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Why email is an effective part of comms strategy

Why PRs should be making the most of email in an AI-driven world

July 9, 2025/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, PR, Marketing, Communications, Media, Influencers Media Database, Media Monitoring, Stakeholder Engagement, PR, Press and Bloggers, Stakeholder Management /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Is email outreach as outdated as the 90s-era posted PR press mailer? With the comms industry rushing to integrate AI tools into their tech stack, the email blast could be seen as just another tactic of PR’s past. But think again…

‘At the start of my career fax and phone were the only way of reaching journalists,’ says Anne Cantelo, founder and managing director of Onyx Media and Communications Ltd.

‘Younger generations of PR hate the phone even more than the generations before them, and most journalists seem to feel the same. At the same time, journalists have confessed to me that they have thousands of unopened emails in their inboxes…’

Phone calls are out, and unread emails are piling up – the rush to integrate AI across the industry could signal that electronic mail will go the way of its franked counterpart. But the lessening of 1-2-1 engagement that comes with AI automation makes email even more valuable – especially when it’s powered-up by artificial intelligence.

Here is advice from comms professionals already evolving their email strategies to boost engagement.

1. Cutting through with quality content

Stakeholders are overwhelmed by constant messaging even outside of their inbox – how can you catch their eye?

‘The rise of AI presents both a challenge and an opportunity,’ says Liz Churchman, deputy managing director at B2B tech PR agency EC-PR.

‘With inbox filtering becoming more intelligent, relevance is no longer optional; it’s critical. Yet, AI also empowers us to create what I call a ‘one-to-one feel as one-to-many scale.’ Using tools like ChatGPT, we build custom GPTs aligned to buyer personas, underpinned by deep audience insight; motivations, fears, frustrations, so that our emails feel crafted with intent, not churned by automation.

‘Clean, segmented lists and emotionally intelligent messaging make the difference between delete and engage.’

Formatting is also important – short and relevant copy, interactive elements including video embeds and html features, and making sure it’s mobile-first for people on the go, or trapped in long meetings without access to their laptop…

2. Email as part of a wider strategy

‘Comms pros need to be where the audience is and adapt our methods and routes to communication,’ says Leopard Co CEO and co-founder Rachel Roberts, whose team utilises email as just one way to communicate with stakeholders.

‘It’s been a while since I faxed through a press release but meanwhile, we have embraced new routes to engage with audiences including WhatsApp messages, social media DMs, programmatic emails, remarketing and calling campaigns.’

Email is no longer in a silo, and should be used in conjunction with private messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Slack, and Discord; microsites and press rooms; personalised landing pages for campaigns; and follow-ups after in-person networking.

Sycamore Communications’ PR manager Danielle Windecker-Hilton advocates for email as a ‘connecting’ tool:

‘We treat email as a connector, driving recipients to deeper content or prompting direct engagement with the people and brands we represent. It supports our clients’ goals and can be a good initial touchpoint with journalists and publications.’

‘Attending to emails can be viewed by some as a bit of a negative, burdensome chore,’ admits Rachel. ‘Indeed, we have a client who only wants to communicate with us on WhatsApp.

‘But with email carrying weight from a legal perspective – eyeballs are there, and so is the marketing opportunity.’

Just remember to be careful…

‘Automation and AI does make email marketing more accessible, but it means more people with less expertise can be spamming people,’ warns Rachel. ‘There is no quicker way to break a brand than to spam and annoy your customers. Press send with care.’

3. Personalisation

Does bringing artificial intelligence into email strategy make the messaging impersonal and robotic? Used properly, AI can actually bring personalisation back into your email strategy.

‘AI helps us go beyond just inserting someone’s name,’ shares Ed Hopkins, managing director of Ed Hopkins PR.

‘AI can tailor emails based on behaviour, preferences, or timing. This leads to more relevant content and stronger engagement. People are more likely to respond when they feel a message is meant for them.’

4. Optimisation

Writing eye-catching subject lines that are just the right length; segmenting your contact lists, selecting the right sending times; and predicting the levels of engagement – AI can help with all this.

But before you get stuck into prompting on ChatGPT or Gemini, here is some extra help from Riley Gardiner, founder of No Strings Public Relations:

‘To stand out in busy inboxes you’ll need to focus on concise, relevant subject lines and genuine, value-driven content. Avoiding generic language and adding a human touch helps cut through noise.

‘Email offers a direct, personal channel for stakeholder communication that social or mass media can’t replicate. It supports ongoing dialogue, builds trust, and allows for nuanced messaging in ways that other tactics struggle to match.’

5. Complying with regulation, not dicing with dodgy data

GDPR, CCPA, and incoming abbreviated regulations for the use of data means that opt-in emails are non-negotiable for comms professionals.

Your media database of choice can help with this (like the Vuelio Media Database, for example…) and so can AI.

‘AI can be a great help in staying GDPR-compliant by automating consent management and ensuring data is handled correctly, reducing human error,’ says Riley Gardiner.

Just make sure your lists are maintained and kept up-to-date…

‘AI can help identify potential compliance risks, streamline workflows, and ensure that personalisation is based on compliant, permissioned data,’ says Gerard Boon, Financial Times contributor and managing director of Boon Brokers.

‘But it’s important to remember that AI is only as effective as the framework it is given. Human oversight must remain a non-negotiable part of the process – experts in their field need to be vigilant and ready to amend, review, or flag potential issues as they arise.’

6. Making more of metrics

Open rates are less reliable with the increased use of email protection and privacy tools, but there are other metrics to make the most of – including clicks, replies, and conversions. Some tools also offer bespoke insights, like time spent reading an email. Additionally, it’s important to keep an eye on factors like send times to optimise delivery.

‘While open rates still provide some value, I think it’s important to remember the fundamental principles behind comms is to establish a relationship and communication,’ says Gerard.

‘Focusing on click-through rates (CTR), time spent on linked content, and conversion actions (such as booking a call or completing a contact form) are actually better measuring metrics to establish how close your branding and messaging is with your specific target audience.

‘Reply rates and engagement with follow-up emails are now more important than ever, putting in place a stronger bond of genuine interest and intent.’

7. Human to human connection

Journalist and stakeholder inboxes fill up with generic pitches throughout the day. Effective email strategy in comparison goes further, focusing on relationship building rather than blasting out a message.

‘Email still allows for direct, personal communication that can be tailored to your ideal client,’ says Sarah Lloyd, founder of ISPR.

‘I still believe that email can create a more intimate and focused experience, allowing for thoughtful and deeper conversations. Emails can be segmented and targeted, and you can track, document and enjoy focused interactions without the noise of social media.’

Email can be a personalised check-in with a client, an invitation to an upcoming event, or the sharing of a piece of content relevant to their industry. It should be a continuing conversation – not a series of non-sequitur statements littering an already busy inbox.

‘In today’s crowded inboxes, success comes from speaking to your audience’s problems, not your solutions,’ adds Liz Churchman.

‘If your subject line and first line don’t address what keeps your audience up at night, they’ll be gone in two seconds. Relevance, empathy and creativity must drive every word.’

Evergreen email

‘Email remains one of the most direct and controlled forms of communication,’ believes Gerard Boon.

‘Unlike social media or paid ads, it allows us to be incredibly specific on our outreach, tailoring a wide-variety of content for nuanced and context-rich messaging. There are no character limits as such and less platform restrictions.

‘While innovations in technology have boomed in recent years, there is a lot of focus on social media influencers, podcasts, and hyper attentive alternative platforms. While these all have a place under the umbrella of marketing, I think it is sometimes forgotten that emails offer that personalised edge with a familiar outreach – we’re all still connected to the online world.

‘For stakeholder engagement, this means we can maintain, build on, and direct to useful resources, with a strategy that continues to build an evergreen trust over time.’

Our own email expert, Pulsar Group head of global marketing campaigns Kirsti Kauronen says:

‘For us, email is one of the key channels to reach our audiences directly. With new AI tools emerging at a fast pace, we are able to deliver even more tailored comms with greater impact.

‘Many email providers now offer automatic summaries of emails, so it’s even more important to include strong subject lines and opening sentences that stand out in crowded inboxes.

‘And don’t forget to test your content regularly. It’s essential to optimise performance and ensure your key message comes across clearly.’

For help with your emails, and wider comms strategy, check out Vuelio’s Media Database, Stakeholder Relationship Management, and Media Monitoring solutions.

Optimism and opportunity? The Government’s 10 Year Health Plan for England

July 8, 2025/0 Comments/in Politics, Public Affairs Political Services, PR, Political Database, Political Monitoring, Public Sector Blog Posts /by Aidan Stansbury

On Thursday, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting published the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan for England. Predicated by the Lord Darzi report published in September, the Plan sets out to offer both an optimistic vision of the future and opportunity for the NHS on the backdrop of a concrete diagnosis of the current state of play that the NHS must ‘reform or die’. The plan sets out to fix these issues, placing science and technological innovation at the core of its Plan, hoping to propel the NHS from behind the curve to leading from the front.

The Plan is structured on three big shifts. The first, from hospital to community, rewords the NHS to Neighbourhood Health Service, shifting service from hospital to community care. Neighbourhood Health Centres are the beginning of this, functioning as a ‘one-stop shop’ with centralised patient care harnessed by AI and technological advancements. According to the NHS Confederation, support is there for this move, with health leaders committed to a more preventative, community-based NHS. This offers a complete restructure and cultural shift in the operating model, where success could be a ‘real win’ as described by The King’s Fund in reaction to the plan. However, having been long argued for by the sector, the Chief Executive of the Health Foundation Dr Jennifer Dixon DBE says she is unsure whether ‘lessons have been learned’ from past failures. The shift to community care is welcomed by the sector overall, with the British Geriatrics Society highlighting the need for co-produced neighbourhood services that provide good outcomes for older people. Picker welcomes the Plan’s emphasis on placing patients at the centre, through improved feedback routes, ‘Patient Power Payments’, and personalised care plans, and ARCO who says the move will leave patients ‘better off’.

This shift also sets out how dentistry, community pharmacy, and mental health provision will be further localised in community hubs and health centres. In reaction, the British Psychological Society say bringing mental health services to the community will lead to better outcomes, helping people at the earliest access point. Going beyond, Mind has called for more to be done including a further comprehensive plan that places mental health at the centre of the new NHS in order to truly tackle its deterioration in society.

For the second shift, taking the NHS from ‘analogue to digital’ involves the innovation of NHS technology. This includes the introduction of a Single Patient Record to streamline patient health accounts in one place, accessible from all points of provision. The NHS App is set to be revolutionised with a host of ‘My’ tools to help ease booking of appointments, cut down on archaic waste, provide quick advice, and improve the management of patient care. A HealthStore will deliver new innovative apps to further aid the experience and AI will be utilised to ‘liberate’ staff from their bureaucracy. Technological advancements must also go hand-in-hand with productivity improvements and the Plan sets forward how tariffs, new contacts, pay incentives, and financial planning will help boost this metric.

Technological advancements are welcomed by the sector and seen by the Nuffield Trust as a ‘real game changer’. NICE, a key component of new technological changes, say the Plan gives them the power to get medicines to patients faster, distribute health technology and maximise value for money through innovation. However, there is concern, as pointed out by The King’s Fund, technological improvements have often been ‘big on promise but lacking in delivery’. Further, the Chief Executive at Public Digital Chris Fleming has said that technology, especially in the NHS app, will mask the actual failure of services and, as noted by the Royal College of Physicians, can only work if co-designed with patients and staff in mind. Thus, while welcomed for its innovative ambition, more certainty is required to demonstrate its benefits.

