Top 10 Top 10 Blog Rankings of 2015

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Taking as our starting point the omnipresent (at this time of year) “blogposts of year” blogpost, and then getting really meta on it, here we are again with our annual “Top 10 Top 10s” – the most popular rankings from our social media index in 2015, as determined by unique visits to the page.

  1. Top 20 UK Fashion Blogs
  2. Top 50 UK Blogs
  3. Top 10 UK Beauty Blogs
  4. Top 10 UK Interior Design Blogs
  5. Top 10 UK Mummy Blogs
  6. Top 10 UK Men’s Fashion Blogs
  7. Top 10 UK Food Blogs
  8. Top 10 Music Blogs
  9. Top 10 Travel Blogs
  10. Top 10 London Lifestyle Blogs

Vuelio’s blog ranking methodology takes into consideration social sharing, topic-related content and post frequency. Profiles of the blogs on these Top 10 Blog rankings, their authors and thousands of others can be found in the Vuelio Media Database.

The fundamentals of working with bloggers are the same as with traditional journalists at traditional media outlets: respect their schedules; take time to read their material to learn their interests; and only contact them if/when they want to be contacted.

 

UK – 17 December 2015

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This week’s Media Updates covers moves and changes at news titles including the Guardian, BBC Radion 1 and 1Xtra, the FT and its Weekend Magazine, the Daily Express, the MailOnline, the Evening Standard, and the Press Association; lifestyle titles including  Good Housekeeping, Harper’s Bazaar and Town & Country, Cosmopolitan, Asda Magazine, and N by Norwegian; trade titles including  Rail, Art Business Today, and Museums Journal; health and tech titles including Develop.

News & current affairs

  • Anushka Asthana and Heather Stewart have been appointed to the to the shared role of political editor at the Guardian. Patrick Wintour will become diplomatic editor, reporting to the international desk in London
  • George Ergatoudis, Head of Music BBC Radio 1 & 1Xtra, has announced that he is leaving after 10 years to take up a new position at Spotify
  • Tim Sculthorpe has been appointed deputy political editor at the MailOnline
  • Francesca Stevens has been appointed digital assistant editor at the Evening Standard. She was previously senior producer at London Live
  • Rachel Blundy has left her role as online reporter at the Evening Standard to join the South China Morning Post 
  • Gonzalo Vina has been appointed public policy reporter at the FT, covering Helen Warrell’s maternity leave
  • Arj Singh has been promoted from Parliamentary reporter to Parliamentary editor at the Press Association
  • Beren Cross has been appointed sports journalist at the Plymouth Herald

Fashion, lifestyle and entertainment

  • Esther Bintliff has been appointed deputy editor of the FT Weekend Magazine
  • Vicky Chandler and Hanna Ibraheem have both been appointed web writers at Good Housekeeping. Vicky will work across all areas of the website, while Hanna will focus on fashion and beauty
  • Lucy Halfhead has been promoted from assistant editor to assistant editor/travel editor across Harper’s Bazaar and Town & Country
  • Cat Harvey-Jenner has been appointed digital writer at Cosmopolitan. She was previously a web writer at Good Housekeeping
  • Chemmie Squier has been promoted from editorial assistant to features and beauty writer at The Debrief
  • Ally Oliver is the new editor of Asda Magazine
  • Sarah Warick has been appointed editor at Norwegian Air in-flight magazine N by Norwegian. She was previously deputy editor at easyJet Traveller
  • Justine Southall’s publishing director role now covers both Marie Claire and InStyle for publisher Time Inc. UK

Business and finance

  • Paul Stephen has been appointed assistant features editor at Rail. He was previously the editor of Renewable Energy Installer
  • Lynn Jones has been appointed as managing editor at Art Business Today
  • Jonathan Knott has been appointed staff writer and researcher at Museums Journal

Health, science and technology

  • Matthew Jarvis has been appointed senior staff writer at Develop. He was previously a staff writer at MCV

If you have any media changes let us know on Twitter @Media_Updates or you can email [email protected]

Tim Peake – Britain’s Brand Ambassador for Space

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People buy from people they like. When the economy is sluggish and austerity continues to weigh down on the public at large, the idea of sending people into space (at a cost of millions) can be a difficult sell. Step forward Tim Peake, a very British astronaut and a highly likable chap to boot.

