Category: Uncategorised

This year has been filled with a lot of change for everyone, from working from home becoming the new normal, to staycations becoming the new holiday. This year really has been filled with the unexpected.

Social channels have been no different —  from the way people have used them, to new updates that have taken audiences by storm. Looking at LinkedIn, for example; it is less business as usual, and more personal with people sharing their experiences from work and their lives. The prim and proper façade that was once everywhere on LinkedIn, has become more chilled as people give a glimpse of life at home and are talking about the struggles everyone is currently facing with job losses and furlough.

LinkedIn isn’t alone – so how have the other channels changed to reflect these user changes?

Instagram introduced reels, which has kept many entertained and become a new way to help share creative content. They also added the new shopping tab at the bottom of their app, making it easier to buy and see products. With  shops shut in lockdown, it seems people have been turning to social media to help fill the void. It has been good to see social media looking to help in times of crisis with the donation tabs for charities,  showing how the platforms are growing.

But does this show that social is becoming the new Highstreet for 2021 as the pandemic changes our shopping habits?

Instagram has also launched the ability to upload guides, showing that they want to be more than just pictures, but a place to share knowledge, especially as the audience has shown a shift towards wanting more substance.

There was also the closer connection made between Instagram and Facebook as they merged the chats, showing how they could see these platforms being used as a way for people to remain connected and made this seamless for everyone to remain connected no matter the platform.

Facebook also saw a gap in the market as physical events become impossible, so they set up the new paid online events for creators and businesses, helping to share knowledge on the platform. Facebook’s new educational hub was another update they added which shows that these channels are becoming more of a place to share knowledge and news that is meaningful to people, rather than filling feeds with pictures from holidays, kids and pets.

LinkedIn has also seen a large number of updates with the introduction of stories, live, reactions, polls, events and the ability to see new followers, this shows where the social channel is growing to allow people to be more interactive with each other, while remaining a professional platform. It is becoming a place for people to share their feelings, insights, opinions and life. These new updates reflect exactly what people have done on the platform in lockdown, as they have become more reactive to one another and have shared more personally on the platform than before and these updates have only made it easier for people to do that. LinkedIn has become more than a place to just share your career updates and company progress, it has become a knowledge-sharing platform professionally and personally as the pandemic has merged the two.

Another platform that has also introduced similar updates is Twitter. The company implemented stories and placed a strong focus on the legitimacy of posts on the platform. They have been seen to put new features in places linking to neutral content to help provide insight and background on some posts and prove the legitimacy of content that is being shared and help users have a greater understanding of what they are reading or sharing. This has been driven by the Black Lives Matter movement and also the US presidential election to help prove the legitimacy of claims on the platform but also make sure that what is shared isn’t offensive to audiences.

All these platform updates show a strong shift to content that is trustworthy. Since March this year, they have evolved into a community to share advice and coping mechanisms for the world we now live in. They have also moved with the times and become more personable, helping people to more easily share updates through stories, voice recording and videos, the channels show growth with the new consumer growth.

Listed below are the key updates on platforms for 2020 to truly reflect the growth these channels have seen since the beginning of the year which is incredible and something we now as audiences see as normal and given when using them:

LinkedIn updates

Reactions

Seeing who new followers are

Inviting people to join the page

LinkedIn Live

LinkedIn Pages Posts

LinkedIn Polls

LinkedIn Stories

LinkedIn Events

 

Twitter updates

Transparency centre

Stories

Audio tweets

Tougher on regulating posts

New ad type –  Promoted Trend Spotlight

Conversation settings

Reply limitation

Read it before you tweet

Mention permissions from users

 

Facebook updates

Ad limits per page

Business suite

Sponsored posts for groups

Educational hub

Paid online events

Messenger rooms- joint call feature

Enhanced privacy settings

Improved post policies

Messengers for Facebook and Instagram merge

 

Instagram updates

Reels

Instagram Shop

Equity update adds transparency to Instagram’s algorithm

Product tags

New app released for businesses

Pin content

Guides

Gift card, food order, and donation tools added for small businesses

Live fundraisers launch with donation button

Improved transparency of high-reach accounts

It’s arrived. Festive food, cheesy films, giant inflatable Santas.

And Christmas ads.

It’s always a bit of a thrill to see how each brand plays it every year. Will they continue a story , make us drool  or make us cringe only to prove we expected it. And how will the classic John Lewis do it, will there be a song, will it be cute, and can I buy slippers with it on?