The final shift, from sickness to prevention, sets a precedent to stop ill health at source, raise the ‘healthiest generation of children ever’, protect preventable NHS costs, and support economic growth. This includes harnessing AI and genomics to advance predictive analysis and diagnosis. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, the introduction of healthy food standards, new weight loss drugs, investment in active lifestyles, a point scheme that rewards healthy lifestyles, strict alcohol requirements also will all work to tackle preventable risk factors.

Turning the tide on risk factors is key to saving lives and costs, and is welcomed by many in the sector, including the RCP and Diabetes UK who respectively stress that tackling tobacco and preventing obesity are key to stopping life-altering long-term conditions. On the contrary to this sentiment, the Institute for Alcohol Studies says it’s ‘embarassing’ to launch a prevention plan that ignores the most effective way to reduce alcohol harm in Minimum Unit Pricing. Healthwatch, a member of the 10 Year Health Plan working groups, welcomes some preventive initiatives but highlights the absence of plans for those with disabilities and cost-of-living support which also stand as key risk factors.

More widely, it is easy to read a long-term plan or strategy and be consumed by the breadth of positive measures that, in accordance with their objectives, will deliver beneficial change. The real sticking point involves an assessment of what choices and trade-offs were made. A key point of this is social care, a concern raised by many in the health sector even when the 10 Year Plan was only hypothesised in 2024. The Plan today, set with the backdrop of pending Baroness Casey’s Review, does little to address these concerns. The British Geriatrics Society has said that without a ‘sustainable social care system the 10 Year Health Plan will find it hard to succeed’ and therefore, as described by The King’s Fund, the Plan hinges on ’whether the government is willing to act more urgently – or indeed at all – to implement social care reforms’. Similarly, the Health Foundation says the plan is too focused on just the NHS and not the Government’s ambition to rebuild the nation’s health, reflecting concern of adverse consequences outside the three shifts. Another common theme in reaction is a question of how, which still remains pertinent to many. The Nuffield Trust articulates this well, saying the Plan is trying to ‘heal thyself’ through efficiencies and feedback but does little to address actual needs. This question also holds whether there is the funding capacity, with a lower than historic average spend projected by the Spending Review, combined with the costs of moving care to community and technological innovation.

The public perception of the Plan is that it is ambitious and clear on its foundational pillars for reforming the NHS away from a looming ‘death’. It looks to bring the service to the neighbourhood, harnessing technology to drive efficiency, bolster patent care and clamp down on health risks. However, concerns remain on its feasibility, its affordability and the potential losers, such as social care.

Heatwaves, a summer of sport and back to school: How to get UK press coverage in July

July 7, 2025/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, PR, Communications, Media Media Database, Media Analysis, PR, Press and Bloggers Blog Posts /by Andrew Strutt

Want to secure media coverage in July? While the summer months may be quieter in many industries, the news cycle doesn’t stop. Journalists continue to need expert sources and information for articles and hundreds use the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service each week to get it. Find out below what they were searching for in June and how you could help this month.

Summer at its peak

Enquiries from journalists about the different seasons are always popular and we are seeing the peak of the ‘summer’ requests at the moment, with just over 9% of the total enquiries last month containing this keyword.

There’s a lot of variety in the requests with journalists looking for summer fitness gadgets and accessories, how to get peonies to produce more beautiful blooms in summer, and a health and safety expert or GP to talk about food health hazards in the summer. These were for titles including The Times, PA Media, The i Paper, and This Morning.

Going forward? July last year saw a small drop in the amount of ‘summer’ requests to 6% but that still presents lots of opportunities to get media coverage. With a big summer of sport ahead (Wimbledon, the women’s Euro’s, Tour De France, and more), plus last-minute requests for holiday getaways and gardening advice, have experts and info ready – you could get featured in the national press or on a broadcast outlet.

The heat is on

The UK has been enjoying an excellent summer weather wise (if you like the heat, that is) and with some high temperatures, both ‘heat’ and ‘heatwave’ have proved popular on the enquiry service. ‘Heat’ has appeared in over 2% of the total requests in June and ‘heatwave’ in 1%.

Journalists at The Sun, woman & home, MailOnline, and Men’s Health have mainly sent requests looking to find out ways to stay cool during the hot weather. But we have also seen enquiries around related topics including one for an UK-based employment lawyer to comment on heat in the workplace.

Going forward? With the hot weather set to continue, we expect to see more enquiries from journalists looking for health-related information. Many will also look to cover it from an environmental angle too or the effect it could have on other areas – on plants and pets, for example.

School’s out (and straight back in!)

There are only a couple of weeks left until schools break up for the summer but journalists are already looking to cover going back to school in September. ‘School’ appeared in just under 2% of the total requests last month, with ‘back to school’ cropping up in many of those enquiries.
Journalists from The Independent, LBC, The Guardian, and Daily Mail all sent requests around ‘school’. The back to school enquiries were mainly looking for products to review and recommend, but other requests covered end of term gifts for teachers and school staff and the lack of financial education in schools.

Going forward? Last year in July, ‘school’ related requests increased by 24% and ‘back to school’ by 70%. This will only increase further in August. If you have school uniforms or accessories that you want to get featured in the media, now is the time to engage with enquiries.

Other opportunities for PRs in July and beyond

While we may only be in the seventh month of the year, journalists are already starting to plan their Christmas content. ‘Christmas’ appeared in just over 1% of requests in June but in July last year that figure doubled to 2.5%. Festive gift guide enquiries will steadily increase from now on, meaning you could get some early media coverage.

‘Gardening’ is a near constant keyword on the service and it usually proves especially popular during the summer months with many garden shows and exhibitions. In July 2024, 5% of the total requests were gardening-related. Journalists are seeking out expert advice, so have comments ready and you could potentially secure coverage in a national press title or consumer magazine.

Want to get the most out of the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service? Check out this explainer.

Cyber attacks, Father’s Day, and summer travel: How to get UK press coverage in June

June 5, 2025/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, PR, Communications, Media Media Database, Media Monitoring, PR Blog Posts /by Andrew Strutt

Interested in finding out what could catch a journalist’s eye in June? Hundreds of media professionals use the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service each week to send requests for experts, information and more, giving us a good idea of what they will be looking for.

Read on to see the topics and keywords trending in May, and what this could mean for your media outreach this month.

AI and cyber hitting the headlines

‘AI’ has been a popular topic on the Journalist Enquiry Service for a while now, averaging about 3% of requests each month, but in May this was over 4%. It has been joined by ‘cyber’ which received over 2% of enquiries, divided fairly equally between requests around ‘cyber attacks’ and ‘cyber security’, in the wake of the recent cyber attacks on UK retailers.

Journalists from BBC News, The Guardian, IT Pro, New Statesman, and ITV News have all sent requests in the last month to cover one or both of these topics. These have included looking for a tech/software expert for advice for consumers on recent retailer cyber attacks and comments from CTOs and CIOs on how they are balancing AI innovation with security.

Going forward? With yet more retailers losing data to cyber attacks then journalists are likely to continue to need expert opinion on what companies can do to tackle this problem, as well as what the impact might be on consumers. While AI remains a constant topic of discussion in the media, regular enquiries ask for experts on this topic and case studies of how businesses are using the technology in their sector or workplace.

Father’s Day in focus

There are less than two weeks until Father’s Day now and journalists have been looking to get their content sorted early on, with over 2% of enquiries covering this topic. There has also been a 12% increase in the amount of requests compared to May last year.

The majority of the requests have been for gift guide products, including looking for gadgets, food items, luxury experiences, and presents for new dads. Enquiries came from outlets including Dadsnet, Forbes, and Good Homes.

Going forward? While there isn’t long to go, there is still likely to be a flurry of final requests for the best last-minute gifts to get dad. If you have products ready to review then you could get featured in a consumer outlet.

Peak season for travel

It’s probably unsurprising but the Travel category peaks in June – having done so in 2023 and 2024, too. It also performed well in May, increasing by 10% compared to April. ‘Travel’ as a keyword appeared in nearly 6% of the total enquiries last month, with ‘hotels’ and ‘outdoors’ in over 3% and ‘holidays’ just over 2.5%.

Requests varied – solo traveller hotels and venues; innovative products for a feature on summer travel trends; holiday money saving tips; and asks for people who have/or plan to quit the holiday let sector.

Going forward? Travel will continue to perform well as a category and a keyword for the next month or two with journalists needing a wide variety of content – from travel experts to case studies. If you work in this sector, then have responses ready and you could appear in The Times, Conde Nast Traveller, The Independent, or National Geographic Traveller.

Other opportunities for PRs in June and beyond

June is Pride Month and we expect to see requests for LGBTQ+ history experts and information on different events taking place across the country. Last year in June, just over 1% of the requests were looking to cover this.

Men’s Health Week takes place from 9-15 June this year. Around 1% of enquires in June 2024 were looking to cover this topic, with a big focus on mental health. If you have any experts in this field, have comments ready to secure media coverage and help make a difference.

Want to get the most out of the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service? Check out this explainer.

And download our latest report ‘How to manage your reputation in a world transformed by AI: As industries adapt, what will be the role of PR?’ for how artificial intelligence is already changing PR and comms.

The ever-changing landscape of news and what this means for PRs

May 28, 2025/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, PR, Communications, Media Media Database, PR Blog Posts /by Andrew Strutt

The future of the news media is in flux, but what impact does that have on PRs and their relationships with journalists? At the recent Newsrewired conference, media leaders from Sky News, The Times, and Reuters shared how their organisations are adapting and what they expect the future of news to look like.

Switching up the business model

Media organisations always have to be adaptable and for Tracy Yaverbaun, general manager of The Times and The Sunday Times, that has meant considering ‘value reinvention’:

‘Customers have too many subscriptions. That means we have to sharpen the value that we offer. It means really rich bundles so audio, events, perks, and how to tell stories in a cleaner user experience that feels really worth it, and really focusing on retention.’

Other businesses have also been making changes. Simon Robinson, executive editor of Reuters, explained how the organisation has ‘pivoted a little more to a B2C revenue stream by putting the website behind a paywall’. Since making that change in October, subscriptions have exceeded 100,000. Sky News is planning for the future with its 2030 strategy which, according to managing director and executive Jonathan Levy, is about a ‘premium video-first newsroom built for the digital future’.

What does this mean for PRs? A lot of the major publishers and national newspapers are reconsidering their business models. The way they interact with PRs will change as they prioritise online (video, podcast, etc.), requiring information in a new format. Plus, with more content going behind paywalls, readers are expecting higher quality and PRs can help provide that with expert sources and quotes.

Reflecting the audience in the newsroom

Younger audiences have traditionally been more difficult for news organisations to engage, but their rise in social media use presents an opportunity for journalists to reach them. Sky News’ Jonathan said:

‘Consumption is changing needs. Newsrooms have always been this confusion of experience between the job, which is actually key to journalism and key to the values of organisations, and allowing for new ideas. We need to be more open to those new ideas.’

Those new ideas are tending to come from younger reporters who want to tell stories in different ways. Tracy said at The Times there is a ‘well trodden path of how you climb the ladder’ but now the organisation is ‘much more flexible and wants to attract different types of voices and storytelling’.

Reuters is also looking to better reflect the audience that it covers, within its newsroom, as Simon explained:

‘We believe that the strength of the newsroom comes from reflecting the world that we cover. We’re a big global newsroom and have about 120 languages spoken, so hiring a diverse newsroom is a huge help in that.’

