Since the beginning, we have always been a deliberately different kind of B2B tech PR agency. Nearly 30 years ago, we offered our clients a true PR breakthrough: ‘totally transparent PR with proven sales success’.
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We help B2B tech businesses grow, prosper, succeed. For nearly 30 years we’ve been developing and delivering PR, content, creative, media, and digital and social campaigns across a diverse range of clients, including broadcast manufacturing, retail, supply chain and logistics, enterprise IT, cyber security, fintech and fast-growth companies.
Podcasts have been around for a while but over the past 18 months, they have seen a new surge of popularity. Maybe because it was an obvious and easy thing to do while being stuck inside. The Oaksers have been talking about which podcasts they most enjoy listening to. From parenting, PR, to true crime, there are suggestions for everyone to get stuck into.
Tara Williams, HR Manager:
My two favourites at the moment are The HR Uprising and Seeing Red.
The HR Uprising is hosted by Lucinda Carney and explores “hot” HR topics either as a “conversation with” or “in focus”. The in focus episodes delve into a specialist HR subject giving practical advice on how to deliver real value to the business. The conversation with episodes are interviews with experts such as HR professionals, OD or L&D professionals taking about their specialist subjects.
Seeing Red as I am sure you can guess is a true crime podcast! But not just murders and death, they cover heists, scams and unsolved cases too. It’s a male/female duo who take it in turn to tell each other about true crime stories, they did an excellent episode on The Life and Crimes of Kenneth Noye.
John Broy, Chief Client Officer:
I’ve recently found a really good and entertaining running podacast called Running Commentary. It’s Hosted by two comedians, Paul Tonkinson and Rob Deering – who, over the course of 45 minutes or so, talk about all things running and their general day-to-day observations – whilst running. It’s a nice distraction at the end of a busy day.
Ellie Nash, Digital & Social Executive:
Since lockdown, I have discovered a real love for going on long walks around my local Airport and Business Park. I have recently really got into a podcast by YouTubers, Sophia and Cinzia, which is called ‘The Girls Bathroom’. This podcast is almost like an Agony Aunt, where girls across the globe send in their latest boy troubles or any girl chat and gossip. It’s a perfect podcast for a real belly laugh! I love it because it feels like I’m talking to my besties, definitely one to listen out for.
Suzanne Griffiths, Managing Director:
I enjoy listening to RunPod, hosted by Jenni Falconer who interviews a range of special guests all of who have some interest in running.
The guests range from amateurs to Olympians and they all have a fascinating story to tell with lots of different perspectives on the simple hobby of pounding the pavements. Sometimes I’ll listen while running and other times when I need the motivation to get out there! I’ve picked up lots of tips and tricks along the way…as well as some things to avoid!!
I also enjoy listening to The High Performance Podcast which is hosted by Jake Humphrey and a leading organisational psychologist Damian Hughes who works with many sporting organisations to create high performing teams. Their guests include a range of high-achievers from all sorts of different fields and I’ve picked up some great ideas which I’ve rolled out in both my personal and professional life to help to gain the leading edge which these people have achieved.
Hannah Graham, Senior Designer:
I usually don’t get a lot of time at home to listen to podcasts so I usually (pre-Covid!) will take the commute to work as an opportunity to listen to some of my favourites as the 40 minute journey is timed just about perfectly. My top podcast has to be Fearne Cotton’s ‘Happy Place’ – a podcast that sees well known (some not so well known!) people interviewed on the struggles they’ve had in life and how they have overcome them to be in a much better place. It’s a really great listen and offers quite gritty, frank discussions that tackle some difficult. It also is a great podcast that promotes good mental health.
My second (and slightly more light hearted!) go-to podcast is Giovanna Fletcher’s ‘Happy Mum, Happy Baby’ which I’ve been listening to for a few years now. As a parent of a 4 year old myself it’s nice to listen to other people’s journeys to parenthood, how they navigate through every stage of their child/ren growing up, how they’ve changed as people themselves. It also helps massively to know that being a mum is not always plain sailing!
