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Cision launches unmissable comms event - CommsCon

LADbible: the rise of social publishers and why this matters to the PR industry at CommsCon

August 28, 2018/in Industry News /by Alister Houghton

We are living in the ‘social media age’, where audience are connected like never before. This has undeniably had a profound impact on the media industry.

In the last decade, we have seen the rise of social publishers like LADbible, BuzzFeed and NowThis whose audience and reach dwarfs that of many traditional media. These publishers have been quick to see the potential of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat as platforms for informing, entertaining and building communities.

Social video is now one of the primary sources of information for millennials, and there has been a rich empowerment of marginalised and niche communities through social media.

To discuss why this all matters to the communications profession, we’ve signed up viral content masters and Cannes Lions PR Grand Prix award winners LADbible.

LADbible’s head of comms, Peter Heneghan, will begin the session by discussing the evolution of social strategies, the key challenges for PR’s and why the communications and social media functions are more vital than ever to businesses.

Then, in a Q&A hosted by Hotwire’s global head of consumer, Emma Hazan, Heneghan will answer questions posed by the audience and examine what’s next for social and PR.

Ahead of moderating the session, Hazan said: “Marketeers know that social video has become an absolutely key way to reach niche audiences. But with so much awful content out there, what clearly remains a mystery is how to create something that people genuinely want to watch, engage with and share.

“We’ll be looking to unravel this mystery by hearing from the masters of viral content, LADbible, who will reveal what the future holds for social and PR. If you want to know how to make memorable and meaningful social content, this session is most definitely for you.”

Use the button below to register for this exciting session, as well as the rest of CommsCon, which features keynote speakers, panel debates and discussions set to fuel your 2019 PR strategy.

Head to commscon.cision.co.uk for all information on the day’s agenda and the rest of the speaker line-up.

60 Seconds with TVC Group’s James Myers

August 28, 2018/in Interviews /by Alister Houghton

James Myers, group managing director at TVC Group, reminisces about his time at the agency as it celebrates its 20th anniversary.

TVC Group has just turned 20, with you at the agency for 17 of those years. What was it that attracted you to the business?

There was no other company in the comms industry doing what TVC did and no other agency could give me such varied opportunities across PR, content and production.

TVC Group had such a unique offering and was young, vibrant and full of energy. When I joined, there were only eight of us and there was a real start-up and entrepreneurial feel. I could see the opportunity to make my mark on the business from a young age.

How much has the agency changed in your time there?

Beyond all recognition! The entrepreneurial mentality is still here but we’ve matured so much as a business and internationalised our offering.

As our client briefs have broadened, we’ve adapted and innovated to tell our clients’ stories across all channels and have boosted our content marketing, digital and social capabilities. But, we’ve never lost sight of our film roots, that’s still at the centre of what we do.

Are the changes the agency has gone through indicative of what is happening in the industry?

Yes, all agencies have had to move with the times and reposition themselves for the new digital world or they won’t survive.

What would you say is TVC’s stand-out moment or campaign?

It’s hard to single out just one moment, but the most obvious one is Felix Baumgartner’s jump from space in 2012, which was watched by eight million people live on YouTube.

We were the global comms agency for the campaign, working on content for five years and building the momentum in the lead up to the jaw-dropping jump. It was a really exciting campaign to work on and just about everyone in the agency was involved at some point.

We’re also really proud of our work across many and varied Virgin campaigns for 15 years, but equally the work we’re doing to make non-household brand names famous, including challenger bank Aldermore, pro bono work for The Diana Award and not forgetting the Costa (previously Whitbread) Book Awards, which is a project we’ve been working on for 20 years!

Our acquisition by The Economist Group in 2012 is also a highlight.

What is your favourite memory from your time at the agency?

In 2006, we moved from our original small office in Belsize Park to a much bigger office near Marylebone High Street. It signalled a new grown-up phase for the business and we quickly expanded from around 15 people to over 40, and then found ourselves pitching against the big boys (and winning) and adding some incredible brands to our client list.

