Category: Blogs

A great philosopher once said: “It’s not all about the money, money, money”. Okay, it was actually Jessie J in her first big hit ‘Price Tag’. While the sentiment of the song is self-explanatory, what we didn’t know at the time of its release was that this song was all about social influencers.

Recently this group has been accused of using their popular feeds, with typically large followings, to promote brands’ products for a fee and inadvertently taking advantage of young social media users. In some cases, this criticism is fair, but I believe it’s a biased view of the industry. A recent BBC Panorama investigation sparked a heated online debate with some viewers stating that the programme didn’t provide a “balanced” view of the topic. The programme highlighted the ease of which diet supplements, gambling-related products and alcohol are promoted on digital platforms but seemed to imply that all influencers who promote products on their social media profiles are doing so in an irresponsible and harmful manner. This is simply not the case.

In September 2018, the Advertising Standards Authority released the Influencer’s Guide that outlines the rules that social media influencers need to abide by when promoting products online. The guide states it’s the responsibility of both the influencer and the brand to ensure that advertising content is labelled as such using hashtags like #ad, #sponsored or #freebie. No one can disagree that these measures offer more transparency to the industry but should brands still consider partnering with influencers? Let’s consider the advantages:

Firstly, it’s now widely accepted that consumers are more likely to trust the people they see on their social media feeds than in traditional marketing. Secondly, social influencers allow businesses to reach larger audiences, promote positive branding and increase customer engagement and awareness. And finally, influencer marketing is a growing industry: in 2018, Google searches for the term “influencer marketing” increased by 325% compared within 2017.

In conclusion, the power of influencer marketing is continuing to grow from strength to strength and I don’t think businesses should be put off by the recent bad press of the role of a social influencer. By working with them, brands can gain a lot of value, especially as part of an integrated marketing campaign and using the right strategy to support them.

While the wintry weather definitely caused inconvenience and chaos last week, it has certainly become so much easier to keep a busy work life on track and stay efficient during challenging weather conditions. Thanks to technology, not only can we work from the comfort of our own home, but we can also better understand the changing weather and plan for minimal disruption.

Some years ago, having a ‘snow day’ ultimately meant that you could forget about achieving anything work-related. Travelling to the office was near impossible and VPN did not have all the wonderful qualities we are so familiar with now. Technology has since enabled us to carry out most, if not all, of our office duties from home and deliver equally high results. If you’re worried about team communication when you can’t reach the office, there’s no need. There are countless ways to maintain quality contact with your colleagues and continue working closely, whether that‘s by email, in an online meeting room, Skype or by phone. In an agency like ours, the use of technology ensures we deliver a high-quality service to all our clients.

The way in which technology can so accurately forecast the weather has done wonders for the working snow day. With this knowledge, businesses can be fully prepared for a ‘day out of the office’ and can plan a smooth-sailing schedule. More significantly, technological forecasting can now enable us to actually get to work – authorities can be made aware of vulnerable transports links, giving them an opportunity to make the journey possible for intrepid commuters. The development of IoT smart city technology is another way in which councils are tackling these issues and identifying areas at risk. One example of this is smart tree technology. Using tree sensors, councils can collect data which measures the movement of trees and evaluates their stability and overall condition. If, for example, heavy snowfall has put a tree at risk of falling and disrupting traffic flow, councils will be notified and can take immediate action.

We are even seeing the effect of technology on snow days at schools – a recent story from the BBC told of a new ‘e-learning day’ for students in the US whereby they are required to work from home.

Despite all these technology advances, the future of the traditional snow day is unclear. The need for a physical office is declining for some businesses due to the increasing use of IT solutions and some companies already operate solely through virtual workspaces. What’s more, with ever-evolving smart city and transport technology, we may once and for all beat the travel chaos!

Long gone are the days of clicking through Teletext pages or reading the TV Guide to see what programmes you wanted to watch over the next week – aside from the regularly scheduled soap slots.