As the UK’s first visitor to the International Space Station (ISS), Tim Peak will be conducting numerous scientific experiments that will help mankind take a step closer to Mars and improve life on Earth.

But  perhaps more importantly, Tim Peake has the job of selling space to the next generation of space explorers, scientists, politicians and the general public (who have to pay for it all).

Tim Peake isn’t just an astronaut, he’s a PR man.

Over the next six months we can expect a PR masterclass that promises to be out of this world.

Follow Tim Peake’s adventures onboard the ISS on Twitter: @astro_timpeake

Vuelio Blog Awards Winner: Ross Morrison McGill, Teacher Toolkit

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How did Ross Morrison McGill feel about winning the Best Education Blog award at the Vuelio Blog Awards on the 27th of November?  Find out here:

Best Education Blog

 

Blogger Spotlight: Andrea Soranidis, Petite Cook

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Blogger Spotlight with Andrea Soranidis, author of the cooking blog, Petite Cook. Andrea spoke to us about successful brand collaborations and working with PRs.

What’s new on The Petite Cook? The Petite Cook is all about food, from learning traditional recipes I discover through my travels around the world, to healthy and allergy-friendly meals to make everyone around the table happy. I also love cooking with other talented homecooks and there’s a whole section of the blog featuring my cooking experiences with Masterchef winners and contestants .

Give us an example of a successful brand collaboration. What did you learn from it? I’ve recently collaborated with a brand for a sponsored feature on my blog. I suggested to add some visual content and I worked day-and-night to edit one of their videos, but it did pay off at the end. The video went viral on social media and made the brand very very happy. So, the most important thing I learned is to step up, if you have a good idea and you know it could work well on your blog, don’t be afraid to discuss it with the brand you’re working with.

How do you use social media to promote/share content? What are the challenges? As a blogger, social media is a very powerful way to interact with my readers. I usually share glimpses of my life around the world as a foodie, food tips and news and of course a lot of recipes. I see my facebook page more like a community, so I put a lot of effort in researching content that I think is relevant to my fans. I share a lot of foodie news from other bloggers and media, so I don’t only focus on the petite cook content. I’ve been focusing primarily on Facebook in the past years and just recently I ventured in other social media platforms like Instagram. It’s a bit challenging trying to emerge now that Instagram is so popular. I still believe Facebook is the social media, so ultimately is where most of my efforts go.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a blog? Do it for yourself before anything else. Blogging should always start as a hobby and it should come out naturally. Don’t worry about followers and traffic, they will both come eventually. Focus on great content that reflects your point of view and personality, try to update your blog regularly and find a blogger group to help and support you all along the way.

How do you work with marketers and PRs? PRs are often the bridge that brings together a brand and a blogger, so it’s very important to establish a good relationship.In every collaboration I do, I try to understand and meet the goals each PR has in mind. Sometimes they want a specific recipe that will work well with a marketing campaign they have planned, or to reflect at the best the brand. Sometimes their goal is to raise awareness around the social media. It’s part of my job to meet their needs and plasmate something that works well for The Petite Cook and my readers, and for the brand.

Do you feel bloggers need to be compensated for the work they do? Of course I do. Running a blog has its own expenses, and developing recipes and/or writing articles are time-consuming ( publishing a new recipe can take me up to 12h of work), so I feel we should be compensated as any other journalist or freelancer. It’s also important to know that when you feature brands on your blog you’re giving them virtually unlimited exposure, so an advertising fee should be considered in the budget too.

What do you feel about sponsorship disclosure? It’s important to be honest with your readers, so if you receive compensation for collaborating and promoting a brand, then you should always disclose.

List three best practices PRs need to follow for better blogger outreach?

  1. Do not assume we will be willing to work for free or for a chance to win a competition
  1. Do not pretend blog articles after an event unless specified in the invite (and don’t expect many bloggers to come if you do)
  1. Do not ask in any circumstances for do-follow links, it’s against any SEO and ethic policies. Just give up, no smart blogger will ever say yes.

What will be big in your blogosphere in the coming months? I’m working hard to improve my recipe video tutorials, and there will soon be a Video section on the blog. I’m also working on a new side of The Petite Cook where my readers will be able to see more of my travels and my foodie experiences. So,don’t forget to follow The Petite Cook and stay tuned!

 

The Huffington Post Declares War on Donald Trump – Could This Be a PR Win?