How do you measure your PR output?

As well as delivering the kind of coverage that brands dream of, we work with partners like Cision to evaluate our campaigns against specific client KPIs, whether that’s awareness, consideration, sales or advocacy.

Finally, you’re into your music, which song best sums up TVC Group?

We posted this question on Facebook Workplace and the winner was Daft Punk’s Around the World.

PR news round-up (20-24 August)

August 24, 2018/in Industry News /by Alister Houghton

Here’s a round-up of the week’s top PR news, featuring Cision’s latest white paper, LADBible’s CommsCon session and new wins for Cirkle, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and Launch.

CommsCon

Following new eMarketer research revealing that young people are abandoning Facebook at record rates, the platform’s future has never looked more precarious.

LADBible’s head of comms, Peter Heneghan, will appear in a break-out session at CommsCon to discuss the evolution of social strategies and what a post-Facebook editorial landscape could look like.

Then, in a Q&A hosted by Hotwire’s global head of consumer, Emma Hazan, Heneghan will answer questions posed by the audience and examine what’s next for social and PR.

Use the button below to register for this exciting session, as well as the rest of CommsCon, which features keynote speakers, panel debates and discussions set to fuel your 2019 PR strategy.

Head to commscon.cision.co.uk for all information on the day’s agenda and the rest of the speaker line-up.

The four steps to creating a foolproof crisis comms plan

In our latest white paper – The four steps to creating a foolproof crisis comms response – we explore the four key areas communicators need to cover to ensure their organisation can get on the front foot during a crisis while being secure and consistent in its response.

Account wins

Soft drinks manufacturer Britvic has chosen Cirkle to handle B2B comms for its portfolio of drinks brands.

SWISS International Air Lines has appointed Launch to deliver its four month “Moments That Last” campaign.

Data protection specialist Arcserve has appointed Red Lorry Yellow Lorry to increase brand awareness and drive thought leadership strategy in the UK and US.

Integrated 3D holographic display system HYPERVSN has appointed Clarity PR as its global comms agency to raise brand awareness.

Fashion brand RIXO has appointed K&H Comms to co-manage its upcoming debut London Fashion Week presentation.

BoConcept Birmingham has appointed HROC to deliver a regional PR, social media marketing and business networking brief for the Danish furniture store, which can be found in the city’s Mailbox development.

Cheap Flights Finder has appointed Turtle PR to maximise the brand’s exposure across the UK and other international markets.

Mizuno has selected Promote PR to handle its #MakeTheSwap campaign to drive awareness of its netball shoes.

Ferry operator DFDS has appointed 2SistersPR to promote the brand to the Polish community in the UK, as well as in Poland.

Video technology provider Make.TV has appointed Platform Communications to grow the brand in the UK, US and German markets.

LGBTQ+ homelessness charity the Albert Kennedy Trust has appointed Eulogy to produce a word-of-mouth campaign to raise awareness and increase usage of its online mentoring services.

Sensyne Health selected Consilium Strategic Communications to advise on PR and investor relations surrounding its initial public offering.

Megan McKenna has appointed Good Results PR to help launch her new fashion line; Studio Mouthy.

People news

Engine Group has selected Kasha Cacy to become its global chief executive. Cacy will oversee Engine’s 17 offices located across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Robert Stone has joined 3 Monkeys Zeno as director of digital strategy and innovation. He becomes part of the agency’s leadership team and will report to MD Christine Jewell.

Fintech start-up Curve has appointed Alejandro Massalin as its new head of marketing. Massalin’s role will include oversight of all aspects of PR and comms.

Curzon PR CEO Farzana Baduel has been selected to be a brand ambassador of the Oxford Foundry’s L.E.V8 Women programme at Oxford University.

Cheshire-based agency No Brainer has announced three new appointments. Michelle Turner joins as an account manager, Emily Craig becomes an account executive and Melissa Phillips has been hired as office manager.