What does this mean for PRs? Newsrooms are likely to become younger and more diverse. These journalists will be looking to cover different topics in different ways. Emailing a press release is unlikely to grab their attention or be useful for them if they are doing, for example, an audio piece. Think about more impactful campaigns that are going to engage those younger journalists, and the younger readers as a result.

Embracing AI and new formats but staying vigilant

The use of AI in the media has been another question for publishers to consider in recent years and for Simon at Reuters, it’s one he is ready to embrace:

‘I think we see the future as a real combination of human and AI generated, or AI proofed, content. It also opens up the possibility to provide narration in different languages. In a sense, it augments what we’re already doing and potentially opens the market a little more’.

At The Times, the newsroom is experimenting with a tool that presents articles in a visual format that goes beyond simple reading. Sky is also looking at delivering news in various formats, finding great success with its audio and video Trump100 podcast, which has just hit 5 million downloads.

However, it does also present its problems for journalism. AI chat interfaces are causing issues with discoverability alongside disruption with search on platforms such as Google. There has also been an increase in deepfakes and misinformation. Tracy believes that the industry needs to collaborate to ‘deal with how Google values news’ and that having a direct relationship with audiences can show that news organisations are great for ‘high trust-based sources’.

What does this mean for PRs? AI has a lot of benefits for journalists, but isn’t 100% reliable when it comes to sources yet. The media still needs PRs to provide those trustworthy sources. This includes everything from expert bits of advice and information, to images from events, and that’s where you come in…

To connect with the media and provide journalists, broadcasters, and influencers with the contributions they need, check out the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service.

Want more on how ‘traditional’ news is evolving? Download Vuelio report ‘TikTok journalism: The platform’s impact on news audiences‘.

AI&PR Breakfast Event: AI’s impact on corporate communications

April 15, 2025/0 Comments/in PR, Communications Press and Bloggers, PR Blog Posts /by Ahmad Lakhany

What impact will the integration of artificial intelligence have on the corporate communications industry? This was just one of the questions tackled at a recent AI&PR Breakfast Event, which covered the pros and cons of AI and whether human comms professionals need fear the embedding of this emerging technology.

The event featured a rich panel of industry experts including Plum’s head of communications Rajan Lakhani, PR and journalism technologist Samantha Deeks, and MaximumPC Magazine’s former editor-in-chief Guy Cocker, who shared insightful, practice-led outlooks on the future of corporate communications in an AI-driven world.

The world of corporate and media communications is fast-moving, with no two days, campaign releases, or media coverage quite the same. Each day is to be viewed with a new set of eyes and, in an AI-powered world, a new perspective as well.

When asked what developments they’ve seen in AI that have changed the communications industry, Guy highlighted a shift from eye-catching magazine content focussed on cost-saving for the customer, to AI-centred messaging made to bring value to the reader.

Samantha added that communications teams are at greater risk now than ever before in the mishandling of, or poor training around, AI in the workplace. Organisations run greater risk of citing misinformation or compromising on the contextual quality that only they possess if they rely on AI to automate workflow. There was also a great emphasis on the sentiment of empowering teams to learn how to interact and prompt AI tools to extract the most valuable information in response. ‘What you put in is what you get out,’ said Samantha.

Rajan emphasised his shift in priorities when identifying suitable candidates for his growing team, thanks to the implementation of AI in his team’s workflow. Rajan’s priorities when looking for a potential new member for his team are now less on administrative or writing skills. With the promise that AI can take these responsibilities on, he places a greater emphasis on thinking ability, creative problem-solving, and cognitive capability for new ideas and innovation in the industry.

As the conversation drew to a close, the panel were asked what they felt PR professionals needed to focus on. The resounding sentiment rang loud and clear: organisations need to empower their members to work as effectively as possible with the help of AI.

Organisations should encourage their staff to take courses in order to understand the fundamentals of AI. In essence, AI should be seen as a tool, not a threat.

For more on AI’s impact on the creative industries so far, download our Vuelio reports ‘AI in beauty equals risk – and opportunity – for the PR & comms industry‘ and ‘When politicians talk about AI, is anyone listening? Innovation and regulation in the UK‘.

How to build a stakeholder strategy, according to the experts

April 14, 2025/0 Comments/in PR, Communications, Media Media Database, Media Monitoring, Stakeholder Engagement, PR, Stakeholder Management Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

In today’s always-on environment, there are seemingly infinite external influences surrounding the people that we need to connect with. And whether your organisation seeks to make a mark on the political agenda, or manage your reputation in the media, connections with stakeholders matter.

If stakeholders are key to successful outcomes, how do we build, protect, and grow lasting and reliable relationships with them?

Vuelio’s latest webinar ‘How to build a stakeholder playbook’ sought to answer this question with insight from an expert panel line-up. Joining host Kelly Scott, VP – Government & Stakeholder at Vuelio, was JFG Communications’ founder and CEO Jo Field; Cadent Gas media manager and crisis comms leader Stephanie Van Rosse; British Transport Police external affairs lead Katie Stanton; and Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) head of engagement Jen Pufky.

Watch the full webinar here.

The first point tackled concerned roadblocks to clear when starting on a strategy:

The challenges of developing a solid stakeholder strategy

JFG Communications specialises in stakeholder engagement for the transport and infrastructure sectors, but also spans public, private, and third sector organisations, from large companies to small industry bodies staffed by volunteers.

‘There are some challenges that I see consistently across the board,’ shared Jo.

‘The first one is how to identify, and then engage your stakeholders in this rapidly changing external environment that we find ourselves in now. For example: the current shifting political and geopolitical context, changing attitudes to net zero and equality, diversity and inclusion.

‘You have a myriad of social media channels, influencers, and AI, so the challenge is how do you keep up with who your stakeholders are? What do they think about your organisation and the environment it operates in? And also how do you actually engage them? Why should they listen to you, amid all the other information they are receiving?

Another challenge is making the case to our own organisations for the value of the work that we do. And the financial challenge of ensuring that you have enough budget to dedicate to engagement. I would argue that investment in your stakeholder strategy is essential.’

Fighting to be heard by the people that matter

The Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) is a not-for-profit with a huge and varied membership, bringing together stakeholders in politics, academia, and industry. How does the organisation secure media coverage among so many campaigning – and competing – voices?

For Jen, three elements stand out:

‘It’s our values that drive our engagement work. We’re a values-driven organisation, and we have been for the last 40 years, We’re driven by our commitment to enhancing and supporting local democracy.

‘That reputation, that history, means that when we are out and engaging with stakeholders – whether that’s press relationships, political relationships – it’s not just going to be a quick hit; securing that exclusive and then not keeping in touch.

‘For us, it’s very much about the longevity, and the trust in building those relationships’

‘Everything that we do is also grounded in research, and driven by our members’ experiences and insights. That carries a significant amount of weight with the range of stakeholders that we’re engaging with.

‘For the past 12 years, we’ve produced an annual benchmark of the state of local government finance; it’s now built into the calendar year, and stakeholders know to expect it.

‘Lastly, it’s about genuinely being useful and relevant to the stakeholders that you’re communicating with. For example, this cohort of new MPs – they want to know what the research means for their constituency.

‘For regional press, we split our annual research by region and then targeted the press that way. It’s about making your outreach relevant to ensure that your engagement is distinct.

‘Sometimes it’s about bringing your competitors into the room and being a facilitator, the convener. In this changing landscape, that’s increasingly important.’

Engaging all of your stakeholders, even the ‘quieter’ ones

British Transport Police (BTP) also has a swathe of stakeholders to consider and engage, with a national remit to police the railway across England, Scotland, and Wales. Stakeholders include the Scottish, Welsh, and UK governments, local authorities, train operators, and infrastructure owners, like Network Rail, HS1 Transport for London (TfL), and freight companies.

‘We have a unique relationship with the rail industry. We have a national remit, we aren’t funded by the taxpayer, we don’t have a police and crime commissioner. We have to strike a balance – they have their priorities as an industry, and we also have our responsibilities as a police force towards public protection, and independence.

‘It’s very much our role to manage expectations and communicate that balance.

‘When it comes to managing so many of them, we do the traditional methods of stakeholder mapping, influence, and interest. Also, making sure there’s a drumbeat of communications engagement – we’re always plugged in with them.

‘They’re all individual organisations with their own strategies and objectives, so when they’re talking to us about our performance, it’s good to have those in mind and to acknowledge what’s in it for them.

‘We also leverage our internal colleagues – having such a broad organisation means internal stakeholder management is just as important when you are looking to engage with external stakeholders.

‘Nine times out of 10, if another organisation wants to talk to BTP, they want to speak to someone in uniform – they’re the ‘operational experts’. Our role is to make sure that our internal colleagues are equipped to have those conversations.

‘We are not just stakeholder communications, we’re stakeholder managers. So we’re really managing how we talk to them, getting to know them, and making sure that they are receiving two-way engagement from us, rather than just a communication.’

Reviewing the impact of your engagement

Cadent Gas is the largest gas distribution company in the UK, responsible for around 11 million homes and businesses. It supplies gas across the UK, from the North West down to London, the East of England to the Welsh borders. This broad spectrum of stakeholders, from the political to the media side, all have different interests.

‘At certain times, we need to target certain stakeholders,’ shared Stephanie Van Rosse.

‘What are they interested in? What do we need to be telling them? Why will they be interested?

‘It’s about continuously reviewing your strategy, what you’re doing. I know there are some people who don’t have any strategy at all, but you need to have an idea of why you’re talking to various stakeholders, what they’re interested in. What are those messages that you need to get across to them, to actually pick up and understand what you’re doing?’

Stephanie shared specific examples of Cadent Gas’s media engagement and where deep knowledge of stakeholders was vital:

‘We use local media to get the word out on local incidents. We have a really good relationship with them, but suddenly there was a bad story about an incident in North London. We were on it straight away – that’s the importance of monitoring, keeping an eye out for who is saying what. And then you have to make that judgment call of how much reputational damage will this piece do?

‘For this one, we found it was significant enough for us to say “you’ve got it wrong. This is not what actually happened”. We need to be robust in our answers in the utility industry, otherwise reputation could be damaged. It’s going in there and talking to the journalist, and if necessary, escalating to an editor and asking for a retraction.

‘It’s about not being afraid to do that, and building those relationships with stakeholders.’

For advice on stakeholder engagement, download Vuelio guide ‘The fundamentals of stakeholder strategy’.

Jo Field would love to connect on LinkedIn, and welcomes more detailed conversation via email at jo@jfgcomms.co.uk. More information can also be found on the JFG Communications website.

How to build a stakeholder playbook

April 14, 2025/in PR, Comms, Brand, Stakeholder Management /by Yi Chen Lin

The UK has seen big change over the past year – a new government & policy agenda, a difficult economy, civil unrest and media storms triggered by public outrage online.

Managing reputation and relationships in this environment requires a strong stakeholder strategy, but how do you build one that can weather potential storms and unforeseen influence?

Vuelio and an exceptional panel of experts shared top tips on building a stakeholder playbook that’s fit for today’s media ecosystem.

This webinar explores:

How to map the needs, expectations, and impact of different stakeholders
What hotspots to avoid to manage risk
When to initiate and develop valuable partnerships with influential stakeholders

The new news audiences

April 14, 2025/in PR, Comms, Brand /by Yi Chen Lin

The role, and nature, of news and journalism is constantly evolving, from the ways it is consumed to which voices are trusted. As the media ecosystem we inhabit accelerates, a vital discipline like journalism presents challenges for society, for news media organisations, and for the PRs, marketers and comms pros who need to navigate it.

