Recollection of negative coverage for charities is falling, shows Gorkana survey

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For the third business quarter (July-September 2016) Gorkana’s Charity Attitudes Benchmarking Survey shows that recollection of negative coverage around charities has consistently fallen in the lead up to the end of the year.

Out of 1000 respondents, the number of people who noticed negative coverage fell to 23%, which is down from 24% in the second quarter and down from 42% in the first quarter of the year.

There appears to be a link between recollection of negative coverage and how likely people think it would be for negative coverage to have an impact on their decision to donate. Respondents claiming “It would definitely affect my decision” fell from 46% to 43% of respondents quarter-on-quarter, and was 51% in this first quarter of the year.

Recollection of “any” press coverage about charities is roughly consistent, however. In the third quarter 29% of the respondents said they recalled coverage. This compares to 30% of respondents in Q2.

Over the year, donations have shown little change, despite recollections varying quite a lot from the first quarter. Twenty-three per cent of those responding to the survey said that they donated to charity in the first and second quarters. Some 22% of respondents said they did in the third quarter.

Orla Graham, senior client insight manager at Gorkana, said: “It’s very interesting that the proportion of people who said they have donated does not appear to correlate to those recalling negative coverage.

“This suggests that the power of proactive campaigns is possibly outweighing incidental news coverage in encouraging the public to donate. It could also mean that although the proportion of people donating is relatively steady, they are simply being picky about which charities they support.”

Charities are working to build public trust

Vicky Browning, director at CharityComms, said this may be an indication of the work charities have put in to rebuild public trust after negative coverage in the summer of 2015, which saw the collapse of Kids Company and many accused of fundraising scandals.

“Since the burst of negative media coverage in the summer of 2015, charities have been working hard at every level to address the concerns raised in the press, particularly around fundraising practices and strengthening governance,” she said.

Since these incidents, Browning explains that there is now a new Fundraising Regulator, the Code of Fundraising has been strengthened, the law has been changed to protect vulnerable individuals, and the Charity Commission has issued revised guidance. Furthermore, the bodies representing the sector are working to improve best practice and charities themselves have taken action.

Browning added: “This is a work in progress – there is more to do – but the last year has seen the charity sector set itself firmly on the right course to rebuild public trust. It has also been quite the year for dramatic news stories, what with Brexit, Trump and a raft of celebrity deaths, so the media has had plenty of other stories to focus on!”

  • With access to 4.5 million potential respondents, Gorkana gives you the ability to shape your communications strategy quickly and accurately by conducting instant, cost-effective surveys and poll a representative sample of the UK population.
  • To find out more about surveys, Gorkana’s Charity Attitudes Benchmarking Survey and the monthly Gorkana Charity Barometer, which helps charities and agencies benchmark media activity in the sector, please contact [email protected].
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Your Move and e.surv appoint Rostrum

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National lettings agency Your Move and chartered surveyors firm e.surv, both subsidiaries of LSL Property Services, have appointed Rostrum as their corporate PR agency.

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Mark Houlding

Rostrum is working with the teams at Your Move and e.surv to raise their profiles with consumers and the housing and mortgage industries, providing support through the publication of property market indices as well as core PR and social media services.

Your Move has 285 branches across England and Scotland, its core business is residential property services and lettings, and it also offers mortgage and remortgage services. Valuation provider e.surv employs over 500 residential surveyors across the UK, supported by a network of consultant valuers.

Louise Hudson, marketing director at LSL, said: “We were very confident that the Rostrum team could handle the challenge of producing our content, notably the various indices we publish on various aspects of the UK housing market – and were impressed with their ideas, creative thinking and expertise in our sector.”

Mark Houlding, CEO at Rostrum, added: “Your Move and e.surv are great brands in the UK housing market and we’re enjoying representing both companies as we continue to expand Rostrum’s work in the sector.”

Harvester hires Threepipe

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Family restaurant chain Harvester has handed a retained PR brief to Threepipe to manage its social media and consumer press office activity, following a competitive pitch.

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Harvester

Threepipe has been briefed to generate brand awareness, drive consideration and build brand loyalty for the Harvester brand over the next 12 months, “setting it apart from competitors”, says Threepipe co-founder Jim Hawker, through impactful, multi-channel campaigns.

Anneli Fereday, marketing manager at Harvester owner Mitchells & Butlers, said: “We were incredibly impressed by Threepipe’s response to the brief. The team fully understood the challenges we face and were able to present us with a plan that would help to carve out a niche in a highly competitive market.

