The Cairncross Review

Industry associations respond to Cairncross Review

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The Cairncross Review details the findings of the investigation into the sustainability of journalism. The Review makes nine recommendations from a code of conduct to ‘rebalance’ the relationship between online platforms and publishers, to an ‘Institute for Public Interest News’.

The report also calls for an investigation into the online advertising market and the duopoly of Google and Facebook, a regulator for online platforms, the BBC sharing its knowledge and a range of funding and tax relief for public-interest journalism.

The CIPR has welcomed the proposal to create a new Institute for Public Interest News to protect high quality journalism and prevent the collapse of the local news industry. The Review warns that a lack of resource for investigative journalism and democracy reporting, covering discussions at local councils and magistrate courts, poses a threat to the long-term sustainability of democracy.

The recommendations suggest the new Institute could operate similarly to the Arts Council by conducting research, building partnerships with universities and improving accessibility and readership of quality online news.

On the platform regulator, the CIPR has consistently argued technology companies must take more responsibility for content appearing on their platforms. A new category that falls between ‘platform’ and ‘publisher’ would give the Government scope to consider future legislation more relevant to large tech firms.

Sarah Hall, CIPR vice president said: ‘There are two key issues here. Firstly, public relations needs a healthy press industry. As PR professionals, our ability to build successful, long-term relationships is dependent on honest and reliable communication. Newspapers and online publishers play a key role in that process and the sustainability of the press is in the interests of all PR professionals. We wholeheartedly welcome the recommendations of the Cairncross Review, including tax relief to encourage the provision of local journalism.

‘Secondly, we support calls to supervise tech companies’ efforts to identify reliable and trustworthy sources of news. These efforts are essential to tackling the challenges of disinformation and fake news. The creation of a third category beyond ‘platform’ and ‘publisher’ would lay the ground for sensible and proportionate regulation of tech firms.’

The PRCA is more cautious and while it has praised the attempt to address the problem, it calls for detailed industry consideration of the issues raised.

Francis Ingham, director general of the PRCA said: ‘The independent report represents a sustained, informed attempt to secure the future of journalism in this country. Our industry relies on a vibrant media, and therefore applauds this aim, and welcomes the platform this gives to the issue.

‘With a broad-range of recommendations, there are many notable ideas here, but some – such as the Institute for Public Interest News; its governance and funding; should make us pause and give thought.

‘We owe it to journalism and to all of those involved with the media to consider not just the undeniably good intentions behind these recommendations, but all of the possible outcomes, and any possible unintended consequences. Which is why we will consult the PR and communications industry in detail before commenting further on the detailed recommendations. That consultation starts tomorrow, and we will be encouraging all of those in our industry to engage with it.’

Tiktok

Does your PR strategy include TikTok?

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TikTok is the latest social networking site to take the world by storm with reportedly over 500 million users – a number that’s rising fast. Launched in China, the app is similar to Vine (RIP Vine) but with greater accessibility for more people to make high quality, creative videos.

TikTok bought Musical.ly in 2017 giving it a foothold outside of China; around 40% of its user base is now based outside of its home country. It makes TikTok unique in the field of successful global social networks as it is the only major platform not based in Silicon Valley and therefore questions of regulation, internal reporting and IPOs will be very different in the lifespan of TikTok to what we’re used to.

Those familiar with Vine will recognise much of TikTok – short clips (typically 15 seconds) are used to communicate, which means the platform forces creativity and the content is generally skewed towards younger users and teenagers, some of whom are already count followers in the tens of millions. TikTok has more filters and effects built in, so where Vine relied on highly skilled video makers for its best content, TikTok can make anyone seem like a video pro.

Does it work for brands?
If your brand or your clients are working with a younger audience then TikTok is a must for you to get on board with. Any means to communicate with your audience should be explored and experimented with to decide if it’s the right platform for you, but generally creative channels go hand-in-hand with creative PR.

With TikTok, there’s different ways for brands to get involved. The platform has its own memes and a huge host of challenges from the Drake-inspired #InMyFeelingsChallenge to Jimmy Fallon’s #SharpieChallenge.

Only by immersing yourself in the world of TikTok will it become clear which challenges and memes are opportunities for your brand – whether it’s joining existing ones or perhaps even starting your own (I’m sure Sharpie is very happy).

Challenges, and videos in general, are typically people-led on the platform, so brands have the opportunity to show the people side of their businesses in a fun and youth-friendly way, or make use of celebrity connections via campaigns. Again – TikTok is not going to be suitable for every brand or business.

With rising stars in the TikTok ecosystem, there’s also a huge opportunity for influencer marketing but be wary of going in too hard, the app is not a marketplace and collaborations (as with any influencer marketing) should feel authentic and fit in with the existing influencer’s output.

TikTok is also not a platform of desperate selling or poorly disguised advertising, and brands should fit in with the fun and generally upbeat vibes of the platform and not try to dominate the conversation. (If you were at your infant niece’s birthday party, you wouldn’t try to dominate the conversation among the kids – don’t do it here).

For those that do want to advertise, this is being tested on the platform but note that it seems to be easily skippable.

Ethics
There’s also ethics to consider, as there is for any social network use or influencer marketing practice. Alongside the topics I’m sure you’ve heard discussed time and time again (disclosure, authenticity, payment) brands should also be cautious about the young user base on the platform and what it means if you’re trying to collaborate with big influencers that include young teenagers.

With the ‘responding with a video’ viral style of content on the platform, there’s also a risk of quickly losing control of anything you do on the platform and this should be considered before any major campaigns are carried out.

So, should TikTok be part of your PR strategy?
Only you can answer that, but take 15 seconds and watch a video – then waste the rest of the day watching hundreds more. Great PRs know what channels and styles fit their brand, or client’s brand, and TikTok is so distinctive that you should know in an instant.

Luke Walkey Movie Marker

Film blogger spotlight: Movie Marker

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Luke Walkley created Movie Marker as a place to share film reviews and provide in-depth insights into the meanings behind the movies. Recently ranked in our Top 10 UK Film Blogs and with a team of  30 reviewers, including a larger number of female contributors to male, Movie Marker is going some way to addressing the imbalance in the film journalism world.

