Dominic Baliszewski

How to win the game when the rules have changed – marketing in 2020

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This guest post comes from Dominic Baliszewski, co-founder of YOURS . SINCERELY.

The impact of this year’s unpredicted events in the marketing and PR world has been huge. As co-founder of marketing and comms agency YOURS . SINCERELY, like many of us in the industry, understanding what good looks like in the ‘new normal’ is essential for my day-to-day life. In an effort to explore this, we’ve looked at some emerging insights below and will be discussing these in more detail with founders and UK business marketing leaders on 2 July – sign up for free here.

The biggest change our industry has ever seen

Marketing is always evolving and changing – but this usually takes the form of innovations moving to the mainstream over months and years. As marketers, we all have a fairly good understanding of what works and what ‘good’ looks like.

Want to build a killer marketing strategy? No problem, start by understanding the audience, defining the objectives and then building a channel plan involving tried and tested tactics.

Then, in March this year, everything changed – with this impacting PR and marketing professionals in a big way.

At the end of Q2, as lockdown began, entire industries were suddenly paused and the wider marketing landscape saw the biggest shake-up it has ever seen – and all of this happened overnight. Major advertisers (like travel and leisure) pulled budget, leaving some inventory at record low prices with this balanced by certain channels practically worthless – after all, who wants to pay for a billboard if no one is walking past it?

Marketers across the UK, and the world, were forced to rip up their marketing plans for the year and spin on a dime – but the landscape had changed, and all the previous wisdom about what works was no longer valid.

What’s working in the new normal?

The good news is that we are now seeing some consistency in trends emerging, and some good insight into what works:

The ever-growing importance of authenticity

Prior to lockdown, people were increasingly engaging with brands who were honest and transparent in their approach, and this has only been accelerated by the period of uncertainty. Only by delivering an authentic message that clearly communicates how your product or service can help will you truly cut through the noise.

The importance of reputation/network (particularly in the B2B space)

This relates to the above, but during periods of disruption, people want to buy from brands they can rely on, and work with people they trust. In order to win, your brand needs to have values and stick to them across your marketing and product/service delivery. People have long memories and will remember how brands behaved during this period.

Gone are the long creative lead times

Got a fab creative showing people loving your ‘in-store’ experience that you’re planning to run for the rest of the quarter? Uh Oh! The world is changing at an insanely fast pace and marketing messages can become rapidly out-of-date. Those that are winning are prioritising rapid adaptability and streamlined processes.

The growing importance of digital (but doing it ‘right’)

With eMarketer research showing that people are spending more time than ever consuming digital media during lockdown, and this pattern likely to persist as more people opt to work from home after lockdown, this is where advertisers need to be, now more than ever. What’s changed is the growing importance of targeting. With digital saturation, getting the right message to the right people at the right time is key.

Sticking to your brand values and identity

How many creatives have you seen talking about ‘social distancing’? Generating cut through is all about talking to your audience and generating a response – something that doesn’t work if you’re saying the same thing as all of your competitors. Those telling their own story have seen this pay big dividends.

These trends are just a snapshot and, while there are no quick tricks, we are beginning to see brands thrive following changes to their marketing strategies.

To try and better understand what is working in the new normal, we’re hosting a panel discussion on 2 July with founders and senior marketers from a range of businesses. Find out more and sign up here.

Dominic Baliszewski is co-founder of YOURS . SINCERELY, a comms and marketing agency that works with clients to offer a hybrid of PR and digital marketing services. Dominic has a wide range experience in marketing/PR and commercial disciplines, previously working for MoneySuperMarket group as well as running the consumer team at a global Fintech and investment business. You can find more information about Dominic, and get in touch, via LinkedIn.

Jeremy Williams

Green Blogger Spotlight: Jeremy Williams, The Earthbound Report

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Jeremy Williams has been writing about the environment from the age of eight, making him ideally experienced to blog about the topic for The Earthbound Report, one of our top ten Green blogs in the UK.

Read on for more about Jeremy’s focus on ‘solutions journalism’ and how for him, going green isn’t ‘just a lifestyle choice’ but about being on the right side of history.

How did you originally get started with writing about green issues?
I grew up in Madagascar, which is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. 80% of the country’s plants and animals are unique, lemurs being the most famous. It also had deforestation, pollution, wildfires and erosion all up-front and very visible. From an early age, I saw wonders and disasters side by side. I remember writing about the environment from about the age of eight.

What’s your favourite thing to post about and why?
I’m part of a movement called ‘solutions journalism’, which aims to report on how people respond to problems as well as the problems themselves – something that’s easily overlooked in the news. If I want to write about an issue, I’ll try to find a person or project that’s solving it and use that as a way in. My favourite things to post are profiles of people or businesses that are doing something extraordinary to solve the world’s biggest problems.

How have you had to change your approach to blogging during the COVID-19 crisis?
I actually asked my readers about this, and their general opinion was that I should carry on as before. They could read about COVID-19 in plenty of other places! I haven’t ignored it, but I haven’t made any great changes to the kind of thing I was posting. It has rather dominated conversation, so it’s been good to set it to one side on the blog.

What are some of the environmental stories/issues happening at the moment that you’d wish more people knew about?
There’s been this explosion of interest in climate change in the last year, which is really exciting. What’s still missing for me is that most people still have it categorised mainly as an environmental issue in their minds. It is, but climate change is caused by the world’s richest people and affects the poorest first, so it’s also a massive injustice. And since the world’s poorest are mainly people of colour, it’s also a racial injustice. It can be hard to talk about sometimes, but ‘going green’ isn’t a lifestyle choice, it’s about being on the right side of history. I wish more people recognised that – and a growing number of people are.

For those who are just getting into greener living, what are three small changes you would recommend people start with?
The two things that will make the biggest difference to our carbon footprints are to eat less meat and fly less. If you can’t imagine giving those things up completely, start with a smaller step – a meat free day, or one flight less a year. Don’t stop there, though! Ramp it up as you gain confidence and discover alternatives. And as a third change, talk about it. There’s a social silence around climate change. It often makes people uncomfortable and defensive, and we need to be brave and have those conversations about how we want to live and what matters to us.

Will the growth of veganism continue?
I think the decline of meat eating will continue, for sure. Full vegan is a high bar and it will never appeal to everybody, so that’s going to plateau at some point. I applaud everyone that makes the choice, but I wouldn’t want people to think that because they couldn’t go 100% vegan, they shouldn’t bother going halfway.

Do you think the ‘VSCO girl’ trend has ultimately been a good or bad thing for the awareness of green issues?
I wore Birkenstocks before they were cool, jus’sayin. I’m wearing some right now. But I am male, in my thirties and bald, so that’s where the overlap between me and the VCSO girls both begins and ends… I suppose there’s a risk that these kinds of trends make green issues into a consumer choice, where we do the right thing when it makes us feel good, and don’t really challenge ourselves on the harder stuff. But it is probably making certain ethical choices normal and aspirational, and that’s a useful contribution.

How do you collaborate with brands and which kind of brands do you really like working with?
The themes of the blog don’t really lend themselves to brand collaborations very well, but I do occasionally run posts on green energy or products. I do lots of book reviews. I don’t run ads or do sponsored posts on the blog, because I value editorial independence. Unfortunately, that means I basically turn away free money on an almost daily basis, which is kind of painful!

For PRs looking to work with you and your blog/website, how would you prefer they approach you and with what kind of content?
Email is easiest. The content I’m most likely to use is new scientific research, campaign launches, innovative green technologies and projects. Other people in the top ten green blogs are covering the lifestyle stuff better than I ever will, so I’m less likely to write about products and services unless they’re doing something groundbreaking.