We’ve analysed hundreds of thousands of media and social data points to better understand the perception of modern journalists and journalism brands, the audiences on the receiving end of news, and the myriad channels and platforms which today mediate the flow of information between the two.

How has citizen and independent journalism across platforms like TikTok & podcasts impacted the way news spreads? How are global news brands and local journalists each impacted by transformational forces, and how does a single piece of journalism spread across media, platforms and audiences?

In this webinar, we reveal our findings, and discuss what the shifting landscape means for the brands, organisations, and individuals entering it.

Building your stakeholder strategy

April 11, 2025/0 Comments/in Politics, PR Pulse, PR, Marketing, Communications, Public Affairs Stakeholder Engagement, PR Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Stakeholders come in many forms, from MPs, to local councillors, reporters, to experts within your industry. Also varied and potentially confusing – the relationships you and your organisation will have with each type.

With so many elements involved, a reliable stakeholder management solution can be the difference between successful campaigning and relationship-building, and a myriad of missed opportunities.

Not sure how stakeholder management can help you and your organisation? Here is a practical guide to the specific ways Vuelio Stakeholder Relationship Management can provide support, whether your niche is PR and comms, public affairs, politics, or a mix of all three.

What is a stakeholder?

“A person with influence or interest in a project, enterprise or Policy.”

A stakeholder is any group, organisation, or individual who can impact – or can be impacted – by your activity. More simply: these are people that have a stake in the execution/outcome of your project/operation.

From the position of an external comms team, stakeholders are often segmented into one of three categories:

Political/Government stakeholders: This includes MPs, local councillors, civil servants, and Lords. Don’t forget the teams that surround political stakeholders who are key to working with them in an effective way.
Media stakeholders: The media means the press, including newspapers, magazines, trade titles, and broadcasters. But this also increasingly includes digital media, like podcasters, TikTokers, and other social media influencers with extensive and dedicated followings.
Industry/expert voices stakeholders: Often industry stakeholders or expert voices/academics will have the ear of political and media stakeholders, so as well as being powerful advocates for your objectives, they can be used for building relationships with other stakeholders.

To note: Although we can segment or categorise our stakeholders, they connect with each other and can be influenced by each other. This is an important factor when choosing how to engage and communicate with them individually.

Creating your stakeholder strategy

Before thinking of engaging, it’s important to have the basics in place:

Mapping stakeholders
Choosing a model
Using your model and monitoring tools to measure stakeholders
Remember that internal relationship owners need mapping, too

Effectively mapping your stakeholders means you will have all the necessary engagement strategies in place should they react or an opportunity presents itself to build a relationship. Stakeholder management is pre-emptive discipline.

Mapping: Building a criteria

To analyse the influence and interest of your stakeholders, start by establishing a list of issues, industries, or activities to measure their interest against.

To consider:

What industries do you operate in?
Are you part of a supply chain to another key sector?
What regions are you an employer in?
Are there legislative or policy initiatives that impact you?
Are you regulated?
Are you a public body with a specific remit?
Do you have a community relationship or responsibility?
Is there a competitive concern (for example, has a competitor behaved badly that impacts your brand?)

For more on mapping, download our Vuelio guide ‘The fundamentals of stakeholder strategy’.

Consider your team

With a clearer picture of your stakeholders in relation to topics/interests, it’s time to consider what internal factors will decide how you organise your stakeholders for engagement.

Will members of your team be responsible for a particular segment? (MPs, industry experts, the media)
Will team members be responsible for a particular region? (for example, all stakeholder groups in the North West)
Is there anyone working outside of your chosen SRM software responsible for key stakeholders? (for example, a chief executive responsible for direct engagement with ministers).
Does your team have topic specialisms aligned with stakeholder interests worth leveraging?

SRM software is about removing as many steps as you can from the entire process. This ensures your team can adopt with ease and you have a full picture of your stakeholder relationships.

Stakeholder outreach: How to stand out

Stakeholders are not waiting for your call – or are they? The most important question to ask when reaching out to a stakeholder is “What is in this for them?”

A relationship requires a two-way benefit, so what kind of things can you offer? How are you helping them?

Research and insight
Help to deliver a remit or responsibilities
Deliver a social value you can connect through
Align behind a shared challenge

‘We have a crisis’ – How do you make your stakeholders listen?

It might sound obvious, but engaging with stakeholders before you are in crisis will make a big difference when things happen outside of your control.

You will have built credibility with them.
Established communication pathways that work for both parties.
Have relationship owners that can facilitate difficult conversations.

Crisis mythbusting: With a noisy multichannel world, your stakeholders may hear things that you need to correct relating to your operation. This is the “new normal” and not to be mistaken as crisis comms. All year round a strong stakeholder strategy will ensure you can communicate with agility and accuracy without setting up a crisis war room or needing vast internal discussion or sign off.

Dealing with the unknown

The unknown is more expected than the known when it comes to external stakeholders. Your stakeholder map should constantly be evolving with:

Changes in government policy, bringing new stakeholders into play or removing ones who no longer have interest or influence
Topical media interest, a new editorial focus, or influential voice that opens up a need to develop media relationships around a specific focus
Campaigners and industry voices changing the dial, through research and campaign activities, interest in you or your need to comment can rise and change
Global events with national interpretation – the domino effect can distract our stakeholders from giving us attention, their interest may drop and we may need to rethink where our efforts are spent

Checklist for your stakeholder strategy

Map your stakeholders: Mapping your stakeholders with a model will help you communicate the need of external stakeholders internally and enable you to design appropriate communications pathways relevant to their interest and influence.
Empower your team: Institute an internal ‘playbook’ setting out a simplified approach to managing your stakeholders, including segment definitions, and explain why stakeholder management is necessary.
Build sensible lines to take: Stakeholder management can be time intensive. Consistency matters more than complexity. Your playbook should teach relationship owners the power of regular engagement before an issue arises.
Align your playbook with SRM software: Need to add some more in here
Plan for potential crises ahead: The unknown is the new normal, ‘War Gaming’ crisis planning should include a review of your stakeholder communications strategy.
Encourage quarterly reviews with internal relationship owners: How are we doing? Are we maximising relationship building opportunities? SRM reporting tools can help analysis progress with ease.
Double-check your data compliance and security: Storing crucial information on external relationships must meet compliance requirements . Ensure the methods or platform you use is ISO-accredited and GDPR-compliant.

Remember that stakeholder management is a long-term permanent endeavour that should evolve and grow with your strategic objectives, whatever they may be.

The earlier you begin, the more in control you’ll be.

How can Vuelio help?

SRM platform with fully integrated monitoring and data, ensuring your team are fully mobilised to manage stakeholder relationships effectively.
Single point of truth for relationship health, whether at organisation level or campaign/issue level. Inform senior decision making at a click of a button.
Empower relationship owners – Vuelio SRM was created with the simple objective of starting with the end in mind, bespoke set ups ensure we match your team’s workflow and support easy adoption.
Be ready for anything – in a world where the unknown is the new known, Vuelio SRM ensures you are ready to mobilise and learn in real time.

Download the full version of this guide ‘The fundamentals of stakeholder strategy‘ and find out more about Vuelio’s Stakeholder Relationship Management (SRM) tools here.

How the media is winning back audiences in times of distrust

April 10, 2025/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, PR, Communications, Media PR, Press and Bloggers, Media Database Blog Posts /by Andrew Strutt

In times of distrust, how can the media win back and grow their audiences? And how can the PR industry help?

At this year’s Society of Editors Conference, Newsquest’s editorial development director Toby Granville, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism’s acting editor Mitali Mukherjee, 5 News editor Debbie Ramsay, and The Sun’s director of digital (editorial) Will Payne offered their insight and advice. Here’s what you need to know:

Understanding the audience

News outlets are more focused than ever on understanding who their audience is. This has been a focus for 5 News, whose audience is largely older, with an average age of 61. Debbie Ramsay explained the benefits:

‘The channel has been growing for the last six years and 5 News last year had its biggest audience for six years. Our focus is on growing the audience, keeping them, and telling the stories in the right way for that audience – guiding them through, not berating them or patronising them or criticising them in our tone’.

Newsquest, which has over 250 news brands and 27 daily newspapers, has print readers at an average age of 65 to 70, as explained by Toby Granville. This drops to about 45 for the 120,000 paid digital subscribers they have. For all of them, the focus is on being a trusted local news outlet:

‘We’ve focused on better front pages, higher local story counts, and news that’s actually relevant to the older readers’.

The impact on PRs: Be attuned to who a publication’s audience is. Print titles and broadcast media usually have an older audience, whereas online is where the younger readers will be. News outlets won’t publish your press release or feature your expert unless they appeal directly to their intended audience.

How audiences are accessing the news

The ways in which audiences access the news has also shifted, as Mitali Mukherjee explained:

‘We have seen extremely high engagement for video. Platforms like TikTok are doing quite well for young audiences. Facebook is making a return and YouTube is very strong.’

She revealed that in a survey of 50 countries, a third of them are approaching the news via social media platforms. At 5 News, Debbie makes sure there is content on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok every day.

The Sun has found success on YouTube:

‘YouTube is the one which it feels like it’s the most viable business model because it is a revenue share and they need your content,’ said Will Payne. ‘It’s definitely our most highly prioritised video platform, but then on TikTok we have 9.2 million followers. We use that to reach younger audiences and try to drive to hero products’.

The impact on PRs: Pitching to news outlets isn’t just about having interesting or relevant information – it also needs to be in the right format. With publishers increasingly using vertical video to reach and grow their audience, make sure that your contribution is going to work for that medium. Telling journalists that you have material which can work across a variety of platforms is more likely to get you media coverage. They will often produce the same piece of content in different formats e.g. for the paper, for the website, and for video.

An emphasis on local and the personal touch

Newsquest is building trust with its audience by emphasising that the organisation is part of the community, Toby shared. Local newsrooms are open, with between 50 and 55 across the country in town centres.

Mitali explained why local stories are resonating with readers:

‘The small local stories about how a bunch of young people or an entire community got together and saved a local park or built biodiversity back give people the affirmation that they can take action. These sort of stories really resonate and this is across countries and across newsrooms’.

Newsquest has also freed up time to spend on local stories and campaigns by hiring around 30 ‘AI assisted reporters’ to turn press releases into stories, leaving the rest of the newsroom able to get out and find original content.

At The Sun, the focus has been on putting journalists at the centre of the coverage and forming more of a personal relationship with the audience. Will said ‘we want people to see the personalities behind the content we’re producing, and we also see that this does give us a USP against mass-produced AI generated content, which will be more prolific in the coming months and years’.

The impact on PRs: A number of publishers are using AI to streamline their work and it’s likely more will follow suit, dealing with press releases in this manner. Make sure your press releases are clearer and more accurate than ever before.

The move towards a more personalised approach should make journalists more receptive to personal case studies and give PRs a better chance to make a connection.

Want more about vertical video, and how the media and comms industries are utilising AI? Check out Vuelio reports ‘TikTok journalism: The platform’s impact on news audiences‘ and ‘AI in beauty: How it equals risk – and opportunity – for the PR & comms industry‘.

