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With the highly anticipated Royal Wedding tomorrow, most of us Brits – and many Americans – can barely contain our excitement. So, get your cuppa, scones and sophisticated facial recognition technology ready. That’s right, the most televised event of the year will be using automated facial recognition.

The Royal Wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is the social event of the year, and if you’re not on the guest list, don’t panic. Broadcasters will be using facial recognition technology to help you spot all of the celebrity wedding guests, including stars of Meghan’s former TV show Suits.

Sky News, with the help of tech startups and Amazon Web Services, will broadcast the wedding with a service called ‘Who’s Who Live’. The facial recognition software will identify guests who will appear as subtitles on our screens. The new functionality will allow Royal Wedding viewers around the world to have a greater insight into one of the biggest live events of the year.

However, it’s not just the Royal Wedding that has been the talk of the headlines this week. You might not have realised it, but facial recognition technology is already in use at large-scale events for security reasons. But as it becomes adopted more widely by police forces, the biggest question on our mind is, can we trust it?

With automated facial recognition technology currently being used by UK police forces without a clear legal basis, the police are scanning thousands of our faces and comparing them against secret databases. However, recent research has revealed the Metropolitan Police has the worst record for using this technology, with alarmingly more than 98 per cent of scans providing incorrect results.

With no legislation, guidance, policy or oversight, facial recognition technology is argued by many to have no place in public. Every person who walks by these cameras will have their face scanned and stored on a police database. If you are one of the unlucky ones who is falsely identified as a match, you might be forced to prove your identity to the police – or be arrested for a crime you didn’t commit. However, the government is working alongside the “evolving” technology and is actively seeking to improve security measures and identify potential or current threats.

Taking a step back, facial recognition technology is also being used in more consumer-driven applications, which we’re comfortable with.

Instead of using passcodes, mobile phones and other consumer electronics can be accessed with our facial features. Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi Corp have all installed ‘FaceTech’ in some of their phones. This is just a small stepping stone towards consumers getting into their cars, houses, and other secure physical locations by simply looking at them.

For the most part, facial recognition technology seems to be encouraging a more seamless relationship between people, payments and possessions, without infringing on our rights because it’s our choice – and that’s the crucial point. As this technology is slowly being integrated into our lives, is it perhaps paving the way for bigger and more “invasive” applications?

Opinions on trade shows tend to differ greatly. To some, they are a monumental waste of money and/or time for businesses, offering little more than a handful of irrelevant business cards. To others, they are a fundamental date in the calendar for new business, and for which major corporate and customer news is held back, in order to make the biggest splash possible.

Having heard these opinions from both clients and prospects alike, I try to see both sides. Yet I’ve always had a fondness for RBTE, the UK’s major retail tech show held at the Olympia each spring.

With a host of our current clients attending or exhibiting, it offers a great opportunity to network and gain a greater understanding of the issues and challenges, topics and themes disrupting the fascinating retail industry.

The usual mega trends around POS (point of sale), cash handling, data collection and supply chain were obviously visible, while I finally got to meet Pepper the robot, who stole the show in 2017. This wasn’t necessarily a key goal of mine, but having seen the diminutive little chap in just about every social post last year, I was more than a little curious…

But I digress. The one point that was hammered home time and again, on stands, in discussions and in speaker panels, was that of customer experience. People are more demanding, less trusting and expect relevant information instantly. A statistic given at the event was that 89% of companies are now competing on customer experience, not product. That is a quite incredible shift.

One of the sessions I enjoyed attending in the Retail Technology Conference was led by Vicki Cantrell, a retail transformation officer at Aptos. In a wide-ranging discussion, she told the crowd that any time a consumer is exposed to a better digital experience, their expectations are reset to a new, higher level consumers expecting better digital experiences from all sectors – not just retail – if the bar is raised by anyone they interact with.

The importance of breaking down data silos and the death of loyalty points are clearly issues that will continue to significantly challenge retailers, but what I particularly enjoyed was her view on organisational change.