Particularly though this year, it’s been interesting to see these ads – do they reference the pandemic and social rules we now abide by; or do they ignore it and just treat it like any other year? Every brand has done it differently. I have to say, even watching the latest Netflix drama, I have to momentarily stop myself from thinking, wow they’re not socially distancing, so ingrained it is becoming in our everyday life.

For me Christmas ads have to get the right tone, the right humour as well as understand their audience. I usually like the ones which have a bit of humour without going over the top. A particular favourite from years gone by have been the Curry’s Jeff Goldblum #sparetheact or the Helping you get it right one. Simple, clever with humour that stands out, and right for its target market.

This year, I’ve settled on a brand, in whose stores I don’t shop – purely because it’s too messy and there’s no order. Apparently, there are good deals to be had; no it’s not Primark, it’s TKMaxx. Their ad, for me this year, does it just right. It’s a got a helping of humour, it’s short, clever and has a good end line.

It also has a goat in it. Pretty random but then maybe that reflects the year we’ve had, hinting to the situation – all tied together with a great line “Yes, she’s had such a hard year. She bloomin’ well deserves it if you ask me”. It hits the right balance of escapism, humour and the gentle nod to the elephant in the room. It says we get it. We understand you, and the challenges of this year. So why not treat someone who deserves it.

So with that in mind, put your cute branded slippers on, get yourself a brew, and let the goat do the talking.

2020 has flown by and I know we say it every year, but it really is hard to believe that it’s nearly time to start shopping for the ‘C’ word… With the new countrywide lockdown forcing consumers to do more Christmas shopping online than in previous years, it is important that both consumers and brands are doing their part in ensuring that online tricksters and cybercriminals are unable to supplement their gift budget using our funds.

According to Orberlo, one out of every four people you see around you now is an online shopper, and the number of online shoppers is expected to continue on its growth path and hit 2.14 billion by 2021. In order to stay safe online this Christmas, there are a few precautions that need to be taken. The first is to make sure that any goods that are in your basket are being purchased from legitimate brands. Before buying any bargain gifts online, take a moment just to sense check the brand’s website and online presence as more often than not, things that seem too good to be true, are!

The evolution of the high street and eCommerce has led many customers to purchase goods from social media sites, due to both the speed and convenience of doing so. Visa found that one in four online purchases was made in response to an interaction with a social media outlet. Many of those consumers agreed that they are not as vigilant while shopping online as they believe that social media apps protect customer privacy, which unfortunately isn’t always the case!

Businesses can support here, by taking steps to make sure that they’re actively monitoring their brand’s online activity to spot any counterfeit sites or activity that is using their IP to mislead consumers into purchasing fake items. Accessing sites with counterfeit goods on it can lead to customers’ personal details being compromised and being used for other fraudulent scams, as well as exposing their devices to malware and viruses. The Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report found that, after price, the most critical factor in a customer’s purchasing decision is trust, meaning a loss of consumer trust can be detrimental to the future success of a brand.

For many – myself included – using your card online for payments is second nature. However, research from OpSec Security revealed that nearly half (47%) of consumers are concerned about using their credit card to make online purchases, with the main concerns being the possibility of cybercriminals stealing their personal details, scammers stealing their money and the risk of identity theft. According to UK Finance, fraud losses on UK-issued cards totalled £620.6 million in 2019 – translating to 2,745,539 cases. To prevent being one of those statistics, consumers need to do their research and always ensure they are using secure payment methods recommended by reputable online retailers.

2020 has had the highest number of cyberattacks to date, and the disruption caused by Covid-19 has definitely had an impact on that. With Christmas being a time of joy, both consumers and brands have a responsibility to ensure online shopping is a safe and enjoyable experience, rather than one that ends in tears.

With the result of Tuesday’s closely contested US presidential election still mired in controversy, one certainty is the growing amount of influence brands have had in getting voters’ voices heard.

The 2020 election was fought over the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, the economy and the continuing fight for racial justice – but it may also come to be remembered for being the first time brands really came to fully harness their marketing clout to get the US voting.

Past election statistics show that many Americans don’t make use of their vote, particularly the younger generations. In the 2016 presidential elections, fewer than half of 18 to 29-year-old Americans voted. Remarkably, just under 56% of voting-age Americans did make the effort to cast a vote, a lower rate than recent national elections in South Korea, Mexico and most developed countries.