We caught up with Luke to find out how awards season affects his content, his Oscars predictions and his favourite campaigns he’s collaborated on.

What’s in store for the blog in 2019?
Movie Marker is looking to be more representative of film criticism, the wider film community and society as a whole. By offering as many opportunities as we can to under-represented voices in the film world we hope to at least make a small contribution towards improving the situation, making film-criticism far more inclusive and fair.

Which film are you most excited about this year?
There’s so many great films heading our way in 2019. Avengers: Endgame is probably the biggest blockbuster we’re excited about. Along with Toy Story 4 and Star Wars: Episode IX. The one film I’m most excited about however, is Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman

How are the likes of Netflix changing the industry?
I’d argue that Netflix is changing cinema for the better, though many disagree. They’re funding films that otherwise wouldn’t have been made and making these wonderful films, such as Roma, accessible to a wider audience.

Which films/stars will win the big five categories at the Oscars?
Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga’s A Star Is Born looked set to take home some of the big prizes, however in recent weeks the likes of Green Book and Bohemian Rhapsody have grown in momentum and could spring a few surprises!

How does awards season affect your content and planning?
It’s a huge part of our year in terms of content and traffic, the films and awards ceremonies come thick and fast and if the content is of a high quality it means we bring back regular readers each time to our coverage! In fact, our awards coverage has become such a pivotal part of our content that we have a dedicated awards editor!

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What advice would you give PRs/brands who want to work with you?
Be open with what they expect and be realistic in what they’re expecting – we’re lucky enough to have built great relationships with PR teams so we have very open and honest discussions around how we can work with them.

What do PRs do that’s wrong?
Expect something for nothing. We get a lot of requests for coverage and a lot of the time we’re expected to post articles/footage/ticket information, which all takes time, yet very rarely rewarded for doing so. I’m not necessarily even talking about payment, but a kind-of ‘you scratch our back, we’ll scratch yours’ way of helping each other helps both of us achieve our goals!

How do you work with different channels for the blog?
The vast majority of our traffic is driven via social channels – we’re lucky enough to have over 30,000 followers across the big social media platforms and as we don’t pay for advertising we rely heavily on them to share our content. We’ve recently taken the step into producing more video content for platforms such as YouTube, as there’s a huge audience on there that we perhaps haven’t utilised as well as we could have.

What are the best campaigns you’ve collaborated on?
We’ve been lucky enough to work on some amazing campaigns with cinema chains, on-demand platforms and film festivals. The best campaigns are always those where you actively enjoy the content you’re able to create. Of course it ties into the PR relationships too – working with a great PR team makes the whole experience easy and most of all, fun!

What other blogs do you read?
I read a lot of independent film blogs, usually by those written by just one person as there’s so much talent out there, luckily we have some of those brilliant writers on our team! Of course seeing what similar outlets are doing is helpful – but there’s no real element of competition from our end as such, just inspiration to improve Movie Marker as much as possible.

Sean Evans Back to the Movies

Film blog spotlight: Back to the Movies

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Sean Evans created Back to the Movies as a way to talk about movies in the way you would talk to your friends about them. We spoke to Sean after he was named in the Top 10 Films blogs to find out about the power of Netflix, why brand partnerships are all about creativity, and his predictions for the Oscars.

What’s in store for the blog in 2019?
My aim with Back to the Movies in 2019 is to explore outside the realm of just film reviews and news pieces. I’m working closely with brands to expand awareness of their latest movie-related products and as part of my on-going partnership with The Prop Store of London. I’ll be diving into the world of movie prop collecting in more detail this year. I will be recording videos and producing content talking about the hobby and how people can own their very own slices of movie history.

Aside from that I’ll be attending events, premieres and hosting more competitions than ever as the blog keeps growing each and every month.

Which film are you most excited about this year?
In all honesty there isn’t one film this year that I’m really looking forward to. I was speaking to someone from a studio the other day and 2019 does have titles that I of course want to see such as IT: Chapter 2, Avengers: End Game and Zombieland 2 but I can’t say I’m overly excited about any of them. Roll on 2020 so I can see Bad Boys 3!

How are the likes of Netflix changing the industry?
The whole concept of having a digital media library at your fingertips still amazes me to this day. Having exclusive TV shows and original feature films on the platform is causing a stir and giving conventional studios a run for their money. Netflix are changing the way we interact with content and with further implementations could also replace a trip to the cinema. No one will choose rustling crisps, mobile phone screens, talking and distractions when they can sit at home in the comfort of their own environment with family to watch the latest films on offer.

Which films/stars will win the big five categories at the Oscars?
Best Picture – I’d love A Star is Born or Vice to Win but I think Bohemian Rhapsody will take this one

Best Director – Hoping  Alfonso Cuaron swoops this one for Vice

Best Actor - Rami Malek 

Best Actress – Glenn Close

Best Screenplay – Green Book

How does awards season affect your content and planning?
Back to the Movies is structured much differently than most film websites. I choose content I’d like to cover and products I’d like to review. A full spectrum is never covered as the people who read my content are reading my personal opinions. I’m not a huge fan of ceremonies so I just tend to focus on the individual titles and drop in a casual nomination comment here and there. When the awards have finished I’ll post a list of winners and congratulations but that’s about it. I only go into detail with the BAFTAs as I’ve attended them myself hence why I feel I should be documenting my experience/the night as a whole.

What advice would you give PRs/brands who want to work with you?
Bring me some fun things to do! Lots of creativity within campaigns and interaction with new products and features would be superb. Many PR companies used to send out goodie boxes for each film with limited edition merchandise and throughout the whole of 2018 I received nothing from PR companies in that regards only studios directly. It would be so great to have more hands-on product reviews and events to attend. It keeps me busy and saves me staring at a computer screen all day!

What do PRs do that’s wrong?
PRs tend to message and ask to post for free, link to clients for free, post more of this for free. It gets real old real fast. I feel bloggers have to put a lot of work into their content and for established sites I feel PR companies could be more open to compensation. That does not necessarily mean financial compensation but even free promotional products or experiences. Just something to say thank you for the work we do for promoting your products. It’s very one-sided and PRs can be very demanding when asking bloggers to work for nothing in return. I’d absolutely love just to be appreciated for the work we do and if the PR task is fun and mutually beneficial, it’ll be much better received.

