Archive for: PR

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) and the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) have teamed up to address mental health challenges within the public relations and communications industry.

Working in partnership with Opinium, the industry bodies have launched a survey to gauge the wellbeing of those currently working in PR. Results will be used to form a cross-industry joint summer programme with the aim of tackling the mental challenges PR practitioners face as part of their jobs. Opinium’s Workplace Mental Wellbeing Framework will provide support.

‘The impact of the stress attached to working in public relations needs no introduction,’ says CIPR chief executive Alastair McCapra. ‘The fast-paced, public-facing nature of our work means it can be incredibly rewarding but also hugely taxing. It is the single biggest threat to the profession as a whole – whatever sector, whatever discipline, and whatever level you work in – it shouldn’t have to be this way and collectively this is something we can only change by working together. The pandemic has only served to heighten existing pressures which is why now is the right time for our respective bodies to work together in playing our part to support our members and the wider profession.’

PRCA director general and ICCO chief executive Francis Ingham agrees that the pandemic has magnified existing issues:

‘There is no doubt that the industry’s mental health challenges have been compounded by the pandemic. Our people have worked under extraordinary pressure and we must now do everything in our power to establish policies and foster cultures that prioritise mental health. Every employer has a responsibility and a duty of care towards their staff in this regard. I’m pleased that the industry bodies will be working together to create positive change. This is our opportunity to create the change our industry needs.’

Opinium CEO James Endersby sees the joint initiative as a real opportunity to make meaningful change for the industry at large:

‘This has been a challenging year for everyone, with the pandemic impacting so many areas of our lives including our mental health and work lives. Given the challenges we have all faced this year, businesses now have an even bigger role to play in supporting their employees with their mental health. We are delighted to once again be partnering with the PRCA, ICCO and the CIPR to conduct our workplace mental wellbeing audit amongst their members, both agency and client side. If you don’t listen to employees, you can’t effectively help support them with their mental wellbeing – we hope our insights will help accelerate change across the sector at a global level.’

Everyone working within PR and comms are invited to complete the survey to aid the initiative – take part here.

For more on mental health stresses in the public relations industry, here are 7 ways to protect your mental health in PR and communications and these tips for staying motivated at work.

Worried about burnout? Watch our accessmatters session with KDP Consulting’s Katie Phillips on her experiences and what you can do to look out for yourself and your coworkers.

The second set of results from Carta Communications’ and The Pulse Business’ quarterly PR and Communications Tracker show an increase in optimism among PR leaders for Q2.

Reinventions of approach and services is one of the biggest trends in the latest survey of in-house PR leaders, which found that 45% have made ‘significant changes’ and a further 41% have made ‘some changes’ to the way they operate since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

A third (32%) of respondents reported feeling ‘very positive’ about the future of their business over the next year, with another 58% feeling ‘quite positive’. Only 24% had felt ‘very positive’ and 63% ‘quite positive’ at the start of the previous quarter.

Carta Communications founder and director Matt Cartmell said: ‘Our industry has now embraced what I call ‘perma-pivot’, in which any sense of stasis has been banished with leaders forever finding new ways to deliver their storytelling and reputation management capabilities. It’s never been a more exciting time to be working in the world of PR.’

Imogen Osborne, owner of The Pulse Business, is glad to see the spurring of innovation: ‘What a relief to see some good news in terms of an upbeat industry that has thrived on re-invention and is taking bold steps to maintain growth. At the start of the pandemic, many comms leaders spoke in cautious tones, daunted by the prospect of remote working and managing seemingly disparate teams. In fact, this new hybrid model is clearly producing results and makes a sound business case for constant innovation.’

To offer your own insights for the next PR and Communications Tracker, email Imogen Osborne via [email protected].

Catch up on previous results from the PR and Communications Tracker here.

The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) has published a guide in association with Current Global to aid PR and communications professionals with the delivery of content accessible to people of all abilities. 

Research from Current Global, MAGNA and IPG Media Lab has revealed that 15% of the global population live with a disability and that 64% of those who use assistive tools experience challenges when accessing content.

The PRCA’s 35-page guide features case studies, advice and tools for PR practitioners who want to make their content fully accessible, including how to develop accessible content and campaigns whether visual, text, social media-focused, influencer-led or a physical or virtual event.

‘As professional communicators, it is incumbent on us to make communications inclusive for people of all abilities so we can reach every member of society,’ said PRCA director general and chief executive of ICCO Francis Ingham.

Co-founder and CEO of Current Global George Coleman added: ‘The technology and tools to help us do this are readily available, so the key priority is to update the way we work to adhere to best practices laid out in the guidelines.