This time around, brands in the technology, retail and entertainment fields joined forces in an attempt to encourage eligible voters to have their say. With votes still being counted today, it appears to have had a positive impact – turnout was the highest since the Second World War according to early reports, with some projections of a 67% turnout.

Voting advocacy from people outside of traditional politics isn’t a completely new phenomenon in the US. The non-profit Rock the Vote partnered up with MTV in 1990, producing videos with celebrities such as Madonna and Lenny Kravitz that urged network’s young audience to go out and vote. But efforts from brands to get out the vote among their own customers are a more recent development.

Brands’ strategies for this election included creating everything from voting merchandise, to campaigns encouraging the general public to the polls. Some brands paid their employees to work at the polling stations, while others gave them time off to go and cast their vote.

In another new development, messages around how people should vote became more overtly political during the 2020 presidential campaign. The encouragement of voting as a concept is unlikely to upset a company’s customer base as long as it doesn’t endorse a specific candidate, according to The Atlantic.

Considering this, many brands decided to reference the progressive values likely held by their clientele in their messaging over the course of the campaign. For example, Nike sent out a voter-outreach email which simply said: “No more sitting on the side-lines. You can’t stop our voice.”

Focusing on the challenge of securing access to polling stations, Nike partnered with Lyft to offer discounted rides to people who wanted to vote in low turnout areas such as Atlanta, Baltimore and Chicago. This initiative was part of the wider ‘You Can’t Stop Our Voice’ campaign featuring LeBron James.

Other brands that got involved in 2020 included Absolut vodka. In addition to giving staff time off, the brand created a non-partisan, integrated ’Drink Responsibly. #VoteResponsibly’ campaign which delivered the message: ’Vote First, Drink Second.’

The election also saw Reddit’s first-ever brand marketing campaign which fell under its voter engagement initiative, ‘Up The Vote.‘ The creative drew parallels between engagement with content on Reddit and participation in real-life elections.

However, perhaps the most inspired brand contribution to this presidential campaign was the Election Night Survival Kit released by Philadelphia-based Babe Wine to make the tense wait more bearable ahead of the results being announced. As well as a four-pack of wine, the box included a stress-relieving squeeze ball, a ‘scream pillow’ and a box of tissues in case emotions ended up getting a little too fraught.

These may well be needed by many of us as the race to victory comes right down to the wire, with the final votes still being counted. Let’s just hope the huge voter turnout leads to the right choice being made for the country.

By Bekki Bushnell, Associate Director

Some see PR as an art. Some see PR as a science. The truth is that it falls squarely in the middle. There are formulas and processes, and a good deal of creative thinking that goes into making PR successful. As a brand, this success has to be translated into something tangible; because it’s not enough to simply get coverage. You have to justify your investment in PR to your board and you need to prove that it is reaching its goals, be it increased awareness, lead generation, growth, readying for funding or expanding into a new market.

As an agency, we hear often enough in a new business environment that ROI is kind of murky and difficult to see. We challenge that view because we believe ROI in PR isn’t a myth or pipe dream. It’s achievable.

Here’s how:

Focus on activity, not time

The retainer model. You pay for time. It’s the way it’s always been. But that doesn’t make it right. Instead, you should focus on deliverables, tangible outcomes. That way you can see a direct link between what you’re getting from your PR agency and what you’re paying for. Which leads to the next point…

Know what you’re getting

Depending on how your PR campaign is structured, it’s important to know what you’re actually getting for your money. Yes, there will be objectives and outcomes, but specifically, you need to understand what you’re getting from your agency in terms of consultancy, management and deliverables, such as placements, articles, releases, etc.

Build your tactics on a sound strategy

This sounds like a given – having a powerful strategy behind your campaign to shape and guide your tactics. But often, we lose sight of objectives or they aren’t clearly defined in the first place. Having a strong strategy from the outset ensures you stay on track, can adjust as you need to and have a better chance of meeting those goals.

Agree what success looks like

This ties into measurement. Yes, your campaign needs to be measurable and you need specific KPIs in order to measure success. But more than that, you need to be aligned with your PR agency as to what those metrics are and what success for your business and campaign actually means – whether that’s introducing your CEO to the national media or helping the sales team generate new leads.