According to a new report from Ernst & Young, 30% of UK viewers say streaming is now their primary mode of viewing TV and film content at home as many consumers are continuing to ‘cut the cord’ on paid-for TV services and control their own viewing experiences. This is the same story across the pond too; in fact twice as many (60%) US households have ditched the cable.

Simply put, ‘cord cutting’ is the term for cancelling cable packages in favour of streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hayu – while also using catch-up and on-demand services provided by traditional broadcasters.

Since the introduction of Netflix in 1997 – becoming more popular in 1999 when it first adopted a monthly subscription model and reaching 20 million subscribers by 2010 – video streaming has boomed, and it shows no sign of slowing down. Even traditional broadcasters are now having to follow suit and offer customers more flexible viewing platforms, with big names in the entertainment business also cashing in on this trend.

One of the players entering the market is Disney which will be launching its own on-demand service, aptly named Disney+. Slated for launch in Q4 this year, analysts are already predicting Disney will sign up over 55 million international subscribers in the first five years alone. Time will tell if it can hit that kind of scale.

One of the biggest drivers of this change is the large sums of money being pumped into developing and marketing new content – The Economist projected in June last year that Netflix was going to spend almost $13 billion on original programming in 2018.

Alongside this, the advances in HD quality, and now Ultra HD/4K, technology and faster broadband infrastructures has allowed the video streaming giants’ content to be viewed anywhere, across a range of devices, at any time and all in high quality. As a result, viewers are ditching paid-for TV in favour of the simplicity of streaming, while avoiding sign-up fees, confusing bundles and long-term contracts which typically come with cable packages.

Streaming providers have also mastered the art of cleverly using data to add value to the whole experience, personalising customer profiles and offering programme recommendations based on previous viewing. This beats the 30-word blurb you were given in the TV guide to help you decide what to watch…

During the last 20 years we’ve seen first-hand how the broadcast sector has experienced  rapid rates of change as it continues to meet consumer demand and remain up-to-date. It’s going to be interesting to see what developments are ahead in the race for subscriber numbers and whether the cord is going to be cut for good.

Discover the Whiteoaks Difference

  1. What’s your career background, in brief?

My career has been somewhat varied. After spending fifteen years within the IT industry — eleven of these as a partner business manager at Hewlett Packard — I decided to retrain as a science teacher. I spent ten years or so teaching at local secondary schools before joining Whiteoaks last year as a content writer. I haven’t worked for a B2B tech PR agency before, but my IT and science background are proving very useful in understanding our clients.

  1. What’s the most challenging job you’ve ever had?

Teaching without a doubt! Imagine teaching six back to back lessons — 180 students in total — where you need to instruct, motivate and manage them. All this while remembering every name and ensuring that they all understand what they are doing and are staying safe with the various chemicals and Bunsen burners in the lab.

  1. What apps, technology items and gadgets can’t you live without?

I’m fairly old school and if I’m totally honest, I probably wouldn’t miss any of them too much — I even possess a hard copy A-Z! Having said that, it’s a different story with the rest of my family. Holiday planning involves much researching to ensure that the Wi-Fi connection is available and fast enough to meet my teenager’s demands for data.

  1. What’s the best advice you’ve been given?

Probably the best piece of advice is to try and enjoy your job – if you wake up every morning dreading it, then it’s probably time to look for something else. Life is too short to be miserable for the forty hours minimum we spend working each week. I would also like to add my own bit advice to this — keep learning, expanding your skills and don’t be afraid to change direction if your interests and priorities change.

  1. Name one thing about your job that gives you a sense of satisfaction or makes you leave the office smiling…

When tasked with writing a 1,500 article for a client it can seem like a hill to climb at the beginning, but after some thorough research, quiet thinking and productive writing I get a great sense of achievement when it’s completed.  The icing on the cake is positive feedback from a client to say how much they liked it!

  1. Do you personalise your workspace?

I don’t – I like to spread out while I’m working so my desk tends to be pretty messy while I’m working on a piece of writing.  I think anything else would just add to the clutter!

  1. What’s the first thing you do in the office in the morning?

I’m a big tea drinker and need a couple of cups of tea in the morning to get going so this tends to be the first thing that I sort out after firing up my laptop.

