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Every day we’re confronted with waves of content. Whether it’s push notifications on your personal device teasing you towards new content, advertising campaigns, browsing or discovering the web at your own leisure. Content is a 24/7 industry, 365 days a year. We know that due to the rise of mobile and superfast 4G – with 5G just over the horizon – we’re consuming more content than ever before. But just how much? IPA data shows that in the UK, adults spend, on average, eight hours a day consuming media. That’s almost half of most people’s waking hours. Unsurprisingly, watching TV/online video takes the top spot, taking up four hours 30 minutes of time every day. Social media accounts for almost three hours a day and the internet, just over two hours. And, as you may not be surprised to know, social media consumption increases to nearly four hours each day for 15-34-year-olds.

Social media landscape

Social media is no longer the new kid on the block, but the king of the playground with people spending more time than ever connecting, interacting, discovering and browsing. At an all-time high, 83% of the UK population use social media. So how can a brand in the B2B sector use social to its advantage? Tapping into the power of social media means different things to different organisations, and quite rightly so, depending on a company’s vision and business strategy. From snappy, informative customer service feeds, to ultimate brand and influencer feeds. But what unites them is the opportunity to reach a desired audience, grow the personality and voice of a brand and convert business. It gives an organisation the power to interact, engage and learn from its customers and followers. It also provides the opportunity to build trust – something which should never be taken lightly.

For any B2B firm, running a brand-owned social media channel across one or multiple social accounts, can be challenging. The need to keep them consistently performing at optimum and aligned to social and business objectives never stops. The trick is continuous testing, evaluating, learning and – the most important part – acting. By far one of my personal favourite aspects of social media as a communications method, is the analytics capability and the insights I can gather for our clients. It gives me, and other professionals like me, the authority to make a difference, demonstrate business impact and prove the value of social.

Content is key

There is perhaps a simple social media basic that is sometimes overlooked. Content. You can’t have one without the other. Content is the fuel that drives a channel and the channel is needed to share the message and amplify reach. Whether the content is a press release, blog, long-form video, or whitepaper. Social media thrives on content especially when applied with a native platform approach in mind.

It’s not as simple as just posting good content. Every post shared must be accompanied with an aligned social tile, such as a graphic, photo, chart, GIF or short video. It’s a ‘no brainer’; social posts shared with images have a greater impact. This is true for every social channel: tweets with images receive 150% more retweets than those without and Facebook posts with images receive over double the amount of engagement than those that don’t.

It’s important to remember that social tiles should, in most cases, be designed for each specific platform. The varying size dimensions should be respected, algorithms considered, and the imagery used should resonate best with the audience to encourage engagement.

Digital first? Or digital together?

Standalone digital campaigns sometimes have a place. If done well, they can reach millions of people at the fraction of the cost of traditional marketing activities. We’re starting to see more companies lead with digital-only campaigns, particularly in the B2C sector. I believe that B2B brands with a strong digital presence could follow suit in the not-too-distant future. This autumn, Marks & Spencer ditched its broadcast budget in favour of a digital only campaign – Marks & Spencer Must Have. By combining its social media activity with paid search, SEO and other digital tactics the campaign will certainly reach its desired audience.

Yet my view is that, for the most part, when well-thought through digital campaigns are partnered and layered with other marketing activities, more input will mean more results, and the campaign really comes to life. The holy grail of marketing is an integrated campaign. Easy to say, but sometimes harder to achieve. In the UK, research from Kantar finds integrated campaigns are 31% more effective at building brands. And messages are more effective when repeated. So, let’s consider, that eight-hour window again… When all external promotional avenues align one with a piece of content from a campaign, that’s manipulated, customised and designed accordingly, it’s no longer a small piece of content in an eight-hour ocean. It becomes a powerful set of messages. A memorable message with cut-through.

Ross Walker, Head of Social & Digital

Deliver Integrated Campaigns

If you were to judge the health of a sector on headlines alone, 2018 has not been a great year for retailers.

House of Fraser, Homebase and Debenhams are among the big brands to fall on bad times.

The Centre for Retail Research reports that 23 UK retailers have failed during the first half of the year, with more than 1,800 stores and nearly 21,000 workers affected.

High rents, lower consumer spending and a weak currency have all been blamed for the downfall of brands which have stood proudly on the nation’s high streets and retail parks for many years.

