What PRs think of Twitter’s ‘See What’s Happening?’ campaign

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Twitter is the social tool that allows PRs to tell brand stories every day, but what do comms pros think of Twitter’s own brand story in the new ‘See What’s Happening?’ campaign? Eulogy, Wern PR, Dynamo and Portland tell Gorkana what they think.

On Monday Twitter’s chief marketing officer, Leslie Berland, stated in a company blog post that its market research showed that, while 90% of people globally recognise the Twitter brand, many of those not using the product still don’t understand its functionality.

Berland stated in the post: “Twitter is where you go to see what’s happening everywhere in the world right now.”

This is the message that will lead the campaign that Twitter is due to release ‘over the next coming days and weeks’. The campaign will include videos (such as the one above) and digital ads that centre around ‘what happens’ on the platform such as commentary around breaking news, political and sporting events.

The blog post was published prior to Twitter’s earnings results, released last night (26 July), which showed that the growth of monthly active users is slower than expected by the stock market, rising to only 313 million from 310 million earlier this year.  

Comms pros from Wern PR, Eulogy, Dynamo and Portland give Gorkana their feedback on how well this essential PR tool is telling its own brand story.

Lucy Werner, director, Wern PR 

“The problem isn’t that people haven’t heard of Twitter it’s that they don’t know what it does. This is a good stab at trying to explain what Twitter is but if the entire campaign is dominated by videos and digital ads then it might miss the target audience.

“If this campaign was renamed it could be “Twitter resolves to tell the world what Twitter does through the medium of Twitter”. Instead of a series of videos or digital ads, something non-digital might be the best way to educate those consumers who don’t understand or use it.”

Gregor Poynton, head of content & brand at Portland

“It’s a good illustration of how Twitter is no longer pretending to be a social network and has woken up to the fact that it’s primarily a content distribution network. When you have fast moving stories or events, as we’ve seen in the past weeks in the UK, Twitter is the place the stories break.

“But this is not for current users of Twitter, they know and love it, but the problem it may address is getting new users to sign up and stick with the service.”

Ellen Powell-Chandler, account director, Dynamo

“Getting potential users to understand Twitter’s value has always been a big issue for them – some people just struggle with the format. The new ad campaign is a colourful, fun step in the right direction for Twitter to carve their spot in the world of Snapchat, Instagram, and more.”

Jacqueline Potter, digital account director, Eulogy

“We use Moments to round up the top trending news topics in the world every morning and afternoon to ensure we are fully up-to-speed with breaking news that could affect our clients or provide opportunity for them.

“This has been especially relevant in the travel sector in recent months where we’ve had to make decisions to pause or pull digital campaign activity, due to the sensitivity of what’s currently happening in the world.

“All of this in turn has made Twitter a very valuable news channel for us to react to, rather than tell a story as a top priority.”

The Stroke Association

The Stroke Association launches new campaign

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The Stroke Association has launched a new campaign in England calling on the UK Government to commit to maintaining a national stroke strategy around the treatment of strokes.

A New Era For Stroke is borne off the back of research which found that more than a third of survivors in England said they left hospital without a care plan.

In May 2016, the charity surveyed over 1,100 stroke survivors in the UK about their experience of stroke care and support, and the results reveal a shocking lack of care after hospital.

• Over a third (39%) of stroke survivors in England reported that they left hospital without a care plan, returning home without appropriate support in place for their recovery.

• Almost half (47%) of stroke survivors in England said they were not contacted by a healthcare professional when they returned home from hospital.

• Over a third (39%) of stroke survivors in England stated that they did not receive a vital six-month assessment of their health and social care needs.

The current 10 year National Stroke Strategy for England ends in 2017, and the charity is warning that stroke survivors’ recovery will be put at serious risk unless the Government commits to a new scheme.

Juliet Bouverie, Chief Executive at the Stroke Association said: “We successfully campaigned for the first strategy ten years ago which has led to dramatic improvements in the way stroke is treated in hospital. However, this has not carried through to the support that people need once they return home.