Agency news

Beattie Group is set to expand its Beattie Tartan brand further into Canada, with the agency set to add offices in Ottawa and Winnipeg.

Evoke Group has rebranded as one singular global agency: Evoke. The move brings agencies such as Tonic Life Communications and Evoke Health under one unified brand name.

US-based integrated sports marketing agency rEvolution has acquired UK-based Revolution Sports Marketing Group in order to increase its PR capabilities and expand its earned media offering on a global scale.

Building a foolproof crisis comms response in four steps

August 23, 2018/in PR Tips /by Alister Houghton

Perhaps the most important role for a PR is to be able to guide their company or client through a crisis.

Given that nothing can wipe reputation, prestige and share price from an organisation quicker than a PR crisis which is spiralling out of control, crisis communications is, ironically, one of the best ways a communicator can illustrate their value to an organisation.

What is key from an organisational standpoint is that its comms team, whether it be in-house or an agency, projects an aura of calm and certainty which spreads to the rest of the group during a crisis situations.

For comms professionals to be able to provide the assurance that everything is going to be okay and that they are handling the crisis, they need a plan and a method which can be implemented as soon as an organisation enters a crisis situation.

In our latest white paper – The four steps to creating a foolproof crisis comms response – we explore the four key areas communicators need to cover to ensure their organisation can get on the front foot during a crisis while being secure and consistent in its response.

Items covered in the white paper include:

Data-backed examples proving why a swift and organised crisis response is a necessity to limit reputational damage
Being able to identify when an issue may lead to a crisis and why this is critical
What should be in your crisis comms plan and how you can battle-test it
How to build a working relationship with the legal team which helps you to get the messages you want out to the wider public
Ensuring your spokespeople save rather than sink you
How you can monitor and analyse the impact of your crisis comms response with the latest comms technology

To gather valuable insights into how you can survive a comms crisis, download The four steps to creating a foolproof crisis comms response by filling in the form below.

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Opinion: Why the north offers a world of comms opportunities

August 21, 2018/in News Analysis /by Guest Contributor

Alex Pegler, account manager at Higginson Strategy – which has offices in both London and Chester, explores how the northern powerhouse can drive comms opportunities away from the south of the country.

Alex Pegler

Last month, Theresa May led her ministers to the Sage concert hall in Gateshead for her first ever cabinet meeting in the north-east. The meeting was the latest in a long line of regional cabinet meetings held beyond the confines of Downing Street.

Carrying on a tradition first started by David Lloyd George in the 1920s, May’s cabinet away day on the south bank of the River Tyne coincided with her bid to reassert Number 10’s commitment to the “northern powerhouse”.

Announcing a headline pledge to invest £780 million in the East Coast Mainline, the prime minister vowed to put the northern powerhouse at the centre of the government’s long-term industrial strategy.

Launched as the centrepiece of then-chancellor George Osborne’s autumn statement in 2014, the strategy arguably represents Whitehall’s most significant attempt to remedy the gaping north-south divide in decades.

The northern powerhouse effect

Despite a barrage of criticism, there are signs that the strategy is starting to deliver concrete returns. Thanks in part to a £3.4 billion cash injection into projects designed to boost growth like local enterprise partnerships, northern cities have become some of the most fertile areas for expansion in the UK.

The UK’s two fastest-growing city economies – Manchester and Leeds – have both benefited from funding delivered as part of the project. The northern powerhouse economy is now worth £329 billion – more than sovereign states like Sweden, Norway and Austria.

From Liverpool in the west to Newcastle in the east, the north’s focal cities seem to be shaking off their post-industrial hangovers. The creative industries, one of Britain’s strongest cultural calling cards, are starting to feel increasingly at home in northern cities.

In Sunderland, jobs in creative sectors are growing three-times faster than the national average. Earlier this year Creative England named Yorkshire as the UK’s leading hotspot for up-and-coming innovative young companies. Media City UK at Salford Quays is now home to more than 3,000 BBC and 750 ITV staff.