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The Huffington Post has declared war on presidential hopeful Donald Trump following his recent comments about restricting access to the US based on religion. Prior to his comments, The Huffington Post featured coverage of Trump’s presidential campaign in the entertainment section of its website. They now vow to abandon any journalistic impartiality and call Trump out as they see fit.

In an article entitled A Note on Trump: We Are No Longer Entertained, Arianna Huffington states: “So if Trump’s words and actions are racist, we’ll call them racist. If they’re sexist, we’ll call them sexist. We won’t shrink from the truth or be distracted by the showmanship.”

Trump’s reaction to this (and other statements of outrage) was typical: “I don’t care!”

Here’s the thing – in an age where social media allows celebrities and public figures like Trump to bypass the media and reach a massive audience (@realdonaldtrump currently has 5.14 million followers on Twitter) will the Huffington Post’s coverage (no matter how negative) simply feed Trump’s output?

Trump (who hosts the US version of the TV show The Apprentice) need look no further than former UK Apprentice “star” Katie Hopkins to know that entire careers can be built on the back of negative press. And we should never forget, there are many people who agree (or will be swayed to agree) with Donald Trump no matter how much scorn the press throws at him.

As Oscar Wilde once said: “There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”

Vuelio Blog Awards Winner: Hannah Gilroy, Hannah Gets Hench

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How did Hannah Gilroy feel about winning the Best Newcomer award at the Vuelio Blog Awards on the 27th of November? Find out here:
Best Newcomer

 

UK – 10 December 2015

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This week’s Media Updates covers moves and changes at news titles including the BBC, the FT, the Daily Express, the MailOnline, BBC Radio Bristol, BBC Radio Somerset, and the Newcastle Journal; lifestyle titles including  Woman, Woman’s Own, InStyle, Refinery29, Professional Beauty and Candis; trade titles including  Moneywise, Mergermarket, This Is Money, Modern Investor and Architects’ Journal; health and tech titles including Infosecurity and the New Journal of Physics; and more.

News & current affairs

  • Robin Brant has announced via Twitter that he is to become the BBC’s new Shanghai correspondent, moving from his current role as political correspondent
  • David Oakley has been appointed corporate affairs correspondent at the FT. He was previously the paper’s investment correspondent
  • Jen Trevorrow has been appointed showbiz reporter at the Daily Express
  • Ryan O’Hare has been appointed UK science reporter at the MailOnline. He was previously assistant editor at Optometry Today.
  • Emma Britton is to join BBC Radio Bristol in January as a solo Breakfast Show presenter, while Laura Rawlings gets her own solo show. Geoff Twentyman will be launching new daily sports programmes dedicated to the West’s biggest clubs and sports, from 6pm weekdays
  • Claire Carter is the new breakfast show presenter at BBC Somerset
  • Laura Hill has been appointed reporter across the Newcastle Chronicle, Newcastle Journal and Sunday Sun titles. She was previously a reporter at the Harrogate Advertiser
  • Sam Cooper is moving to the Rotherham Advertiser, having left his role as reporter at the Pontefract & Castleford Express
  • Vicky Gayle has been appointed reporter at the Daily Gazette
  • Mathew Di Salvo has been appointed news reporter at SWNS

Fashion, lifestyle and entertainment

  • Ali Pantony has been appointed features writer across Woman and Woman’s Own. She previously worked at Red magazine
  • George Driver has been promoted to beauty writer at InStyle. She was previously beauty assistant at the title
  • Nellie Eden has been appointed staff writer at Refinery 29. She was previously the deputy fashion editor at ASOS
  • Amanda Pauley has been appointed as assistant editor at Professional Beauty
  • Francesca Specter has been appointed editorial assistant at Healthy. She was previously a freelance online writer at Now
  • Claudia Tanner has been appointed deputy editor at Candis
  • Lauren Young has been appointed editorial assistant at Hair
  • Emma-Lily Pendleton has been appointed editor at Professional Photography
  • Rosanna Spence has been appointed deputy editor at Casual Dining. She was previously features editor at the title

Business and finance

  • Moira O’Neill has announced via Twitter that she will become editor of Moneywise in the New Year. She is currently personal finance editor at Investors Chronicle
  • Katrien Van Hoof has been appointed ECM reporter for Mergermarket and Dealreporter. She was previously a senior reporter at MandateWire
  • Rebecca Rutt has been appointed UK online writer at This Is Money. She was previously senior insurance writer at MoneySavingExpert.com
  • Daniel Rzasa has been appointed reporter at Modern Investor
  • Sophie Barnes has been appointed senior reporter at Inside Housing. She was previously a reporter at the Health Service Journal.
  • Rory Olcayto will leave the Architects’ Journal in February