What other blogs do you check out regularly (whether green-related or not)?
One of my favourites is the Greenpeace investigative blog UnEarthed, and I recently discovered the business facing Future Net Zero. In another life I’d have been an architect, so I love to check out beautiful and ingenious buildings on Inhabitat or ArchDaily.

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Deliveries in lockdown comms

ParcelHero’s coronavirus comms strategy: turning the front door into the front line

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This is a guest post from David Jinks, Head of Public Relations at ParcelHero, on the importance of keeping agile in a fast changing environment.

I could start by spinning you a yarn about how ParcelHero had an emergency comms plan already prepared for the impact of a near biblical plague. The truth is we didn’t and, be honest, you wouldn’t enjoy reading a puff piece as much as hearing the gory details about how we learned from our initial comms mistakes.

ParcelHero is an online parcel price comparison site; effectively, we’re ‘Compare the Meerkat’ for parcels. Simples. Of course, being a home-delivery courier company meant we were one of the first to experience the full impact of the coronavirus.

Key to our media strategy as an e-commerce business is building brand awareness and (here’s where I’ll be kicked out of the Monday PR Club) link building. Old skool releases and pitches are at the heart of this plan. Looking back, our first release on the subject was 27 January: ‘Should shoppers question the safety of Chinese parcels?’. In retrospect, it’s an odd release – partly ramping up the scare to attract journalists and partly downplaying it – because some regular users were already experiencing problems with stock coming in from China. It got good traction but, at the time, it felt like an annoying distraction from my beloved 2020 PR plan, which had been so many weeks in gestation.

I clung grimly to that plan throughout early February, in the blind belief that no story could be bigger than Brexit. It wasn’t until 25 February that I smelled the coffee and tearfully chucked it away. Our release that day on ‘Ten steps to reduce the impact of Covid-19 ‘ was lapped up by an increasingly nervous business press. It had lots of prescient tips but still featured a not-in-front-of-the-children intro that soothingly gushed ‘…many health professionals are saying it is unlikely to have a greater effect than many typical global flu outbreaks’.

Let’s spare my blushes and move into the next stage. Without teaching Grandma to suck eggs, bad news sells and big numbers make big headlines. As the epidemic developed, we forecast on 3 March that e-commerce’s market share would double to 40% ‘if the coronavirus becomes an epidemic in the UK’. That secured us a good splash in the Mail and lots of business press. In a social media double-whammy, Facebook even used the prediction in its LinkedIn presentations. Again though, look at that qualifying ‘if’…

Just before lockdown, ParcelHero had been booming, as people shipped food to loved ones in isolation and ordered thousands of hand sanitisers. However, when lockdown started on 23 March, bookings fell off a cliff. Stores were closed and even those with websites had little confidence they could distribute orders safely.

We hit the press, emphasising that couriers were still picking up directly from doorsteps and businesses could stay alive selling solely online. By the second week, ParcelHero was experiencing Christmas-level peak volumes and that’s been the case ever since. ‘The front door becomes the front line’ – our key message that was picked up by many journalists – underscored our efforts to standardise rules to replace signatures as proof of delivery.

Increased bookings led to their own complications, however. 50% of international parcels are flown in the belly-hold of passenger flights and, suddenly, they were all grounded. Customers wanted information. Now. Our carefully laid social media plans were swiftly abandoned as Twitter became a key tool for Customer Services.

Nonetheless, by 15 April, our comms was firmly proactive rather than reactive. We caught the public mood with a release stating: ‘It’s no longer a sin to order non-essentials online’. From then on, the thrust was all about looking forwards.

So, what turned the tide from that dreadful Lockdown Monday to us gaining multiple new links and national coverage in the FT, Express, Sun and Mail? Driving our success was our ability to adapt our message to fast-changing circumstances, even if it meant ditching our existing strategies and entire social channels.

Looking forward, we’ll be taking the lead in issuing advice as regulations and market conditions change. We’re currently focused on encouraging all our business users to ‘lock-in your lockdown wins’.  Who knows, one day, not so far in the future, I may be able to return to Brexit. Now, where did I throw that 2020 plan?

David Jinks was a guest on our recent webinar, Moving from Crisis to Recovery, along with Liz Slee, Head of Media at Enterprise Nation and director at the think tank The Enterprise Trust. Listen to the recording here. 

Catherine Hughes

Gardening Blogger Spotlight: Catherine Hughes, Growing Family

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From grubbing around on allotments as a child to blogging full-time about gardening now she has children of her own, Growing Family’s Catherine Hughes has turned her passion for plants into a career she loves.

With gardening becoming more and more popular as people are getting the most out of going outdoors, Catherine shares which kind of posts are proving most useful for her readers, gardens that inspire her, and whether gnomes should be standing next to your Salvia.

How did you originally get started with writing about gardening?
I’ve always been fascinated by the process of making things grow; I grew up grubbing around on my dad’s allotment, and I’ve been gardening for as long as I can remember. Before having children I worked in brand marketing, but gave up the full-on career to be a full-time mum. This gave me a chance to start a whole new career blogging about my passion. Now I get to combine gardening with my day job, which is pretty amazing!

What’s your favourite thing to post about and why?
Easy gardening projects that you don’t need to be an expert to try and that you can involve the kids in. I firmly believe you don’t have to be a pro to enjoy gardening and I hope my blog inspires people to have a go and have fun in the process.

How have you had to change your approach to blogging during the COVID-19 crisis?
With gardening seeing such a big increase in popularity, I’ve been focusing my writing on topics that appeal to newly-interested gardeners and those who are trying to garden with limited resources. Brand work has been reduced, so I’m working more on SEO and my social channels. I’m also blogging at some odd times of day to fit in around the kids!

What are some small things people can do to change up their gardens/balcony planters/windowsill flowers while on lockdown?
Adding in some summer bedding plants will give things an instant lift, and they’re easy to get hold of from supermarkets and garden centres. You can also make things more interesting in the garden by providing food for wild birds and encouraging them to visit. Having a go at growing your own veg is a great lockdown project, too – I’ve converted one of my garden borders into a vegetable patch this year.

For those just getting into gardening, which essential tools do they need for their kit?
A decent hand trowel, comfortable gardening gloves, and a kneeler pad will all get used every time you garden. Plant pots in various sizes and plant labels are a must if you’re growing seeds; avoid plastic and go for an eco-friendly option if you can. A lightweight handled bucket is brilliant for moving around compost and collecting weeds, but you can improvise on this one if you need to. I’d also add in a spade if you’ve got more than just containers. And you definitely need a watering can to keep those plants happy!

Most beautiful outside space/garden you’ve ever seen?
I have a real soft spot for the Japanese gardens at Newstead Abbey. They’re so precise but luscious at the same time, and there’s something about the contrast between the historic surroundings and the vibe that just works for me. I find something new and inspiring every time I visit.

What are your thoughts on garden gnomes – cute, or creepy?
Definitely creepy – they’ve always given me the shivers. I don’t want eyes watching me in the garden!

How do you collaborate with brands and which kind of brands do you really like working with?
I really enjoy collaborating with brands and regularly work on ambassadorships, sponsored content, reviews, giveaways, guest writing and social media promotion. Home and garden brands are the best fit for my content and audience.

For PRs looking to work with you and your blog/website, how would you prefer they approach you and with what kind of content?
My readers expect and enjoy unique content, so that’s always my aim when working with PRs. I’m always interested in press releases related to my blog’s content as they keep me up-to-date, but I don’t tend to publish them on my blog. A detailed brief is really important; as well as being a professional way to work, it helps avoid misunderstandings and saves lots of time. The best way to contact me is via email.