Media trends: How to get UK press coverage in April

April 7, 2025/0 Comments/in PR, Communications, Media Media Database, Media Analysis, PR, Press and Bloggers Blog Posts /by Andrew Strutt

Want to spring into action and make the most of media opportunities at the start of the season? The ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service had a high percentage of requests interested in covering Spring during March.

Read on to find out what other topics proved popular last month and what you can do to help journalists with their content in April.

On the hunt for Easter info

The Easter weekend is fast approaching and has been a focus for journalists throughout March. Over 3% of the requests sent last month contained the word ‘Easter’ – a 19% increase compared to this time last year.

A large majority of the requests have been for Easter eggs and gift guide information. However, there has also been a number of enquiries looking for activities for the school holidays and travel destinations to jet off to. Both ‘activities’ and ‘holidays’ received around 2% of the total requests in March.

Going forward? While there is less than two weeks until Easter, journalists will continue to be looking for last minute products to review, so have these ready. Plus, expect more requests around ideas for days out during the two week break. If you’ve got a travel expert with comment, they could get featured in The Sun Online, Daily Mail, or Sheerluxe.

The endless possibilities of Spring

Seasonal requests are always popular on the Journalist Enquiry Service and that was the case in March as ‘Spring’ appeared in over 5% of all requests. This is nearly double the amount that we received last year.

It could have been due to extra requests around the Spring Statement/budget as journalists at 5 News, The Times, and Daily Express all sent enquiries on this topic. However, there was a wide variety of areas covered mentioning Spring, like spring cleaning product reviews, must have travel gadgets for Spring break, and recipes and cocktails.

Going forward? Spring will remain a popular keyword on the service throughout April and we are likely to see more requests around beauty, fitness, fashion, food, drink, and healthy living. Journalists tend to look for expert comment to accompany these articles and you could get featured in outlets such as HELLO!, Yahoo! Life, Prima, PA Media, and The Telegraph.

Gardening requests in full bloom

With Spring now here, we have seen a big increase in the amount of gardening requests with just under 6% of the total in March being for ‘gardening’. This is a 34% rise from this time last year and 45% increase from last month.

Journalists at Ideal Home, Metro, Homes & Gardens, and woman & home all sent gardening requests last month. The majority of these were for expert comment on topics including pruning grape vines, the dos and don’ts of composting and how to grow blueberries.

Going forward? Gardening was the top performing keyword in April last year and is likely to be again this year. Expert advice is usually what journalists are in search of so if you have relevant experts, you could get featured in a consumer magazine or national press title.

Other opportunities for PRs in April and beyond

With the London Marathon taking place at the end of April (Sunday 27), expect to see requests around ‘running’ and looking for experts to give tips on taking up the sport or running longer distances/preparing for a marathon. This cropped up in nearly 2% of enquiries in April 2024.

2.5% of requests in April last year contained the word ‘outdoors’ as journalists looked to get information on activities and days out as the weather improves, and we would expect to see that again this year. Plus, journalists looking to get ahead with their content start asking for Father’s Day gift guide products and over 3% of the total requests last April were for this. If you have products ready to review, there is more chance of media coverage in national and consumer press.

For more about how the Journalist Enquiry Service can help you secure coverage in the media, check out this explainer.

Stakeholder Relationship Management versus Customer Relationship Management – which one is right for you?

March 26, 2025/0 Comments/in PR, Communications, Media PR, Stakeholder Engagement Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Stakeholders – be they current or potential customers, your workforce, your suppliers, or contacts in the political sphere – all need to be managed. However, managing each requires different levels of service and support.

This is where Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Stakeholder Relationship Management (SRM) tools come in. But what exactly are the key differences between them, and which one is right for you and your organisation?

What is Customer Relationship Management (CRM)?

CRM can be used to oversee and support the customer, or service user, journey from start to finish. It can do the same for staff, who also enter into contracts where both sides have certain expectations to be managed.

This tool is often used to provide automation and transparency for commercial and service-driven functions. For example, service agreement management, sales pipelines, or connections with financial departments.

CRM will have a specific activity type; even where there are different personnel points in the process, the customer is viewed as one.

Some organisations use CRM to manage their stakeholders, as it provides oversight for each side of the relationship, clear organisation and structure for each part of the external or internal contact’s journey with an organisation. SRM, in comparison, goes deeper…

What is Stakeholder Relationship Management (SRM)?

SRM software, in comparison to CRM, is designed to focus on the influence an individual, organisation, or community has on your objectives, and will provide support and customisation for managing the stakeholder relationship from the beginning.

It’s not just for organising your relationships, or tracking them; it’s a communications tool to support relationship management, targeting stakeholders in a variety of ways depending on what is required for each project or campaign. Unlike CRM, it will evolve with your organisation, just as your relationship with stakeholders will grow and change.

Unlike a customer journey that can be tracked from start to finish, your stakeholders’ influence can change depending on the topic, or crisis at hand. The system required for this needs to be able to view stakeholders through a variety of lenses, providing vital intel on the strength of the relationship in different scenarios and objectives.

Stakeholders can wear many different hats, and there is rarely an end goal to these relationships – they have more peaks and troughs than those with customers.

The benefits of SRM: Why CRM isn’t enough for managing stakeholder relationships

The differences between customers and other stakeholders are clear, so why do so many organisations still use CRM software to manage their stakeholder relationships?

Customer Management software can do the basics, but SRM software has the specifics.

The link between a stakeholder’s influence and your objectives makes stakeholder management uniquely useful. It enables a team to analyse forward – an early warning system for potential impacts further down the line.

With the landscape we work in never staying static, the influence of stakeholders wax and wane, creating new opportunities for engagement and a need for flexibility. Why is Stakeholder Relationship Management a better choice than Customer Relationship Management software? It’s as flexible as your stakeholders are.

Want help with creating your own stakeholder strategy? Sign up for our 8 April Vuelio webinar ‘How to build a stakeholder playbook’ featuring speakers from British Transport Police, Local Government Information Unit, Cadent Gas, and JFG Communications.

You can also find out more about Vuelio’s stakeholder management and engagement solutions here.

International Women’s Day 2025 gives the PR industry an opportunity to reflect

March 7, 2025/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, PR, Marketing, Communications, Media PR Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

With worrying shifts in political outlooks and policy across the world impacting marginalised communities, this weekend’s recognition of International Women’s Day is loaded with significance. But with different organisations and factions (with varying motives) claiming ownership of IWD, has this day of recognition, celebration, and reflection of progress lost its impact and import?

Googling 2025’s IWD theme will turn up the catchy phrase ‘Accelerate Action’ from the International Women’s Day website — one that has been highlighted by a significant portion of the media. However, the UN’s more unwieldy ‘For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment’ has been claimed by many as the ‘true’ theme for this year. Others, still, are following ‘March Forward’ as 2025’s theme. So which should the PR industry be observing on Saturday 8 March?

‘Accelerate Action’ is the unofficial theme promoted by the IWD website, which is run by a marketing company profiting from the awareness day,’ explains Advita Patel, Director of Comms Rebel.

‘Big corporations pay for polished, performative themes designed for mass appeal, but real change goes beyond a catchy slogan. The UN’s theme, #ForAllWomenAndGirls, may not be as neatly packaged, but it reflects a real commitment to advancing gender equality, not just creating a social media moment.’

While the UN aren’t the originators or owners of IWD, they are the body conferred with the most authority due to long association, and a demonstrable record for helping to bring about progress.

PRs will know better than anyone the importance of cutting through clever marketing to the true heart of a story – commitment to change is what’s needed here. This year, we asked women working across PR and comms to share their opinions on how the industry is changing, and where it needs to be better.

‘PR can play a massive role in turning this vision of progress into reality — because at its core, PR is about shaping narratives, influencing opinions, and mobilising action,’ believes Emma Heley, Co-Founder and MD, Thinking Hat Media.

‘When it comes to unlocking equal rights, power, and opportunities (especially for young women and girls), PR can affect real change.’

Sarah Waddington, Director of Socially Mobile and Wadds Inc.

‘I don’t want to open with anything too depressing but well, here we are.

‘Back in 2006, as part of my MA in Marketing, I completed a dissertation on gender disparities within public relations. The research demonstrated that in a feminised profession, it was males who were occupying management positions. Nearly twenty years later, not that much has changed.

‘To coincide with International Women’s Day 2025, and in collaboration with the CIPR, Socially Mobile has published a Missing Women study. This refers to the staggering shortfall of 3,910 female public relations practitioners in England and Wales who have either left the industry mid-career or failed to advance to senior positions, leaving those behind in predominately junior roles.

‘What’s going on? There are three clear issues.

1) Cultural barriers persist through a ‘boys’ club’ mentality in leadership and the
devaluation of public relations as ‘soft’ work.
2) There are structural issues in that women encounter limited development pathways, poor maternity support, and inflexible working patterns.
3) Societally, women shoulder disproportionate parenting and caregiving expectations and are more likely to make career compromises to justify the cost of childcare.

‘So, what’s the solution? We outline a number of recommendations in the report but as a headline, meaningful progress requires a comprehensive and sustained approach rather than isolated initiatives.

‘We urgently need genuine cultural transformation that challenges deep-rooted assumptions about gender, work, and leadership in public relations – addressing the explicit barriers and implicit biases that influence how policies are interpreted and opportunities are allocated. Until we achieve that, nothing is going to change.’

Zoe Mumba Beard, Head of PR & Communications, Bitmovin

‘Women are not one homogenous group, and each woman’s experience in the industry will greatly depend on her background and identity. For example, I am a woman of colour, and I don’t think the PR industry has made enough progress regarding racial diversity. After the murder of George Floyd in 2020, the industry seemed willing and motivated to ensure it better represented the wider world. However, PRWeek’s most recent Pay Gaps report found that the ethnicity pay gap has increased to over 25%, with non-white PR professionals earning significantly less than white PR professionals. Overall, while there’s been some progress, the industry needs to recognise that not all women are the same and address the inequalities between women.

‘The way the industry can address these inequalities is by being more transparent about the ethnicity pay gap. Only 41 agencies submitted data for PRWeek’s Pay Gap project, dwarfing the amount that submitted their data for PRWeek’s Annual Top 150 Agencies. Beyond transparency, agencies and in-house teams need to invest more in diverse talent and engage with organisations like The Blueprint, the Taylor Bennett Foundation, and the UK Black Comms Network if they are serious about making real change in the industry.’

Advita Patel, Director of Comms Rebel, co-host of CalmEdgedRebels and A Leader Like Me, President of the CIPR, and co-author of ‘Building a Culture of Inclusivity’

‘There have been some small shifts in the past 20 years, but unfortunately, the systemic barriers facing women still persist. Recent research (by Wadds Inc) found that over 4,000 women leave the profession after hitting a ceiling they can’t break through. While PR is a female-dominated industry at entry and mid-levels, the numbers flip dramatically in senior leadership roles. Progress is happening, but it’s far too slow.

‘Workplace structures in PR and comms still aren’t designed to support women’s success. Many policies remain outdated, failing to account for part-time roles or flexible working options.

‘Visibility is often equated with commitment, meaning those who work remotely or flexibly can be overlooked for promotions or key opportunities. If we truly want to retain and advance female talent, we need to rethink not just policies but also the workplace behaviours and biases that hold women back.’

Hayley Knight, Founder, BE YELLOW

‘The rise of female-founded agencies has challenged traditional hierarchies, proving that women can lead successful PR firms on their own terms. Additionally, conversations around gender pay gaps and workplace culture have pushed companies to be more transparent and accountable.