But as we all know, it’s the rise of online retailers and e-commerce which has perhaps had the biggest impact.

The success of Amazon is well documented, its growth seemingly unstoppable.

Alongside its stunning financial success – this week it became only the second company to be valued by Wall Street at $1tn – Amazon has maintained a good reputation among British shoppers, and recently won the accolade of the UK’s most reputable retailer. According to research from The Reputation Institute, Amazon was voted top retailer for products and services, innovation, leadership and performance.

It is the continual innovation of Amazon and its use of technology which has made it the envy of the retail world.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has played a key role at Amazon for many years – it was one of the first companies to use the technology to drive its product recommendations. AI is at the heart of more recent product innovation at Amazon – the popular Echo device is now a feature in millions of UK homes and features AI bot Alexa.

But it’s not just the big online retailers which are using the power of AI to drive innovation.

Many of our clients at Whiteoaks are helping retailers use the technology to drive efficiencies and enhance customer experience.

One such client is global reviews and customer insights company Feefo, which offers retailers an AI-powered online reviews platform, to gain unrivalled customer insight and make smarter business decisions.

The Feefo Smart Themes plug-in helps the customers of its clients instantly find the most relevant and useful information they’re looking for from all the reviews, in real-time.

AI also drives the smart reporting tool, Performance Profiling, which provides unrivalled insights into product and service performance throughout the customer journey, including detailed understanding of strengths and weaknesses along with valuable business intelligence.

While the subject of AI may seem alien to many smaller, independent retailers, innovative companies such as Feefo are demonstrating how their solutions can help retailers of any size stay ahead of the competition and improve their business prospects.

AI has a remarkable ability to spot patterns and shifts in data – retailers which fail to invest in such technology risk missing changes in consumer behaviour, and ultimately, risk losing their customers for good.

The UK has long been and is still a hotbed of innovation. The sheer volume and diversity of disruptive businesses being started, invested in or sold here is testament to this.

London is often the epicentre, but I’ve had the fortune of meeting – and discussing growth strategies with – firms up and down the UK, from Cambridge to Cornwall, Edinburgh to Derry. It makes tech PR a hugely dynamic and exciting place to work in 2018.

Communications consultancy is one of those strategic support services that must be considered as to whether it’s relevant for businesses of all sizes, but it’s a particularly important question for businesses in scale-up mode for many reasons. Not least because it is a major investment for firms that might be far more inclined to put money towards R&D, staffing or premises first.

The first question any fast-growth tech company should ask themselves is “what do I want PR to achieve?”. This may sound a fundamental question, but too often it is ignored by businesses that embark on a PR campaign because they feel they should, or they have been told to by people outside of the company to do so. Worse, it often results in sending out a press release every once and a while to journalists who, with the best will in the world, have never heard of said company, receive (honestly) hundreds of similar news releases, and are therefore are far less likely to report on the announcement.

This creates a vicious cycle.

With no coverage generated, leading to no inbound phone calls, PR can be viewed as a waste of spend, and effectively kill any debate around ramping up budget for some time. For any marketing professional joining these firms, it can be a frustrating experience.

We believe there is a better way, as our credentials below explain. The starting point for all our campaigns is to define business objectives – and this is where it gets interesting for fast-growth businesses, as we believe PR should be fundamental to achieving that growth.

Whiteoaks International – Retail Creds from Whiteoaks International

We have worked with clients looking for very specific outcomes; building towards their Series A funding, creating a pathway towards an IPO, looking to double sales or increasing the number of channel partners on their books – and sometimes, all of these goals at once. Each of these objectives would require a very different set of tactical recommendations, using a number of different channels – not just PR. Importantly, by being far more targeted, the ability to measure outputs attributable to PR increases exponentially.

What’s more, the robust, reader-centred content needed to generate results in traditional PR, including media relations, should drive the content chosen across the marketing mix, including web content, social media and sales materials. This adds value to the business and increases overall return on investment in PR and marketing communications.

But don’t just take my word for it. Simon Draper, a serial entrepreneur who has grown and sold tech businesses for over a decade, co-founder of our client Hastee Pay, which is revolutionising the way individuals are paid and access short-term finance. He told me: “PR is a significant investment for Hastee Pay and has a tangible impact on our business goals, which is why Whiteoaks’ approach appealed to us. It isn’t just PR for the sake of it.”