‘Every day content is published that isn’t accessible to all. It doesn’t have to be this way. Over a billion people worldwide have some form of disability, a significant audience many are excluding. We have a moral duty to address this – and we hope the guidelines provide a practical starting point to instigate change to the way the industry works.’

For more on accessibility in PR, read our previous post on 5 ways to make your workplace more inclusive for dyslexic individuals.

Three-quarters of senior business leaders believe ESG – Environmental, social and governance – issues are more important than ever this year, according to research from comms agency Grayling.

The survey of 500 business leaders included in Grayling’s whitepaper New Collectivism: Building Better Business found that 45% of senior leaders in big businesses agreed that ESG would be more important than in any previous year. 82% also believe the decisions they make in 2021 will be more important than in previous years.

Reflecting the move from the ‘profit first’ approach of the 70s and 80s to modern ethics-led aims, 63% of the senior leaders surveyed agree that businesses have a responsibility to society at large, with 85% also saying collective responsibility is important for future business success.

Sustainability is also an important factor for modern business, as 43% of all large business leaders consider it a priority. Challenges cited by respondents to the Grayling survey included COVID-19 limiting sustainability conversations (26%), politicisation (14%) and customer, consumer and Government pressure (14%).

Grayling head of corporate, UK & Europe Tom Nutt said that the report findings ‘confirm what we have been observing for some time now – that businesses are reassessing the wider role of their organisations in society. This is being driven by three things – concerns about climate change and the environment; social unrest around the world and the simple fact that sustainable business is good business.

‘It’s an understatement to say that the last year has been a momentous one for business. But the effect has been to speed up and add greater urgency to existing trends, rather than new ones emerging. I expect this sense of urgency to be on display at COP26 this year which is undoubtedly the most important UN Climate Change conference ever.’

Grayling’s whitepaper New Collectivism: Building Better Business can be downloaded here.

For more PR trends to be ready for this year, check out our round-up of insight from 13 PR thought leaders.

Considering your own ESG strategy? Read our report The Environment, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) opportunity for public relations. 

This is a guest post from Chloe Rowlands, Digital PR Strategist at I-COM.

When it comes to thinking creatively and ideating for a digital PR campaign, it can be difficult to know where to begin.

Many people have their own preferred methods for coming up with ideas, whether that’s with a traditional brainstorming session or some industry research, however, there are certain steps you need to include in your ideation process to ensure your campaign has a higher chance of success.

You need to consider the following things when ideating:

• What topics are relevant to your industry, audience and services/products?
• Do you have any interesting company news or product sales data that you can utilise to create a story?
• Look for inspiration either by following digital PR accounts, or looking at competitors and seeing what campaigns are doing well
• Where is your audience likely to read? This allows you to target the right publications
• Once you know which publications you want to target, spend time consuming the news via these sites so you can see what kind of stories they share, and what style they write in – this helps when it comes to pitching your idea
• What emotional response do you want to achieve with your campaign?

Evergreen and newsworthy Topics
Before any ideation session, it’s worth writing down a mix of both evergreen and topical themes that are relevant to your industry. For example, evergreen topics are ideas that never date and are regularly covered such as:

• The Kardashians
• The Weather
• Christmas

Topical themes are things that are being covered in the news now. Both evergreen and topical content have something in common – they have wide audiences that are interested in them, and journalists are more likely to cover the idea if it sits under one of those brackets.

A great tip would be to tie both a topical and newsworthy topic together, as this provides you with a stronger chance of coverage and offers a more unique story for journalists.

What emotional response do you want to achieve?
Before ideating for a campaign, it’s important to consider what the objectives are and also, what way do you want the piece to be received by your target audience?

For example, are you wanting to position your brand as an expert on a current, newsworthy issue? Do you want to create social media buzz or are you wanting to draw attention to something important on a serious subject but in an engaging way?

Research has shown that campaigns that evoke certain emotional responses, tend to have a higher success rate in terms of coverage and links. The top three emotions revealed were nostalgia, happiness and disgust – clearly indicating what resonates the most with audiences. Take this into consideration before starting a campaign, which emotional response best fits your brand and will help you to achieve your objectives?

Utilise resources
One of the best ways to come up with strong campaign ideas is to follow accounts within your industry or follow the work of competitors to see what people are talking about.

There are also many different tools and resources that help make brainstorming for ideas a lot easier, from easily searching trending topics to seeing exactly when certain subjects peak in the press!

Want more on ideation and content creation? Check out these tips on creating content in-house.