mordaunt, Labour’s Angela Rayner, Liberal Democrats’ Daisy Cooper, Scottish National Party’s Stephen Flynn, Green Party’s Carla Denyer, Plaid Cymru’s Rhun ap Iorwerth, and Reform UK’s Nigel Farage’s time on TV shift the needle on the conversation?

Tax, health and foreign affairs – Most popular topics before and after Friday’s debate

Taking the spotlight for many write-ups in the press and reaction on social media following the debate were the clashes between deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner and Commons leader Penny Mordaunt, who had been placed in close proximity.

Key moments from Friday: The clash over Mordaunt’s choice to repeat Conservative claims that Labour would raise taxes by £2,000; Mordaunt’s repeated apologies for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s early departure from the D-Day ceremony; and Reform leader Nigel Farage’s strong criticism of Sunak, branding him ‘unpatriotic’ and a ‘complete and utter disgrace’. Farage himself did not escape harsh words, being described as a ‘clown personality’ by Rayner.

Overall, the BBC debate didn’t make a significant splash when it comes to pushing the directions of press coverage and online conversations. The main difference in trending topics across both when looking at pre- and post- Friday’s debate is for discussion of tax.

Tax saw the highest increase (+7.5%) among the topics we tracked compared to share of voice before Friday’s televised debate.

Mordaunt was criticised by many across social media for returning to the well of that controversial £2k tax claim that Sunak had dug in the first debate:

Reports from Sky News, BBC, and The Guardian concerning Labour’s mention of ‘no tax hikes’ were highly shared.

Another conversation that increased following the second debate – the topic of the NHS.

Analysis shows this was driven by Farage’s statement during the debate that the NHS should be scrapped in its current form. This comment continues to drive discussion in the press and online, as it faces criticism from left-leaning audiences:

Which of the two TV debates so far has driven the most coverage and conversation?

Analysis of the 24-hour periods following each debate shows that it was 6 June’s ITV broadcast that has had the most impact on the conversation and coverage, driving reports and shares. The reason for this could be two-fold – the first debate of its kind for this General Election drew more curiosity, and featured the only two party leaders realistically positioned to be UK Prime Minister post election.

But what do the polls say?

Following the BBC debate, a poll from More in Common found that Farage possibly came out on top; with 25% thinking the Reform leader had won the debate; 19% saying Angela Rayner; 14% saying none of the above; 11% for the Green Party’s Carla Denyer; 10% for the Scottish Nationalist Party’s Stephen Flynn; 7% for Penny Mordaunt; 5% for the Liberal Democrat’s Daisy Cooper; and 2% for Plaid Cymru’s Rhun ap Iorwerth.

As the media, and voters, await the release of each party’s manifestos this week – much mooted by each speaker throughout both TV tussles – debate as fierce as those televised so far continues online and in the press.

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

How to get PR coverage in June 2024 and beyond

Travel experts, election comment and festival essentials: How to get coverage in the press in June

June 10, 2024/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, PR, Communications, Media Media Database, Media Monitoring, PR, Press and Bloggers Blog Posts /by Andrew Strutt

Want to get media coverage in June? The next month will be a busy one for journalists, with General Election build up, Glastonbury, Wimbledon, the Euros to cover.

The ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service gives a good indicator of what topics and areas the media are particularly interested in and what they will need from PRs. Here are trends from May, and what we expect to be popular in June and beyond.

Summer season is here

While it isn’t officially summer yet, journalists have been keen to cover it with over 8% of the total requests last month containing the word ‘summer’. The enquiries have varied quite widely in topic but many have been around ‘holidays’, with that also appearing in 3% of requests in May.

‘BBQ’ has proved popular, too, with the word appearing in 2% of enquiries. The start of summer also marks ‘festival’ season with 1.5% of requests in May looking for information and essential products to take camping.

Going forward? While ‘Summer’ is broad as a keyword, we know that ‘holidays’ will continue to perform well as the Travel category peaks for requests in June. Journalists will want comments from travel experts. Summer fashion, beauty and health will also prove popular, so get information or experts ready and you could feature in The Guardian, Women’s Fitness, Fabulous, The i paper, Ideal Home, Pick Me Up! and the MailOnline.

UK General Election takes centre stage

While much of the UK press were expecting an Autumn election, the surprise announcement in May didn’t stop journalists sending requests to PRs related to the news – ‘Election’ appeared in 2% of the total enquiries last month.