What other blogs do you check out regularly (whether gardening-related or not)?
There are lots of gardening blogs on my list! The Middle-Sized Garden always has articles that inspire me, Sharpen Your Spades is brilliant for all things grow your own, and Gardens, Weeds & Words is beautifully written with stunning photography. I also love Thrifty Home for great family budgeting tips, and Love Chic Living for fantastic interiors inspiration.

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Clare Dewey

Cycling Blogger Spotlight: Clare Dewey, Epic Road Rides

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Sharing hidden gem rides you haven’t heard about, and new roads to the places you have, Epic Road Rides’ Clare Dewey is looking forward to getting back on the bike blogging saddle now that she’s seeing ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ for the tourism and trips-out industry.

If you’re planning for your next trip, sort out your itinerary and pick which horizon you’ll head for by checking out today’s cycling spotlight.

How did you originally get started with writing about cycling?
I’ve always loved cycling and travel. I spend hours and hours planning trips, reading through guidebooks and magazines, poring over maps and combing online forums to glean information on the best places to cycle abroad. Often information is scarce, as cycling tour operators are reluctant to share their information online.

For years before I set up Epic Road Rides, I’d idly wonder why there was no authoritative resource with the information I was looking for.

After my second maternity leave, I had a ‘now or never’ moment and decided that now was the time to create the website I’d always been looking for… So Epic Road Rides was born!

Clare Dewey 2

What’s your favourite thing to post about and why?
I love writing about anything cycling and travel related, but my favourite topic is places people probably haven’t heard too much about; the undiscovered parts of the world that are amazing for cycling that people don’t tend to go to.

In a similar vein, I love to write about the secret gems in the places that lots of people visit. For example, everyone knows about visiting the Alps to ride Alpe d’Huez, but do they also know about riding the Pas de la Confession halfway up Alpe d’Huez? What about the Col de Sarenne, which is the much less known but very beautiful route up the Alpe? Have they tried the road out to La Bérarde, which feels like you’re riding to the end of the world?

Sharing information on great cycling-friendly bars/restaurants/cafe stops is also really fun, because it’s the sort of local knowledge that’s really difficult to find elsewhere but which can make a big difference to your trip.

I love to get people excited about riding new routes and trying out new destinations. There’s so much to discover out there!

How have you had to change your approach to blogging during the COVID-19 crisis?
Travel is obviously one of the areas that’s been hardest hit by the pandemic.

Initially, I flexed our content to provide inspiration and interest while cyclists were spending more time at home. Articles on things like the best cycling films, documentaries and books were popular.

Now it feels that the light is starting to appear at the end of the tunnel, there’s been a definite return to people planning holidays and our articles on cycling within the UK and ferry-drive destinations have been shared a lot on social media. I’m also working with brands to ensure that their destinations and services are top of mind as people start to book and re-book their trips.

What kit/equipment would you recommend people put together and take with them when cycling while social distancing?
I don’t think the kit you need to take has changed too much – for a day ride, you’d want to take all the usual essentials like phone, money, tools sufficient to change a puncture and a jacket (in case of a change of weather). You can find our day-ride and holiday packing list here, if it helps!

That said, it’s probably more important to think about how you’d get home in case of a major mechanical breakdown that you couldn’t fix. Also, if you might want to stop at a shop while out, you could consider taking a face mask.

Do you think the Tour De France will still be able to go ahead without any issues this year?
This is the million-dollar question at the moment!

The French government has banned all sporting events until the end of August, but I guess the Tour may be getting special dispensation since its revised start date is 29 August. There’s a huge amount of speculation going on as to whether it will be feasible to run the event, given the number of riders and support crew and the proximity they have to live in with one another during the Tour.

If it does go ahead, I wonder if it will happen behind closed doors or with limited numbers of spectators and journalists.

Can you remember your first ever bike?
Good question! I do remember learning to ride my first bike without stabilisers around a car park in the little village we used to live in. The feeling of finally ‘getting it and being able to ride alone was amazing. I must have been about eight or nine years old. Can that really have been my first bike?!

If you could cycle anywhere right now, where would it be?
We should be on a press trip in Austria with roadbike-holidays.com at the moment, and I wish we were there now! I was really excited about the opportunity to explore the Tannheimer Tal region and share it with the Epic Road Rides community. Fortunately, the trip has been postponed rather than cancelled, and I can’t wait to get there very soon.

How do you collaborate with brands and which kind of brands do you really like working with?
I collaborate with brands to showcase their products and services within our inspiring photos and SEO optimised written content. I can provide anything from an advert in one of our guides, to mail shots to our email list, social media promotion and full brand partnerships.

I really enjoy running interviews and in-depth features with brands to explain their products and services to our community of 70k+ avid road cyclists. Where it’s a brand that provides a service in a particular destination, I love to draw out their local tips and knowledge that I know our community will love and which will help showcase the brand’s expertise.

I love to work with brands that are passionate about quality and customer service, and who provide a product or service I would want to buy and use myself.

For PRs looking to work with you and your blog/website, how would you prefer they approach you and with what kind of content?
I like to receive a friendly email that introduces them, their brand and what they’re looking for. It’s always nice when this introduction makes it clear that they know Epic Road Rides and what we do. Generally, we will then exchange some emails and, if it sounds like there’s potential to work together, we can get on the telephone and talk about the details.

My favourite way of working with brands is by way of longer-term partnerships over months and even years. This could be through a series of articles and social media posts or by an all-encompassing brand partnership that includes things like promotion within our highly Google-ranked destination guides, email newsletters and social media. I find longer term collaborations much better than one off articles/posts for building the kind of trust and engagement that brings the best return on investment.

By way of example, I’ve been working with the cycling kit company Stolen Goat for the last two years and have developed excellent brand trust and loyalty for the brand within the Epic Road Rides community.

What other blogs do you check out regularly (whether cycling-related or not)?
I like National Geographic’s travel section for its general travel-related inspiration, the TrainingPeaks blog for training advice and DC Rainmaker for cycling tech reviews. During winter, when I tend to do a bit more running, I also like to check out Man v Miles.

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PRCA

PRCA survey finds industry in disagreement on in-office returns

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Almost a quarter (23%) of leading PR industry figures taking part in the latest PRCA Pulse survey are in favour of returning to in-office working as soon as possible. But feelings are mixed, as 19% report a reluctance to return.

Carried out by The Pulse Business, the new survey asked respondents: ‘Which one of these statements, if any, best describes your feelings towards returning to the office?’. The breakdown of responses was:

– 23% I would like to return to the office as soon as possible
– 35% I’m somewhat looking forward to returning to the office
– 23% I have mixed feelings at the moment
– 19% I’m reluctant to return to the office
– 0% I do not want to return to the office at all

Returning to in-office working will be hard for many PR teams who have found new ways of balancing home life with career concerns during the lockdown, discovering the ease of using team chat and file sharing software and enjoying time away from stressful commutes. While some will be eager to get back into the buzz of a busy working environment, businesses will have to navigate ways to make potential returns to the office work for everyone.

‘Senior leaders and business owners will need to be aware of the diversity of feeling on this issue,’ said PRCA Director General Francis Ingham of the mixed survey results. ‘While the majority of our industry’s leaders view a return to office life as a positive development, a sizeable minority do not. Many cite concerns over using public transport as their number one worry.

‘Until confidence is established on that issue, a sizeable minority of our industry will continue to eschew office working. Industry leaders will need to adopt a flexible approach to safeguard the physical and mental wellbeing of employees in the months ahead.’

Read more from the latest PRCA pulse results here. Concerned about returning to the office? Check out 11 tips for getting mentally prepared for a return to workplace working.

Race in PR CIPR

CIPR publishes report on Race in PR

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Experiences of racism, microaggressions and unconscious biases have been shared by BAME PR practitioners for the CIPR research report released today Race in the PR Workplace: BAME lived experiences in the UK PR industry.

