{"id":145286,"date":"2024-02-08T14:26:38","date_gmt":"2024-02-08T13:26:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=145286"},"modified":"2024-02-08T14:27:35","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T13:27:35","slug":"communicating-sustainability-with-creativity-the-challenges-of-sustainable-pr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/communicating-sustainability-with-creativity-the-challenges-of-sustainable-pr\/","title":{"rendered":"Communicating sustainability with creativity: The challenges of sustainable PR"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sustainability continues to be a huge topic of conversation and source of consternation in 2024. Consumers are increasingly prepared to take their money, and loyalty, elsewhere when a business\u2019 ethics don\u2019t meet their own. <\/strong><\/p>\n

To add to this demand for demonstrable integrity are the constraints of regulation. Since moving from broadcast journalism in 2007, Curious PR Ltd (London)<\/a>\u2019s founder and managing director Hannah Kapff has worked in regulated sectors including healthcare and environmental sustainability, for global brands like Pfizer, to start-ups including The Naked Pharmacy.<\/p>\n

Here, Hannah takes us through the challenges as well as the rich rewards that come from doing the work well.<\/p>\n

What would you say are the biggest challenges for comms professionals working in the environmental sustainability space in 2024?<\/h3>\n

I\u2019ve been predicting for years that it will become increasingly difficult to gain attention among the media (and thus the public) about issues of sustainability if the conversation is too negatively-framed.<\/p>\n

In short, the \u2018engaged public\u2019 (and, remember, a certain fraction never engage, whatever the message) want to hear about tangible solutions to \u2018the problem\u2019 as opposed to more death, destruction, Armageddon. Internally, they are asking, \u2018So, what can I do about this?\u2019 Somehow, our job as communicators is to point to solutions, or risk losing the audience. That\u2019s not to say that shame can\u2019t be a powerful tool. Consider that just three years ago, many of us carried a single use plastic bottle of water in our bags. Now, pull one out at a meeting, and there\u2019s a cringe moment, which is clearly to be welcomed. Our conscience has changed.<\/p>\n

My team at Curious PR are involved in a campaign to save the pristine waters and Posidonia meadows of islands in the Bay Of Athens from mass invasion by multinational fish farming firms. The effects of open net fish farming on marine ecology are horrific, yet, we try to point to solutions: don\u2019t buy farmed salmon, avoid bream or bass in a restaurant, go for sardines or smaller fish near the bottom of the food chain, sign the petition, tell your friends. Help #SavePoros<\/a>. Likewise, when it comes to preventing extinction of British bird species, think \u2018pragmatic\u2019: If your cat hunts (mine\u2019s too lazy), exhaust its hunting drive by playing with it for ten minutes a day. This is scientifically proven to work, thanks to the University of Exeter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Positive tips now shared, I admit to being struck by the extent to which Davos \u2013 which I used to cover as a journalist at CNBC Europe \u2013 is being described as \u2018The new COP\u2019. I\u2019m all for silo-breaking and knowledge sharing, which is what such forums are meant for, but is there still a home for NGOs focussed on environmental campaigns? I\u2019m haunted by the Tower of Babel-like description of COP24 by Arlo Brady, co-founder of Blue Marine Foundation<\/a>, via LinkedIn<\/a>, which ends on a decidedly blue note.<\/p>\n

How do you stay reactionary in this sector when getting sign-off can take time?<\/h3>\n

I think having former broadcast journalists on our team helps balance \u2018the need for speed\u2019 with accuracy, and helps frame opinions on the issue at play in interesting ways via succinct messages. We also design our PR assets to ensure the audience \u2018gets it\u2019 at a glance (The lengthiest sign-off periods I\u2019ve encountered have involved medical professionals, for obvious reasons. I recall over 25 drafts of one report years ago, and don\u2019t get me started on delays via \u2018Can you wait for my new headshot please?\u2019!) One tip: Agree on the one person who\u2019ll be the ultimate approver for speedy reactions, such as for social media. Planning is all. If key messages are agreed, organisation-wide, plus banks of expert comments for simple tweaking, you\u2019ll be halfway there.<\/p>\n

How do you keep your campaigns creative when up against heavy regulation?<\/h3>\n

In terms of creativity, I\u2019m an art lover and very visual, so one of my greatest loves in this job is handing over a brief and watching creatives breathe their imaginative oxygen or artistic beauty into a campaign \u2013 be that via animation, infographic, even a logo. A journalist often asks, \u2018Do you have images?\u2019, so be ready. We also love wordplay, hence our \u2018What3Birds<\/a>\u2019 campaign with the What3Words geolocation platform for SongBird Survival.<\/p>\n