  1. What are you reading, watching or listening to at the moment?

I tend to alternate between reading new fiction and something which I think I ought to read. I’ve just finished Normal People by Sally Rooney, which is an interesting love story and a great read.  I started The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck a couple of days ago, but I haven’t got into it yet — I’m hoping to be enlightened and entertained by the story and the characters.

I’m also following each episode of Les Misérables on the BBC. I can’t confess to reading the book but it’s a great TV production.

Technology has had a profound effect on the way we operate in every aspect of our lives — from the way we communicate, to the way we run our homes and the way we shop. Perhaps one of the most significant changes comes into play outside of our personal lives. While we might not realise it, the effect of technology in business continues to shape the way in which we work and organisations operate.

As an example; for any business with a supply chain, investment in technology is essential. We’re all aware that the modern consumer has demands that simply wouldn’t have been met twenty years ago. In retail we’re now accustomed to click and collect, same-day delivery and one-hour delivery time slots and VR apps that let you check how that mirror would look on the wall before you buy it. These are great conveniences, but the pressure for retail businesses to remain competitive is enormous.

In a B2B environment, technology now means that any disruption to the supply chain can be quickly resolved as businesses have access to real-time data and can scenario plan in advance to anticipate a host of ‘what ifs’. Despite the fact that legacy processes, such as a reliance on spreadsheets, still holds many organisations back from reaching their full potential, others are investing in the best technology available to digitally transform both the customer-facing and, often neglected, back-end processes.

Not only does technology affect business outputs and processes, it has also changed the workplace and the way we, as employees, function. We can work from home, get paid on demand, leave the desk and tuck ourselves away when we need a few quiet minutes to concentrate and manage our pensions, annual leave and payslips on an app. Cloud computing, fintech and developments in IT mean that some companies don’t even need an office anymore. Forward-thinking fintech companies, such as Hastee Pay, offer services that mean for those of us feeling the January pinch there is no longer a wait for payday.

At the rate technology has been evolving over the last few years I expect a blog on this topic next year will be entirely different. Will robot assistants be serving us drinks while we work away on a beach in the Caribbean before meeting our clients on the other side of the world via hologram? Maybe. Check back here in 2020 to find out.

The annual global innovation showcase known as CES has seen brands from across the globe take over Las Vegas and compete for the limelight since the ‘60s. Companies need to stand out from the crowd and cut through the noise, particularly at a show where nearly every technology company in the world can be found under one roof. The sheer scale of the event is a reason having a strong creative public relations and communications strategy can enable key brands to steal a march on their competitors.

In the past CES has been viewed as a gadget fun-fair which lacked any connection to the everyday consumer, but this year things are different. This year the consumer was put first.

When talking about winning the race for consumer favour you need look no further than the fierce battle between tech giants Amazon and Google as the two dominate the voice-aided smart speaker space. Amazon is estimated to have a 41% share of the global smart speaker market while Google has 28%, following a year of significant investment to catch up to their tech rivals.

Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant (GA) AI technologies need no introduction, but they are still in the early adoption stage as consumers come to grips with the benefits of smart-home tech and connected devices. Their comms teams have acknowledged this by demonstrating the technology in-use, through partner technology like JBL’s new GA headphone range and the smart TVs that have Amazon Alexa functionality built in. The marketing teams highlighted new functionality, but unlike previous years, the benefits of the products have been the focus, rather than the gizmos themselves.

Google managed to pull off an elaborate stunt involving a ride which uses voice commands to move the consumer along a journey, putting the user in control – Hey Google, give me a thrill but don’t make me throw up.

Speaking of thrills, a robotic sex aid for women by Ose was banned from this year’s show, which caused uproar on social media. Commentators on Twitter adopted the hashtag #CESGenderBias to debate the organiser’s decision and suggest there was a double standard because male-friendly sex products were displayed at last year’s show.

Despite this biased PR decision which plays into the broader gender discussions in society over the last year, many organisations have quickly adopted policies in their recruitment and business operations that will create a more diverse workforce and empower female leaders. Comms professionals can help tackle the issue by creating strategies that position business leaders from different genders and ethnic backgrounds to be equally represented throughout PR and marketing campaigns.