For Hastee Pay, PR needs to be extremely targeted at the HR sector, leading to a specific set of tactical recommendations that deliver on this aim. Cyber security leader, Glasswall Solutions, meanwhile, has become known for its ability to provide unique protection against advanced and zero-day targeted cyber threats, and dominates the national and broadcast media whenever there is a cyber attack.

For businesses at an aggressive growth stage of their maturity, the perceived lack of transparency around what they are getting for their PR investment is also a huge stumbling block. These types of companies aren’t interested in buying a certain number of hours on a retainer; it just isn’t the language they speak.

This is why our approach of set fees for set deliverables, linked to clear performance commitments underpinned by a formal service level agreement, continues to resonate so well with the UK’s fastest growing tech firms.

Working on the business development side of our business, organisations we speak to tend to have had one of two experiences regarding PR:

They have never invested before – and therefore like the certainty that we can offer in terms of transparency and commitment to results. Oh, and if we fail to deliver what we said we would, they get their money back;
Or they have invested in PR before and been burned by the retainer-based approach, for all the reasons outlined above.

I would encourage any fast-growth firm considering PR investment to first ask themselves how it can aid their growth plans, not accepting any set of recommendations until the agency can directly prove a link between what they are doing and the company’s goals. It sounds simple, but fluffy PR justified through filling out a timesheet simply doesn’t cut it any more.

To hear more about the fast-growth tech firms Whiteoaks represents and discuss how we could help your organisation, click here to contact us.

Bekki Bushnell, Head of Business Development

Deliver Integrated Campaigns

Who are you? And what’s your job at Whiteoaks?

Hi, I’m Samantha and I’m the Digital Account Executive for Team Taurus.

What does your daily to-do list look like?

Generally, my day can vary quite a lot. But there are few tasks that are consistent, like scheduling clients’ social posts and engaging with their social communities, making schedules for the following week and generally keeping the social media channels up to date. But each day is different and can be unpredictable, which I like. This can be a bit challenging and my to-do list always changes — but I do love crossing things off when they’re done.

What made you want to get into PR and communications?

After studying English Literature at University, I felt I had a lot of options open to me yet no defined path. Therefore, I decided that an internship in the US was best for me. I worked on a media company’s website and social media feeds and this led to my interest in PR and communications. After completing the internship I decided that I wanted to pursue this career path in the future.

Who is your favourite brand and why?

Picking a favourite brand is hard as this changes all the time with me. If I HAD to choose my current favourite brand it would be Gucci, an expensive obsession, but with its new designer Alessandro Michele and his rebrand, I don’t think anyone can help but obsess over this brand. I must admit though that I’m not overly loyal; it’s either my style or it isn’t. As a result, my favourite brands fluctuate regularly.

What’s your top tip for someone who wants to get into the PR industry?

PR is an extremely fast-paced industry and staying current both with the news and the industry itself will definitely benefit anyone trying to get into PR. When breaking into the industry, I think gaining as much experience outside of education as possible is essential. I think my job in itself is an example of there being many different ways into the industry as it is not the most traditional role within PR but very current to the digital age of today.

How do you unwind after a day in the office?

My normal evenings will involve going to the gym or yoga which tires me out and prepares me for an evening winding down, watching one of my favourite series, which at the moment is Gossip Girl or Vampire Diaries. However, if Suits is on that night then it obviously takes priority.

What’s your favourite anthem suggestion for Friday’s Whiteoaks Power Hour?

This would have to be an old-school Beyoncé song; nothing like Queen B to put you in a good Friday mood.

If you could be any character in any film, what would you be?

Maybe not quite a movie but surely this is allowed as Sex in the City was made into two movies (the third isn’t going ahead, much to my disappointment)…. It would be Carrie Bradshaw. She’s smart, gets Mr Big and who wouldn’t want her wardrobe? Most importantly though, she lives in New York City in a penthouse and isn’t that the dream?! For me anyway…

What’s your ideal getaway location?

This would be dependent on the season. In the winter my ideal getaway will always be skiing in Meribel, a French Ski Resort, as there’s no better escape than the Alps. In the summer, New York City is my ultimate getaway purely for the shopping, good weather and endless rooftop bars with views to die for.

What’s your go-to party trick?