Following the career journeys of its 17 BAME participants, the report highlights common struggles including harder work for fewer opportunities, being held to different standards than white colleagues and a lack of support when speaking up. A supporting Q&A has also been published by the CIPR to support the findings, detailing how the industry body plans to move its diversity and inclusion initiatives forward.

Part of the action being undertaken by the CIPR to help with equality issues raised in its State of the Profession reports over the last few years – which have shown the profession becoming less diverse over time – is the relaunch of its Diversity and Inclusion Network. The existing volunteer team will expand to become a member-wide group, welcoming those across the CIPR community to work together on improving the industry’s record on equality.

Also included in the Race in PR report are details of BME PR Pros’ launching programme The Blueprint, a scheme offering comms leaders ways to improve diversity within their teams, as well as the work of the Taylor Bennett Foundation, and BAME2020’s ‘No Turning Back’ programme.

‘The CIPR research is heartbreaking but unsurprising,’ said BME PR Pros founder Elizabeth Bananuka. ‘We are a sector full of people that want to talk about diversity but don’t ever want to discuss or engage with racism or racial inequality. That don’t ever want to ask why in 2020 an industry with so many agencies and organisations based in cities as ethnically diverse as London, Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham, can be 92% white and why the number of ethnic minorities has declined over the years.’

‘This report has been a long time coming. You could say it is years overdue,’ said CIPR 2020 President Jenni Field of the results. ‘I’m pleased we’re able to share these stories and I’m pleased with the work that has gone in to making our response a robust one. But I’m not proud of this report.

‘None of us reading this should be.’

Read more from the Race in the PR Workplace: BAME lived experiences in the UK PR industry report on the CIPR website here.

Fran Griffin

5 reasons to consider a PR freelancer

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This is a guest post by Fran Griffin, freelance PR consultant, Fran Griffin PR.

Today marks National Freelancers Day, and this is an important awareness date because it recognises a growing community and style of workers in the PR and digital industries.

Having worked agency-side for many years where I employed freelance support, to now, where I am completely freelance myself, I hope to shed some light on the reasons to consider a PR freelancer, and the benefits of doing so.

1. They complement existing PR efforts
It’s not necessarily always an either-or decision between a freelancer or a PR agency. A freelancer can be the perfect support hire for a project or busier period.

Perhaps you are a business and have an annual awareness week coming up and want to make noise in the press, or have a new quarterly marketing budget that enables you a PR budget, but not quite enough for a full-time hire?

Similarly, you could be an agency that requires more hands-on support during a busy period or need someone with a certain industry experience or niche contacts to bolster a client’s campaign.

Freelancers are flexible and most are used to working in a project style as opposed to retained, so are able to become a temporary or long-term (but part time) team addition to a business or agency.

2. You get a specialist skillset
There are freelancers who offer PR and media relations as a wider spectrum; but a growing number of those who have a background or specialise in other services like social media, influencers or events, too.

A big reason in going freelance for me personally, is that I have both a traditional PR and digital/SEO background. Even though the industry is changing, there are very few agencies that mix both types of PR still or get’ both approaches. I can now work with businesses that want either approach, or sometimes both.

3. You benefit from years of finessed media relationships and niche experience
As well as specialisms within skillsets, this also applies to areas of PR work too. You can find a freelancer with really specific experience in the sector you operate in, whether that be as niche as B2B tech PR or consumer beauty, for example. Most freelancers make this career jump away from being an employee after years of working in different agencies, in-house roles, and across multiple industries and sectors, so they can focus on one sector they like best or find most rewarding.

Working with a freelancer that has a relevant PR background means you benefit from tapping into finessed media relationships and journalist connections that can take a business years to build itself.

4. They become an extension of your team and you become a priority
Having direct contact with the person who is handling your PR on the front-line with press, and them also being the same person who reports and measures KPIs, or takes part in ideation, unearths a new level of transparency.

It’s always in a freelancer’s best interest to make a client relationship work, as referrals, recommendations and repeated client work is often the make-up of their business. So there becomes quite a bit of comfort and reassurance that you will be a priority.

Freelancers are in complete control of their own time, working style, and agenda. This means we get the privilege of picking who we work with and who we say no to as well. If a freelancer doesn’t believe your campaign idea is PR-able or possible, they won’t undertake the work to later fail, as that’s their own reputation on the line.

As a business, you can also tap into their expertise and garner their external feedback and third-person perspective that you usually wouldn’t have within your immediate team.

5. There’s value for money
Sadly, there is still a bit of a misconception for some that freelancers are just a cheap option because they’re significantly less expensive than agencies.

It has to be noted – as a vital key decision factor for those hiring – that the cost of freelance is usually lower than agency fees for obvious reasons like less business overheads or less employees on the campaign/client. You side-step the minimum monthly fees associated with agencies, meaning you can tap into big brand experience by working with just one person, at a fraction of the cost.

Do bear in mind though that cheap is expensive in the long run. You’re not only buying into a PR service from a freelancer, you’re buying into that person’s years of media contacts, strategic insight and experience too!

You can get in touch with Fran Griffin via LinkedIn.

Taylor Bennett Foundation

Spotlight on the Taylor Bennett Foundation, with chief executive Melissa Lawrence

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Having worked in the charity sector for over 20 years with a focus on mobility and diversity, Melissa Lawrence was drawn to join the Taylor Bennett Foundation and its mission to improve ethnic diversity in the PR and communications industry.

Bringing her experience with developing education, training and employability programmes for the financial and professional services sector to the role, Melissa and her team work to mentor BAME candidates for meaningful comms careers in an industry still struggling with the issue of equality, both at the hiring stage and at boardroom level.

As every industry across the world questions what it can do to fight racial inequality within its ranks and support those harmed or held back, Melissa shares what the foundation is doing to help, and how we can all take action to make things better.

‘Only 8% of the communications industry identify as an ethnic minority,’ says Melissa. ‘That is woefully low’.

Melissa Lawrence

What originally got you into the comms industry, and why is it a great career path for your candidates?
Before I joined the Foundation, I knew very little about the comms industry. However, I did a lot of preparation for my application and the more I learnt about it the more interested I became.

Communications and Public Relations as an industry is a fantastic career option to consider. Comms can provide a great career path for our candidates because there are a wide range of opportunities to choose from.

Communications is needed in every sector and discipline; it is fast paced, there’s lots of variety in the work and most importantly, you can build a professional career and earn a good salary while doing so.

With what’s happening across the world in reaction to racial injustice, has the foundation had to rethink its strategy and focus for the upcoming months?
Our strategy and focus is still highly relevant now, perhaps more so. The Taylor Bennett Foundation has always championed equality, diversity and inclusion. We stand against racial injustices and with all that is happening across the world, we have a renewed resolve to push forward with our work. We have been delighted with the number of agencies and in-house teams who have been in touch recently, offering to work with us and donating to the Foundation.

Many brands and celebrities have been criticised over the last weeks for their responses to the #BLM movement – which responses were well-judged? And which brands should be doing better?
I think Glossier responded well, and PrettyLittleThing could have done better. But these are difficult times and difficult issues – the most important thing is to ensure that any response is made with the lived experience of those involved in the #BLM movement at its core.

What are some of the big reasons that brands need to be more focused on diversity and increasing/amplifying BAME voices?
It’s important to amplify BAME voices because they are the voices of those whose experiences have often been marginalised. You get to hear directly from people about their lived experiences and this often leads to positive changes. We are seeing real examples of this right now. Plus, many big brands do not have diverse communications and marketing teams; this is why the Foundation’s work is so important.