If one company were to win the award for best stunt, then in my view it has to be Apple. Apple wasn’t even exhibiting at the show, yet it managed to troll the competition with a giant ad on the side of a Las Vegas building, that read: “What happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone.” The obvious dig at privacy standards in the industry puts the pressure firmly on the likes of Facebook, Google and Amazon. Ultimately, I believe consumers are in the process of benefitting from the increase in attention on privacy, as devices become more secure and safe to use. And in one fell swoop it looks like Apple, not Amazon or Google, won the CES comms war.

  1. What’s your career background, in brief?

After graduating Cardiff University with a BA in Journalism, I did an internship with a radio PR agency in North London for a few months. Then I decided it was probably the perfect time to shoot off travelling for a bit, so I did a ski season in St Anton, Austria, before starting my role at Whiteoaks.

  1. What’s the most challenging job you’ve ever had?

Probably my job of selling Jägerbombs while I was at university! It may seem simple, but trying to navigate through crowds and dancefloors of nightclubs with a tray of 15 shots was no easy feat…

  1. What apps, technology items and gadgets can’t you live without?

I couldn’t live without my iPhone. Twitter is my favourite app, mainly for the funny videos.

  1. What’s the best advice you’ve been given? (life or career advice)

I can’t think of a specific piece of advice, but I think Forrest Gump sums it up relatively well with “life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get”.

  1. Name one thing about your job that gives you a sense of satisfaction or makes you leave the office smiling…

Having a good laugh with my team.

  1. Do you personalise your workspace?

Not intentionally, but yes… I came into work wearing a sloth onesie for a charity fundraising day and since then I haven’t been able to live it down, so for my Secret Santa gift I was given a load of sloth merchandise, which is now on my desk. I also currently have a mini Christmas tree because why not, it’s nearly Christmas!

  1. What’s the first thing you do in the office in the morning?

Seek out the coffee – I can barely function otherwise.

  1. What are you reading, watching or listening to at the moment?

I’m watching the new series of Masterchef: The Professionals and RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars 4. I’m a big fan of Drag Race – I spend most of my down-time re-watching episodes of that and Brooklyn 99 on repeat.

Innovate. Transform. Grow. Bold words, but all certainly applicable to Fintech Connect, which bills itself as the UK’s largest fintech trade show. Held at the ExCel in London last week, it didn’t let me down, with speakers and representatives from major institutions like Citigroup to smaller niche players like Smart Valor.

Our agency has a strong heritage in the Fintech space and we’ve represented disruptive firms from across the industry, from Regtech to small business finance and data management to invoice financing. This is an industry landscape that is constantly shape shifting, influenced by the regulation agenda, consumer demand and mobile technologies, to name just a few.

A glance at the speaker sessions and workshops gave just a flavour of the huge variety of solutions on offer: from augmented reality in banking to tokenised investments, the opportunities created by open banking to machine learning. This is an industry that is fertile hunting ground for innovation and it is a source of huge pride to see London and the UK rightly recognised as the perfect base for these sorts of companies to launch, grow and thrive.

I was fortunate enough to speak with a few of the home-grown Fintechs at the event and find out how their transformative technology will meet one or many market needs.

Their passion and belief is admirable, but it also strengthens our own resolve. What is clear to me is that PR is a strategic investment for these firms – it isn’t a budget pot they are willing to fritter away so that they get it again next year. Instead, it drives and supports strategic business direction, from breaking new markets to attracting external investment, increasing sales to generating new leads.

So as we continue to disrupt our industry with our results-driven engagement model, it was heartening to hear that these firms require a communications agency to complement their own company ethos or approach.

As a proof point, have a look at our work with Fraedom, a hugely disruptive B2B firm in the commercial credit cards and spend management space, which earlier this year was acquired by Visa.

Doing things the ‘same old way’ has been a terminal error for businesses in the past – and those working in the financial services and Fintech space know that better than anyone. Different results need different approaches, different ways of thinking and similar disruptive philosophies, which is where I think Whiteoaks truly sets itself apart from the rest.