How do you work with different channels for the blog?
It’s difficult to juggle different channels as your focus is always split. I tend to spend a month focusing on one particular channel (e.g. YouTube) and then the next month focus on Instagram and try to spread the load evenly so I have everything covered. Twitter ticks along just nicely and Facebook is just there working away in the background. I feel as though I give more attention to creating good quality content and SEO targeting as those are the channels I need. I need Google to look at my content and go “Yup, he vaguely knows what he’s talking about” and as a result ranks me higher than I was at say this point in time last year.

What are the best campaigns you’ve collaborated on?
I created a TV commercial for Acer quite a while ago that was a lot of fun to make and last year I had the privilege of being paid to go to London to work with Sennheiser as we reviewed a binaural audio short horror film they made. This year has already started with a bang as I’ve been working with LEGO on reviewing some of the new range of LEGO Movie 2 products. As a 27 year old male I never thought I’d have so much fun playing with a LEGO boxset!

In addition to the above I’ve had the privilege of walking red carpets, meeting huge stars, going backstage at big comic-cons up and down the country so it’s certainly hard to just pinpoint one cool thing I’ve had fun working on!

What other blogs do you read?
I read Karen Woodham’s awesome film blog Blazing Minds quite regularly and a few luxury blogs who review hotels, restaurants and more which persuaded me to set up my own luxury blog called amilliondollarblogger.com after I was featured in the Amazon bestseller ‘A Million Dollar Blog’ which is a book celebrating financially successful blogs. That was quite a special moment in my blogging career and getting invited to fancy hotels or checking out brand new cars and experiences is pretty cool.

Who knows, maybe my luxury blog may even get on a top 10 list in the years to come!

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Barry Leggetter PRCA international president

Barry Leggetter appointed as first PRCA international president

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The PRCA has appointed Barry Leggetter as its first international president to continue to build on the presence of the industry body around the world.

Starting his role at the PRCA on 25 February, Leggetter will work closely with the PRCA’s director general, Francis Ingham, to grow and expand membership internationally. Regional offices already exist in South East Asia, Middle East and North Africa. The role will also include responsibility for delivering the ICCO Global Summit and the ICCO Global Awards.

Leggetter takes on the role after 11 years as CEO of AMEC, and following over 25 years of senior roles at international public relations consultancies, including Porter Novelli, FleishmanHillard, and GolinHarris.

Leggetter was the winner of the 2018 PRCA Mark Mellor Award for Outstanding Contribution to the PR industry, and the AMEC Don Bartholomew Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Communications Measurement and Evaluation industry.

Francis Ingham, director general, PRCA, and chief executive, ICCO, said: ‘Barry Leggetter will be a fundamental part of the PRCA’s drive to build on our status as the world’s largest PR association, and to expand our offering to other parts of the world. He will transform us from an international organisation to a truly global one.

‘Barry is a proven leader with a global perspective for driving engagement and real change and I am personally delighted he has joined us – the clearest possible sign of our intent to continue to grow globally.’

Barry Leggetter, international president, PRCA, said: ‘I’m very excited to be a part of this new challenge to help grow the PRCA and ICCO’s already impressive global reach. The PR and communications industry is increasingly international in its outlook, so it’s only right that the PRCA should be working hard to position the UK at its heart. I am delighted to be joining Francis and the team.’

 

Media outlets - job cuts and closures

Journalism job cuts and closure of publications

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BuzzFeed, HuffPost, The Pool, and Vice are just some of the outlets that have announced cuts and closures over the last couple of weeks, with thousands of media jobs already cut in 2019.

Across the UK, US, and Australia, BuzzFeed has cut editorial roles and closed BuzzFeed Spain entirely. In London, almost half of editorial roles have been cut, down 17 from an original 37. Roles being sliced are primarily across the Buzz team, but also the news and celeb teams. BuzzFeed has also made its head of quizzes redundant because free user-generated content is proving more popular.

The Guardian reported: ‘BuzzFeed founder and chief executive, Jonah Peretti, said the company would reduce headcount by 15 percent, or about 250 jobs, to around 1,100 employees globally.’

 

 

In the US, Verizon, owner of HuffPost, Yahoo and AOL, has reportedly announced cuts for up to 1,000 staff. This would trim seven percent from its media team across all brands. Verizon began by laying off 20 employees at HuffPost on 23 January, including opinion writers and political reporters.

CNET reported that in a memo to staff, Guru Gowrappan, CEO of Verizon Media said: ‘These were difficult decisions, and we will ensure that our colleagues are treated with respect and fairness, and given the support they need.’

Next was Gannett, the largest newspaper publisher in the US, cutting around two percent of its workforce. Poynter reported on cuts that affected editors and senior journalists at local papers owned by Gannett in regions across the US. The New York Post reports that cuts affected as many as 400 people.

Last week, women-focused online magazine, The Pool shared the news of its closure on Friday, after almost four years.

 

 

Also on Friday, Vice Media announced cuts across the US, UK and Canada, laying off 10% of staff following reorganisation from new CEO Nancy Dubuc.

Business Insider reported: ‘Vice Media will reportedly refocus around its TV production unit, its international news team, it’s digital properties, and its original TV content.’

Press Gazette editor Freddy Mayhew said: ‘There seems to be no end in sight to redundancies at online publications.

‘If the likes of The Pool, Buzzfeed and HuffPost can’t make digital journalism pay when they’re the experts, who purely publish online with no print offering, then the industry truly is in crisis.’

 

As journalists move on to new roles and freelance careers, all changes and updates are made in the Vuelio Media Database.

Emma Leech, CIPR president

New women-led CIPR board announced

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The CIPR has announced its Institute’s Board of Directors for 2019, with all three honorary officer positions held by women.

A first in the 70-year history of the CIPR, the president and two vice president roles are all occupied by women.

The line-up includes president Emma Leech, director of marketing and advancement at Loughborough University; vice president Jenni Field, director at Redefining Communications; and vice president Sarah Hall, managing director at Sarah Hall Consulting.