What should agencies be putting in place to ensure their hiring practices are fair, and to ensure candidates from a wider variety of backgrounds apply for roles at their firms?
There are a number of things that agencies could do, starting with ensuring that their opportunities are shared in a more transparent way. Many roles are often shared first with candidates that are former colleagues and friends, and on company websites or social media. There are lots of agencies in the industry and if candidates do not know who they are, it’s difficult for them to find the roles. We have a jobs page, so we can help.

For agencies thinking about encouraging diverse applications and putting in measures to do so, I encourage them to develop a thorough recruitment strategy and audit their recruitment process frequently to ensure it’s giving them the desired results they want.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the Taylor Bennett Foundation summer PR training programmes?
COVID-19 has meant that we have had to push the dates for our PR Training programmes back, so our summer programme will be shorter to accommodate our autumn programme. Also, as many offices remain closed until the autumn, the summer programme will be delivered in a virtual format. This is a first for us – there are going to be some challenges, but we are excited about taking on those challenges and making a success of the programme. We are fortunate that Brunswick, the sponsoring agency, remains totally committed to making it work and are supporting us now more than ever.

Can you share some of the big success stories from the programme?
Last year, 18 graduates went through our PR Training programme and 100% of them went straight into jobs or fixed term contracts within the industry. This year, four of the six graduates from our first programme have secured full time jobs. Three were with their host agency. COVID-19 and lockdown put a stop to the other two graduates securing roles, but I am hopeful that now things are easing, we can support them into jobs. If anyone wants to get in touch with me about those individuals, or indeed anything else about the Foundation, I am always keen to make connections.

Read more about the Taylor Bennett Foundation and its PR Training programmes here, and find Melissa Lawrence on Twitter @MLucien17.

Planning for recovery

6 steps to help with planning for recovery

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Getting ready for recovery as businesses reopen across the country? Here are six steps to help you plan your strategy, inspired by our recent study into the behaviours and trends of comms leaders in lockdown. Check out the Vuelio Barometer of PR and Comms Leaders here.

We also took advice from our webinar After the storm: Planning for preparedness post COVID-19, with guests including Hotwire chief strategy officer Chris Paxton, Fielding Communications director Kate Fielding and Question & Retain’s founder and CEO Annabel Dunstan – download the full webinar here.

1. Establish a post-crisis communications plan
This will be as important for your organisation as your original crisis communications plan. For a starting point, check out guidance from The PR Cavalry’s Nigel Sarbutts on generating leads from clients who have paused activity.

2. Listen and prepare your team
Your colleagues may have been furloughed or had a challenging time in lockdown. Check in to ensure they have the support they need as individuals to make their return to work. For advice on how to handle phased returns to the workplace, read advice from mental health professionals on how PRs can prepare here.

3. Focus your efforts
The economy and political landscape is volatile, making it tempting to keep switching focus to keep up. Make sure you evaluate what could have the greatest impact to your organisation and allocate resources accordingly.

4. Be true to your values
Now more than ever, it is essential to be authentic and keep your messaging consistent so your key stakeholders, including customers, feel reassured.

5. Review and improve
Analyse your lockdown communications and what you can learn from the experience. What if it happened again: what would you do differently? What positive behaviours do you want to continue?

6. And for more inspiration…
Check out the Vuelio webinar After the Storm: Planning for Preparedness Post COVID-19.

Pete Linsley

Cycling Blogger Spotlight: Pete Linsley, road|Theory

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Cycling has a lot of benefits aside from keeping fit – road|Theory’s Pete Linsley has met rabbits and geese, cycling legends and some freak weather conditions along the way. He’s also racked up over six hundred blog posts about the subject he loves, and published a couple of books for good measure.

If you’re planning to get on your bike this weekend, check out Pete’s top places to cycle outside of self-isolation and some sartorial tips for what to wear while you’re out there…

How did you originally get started with writing about cycling?
I started the blog back in 2013 as a kind of creative outlet; I’d always fancied myself as a writer without ever having knuckled down to learn the craft.

When Bradley Wiggins won the Tour de France in 2012 it felt like cycling here in the UK morphed from a niche weekend pastime into something more like a cultural movement, and I just saw stories everywhere. Every bike ride a mini-adventure, every pro race an epic, and loads of cool kit and personalities.

I started idly writing and here I am seven years later with six hundred blog posts to my name and a couple of books out there in the world.

What’s your favourite thing to post about and why?
I love it all. I love developing my voice and pride myself on an ability to write 500 entertaining words about any cycling related topic you care to imagine.

If pushed, I guess it’s those unexpected occurrences that happen mid-ride and become blog posts that I really enjoy. I’ve had encounters with wildlife (peacocks, rabbits, geese), shared a random mid-ride cup of tea with British cycling legend (and Tour de Franc stage winner) Brian Robinson, and survived more weather-related adventures than I’d care to remember.

How have you had to change your approach to blogging during the COVID-19 crisis?
I’ve made a point of not getting preachy about how cyclists should or shouldn’t behave. The rules and guidance on social distancing are out there for all to follow, and I’m not sure people like me adding an extra layer of judgement is really necessary. I consider my website an escape from the grim realities of the pandemic as much as possible.

However, during then current crisis much of my subject matter has briefly disappeared. As I ride my bike alone through near deserted towns and villages the world has definitely become lighter on blog-worthy incident… and there has been no pro cycling to dissect.
It’s fair to say, like everyone else, I’ve been in reflective mood.

Pete Linsley 2

What kit/equipment would you recommend people put together and take with them when cycling while social-distancing?
Be prepared for the fact that nowhere is open: no mid-ride café, and few open shops for that emergency energy drink or ice-cream. I’ve even ridden with a thermos of freshly brewed espresso coffee tucked into my bottle cage on occasion, to recreate the on-the-road caffeine hit that so often keeps me going!

As for additional equipment – face masks, other hygiene products, for example. Cyclists are a self-reliant bunch and will make their own decisions. I think we each come to our conclusions about how to protect ourselves.

Do you think the Tour De France still be able to go ahead without any issues this year?
I’d say it’s hard to predict how le Tour will pan out. A ‘behind closed doors’ edition was mooted early on, which is immediately unworkable. You just can’t prevent people gathering roadside to watch the race roll by – it’s unenforceable.

Beyond the fans, the race is usually accompanied by an entire infrastructure of thousands of staff, journalists, TV people, and other logistics – how such an operation can operate safely in a pandemic context is, right now, impossible to imagine.

I think the Tour will go ahead in some form or other, but it might well be compromised.

Can you remember your first ever bike?
Of course. Raleigh Burner BMX, in red with yellow flames down the side! I even had trousers to match – flames ‘n’ all! My career as a cyclist peaked with that bike (and those pants!).

If you could cycle anywhere right now, where would it be?
The French Alps, maybe nipping across the border to Italy from time to time.

I love the adventure and commitment required to ride in the really big mountains – the landscape is just vast – and I am a sucker for riding on roads that form the myth and legend of pro cycling. In fact, one of the great things about the sport comes from sharing the terrain with, and judging yourself against, the superstars of the sport.

Riding up Alpe d’Huez or Mont Ventoux is the cycling equivalent of playing football at Anfield or Old Trafford. Given the chance I’d spend most of my life doing just that.

How do you collaborate with brands and which kind of brands do you really like working with?
I’m open to all kinds of cycling related projects: promoting the cycling culture and experience within different areas and regions, reviewing and promoting kit and emerging technology within the industry, but most of all working with brands who have an ethos rooted in the positive impact cycling can have on individuals, and on society in general.

I love to do my bit to promote the utter joy of the bike!