I should probably make up some extravagant trick, but I’m scared somebody may ask me to do this so I’m going to be brutally honest instead. I am not generally the most extroverted, so would shy away from having a party trick at all…

And finally, cheesy chips?

Definitely a Yes! A throwback to my Uni days.

The question: “how technology affects our lives?” is one that has many answers — not all of which can be covered in one blog. But I will have a go at explaining some of the ways that technology has changed our everyday lives.

Some people argue that technology is making the world a better place, while others say that technology is having the opposite effect. Let’s explore both sides.

For almost all of us, technology plays an invaluable part in our normal day. We use technology from the time we wake up to when we go to sleep. A recent study by Ofcom found that Britons check their phones on average every 12 minutes. This is something I can relate to; I’m woken up in the morning by the alarm on my phone, so it’s the first thing I look at and it’s also most likely the last thing I look at before I go to sleep. This might seem like an unhealthy habit but having a phone that can allow me to manage my life and connect with anyone that I know, regardless of where they are in the world, has meant that I have been able to show friends and family experiences and moments that they would never have seen if it wasn’t for technology. But there are wider benefits, beyond social ones.

Technology has also helped the world in more significant ways than people checking Instagram to see how many likes they got from a photo they took of their dinner last night. Today’s smartphones can be used as health monitors as they can measure your heart rate and tell you when you should be active, among other features. Technology has also helped develop medicine and produce drugs, such as the vaccine for polio, which has seen a drop of 99.9% in the number of cases since 1988. Pacemakers can now be fitted with Wi-Fi capabilities that allow data to be sent from the person fitted with the pacemaker to a certain hospital giving the doctors real-time updates of the individuals condition.

Projects being led by Health Data Research UK funded with £37.5 million via the Industrial Strategy Challenge fund have set up Digital Innovations Hubs with the aim to utilise scientific information and emerging technologies to develop new drugs and devices. This could lead to major discoveries that will impact people’s lives forever, be it longer life expectancy in third world countries or helping people with long-term illnesses experience a higher quality of life.

On the other hand, it can be argued that technology has made the world a worse place. The amount of data that is collected on citizens, combined with cases of cyber-attacks doubling in 2017, has meant some people feel more vulnerable about their personal information getting into the hands of the wrong people. Especially with medical information, highlighted by the NHS WannaCry hack last year that disrupted hospitals and reportedly put lives at risk.

Technology is also impacting on our mental health. It can also be said that even though we can be connected to anyone, anywhere and have endless information available to us, technology is making us as a society more unsociable. A lot of the time people choose to engage with their phones instead of engaging in conversation with the person next to them, which can lead to social isolation, anxiety and depression.

Cyber-bullying is also a much bigger problem than it was 10 years ago, with one in eight young people in the UK being bullied on social media in 2017 according to Ofcom.

There is an app for everything – even to help people with mental health issues with apps such as Calm and meditation apps like Headspace. These apps can give people access to help that they wouldn’t have been able to access before. With a little bit of faith in humanity, you’ll see that there will always be people trying to work against misuse of technology to see that it is used for the greater good. The rise of cyber-crime has been met with a rise in the number of cyber-security firms working to protect personal data and data belonging to businesses.

I believe if we choose not to accept or invest in technology, we will stagnate and be left behind while others embrace technology and reap the benefits of it.

There has been a lot of discussion and debate about the future of PR, but perhaps none so telling as the latest move by Bournemouth University. From Autumn 2018, the University has announced it will no longer be accepting new entrants to its BA (Hons) Public Relations degree – a move that has sent shockwaves through the PR world.

Speaking as one of the 2011 course graduates, I have to say, the news comes as a surprise. Not only is the course at Bournemouth the UK’s longest-established BA degree in Public Relations, but it has become a hub of PR talent – producing a string of high calibre graduates that are sought after by companies and agencies alike.

And Bournemouth is not alone. The PR course at Edinburgh Napier University is also set to close, while the University of West London no longer offers one. So why are so many universities closing their doors to PR-only courses and what does this mean for our industry?

According to PR Week, the latest ‘State of the Profession’ figures show that just 17% of PR practitioners have degrees in PR or comms, while 57% have degrees in another subject. A quick poll around the office here at Whiteoaks paints a similar picture – only two members of the office have a degree in PR. So, is it just the case that PR degrees are no longer needed?