Elected members include:

Co-opted members include:

  • Shirley Collyer, director, Lansons
  • Ronke Lawal, PR and communications consultant, Ariatu Public Relations
  • Avril Lee, deputy global healthcare practice chair, Burson-Marsteller

Emma Leech, CIPR president said: ‘Our 2019 board is a powerhouse of talent, experience and perspectives. We are committed to the CIPR’s 3-year strategic plan and look forward to engaging with and representing professionals from all areas of our thriving industry.’

Edelman trust barometer 2019

What does the Edelman Trust Barometer teach us about strategic PR?

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The 2019 Edelmen Trust Barometer reveals that while the UK public trusts every institution more than it did a year ago, generally we’re still a distrusting nation.

Across the six major institutions the report tracks – NGOs, business, government, media, the EU and the United Nations – only the United Nations enjoys a majority (60%) of the population’s trust, while the rest are considered to be distrusted. The institution at the bottom of this list is the media, which is trusted by just 37% of the population.

While institutions aren’t trusted, the Barometer suggests individuals are, and across the world there’s a growing trust in experts – whether it’s a company’s technical experts or academics with professional expertise.

This a huge opportunity for PR and comms, who have access to in-house specialists they can direct to both the public and the media, as  journalists are increasingly looking for expert voices to lend authority to their content. The best media and the best PRs are already collaborating in this way, but public demand means it’s no longer just a smart strategy, it’s now a requirement.

The ResponseSource Journalist Enquiry Service, which was recently acquired by Vuelio, gives journalists the opportunity to request experts directly from leading PRs, further validating the role that communications plays in providing access to trusted, knowledgeable sources of information.

The Trust Barometer is full of PR opportunities for the savvy practitioner. Within its results, the report reveals a huge rise in the number of people engaging with and amplifying news, which effectively means the market for information is growing and PRs are arguably best placed to fuel it.

Any information PRs provide should, of course, be trustworthy as the public is wary of fake news; 73% now worry that it will be used as a weapon in society.

If you can position your brand, business or client as a trusted authority, and have the evidence to prove it, you will increase your PR opportunities and ultimately improve your reputation.

What did you take away from the Trust Barometer? Let us know on Twitter @Vuelio.

PRCA

Richard Nichols of Instinctif Partners joins PRCA board

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Richard Nichols, Deputy Chairman of Instinctif Partners, has been appointed to the Board of Management of the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA).

Nichols recently took over the role of Deputy Chairman of Instinctif Partners, having been CEO for twelve years between 2006 and 2018.

Instinctif Partners was PRWeek’s International Agency of the Year in 2017 and 2018, PRWeek’s ‘Best Place to Work’ in 2018 and the Holmes Report’s EMEA Corporate Consultancy of the Year in 2017.

The PRCA Board of Management was created to ensure that the body is always operating in a way that puts its members and the industry first.

Nichols joins the board alongside Ketchum’s Jo-ann Robertson, Golin’s Bibi Hilton, and Edelman’s Ed Williams, among many others.

Nichols said: ‘I am naturally delighted to be joining the Board of Management and to be working alongside industry peers as the PRCA celebrates its 50th anniversary, and to be playing a role as part of the PRCA championing best practice as our industry continues to grow and evolve.’

Francis Ingham, PRCA Director General, said: ‘We are delighted to welcome Richard to the PRCA’s Board of Management. He brings to the table a wealth of experience of working in international business communications consultancy, and I look forward to working alongside him in this the PRCA’s 50th year.’

Facebook market research

Facebook’s market research app accused of spying

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An Apple and Android app called ‘Facebook Research’ paid users, including teens, to provide access to the content they access on their phones.

Facebook is in the news once again for its use of data. Working through the Facebook Research app, the company has been paying participants for access to the content on their devices.

The app allowed Facebook to access the majority of a user’s device, including:

  • Private messages in chat apps including photos and videos
  • Emails
  • Web browsing activity
  • Logs of what apps were installed, and when they were used
  • A location history of where the owner had physically been
  • Data usage

Aimed at getting research from 13-35 year olds, the app has since been removed from Apple, however is still available on Android.

A spokesperson from Apple told TechCrunch that Facebook has been using their membership to distribute a data-collecting app to consumers, which is a clear breach of their agreement with Apple.

Fortune said: ‘What was particularly eye-catching about TechCrunch’s report was the fact that the $20 monthly reward was on offer to users between the ages of 13 and 35, meaning Facebook has been paying teens to monitor their phone usage.’

A spokesperson for Facebook told the BBC: ‘It wasn’t ‘spying’ as all of the people who signed up to participate went through a clear on-boarding process asking for their permission and were paid to participate.
‘Finally, less than 5% of the people who chose to participate in this market research program were teens. All of them with signed parental consent forms.’

The Verge reported: ‘The Research app requires that users install a custom root certificate, giving Facebook the ability to see users’ private messages, emails, web searches, and browsing activity. That’s in apparent violation of Apple’s system-level functionality, which is intended to grant employers access to employees’ work devices. The policy prohibits developers from installing the certificates on customers’ phones.’

The Independent highlighted that participants were told not to share their involvement with others: ‘Users were recruited through sign-up pages that make clear the data is being collected to improve Facebook’s services and that they should not tell people about the project.’

Although the app was well labelled, the secrecy behind the project and the violation of Apple’s terms mean that Facebook is facing scrutiny once again for the way it uses data and conducts research.

Faya Nilsson - Fitness on Toast

Fitness blog spotlight: Fitness on Toast

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Faya Nilsson created Fitness on Toast in 2013 to share great recipes and advice with her personal training clients. The site has since evolved into a one-stop shop for everything fitness, from active escapes to fashion and tech. Accompanied by beautiful imagery, Faya uses her knowledge and expertise to inform readers about how to stay fit and happy throughout the year.

We spoke to Faya after she was named in the Top 10 Fitness & Exercise blogs to find out what she likes best about working with brands, why an 80/20 split helps to keep on top of fitness, and the importance of Instagram for immediate feedback.

What are your plans for the blog this year?
I’m working as a PT daily which I love alongside creating blog content. I’m looking forward to doing some active travel for the blog – including Mauritius in March. I’m also working on a few bigger exciting projects which I hope to talk about and have ready for summer.