I’m a Grinch… I freely admit it. Perhaps it’s because I am used to southern hemisphere Christmases complete with sunshine, swimming pools and moaning about the heat (England isn’t my native land). Or perhaps it’s because I’m no longer nine years old and giddy with anticipation waiting to unwrap the wonders that tempt from beneath the tree.

Regardless, there is one thing I do enjoy about this season; that’s the time between Christmas and New Year where there’s time to actually take a breather and sit and enjoy the things you never quite have time for. With that in mind, I’ve surveyed the rest of Team Lynx who are fully embracing the spirit of the season and have compiled a list of what we’ll be enjoying.

Ella – Senior Account Manager

 If there’s one film that I’m sure to watch this holiday season it’s Elf – it’s my favourite Christmas film and has become a bit of a tradition. Not only is it arguably the funniest Christmas film to have been created, it has all the ingredients of a great Christmas film – love, laughter, reuniting family and reviving Christmas spirit.

When it comes to reading, for me it tends to be anything by Dorothy Koomson. I fell in love with her books after reading The Ice Cream Girls and am hoping to get her latest book for Christmas. Another good book I’m reading at the moment is Mindfulness – a practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world by Mark Williams and Danny Penman. Mindfulness is something I’m trying to practice a lot more and it’s a really good book that provides valuable techniques and tricks to help relax and unwind after a hard day’s work and ensure I’m paying more attention to the present moment.

 Fiona – Account Manager

I always loved watching Eastenders from about the age of five until I finally grew out of that phase a couple of years ago. But I always go back to my old habit around this time and tune back into the Christmas special to see which character is departing the Square or who is having the dramatic affair!

I only usually watch Netflix as opposed to live television itself, but one thing I do love over Christmas is the adverts. For me it’s all about analysing how brands change up their strategy to focus on winning the hearts of UK viewers through emotional storytelling (especially when there are animals involved!). It’s also a good idea to compare the most recent ads to those of the past to see how the narratives and themes have changed, and if they truly reflect the year we’ve had.

Courtney – Junior Account Executive

Over the Christmas break I will be lucky enough to be having lunch with my favourite Youtuber, Joan Kim, who is a Korean-American daily vlogger who creates travel videos, skincare reviews and beauty tutorials. I am not someone who watches traditional TV anymore and I find I can relate better to YouTube content and it satisfies my short millennial attention span!

Because I turn to social media for entertainment purposes now, this Christmas I doubt I will be watching too many Christmas classics, but Home Alone has a special place in my heart and I will 100% be dusting off that one.

Emma – Digital Account Lead

I LOVE Christmas. From visiting as many Christmas markets as possible to spreading Christmas cheer (If you’re lucky enough to live near Hook, I’ll be joining the Whiteoaks International Christmas carollers outside Tesco’s in Hook on December 14th at 12.30pm). When it comes to decorating the house, my motto is ‘The more fairy lights, the better!’ After visiting the glitz and glam of New York city at Christmas two years ago, a trip to the famous Dyker Heights Christmas Lights certainly inspired the Christmas razzle-dazzle that I’ve adopted at home. 7,000 spectacular fairy lights cover the garden. My favourite, are a set of homemade orbs recycled from two hanging baskets inspired by this Pinterest Pin.

With several days holiday scheduled in over the Christmas break, I’ll have plenty of time on my hands to find new inspirational people to follow on LinkedIn. I’ll be checking out the UK’s Top Voices as ranked by LinkedIn, as well as look at what hot social media trends have been tipped for #2019.

Jo – Content Creator

A couple of things I always like to do at Christmas are a trip to the cinema and an annual viewing of The Grinch on Christmas Eve with the kids. It is rather fortuitous that The Grinch has been reanimated for the cinema this year, so I can combine the two activities into one!