Tom Addison, Senior Marketing Executive:
I’m a big fan of podcasts so have listened to lots of different ones over the years. The one I listen to help with work is Everyone Hates Marketers, aimed at helping you not fall into trap of bad, boring marketing. Another one I listen to just for the lightheartedness and entertainment value is Smartless with Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes – where one of them each week invites a surprise guest on (normally a celebrity friend) to interview. It can be really funny as there is no structure and most of it is just nonsense, just like a conversations down the pub with friends…
Hayley Goff, Chief Operating Officer:
I enjoy and regularly listen to the PR Moment podcast. It’s interesting as its often about a hot topic or issue that we may be experiencing or looking to capitalise on. Also, often from well-known people in industry so calibre of spokesperson is strong.
Hannah Buckley, Head of Content:
As someone who loves to cook (and loves eating even more), my favourite podcast is Off Menu, hosted by comedians Ed Gamble and James Acaster. Each week they have a different celebrity on talking about their dream meal and the choices are always surprising! I dare you to listen to it and not compose your own dream meal as you do!
Susan Richter, Marketing Communications Manager:
I’ve recently discovered a dog training duo that boost their real world training with both videos and podcasts. One of the podcast series is called Sexier than a Squirrel and despite its name, it’s been really useful in understanding my dog’s behaviour and the best thing is that you can listen to it while walking said dog! I also really enjoy Jon Ronson’s series on BBC probably because I love his books, his neurosis and his dry wit!
By Annabelle Tooby, Account Executive
National lockdowns, the rule of six and not forgetting the monotonous ‘hands, face space’ has meant that for the past year and a half socialisation as we know it ground to a halt. But, with large scale festivals, dancing in nightclubs and holidays abroad already starting to return, it seems as though normal(ish) life is nearly within our grasp. And for us in the PR industry, it means we can finally start to get excited about the return of face-to-face events.
Post-Freedom Day, many people are still feeling slightly apprehensive about jumping straight back into office life and eventually the return of F2F events. Who can blame them, after a year dominated by remote working and so many lockdowns in the end we lost count… However, the outlook of the nation is looking encouraging, with 97% of UK sports fans itching to get back into stadiums to watch their favourite teams play once again.
It’s safe to say 2020 shifted the PR landscape more than we could possibly imagine and we were forced to adapt at speed to our ever-increasing digital lifestyle. So, with that, let’s take a look back at the trials and tribulations of online events while also throwing it forward to hopes of F2F returning to their former glory days soon.
Technology is PR’s best friend
With the past year or so stifled by Zoom calls and email-only interaction with journalists and clients, the industry saw a dramatic shift towards virtual events. One of the first organisations to shift its annual global event online was Salesforce, an American cloud-based software company. In the wake of the pandemic, events must go on and Salesforce reported that a whopping 80,000 people live-streamed the event, proving that if done right virtual events can be a huge success.
Compared with the previous year’s in-person event, which only 10,000 people attended, the ability to host online broadened the companies reach 8-fold on this occasion. The only downside with this approach is that no matter how creative, elaborate or entertaining, virtual events just can’t replace the in-person conversations and relationship building that F2F events allow.
Voice of the people
It seems, however, all has not been lost during lockdown as there is a positive optimism surrounding the return of F2F events. In a survey conducted over the past year by events company Freeman, 85% of attendees are hoping to return to F2F events by the end of the year. It is certain that one of the biggest challenges faced by hosts will be to regain the confidence of their audience and to make them feel safe should they choose to attend. To combat this, ensuring events have the correct regulations in place to reassure people will be crucial. Enticing an audience with engaging and exciting events is now more important than ever.
Journalists have also expressed their views on various online forums, with the majority voting to bring back in-person events. As always, there has also been some scepticism and opposition with one journalist commenting that they won’t be risking F2F meetings or events in the event they are “pinged” by the NHS track and trace app. The newly coined term pingdemic has been floating around the media recently and unless double jabbed I am inclined to agree with the journalist on this one – especially when I have a holiday coming up!
But before we throw away our face coverings, ditch the elbow bump greetings and get back into a room with masses of people, let’s first think about what we can expect from PR events in the coming months and even years. Will we converge the in-person event with virtual and present a new era of innovative hybrid events? Definitely food for thought.
Whether you’ll be rushing out the door or stopping in and attending virtually, it’s safe to say that we have all missed the buzz and real-life experience that F2F events bring. Perhaps the best way forward is a hybrid blend, either way, it’s an exciting time of change for PR events.