Health, science and technology

  • Dan Raywood has been appointed acting editor at Infosecurity, covering Eleanor Dalloway’s maternity leave until July
  • Barry Sanders has been appointed editor in chief at the New Journal of Physics

If you have any media changes let us know on Twitter @Media_Updates or you can email [email protected]

Vuelio Blog Awards Winner: Dan Toombs, The Curry Guy

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How did Dan Toombs feel about winning the Best Food and Drink Blog award at the Vuelio Blog Awards on the 27th of November?  Find out here:

Best Food and Drink Blog

 

Vuelio Blog Awards Winner: Jo Middleton, Slummy Single Mummy

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How did Jo Middleton feel about winning both the Best UK Blog of 2015 award and the Best Parenting Blog award for her blog Slummy Single Mummy?  Find out here:

Best UK Blog of 2015

Best Parenting Blog

Vuelio Blog Awards Winner: Ana Grilo, The Book Smugglers

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How did Ana Grilo, co-founder of The Book Smugglers, feel about the UK lit-blog’s triumph at the Vuelio Blog Awards? Pretty excited, safe to say. Check it out!

 

Blogger Spotlight: Bianca Wessel, Little Scandinavian

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Blogger Spotlight with Bianca Wessel, author of top kids’ fashion and lifestyle blog, Little Scandinavian. Bianca spoke to us about owning her Nordic Niche, why PRs should keep it short and sweet, and the importance of recognition.

Why should people read your blog? What makes it different? If you love Nordic nature and stunning landscapes, would like to visit modern and vibrant cities, looking for healthy and simple recipes, you prefer Scandinavian contemporary and minimalistic design, kids clothing that are made for kids whilst considering our environment, sleek and sophisticated womenswear ­ and a slow lifestyle? Then Little Scandinavian is the blog for you!

How do you measure the success of your website? By staying true to our Nordic niche, since 2009, establishing long term relationships with brands and companies with whom we share the same values, embark on exciting collaborations and projects and always pushing ourselves out there to be the one in the know, on trends and anything newsworthy and inspirational has been essential to our success, as well as having the patience to allow the blog to grow organically.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a blog? The most important advice is to blog about something you are passionate about. Find your niche to make sure you have something special to offer your readers. Also, find your voice, be true and honest.

How do you work with marketers and PRs? In many more ways than what I can describe here. Although Little Scandinavian do not offer directly sponsored posts we are always up for exciting projects, events and to hear news which is relevant to our niche.

How do you use social media to promote/share content? What are the challenges? You have the most amazing blog post published on your blog, but no one will be able to enjoy it unless they know about it. You need to feed it; If you picture the blog as a green plant, social media is the leaves which catches the sun and water to feed it, to keep it alive. To me social media as a tool is essential. I gather and curate my inspiration on Pinterest. I tweet with fellow bloggers, designers, PRs and friends of Little Scandinavian, I look after the Little Scandinavian community on Facebook and I give a small sneak peek into the world of Little Scandinavian ‘behind the scenes’ on Instagram. Next, I’m planning on doing vlogging, although my 14 year old daughter say I’m too old to be doing it.

What can PRs do in working better with you? Keep it short, sweet, personal and relevant. Stay in touch regularly and have all assets needed easy at hand.

What has been your blogging highlight? It’s being invited biannually to the major fashion and design shows in Europe. Not only is it great for networking and an amazing experience in itself but it is essential when reporting on trends. But perhaps the biggest highlight has been the opportunities the blog has given me, to meet and get to know some truly talented and creative people. I have felt humble and truly honoured on many an occasion.

What will be big in your blogosphere in the coming months? I will focus more on all things Nordic, with more women’s fashion and style, more food inspiration and yummy recipes and more travel ­ amazing holiday ideas and tips.

What does the Vuelio blog ranking mean for your blog? Little Scandinavian made it to the WGSN top kids fashion list just months after starting up the blog in 2009. And now I’m top kids fashion and lifestyle on Vuelio! Being so excited about these awards sounds perhaps slightly narcissistic but fact is that blogging is a lot of work and you have to be extremely driven and motivated to keep it up, as it’s not much encouragement and praise besides a steady growing number of readers in analytics. So awards like these truly means a lot, together with comments and emails I receive from readers of the blog.