Northern comms opportunities

On paper, the north should represent a golden ticket for comms firms looking for new business beyond the industry’s traditional heartlands. But established agencies have thus far seemed reluctant to steal a march on their competitors and venture beyond the M25.

New agencies set up in the north, in the main, have yet to become regular fixtures of industry lists of the sector’s biggest hitters. Of the UK’s 150 largest PR consultancies by revenue, just six are headquartered in northern England. The industry’s 2017 figures show that no PR firm employs more than 80 people in the north.

If the region’s growing businesses aren’t already crying out for communications counsel, they will be in the months and years ahead. With the northern powerhouse project set to gather pace into the beginning of the next decade, those in consultancy who branch out beyond the Watford Gap are set to be richly rewarded.

Picture credit: Craig Sunter

60 Seconds with Bland PR’s Alice and Heidi Bland

August 20, 2018/in Interviews /by Alister Houghton

Alice and Heidi Bland, co-founders of Bland PR, reveal what it’s like to work with your twin, the pair’s complementary backgrounds and how the agency combines both freelance and agency models.

Alice, why did you decide to launch your own agency at such a young age?

Creatively, Bland PR has been in the making for years, however, practically we both knew for the best chance of success we should get experience separately under our belts first. We learnt the ropes in-house and agency side and then cleverly used this knowledge to launch something of our own with a Bland twist!

Even from a young age we were never ones to follow the crowd and often asked questions and challenged the way things were done. Our parents always encouraged this, paving the way to have the courage to go it alone!

What makes Bland PR different to other agencies?

Heidi: The flexibility of the way we work and not following traditional formulas enables us to work more creatively with clients. Agency life can sometimes be quite stagnant, whereas at Bland we take time out of our days to research the market, to look at what is out there and have fun along the way which we believe creates the best work!

Due to our international client base, we can be found working from Brussels, Paris, or simply working in our local café just down the road. Every week is different which helps keep us engaged and keep up positive energy which leads to good work/ideas and definitely keeps things far from bland.

We feel we are the next generation of PR; gone are the days of needing a big office as you can work from anywhere these days.

How does combining the freelance and agency model work in practice?

Alice: We merge the best bits of being freelance with the structural benefits of agency life. There is still certain procedures we follow, however, time is money and if you are utilising your time, clients will get the best out of your service without needing a restrictive agency routine.

Without having lots of internal processes, we can turn around work sharply, which is ideal for working in such a fast-paced environment!

Is it odd to work with your twin sister or does it make everything a lot easier?

Heidi: It definitely has its advantages, for a start we can be totally honest with each other, if we think an idea is a no-go, we are straight talking and can cut out the politeness, which saves time.

Just because we are twins people often assume we have the same brain, but actually our skills and experience are very different, meaning we cover a lot of ground between us and respect each other’s area of expertise.

Of course, we do get the odd look in meetings when we both come in together, looking and talking the same!

How much does it help that you come from different work backgrounds?

Alice: This was vital in setting up together, the natural cross over of food, drink, lifestyle and beauty clients is what makes Bland PR work so well as between us we have all these areas covered.

It has also helped that one of us comes from a more digital/social background (absolutely vital in this day and age), and the other has the big brand experience knowing how to piece together a full-service campaign together.

Heidi, you look after the agency’s lifestyle and beauty clients. Which brand would be your dream client?

Aesthetically the Japanese are ahead of the game when it comes to innovative beauty products, it would be exciting to launch one to the market in the UK! Also, to broaden Bland’s reach to outside Europe would be a tick too!

Finally, what does the future hold for Bland PR?

Alice: The future’s bright, the future’s BLAND!! As long as we are evolving and having fun along the way what more can we ask for!