For PRs looking to work with you and your blog/website, how would you prefer they approach you and with what kind of content?
An email approach will get a near-immediate response, and from there I’m always happy to chat/Skype/Zoom on whatever happens to be the preferred platform at a given moment!

Kit review and product promotion has become something of a staple on my site, and the more popular kit reviews are among my most visited all-time pages. In addition, I’m always happy to write more general ‘brand introduction’ type pieces where I feel there is an engaging back story.

My most memorable blogging experiences have involved travel and telling stories about cycling destinations and cultures; I am always open to the invited discovery of a hidden gem of the cycling world.

Ultimately, if a project is cycling related and I feel I can add my ‘voice’ in some creative way, then I’m all ears.

What other blogs do you check out regularly (whether cycling-related or not)?
For pro cycling, INRNG.com has no parallel. With its insight and knowledge, the site is a constant source of information and inspiration. For real life, day to day cycling, I’m a fan of thewashingmachinepost, which is quirky, eclectic, and original. Away from cycling, I’m hooked on The Red Hand Files by legendary Aussie musician and writer Nick Cave – a true artist.

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Vuelio Barometer of PR and Comms Leaders

Vuelio Barometer of PR and Comms Leaders

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Vuelio Barometer of PR and Comms Leaders

Download the latest research from the Vuelio Barometer of PR and Comms Leaders, with insight from our sister company Pulsar.

Find out what type of comms leader you are, how behaviours have changed in the industry during lockdown, what campaigns are getting the most traction and why ‘action’ is being replaced by ‘recovery’.

Navigating uncertainty

Navigating Uncertainty Toolkit

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Navigating uncertainty

 

PR and communications practitioners are facing unparalleled disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. The crisis is creating a unique challenge: keep stakeholders up to date with the constantly shifting political and news agenda while also adapting to new working arrangements.

Communications teams have to get their messaging right and ensure it is consistent both externally and internally, and remain true to their brand values and culture. On top of all of this, each business must keep up with the demands of the latest Government guidelines, which are evolving daily.

We have created this toolkit to support the industry. It includes the latest stats and information on the crisis, linked resources to help with everything from virtual events to staying focused while working at home, and our top 10 lessons to keep your comms effective in a crisis.

A Lovely Planet

Travel Blogger Spotlight: Hayley Lewis, A Lovely Planet

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We head Sydney-way (symbolically, anyway) to catch up with travel blogger Hayley Lewis of A Lovely Planet. Hayley sees a challenging future for the travel industry and travel blogging following the COVID-19 lockdown, but potential growth in domestic journeying, day trips and weekend breaks later in the year. So, don’t book tickets quite yet, but do start daydreaming about where you’d like to go (for Hayley, a cabin in Lapland sounds good…).

How did you originally get started with writing about travel?
I’ve always loved to travel, and friends and family would often ask me for tips on places I had been, so in 2014, I started saving the emails I’d written and decided to publish them on a blog. A Lovely Planet has grown from there.

What’s your favourite thing to post about and why?
I love putting together itineraries of trips I’ve taken. I spend A LOT of time researching before I take a trip, so I love sharing all the knowledge and experiences I’ve gained afterwards, and hopefully helping out other people who are looking to take a similar trip. I’m also a massive foodie, so love posting about food experiences, restaurants and different cuisines.

How have you had to change your approach to blogging during the COVID-19 crisis?
I’ve been focusing more on content in Australia (where I live) as domestic travel will start again much sooner than international. In some ways I’ve enjoyed having time to catch up on content that I have had on my to do list and completing tasks that I have wanted to do for a while, but the drop in traffic has been pretty disheartening and it’s challenging not knowing what the future will look like for travel and travel blogging.

A Lovely Planet 2

What kind of travel is your favourite?
I love a bit of variety. I do a lot of road trips, which generally feature some kind of adventure travel. I love being underwater, whether that’s free diving, snorkeling or scuba diving so many of the trips I take have an underwater element, but at the same time I absolutely adore city breaks. Especially when I lived in Europe and I could hop on a plane for a weekend to somewhere with completely different cuisines, a different language and culture. It feels like a lifetime ago.

How can the travel industry get back on its feet when the lockdown is over?
I think initially it will be about day trips and weekend breaks, domestically – helping the small operators and businesses. As we can travel more and as international travel starts reopening then I think people will be keen to get away, but at the same time many people have lost jobs or had a reduced income, so those trips may not be the extravagant once-in-a-lifetime trips.

If you could teleport to anywhere in the world right now, where would it be?
That’s a difficult question. Considering the lock down and how bad COVID-19 is in many parts of the world, I’m drawn to somewhere remote. I’ve been thinking a lot about a cabin I stayed in in Finnish Lapland a few years ago. It was so cosy, with a fire and a sauna and a lake nearby. I would love to be somewhere like that.

How do you collaborate with brands and which kind of brands do you really like working with?
I collaborate in a variety of ways. I often work with tourist boards on destination campaigns, with accommodation, and write reviews and posts about the places I stay. I also work with a few outdoor gear brands, like Osprey and Fjallraven, and create content featuring their products.

For PRs looking to work with you and your blog/website, how would you prefer they approach you and with what kind of content?
It’s always great when PRs approach me – usually via email is the easiest. Then we can work out the best way to work together. It’s always good to meet face to face if possible, but as I often work with UK PRs, but live in Australia that isn’t always an option, (especially right now!)

What other blogs do you check out regularly (whether travel-related or not)?
I like Along Dusty Roads – it was a great resource when I was travelling through Mexico.

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CIPR Greater London Group to host virtual conference to support PR practitioners during COVID-19 crisis

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Taking place on 9 and 16 June, CoronaCon is an online conference for CIPR members and PR practitioners across the sector. The speaker line-up consists of thought leaders in the world of PR and comms who will discuss how the industry has responded to the changing working environment in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The aim of the conference is to create a community, foster understanding and ultimately support those working across the PR industry, helping them to come to terms with how their profession has been impacted by this global crisis, and how they can prepare for the future.

Joining the speaker line up on 9 June is Vuelio’s CMO, Natalie Orringe. Natalie will discuss the findings of the Vuelio Barometer which analyses the themes, issues and behaviours dominating the public posts of 897 PR and Comms leaders during lockdown. Natalie’s session is at 5:25pm BST and tickets to CoronaCon part one are available here.

Other confirmed speakers and sessions include:

  • Jenni Field, CIPR President and Founder of Redefining Communications: How have PR agencies and industry responded to COVID-19?
  • Alex Myers, founder & CEO of Manifest Group and PR Week’s Global PR Professional 2020: How has COVID-19 accelerated and evolved the purpose economy and what is its lasting impact for purpose-driven consumer brands?
  • Tony Langham – Co-founder and Chief Executive of Lansons: It’s All About Reputation Now: Who’s Having A Good War, And Who Isn’t?
  • Ronke Lawal – Founder Ariatu PR: How future-facing consumer brands can ‘COVID-19 proof’ themselves using digital communications tools
  • Sarah Waddington – Founder of Astute.Work, former CIPR President What lessons can be learned by senior management from their response to COVID-19 and their crisis comms preparedness?

CIPR Greater London Group committee member and one of the event organisers, Darryl Sparey, said: ‘This event will give PR practitioners an opportunity to consider the impact of the current crisis on our industry, as well as contribute to charities that support those directly impacted by COVID-19. I’m confident that, by working together as a community and supporting each other through this difficult time, we can weather the storm and come out the other side even more resilient and creative than before.’

CIPR members can buy tickets for the conference for £10, while non-member tickets are available for £15. Funds raised by ticket sales will be donated to the CIPR’s Benevolent Fund iProvision and the Felix Project, which help PR practitioners affected by the crisis and feeds local communities in London by rescuing surplus food from the food industry respectively.