‘Despite progress, women still face barriers in reaching the highest leadership positions, with many top roles occupied by men. The gender pay gap persists, and issues like workplace bias, burnout, and a lack of mentorship opportunities disproportionately affect women. To tackle these challenges, we need more female-led leadership programs, stronger policies supporting working mothers, and a greater commitment to fair pay and career progression. Businesses must actively create pathways for women to move into senior roles and ensure they are heard and valued at every level.’

Hilary Collins, Founder, Big Wave PR

‘Flexible working has opened up so many opportunities for women. The new ‘wfh’ era offers the chance for top female execs to continue their career, whilst juggling parenthood. Often top female talent would leave, to seek their own flexible working solution by going freelance. Now there’s more options available, which brings added job security and career development opportunities. However, there’s still a lot of work to be done to get more women into Director level positions; this must change.’

Angela Yore, CEO of SkyParlour

‘Since I joined the industry, we’ve seen a significant increase in female leadership roles, both within tech PR, paving the way for more diverse perspectives in financial communications. Additionally, there’s now much greater support through mentorship programs specifically tailored for women in tech-driven fields, helping them navigate this traditionally male-dominated landscape. That’s something I’m very passionate about. I’ve benefitted from strong mentorship and am now in a position to offer it through organisations like the European Women in Payments Network where I’m the Chair.

‘Women in comms, and particularly tech comms, still encounter challenges such as gender bias in a male-dominated industry and a lack of representation in key decision-making roles. To address these challenges, we need to implement initiatives that connect women with leaders and create inclusive environments that actively promote women’s contributions.’

Chloé Nelkin, founder and Director, Chloé Nelkin Consulting

‘Comms in the arts is a female dominated industry but I speak to many women who still feel men hold a lot of the senior positions and don’t feel assured or listened to. I believe it is absolutely vital for women to have confidence in their own voices and to speak their truth – it isn’t always easy to speak up and present an idea or new strategy in a room full of people but others can only be guided by you if you trust your own judgement and truly believe in the decisions you are making.

‘We still have challenges to face and stereotypes to break down. Being strong and forthright as a woman isn’t always considered positively as it would be with a man. However, sometimes it can be – I overheard one of our clients in a toilet cubicle the other day describe me as a ‘badass’ – I hope I can help imbue that vibe across the industry through mentoring and supporting other women to ensure women are allowed to be assertive and speak up.’

Rachel Roberts, CEO and Co-Founder of Leopard Co

‘Greater flexibility has been a gamechanger for women with juggling work and family responsibilities compared to 18 years ago when I first became a mum. While there is greater sharing now of parental responsibility, women still pick up the biggest share of family responsibility. Things are better, but it’s still pretty tough to keep all your clients happy, especially the ones at home!

‘We need to be honest that while there is greater equality, I personally still experience some misogyny. I hope that this will literally die out as we have a generational shift and those few senior males still left who have struggled to adapt will be replaced by the next generation who grew up surrounded by diverse influences.’

Sarah Woodhouse, Director, AMBITIOUS

‘In the 2000s, it was rare to see mothers thriving in agency roles as many moved in-house, where benefits were better and schedules perceived as less gruelling, or they left PR altogether. Today, agencies offer much-improved maternity leave, flexible working policies, and a more mature, supportive environment for parents. This shift has allowed more women to remain and progress in agency-side roles while balancing their personal and professional lives.

‘Women in relationships still carry much of the burden of caring responsibilities, and this imbalance needs to be addressed. Real change requires action at a government level, with policies that better support women in the workplace. School hours need to align more closely with standard working hours, there must be greater support for affordable nursery places, and stronger incentives are needed for men to take on an equal share of parental and caring responsibilities. Without these structural changes how can anything much change?’

Emma Heley, Co-Founder and MD, Thinking Hat Media

‘Women still struggle with confidence and feel like they don’t deserve a seat at the table—but we absolutely do. We have to learn to be comfortable with who we are and try not to compare ourselves with others, which can be hard.

‘Confidence (or the perception of it) plays such a huge role in leadership, especially in PR where visibility, storytelling, and influence are key to the job. For women in PR, there’s often this internal tug-of-war: knowing you’re capable but still second-guessing whether you’re really good enough.

‘We have to own our areas of expertise and stop apologising for being who we are. Authenticity is a superpower!

‘It’s also important to surround yourself with like-minded women in leadership positions – or supportive allies – who get it. I’m proud that our senior leadership team is 75% female and I couldn’t do my job without them. Their support is fundamental to the agency’s success.’

What are the best media monitoring platforms for PR and comms professionals?

February 19, 2025/0 Comments/in PR, Marketing, Communications, Media Media Monitoring, PR Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Telling interesting stories, and making sure they reach the right people, is one of the key responsibilities of PR and comms professionals. To do this effectively, media monitoring is a must.

The ability to track conversations and coverage, and fully understand the landscape where your comms will land, is a vital tool for planning campaign strategy. But the usefulness of media monitoring doesn’t end there. Understanding how your communications have been received by the media, the public, and your key stakeholders can prove the impact of your efforts, help with measuring your successes, and provide insight into approaches for future campaigns, also.

But which platform is right for you and your organisation? To help, here are the top media monitoring platforms for PR and communications, public affairs, and marketing professionals.

Vuelio

Vuelio is a multi-platform provider of PR and media solutions including media monitoring, an international media database, press release distribution, and campaign analysis solutions, alongside political monitoring, a political database, and stakeholder management.

Monitoring is available for all media sources including social, print, and online media – newspapers, magazines, trade and industry publications, television, radio, news websites, blogs, podcasts, and more.

Trusted by PR, comms, and public affairs teams across the world, its services are fully integrated, making its media monitoring even more powerful.

Understand how campaigns and comms have been received by the media with its comprehensive selection of media monitoring, listening, and evaluation tools, in real time.Teams can zone in on what’s happening across multiple platforms, and compare media coverage against social media mentions. More than two million pieces of coverage are shared daily with clients who rely on Vuelio to keep them informed.

Alongside social media, online news, print media, and broadcast monitoring, Vuelio Media Monitoring comes with Executive News Briefings that deliver easy to digest summaries of the top news stories, industry headlines, and competitor intelligence. And for internal reporting, the platform has customisable dashboards, with bespoke tagging. Not sure how to make the most of the service? The team of dedicated account managers are on hand to help.

Isentia

Isentia’s integrated media monitoring, intelligence, and insights solution aims to support top-performing PR and comms teams in decision making, parsing the world’s conversations in real-time.

Used by thousands of businesses across the globe, this platform aims to have monitoring solutions for everyone, including agencies, communications, marketing, Government, legal, and research industries, granting them the context to navigate the ever-changing media landscape.

Like Vuelio, Isentia’s Media Monitoring solution is customisable and provides a holistic overview of monitored topics in one place, with the ability to filter, sort, and summarise coverage in a way that works for your team. Print, broadcast, online, and social media is covered, and is shared in a personalised way – users can pick real-time alerts of important coverage, or manageable digests. Isentia is the go-to brand for the Asia-Pacific (APAC), with operations in 11 markets across the region.

Alongside the platform, Isentia’s account management team promises to help users navigate the industry’s landscape with proactive support. Alongside monitoring, Isentia provides Stakeholder Relationship Management, analytics, and reports.

Cision

Cision’s CisionOne media monitoring tool aims to make sense of media mentions with the help of AI-powered summaries.

Focusing on automation, this platform offers the ability to turn media noise into quick insights to save time. Clients can track their coverage by building targeted searches.

Alongside real-time alerts, users can get access to the stories that will impact them via the platform. In times of increasing misinformation, CisionOne also flags potentially harmful or misleading content, including fake news and hate speech so that PR and comms teams can act quickly.

Onclusive

Promising ‘robust and real-time data’, Onclusive Media Monitoring manages media mentions and competitor activity across a variety of channels.

Clients can filter their coverage by a number of options in the platform, which takes in online, broadcast, and print content in multiple languages.

Teams can create benchmarks and reports comparing metrics of importance to your business, which can be downloaded and shared.

As well as delving into monitored topics in-platform, updates are provided via insights delivered to team devices via email or mobile notifications. News alerts span keywords, brand mentions, as well as other topics that may be useful to your organisation.

Roxhill

Roxhill Media Monitoring services promise to go beyond mention tracking, offering media intelligence in your given industry.

Matching technology promises that important stories regarding your brand, spokespeople, the wider industry, and your competitors won’t get missed. Mentions can be organised within its Smart Folders, with categorisation for mentions across core themes, pillars, and more.

AI is utilised for tracking brand sentiment, with tone analysis for understanding the wider conversation. Each piece of coverage picked up is measured with a ‘salience’ score of AAA, AA, or A. Alongside Roxhill’s own measurement, users can pick their own custom metrics via their dashboard, to translate data into digestible visuals for showcasing impact to internal and external stakeholders.

Meltwater

Meltwater Media Monitoring offers businesses the ability to monitor and analyse mentions across print, online news, social media, broadcast and podcasts.

This news monitoring tool tracks topic keywords and compiles public online and editorial content that mentions them. Content is captured from international news sources, social media platforms, blogs, forums, and broadcasts.

Search results and real-time analysis can be accessed via the platform as well as a mobile app for teams on the move.

Brandwatch

Brandwatch Insights includes media monitoring, but with a focus on social listening and digital media analysis. Social platforms, online news and blogs, and forums and reviews are tracked, with trend and sentiment analysis provided with the help of AI.

Like the above media monitoring solutions, customisable dashboards and reports are available for reporting back to the c-suite, or tracking the success of your campaign as it runs, and alerts can be set up for brand, competitor, or keyword mentions.

Brandwatch may not specialise in ‘traditional’ media including print like Vuelio and Cision, but does offer Stakeholder Management, Market Research, and Brand Management alongside its insight and monitoring software.

Media trends: How to get UK press coverage in February

February 6, 2025/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, PR, Communications, Media Media Database, Media Analysis, PR, Press and Bloggers Blog Posts /by Andrew Strutt

Want to get media coverage in February? Despite being the shortest month of the year, there are still plenty of opportunities to get coverage throughout the month with Valentine’s gift ideas still in demand.

Find out what else journalists are after this month and what they were putting requests in for last month on the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service.

AI back in focus

It’s been a topical issue for the last couple of years now and ‘AI’ has been cropping up on average each month in about 3% of enquiries. However, last month this increased to around 5% of the requests – likely due to the release of the new AI chatbot DeepSeek.

Journalists at IT Pro, The Next Web, The Daily Express, The Grocer, Vogue Business, and Schools Week all sent enquiries in January, looking for information and expert comment on how this new technology will, and currently is, impacting their respective sectors.

Going forward? There is a lot of noise right now about the cost of AI following DeepSeek entering the market. Many journalists will continue to cover this throughout February, likely looking for experts to give their views. If you have clients who cover this, or happen to be an expert yourself, have answers prepared, and you could get coverage in a major trade title or national press.

Winter travel ideas

Travel is usually pretty popular on the Journalist Enquiry Service and the category normally peaks in June. However, January has been a strong month for the category, and ‘travel’ has been a popular keyword. It appeared in 5.5% of the requests last month.

A lot of these enquiries were from journalists looking for travel trends for the year, but there have also been quite a few around Winter travel. This has included one for the world’s most beautiful ski chalet, skiing in Norway, and medium-haul destinations to escape the cold.

Going forward? The half term break for schools is fast approaching and we could see requests for last-minute family holiday breaks. Plus, we are already seeing enquiries about Spring and Summer destinations. Have your travel experts ready to provide comment and get featured in national press titles such as The Sunday Times, Metro, MailOnline, and The Independent.