On a couple of occasions Vicki dismissed the typical view that “I won’t be able to change my organisation on my own” and encouraged proactive staff to get together across different units to make a business case.

So, while the usual big buzzwords such as AI, personalisation, customer experience and omnichannel, will dominate column inches in the trade media as always, it was this message of hope, proactivity and partnership that will stick with me. It is clear that there is a talented and hungry community of vendors seeking to make the retail industry run smoother – what is now needed is the realisation, throughout all parts of the retail ecosystem, that these goals can be achieved.

2 May 2018 – The PRWeek Top 150 UK PR Consultancies: Technology Rankings 2018 have just been released and we’re delighted that Whiteoaks International has been ranked as the number one technology agency outside of London. We’re the second fastest growing in the top 10, recording a 21% boost in the last 12 months. In the overall all-agency Top 150, our ranking is now 78th, up from 96th in 2017.

In 2018, as we celebrate our 25th anniversary, we’re also pleased have achieved accreditation to the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA)’s Communications Management Standard for Agencies (CMS).

Click here to see the full top 50 technology rankings.

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

Everything I’ve done professionally so far has revolved around either writing or music, and sometimes both. I studied music full-time at college before going on to do journalism at Kingston University (while also writing for various music magazines and interning at Warp Records in between). I then landed a job as a copywriter for Sony Electronics, which also involved me writing a fair bit about music.

After two and a half years I felt a change was in order, and that’s how I came to arrive at Whiteoaks as a content creator!

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

Some of my most testing times came while working the bar at a local golf club as an 18/19-year old. We often held weddings, birthday parties and countless other functions — and I was quite regularly the only one manning the fort. This meant pulling hundreds of pints with one hand and tidying up empty glasses with the other hand, while simultaneously being shouted at by some drunk bloke who couldn’t deal with the fact we had no Jägermeister left. It definitely taught me the art of multi-tasking and how to deal with tricky customers.

 

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

Despite efforts to wean myself off social media, I’m hopelessly devoted to Twitter. I use it to stay on top of the news, tweet stream-of-consciousness ramblings and over-analyse everything that Kanye West posts.

I use Evernote a lot to jot down notes and any other ideas that pop into my head. I’m currently using it to keep track of all the books I’ve read so far this year, and everything that I still need to get round to reading (guess which list is longer…). I’m also a massive podcast nut, so I’m regularly making use of the Pocket Casts app.

Finally, I recently caved and bought myself a Nintendo Switch, and it’s the best decision I’ve made in ages (although my girlfriend might disagree). I used to play Zelda all the time as a child, and so immersing myself in Breath of the Wild on the Switch is bringing all those childhood memories flooding back.

 

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

Akio Morita, one of the co-founders of Sony, used to always say that ‘curiosity is the key to creativity’, and that’s always stuck with me as something that can be applied to all aspects of both life and work. Other than that, I’m a firm believer that life is too short to waste time reading books that you’re not enjoying.

 

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

It might sound contrived, there’s nothing better than receiving positive client feedback on something I’ve written. As a writer I’m constantly having to deal with feedback on my work, and it’s not uncommon to have to do rewrites or tweaks to get it right. It’s therefore incredibly satisfying when a piece of copy is approved first time around with no changes — it’s a huge confidence booster and a sign that I’m in tune with the client’s tone of voice and messaging.

 

6. Do you personalise your workspace?

Short answer: No. I like to try and keep my space quite minimal — try being the operative word in that sentence. You can usually find a magazine or two lying on my desk, and I have a few books around writing tucked away to one corner. Oh, and I can’t forget the PG Tips monkey that I pilfered from the old Whiteoaks International office…

 

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

Coffee. Always. I need at least two cups before I can start functioning like a proper human being, so I’ll make a bee-line to the coffee machine before checking my emails and catching up with the morning headlines. I’m safe to talk to from about 10am onwards.

 

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

Reading: an incredible book called I Still Dream by James Smythe, a fascinating look at the future potential of artificial intelligence and probably the best thing I’ve read so far this year.