The Government has said they don’t have plans to renew the stroke strategy, yet over 78% of stroke survivors have said a national plan is needed. That’s why we’re urging people to sign our petition calling on the Government to bring in a new era for stroke.”

According to Anil Ranchod, deputy director of PR and communications, if there is no official government stroke strategy in place, stroke patients will be de-prioritised in the NHS. Ambulances might not be sent urgently to 999 calls, a stroke patient might not be given the latest available treatment and specialist care will be limited. Recovery will be unaided and survivors will not receive the at-home care that they so urgently require.

Ranchod urges the public to sign the petition and says “Stroke remains one of the greatest health challenges of our time and a quarter of strokes happen to people of working age. Increasingly, more and more people understand the risks of cancer and heart disease, but stroke has remained largely forgotten or ignored. The truth is that stroke is closer than you think. We cannot sit back and allow this to go unchecked.”

To sign the Stroke Association’s petition for a new stroke strategy, please click here.

The Stroke Association has worked with Gorkana since 2008, where we’ve helped them to successfully analyse and amplify their communication campaign strategies which raise public awareness about strokes.

Download our case study about the award-winning work we did with the charity and Action on Stroke Month (now known as Make May Purple for stroke).

The Stroke Association infographic

Bridges Ventures chooses Redleaf Communications

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Specialist fund manager Bridges Ventures has appointed Redleaf Communications as its retained PR and comms consultancy.

Amy Williams 1

Amy Williams

Bridges is focused exclusively on sustainable and impact investment. Redleaf is tasked with raising its profile among investment communities in both the UK and the US.

The Redleaf team consists of associate director Amy Williams and senior account executive Lizzy Chesters. They will report to James Taylor, head of communications at Bridges.

Williams said: “During my time spent working in the US, I learned a great deal about impact investing and worked with several specialist managers in the industry. I am very excited to now be working with one of the pioneers of impact investing. Bridges Ventures has a fantastic reputation and impressive track record and I am really looking forward to promoting their impact-driven investment approach while raising the profile of the industry as a whole.”

Taylor added: “As a specialist sustainable and impact investor, we were very impressed by Amy’s in-depth understanding of the field and excellent contacts on both sides of the Atlantic. We look forward to working with her and the Redleaf team as we continue our efforts to bring impact investing further into the mainstream.”

Bridges invests in high-impact SMEs, properties and social sector organisations in four areas: health & wellbeing, education & skills, sustainable living and underserved markets.

Lexis enhances consumer team

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Creative comms agency Lexis has strengthened its senior consumer team, with the appointment of freuds’ Kiefer Casamore as an account director.

Lexis consumer team

Kiefer Casamore

At freuds, Casamore worked across a number of international accounts, including PepsiCo, Lexus and Formula E, and was
responsible for strategy and content development, as well as influencer marketing.

Before his time at freuds, he was at Australian consumer marketing agency Haystac, which is part of the Dentsu Aegis Network, where he worked across clients including Schweppes, Westfield and Marvel.

In his new role at Lexis, Casamore will work on a broad portfolio of accounts, including Harley-Davidson, Pernod Ricard and Pizza Hut.

Ruth Kieran, deputy MD at Lexis, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Kiefer to the team. He brings with him big brand experience and a strong understanding of what creates impact in the digital age.”

PRCA elects Steffan Williams as new chairman

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Following the PRCA‘s AGM yesterday (26 July), the association has announced the election of a new chairman, Newgate Communications‘ group MD, Steffan Williams.

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Steffan Williams

Williams was voted in by PRCA members, and replaces Matt Neale, president EMEA for Golin who has held the PRCA president position since 2014.

Williams joined Porta Communications, the holding company for Newgate Communications, in October 2015. Prior to that he held senior positions at financial PR agencies such as Finsbury, Capital MSL (which he founded and ran for 12 years before selling it on to Publicis Groupe) and Citigate Dewe Rogerson.