Changing of the seasons

Many journalists, especially feature writers, are producing content two or three months in advance. That means despite it still being the middle of Winter, there were more requests in January containing the word ‘Spring’ (at just over 2%) than there were ‘Winter’ (2% exactly).
Some of these enquiries were around holidays and occasions, with just under 1% of the requests being for Mother’s Day and just over 1% being for Easter. Other Spring-related requests included tips to get your garden ready for spring, wellness retreats taking place in spring, and the best earbuds/headphones for the season.

Going forward? As the new season draws nearer, journalists’ requests around gardening, skincare and beauty, spring cleaning and home decor, and healthy living, will only increase. Journalists at consumer titles such as Top Sante, Good Homes, Stylist.co.uk, Take a Break, and Ideal Home all sent enquiries last month and are likely to again, so have information ready for them to use.

Other opportunities for PRs in February and beyond

Expect some last-minute requests for Valentine’s Day inspiration and presents, but attention will turn more towards Mother’s Day and Easter. Journalists tend to look for products to reviews or gift ideas, so have these ready.

The whole of February is LGBTQ+ History month and also National Heart Month as well, so if you have experts related to either of these, you could get media coverage this month. World Pizza Day (9 February) is coming up this weekend and Shrove Tuesday (4 March), also known as Pancake Day, is not far away. Journalists will likely be sending requests for interesting recipes or the best places to go, so have information and experts prepared.

For more about how the Journalist Enquiry Service can help you secure coverage in the media, check out this explainer.

CEOs in the news: What the era of increased accountability means for comms teams and their c-suites

January 30, 2025/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, PR, Communications, Media Media Database, Media Monitoring, Media Analysis, PR, Press and Bloggers, Not-for-profit, Education Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

Have a press-friendly chief exec to bolster your brand personality in the press? Telling the story of your business by aligning your company comms around members of your c-suite can be a smart strategy – but beware. Carefully constructed press releases form just part of the expanded conversation possible in today’s media landscape.

CEO-centred comms are a risky gambit in this era of call outs for bad behaviour, and criticism for connections with the wrong people or political factions.

Using data from Pulsar Trends and the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service, we examine just how dangerous CEO controversies can be for comms teams tasked with protecting organisational reputation.

Trouble at the top means social media scrutiny

Tracking mentions of CEOs and chief executives with phrases including ‘controversy’, ‘disgraced’, and ‘cancelled’ shows a rise in conversation among the UK public on X since the start of 2020 – with spikes for specific stories of execs in trouble. Which stories got the most people talking and sharing?

US CEOs get the most attention from UK audiences

US-centred CEO stories gained the majority of interest from Britain-based users of X, with Musk’s take over of Twitter in October 2022 sparking the most social posting and sharing. Peaks also driven by news from overseas – OpenAI ousting CEO Sam Altman from his role (later rescinded) and the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s Brian Thompson. These stories eclipsed the large-scale UK-centred CEO scandals when it came to sharing on social media for Brits. So what did get their attention closer to home?

UK social sharing centred on stories that intersected with high-profile institutions and celebrity

Attention to UK-born stories went to the stepping down of NatWest CEO Alison Rose following a high-profile clash between the bank and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, as well as the numerous controversies that fell into BBC CEO Tim Davie’s lap last year.

Harrod’s founder Mohammad Al-Fayed’s past impacted former exec Nigel Blow’s future, while events during Nick Read’s tenure at The Post Office continued to fuel furore on socials.

What they all have in common are connections to long-established institutions that come with prestige already attached – Coutts, Harrods, the Post Office, and the BBC.

Could this be an element unique to the UK, with brands fully entrenched into our social fabric? The long history of these UK organisations come with unavoidable institutional weight – making any related human-wrought controversy yet more intriguing for the general public, ready to hold those in power to account.

It’s not just high-profile institutions that bring more attention on social media, however. Celebrity also helps. High-profile – and now also highly-controversial – author JK Rowling’s involvement in a CEO-related story heightened the spotlight on Rape Crisis Scotland CEO Sandy Brindley, who shared her experiences in a story for The Times in September 2024.

In comparison, the media spotlight on UK CEOs has dimmed – but why?

When examining coverage of UK ‘CEOs’ + ‘controversy’ in the media over the last few years, the data shows a decrease…

Is this cause for relief for comms teams stamping down CEO struggles behind the scenes? Don’t relax yet – business journalists and columnists have merely shifted their focus to include business-related political figures in the wake of the 2024 General Election. The Labour cabinet in particular has become prime fodder for right-leaning news outlets since its installation in July of 2024. Naturally, this has meant a slight downturn in UK CEOs being called out.

A catalyst for one peak in both news coverage and social conversation that featured a politician-CEO combination was former Secretary of State for Education Michelle Donelan’s clash with UK Research and Innovation chief exec Ottoline Leyser in October 2024:

Does the Third Sector buck the trend?

The UK public aren’t only interested in commercial brand CEO scandals that intersect with the glitter of celebrity or politics. Beyond US-born controversy, one thing that consistently engages the UK public is scandal concerning the Third Sector.

Stories that got reporters writing – and social users sharing – was the announcement of Shelter’s ‘divisive’ CEO Polly Neate CBE’s plans to step down; the resignation of Children in Need chair Rosie Millard regarding objections to grants for LGBT Youth Scotland (LGBTYS); and the firing of Embrace Child Victims of Crime (CVOC) chief exec Anne Campbell.

CEOs don’t have to be guilty of bad behaviour themselves to be the subject of negative reporting or social media speculation. Not-for-profit comms teams must be prepared for a comms crisis related to their c-suite by monitoring the mood among the public, and the press.

CEOs as a source of expertise and controversy for UK journalists

Highlighting the continuing media interest in CEOs and the c-suite were the almost 400 related enquiries submitted by journalist, broadcast, and influencer users of the Journalist Enquiry Service last year.

Which sections of the media are hungry for CEO stories? The majority of requests came from business-focused trade titles including Management Today, Business Age, and Verdict, but also national press outlets with business beats including The Times and PA Media. Many of these requests sought comment from CEOs on the big stories of that week’s news cycle… but others wanted comment on the actions of CEOs themselves – including high-profile marketing expert, and controversy-courter, Steven Bartlett. One such journo request:

‘The online lifestyle, fashion, and beauty magazine SheerLuxe has come under scrutiny for ‘hiring’ their first AI (artificial intelligence) employee as Fashion Lifestyle Editor, Reem.

‘However, business mogul and host of the Diary of a CEO podcast, Steven Bartlett, scrutinised critics of the marketing stunt in a LinkedIn post […] Does Bartlett actually mean what he says? Or is he just trying to go against the grain of the common opinion?’

The opinion of business leaders is still of great use to journalists who require quick expertise to back-up their reporting (impressive job titles still confer respect) but, as is spotlighted by the data above, they aren’t granted unquestioned authority anymore, and their missteps can be quickly mined for content.

UK social media users are ready to pick apart CEO scandals and extend the life of these stories – especially when a controversy intersects with established and ‘respectable’ institutions or well-known figures. While the majority of the media has shifted focus to politicians, this doesn’t mean CEOs are in the clear.

Increased demand for ethical business choices from the public, and journalists reporting with their interests in mind, means CEOs are now just as easy to target for criticism as for their expertise. ‘Higher-profile’ increasingly means ‘higher-risk’, and understanding the nuances of the conversation will be a vital part of the PR toolkit this year.

Find out how to monitor your organisation’s reputation in the press and on social media with Vuelio’s monitoring solutions.

Kicking off a transformational era for the PRCA – Sarah Waddington on making change in PR

January 9, 2025/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, PR, Communications, Media PR Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

‘The next few months are really exciting,’ says industry stalwart Sarah Waddington, Wadds Inc. and Socially Mobile co-founder, and now interim CEO at the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA).

For the next six months, Sarah will provide support to PR’s largest professional body as its interim chief executive, working with the board to advocate for the industry across the world.

In a period of change for the PRCA, and public relations as a whole, we caught up with Sarah to find out what she’s looking forward to getting stuck into in the role, what’s ahead for PR, and why organisations like the PRCA are so important.

What were your main reasons for taking on this additional role alongside Wadds Inc., Socially Mobile, and your agency work?

The PRCA is a well-respected and important global body for professionals in public affairs, public relations and communications. It champions the adoption of standards, drives knowledge and innovation, and elevates the reputation of our community; all things I care deeply about and have built my career around.

When the board asked if I would consider providing short-term interim support, the opportunity to work with the PRCA’s talented team and various dedicated boards, groups and committees was too good to turn down. Engaging with everyone to cement the PRCA’s position as the home of the industry of the future is a real privilege.

What will your priorities be over the next six months?

The next few months are really exciting. We’ve entered an era of transformation and, as you’d expect, the one overarching objective is the delivery of member value across the regions, nations and internationally. Outside of this our strategic goals are to promote and uphold professionalism and ethics; become inclusive by default; advocate at the highest levels to increase understanding, trust and investment; and to ensure the PRCA itself is a financially stable, lean and future-focused operation. My sleeves are rolled up!

How will you balance your work with Wadds Inc. and Socially Mobile?

This interim role is also a part-time one so I’m fortunate to be able to continue working with my wonderful agency portfolio as a non-executive director and to ensure the ongoing delivery of our passion project, Socially Mobile, with my husband and co-director, Stephen. All our work is aimed at driving the industry forward so it’s a complementary fit.

What are the main challenges ahead for the PR industry that PRCA will be able to help with?

It’s a volatile world out there but the good news is we are here to help members manage challenges and seize opportunity. From market trends and insight to world-class professional development, networking and our Communications Management Standard accreditation, we equip members to innovate and thrive in today’s dynamic global marketplace. This includes providing support with talent attraction and retention and with emerging tech, policy and regulation. We also have our Matchmaker service to support members with pitching and new business, which is always a priority and key to the health of the industry.

Why are organisations like the PRCA so vital?

I can answer that in one word. Representation. As the industry’s voice, the PRCA ensures government, policymakers and business leaders recognise public affairs’, PR and comms’ vital economic impact. A lot of our work centres around making sure member voices are heard in the corridors of power. We will continue to strengthen trust and enhance member value, making PRCA the natural home for ambitious practitioners and agencies seeking growth and excellence.

For more on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for PR and comms – and insight from Sarah Waddington – check out these 25 PR and communications trends for 2025.

Media trends: How to get UK press coverage in January

January 7, 2025/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, PR, Communications, Media Media Database, Media Monitoring, PR, Press and Bloggers Blog Posts /by Andrew Strutt

What are journalists looking for as 2025 begins? The new year may have only just started but hundreds of requests have already been sent out via the ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service.

Read onto see what journalists were looking for in December for this month’s features and how to get media coverage in January and beyond.

New year, same trends

Apart from last minute Christmas content, journalists spent December looking ahead to the new year. ‘2025’ appeared in 26% of the total requests last month and ‘new year’ in just under 9% of them.

A lot of journalists are looking for ‘trends’, which cropped up in 18% of the enquiries they sent. Subjects varied greatly, with requests for nutrition/health trends, wedding trends, interior design experts to comment on office trends, and a dating expert to dish on relationship trends for 2025.

Going forward? The new year content and trends pieces remain a focus for the media throughout January – now is your time to get in touch with them. Topics like health, fashion, beauty, travel, and home/interiors are of particular interest, especially for top tier media outlets such as Sky News, Metro, PA Media, and The Independent. Have experts ready to talk to the media, and trend forecasts and predictions prepared to share, to secure national press coverage now.