Not necessarily. There’s no denying that having a degree in PR certainly helps, but what I’ve learnt is that it isn’t a prerequisite for getting a job in PR. Instead, employers tend to favour particular skills and attributes in line with their company culture and any relevant work experience gained in a similar position. Of course, that’s not to say there’s no longer a role for the PR degree, just that a number of skills needed in PR – like communications and relationship building – can often be found across other disciplines too.

Instead of signifying what some may see as ‘the end of PR’, what the decision does indicate is a wider shift towards the integration of PR and marketing. In the case of Bournemouth, rather than standing as its own discipline, PR will now be included as an element in a wider marketing degree.

Speaking about the decision, Dr Darren Lilleker, who heads the corporate and marketing communication academic department at Bournemouth University, said the changes were being made “in line with industry trends and the integration of advertising and public relations into a broader communication framework”.

What this suggests is the fusion of three industries – advertising, marketing and PR – a trend we’re certainly seeing more and more among our client base. Long gone are the days when marketing and PR were viewed in isolation. Today, we’re increasingly running integrated campaigns for clients consisting of earned, owned, paid and shared media.

I believe we’re entering a new era of communication; one where the lines between marketing, PR and, to an extent, advertising, are increasingly blurred. The advent of social media and branded content means that no longer can the three disciplines be viewed in isolation. And as, Paul Holmes, founder of The Holmes report commented “The PR industry will have to adapt to a world in which the lines between paid, earned, owned and shared media are not only blurring, but largely irrelevant in the minds of consumers”.

Our industry changes every day, and not all change is bad. In this new landscape, content is still king – and it’s in this environment that PR professionals have the opportunity to step up and take the lead. The main focus should be on achieving communication objectives through whatever means that might be.

When you’re currently operating from one country with a great PR or integrated marketing agency on board, taking the leap to an organisation that wants to expand to other territories is, well, a big leap. If your company fits or is about to fit this bill, there are some questions to ask yourself. How do you know when to expand your PR and marketing efforts to complement the business expansion? What are the indicators which tell you that multinational PR and communications is a good use of your time and budget in the short to medium term? This article sets out to help you along that decision-making process.

The two main options

If the following two routes sound familiar to you, you’re not alone. At a minimum level, you could consider distributing company news to international newswires from HQ and/or working with in-country freelancers. This level of international PR is hard work – translating or approving copy and managing that freelance network – but it’s relatively low cost, low risk and flexible. It may suit some companies at the beginning or test phases of international expansion.

At the other end of the scale, full-service international PR may seem like the next step. This route however best suits mid-to-large sized multinational companies, for many reasons:

To make it work, you need a local sales team, who can efficiently do the comparative job of your home country’s sales team;
An office or sufficient operational structure with a meaningful presence in each additional country;
The time and resource, in-house, to effectively brief, manage and deliver the PR and marketing campaigns; and
Budget – here, I’d say money does matter to a degree. Your company needs to have ‘enough’ money to allow each in-country agency to focus on making sure your business scales, reaches and achieves company goals in local markets.

Working with us in this way means that we deliver you our International Performance Management (IPM ), agency-agnostic approach. There are four different options, from working with some of the pre-selected, independently owned and managed WIN PR Group agencies, one of which is Whiteoaks, to mixing and matching us with other agencies that you may have an existing relationship with.

But, back to the budget.

For example, if you spend £5k per month in the UK or your home country on a PR and communications agency. A lot of prospective and existing clients tell me that they can allocate around £2k, maybe £3k each for example, for an agency in Benelux, France, Germany and the Nordics. You can choose to do this, but I think it’s simply not going to change anything. It’s not enough budget to deliver the same or similar effect that you already experience in your home country.
My recommendation is that you need to match your UK or home country monthly agency spend if you plan to expand into countries including those primary key European markets that I mentioned earlier. This also applies to the Middle East, Africa and some of the smaller Asia-Pacific markets
In the US and larger countries in Asia like China and Japan, I’d recommend doubling that home country monthly budget.