How important is the new year to your content?
Working in the fitness industry, you observe these seasonal trends – ‘new year, new you’ being one of them. I don’t subscribe to the January frenzy; instead I believe healthy is a lifestyle choice all year round. Having said that I do like the idea of new beginnings, marking a point in time and re-setting, checking in with yourself and for that reason it’s a conversation I like to be participating in, albeit with a slightly different perspective.

What advice would you give people who want to stay fit and healthy all year?
I personally go by the 80/20 rule. Be healthy, eat well, train well, sleep well – 80% of the time and 20 percent of the time you can be ‘unhealthy’, socialise with friends in less healthy restaurants, go for a cocktail or dessert. This is realistic, sustainable in the long term and you’ll enjoy training more – it should be fun and varied. If you go 100% all-in chances are you’ll feel deprived and you may come to resent all that ‘healthy’ represents.

The added advantage of 80/20 is that you’ll never need to panic ahead of a beach holiday or a hike you want to sign up to (or whatever it may be); you’re in a good place already, and with a bit more of a push, you’re good to go!

This, in practice, means being consistent throughout the year – training on a regular basis, moving on a daily basis, eating well, drinking plenty of water, and investing in your sleep.

What’s the best activity to get into if you’re new to fitness?
If you’re completely new to fitness I would suggest trying a few different things as the only way you’ll ever stick to something is if you enjoy it. There are countless fitness studios and classes to try these days – the world really is a veritable fitness oyster!

I’m a huge fan of weight training – it builds strength, increases metabolism at rest (meaning you’re burning more calories throughout the day), to name but a few benefits. However, if it’s your first time in the gym I’d suggest booking in a couple of sessions with a trainer. The last thing you want to do is train incorrectly. It can be quite pricey but perhaps see if you have a couple of friends who are in a similar situation and you can train in a group and that way decreasing the overall cost per person.

Generally speaking, people who decide to get into training as a New Years resolution go too hard too quickly. Be realistic – if like me, you love chocolate, then the likelihood is ZERO that you’ll one day wake up and decide never to have chocolate again, and stick to it. Equally, if you haven’t trained for years gradually get back into it. You’ll do your body more harm than good by not allowing it to properly recover between sessions.

Faya Nilsson - Fitness on Toast

How much exercise should we be doing each week?
This is highly individual – it depends on a bunch of things – what your starting point is, your preferences, your routine, what you’re doing etc. Recovery is super important so as a general rule of thumb if (for example) you’ve trained your legs on a Monday and on Tuesday you have DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) wait until it’s passed and you’re ready to train legs again.

How important are your social channels compared with your blog?
I love writing quite lengthy in-depth posts and always end up chopping away a lot. Equally I love photography so for that reason personally the blog has always been my favourite platform. What I like about Instagram though is how it’s so instant. You get immediate feedback as to whether people appreciate a post or not.

What are the best PR campaigns you’ve collaborated on?
I’ve been blogging for six years so it’s quite a list of fun and varied brands but all under the health umbrella in some capacity. One of my stand out favourite campaigns was going to the Olympics with Adidas as their global ambassador. I also loved working to create the Westin Hotel Group’s signature Wellness programs as their Wellbeing ambassador as well as Garnier to name but a varied selection of great long-term partnerships. The commonality is the professionalism and ambition of the activations, which weren’t one-off in nature but were connected as part of a longer-term brand storyline. Anything that focuses on the awareness part of the consumer funnel is very much a favourite of mine as you can get quite creative and broad that way, as a blogger!

Do you accept press releases?
Yes, they’re always welcome in my inbox. Press awareness is another part of the ‘shadow purchase funnel’ so even if I just skim the mail, it’s good to have unconsciously paid attention to it. In order to preserve the integrity of my blog, however, I only ever write reviews (and that sort of thing) if I’ve tried tested and love the product myself. So, for that reason I don’t accept guest posts or product placement messages.

What one thing should PRs know about you?
I’m remarkably easy to work with and I love mucking in alongside PR agencies to get a great result!

What other blogs do you read?
The Blonde Salad, A Blog To Watch, Sheerluxe blog, The Food Effect, AJ Odudu’s blog.

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Creative Shootout 2019

Waste-watchers, ‘skinfluencers’ and plastic-free warriors at The Creative Shootout 2019

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The Creative Shootout last week announced its 2019 winner – Wire PR.

Described as ‘The Apprentice’ meets ‘The Great British Bake Off’, The Creative Shootout is like no event. Nine of the most vibrant and creative agencies go head-to-head, competing to work for this years’ charity, A Plastic Planet.

A Plastic Planet (APP) has a single goal: to dramatically reduce the use of plastic in food and drink packaging. With a focus on empowering the consumer, A Plastic Planet wants people to choose plastic-free with the Plastic Free™ Consumer trust mark clearly displayed on the packaging.

The brief was simple: increase the number of brands and businesses applying for the trust mark to 1,500 applications in 2019, targeting big FMCG companies such as Nestlé, Mondelez and Unilever to drive change globally.

The teams were presented with the brief at lunchtime and had just four hours to put together a creative, compelling and effective pitch. The challenge was met with inspirational ideas, with no two pitches the same.

From making tea plastic-free to joining forces with Comic Relief by creating a plastic-free Red Nose, the agencies found inventive ways to increase awareness of A Plastic Planet and its trust mark. The campaigns pitched varied over the evening and included multi-channel ideas for Plastic-toc from Stein IAS, showing how time is limited to fight the war on plastic to waging an actual war on plastic, with plastic-free warrior parachuting into cities to spread their anti-plastic propaganda from Brands2Life.

Embracing the power of social and influencers was a theme throughout all of the pitches. Ready10’s ‘skinfluencers’ encourage consumers to ditch the plastic-packaging on fruit and veg and Raw London said goodbye to pre-prepared food empowering the customer to be #freetochoose with a campaign centred on activism.

Proving that an idea can be simple and effective, 72 Point created a waste-watchers app and 3 Monkeys Zeno created a plastic-free point loyalty card.

But there could only be one winner – Wire PR. Tapping into the impact of plastic on your own personal health, its campaign encouraged consumers to take the plastic-free health check to see if they would test ‘plastic-positive’ and contact their local supermarket’s CEO in two easy clicks, petitioning them to remove plastic. Wire’s campaign won the judges over with its engaging ideas and ability to go multi-national.