Healthy living a priority

January features two health-oriented initiatives – Dry January and Veganuary. Both have been popular with media professionals sending enquiries for PRs (featuring in around 2% and 3% of them, respectively) and more general words like ‘fitness’, ‘wellness’ and ‘healthy’ also crop up more frequently around this time of year. ‘Fitness’ reached nearly 8% in December, ‘wellness’ appeared in 6% of enquiries, and ‘healthy’ featured in 5%.

‘Fitness’ requests tend to focus on getting expert opinion, while ‘wellness’ and ‘healthy’ are for more general information. Journalists at the Express.co.uk, Fabulous magazine, The Daily Mail, Prima and Women’s Fitness all sent enquiries last month.

Going forward? The focus on a healthy lifestyle will remain popular this month, judging by last year’s figures, where over 10% of requests contained the word ‘healthy’. Journalists will tend to focus on getting expert quotes from people such as personal trainers, running coaches, nutritionists, doctors, and GPs – so have them prepared to provide comments.

Money and heating concerns

The concerns around winter fuel payments have been well-documented in the media, and money and heating remained a key topic for journalists to cover last month. 10% of the requests in December contained ‘money’ as a keyword, while over 6% were for heating.

Journalists at The Sun, Yahoo! News, and The I Paper sent enquiries looking for heating experts and the cheapest ways to heat your home. Journalists at The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph, and Saga looked for money-saving experts and case studies of people’s financial situation.

Going forward? January and February are two of the coldest months of the year so journalists will continue to seek heating experts to provide advice on staying warm for less. Personal finance and money experts are often in demand too, especially during the first few months of the year as journalists share expertise on saving money after the expenses of Christmas.

Other opportunities for PRs in January and beyond

Valentine’s Day is now just over a month away and the media will be busy compiling lists of products and gifts, as well as date night ideas. 6% of requests in January 2024 were for Valentine’s, and some journalists were looking further ahead with 2% around Mother’s Day.

More events to have experts ready for in January are National Obesity Awareness week (10-16 January), Blue Monday (20 January), and National Cheese Lover’s Day, and don’t forget Chinese Lunar New Year (29 January).

Happy New Year, and happy pitching!

To connect with the media on these topics, and much more, check out the Journalist Enquiry Service and the Vuelio Media Database.

Find out more about how Vuelio can help you gain and track your coverage in the media here.

The best and PR and comms campaigns of 2024

Elmo’s check in, Domino’s take off, and CALM’s calls to action: The best PR and comms campaigns of 2024

December 19, 2024/0 Comments/in PR Pulse, PR, Marketing, Communications, Media Press and Bloggers, Media Database, Media Monitoring, PR Blog Posts /by Phoebe-Jane Boyd

In a busy and high-pressure year for PR, the industry stepped up with creative comms for brand and awareness campaigns alike.

We asked PR experts to share their favourite PR and comms campaigns of 2024 – here are shout outs for great work from McDonald’s, Led By Donkeys, the UK Black Comms Network, and Sesame Street (to name just a few)…

Much love for Elmo

Estelle Boon, group managing director – brand, social & influence, Ketchum

‘For me it’s a person. Elmo. Yes, Elmo. Yes, he’s a person.

‘In January, he (okay, Sesame Street’s social team) posted on X, asking how everybody was doing. As of December that post has had more than 360k active engagements. While we know the virality of a social media post cannot be predicted, the simplicity of this human-first approach that stayed true to “brand Elmo” and his fandom, gave it a running start.’

The Migration Museum’s take on the England football team

Gorki Duhra, press manager, Royal National Institute of Blind People RNIB

‘With immigration a General Election issue, and the widespread abuse suffered by black players at Euro 2020 fresh in the mind, a poster for the Migration Museum that pondered what the England team would look like without immigration was simple and powerful. Only Pickford, Stones and Foden remain in the starting 11, while the names of stars such as Bellingham, Saka, Walker and Kane are all struck out.’

Leading comms from Led By Donkeys

Stephen and Sarah Waddington, directors of Wadds Inc. and founders of Socially Mobile

‘Led by Donkeys is well-known for its political activist campaigns. The National Covid Memorial Wall of hearts is a lasting legacy for the people who died during the pandemic. In February, it laid out more than 11,000 sets of children’s clothing on Bournemouth beach in protest at the war in Gaza. The clothing stretched for five kilometres and was a powerful visual representation of the children killed on both sides of the conflict since 7 October 2023.’

UK Black Comms Networks pushing industry inclusion further forward

Ronke Lawal, PR and communications consultant, Ariatu Communications

‘As Chair of The Women’s Group for UK Black Comms Network I am biased, but the ‘One Step Forward Two Steps Black’ report in collaboration with Opinium was a powerful and meaningful campaign that the industry at large should continue to pay attention to. We cannot continue to allow such huge disparities to prevail if we wish to nurture talent from across diverse communities.’

McDonald’s raised smiles (and important issues)

Jonathan Curtis, chief commercial officer, Grayling Global

‘For me the standout was the McDonald’s ‘The Meal’.

‘The campaign removed the iconic Happy Meal smile to help children understand it’s okay not to be happy. As a Dad of two kids going through the trials and tribulations of schools and friendships this was particularly pertinent and was executed with a simple but brilliant bit of creative thinking that only McDonalds could do.’

A cheeky collab for Budgy Smugglers and Transport for London

Gareth Hoyle, managing director, Coveragely

‘Back in July, Budgy Smugglers and Transport for London partnered for a fun, but cheeky, campaign (pardon the pun). The swimwear brand got together with the country’s most talked about travel network and launched a new collection of swimming trunks featuring some of London transport’s most iconic moquette seat designs. And it worked. Unsurprisingly, the media and social media lapped up this news and the brands were able to secure plenty of coverage in a variety of titles, such as the Evening Standard, Retail Times, TrendHunter and Famous Campaigns.

‘It was able to generate a buzz on social media, the quirky campaign came with some interesting pictures of models looking freezing on the tube and in front of various famous London locations and it had a great regional angle.’

Gaming for good, from the British Heart Foundation

Rachel Humphreys, PR lead, Digital Hub, Motorpoint

‘One of my favourite campaigns of the year was British Heart Foundation’s ‘Streams of (un)consciousness’. The campaign targeted Gen Zers through gaming and streaming platforms to educate them on CPR, as there was a significant lack of CPR knowledge specifically in this age group. This is a great example of how digital campaigns can have a real-world impact, raise awareness and educate.’

Purpose-driven comms from The Woodland Trust and Clean Creatives were very welcome

Alice Regester, CEO and co-founder, 33Seconds

‘There have been some great purpose driven campaigns so far this year, encouraging consumers to live more sustainably, spend time in nature and appreciate our planet. The Woodland Trust and Adam Buxton partnering up to encourage us to plant more trees and The National Trust’s ‘Space to Feel’ campaign are a couple that spring to mind.

‘As well as this, there have been some great industry-led campaigns to encourage communications professionals to be more ethical. This has included the Clean Creatives pledge against working with fossil fuel companies – over 1,000 agencies and practitioners have signed up so far already.‘

A call to action from CALM

Rachel Irvine, founder and CEO, Irvine Partners

‘A notable mention is CALM’s ‘Missed Birthdays‘ campaign, which aimed to raise awareness for youth suicide in the UK.

‘The initiative included call to actions, kits, and resources to help those in need, and personal stories through screens and audio in the exhibit and online. It took something celebratory (a balloon) and spun it on its head to show the opposite, which resulted in a creative, poignant and memorable campaign.’

Ryanair flying high

Pippa Brindley, managing director, The Comms Collective

‘Ryanair is just so good at keeping everyone talking. Their no-filter, daring approach to marketing makes them impossible to ignore. Their online presence shows that they know exactly how to grab attention without taking themselves too seriously. They’ve built a hilarious, self-aware personality that works because it feels authentic. Even if you don’t fly Ryanair, you’re probably following their socials because they’re just that entertaining.’

Domino’s took flight, too

Jane Hunt, co-founder and CEO, JBH The Digital PR Agency

‘Over the summer, Domino’s capitalised on their iconic garlic and herb sauce by bottling it in a travel-sized format. This playful product innovation captured consumers’ imaginations, creating buzz and reinforcing brand loyalty. It was a brilliant mix of product PR and a light-hearted nod to customer demand.’

St John Ambulance kept it simple and effective

Kelly Pepworth, managing director, Speed Communications

‘My favourite was the CPR Bra for St John Ambulance. The campaign was based on a simple gender disparity insight that one in three people are afraid to give CPR to a woman.

‘Great execution with the creation of an educational bra, sharing insight on what action to take when dealing with a cardiac emergency. It was worn and endorsed by key female influencers from the world of football, music and broadcast creating great visuals as well as reach. Simple but very effective.’

Premier Inn checks out

Ed Sheldon, account director, Tank

‘The PR campaign that got the Tank team talking the most this year is a recent one. Premier Inn’s What’s Occur Inn campaign to rename its Barry Island hotel ahead of the Gavin and Stacey finale was inspired. It’s a great example of a reactive campaign that puts a brand at the heart of wider cultural conversations.’

Thank you to O2’s AI Granny

Jo Preston, group board director, Teamspirit

‘O2’s AI Granny was a genuine phenomenon this year – created to keep scammers on the phone and waste their time, it really tapped into the zeitgeist.

‘You know you’ve done something right when you’re mentioned on ‘Have I got News for You’ and Chrissy Teigen’s Instagram!’

Specsavers stood out

Nick Owens, founder, Magnify PR

‘Specsavers’ campaign in Edinburgh stands out. The creators made it look like one of their vehicles had smashed into a bollard with their now iconic “Should Have Gone to Specsavers” slogan alongside it. Funny, simple and clever – three of the things campaigns often fail to be.’

Dove keeping it real

Riley Gardiner, founder, No Strings Public Relations

‘In 2024, Dove’s extension of its “Real Beauty” ethos stood out. Featuring women from diverse backgrounds, including Michaela Coel’s powerful portrayal of unfiltered skin, it challenged beauty norms.

‘This wasn’t just an ad—it became a movement, driven by its commitment to inclusivity and sincerity, tapping into deeper social currents.’

Gold for Channel 4’s Paralympics coverage

Fiona Scott, managing director, Scott Media

‘I loved the Paralympics (I do declare an interest, as I work with Paralympian), Channel 4 did a great job of making it exciting, funny, engaging and didn’t focus on disability, but focussed on elite athletes.’

Inclusivity wasn’t impossible for Adidas

Joseph Hagan, founder, Streamline PR

‘Another highlight was Adidas’ “Impossible is Nothing” campaign, which told inspiring stories while embracing inclusivity.’

Horror film campaigns had real substance

Damon Culbert, digital PR manager, Add People

‘I’m a horror movie fan and there has been some real success stories in terms of marketing and PR through 2024. ‘The Substance’ has put a lot of effort into promotion on social media and taken advantage of user-generated content to keep conversations around the film going long after its release.

‘The best campaign I saw, however, was for ‘Longlegs’. Its promotion was definitely behind its box office success and releasing news about lead actress Maika Monroe’s heart rate when she saw the antagonist for the first time was an interesting and unique use of a tried and tested format.’

Want to make a start on your own winning PR and comms campaigns for the year ahead? Check out these 25 PR and communications trends for 2025.