“Threepipe’s creative ideas really showed us how they can combine PR and social to drive key messages and impact. We’re looking forward to working with the team over the next 12 months.”

Jim Hawker, co-founder at Threepipe, said: “We are delighted to have been briefed by Harvester for the next 12 months. Our mission has been set to help define Harvester’s opportunity and set it apart from competitors by consolidating the brand’s content creation. The brand’s great ambition and its diverse fan base gives us the perfect platform to continue to grow awareness and expand consideration amongst new and existing diners as they look for different dining options.”

Edelman appoints former chief advisor to Boris Johnson

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Edelman has appointed Boris Johnson’s former chief advisor Will Walden as managing director, public affairs, and has promoted Gupreet Brar to general manager, Brussels.

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Will Walden

Walden joins the PR firm in January 2017.

Most recently, Walden was the chief advisor and communications director to Foreign Secretary and former Mayor of London Boris Johnson. He ran Johnson’s transition team at the Foreign Office and was his principal political and media advisor during the referendum campaign.

Walden also spent four years as the Mayor’s communications director, official spokesperson and director of external affairs at City Hall, where he oversaw communications during the London Olympics, and helped shape policy and messaging around transport, housing, business, education, the arts, and policing.

Before working with Johnson, Walden spent 19 years in broadcast journalism, including roles at ITV, Granada, GMTV, ITN and the BBC as a reporter, producer and editor.

Walden takes over the managing director, public affairs role from Gurpreet Brar, who has been promoted to the role of general manager, Brussels.

Walden said: “Edelman represents the best of public affairs with a portfolio that’s benefitted immensely from Gurpreet’s leadership. I want to build on that success, driving public affairs integration within the company’s wider UK, European and International operations, while helping to shape Edelman’s growth in what are unique and challenging times politically. I can’t wait to get stuck in – working with an immensely talented and innovative team, building on their ideas and – I hope – bringing my own perspective from media and government to their work.”

Michael Stewart, European CEO at Edelman, added: “As the home of the European political agenda, Brussels remains a high priority market for the region, and Gurpreet brings a raft of experience leading and executing pan-European strategic communications and integrated public affairs campaigns across multiple sectors and markets. His deep sector knowledge and expertise, as well as his innovative approach to public policy engagement for organisations such as such as Unilever, Tata Steel and Pfizer will ensure Edelman is at the forefront of helping clients navigate the ever-evolving Brussels legislative agenda”.

Brar added: “I am delighted to be taking up the role as general manager of a key office in the Edelman network at this challenging time for the future of our continent. I’ve had a fantastic two and a half years restructuring the UK Public Affairs team, building out the offers for purpose advocacy, government affairs and campaigning.”

Webinar: 2016 – a year in PR

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Tin Man’s Mandy Sharp and The PC Agency’s Paul Charles will take up Gorkana’s annual challenge today at 3pm (Wednesday 14 December) to identify key PR trends for 2017. Register now.

It may sound like a cliche, but it’s important to take a moment at the end of every year to see if yoa-year-in-pr-2u can learn any lessons from the last 12 months and try to predict what might lie ahead.

With this in mind, Gorkana is hosting a webinar next week, with two key PR agency experts taking a look back at what has been a tumultuous 2016 and predict their top PR trends for the year ahead.

In a year that has seen an end to any form of dead-cert predictions, look out for this special end-of-year webinar, which takes place at 3pm on  Wednesday 14 September.

Mandy Sharp, founder of multi-award winning creative comms agency Tin Man, and Paul Charles, former comms director for Richard Branson and founder of global travel PR firm The PC Agency, will team up to present their thoughts in response to Gorkana’s annual challenge to identify key PR trends to look out for in the New Year.

Highlighting their comms highlights and lowlights over the past year, Mandy and Paul, in conversation with Gorkana‘s head of news and content, Philip Smith, will identify the key lessons we can learn from the last 12 months and reveal their top tips for campaign success in 2017.

Full details below:

Webinar:   2016 – a year in PR
Date:             Wednesday 14 December
Time:            3pm

To join this webinar, register here.

Madeleine Thompson briefs The Fashion Digital

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British knitwear designer Madeleine Thompson has appointed The Fashion Digital as its social media agency.