Little Scandinavian is currently one of Vuelio’s Top 10 Kids’ Fashion and Lifestyle Blogs.

The Vuelio Blog Awards in 40 seconds

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We hosted the inaugural Vuelio Blog Awards earlier in the month – and what a night it was! Could we capture the glamour, the tension, the exhilaration in one 40-second video? Well, we tried….

Black Friday: Looks Like High Street Retail Needs a New PR

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Black Friday, traditionally the busiest day of the year for US retailers and a recent import to the UK, has crashed and burned. The reason for its demise – bad PR.

Cast your minds back to last year, when hordes of eager bargain hunters, gripped by Black Friday fever, fought their way into British supermarkets and high street stores to fight (quite literally) over 50-inch televisions and other “must have” items.

Black Friday was big news in 2014. Unfortunately, it generated headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Black Friday in 2015 was a wash out. As consumers, we didn’t want anything to do with it. You could argue that the negative publicity generated in 2014, created a “social stigma” that kept people away from the stores. This in turn led to more negative PR with newspapers and broadcasters focusing their attention on stores crammed full of stock but no customers.

Of course, we still went shopping on Black Friday. We just did it via the Internet and increasingly via our mobile phones.

Could this be another blow to the high street? When major sales events and bargains galore actually turn us off shopping, what’s real world retail to do?

Retailers must now be looking at what they can do to breathe new life into their stores for 2017. As a PR do you have the skills to turn Black Friday into a positive event or is this US export, lost in translation?

UK – 3 December 2015

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This week’s Media Updates covers moves and changes at news titles including ITV News, Good Morning Britain, the FT, the Daily Express, the Daily Star, the Gloucestershire Echo and the Bournemouth Echo; lifestyle titles including  Marie Claire, Tatler, MATCH! and HELLO!; trade titles including  Management Today, Investment Week, Business Inside UK, and British Farmer and Grower; health and tech titles including Wareable and The Dentist; and more.

News & current affairs

  • Kamal Ahmed is to become the BBC‘s new economics editor
  • Allegra Stratton is to leave BBC Newsnight to join ITV News in the newly-created role of national editor
  • Cordelia Jenkins has been appointed commissioning editor at FT Special Reports
  • Tom Rawle has been appointed assistant news editor at the Daily Star Online
  • Katherine Romero has been appointed online travel writer at the Express. She was previously a senior showbiz writer at Closer
  • Sue Jameson has left her role as political editor at Good Morning Britain
  • Dan Hobson has been appointed reporter at The Star
  • Sophie Flowers has been appointed as head of content across the Gloucestershire Echo and Gloucester Citizen series. She was previously news editor at The Pharma Letter
  • Steven Smith has left his role as chief reporter at the Bournemouth Echo
  • Nigel Slater has been appointed editor at the Malvern Observer
  • Victoria Oliphant has left her role as reporter at the Harrow Times
  • Jeremy Clifford, editor of the Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post, has been named as the first-ever group editor-in-chief at Johnson Press as part of a management shake-up

Fashion, lifestyle and entertainment

  • Hannah Moore has been appointed acting executive fashion director at Marie Claire covering Tanya Philipson’s maternity leave
  • Sophie Goodwin has been promoted from style editor to style director at Tatler
  • Alexandra Wilby, inside entertainment editor and features writer at HELLO!, has returned from maternity leave
  • Stephen Fishlock has been promoted from production editor to deputy editor at MATCH!
  • Sue Omar has been appointed health and wellbeing columnist at Pride Magazine
  • Emily Louise Overy has been appointed editor at Soul and Spirit
  • Rachael Taylor has been appointed staff writer at Jewellery Editor
  • Immediate Media has agreed the sale of GolfMagic and Visordown to Crash Media Group

Business and finance

  • Adam Gale and Jack Torrance have been appointed web editors and Rebecca Smith web reporter at MT Management Today
  • Laura Dew has been promoted from asset management correspondent to deputy news editor at Investment Week
  • Cyrus Engineer has been appointed as front page editor at Business Insider UK. He was previously digital night news editor at the Daily Star and Express
  • Sandra Micic has been appointed as reporter at MandateWire
  • Victoria Wilkins has been promoted from deputy editor to acting editor of British Farmer and Grower and Horticulture following the departure of Emily Cole