Pictured: Alice (left) and Heidi Bland

PR Case Study: AmazeRealise – #AutoTraderGoals

August 15, 2018/in PR Case Studies /by Alister Houghton

AmazeRealise helped Auto Trader capitalise on the World Cup despite not being a sponsor through its #AutoTraderGoals campaign, which evolved as England progressed through the competition.

Campaign: #AutoTraderGoals
Client: Auto Trader
PR Team: AmazeRealise and Mynt
Timing: June-July 2018

Summary

While football might not have come home for England, Auto Trader, the UK’s largest digital marketplace for new and used cars, gained considerable cut-through this summer with its #AutoTraderGoals campaign.

Objectives

AmazeRealise’s objective was to generate traditional media and social media engagement to drive awareness of the fact that Auto Trader sells new cars by capitalising on the FIFA World Cup, despite not being an official sponsor.

KPIs:

Auto Trader trending on social media during England games
Over 100,000 entrants to the competition
Boost and broaden the brand’s social following
Drive visits to the competition homepage and new car product journey conversions

Strategy and implementation

The premise for #AutoTraderGoals was simple: For every goal scored by England during the World Cup, Auto Trader would give away a brand new car.

To enter, people were encouraged to share #AutoTraderGoals on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram – after every England goal scored – for a chance to win.

Designed to mirror the England football team’s World Cup success, the campaign required a responsive team to react in real-time to what happened on the pitch, and to fulfil its promise of giving away a brand new car for every goal scored by England.

The multichannel campaign included a variety of PR, marketing and advertising tactics, including a partnership with UNILAD. The campaign’s official brand ambassador was former England World Cup star John Barnes.

The PR team also used England World Cup hero Sir Geoff Hurst, whose Ferarri was listed for sale on Auto Trader just days before the start of the campaign, to drive further national media interest.

What was originally expected to be a two-week campaign during the competition’s group stages swiftly evolved into five, following England’s unexpected success.

When Auto Trader gave away six new cars during England’s 6-1 victory over Panama, the pivoted and created the fictional character of Auto Trader’s finance director, who became an unlikely hero for his ‘misery’ at signing-off the campaign. Within hours, the brand posted a spoof video featuring ‘Neil’, the finance director, praying for Colombia’s success in the final qualifying match.

Once the England team secured its place in the semi finals, Manchester City Council appealed for sponsors to help them pay for a public screening of the match. Auto Trader stepped in with just two days’ notice, offering England fans the chance to see the match for free with the largest TV screen in the country at 120 square metres.

This offer helped to generate unprecedented goodwill for the brand in the region and positive press coverage across all key national and regional media.

Results

The brand activation saw #AutoTraderGoals feature prominently in social media chatter when England were playing, trending in the top ten for the UK on Twitter after every goal – and usually the only brand trending at that time.

Auto Trader’s real-time content and playful tone of voice mirrored the mood of the nation. In total, the #AutoTraderGoals hashtag was used over 270,000 times to enter the competition, with over 160,000 individual engagements.

With the help of On Broadcast, brand ambassador John Barnes was interviewed by 22 broadcast outlets including Good Morning Britain, Sky News, LBC, talkRADIO and Radio 5 Live. The brand received widespread national and regional press coverage throughout the World Cup, from the MailOnline to The Times.

More than 27 million homes around the country witnessed the Manchester screening, which featured prominent Auto Trader branding, from live press coverage of the event on ITV, as well as other national and regional press outlets. Photography were shared across the world through news picture wires including the Press Association and Getty.

From all combined activity, 250,000 sessions were driven to the campaign landing page. In total, 12 new cars were given away at a cost of £203,000.

The campaign helped boost Auto Trader’s organic rankings across a number of core new car related keywords, in particular “new cars”. This saw the website climb eight places in search rankings, from the bottom of page one to top position, while searches for “new car” had the website climb 25 places to second position.

The brand also saw a significant boost in specific make and model keywords associated to the campaign – such as the Abarth 595, which went up 25 places.