Initial journalist requests sought ‘business leaders’ thoughts on the UK election’ and ‘comment from logistics expert on how the General Election could impact the UK logistics and supply chain sector’.

Going forward? With less than a month until the General Election, journalists will increasingly use the service to get comments from different sectors for how it will impact them. This represents a great opportunity to get CEOs or industry leaders featured in the media. The Times, Sunday Mirror, The Independent, and Reuters have all had journalists send requests around the election already.

Interest in gardening and AI still high as sport gains more traction

‘Gardening’ and ‘AI’ have both been consistently popular on the Journalist Enquiry Service for several months now and that didn’t change in May. ‘Gardening’ appeared in 5% of the total requests last month and ‘AI’ occurred in just over 3%.

With a big summer of sport ahead, including the Euros, Wimbledon and the Olympics, the category increased in use by journalists by 12% compared to April. ‘Euros’ and ‘football’ combined appeared in 1% of the requests last month.

Going forward? Garden requests are likely to remain high in June with the more summery weather (we hope) the Home & Garden category received 7% more requests in May this year compared to 2023. AI has seen an even bigger increase, with 17% more enquiries last month than this time last year. Journalists are looking to connect with experts in both of these areas. In regards to sport, requests tend to be for places to watch sporting events, or products to work alongside it.

Other opportunities for PRs in June and beyond

As June is Pride month in the UK, journalists will likely be looking for events and what’s on in certain cities to celebrate. Expect ‘LGBTQ’ to crop up in a lot of requests from the media, too. Aside from the two big music festivals in June, Taylor Swift is also coming to the UK and journalists have already been sending requests around this, mainly for personal case studies.

It’s Men’s Health Week from 14-20 June, so get ready for the opportunities to get health and medical experts featured in the media. There is also Clean Air Day on 20 June, providing a chance to get environmental experts quoted in the press.

To connect with the media on these topics, and much more, check out the Journalist Enquiry Service and the Vuelio Media Database.

Find out more how Vuelio can help you gain and track your coverage in the media here.

How to connect with health journalists in the post-pandemic era

June 10, 2024/0 Comments/in PR, Health, Communications, Media Media Database, Media Monitoring, PR, Press and Bloggers Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Just as the healthcare sector was forever changed by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, so too was how the media reports on the topics of health, medicine, and treatment.

What does this mean for PRs aiming to connect with health journalists now?

Forbes.com senior contributor Katherine Hignett led Vuelio event ‘Truth and impact: Health journalism in the post-pandemic era’ on Wednesday evening, 29 May, at Vinoteca City to share her experiences and insight.

Topics covered – how health journalists became a vital force in newsrooms across the world; the challenges of sourcing trustworthy experts; and the long-term impacts still being felt in the media today.

How the pandemic changed health journalism

Extra pressures
Health journalism already comes with unique demands – ‘It’s very technical, and has regulatory frameworks other sectors don’t,’ Katherine explained – but the start of COVID-19 only brought more challenges…

Culture wars
‘Disinformation is a huge issue on social media now, and it gave us more work to do during the pandemic – debunking and extra fact-checking as part of every report. Topics that were politically inert were now potentially culturally sensitive.’

Katherine explained the impact of the rise in anti-vax sentiment, conspiracy theories, and misinformation on medications that could supposedly stop the spread.

‘When fact-checking stories, we had to personally deal with conspiracy theorists and anti-science sentiment. We got some nasty stuff from strangers over the internet. Some of these things are still with us today’.

Increased responsibility
‘Before the pandemic, the closer a story was to politics, political journalists would pick up the story. But suddenly, the expertise we had as health journalists was really important to those stories. We were suddenly among the most important journalists in the room’.

New sources
With all of the bad, came some good:

‘It was suddenly easier to get information from sources. NHS workers weren’t so open to talk to journalists before, but then, even though managers would try to stop sources in back offices from leaking information, people did it.

‘We were given amazing data on staff levels, PPE. We didn’t have capacity to cover it all.’

How to work with health journalists today

‘Covid is still something we cover everyday, even if it’s indirectly covered,’ said Katherine.

The legacy of the pandemic is also felt in how journalists source, fact-check, write, and share stories. This also impacts how they work with PRs.

Do extra checks on your experts
‘It’s more difficult to figure out who to trust when it comes to experts now,’ explained Katherine.