Watching: I loved Three Billboards… and the new Wes Anderson film Isle of Dogs. Apart from that, Curb Your Enthusiasm, on repeat, forever.

Listening: I’ve currently got the new records from London-based producer Paul White and Chicago rapper Saba on repeat, and I’ll always make time for new episodes of The Adam Buxton Podcast.

Every year, TIME Magazine publishes the TIME 100 Most Influential People list. Always eagerly anticipated, the list serves as a definitive guide to the most influential individuals in the world — so how has a 14-year-old girl from Dorset made the cut for 2018?

Millie Bobby Brown, who plays Eleven in the Netflix science fiction mega-hit Stranger Things, has been written about in the iconic list for 2018 alongside global influencers such as Donald Trump, Prince Harry, Sadiq Khan and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

As the youngest person to ever grace the list, I had to find out how and why this came to be.

The clue is in the title, ‘influencer’. Many of those included in the list have lived long and distinguished lives in the service of others or innovating for the benefit of our global community. Millie, however, first hit the TV screens in 2016, and through the power of Netflix and social media, has already made a huge impact and forged a stellar career for herself.

Portraying a lost child in the strange world of the ‘Upside Down’, Millie’s role in Stranger Things speaks not only to a generation that believes 80s tunes are ‘dinosaur music’, but her obvious acting talent appeals to a much wider audience demographic. In the words of Aaron Paul, “she somehow understands the human experience as if she has lived it for a thousand years”.

By staying true to herself while remaining aware of her audience, Millie has become the voice of her generation and her peers want to listen to what she has to say. This was made clear last year, when she used her massive profile on social media to launch a successful anti-bullying campaign.

So, what does it take to become influential? The magic sauce can be hard to identify –, but in our world of B2B tech, working closely with our clients, we identify the personas they want to communicate with and build campaigns that make a lasting impact. Our specialist content creators craft copy that is thought provoking and starts with us asking ‘what do people want to read’ rather than just ‘what does our client want to say’, while our media and analyst relations specialists ensure it reaches the right people in the marketplace. This all results in PR campaigns that deliver the best possible Return on Investment (ROI).

At the tender age of just 14, Millie Bobby Brown has achieved far more than she could have ever imagined, and will no doubt go on to inspire thousands of people — both young and old — to follow in her footsteps. After all, Stranger Things have happened.

A retail leader who is both inspirational and effective is a truly unique breed of CEO. He or she will have an instinctive understanding of customers and what they feel, need and want, a superior level of emotional intelligence with thousands of staff and suppliers, a head for numbers, a thorough understanding of logistics and supply chain, IT, marketing and digital – plus a curiosity for understanding products, their benefits and market trends. They have to know when to speak, and more often to listen, and be absolutely comfortable with delegation, swift decision-making and carry a belief in their collective people. They’ll want to work on the shop floor – often having started their career there – knowing that it is by far the best place to be.

The retailers who have a leader at the helm with all of these qualities will be the most likely to succeed because their leadership will create a culture where everyone is engaged. They recruit and keep the best people, with HR Director and Retail Directors to realise and execute the cultural vision. Yet even the best senior leaders need one other component to enhance employee engagement: technology. So, what are the main ways to embed technology tools in this area?

1.      Recruitment: Sophisticated online tools are available to combine CV information with social media presence and other publicly-available information about candidates. Combined with effective screening by HR reps, interviews with both quantitative scoring and values-based questions, companies can best match the potential employee to the company’s culture.

2.      Listening with satisfaction surveys: Using well-written regular quarterly and annual online employee surveys and multi-store focus groups will provide valuable information in a way that staff feel more open to provide. Embedding social media style functionality to internal platforms like Yammer or on intranets, will give quick and straightforward ways to feedback in between more formal surveys.

3.      Enhance team work: When a cross-functional retail team kicks into action, it’s like watching a winning football team, so think how online or digital collaboration tools and workforce management software could be added into legacy IT architecture. Or make a plan to reinvent internal IT platforms and deploy next-generation versions, accessible through secure company laptops, tablets and smartphones.