Auto Trader achieved a 62% share of voice across Twitter against its competitors, which included official World Cup sponsors Hyundai and KIA motors, which had 25% and 11% respectively.

60 Seconds with Quill PR’s Louise Hill

August 14, 2018/in Interviews /by Alister Houghton

Louise Hill, head of content at Quill PR, discusses switching from journalism to a content-focused PR role, the importance of content to a business and the big issues facing the financial sector.

You’ve just moved from journalism into a PR/content role, why did you make the move and what do you expect the main differences to be?

A move into PR had always been in the back of my mind as something I’d consider at some point in the future, but when the opportunity came up at Quill PR I knew it was too good a chance to let pass by. I was ready for a change and wanted to shake things up a bit after several years as a reporter.

The main difference so far has been switching my mindset from one of a curious journalist who challenges and pursues stories to a more strategic way of thinking, solving problems and working out how to ‘sell’ a concept or idea. I’m enjoying the challenge!

What attracted you to work for Quill PR?

I worked with Quill a lot during my time as a financial journalist and got to know the team pretty well, so I knew they were a friendly group. I also liked their way of working, they are not overtly pushy and place great value on maintaining good relationships with journalists and staying loyal to clients.

They are genuine, totally professional and a lot of fun, nothing like the so-called ‘dark side’ that journalists are warned about!

What sort of financial content will you be producing for the agency and its clients?

It all comes down to what a client needs and wants, we can often help with a range of projects, but the majority of the work involves producing news articles and commentary pieces, blogs, newsletters, speeches and web content as well as repurposing existing client content.

Planning out a strategy for content is also a big part of the role, it is so important to keep on top of producing quality content and distributing it, as it can so often drop to the bottom of the to-do list once the demands of a client’s day job takes over.

How big is the demand for content from clients?

There is a surprising amount of demand out there. Quill PR is often seen as something of a substitute in-house PR team for many of its clients, so introducing support for content seems a no-brainer.

With growing demands on company time, particularly in financial services, I think having the support there to help generate new ideas and take on some of the workload is really valued – the reaction from clients so far has been overwhelmingly positive, combined with a bit of relief at having an extra pair of hands to help!

What are the big issues currently facing the financial sector?

Regulation continues to be a major issue for the sector and with a whole raft of changes introduced this year for companies to grapple with, it increases demands on time as well as costs. At a time when there is a lot of pressure on asset managers to reduce fees and prove value for money, this is a double-headache for some.

Trust and transparency is also a big issue. It is a major hangover from the global financial crisis a decade ago and firms need to be able to rebuild that trust and hold onto it, otherwise clients could simply take their business elsewhere.

Finally, you’ve worked in local, trade and national journalism, which was your favourite discipline and why?

I will always have a soft spot for local news, it’s where I started out as a 16-year-old on work experience and where I was given a foot in the door after completing my journalism training.

I loved my time as a local reporter, you get a chance to see things and speak to people you never would get a chance to otherwise. The sector faces some huge challenges though and I really believe it is vital local news outlets are protected and supported.

Saying all of that, my time in the trade press taught me so much about the world of finance and investment and led to my role here at Quill PR, so it deserves a big mention too!

PR news round-up (13-17 August)

August 13, 2018/in Industry News /by Alister Houghton

Here’s a round-up of the week’s top PR news, featuring Auto Trader’s #AutoTraderGoals campaign, Speed’s Laura Tallett and new account wins at Milk & Honey and PR Agency One.

Opinion

Laura Tallett, director of business and corporate at Speed Communications, explores the struggle of engaging CEOs in marketing activity and how to overcome these barriers.

Interviews

Adam Roland, founder of Heavyweight Sports, recounts why he left talkSPORT to set up the agency, its new Pound for Pound content arm and his favourite PR stunt.

Louise Hill, head of content at Quill PR, discusses switching from journalism to a content-focused PR role, the importance of content to a business and the big issues facing the financial sector.