‘The pandemic was really good training for journalists on how to work with experts. Just because someone wears a white coat, doesn’t mean they know what they’re talking about.’

‘We often speak to them about research, and for commentary for articles. Sometimes the press can over-egg and oversell scientific findings, so genuine experts are really important.’

What is a sign of a trustworthy expert for health journalists? University affiliations. Katherine also pointed out pHd research as an interesting starting point for stories, and a way to find and connect with new experts.

Provide sources for stories
As people the world over have made efforts to return to some form of normality, so too has the status quo on sources:

‘Sadly, the sources and tips have gone back to “normal” now; it’s more tricky,’ shared Katherine.

While Katherine herself has a consumer and national focus in her work, she highlighted trade journalism’s deep connections with useful sources:

‘The trade press are really good at finding stories we wouldn’t find in consumer and on national titles, because they have access to contacts we don’t.

‘Journalists working on consumer media rely a lot on trade press, but also on releases and contacts from charities.’

What Katherine is interested in for her own reporting – drug shortages on a national scale, and health stories that reveal information that could impact society.

‘As a country, we are sicker than we were before Covid. It had a big impact on drug shortages, and exacerbated existing global issues. Many are still waiting for care that was cancelled during the pandemic. People are getting sicker and relying on medication – more pain, and more drugs, while waiting for surgery.

‘For journalists, this means there are more opportunities to hold people to account. It’s an important and fascinating area.’

Katherine Hignett is a senior contributor to Forbes.com on healthcare and health policy, and freelance journalist for titles such as Metro.co.uk and Newsweek. Katherine is a former correspondent for award-winning health policy publication the Health Service Journal, and was recognised by PressGazette for her investigative work exposing PPE shortages in hospitals during the pandemic.

To connect with health journalists working across broadcast, national and regional press, consumer and trade publications, the Vuelio Media Database and ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service can help.

UK General Election 2024: What was the state of the public conversation leading into the first debate?

June 5, 2024/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, Politics, PR, Communications, Media Media Database, Media Monitoring, Political Services, PR, Political Database, Press and Bloggers Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

By Phoebe-Jane Boyd and Dahye Lee.

The first television debate between party leaders took place on Tuesday 4 June, coming at the culmination of two weeks campaigning in which both Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer set out their stalls for the country. But, as the studio lights went up on Tuesday evening, which policies and points of view had already cut through into public consciousness?

Read the full transcript of the ITV debate here.

Using Pulsar TRAC, we analysed social and news mentions of themes in the UK General Election 2024 conversation across X, TikTok, Threads, Facebook, blogs, forums, online news, print news, TV, radio, and podcasts between 23 May – 5 June 2024.

Here is what is capturing the attention of the media and the public.

As the UK prepares for the upcoming General Election, stay informed with the latest news by signing up to our Vuelio General Election Updates.

Labour vs Conservatives: Who’s dominating discussion around specific topics?

Analysis of these key topics broken down by mentions of each party shows a mostly equal split of coverage and conversation for Labour and Conservative… with the expected outlier of National Service. The Tory proposal has been further amplified by ITV’s coverage.

As of today, a major focus of mentions for Labour are foreign affairs, NHS/health, and energy & sustainability, and this was driven by Tuesday’s debate directly. An X post from MP David Lammy regarding the NHS triggered intense engagement online, as did his commentary on bombing in Gaza.

News vs social media: Where are people talking and engaging?

While both social media and news outlets focus on the NHS, the narratives unfolding on each platform differ.

News coverage centres on questions regarding how national service can support NHS issues, while social media users urge support of the NHS and junior doctor strikes.

Immigration is the second highest topic in news coverage. Tackled by Sunak and Starmer during the debate, the resulting high number of mentions is largely driven by write-ups in right-wing outlets. Their focus? Reports regarding migrant channel crossings.

Media outlets leading coverage and engagement around the General Election

Which media outlets are leading coverage of the 2024 UK General Election so far, and sparking shares on social media?

The Mirror’s reporting of Sunak’s interactions with Russian associates – not covered in Tuesdsay’s debate – has received considerable traction among left-leaning readers, who have expressed concern over his affiliations with Russia.

While BBC’s coverage of Sunak’s National Service plan maintains broader audience interest, the Scottish Daily Express has sparked controversy, and engagement, with its reporting of alleged ‘outright lies’ in the Scottish National Party’s campaigning.