Be structured but flexible

Your PR campaign should have definite structure to it — that’s expected. But it should also include enough flexibility to adapt to changes within the business or the industry. A lot can happen in six months so having the ability to swap out activity and tweak your campaign is vital.

Find out how we can help with PR, Content, Creative and Social Media and how we can help https://whiteoaks.co.uk/about/

Improve your PR ROI by getting in touch

When was the last time you used cash? It seems like an age ago that we would regularly go to the ATM to withdraw cash so that we could have some spending money on a night out. Now you don’t even need your bank cards to pay for something. You just need your phone or smartwatch and people don’t go anywhere without being connected in some way. It may seem like it wouldn’t be that hard to become a cashless society when we all use contactless for the majority of our payments. So, you may be surprised to hear that there is over 70 billion pounds worth of notes in circulation, that is roughly twice as much as a decade ago or the equivalent of around £1,000 per person. It was only in 2017 that debit cards overtook cash as the most used method of payment in the UK. How easy is it going to be then to become cashless and when will it happen?

Initially, it was thought that we would be cashless by 2035 but with the rapid advancement in technologies such as mobile and digital payments, the prediction has changed to within the next 10 years. But 70 billion pounds in cash can’t just be taken straight out of circulation, it needs to be phased out and that is a huge task. One such event that has accelerated this process is the national lockdown. Cash usage in Britain halved in the first few days of lockdown, according to Link. But this was an extreme reaction to one event that has helped push us towards being cashless but will not be the main reason. There have been many companies pushing for a cashless society for a while. Companies such as Visa and Amex say that becoming cashless will help reduce financial fraud and tax evasion. Then there is Square and iZettle who have seen huge business growth by introducing methods for small businesses to take contactless payments with ease. These companies are the ones that are changing the infrastructure to make it possible to phase out cash.

Despite making great strides towards becoming cashless there are always going to be challenges that need ironing out. Charities are likely to struggle initially, people tend to use cash to make donations and gifts. Tradespeople are often paid in cash as well, but new technologies should allow these small businesses to take mobile and card payments. With an ageing population, there are likely to be age groups that are to be marginalised by going cashless. A study revealed that Brits liked having cash available ‘for peace of mind’. This is evidence that there is still some work to do on our mentality towards cash.

If we were to take inspiration from another country then we should look to Sweden as they aim to become the first cashless society by 2023. It seems apt for Sweden to be the first as they were the first European country to adopt the banknote in 1661. One of the reasons Sweden is set to pioneer is that it has a mobile payments app called Swish that was created by six of the largest banks in Sweden that is becoming the standard method of payment. Another reason is banks are issuing debit cards to everyone over the age of seven – with parental permission, of course. By doing so it ensures that cashless becomes the norm for future generations.

The use of cash will continue to fall over time and whether we like it or not a cashless society is the future, but there are still some big changes needed so that everyone is able to participate and thrive in a digital economy.

The turbulent economy has made recent months uncertain for almost all businesses, and the PR industry is no exception to that. It’s an unfortunate truth that when budget cuts are being made, marketing is often one of the first to be trimmed and as a result, so too is PR. And yet research has shown that companies that have bounced back the fastest from previous recessions usually did not cut their marketing spend, in some cases, they actually increased it. There’s a school of thought that products launched during a recession will have improved long-term survival chances and also higher sales revenues. Of course, having fewer new products to compete with certainly plays a part in this!

There have been some fantastic examples of businesses whose comms have excelled during the coronavirus period, here are a selection of my personal favourites.

Aldi x Brewdog 

https://twitter.com/AldiUK/status/1296488501341499395

You’d have struggled to miss the ‘beef’ between Aldi and Brewdog in August when the supermarket was called out by the brewery for creating a knock-off of its popular Punk IPA. What followed was a master class in using social media to turn an awkward situation into a money maker. The two companies shared a series of exchanges on Twitter which ended in Brewdog producing ALD IPA, now sold in Aldi. Hats off to Brewdog and its co-founder James Watt!

#LetItOutIceland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iWeMPEEuk0&feature=emb_title

It’s a cliché in film and television, a stressed or frustrated individual locks themselves in an empty room and screams so nobody can hear. Inspired by Iceland, the tourism body, launched the #LetItOutIceland campaign in July. The campaign asked everyone to record their guttural screams of frustration with the state of the world to then be released into Iceland’s infamous stunning and vast open spaces.