Wire will run the winning campaign with APP in Spring 2019, using a native advertising campaign from Outbrain, a broadcast campaign led by markettiers and support from A Plastic Planet’s existing comms agencies.

Vuelio are proud to sponsor The Creative Shootout and celebrate the incredibly creative minds in our industry. Well done to everyone who took part and congratulations to Wire PR!

Fyre Festival

5 PR lessons from the Fyre Festival

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The Fyre Festival, the botched attempt to run the most luxurious and Instafriendly festival ever, was already famous thanks to several viral posts highlighting failings at the time in April 2017. 

However, two documentaries, on Netflix and Hulu, have shed new light on the fiasco and brought the event back into the spotlight. The documentaries have also inadvertently provided simple lessons (the good, the bad and the ugly) for anyone working in PR and comms.

1. Influencer marketing works – but needs strategy
How do you make an event super famous? Get the most famous people on Instagram to promote it for you. Fyre Festival had a simple plan, pay a fortune to social media influencers – from Bella Hadid to Kendall Jenner – to promote the event and create a ‘big buzz’.

As evidenced in the documentaries, the budgeting was way off and the cost of the influencers unsustainable, but to make matters worse, the promotion wasn’t clearly labelled by many of the influencers, and the wording suggested all the stars would be in attendance, potentially misleading the audience of ticket buyers. After the event, the rules around disclosure tightened in the US as a result of this lack of clarity.

Yes, influencer marketing works, but it needs to have a clear strategy, be affordable and be ethical.

2. Communication, communication, communication
Seems like a given in a PR post but if the documentaries taught us anything, it was how important it is to have good comms. There were a number of occasions communications let down the event – at the beginning, middle and end – but perhaps one of the most obvious, particularly highlighted in Netflix’s documentary, was when they failed to alert guests to the fact that the festival was not going to take place.

This is crisis management 101 – be transparent and honest before things get worse. The lack of communication led to a number of guests arriving and sharing the chaos (and cheese sandwiches) on social media. It also led to a number of them becoming stranded and was when the story became the viral sensation it didn’t want to be.

3. Never lose sight of the purpose of an event
How many people knew Fyre Festival was intended to promote a celebrity booking app? The event became the company’s sole focus to the detriment of the app it was intending to promote.

Sometimes publicity can seem like the greatest goal but if no one knows what you’re publicising, a great stunt is a spectacle and nothing more.

4. Make sure you’re consistent
The event filmed a glamorous promo promising an experience on an island that wasn’t the one used for the actual event. From start to finish you have to be consistent with your message and if circumstances change outside of your control, then communicate them professionally and clearly – see point 2.

5. Big campaigns need an integrated strategy
It’s hard to say if traditional media outreach was part of the Fyre Festival PR plan but there’s little evidence of it in the documentaries. That means when the only news about the event was from the disgruntled guests on social media, knee deep in mayhem, there was no official channel of communication and the press could only report the news they were presented with: basic cheese sandwiches and soaking wet mattresses.

Big campaigns, the kind of campaigns that intend to support the greatest festival event ever, need to be fully integrated and consider every type of media, relationship and channel.

Did you spot any PR lessons in the Fyre Festival documentary? Let us know on Twitter. 

Want to create integrated campaigns, work with influencers in the right way and manage all of your relationships in one place? You need Vuelio.

A and R Factory, Stefan Toren

Music blog spotlight: A&R Factory

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A&R Factory was launched in 2012 by Stefan Toren and has grown to become one of the most respected artist and repertoire (A&R) blogs. With a hugely influential readership made up of record labels and radio stations, A&R Factory is the place to come to discover new music and sign the hottest acts. Alongside new artists, A&R Factory has interviews and reviews spanning all genres of music, from R&B to Punk. We spoke to Stefan to find out the plans for the blog this year, who’s going to be hot this year and how brands can get involved.

What are your plans for the blog in 2019?
We have big plans for 2019 including working and growing or sync music platform launching later in the year which will help musicians gain exposure through TV/film/game placements.

How is music changing and does this affect your content?
Music is ever growing with technology, our writers need to stay ahead of the curve to ensure we are posting relevant hit content!

Who’s your favourite band/artist?
Always a hard one to answer, recently we have been more into hip hop action, Bronson, L’Orange to name a few, but we have also recently shown a lot of love to Blossoms, BLOXX and Lion.

Who’s going to be hot in 2019?
So many artists are doing well right we featured Ari B on our website some time ago who has just signed a deal. And of course, the amazing Yebba who we featured back in 2017 this will be a big year for her.

Do you play any instruments?
Drums, guitar, bass and GarageBand.

What’s the best song ever?
One Direction – Best Song Ever, but more seriously, Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

How do you work with PRs/brands on content?
Typically we work with influencers and build relationships with PR agencies to share content.

What one thing should they know before contacting you?
Submit via our website here, it is the best way to ensure we get the tracks to the right journalists that work for us.

Do you accept press releases?
Yes, you can submit them on our website

What other blogs do you read?
Music Business Worldwide is our go-to blog at the moment!

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CIPR AiinPR

Full steam ahead for #AIinPR

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The CIPR’s Artificial Intelligence panel (#AIinPR) continues to build on research into the use of AI in the PR industry and has set out its plans for 2019.  

The panel is chaired by Metia’s managing director Stephen Waddington and was created last year to explore the impact of artificial intelligence across the industry. The group published a research paper – Humans Still Needed – to highlight where AI is already being used and the current limitations.

This year, #AIinPR will carry out more research and launch a new website listing PR tools and how they use AI. The panel has outlined the following plans for 2019:

  • A further research paper exploring the application of AI to the professions based on a literature and contemporary paper review
  • The launch of the #AIinPR tool website, characterising tools used in PR, classified by function and the application of AI
  • The development of an international network of third-party sources to improve AI knowledge and expertise amongst CIPR members
  • A series of guides on the application of AI in PR and the media
  • Support for CIPR regional and sector groups with #AIinPR content and speakers, following successful panel events in Scotland, the North East and London

Emma Thwaites and Laura Richards have recently joined the panel, which is now 13-strong.