The genuine alternative

For fast-growth, innovative tech brands, that kind of budget is simply not achievable at this mid-point in their lifecycle, but an extra £2k or £3k per month can still present you with options to achieve change. Working with your UK or native country’s PR and communications agency to develop an integrated marketing programme where PR doesn’t mean only media relations, you can for example develop and execute:

A robust content marketing strategy, which works hard to re-purpose themes and tailor content for other countries local variances;
Campaigns and targeted problem-solving thought leadership in the trade media and for hand-picked contacts in the broader print and online press in English-speaking countries. Working from the UK to drive a client’s expansion in the US works well here, for example:
- - We’ve been working with Fraedom, a fintech provider for banks and global businesses, for the last 12 months, developing and delivering thought leadership programmes and research-driven news campaigns in the UK and the US
  - Retail technology and consulting firm, REPL Group, hired us this Spring to raise its profile in creating best-in-class workforce management and engagement, warehouse management and in-store solutions. Just a handful of months later, the company has asked us to expand our UK media relations and thought leadership programme to the US market;
Local social media;
Marketing emails and blogs driven from and effective content plan;
Cherry-picking attendance at events with stands and speaker slots; and
If your company is launching a product or service or wants to announce its expansion into a new sector or country, then of course there are cost-effective ways to do that centrally on an ad hoc basis with media relations.

I hope that in this piece, I’ve helped you to realise that there is a workable, high performance and cost-effective middle ground to managing international B2B PR with one or more agencies. If you would like to discuss the options in more detail, contact us here.

James Kelliher, CEO

Tell Us Your B2B Tech Story

As we continue to enjoy our sun-blessed summer (surely this weekend is just a blip?) there is a question that needs answering for all of us – how do I make the most of my time off? Now this answer varies depending on personality, lifestyle, job role, but one thing all of us want from a summer holiday is to relax. So, a few of us have put our heads together to provide you with some ideas for enjoying your road to relaxation.

Zachary

In recent years, nothing has quite said summer like The Great British Bake Off. Just when I thought England at the World Cup provided me with all the drama I can handle for one summer, I am ready to go once again. While we all miss Mary, Mel and Sue, I would definitely still recommend strapping yourselves in for a second Channel4 series of this modern classic. Even for a 23-year-old like me, there is nothing like the intense pause just before the Star Baker of the Week is announced.

In terms of summer reading material, I’d have to recommend Bear Grylls’ autobiography Mud, Sweat and Tears. I was given the book for Christmas, but only recently have I got around to opening it and I haven’t been able to put it down. If you are looking for a fascinating insight into how to survive in some of Earth’s toughest terrains while being in the comfort of your sun lounger – this is the book for you. An inspiring read to spur on a summer adventure for sure.

Mary

With my holiday just about to start, I’m looking forward to filling it with fun outside in this glorious and uncharacteristically hot British summer. After attempting white water rafting and fighting off zombies, I’m also planning to finish off watching Miranda as ‘it’s such fun’ and I’m desperate to see if she and Gary get together. As every day is a learning day, I’m also going to start reading ‘The Gig Economy: Things you should know to make your business grow’ written by Mark Magnacca which explores the origins, role, and future of fractional talent and the benefits to businesses large and small.

Stephen

After recently returning from the beautiful Toulouse, I am slightly embarrassed by my attempts to speak French to the locals. This has encouraged me to learn a new language and is why I have started to use an app called ‘busuu’ to learn how to speak French. The app offers bite-sized lessons in 12 languages and is ideal for learning phrases to use in everyday life, work and travel. The app also makes learning a bit more appealing compared to the old school French textbooks. If you’re on your travels this summer I can’t endorse this app more for learning the local lingo and avoiding the blunt stares of the locals.

Science and technology runs through the veins of my family with my dad being a physicist and my brother studying physics at university. And of course, I am working at the number one tech PR agency outside of London. How these two industries continually evolve and better themselves has always fascinated me and Wired magazine is perfect at keeping me up-to-date with its articles. As an avid football fan, I was captivated by Wired’s recent article on the birth of VAR technology and how it came to play its part at this year’s World Cup. So, if you’re looking to stay on top of the latest science and tech news from your sun lounger, this is the magazine to buy.

Bekki

This summer, I’ve been challenged by my team members to complete the ‘Couch to 5K challenge’. The journey of self-improvement is officially underway – granted I’ve only actually done one of the runs – but watch this space.

Another thing to be keeping an eye out for is the brilliant work of Oobah Butler, this year’s ‘Content Creator of the Year’ as awarded by The Drum. The young writer garnered a lot of media attention following his TripAdvisor stunt, where he somehow made a fake restaurant (actually just a shed in his garden) the number one rated restaurant in London. He’s done more excellent, quirky pieces of work since, and is a great example of how to inject creativity into your work and shake up existing models.