Williams said: “It is an honour to take on the role of chairman of the PRCA, following in the footsteps of Matt Neale’s exceptional leadership.

“I plan to make the PRCA even more visible in City and Financial PR, a great strength of the PR industry, and of the UK economy alike.”

Francis Ingham, director general of the PRCA, added: “It is my great pleasure to welcome Steffan as our new chairman. His pedigree in the communications business is second to none, and together we are going to represent the PR industry with greater verve and vigour than ever before.

“The past two years working with Matt Neale have been an absolute pleasure. Under his leadership, the PRCA has grown enormously. We now represent and regulate over 20,000 PR practitioners, we have a new base in the Middle East and North Africa and we have never hesitated to stand up for our industry.”

TVC Group creates advert for NOW: Pensions

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Workplace pensions provider NOW: Pensions has brought TVC Group on board to implement an integrated campaign, including the brand’s first foray into TV advertising.

TVC Group NOW Pensions

Stacey Solomon

TVC has teamed up with TV presenter and reality TV star Stacey Solomon to help clarify some of the jargon associated with pensions.

The advert, which goes live in September, comes off the back of Auto enrolment legislation designed to encourage a retirement savings culture in the UK. It requires all employers to automatically enrol some or all members of their workforce (depending on age and salary level) into a pension scheme that meets certain minimum standards.

The advert features Solomon reading a script about auto enrolment but getting tongue tied and confused with the stats and then revealing how people don’t understand it.

She then summarises with: “Why not use NOW:Pensions as they make it so simple.”

TVC’s brief also includes content and media outreach, with all activity designed to raise awareness of NOW: Pensions.

Amy Mankelow, director of comms at NOW: Pensions, said: “The TVC team presented the most creative ideas and were really happy with the final result. TVC were the perfect partner to help us deliver the ambition we have for NOW:Pensions.”

TVC’s group MD, James Myers, added: “We are delighted to showcase our skills as the creative lead on this integrated campaign across media for such a forward-thinking client.”

Golin introduces a trio of CEOs

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Interpublic Group-owned global comms agency Golin has introduced a CEO team made up of Jonathan Hughes, Matt Neale and Gary Rudnick. Current CEO Fred Cook will become the agency’s chairman.

Jonathan Hughes 1

Jonathan Hughes

As chairman, Cook will be responsible for maintaining key client relationships, inspiring Golin employees and helping to drive agency reputation. Hughes, Neale and Rudnick will share chief executive responsibilities, and will report to Cook and Interpublic Group’s CFO, Frank Mergenthaler.

Hughes said: “To lead Golin together is a dream fulfilled. Matt and I built our London office for many years together and over the past four years, the three of us have worked as a close-knit team to support and build our presence in Asia, EMEA and the Americas. This next adventure is sure to be our most challenging and exciting yet.”

Cook added: “Gary, Jon and Matt have worked together as regional presidents for the past four years. Now as CEOs, we will maximise their individual strengths and expertise across the whole of Golin, while continuing to leverage their strong relationship with each other.”

Al Golin will continue in his role as founder and Ellen Ryan Mardiks will continue in her role as vice chairman.

According to Golin, the inspiration for the change in leadership stems from the agency’s 2010 shift from a generalist to a specialist model.

The new leadership structure will come into effect on 1 January, 2017.

OPINION: Pearson’s Brendan O’Grady on why education stories matter

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Pearson’s head of financial and corporate communications, Brendan O’Grady, discusses why education is ‘the great global growth story of the next decade’ and why PR has a duty to raise awareness of stories within the sector.

Brendan O'Grady pic (3)

Brendan O’Grady

Education journalists are feeling squeezed.

As  the BBC’s Sean Coughlan wrote recently, and PR colleagues confirmed to Gorkana, like many specialists, education journos have ever dwindling time to dig through the background noise and focus on what’s important.