Health, science and technology

  • James Brodie has been appointed automotive and technology editor at The Week
  • Erica Crompton has been appointed acting editor at Ophthalmology Times Europe
  • Carlisle Baker-Jackson has been appointed web editor at LaboratoryNews. He was previously a junior reporter at Primary Care Today
  • Michael Sawh has been appointed editor and Sophie Charara moved to features editor at Wareable

If you have any media changes let us know on Twitter @Media_Updates or you can email [email protected]

Twitter responds to the #VuelioBlogAwards

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Twitter responds to the #VuelioBlogAwards

So the blog awards may be over, but Twitter is still reacting to what was nothing short of an iconic night.

Here’s a roundup of some of the best tweets following the first ever Vuelio Blog Awards.

For more tweets click here to see our Blog Awards Twitter Wall.

Thanks again to everyone that came on the night. See you next year!

Vuelio’s Bloggers award show comes out on top

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Last Friday marked Vuelio’s first ever Blog Awards. Held at the The Brewery, the award show boasted some of the biggest names in the blogging world. Welcomed by a red carpet, paparazzi, wine flowing, and exquisite cuisine, bloggers were given the VIP treatment.

Hosted by Channel 4’s Balls of Steel Mark Dolan the night was filled with laughter and entertainment, making it an unmissable event.

We would like to congratulate all the winners who walked away the top prizes.

Despite fierce competition Jo Middleton walked away with the top prize for her blog Slummy Single Mummy winning the Best British Blog of 2015 award.

Other winners on the night included:

Best Sports Blog
WINNER: Andrew Mangan, Arseblog

Best Arts and Film Blog
WINNER: Ana Grilo and Thea James, The Book Smugglers

Best Beauty Blog
WINNER: Hayley Carr, London Beauty Queen

Best Business & Finance Blog
WINNER: Ann Pettifor, Debtonation

Best Education Blog
WINNER: Ross Morrison McGill, Teacher Toolkit

Best Fashion Blog
WINNER: Rosie Thomas, The Londoner

Best Food and Drink Blog
WINNER: Dan Toombs, The Curry Guy

Best Health & Fitness Blog
WINNER: Carly Rowena, CarlyRowena

Best Interior Design & Architecture Blog
WINNER: Kate Watson-Smith, Mad About The House

Best Media, PR and Marketing blogs
WINNER: Mark Borkowski, Mark My Words

Best Parenting Blog
WINNER: Jo Middleton, Slummy Single Mummy

Best Political Blog
WINNER: Paul Staines, Guido Fawkes

Best Travel & Tourism Blog
WINNER: Ana Silva O’Reilly, Mrs O Around The World

Best Newcomer
WINNER: Hannah Louise, Hannah Gets Hench

We would also like to thank all of the bloggers that were shortlisted and everyone that came to the event and we hope to see you next year for what will surely be an even bigger and better award show.

Internal Communications – The Front Line of Your PR Strategy

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Forget social media influencers, friendly bloggers or approachable journalists, if you really want the world to know how great the brand you are representing is, start with the foot soldiers (or employees) who take your product/service into battle and (hopefully) win friends and influence people.

When an employee (and not a paid brand ambassador or spokesperson) is as passionate about their organisation’s mission as their founder, CEO or senior management team, the role of the PR suddenly becomes very easy.  Social media endorsements, online reviews and peer-to-peer recommendations almost create themselves.

Company culture is not something that can be dictated from a rule book. It won’t be found in a brand strapline or cleverly devised corporate persona. It’s a genuine feeling of community (or even family) that runs throughout an organisation.

Outstanding company cultures are rare and need to be nurtured if they are to remain genuine (the larger your organisation, the harder they are to maintain). They are also somewhat objective. While I applaud amazing company cultures based on my engagements with brands like Amazon, Brewdog, Starbucks, Uber and Virgin Atlantic, you might disagree.

Creating an open dialog throughout your organisation is vital if you are to ensure everyone is to singing from the same hymn sheet. This means making sure the mechanisms are in place to fuel conversations and the understanding that no topics are off the agenda.

How do you enable your “foot soldiers” to ensure they are spreading the good word on the front line of your business?

* This post was inspired by a series of incredibly positive conversations with Uber drivers. Not only is this technology company disrupting the taxi business, it’s also changing the way we think about customer experience and service.