By Ella Thompson, Senior Account Director
The value of crisis comms has really come to the forefront in recent years for obvious reasons. But having a crisis comms strategy in place encompasses so much more. Most experienced marketers will have dealt with some form of crisis in the past, however large or small, but it’s worth repeating that a crisis, according to the Institute for Crisis Management is a “Significant business disruption which stimulates extensive media (and social media) coverage. The resulting public scrutiny will affect the organisation’s normal operations and also could have a political, legal, financial and governmental impact on the business.”
Undoubtedly there have been many lessons learned from the pandemic, but moving forward, how do those lessons apply to your overall strategy? Taking a step back, there is a multitude of different disruptions that can happen to a business from cybersecurity hacks to natural disasters, and a good crisis comms plan will have a plan of action in place for as many eventualities as possible. In the event of a crisis, the media want the exclusive and this can have an impact on the accuracy of initial reports. This becomes even more difficult for companies because in the social media world, unsubstantiated rumours can be reported as fact and spread quickly, audiences may believe a company is hiding something if it does not respond immediately to a request for information.
There are many pitfalls in dealing with the media in a crisis and plenty of real-life examples from some of the biggest companies in the world on how not to handle a crisis. First off, you need to reach your target audiences quickly and minimise the spread of misinformation. Regardless of how much you know at the time, it’s important to take action quickly, stick to the facts, don’t speculate on what could have caused the crisis or the extent of it because that is when misinformation can spread. Your spokespeople need to be responsive and offer straightforward and accurate information.
While external communications with the media are important, internal communications should play a big part in your plan as well. Your employees need to know what is happening. By doing this you avoid your employees speculating about what is happening and therefore reduce the spread of misinformation. It can also be very important for morale. If your employees feel that they are being kept in the dark then this will not endear them to the company and you could see people’s loyalty waiver. Therefore, it is important to have a dedicated resource or channel to communicate with employees and respond to their desire for information.
One of the major changes to crisis comms over time is the speed in which you are expected to respond to crises – over 20 years ago information didn’t spread nearly as quickly, so companies would have far more time to gather the information on what has happened and then make a statement. Nowadays in the age of social media and rapid news cycles, companies have to react quickly to these problems. They need to act quickly and state what they know then gather as much information as possible to stay on top on the spread of misinformation. Social media has now become the main source of communicating with their stakeholders, allowing the company to quickly reach a large proportion of their audience.
Although the channels and speed at which you need to communicate your message during a crisis have changed quite drastically – the core principles of crisis communication will stay the same over time:
– Plan for tomorrow
– Respond rapidly
– Work with local authorities
– Position your management front and centre
– What you say must reflect what you do
– Be open and honest
– Demonstrate concern and convey integrity
– Speak with one voice
– Talk to stakeholders directly
If the future of crisis communications follows in the same path that it has taken so far then it is imperative for companies to have a comprehensive plan that allows them to adapt, change and communicate effectively in the event of any crisis. Companies are being held to account of their actions now more than ever and they are given less time to explain themselves – but if you stick to the core principles then it could be the difference between success and failure.
A crisis doesn’t mean the end for a company, it is how they deal with that crisis that determines their outcome.
It is often said that consumers buy based on emotion and business buyers make decisions based on logic.
But how true is this? While these assumptions are often taken as fact some studies suggest otherwise.
This eBook explores the changes in B2B buying drivers, the role of humanisation in B2B tech, and the impact this has on B2B PR and marketing strategies.
Download the eBook
By Hannah Buckley, Head of Content
A popular topic of discussion in the world of PR and marketing is the role of content and the question ‘is content still king?’ is one that comes up from time to time. For us at Whiteoaks, there is no doubt that content is still king. After all, what else could you rely on to do everything from building trust with your audience and guiding customers through the sales funnel, to demonstrating your expertise and boosting brand awareness?
Content is multifaceted and, with a solid content strategy directing your efforts, every single piece can open you up to a world of opportunity.
No matter your business objectives, whether it’s increasing brand awareness, community engagement, lead generation, or anything else, a well-executed content strategy will set the stage for success and help you achieve your goals.
When it comes to content marketing, for example, those who have a strategy in place are much more likely to be in the category of successful companies, according to a recent Statista report.