Looking after corporate communications for Pearson, the world’s leading learning company, I clearly have a vested interest – there is always room for more education coverage.  So what can we do about it?

Demand for education coverage hasn’t declined – far from it. Education and skills are increasingly key to big stories across many other reporters’ beats.  We find that education stories have a much bigger impact with political, business and technology reporters than they used to. (BBC Online’s Knowledge Economy series – now renamed “Global Education” – often reaches into these areas).  Education comms people need to expand our reach – and make sure we know why an education story might matter to a tech reporter, or a political correspondent.

A small army of education tweeters and bloggers has emerged too – the best of them sharing smart analysis gained from practical experience in the classroom or in government with tens or even hundreds of thousands of followers.  The Pearson corporate affairs team probably spends as much time now talking to vocal experts on social media channels as we do to “traditional” journalists.

But dedicated education specialists, who know the history, the players, and the pitfalls are even more important.  Experienced, knowledgeable, critical journalists are a public good – holding governments, quangos, and organisations like Pearson to account.  They help us up our game. Like other policy areas, education is changing fast, and it can be hard to decipher what will transform teachers’ and students’ lives, from the latest fad or smartphone app.

Education organisations, large and small, have massively inspirational stories to tell of students and I doubt there’s a sector that has a bigger naturally occurring “human interest”.  Because of this, we now try to showcase far more of the stories we hear from students and teachers around the world through our own digital platforms, as well as by sharing them with journalists.

But lots of education organisations’ PR plans still often fail the news test, or drown in a long press release or pitch email (we are by no means perfect here).  It’s incumbent on education comms people to try to be genuinely useful to education experts in the media – and not slip into undue hyperbole about our own organisations’ contributions.

I believe education is the great global growth story of the next decade.  Digital technology is on the cusp of revolutionising great teaching – extending, not replacing, the work of great teachers.  The global economic race means that countries see education as a strategic investment – and education is the surest route out of poverty whether you grow up in London or Lagos.

Professional communicators in education have a duty to help unearth great stories – and sending fewer, better, emails to journalists wouldn’t hurt either.

The Big Partnership signs Scottish Business Pledge

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Scotland-based PR agency The Big Partnership has signed the Scottish Business Pledge, the Scottish Government’s voluntary code for companies.

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The Big Partnership founding director, Neil Gibson

The Pledge, which is made up of nine components, is designed to boost productivity, recognise fairness and increase diversity. Companies which sign up to the pledge must pay the Living Wage, deliver on at least two further elements, and aim to achieve the remaining elements in the future.

The Big Partnership commits to prompt payment to suppliers and refuses to use zero-hour contracts – two of the criteria set out in the pledge.

The Big Partnership founding director, Neil Gibson, said: “We want to be an employer of choice and play our part in building a successful and fair economy in Scotland. We firmly believe that committing to the pledge will help us to make our business stronger in the years ahead.”

The agency has offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dunfermline as well as in Liverpool and Manchester.

Other organisations to have signed the Scottish Business Pledge include Microsoft, STV, Mackie’s of Scotland, The University of Edinburgh, GSK, Coca Cola, Scottish Water, SSE, Virgin Money and KPMG.

Chelgate boosts public affairs team

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Sebastian Hanley

Sebastian Hanley has become senior consultant at PR and public affairs consultancy, Chelgate, reporting to MD Liam Herbert.

Hanley joins Chelgate from a marketing and publicity manager position at the Workers’ Educational Association (WEA). Before that, he was senior vice president at FTI Consulting.

Hanley said: “Chelgate has a fantastic reputation for public affairs, crisis, property and international PR. It has a great heritage and strong client list with exciting plans for the future. I am delighted to be joining the team.”

Chelgate MD, Liam Herbert added: “We are delighted to welcome Sebastian on board. Chelgate has ambitious growth targets and his range of experience working with the public, private and third sectors will be invaluable as we continue to develop the business.”