Brian Palmer

Cycling Blogger Spotlight: Brian Palmer, thewashingmachinepost

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‘I’ve heard it said that I can be quirky, though I don’t really see it myself. I’d like to think that any brands with which I work are gaining value. I assume that this is actually the case, since most of them still speak to me…’

Following a bit of a false start with bigging-up biking in his local paper, Brian moved to blogging and has found success among those wanting an entertaining read alongside the cycling know-how. Read on for what makes it well worth dropping by thewashingmachinepost.

How did you originally get started with writing about cycling?
When I moved to Islay over thirty years ago, nobody on the island cycled (quite literally). So I wrote an article for the local newspaper promoting the benefits and economies that could result from owning and riding a bike, to which nobody paid any attention. I wrote a few follow-up articles and discovered that many were reading for the entertainment factor, irrespective of any interest in cycling.

What’s your favourite thing to post about and why?
Rather contradictorily, I really like writing book reviews, despite being them being easily the hardest thing to do. I don’t actually understand that, myself.

How have you had to change your approach to blogging during the COVID-19 crisis?
I’ve not really had to change anything. Because I live on an island with acres and acres of open spaces, I can still cycle as much as I ever did, and see no-one for hours. So, product reviews are still perfectly manageable, though there have been fewer of those, possibly due to manufacturers and distributors playing things a bit safer at present.

What kit/equipment would you recommend people put together and take with them when cycling while social-distancing?
That’s a hard one. Taking into account my answer to the last question, I’m not sure I’m the right person to ask. However, I’d advise learning as much about the mechanical operation of your bike as possible. If you suffer a mechanical malfeasance en route, it’s hard to get mechanical assistance and remain two-metres apart.

Do you think the Tour De France still be able to go ahead without any issues this year?
I doubt the race will be issue free, particularly since it will be the guinea-pig for the Giro and La Vuelta.

Can you remember your first ever bike?
I was just talking about that the other day. It was a blue, single-speed steel-framed machine with handlebars that curved backwards that my parents bought me when I was nine. I loved it. That was replaced by a green Raleigh Twenty shopping bike, which gives you some idea of how cool I wasn’t as a teenager.

If you could cycle anywhere right now, where would it be?
I’ve always fancied riding through the Tuscan countryside, on a blue Bianchi, pretending to be Fausto Coppi. That still holds the same attraction as ever it did. One of these days…

How do you collaborate with brands and which kind of brands do you really like working with?
I like working with brands that understand they’re not always likely to get a cut-and-dried, cookie cutter review. I’ve heard it said that I can be quirky, though I don’t really see it myself. I’d like to think that any brands with which I work are gaining value from the collaboration, however brief. I must assume that this is actually the case, since most of them still speak to me.

For PRs looking to work with you and your blog/website, how would you prefer they approach you and with what kind of content?
What I don’t want is pre-written content. I write thewashingmachinepost because I like writing thewashingmachinepost, and I’m assured I have a ‘style’ of doing so. Press releases are a means to an end, rather than an end in themselves. If it’s a product, I really need to try it myself; I’m not going to review anything based on the manufacturer’s opinion of their own stuff.

What other blogs do you check out regularly (whether cycling-related or not)?
I rarely ever read any other blogs, because then I start to second guess my own content, wondering if I ought to be more like the others. Everyone else’s blogs always seem so much more concise, professional and well-informed, and that would keep me awake at night, or spoil the weekend bike rides. I do, however, start my day with Gary Larson’s thefarside.com.

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Journalist as Author tips

6 tips for PRs from the ResponseSource Journalist as Authors series

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We’ve been gathering advice from journalists across different beats on how PRs can put together successful pitches in our How to pitch to series. Today we have more tips from writers recently interviewed for our sister company ResponseSource’s Journalist as Author series.

Featured writers in the series so far include those reporting on inequality issues, business, women’s health, lifestyle, politics and food. Here’s how they answered the question: ‘If I’m a PR professional with a story or opportunity for you, how should I get in touch?’…

1) ‘Email’s best, preferably with clear detail in the subject line so I know it’s relevant to my brief. Also anything addressed to ‘Mr Salman’ or ‘Dear Salman’ winds up in the trash (friendly tip: I know I’ve got an unusual name, but maybe check before assuming I’m a bloke?).’

Saba Salman, writer for The Guardian and author of Made Possible: Stories of success by people with learning disabilities – in their own words

2) ‘Email is best. I’m interested in fashion and beauty innovations, health angles and anything with a heavy focus on women. Just please don’t pitch me something I’ve already written; I won’t be writing it again or adding to the original piece.’

Lauren Sharkey is a journalist, author, presenter and speaker specialising in gender equality, women’s health and fashion criticism. Her first book is Resisters: 52 Young Women Making Herstory Right Now

3) ‘I can’t always guarantee responses but if it’s something that I am interested in and have time to do a proper pitch for, I’ll get back to you.’

Caroline Corcoran, freelance journalist covering lifestyle, TV and popular culture and author of Through the Wall

4) ‘You need to have something original. I get many lazy approaches from food brands claiming to be allergy friendly and just looking for publicity. Tell me what you’re doing that nobody else is doing. Tell me what gap in the market you’re filling. Show a genuine understanding of the allergic or food-sensitive consumer. Email me if you have a USP. Yet another gluten-free brownie launch isn’t going to cut it!’

Alex Gazzola, freelance writer, editor and author of books including Coeliac Disease: What You Need to Know, IBS: Dietary advice to calm your gut and 50 Mistakes Writers Make

5) ‘I don’t mean to be curt but my day-to-day work never, ever involves PRs; I have quite a small niche and even the best-intentioned PR pitches are always wide off the mark. And on the off chance that I do need PR help on something, I’ll definitely be in touch. Just please don’t email me!’

Marie Le Conte is a freelance political journalist who has worked at The Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, Metro and Buzzfeed. She is the author of Haven’t You Heard?

6) ‘I have a distinct name, so type ‘Jon Card’ into Google to find me and I usually come up first. My namesakes are a Canadian punk drummer and a chap who works at the Imperial War Museum – I’m the one who runs Full Story Media.’

Jon Card has written about business for publications including The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and the Times and is the author of How to Make Your Company Famous

Want more on how to pitch effectively? Check out our How to pitch to… series.

Daisy pots

Gardening Blogger Spotlight: Alexandra Campbell, The Middle-Sized Garden

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While many bloggers are having to rethink their focus and content during lockdown, Alexandra Campbell is sticking to what she knows her significantly bigger than middle-sized readership base want at The Middle-Sized Garden – ‘I blog about gardens with flowers, not veg growing or allotments’.

In today’s spotlight with Alexandra, we talk colour profiles, getting a good gardening kit together and beautiful outdoor spaces well worth sighing over while you’re stuck inside.

How did you originally get started with writing about gardening?
I’m a journalist and author. I started on the trade press, then moved to women’s magazines, where I covered beauty and homes. I went freelance, writing for newspapers and became a novelist. My publishers suggested I start blogging, so I decided to start a blog. But I thought it would be interesting to choose a topic that I myself wanted to learn about, so that I could write about my voyage of discovery, with my mistakes as well as my successes. It really started as an experiment, and six years later, it is a career.

Alexandra Campbell

What’s your favourite thing to post about and why?
I love visiting someone’s garden to interview them about what they’ve done and why. A special bonus is when I can photograph it first thing in the morning, which in summer can be 4.30am!

