Archive for: Media Database

This morning’s sessions for CIPR’s half-day conference on climate change offered advice and solutions for PR practitioners to lead on sustainable practices and strategy – something posed as a challenge, an opportunity, but also a responsibility for the sector.

Following an introduction from CIPR president Mandy Pearse, event chair Trudy Lewis led attendees through panels, presentations and discussion including Climate Group’s director of internal communications Luke Herbert on ‘How comms professionals can save the planet’ and A Plastic Planet’s co-founder Sian Sutherland sharing ‘Truth, responsibility, opportunity, risk, legacy – 5 words in 15 minutes to sum up the importance of the plastic crisis for every business’.

The role of comms professionals on pushing forward with awareness, education and action was underlined throughout the morning, with great importance placed on true engagement and interest versus surface-level messaging for profit.

‘For comms professionals, there’s so much uncertainty on how climate measures will take place, but the pathway is very clear,’ said Luke.

PR communicators have ‘one foot in our organisations and one foot in the world – you’re ideally placed on this issue. You have a direct role to play’.

Sian underlined the responsibility of comms and PR: ‘The myths and the facts are all our responsibility and we need to start telling the truth’.

On the plastic crisis, Sian shared facts not widely featured in the narrative being shared regarding climate change, that considerations of plastic’s impact on soil is often ignored in favour of concern for our oceans, and that recycling is not a cure-all, despite reliance on it as a sign of engagement in environmental issues. ‘We down-cycle plastic,’ said Sian. ‘There are no recycling fairies’.

Action alongside education is what Sian advocated for in the industry, using examples of The Plastic Planet’s ‘Sack the sample sachet’ campaign and work with Kraft Heinz.

‘It’s a failing to believe that words = action if there are no consequences,’ said Sian.

‘The pandemic has created a line – there are businesses that will step across this line… and those that won’t. They will be our future dinosaurs’.

On moving forward with action and education – advising clients to ‘go green’ – speakers Sian Conway-Wood of #EthicalHour, CommsHero’s Asif Choudry and PersonaR & WhiteElephantDigital’s Andras Sztaniszlav were ready with answers.

The first step – understanding what ‘greenwashing’ is, and how to avoid it. According to Sian Conway-Wood:

‘We’re all being greenwashed from all angles. There are companies that are doing this intentionally, and the small businesses that just don’t know any better. But we can be the gatekeepers.’

Personal, as well as professional, integrity was urged by Andras: ‘There are people that are very good at influencing, but don’t live sustainably. Authenticity needs to be considered when we talk about the responsibility of PR professionals.’

For Asif, sustainability should be part of a creative agency’s resources for clients. Making any paper used FSC-certified, making sure clients are aware that this is possible and available to them. ‘People aren’t aware that these things exist,’ shared Asif. ‘We let our clients know as an active marketing drive’.

That there is a strong business case for ESG planning and strategy, alongside the ethical concerns, is something that shouldn’t be ignored by any individual or organisation within the comms sector.

‘It’s not just about risk management; the ‘doom and gloom’,’ said Sian. ‘It’s becoming more and more of a consumer demand. Education is happening and awareness is growing – the way to be profitable is to be sustainable.

’We all know the reports, we all use the phrase climate emergency, but they can make people put their heads in the sand. That’s the same with consumers – people just don’t want to hear it.

‘We need to use our comms skills. The good news is, we’re all here, we can do that!’

Andras pointed out the changed role of PR, from ‘painting better pictures’ for companies and clients, to being part of strategy, with a seat of the boardroom, to becoming a key part of operations.

Asif summed up the mix of personal with corporate responsibility, and how vital PR will be for communicating importance, intent and plans for action on climate change and environmental responsibility:

‘People have to want to do it. You have to keep going, it’s not a subject you can get bored of. There’s going to be costs involved, you have to reinvest profits and revenue.

‘Above all, you’re doing it because it’s the right thing to do’.

Find out more about CIPR’s Climate Change and the Role of PR conference as well as the speakers and topics being cover on the website.

Looking for more on ESG? Download our report The ESG opportunity for PR and check out five reasons why ESG needs to be part of your planning this year.

The PRCA’s Misinformation in the Climate Crisis Strategy Group and Opinium have launched their first research report which shows a readiness to fight climate change misinformation within the PR industry.

200 PR and communications professionals took part in the study to explore the current perception of the climate crisis and misinformation, the challenges, and the role of communications practitioners.

Key takeaways from the report results include:
– More than 75% of professionals feel that more needs to be done by the PR industry to tackle climate crisis-related misinformation
– A fifth of PR professionals feel nervous about their organisations getting involved in the climate crisis debate
– 60% of professionals believe that clients are too eager to jump on a bandwagon talking about the climate crisis, without enough action

Opinium’s complementary study of 2000 nationally representative UK adults found that 47% of social media users admitted to consuming content related to the climate crisis that was either made up or exaggerated over the past month via social media. Only 45% of those polled could accurely describe what misinformation actually is.

‘What this research has done is give this strategy group a clear goal: to help comms professionals fight the spread of misinformation by levelling up their knowledge, celebrating genuine action and providing best practice,’ said chair of the PRCA strategy group John Brown, CEO and founder of Don’t Cry Wolf.

‘This year has to be about moving beyond intent and into action. There is a heap of extraordinary work coming from industries including energy, manufacturing and technology that is perhaps being silenced in favour of bandwagoning and greenwashing. If this strategy group can play a meaningful role in changing the narrative from one of fear, nervousness and false promises to confidence, clarity and action, then we’ll have fulfilled our goal.’

Opinium research manager Sophie Holland added:

‘Misinformation surrounding the climate crisis is a major issue which creates confusion and negativity around this debate, it’s vital that people have the correct information to inform their choices. We are delighted to be supporting the PR and Comms industry in taking a lead on tackling this vital issue. These insights certainly highlight the scale of the issue at hand here, as well as the challenges that the PR and Comms industry faces in creating meaningful action on the climate crisis with the organisations they work with.’

Results from this research will be launched at an industry panel event today at 1pm. The strategy group is asking the industry to share examples of success and best practice via this webform.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You need to consider the following things when ideating:

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

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

• The Kardashians
• The Weather
• Christmas

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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