4.      Communication: Balancing how much communication needs to come from and go to stores can be tricky – it’s hard to find equilibrium when you’re opening or closing stores, running year-round promotions or managing a snow day. An annual root and branch review of ‘what, for who, why, how and how often’ will help provide clarity on content, and social media style software will make it easier for that all important two-way communication.

5.      Perks: There are so many choices of online flexible benefits providers, and this choice, within a structured HR strategy, will increase engagement further.

6.      Frictionless customer-facing technology: Often, one of the best ways to improve employee engagement is by giving colleagues ‘back office solutions’ which lead to easier and faster ways to help customers. Digital price tags and stock locations make pricing and re-stocking better, hand held payment terminals or software on tablets with contactless, email receipt options and full loyalty programme access make transactions smooth and APIs linking to stock room or warehouse data, click and collect and buy in-store-deliver to home services, mean no customer should walk away empty-handed.

Whether you’re a retail technology provider of POS, software or engagement platforms, we can help take your business on a fast growth path and further establish it in this competitive space. You can read our retail credentials on Slideshare below or contact us for an informal conversation.

The high street is a staple of any town and I’ll be the first to admit that I take it for granted. But just like any other millennial, I’m part of the problem… My enthusiasm for going online to order what I want, when I want it is impacting the health of the high street. There’s no doubt that this trend is having an adverse effect on our physical stores. Recent figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) suggest that footfall declined by 6% in March (year-on-year), meaning that visits have fallen at their steepest rate since the end of 2010.

As this way of shopping becomes the norm, we decided to reach out to some top retail influencers for their opinions about how technology can help turn things around for bricks-and-mortar stores, as part of a wider omnichannel strategy. We took to Twitter to gather insights:

Q: Do you think technology could help high street retailers keep up with their online-only competition?

@EricJohanssonLJ – Feature writer – Elite Business & Elite Franchise

A: In my personal view, yes. These closures are the consequence of old school retailers not really keeping up with the times and ceasing to innovate. Adopting new tech can help but has to be combined with a high-value in-store experience if they want to stay on the high street.

Following on from the news of Toys R Us shutting down, and Mothercare potentially leaving the high street, Eric’s point highlights the importance that technology plays in the future of retail. The brands that don’t recognise this are going to struggle to retain their place on the high street. Consumer expectations are changing and the “traditional” approach needs to evolve if it wants to remain effective.

Q: Could effective omnichannel marketing help drive customers back into bricks-and-mortar stores?

@nikkibaird – Vice President of Retail Innovation – Aptos Retail

A: Well, do you have a bricks experience worth driving to? I mean, short answer is sure it could. But only if the store exp is worth it. Otherwise, waste of money.

@barnettrichard1 – Global Software Sales Expert – Diebold Nixdorf

A: My belief is that an effective strategy, with the right tools, implemented in a way that the consumer can easily shop, regardless of the channel, will ultimately drive revenues and footfall.

If a retailer is going to adopt an omnichannel approach to their marketing then they need to make their store worth visiting – whether that’s personalised experiences, applying digital innovations to the purchase journey or otherwise. The brand will need to put some thought into an experience that will exceed their customer’s expectations. This ties into the point made by Diebold Nixford’s Richard Barnett, about an effective strategy playing a crucial role in making it easier for the consumer to shop.

Q: What were your initial thoughts when you saw Amazon’s Seattle checkout-less convenience store in the news?

@holly_uc – Account Director – Whiteoaks International

A: I thought it was great, and hoping that they bring it across the pond soon! Life is busy but it is getting more convenient because of technology across all areas and this will make shopping easier and help retailers bring people back to store.

Ironically, the future of our stores is now being shaped by online pioneer, Amazon. The launch of its checkout-less store in Seattle hit the headlines as it showcased a new way to shop. Whiteoaks International’s Holly Rees highlights the importance of convenience and why technology needs to be seamlessly implemented into the retail experience.