While Tuesday’s debate did not necessarily introduce anything new into the fabric of discussion, with both leaders returning to topics and talking points that they know to be important to their audiences and stakeholders, it did re-entrench battle lines. Tax is now more central to the overall discussion, which had previously not attained much prominence, or airtime.

Whether it’s Sunak’s £2,000 tax attack line, or the subsequent debunking of the figure the next day, which sticks in voter’s minds, the subsequent weeks will reveal.

For extra on the UK political landscape, sign up to the weekly Vuelio Point of Order newsletter.

Find out more about Vuelio’s solutions for public affairs and politics.

The perception of PR in sustainability communications

May 30, 2024/in Political Database, Political Monitoring, Media Database, Media Monitoring /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

The current climate of accountability for those with influence and power means organisations are held to higher standards than ever before.

Now that ESG concerns are an unavoidable responsibility of public relations, how can practitioners ensure they’re communicating on sustainability with full transparency?

Our latest report uses Pulsar and Vuelio to track the sustainability conversation across press, online news sources, and social media between January 2023 to February 2024, uncovering the responsibilities that come with this new reality.

Read ‘The perception of PR in sustainability communications: How to avoid greenwashing and be an advocate for change’ to learn:

How PR became inextricably tied up in sustainability discourse and the role of practitioners going forward
Which stories grab the attention of the press and public and how to secure positive coverage and engagement
Why understanding where and how your audiences and stakeholders share information can help your strategic planning and inspire longer-term loyalty

Download the report by filling in the form below 👇

So many podcasts… and for good reason

How podcasts reached audiences with reports of water pollution

What renewed public interest in local journalism?

‘What local journalism should be about’: The Manchester Mill finds its community online

Nichification: Success in Suffolk?

Journalism is…

How is journalism perceived in the UK in comparison to other regions?

Is journalism ‘dead’?

Is journalism still ‘crucial’, ‘essential’, and ‘important’?

Halloween on the horizon

Gift guides and advent calendars in high demand

Autumnal advice, mental health experts, and fashion in focus

Other opportunities for PRs in October and beyond

Why learn from brands?

The key challenges of amplifying your voice?

Understanding your audience and where to aim your comms

How to cut through the noise with your comms

Key takeaways to remember when elevating your voice

Christmas content in demand

Summer season falls into Autumn

Four day work week, winter fuel payment, and AI

Other opportunities for PRs in September and beyond

Our gold medal goes to… cheese

Silver goes to… Mongolia’s opening ceremony uniform

Bronze goes to…Snoop Dogg and Flavor Flav

And the ‘better luck next time’ award goes to… a well-intentioned misstep in memeing

Understanding interactive content

Why should your business invest in interactive content?

Interactive content and digital PR

Successful examples of interactive content

Boosting engagement through newsjacking in interactive content

Creating interactive content on a budget

Intermediate interactive content ideas

Advanced interactive content for bigger budgets

Tips for creating effective interactive content

Conclusion

The clampdown on ESG claims

Why words matter

Mistakes to avoid

The difficulties of the Green Claims Code

What do journalists want from PRs on ‘green’ topics?

Reaching for the stars on ESG

General Election fallout

Summer holidays and gardening remain popular

Other opportunities for PRs in July and beyond

What topics cut through the conversation regarding Reform UK’s manifesto?

The practicalities of Reform UK’s manifesto – will it help the party’s chances at the voting booths this year?

Manifesto coverage and conversation – Conservatives vs Labour

Did Labour’s manifesto make an impact?

Did the Conservative manifesto make a difference?

Political stakeholder reaction – a look back at the week

Fact-checking and misinformation

Winning back time

Help with vertical video

Tax, health and foreign affairs – Most popular topics before and after Friday’s debate

Which of the two TV debates so far has driven the most coverage and conversation?

But what do the polls say?

Summer season is here

UK General Election takes centre stage

Interest in gardening and AI still high as sport gains more traction

Other opportunities for PRs in June and beyond

How the pandemic changed health journalism

How to work with health journalists today

Top mentioned topics in UK General Election 2024 coverage and conversation

National Service stirs engagement

Balance of conversation

Labour vs Conservatives: Who’s dominating discussion around specific topics?

News vs social media: Where are people talking and engaging?

Media outlets leading coverage and engagement around the General Election

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