How have you had to change your approach to blogging during the COVID-19 crisis?
As soon as the lockdown started, I could see that many people were pivoting their online activities, often very creatively. I thought very carefully about whether to do anything different, but decided that I should carry on with my weekly blog post and YouTube video. My aim was to put all the effort into making them the best they could be. This has paid off – I had nearly 200K page views in April and there is currently an even higher spike for May. I especially had to think about whether to do more about veg growing as people are so interested in it at the moment. I did one blog post and video. The blog post attracted a reasonable number of views, but the YouTube video didn’t. YouTube is a very focused medium – you have to be absolutely clear about who you are and what you offer. This clarified things for me hugely. Now I’ve decided – I blog about gardens with flowers, not veg growing or allotments.

What are some small things people can do to change up their gardens/balcony planters/windowsill flowers while on lockdown?
If you haven’t done much gardening before, choose easy-to-care-for, inexpensive flowers, such as petunias, surfinias or pelargoniums. But restrict your colour palette for pots and window boxes to a maximum of three. That includes the colour of any foliage! So, you might have purple and yellow petunias with plain green ivy (green/yellow/purple) or pots of pink pelargoniums with trailing silver-grey helichrysum (red/green/grey). Or just lots of one kind of plant, such as Marguerites (daisy-type flowers).

For those just getting into gardening, which essential tools do they need for their kit?
You need a hand fork, trowel, garden fork, spade and secateurs. Choose good quality brands because cheap tools break. Sneeboer, Burgon & Ball, The RHS, Niwaki, Felco, Fiskars, Kent & Stowe and Okatsune are some good brands. Never buy tools in a pretty gift set, unless you know the brand. A hoe and a rake are next on the list, followed by loppers and a garden kneeler, but you can probably do without in a small garden for a while.

Most beautiful outside space/garden you’ve ever seen?
Gravetye Manor Hotel – the garden was originally designed in the late 19th century by William Robinson, whose gardening ideas still influence our domestic gardens today. It’s been brought up to date by head gardener Tom Coward – it is a really genuinely beautiful garden with excellent design ‘bones’ and superb, although often quite relaxed, planting.

Gravetye Manor

What are your thoughts on garden gnomes – cute, or creepy?
Neither. But not for me.

How do you collaborate with brands and which kind of brands do you really like working with?
I’ve cut back on my collaborations because there still seems to be lack of consistency and clarity between agencies and bloggers over disclosure and paid follow links. Google and the Advertising Standards Authority are quite clear about their rules, and I abide by them. I also think it’s important to be honest with readers. But I think it’s mad that when a blogger reviews a book or product, they have to say they were sent it free while newspapers and magazines don’t. Every media outlet should be working to the same rules, and then there would be less pressure to break them. But I’m thinking about how I could do more product and book reviews within that framework.

For PRs looking to work with you and your blog/website, how would you prefer they approach you and with what kind of content?
I prefer an email to start with, but if I’m interested I always reply with my phone number as it’s often much easier to talk. I would only work with products that I think readers of the blog will really like, and supports gardening responsibly in terms of the environment. So, no peat-based composts, for example.

What other blogs do you check out regularly (whether gardening-related or not)?
I like That’s Not My Age by Alyson Walsh because I love her style, Jen Stanbrook on Pinterest (jenstanbrook.com) always has great tips and I read all the other gardening blogs on the Vuelio top 10 list, plus quite a few more, generally when they pop up on Twitter. And I also follow some US blogs, such as The Impatient Gardener, who I ‘met’ on YouTube.

Life In The Saddle Featured Image

Cycling Blogger Spotlight: Tim Wiggins, Life In The Saddle

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Life In the Saddle started for Tim Wiggins during a ‘mini-Olympics’ back in 2011 and continues – with slightly different content – during the current lockdown. While cycling trips with groups is out, starting out on your own is in – read on for Tim’s advice on which kind of kit should be strapped to you or your cycle before you head out, and whether he thinks Tour De France is likely to go ahead this year…

How did you originally start writing about cycling?
I set up Life In The Saddle to document my campaign to race in the 2011 International Island Games (like a mini-Olympics for islands from all over the world). That then evolved, as in September of the same year I undertook my first big touring trip — 1,450 miles through Spain and France, on a £50 steel Peugeot road bike loaded to breaking point. That was when the adventure really started…

What is your favourite thing to post about and why?
Adventures and advice. I love inspiring people with stories of bike travel into the unknown, but then also providing them with helpful content to make their own adventure dream a reality.

How have you had to change your approach to blogging during the COVID-19 crisis?
Not so much, to be honest. Just a subtle twist on the content.

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What kit/equipment would you recommend people put together and take with them when cycling while social distancing?
Check out this post.

Do you think the Tour De France will still be able to go ahead without any issues this year?
Questionable. I am not sure it will be welcome by communities and participants, if it does.

Can you remember your first ever bike?
Yes — a ridiculously small white mountain bike. My first road bike was this one.

Life In The Saddle 2

If you could cycle anywhere right now, where would it be?
Honestly, at home on the Isle of Wight. Check out my recent Instagram shots – it is still my favourite place to ride in the world.

How do you collaborate with brands and which kind of brands do you really like working with?
I write personal product reviews, and feature brands’ products in helpful advice posts — this is a subtle way to promote products, without it always being a review. I also author reports from events and have even done ‘behind the scenes’ visits to brand headquarters.

For PRs looking to work with you and your blog/website, how would you prefer they approach you and with what kind of content?
I do not publish press releases, so sending generic emails about product launches etc. is not helpful. But I would be thrilled to do a personal review of a new product and take my own imagery, or visit a brand/destination in person and profile them, or take part in an event and write about it.

What other blogs or websites do you check out regularly (whether cycling-related or not)?
Cyclist.co.uk, Forbes, The Economist and Facebook Gravel/Adventure Groups.

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Working from home for the foreseeable

Working from home is working out for two-fifths of PR and communications leaders

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Fears of illness in the workplace, returns to busy commutes on public transport and disrupted working cultures – just some of the concerns causing 40% of leaders in PR and comms to continue with remote working for the foreseeable future, according to results from Carta Communications and The Pulse Business survey A Changed Industry: PR after Lockdown.

The findings of the survey, which polled 43 communications and PR leaders between 14 May and 18 May, likely echo the feelings of many currently working through the COVID-19 pandemic. 38% feared a second wave of colleagues catching the virus if offices are reopened too soon, 12% cited worries about using public transport, 24% shared concern regarding restoring their organisation’s work culture and 21% were worried that bringing teams back too soon with cause stress.

Beyond the two-thirds of respondents planning to stick with home working for the foreseeable, 36% plan a cautious return to the office, with agency respondents suggesting dates between June and September.

‘We shan’t move back to the office until ready, and we’re relaxed about that. It’s more important to protect our staff and continue to grow the business,’ said Sapience Communications director Chris Calland of plans to continue longer with remote working. ‘The main challenge will simply be ensuring we continue to win new clients as we have been doing during lockdown.’

That working from home can actually work out well for employees, results and returns is something Missive co-founder and managing partner Nicola Koronka has found during lockdown: ‘Social and mental health impact aside, our ability to deliver our work is unhindered by home working.’

Technology has helped teams keep in touch with their coworkers and clients during the lockdown, with video conferencing in particular making a marked difference (76% of respondents cited Zoom, Skype, and others as being invaluable, and 51% planning to invest further in related platforms post-lockdown).

50% believe that post-lockdown will find them in a better position to make long-term business improvements and innovations.

‘The challenges facing the industry due to COVID-19 run deeper than any that I’ve witnessed, and the industry must inevitably change as it recovers,’ said Carta Communications founder and director Matt Cartmell.

‘There may, however, be much good to come: fairer standards of remote working; stronger and more sustainable support for staff; and a more holistic engagement with technologies that will enable PR to flourish in unexpected ways.’

Read more from A Changed Industry: PR after Lockdown from Carta Communcations and The Pulse Business here.