Speaking about the video, Head of Promote Iceland Sigríður Dögg Guðmundsdóttir said, “We feel this is just what the world needs. And when people are ready to resume travelling, they can come and experience it for themselves.”

An impactful tourism campaign during a global travel lockdown may seem an impossible task, hats off to Inspired by Iceland!

The ironic (and iconic) – Emily Crisps

(Source: https://www.marketingweek.com/emily-crisps-outdoor-advertising-lockdown/)

The healthy snack company purchased a series of outdoor media advert boards late in 2019, selecting April and its Easter bank holiday weekend was the perfect time of year to kick off its first outdoor marketing campaign. They couldn’t have foreseen what came next, but they took an unfortunate situation and did what us Brits do best – they made fun of themselves. It took some convincing to persuade Clear Channel to run the adverts as they felt the posters highlighted that outside media is ineffective given the climate. But Emily persevered and persuaded them otherwise. The four adverts called out the misfortune of running outdoor adverts to an audience of empty streets and they were a huge success, providing a snippet of humour during a difficult time.

As these brands have displayed, creativity in a crisis certainly pays off!

Name, title and how long you’ve been at Whiteoaks

Emily Fishburn (also known as ‘Fishbowl’, a spin on my surname for my love of cocktails), I am Senior Account Executive in Team Taurus and in November I’ll be coming up to four years at Whiteoaks and progressing into a Junior Account Manager role at the end of the year.

In your current role, what does a typical day look like?

Typically, it starts with checking emails and news sites, briefing the content team on their writing for the day, followed by keeping in touch with my team via Microsoft Teams, Zoom and email and catching up with clients on calls.

How did you get into PR?

Once I graduated, I did some work experience at a local marketing agency, where I had the chance to work within each department and found the wide variety of tasks and buzz of the PR department the most exciting. From there my decision was set that I’d aim to work in PR and fortunately found my opportunity to kickstart my career at Whiteoaks as Junior Account Executive for Team Taurus in November 2016.

What did you study and how has it helped you grow your career?

I studied a BA (Hons) degree in business with marketing at the University of Surrey. This degree in particular taught me the importance of keeping up with the news agenda to be aware of the ever-changing world that businesses need to adapt to, which is something that has carried with me into my career. More generally, time management, organisation and writing are also key skills which are instilled in you at uni and helped me to get off to a good start in PR. Whiteoaks is also great in training its employees, I feel the company has always been very invested in me as a person and has always been encouraging and supportive of helping me grow in confidence with these skills to be able to develop in my career.

Why PR?

There’s a lot of great aspects about PR, but for me, I really enjoy the social aspect of networking with journalists and clients and discussing new and interesting ideas. I also enjoy the teamwork aspect of all working towards an end goal, for example seeing a research project through from an initial brainstorm across the content, media and accounts teams, to achieving great coverage of the new and interesting research for the client.

What is the best part of your day?

The best part of the day for me is catching up with clients and my team discussing some of the results we’ve achieved and creating a plan and suggestions for what we’re going to work on next to keep the momentum going.

What advice would you give to people who want to get into PR as a career?

Try to secure some work experience or an internship with a PR agency – you can only get a real understanding and feel for the industry and whether it’s for you through first-hand experience.

What do you like most about your current role?

Using the experience I’ve gained at Whiteoaks  working in varying roles, which has included reporting as a JAE through to pitching to the media in an AE role to advise and support both clients and team members while learning new things from my team members.

What has been your funniest / quirkiest moment in PR?

It’s quite hard to choose! There was one time last summer I turned up to the office early to get a run in before work, then went to change and realised I hadn’t brought the heels I’d planned to wear so spent the whole day in a floral dress with bright blue and neon yellow running trainers – it was a look!

If you didn’t work in PR, what would your ideal job be?

I love a music festival so think it would be quite cool to be a musician travelling to festivals around the world.

Suzanne Griffiths, former managing director of PR agency Whiteoaks International: “Flexible working has long been a buzzword (and contentious issue too) in PR – but the past few months have demonstrated that the industry is more than capable of making it work. That’s not to say there’s a one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, success will depend marrying requirements with the business needs.

Read the full article here.

This week on the PRmoment Podcast I’m talking to James Kelliher, Non-Executive Director (formerly CEO) at Whiteoaks International.

Whiteoaks is a 40 person tech PR agency based in Hook, Hampshire. It has a fee income of approximately £4m.

Listen to the podcast here.