Waddington said: ‘The #AIinPR panel has characterised the impact of AI on public relations in terms of tools and skills. Machines can complement the work of public relations practitioners, reducing admin, improving efficiency and helping us work smarter. This year the expanded panel aims to produce events and learning material for practitioners and develop a professional network.’

Deputy chair, Kerry Sheehan said: ‘The #AIinPR panel is focussing on AI’s power for positive change and advancement within the public relations industry. Far from stealing our jobs, machines can make us better at them. The panel’s work will guide practitioners, of all levels, in adapting skills and learning new ones. Our events, learning materials and case studies will equip members with an understanding of how AI can be successfully applied in PR.’

Reuters media trends report

Reuters media predictions for 2019

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Reuters Institute has released its annual Journalism, Media, and Technology Trends and Predictions report for 2019.

It surveyed 200 editors, CEOs and digital leaders, one-third from the UK, the rest across 29 countries including Germany, USA and Australia.

The key findings from the report:

  1. Over half (52%) of editors will focus on subscription and membership, expecting it to be the main revenue focus in 2019.
  2. Almost two thirds (61%) are concerned or extremely concerned about staff burnout.
  3. Over three-quarters (78%) think it is important to invest more in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help secure the future of journalism – but not as an alternative to employing more editors.

For PRs, nothing above should seem too outrageous. The need to grow revenue to support publications, the worry of staff being overloaded in the ‘constant news’ society, and the hopes that AI can provide time-saving alternatives to basic tasks, are common across the media industry.

Other findings from the report include:

  • Less than half of respondents (43%) say Facebook is likely to be important or extremely important this year, a similar number to Apple News and YouTube – but far less than for Google (87%).
  • Over half of those surveyed (56%) are concerned about current newsroom diversity.
  • Platforms are increasing their focus on tackling misinformation and disinformation, however as this moves further towards dark social it becomes a harder task.
  • Trust indicators will be increased so readers have more information to decide who to trust.
  • With many publishers launching daily news podcasts, it’s not surprising that the majority (75%) think audio will become a more important content type. A similar proportion (78%) think that voice-activated technologies, like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant will have a significant impact on how audiences access content over the next few years.
  • With consumers increasingly conscious of the time they are wasting online, more people are likely to be leaving social networks, more tools will emerge for digital detox, and there will be a greater focus on ‘meaningful’ content.
  • With more platforms using paywalls, people are being shut out from quality news. Consumer irritation will build this year, leading to a combination of news avoidance and the increased use of ‘paywall-blocking’ software.

A key point from the report is how newsrooms are going to cope with tackling misinformation across dark social, battling paywall-blocking software, and how publications can grow their audiences when all focuses are on distribution across Google.

For PRs there’s clearly an opportunity for meaningful, voice-assistant-friendly content and audio, as well as having valid credentials and ethical practices. Quality content is just one piece of the jigsaw though – PRs also need to rely on traditional strengths, like relationship building and media outreach, to ensure they’re supporting these editors and their publications so that everyone’s a winner.

Chris Evans Virgin Radio

Chris Evans is back on Virgin Radio

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Chris Evans is back on Virgin Radio presenting the breakfast show, nearly 18 years after he left.

The Virgin Radio Evans has joined is different to the one he was dismissed from, as that version became Absolute Radio in 2008. This Virgin Radio is owned by Wireless Group, which in turn is owned by Murdoch’s News Corp, parent company of News UK (publisher of The Sun and The Times).

As Chris Evans joins the show, something else is removed – adverts. Evans’ show is sponsored by Sky, so he’ll discuss Sky programming but otherwise it’s the first commercial radio breakfast show without conventional adverts.

Monday’s show featured live performance from The Verve’s Richard Ashcroft, as well as guests Fay Ripley, Paul Whitehouse, Romesh Ranganathan and Rob Beckett. To introduce Ashcroft to the show Evans said: ‘There’s been a lot of talk about the first song I’m going to play, but I press buttons, I don’t play songs, musicians play songs. Why don’t we get a musician to play a song live? How about Richard Ashcroft?’

Ashcroft played Lucky Man.

After nine years presenting on BBC Radio 2, Evans said he was pleased to be back at Virgin Radio: ‘It’s so great to be back at Virgin and I have to say it’s a real treat. I feel blessed and we couldn’t be more grateful.’

Evans is now up against Zoe Ball, who took over the Radio 2 Breakfast Show last week. Coincidentally, Evans’ first breakfast show on the original Virgin Radio in 1997 started on the same day as Zoe Ball’s Radio 1 Breakfast Show.

News UK’s publications were positive in their reviews – The Sun focused on the reaction from the fans, writing that Evans was ‘praised by fans and celebs’; while The Times gave the show four stars, writing: ‘Flash Chris is still full of himself, but there were glimpses of a humble, new age Chris, a parent who gives some thought to how radio can be a form of positive energy’.

The Telegraph gave the show three stars, writing: ‘The energy, one of the most successful parts of Evans’ breakfast show experience, was identical: optimistic, loud, and greeting the day with full-beam sunshine.’

The Guardian also gave him three stars, Mark Lawson – who last week gave Zoe Ball four stars – said: ‘Success of his Virgin venture will depend on whether listeners are more irritated by the disguised advertising of Murdoch interests than of a public service broadcaster.’

The Daily Mail highlighted the similarities the show had to his old Radio 2 slot: ‘As part of his exit deal it appears that Evans has been able to bring over many of his old jingles. The programme also features the return of items that were a staple on his BBC show, such as Big Screen Belter, Golden Oldie and Gobsmackers.’

Lots of reactions on Twitter were positive:

Though clearly not everyone was impressed:

 

Keep up to date with all the latest moves and changes on the radio and in the media with the Vuelio Media Database. 

Instagram egg

Is this the beginning of the end for influencer marketing?

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In the latest influencer marketing twist, an egg is now more Instafamous than Kylie Jenner. This may seem trivial, but are the cracks already showing for influencer marketing?

Scott Guthrie, lead analyst at Luxmoore Consulting and all-round influencer marketing expert, led an insightful panel session covering influencer marketing at the PRCA’s recent 2019: The Year of… event.