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Madeleine Thompson

Madeleine Thompson’s eponymous brand began with a cashmere beanie, which led to a collection of luxury cashmere ready-to-wear items, with stockists including NET-A-PORTER, Harvey Nichols Selfridges.

The Fashion Digital has been briefed to shape Madeleine Thompson’s social media identity across multiple platforms.

Thompson said: “I am so pleased to be working with The Fashion Digital who totally share my vision on how we want to grow and develop on social media and I am excited to see their commitment and energy.”

Fashion journalist and social media strategist Natalie Hughes launched The Fashion Digital as a social media and content agency specialising in social media and online content for luxury fashion brands. The agency aims to help fashion companies enhance their online presence through digital marketing.

Aspectus and Fidessa mark eight-year partnership

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This month marks the eighth year of a partnership between comms agency for the financial services, energy, engineering and technology sectors, Aspectus, and Fidessa, the trading technology firm.

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Katy Galasinski

Aspectus was appointed Fidessa’s media relations agency in 2008, following its takeover of a business that was previously a client of Aspectus. Since then, Aspectus has supported Fidessa with branding, content development and media relations.

Simon Barnby, group marketing director at Fidessa, said: “The capital markets team at Aspectus has provided us with eight years of valuable support. Like any successful relationship, it has morphed and changed and all sides have worked to keep it fresh and focussed.

“Aspectus delivers consistently top quality media results and the latest segment they secured for us on Sky News is a clear example of that.”

Katy Galasinski, group director at Aspectus, added: “Fidessa has been pivotal in many aspects of the agency’s development, backing us to open in the US and expand our services.

“The relationship we have today is completely different from how things started, but the core team remains largely unchanged. We are delighted to be celebrating eight years of hard work on both sides and look forward to many more.”

Aspectus’ specialist capital markets team also supports ITG, Tradeweb and Cavendish Asset Management.

FleishmanHillard chairman appointed PRCA Fellow

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John Graham, chairman at FleishmanHillard, is the most recent Fellow to be appointed by the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA).

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John Graham

Graham joined FleishmanHillard in 1966, was elected vice president, director and senior partner in 1970, president and CEO in 1974 and chairman in 1988.

During his career, Graham has worked across many aspects of PR and communications, including public affairs, financial strategy, corporate strategy, investor relations, crisis situations, employee relations, strategic media placement, opinion research and issues management.

PRCA Fellowships are awarded to individuals who have made a major contribution to the PR and communications industry, and are selected according to the joint recommendation of the chairman of Fellows, the board chairman and the director general of the PRCA. Those recommendations are voted on by the PRCA board.

David Gallagher, international president for growth and development at Omnicom Public Relations Group and chairman of the PRCA Fellows, said: “It is a great pleasure to announce that John Graham is the latest Fellow of the PRCA. He is now part of the UK’s most elite body of PR and communications practitioners.”

MJ Hudson appoints Cubitt Consulting as corporate and financial comms adviser

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Multi-disciplinary professional services firm, MJ Hudson, has appointed Cubitt Consulting to advise on its communications advisory services across Europe.

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Simon Brocklebank-Fowler

Matthew Hudson, CEO at MJ Hudson, said: “Cubitt shares our ambition to build the preeminent consultancy in alternative assets. The team’s knowledge of both the alternatives and professional services sectors was critical in our decision to appoint.”

MJ Hudson provides advice and operating infrastructure to more than 300 asset managers worldwide, with £200bn assets under management (AUM). It supports the activities of over 100 institutional investors responsible for over £500bn.

Simon Brocklebank-Fowler, managing partner at Cubitt Consulting, added: “MJ Hudson is exactly the kind of company we like to represent. It is doing something no one has ever done before, and is innovating from a sector that has historically been risk averse.”

MJ Hudson is based across London, Paris, Zurich, Jersey and Guernsey. It has achieved average annual revenue growth of above 50% since inception, and plans to make further acquisitions in the sector to broaden its offering.

 

Cisco hires Oliver Roll as CCO

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Oliver Roll is joining US-based technology conglomerate Cisco as SVP and chief communications officer.

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Oliver Roll

In his new position, Roll will lead analyst and public relations, executive and employee communications and office of the CEO communications.

Roll joins from VMWare, where he was chief communications officer and led brand communications work. He’s held senior leadership roles in communications and marketing in Europe, Asia and the US.

Cisco develops, manufactures and sells networking hardware, telecommunications equipment and other services and products.