The Bletchley Girls is on my reading list — it has been waiting on my Kindle since the summer after a visit to Bletchley Park — a place I highly recommend visiting. I also plan to read a TED talks book about writing your business story. I have listened to some amazing TED talks in the past and the one thing that always comes across is the speaker’s passion and interest in their topic. Always looking for new ideas to incorporate into my writing, I hope that this book will inspire me.

Susan – Head of Content (The Grinch)

In addition to spending some quality time with Netflix, I’m looking forward to reading my third Jon Ronson book, The Psychopath Test. This ex-journalist is hilarious in a dry way and presents some scary topics (social media shaming, terrorism) insightfully and humanely, while making it easy to read and not taking away from the severity. He also has a podcast that I might try, while lying on the couch indulging in Christmas cookies. I’m also planning on getting into Michelle Obama’s latest book, Becoming. Generally I’m not a fan of autobiographies, but I do admire this lady (intelligence, poise, personality, all in one!) and am keen to get some insight into her life beyond what we’ve been shown via the media. And I guess, if I absolutely had to choose a Christmas movie… Die Hard (definitely) and Last Holiday (no, not The Holiday), will be on top of the list.

A number of Fintech and digital technology trends are having a big impact on the financial services industry right now. Artificial Intelligence, a strong compliance framework, CRM systems, Blockchain and the subject of this blog, Regulatory Tech which is more commonly termed Regtech. We all know the background: after the financial crisis in 2008, an enormous volume of new regulation and compliance responsibilities were placed on financial institutions. In response, those organisations looked for help from technology start-ups aiming to ensure that they better manage the vast amounts of data and conformity to a myriad of international regulations, including most recently, GDPR and MiFID II.

The Regtech sector has evolved in the last 10 years and the new technologies help compliance professionals to save costs and increase efficiencies on their regulatory burden – and at their best discover that regulation can be a new revenue stream.

The focus areas in 2018 and 2019 are automation, intelligence and data analytics. This combination helps financial companies with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s KYC (Know your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) screening, and transaction monitoring. As a result, the industry is finding that Regtech works better for large institutions – the volume of data required to ‘train’ an AI engine to the stage where it can provide meaningful data analysis is heavy and improves over time.

Yet Regtech has been, often unfairly, dogged by an argument that it will negatively impact on employment prospects and employee satisfaction levels. The current reality is that Regtech shouldn’t and won’t replace professional, qualified and knowledgeable people. The capabilities are meant to take the load on repetitive, expensive, data-heavy jobs and data analysis – in exactly the same way that Business Information (BI) product suites have helped businesses to achieve the same outcome, for many years. Compliance professionals continue to provide consultancy, strategy, data management, risk intelligence and advice, and ultimate oversight of their company’s regulatory approach.

From everything that we see about Regtech, the excitement is in its ability to make it possible for experienced compliance professionals to spend more time doing what they do best, and as a result adding the most value to their business.

But what are the key challenges? Data portability is a Pandora’s box. The dream for clients to easily and seamlessly switching to a service provider with the best offering is often not realised. Most Fintechs arguably are still not working on the same platform as the big financial institutions but with Regtech, that may be about to change. Whilst innovations in customer experience may be seen to be optional, compliance is non-negotiable.

Banks are finding that they must open up their operations, with potential Regtech partners only too happy to oblige. As well as the business, the opportunity provides them with access to years and years of legacy data. Armed with this, they can apply the complex algorithms required to make the bank’s compliance operations more efficient. As the algorithms iterate, they’ll learn and make their own tech business better and more competitive.

Nevertheless, data portability is a huge mental and operational challenge for large financial institutions. It forces them to change everything they thought they so far believed: client data security is paramount and keeping their own business practices utterly confidential is not up for discussion. In fact, recent research by Asset Control, the leader in providing proven, high-performance systems for financial data management, shows that more than a third (37%) of those financial firms think that legacy data platforms are the biggest obstacles to improving their data management and analytics capabilities.

What is data portability? How should it be embedded in the financial company? Who can access the data? These are the key questions for 2019…

—

And for further reading about the current compliance landscape, the Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence team has published their annual ‘Cost of Compliance’ 2018 report, benchmarking opinions from compliance professionals over the last nine years.