Though the term influencer is increasingly harder to define, it appears that this hasn’t stopped people trying to get involved; the search term ‘influencer marketing’ was more popular on Google than ‘social media marketing’ in 2018. This is an industry worth $10 billion, but can influencer marketing come back after the accusations of buying fake followers and engagement, lost ad revenue and the ethics of influencer marketing being called into question?

While some influencer campaigns get it spot on, it is the campaigns that miss the mark that make the news for all the wrong reasons. Guthrie said that the importance of authenticity and ethics needs to be at the heart of influencer marketing because people are switched on to how influencer marketing works and can tell when a brand and an influencer don’t fit.

Joining Guthrie and adding their insight on the panel were: Candace Kuss, director of social media at H+K Strategies; Will Cooke, executive director, strategy and innovation at Golin; and Andrew Jennings, an independent consultant.

If influencer marketing is to survive and retain credibility, both agencies and influencers need to take responsibility for the message they’re putting out. Cooke said that agencies need to invest more in the vetting process for influencers and make sure that they’re the right fit for the brand. This means we need to look for who has influence that fits the campaign and brand, not just for people who call themselves ‘influencer’.

Another area of consideration is reputation, which is at the heart of all PR campaigns. Jennings suggested that we need to look for, and be aware of, the potential downfall if the brand and ethics are not aligned. Guthrie also pressed the importance of building relationships with influencers and keeping in regular contact, this way if their tone of voice changes or there’s a possibility of the brand being at risk, you can act quickly.

The theme of humanity also ran through the event and Kuss said we need to remember that influencers are not just Instagrammers and YouTubers, they are subject matter experts and we need to recognise them as such.

So, is this the end for influencer marketing? No. However, Guthrie has predicted that it could be the end for influencers who post with #ad and little consideration, because influencers need to post content that matters to their audience and is authentic to them.

What this means for world_record_egg – which has started hatching – remains to be seen.

Want to build relationships with the right influencers? Whether it’s bloggers, vloggers and Instagram stars or journalists, editors and broadcasters, the Vuelio Influencer Database lists thousands of contacts who have detailed profiles and genuine influence to help you reach the right audience.

PRCA 50 years

What does the world of PR look like in 2019?

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The PRCA kicked off its 2019 events calendar this week with a lively discussion about the top predictions for PR and communications over the next 12 months.

2019: The Year of… brought together an audience of PR and comms professionals with a panel of industry experts including: Adrian Wheeler, PRCA trainer and author, Danny Whatmough; managing director, integrated media at Weber Shandwick; Justine Bower, director of communications – consumer & social at UKTV; Tony Langham, CEO of Lansons and chaired by Jim Donaldson, CEO of UK & Middle East, FleishmanHillard Fishburn. Key discussion points from the panel covered a range of topics including: mental health, creative collaboration, independent consultants and the demise of digital marketing.

The panel were all in agreement about the importance of improving mental wellbeing. With recent research from the PRCA and PRWeek showing there is a huge need for the industry to take the mental health of employees seriously, 2019 should see real and positive change. Justine Bower spoke about the pressures put on PRs, from remaining calm in a crisis to the need to be ‘desk present’ (i.e. working through lunch and not taking screen breaks), and how we combat this by encouraging open and honest conversations about mental health.

Another hot topic was around collaboration, more specifically, creative collaboration. As technology allows greater co-creation and the demand for creativity grows, practitioners will become ‘creative curators’, using data and analytics to uncover new insights from existing ideas. Adrian Wheeler supports this theory, he said that the need for creativity is high and by working together we can generate new and exciting ideas.

One area of PR which continues to be on an upward trajectory is the rise of practitioners turning freelance. Tony Langham pointed out that the industry depends on freelancers to support agencies but with a number of freelancers, or independent consultants as they prefer to be called, the big issue they face is selling their time versus selling their offering.

Perhaps the most controversial point of the session was the suggestion that digital marketing was no longer a necessary department. Danny Whatmough said we need to stop thinking of digital marketing as a silo, it is integrated into all activity. As digital is spread across entire organisations, these job titles and roles are no longer relevant and for the channel to mature it’s time to turn to the data and audience insight we now have access to and use this to drive campaigns and content.

With so many positive changes predicted for the year ahead there were several key words that came up time and again: confidence, reputation and humanity. Practitioners need to have more confidence in the work they do, the impact they have on reputation and bring humanity into the workplace to positively affect the creative they produce.

Barometer PRCA

Agency heads predict positive 2019 for PR

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The PRCA has published the findings of the latest Consultancy Barometer, which has found that PR agency heads are generally positive about the industry’s outlook for 2019 but negative about the state of the UK economy.

The Consultancy Barometer Q4 2018 survey covers business confidence, client budgets and recruitment.

The key findings:

  • 34% of agency heads reported that clients had marginally or significantly increased their budgets; 44% said that budgets had stayed the same; while only 3% said that budgets had decreased significantly.
  • The clear majority of respondents (75%) described the last quarter as busy or very busy, compared to 3% who described it as very quiet.
  • When asked about staff numbers, 42% of respondents predicted that staff numbers would increase in the next quarter, while 53% of respondents expected staff numbers to stay the same.
  • Agency heads were positive about the outlook for their consultancy and the industry as a whole. Over 55% of respondents said the last quarter had made them feel more optimistic about their consultancy, while 39% of respondents said the same thing for the wider industry. In contrast, 71% of respondents said that the state of the UK economy would worsen over the next 12 months. Only 2% of respondents predicted that the UK economy would improve in the next year.

Francis Ingham, director general of the PRCA said: ‘The PR industry is thriving. But agencies are very clear that they expect the next twelve months to be extremely challenging for the country as a whole. The reason for this is clear – Brexit uncertainty.

‘Nervousness about the UK economy has increased in every quarterly Barometer since the referendum. Our industry stands on firm foundations. But even the strongest of business sectors will ultimately pay a price if economic uncertainty continues for too long.’

Gavin Devine, director and founder of Park Street Partners said: ‘The million-dollar question for the next quarter is Brexit. What will it bring? What will it do to clients? For corporate communicators it could be an opportunity, or it could be a threat – it’s just impossible to know.’