So how does that play out in the real world? With 70% of B2B decision-makers saying that content marketing has helped them achieve their lead generation goals, let’s see how you can align your content strategy with this goal…
#1 Define your target audience
If you’re aiming to generate leads, the starting point is ensuring you can reach your intended audience. This means developing personas which encapsulate who those audiences are so that their needs and wants are front of mind when it comes to what you create and how you share it. This will help to ensure your content not only reaches them but also resonates.
By segmenting your audience based on these personas, you can tailor your content more precisely to meet their different needs. As experts in your industry, you understand the challenges your customers are facing, therefore, you can align certain pain points to different segments and create content with the intention of helping them to overcome those issues.
Taking this approach will also help to cement your identity as an authority within your industry.
#2 Nurture the relationship
A vital part of content marketing is understanding that different content is needed for each of the different stages of the buyers’ journey. After all, the requirements and intentions of someone at the awareness stage are likely to be very different to those of someone who is almost at the point of making a decision about whether to buy from you. As such, this should be a key consideration of your content strategy to ensure you influence leads and nurture the relationship.
Mapping out the different stages of the journey and determining what types of content are right for each stage, whether that’s evergreen content you’ve produced previously or new content you need to create, will help you with this and will be crucial to achieve your ultimate goal of turning a lead into a customer.
#3 There’s more than one channel
From print media, such as trade publications, and third-party websites, to social networking sites and your own blog, there are a great many channels on which you can now share content in its many guises.
By understanding how your target audience interacts with each channel, the types of content that perform well on each and what they want from content, you can share content to greater effect.
Some channels may be more effective at generating leads at different points in your campaign. By monitoring this, you can ensure your efforts are optimised and each channel is used as effectively as possible.
#4 Don’t stop once you convert…
A vital point to remember about using content for lead generation is that engagement shouldn’t stop purely because you’ve managed to convert. Rather, content is key to retention.
Your customers are also an excellent source of content as once you’ve built that relationship you can approach them for testimonials which you can then feed into your content strategy and use for future lead generation. With research finding that testimonials can help businesses generate 62% more revenue from every customer, it’s certainly a valuable type of content to have at your disposal!
As you can see, when it comes to content, the possibilities are endless and armed with an expertly crafted and well-executed content strategy you can make the most of every opportunity it presents.
Are you looking for ways to maximise the ROI you’re getting on your PR & marketing investment?
Download this eBook to discover top tips across PR, social and digital:
One of the hardest things as a marketer is ensuring that every penny you spend is going towards your overall goal, such as generating new leads, reaching new audiences, increasing brand awareness, creating new content or improving customer value.
We’ve created this eBook to help give you some quick-fire ways to make sure you’re not missing a trick when it comes to boosting ROI. In this eBook you’ll find:
– 5 steps to better PR ROI
– 5 ways to succeed at media interviews
– 4 ways to make social work harder for your business
– 7 things to expect from your PR agency
– 6 ways Whiteoaks is deliberately different
By Adam George, Finance Director
Name, job title and how long have you been at Whiteoaks?
Adam George, Finance Director, six years.
What’s your career background, in brief?
Prior to moving to Whiteoaks, I spent 12 years working in finance for a London based recruitment agency. I started in a very junior role and worked my way up to become CFO during my last few years. I also have a relatively strong background in payroll which is where I started my career many moons ago.
What did you study and how has it helped you grow your career?
I actually studied History at degree level. Whilst this didn’t directly impact my subsequent finance career, it did give me a great basis in creative writing and written communication which has helped make me a more rounded professional. To supplement my career, I also completed the ACCA accounting qualification a few years back.
What’s the most challenging job you’ve ever had?
Without a doubt, the most challenging job I had was my very first job working in an industrial laundrette. I worked on a conveyor sorting dirty laundry from hotels and restaurants. Hot, dirty and smelly.
What apps, technology items and gadgets can’t you live without?
That’s got to be my PS5 – perfect for unwinding. I suppose my phone too, much as I hate admitting it.
What’s the best advice you’ve been given?
Life is too short to let the little things get to you. Why bother spending time and energy getting worked up about something that won’t matter in 5 minutes time?
What are you reading, watching or listening to at the moment?
I’m reading Michael J. Fox’s recent autobiography, ‘No Time Like The Future’ currently. I’ve always been a fan and respect the fact he’s not allowed a debilitating illness to impact his career and instead used it to raise awareness and funding for Parkinson’s Disease.