Regulation is an interesting one. Working in healthcare and environmental comms imbues you with a science-driven, risk-averse approach. There will be new regulations emerging on how companies report their sustainability achievements, and the very language of this sector is changing fast. Terms such as \u2018ESG<\/a>\u2019 have been somewhat hijacked, and as we know, words are everything. Control the language, and you control the people. Greenwashing and its nervous cousin, greenhushing, need to be tackled. These issues will grow new shoots.<\/p>\n

How do you manage reputational risk in comms strategies?<\/h3>\n

Reputational risk is best handled by asking \u2018what could go wrong\u2019 \u2013 at all times, and in all areas of the business or organisation in question \u2013 and having a plan for each scenario. Crisis management is far easier without staring at a blank sheet of paper, or down the barrel of a TV camera. At Curious PR, our style is collaborative, rather than combative: it\u2019s surprising how opening the door for an honest, open debate can influence opinions, even if it doesn\u2019t elicit a 180 degree volte face from \u2018rivals\u2019.<\/p>\n

When I first heard about the Horizon Post Office scandal around 12 years ago, I thought it must be April Fool\u2019s Day, such was my horror and disbelief at this David and Goliath battle, and how unreported it was. I do believe that, had social media been around when those poor postmasters were first being prosecuted, they\u2019d have \u2018found each other\u2019, and history may have been different. This is a case study in how not to do PR. Interestingly, it\u2019s been argued that it was intervention by lawyers before consulting the communications team which set the path for a catalogue of errors, with tragic consequences. Of course we need legal experts, and they\u2019re increasingly entering PR, but if they don\u2019t first think, \u2018What\u2019s the right, the human thing to do?\u2019 rather, \u2018Defend the bottom line, at all costs\u2019, we are in for more suffering and scandal. On the flip side, as a former documentary-maker, it was impressive to see the power of television to achieve positive outcomes.<\/p>\n

How do you stay up-to-date with regulation and legislative changes in the sustainability space?<\/h3>\n

Probably like most organisations, by following the relevant media and regulator announcements. Recently, the European Parliament voted to delay the development of sector-specific European Sustainability Reporting Standards<\/a>\u00a0until 2026. This is relevant to some of our clients. In short, it\u2019s always sensible to plan ahead and deploy best practice, rather than being the last to be dragged in. We\u2019re lucky to have clients that think alike.<\/p>\n

How do you track the ROI and impact of such campaigns?<\/h3>\n

We use the best measurement tools<\/a> we can buy, but impact remains the million dollar question, and nobody\u2019s got the perfect answer. If it\u2019s a question of really moving the needle on an issue in health or environment, you have to think long term, and be generous enough also to factor in the efforts of other players working with the same goals. Alternatively, if a client is obsessed with numbers, you may want to advise them to go down the advertising route (we\u2019ve only had to do this once). But look where that\u2019s got advertising creativity in recent years (with brilliant exceptions of course): Bland, beige, and blocked.<\/p>\n

Would you say there is ever room for attention-grabbing PR \u2018stunts\u2019 in heavily-regulated sectors like these, or is this a definite no-no?<\/h3>\n

I once worked on proposals for a sustainable women\u2019s menstrual product (we\u2019ve done a lot of \u2018below the belt\u2019 here!) and proposed building an art installation showing how many tampons a woman would get through in her life, versus one small, washable medical device. That was a stunt, and sadly we didn\u2019t get to make it happen. So, yes, but make it relevant, not gimmicky, and mind the rules and regs!<\/p>\n

How do you grab the attention of journalists with pitches related to this subject?<\/h3>\n

I would say this wouldn\u2019t I, but the headline is all. Whether it\u2019s for an infographic, an event, a press release, or social media asset. You have just nanoseconds to pitch. So put time into it. Ask a question, perhaps. Be original but concise<\/a>. Definitely avoid \u2018also-rans\u2019. Be obsessed: Keep refining and distilling. Test it out on different audiences. And learn by reading the newspapers \u2013 they nail headlines every hour of the night and day.<\/p>\n

What are the biggest rewards when working in this sector, despite its challenges?<\/h3>\n

Seeing your client on TV with a huge global audience brilliantly conveying information you know will get an \u2018I had no idea about this\u2019 reaction that sparks curiosity (hence our weekly #Fact2Life<\/a> stream) or even action, such as a better habit. Getting recognition for a company, cause, or CEO when it\u2019s eminently well deserved. We delight in putting people and organisations on the map who are brilliant, but simply need some help with a) Knowing where their uniqueness lies, b) Getting the word out there with excellence. I won\u2019t lie: Being nominated for PR awards is wonderfully goosebumpy too. Especially when you\u2019ve over-serviced that project to the \u2018nth degree!<\/p>\n

For more on sustainable PR, check out these four practical steps<\/a> for building sustainability into your campaigns.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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