Into the inbox plops another set of embarrassing security breaches at prominent companies or organisations….

Each morning one of the colleagues in my team sends an email informing us about any significant cyber security news. As a B2B technology PR firm with some significant clients operating in the cyber sector, it is of course essential for us to stay abreast and ahead of the curve, so we can use news of any breaches or security developments to secure opportunities for our clients to contribute to the news agenda.

But as conscientious as she is, my colleague seldom has to look too hard to find incidents in which personal data, passwords, cash or important intellectual property have been stolen by hackers.

On Thursday, for instance, we learned that social media site Reddit suffered a data breach but refused to disclose its scale. The breach was discovered in June when hackers obtained usernames and corresponding email addresses – information that could make it possible to link activity on the site to real identities. Encrypted passwords from a separate database of credentials from 2007 were also taken.

Reddit said it would inform those affected by the loss of historic data but would not be getting in touch with those impacted by the potentially much larger breach – a decision which led to criticism from prominent, independent security researchers. Their PR strategy was just to brazen it out and take a kicking from experts and academics.

Earlier in the week, Dixons Carphone announced that approximately ten times more personal data belonging to customers may have been accessed illegally last year than originally thought, affecting 10 million customers in all. Dixons, however issued an apology and is writing to those affected – a slightly different approach from Reddit, but still very embarrassing, given the massive size of the hack.

Seldom however, is there any news of police success against cyber-criminals, which is why the announcement, also on Thursday, that members of the Carbanak hacking group had been arrested was just as eye-catching as the hacking incidents themselves. This bunch has allegedly been responsible for theft of 15 million customer card details in the US, UK, Australia and France.

It’s heartening for international agencies led by the FBI to score a “success” such as this, but cyber-crime is not going to go away. State-sponsored hacking groups, Advanced Persistent Threats, darkweb vendors of exploit kits, political hacktivists and the traditional teenagers with personality problems are all at it and proliferating for a variety of different reasons.

But when you have a genuinely unique solution that really does tackle an important aspect of cyber security it can be very difficult to get your message across amid all the noise from the big vendors that surrounds any high-profile incident. That, we can say, takes the expertise of technology PR consultancy working with clients including Glasswall and the DMA UK, to ensure their message stands out from the crowd, resonates with the right audiences and adds value to the media reporting.

In just a few months, we approach Google’s 20th birthday and, quite honestly, I couldn’t imagine life without the ability to look up information on a whim. The internet, its search engines, and their gift of quick and easy access to vast amounts of data and information from around the world have changed our society and how we consume content, from the latest news story to updates on your best friend’s cousin’s missing dog (with pictures!). We know it all, because it’s available at the click of a button or scroll of a mouse.

While that’s great for pointless facts like the square root of 657, or the capital of Belize, what about other information? What about news? How does it affect the way we access and read stories that interest and entertain us?

The way we consume the news has changed. Previously, a newspaper contained only the top stories, written with careful consideration and fact-checked meticulously. Now, you can open your phone and flick through thousands, millions, of meaningful or menial articles within seconds.

This infinite capacity for content and unrivalled access is a huge opportunity for us in the PR industry. But we must approach it as both a professional and an everyday consumer of news. Just because the information is there, does it mean it is worth reading? Should we be creating less meaningful content just because it will now be one story in a dozen? The short answer is: no.

The trending story of the moment is, of course, the UK heatwave. A quick Google news search brings up nearly 16 million stories, with topics spanning from record retail results to haphazard health advice. Pretty much anything can be tied in to this incredible weather, but just because it can, it doesn’t mean it will be adding any value.

The impact that the internet, social media and search engines have had on the PR industry has been profound, and in this digital age, it’s clear that the need to quickly digest and report on the latest news on any given channel is at an all-time high. Content can now be consumed by a global audience within seconds, so when used well, valuable information – especially now in its always-available state – is an incredibly powerful tool in PR, depending on how we choose to work with it.

Even the best, most relevant article, story or message can so easily get lost within the ether. It’s more important than ever that we remember how fickle the internet can be and learn to get the message right. Creating and securing meaningful content that stands out from the crowd has never been more difficult, or when done right, more worthwhile.