We love to binge-watch series, so currently we are working our way through Parks and Recreation which I somehow missed during its original run and, just to balance things out, we’re also watching Series 3 of The Killing (love a Scandi Noir).
Music-wise, I’ve always been a fan of dance music, Prodigy albums are never far away from rotation on Spotify!
If you didn’t work in finance, what would your ideal job be?
When I was a kid, I really wanted to be a rally driver.
As pandemic restrictions have continued to ease in recent months, our content creators, much like everyone else, have been making the most of the return to freedom. For periods of downtime however, we’ve not squandered the opportunity to delve into a good book, watch some fascinating TV series and even perfect our cooking skills! Here’s the rundown from the team:
Ollie
I’ve just finished reading Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell. It’s the tale of a fictional band’s sudden rise to fame – and subsequent fall – during the late 60s. Some of the dialogue is a bit wooden and there are some cheesy and predictable moments, but despite these flaws I actually found the book hugely enjoyable. You get the impression Mitchell had a lot of fun researching the era, trying to capture the zeitgeist and making this fictional band’s story come alive among real life characters and events.
Next up is A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles which is about a Russian aristocrat living under house arrest. Can’t think why I put off reading this one during lockdown…
Natalia
Being a self-proclaimed chef, I always dive deep into my quite large collection of cookbooks. As I wasn’t able to celebrate all the birthdays and anniversaries over the past 18 months with the usual tour-the-hidden-restaurants, I transformed my kitchen into a very messy food sanctuary. I’m currently trying out Mauritian recipes from my signed copy of Sunshine On a Plate by MasterChef winner Shelina Permalloo. Truly great fusion cuisine with African, Asian, and European influences, perfect for sharing, and those who have to follow a gluten/dairy-free diet like me.
In between flicking through cookbooks and, of course, football, I got to enjoy a good binge-watch session on Netflix. A thriller mini-series The Woods based on Harlan Coben’s bestselling novel kept me in suspense, biting my nails and munching on toffee popcorn. If like me you can’t wait to get hooked on the next intriguing mystery, and don’t mind English dubbing or subtitles, I can recommend this absorbing, well-written piece of Polish cinematography. Whilst I’m tempted to re-watch Lucifer for the 3rd time, I promised my friends to catch up on The West Wing, a gripping American political drama from the early 2000s. Off to buy some more popcorn then!
Alex
Listening to music has always been one of my favourite ways to escape stresses of daily life, and it’s proven no different in 2021 during lockdown and restrictions. New albums by Wolf Alice, Royal Blood and Twenty One Pilots have been on repeat on my Spotify! Euro 2020 fever has also struck me during the last few weeks and I’ve enjoyed listening to the Peter Crouch Euros Podcast on BBC Sounds as they take a light-hearted analysis on games in the tournament. I’m currently reading Born to be Mild by Rob Temple, an autobiographical journey by the man behind the popular Very British Problems profile on social media.
Hannah
We’ve recently moved house, so I’ve been watching a lot of short programmes to keep me entertained while decorating. At the moment, that’s Younger, a show about a woman in her 40s who pretends to be in her 20s to get a job in publishing. Looking a bit further ahead, I’m very excited that not one, but two(!) film adaptations of Jane Austen’s Persuasion (my favourite book!) are currently in the works. It’ll be a while before we get to see the finished results but I can’t wait to see what they do with Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth’s story!
I’m also reading the award-winning Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell. It’s a bit of a departure from what I usually read but I’m enjoying it so far!
Richard
I really enjoy reading history and biography and am currently combining the two by working my way through a book about Clement Attlee called Citizen Clem. It is a fascinating insight not only into Attlee’s life but also into 20th century Britain. I’d highly recommend it. In terms of television, I’m a huge armchair sports fan and I’ve been following the Euros avidly but also keeping in touch with all the latest from Wimbledon and the international cricket. Great escapism in these stressful times.
Hugh
I’ve gone back to The Times Atlas of World History, starting from the bit where it’s all pictures of skull fragments and hairy hominin ancestors. I’ve got as far as the destruction of Mycenae and Knossos, which remains mysterious. I was dipping in and out, but the chronological approach is more fulfilling.
I’ve also been catching up on Ed Reardon’s Week on BBC Sounds. A journalist colleague once compared me with the irascible, feckless, ale and cricket-loving hack writer Ed Reardon and I was sadly proud.