Based on these responses, it’s clear that retail is experiencing a turbulent time. The good thing is that brands do have options. There’s an opportunity to utilise technology in a way that it will improve the customer experience – combining shopping with interesting experiences – and increase footfall on the high street. Some retailers are implementing technology more cautiously and it will be interesting to keep up with those who are fully committing to this enhanced approach to retail.

Throughout the month of April, we’re reporting on all the retail news and trends, sharing our retail tech experience and insights about working with top providers on our social media pages. From case studies to blogs and reporting from the leading retail technology conference, RBTE, follow @WhiteoaksPR on Twitter for all the insights.

This week saw British pub chain JD Wetherspoon quit social media with immediate effect. The news came as a shock to many because these days, a social media presence is considered essential to promoting your brand and customer support. Yet, JD Wetherspoon decided these accounts weren’t needed. Why?

The renowned group pointed to bad publicity surrounding social media for their reasons for leaving. Chairman Tim Martin says he believes society would be better off if people cut the amount of social media use. There may be an argument for this but what about the consequences? Wetherspoon, like many other businesses, has put a lot of effort into captivating their social media audience with hundreds of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram accounts in place to cover their 900 pubs nationwide.

But were they completely successful? Generally speaking, companies with hundreds of accounts can struggle with engagement rates due to the sheer number of different people managing the feeds, all with differing abilities, and personalities. Inconsistency in key messages, tone of voice and quality can leave the social user confused – and even a bit frustrated with the brand. If you consider how time consuming managing an effective social media strategy is, while keeping so many different accounts aligned to company strategy, you can understand why a business may feel social media doesn’t suit them

So what will JD Wetherspoon be missing out on?

Social media now plays such a vital role in reaching a wider audience for businesses of all shapes and sizes. Without a social voice, businesses will lose valuable insight into what resonates with its audience, who spend time on those channels. These insights allow organisations to take on feedback from a range of demographics to change and develop their products and services to target new customers and build customer loyalty. However, social media is only an important marketing tool if used properly — it can become worthless if in the wrong hands. How you process the information you receive from social media is key to making it work for your business. You can have the most engaging account the ‘Twitterverse’ has ever seen but without the ability to gather insights from the data generated by the accounts, the value is lost.

Of course, social media doesn’t fit every company’s needs. At Whiteoaks it’s our aim to consult our clients on how social media fits with their business strategy and objectives. For example, some brands are more suited to LinkedIn, some Twitter, some both. The results-driven nature of our agency is also engrained in the way we represent our clients on social media, as our clients’ business goals are always at the front of mind. Consistency of message, professionalism and proper data collection methods are key ingredients to what we believe ensures social media success. Without these ingredients, there is no pint….

5 April 2018 – Whiteoaks International, a leading UK-based technology PR agency, has celebrated 25 years by making a number of strategic changes to the business as it grows and realises its new ambitions for the future. At the same time Whiteoaks has been recognised as an accredited agency to the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA)’s Communications Management Standard for Agencies (CMS).

The respected industry verification comes days after the company re-branded itself from The Whiteoaks Consultancy to Whiteoaks International. The name better reflects the international nature of the agency’s business capabilities, working for clients in the retail tech, fintech, security, enterprise IT, built environment and broadcast industries, as well as the range of multi-national clients it now provides PR, digital and content services to.

To launch the new brand, Whiteoaks has a new vibrant look on the website at www.whiteoaks.co.uk and across all its social media channels on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and Google+.

Whiteoaks has celebrated its achievements with a recent move to an entirely new, larger and modern office in Hook, Hampshire. The agency’s new international headquarters better accommodates its growing team of 35+ people. It offers an inspiring and fresh approach to working practices with vast open spaces, agile working areas and collaborative spaces for work and play. The move from its long-standing headquarters in Farnham, Surrey now better positions Whiteoaks in the ‘UK Tech Triangle’ located in the Thames Valley/M3/M4 corridors, for London and international airports.

James Kelliher, Whiteoaks International’s Chief Executive Officer, explained “Our company is entering a very exciting and dynamic phase. We’ve been working hard behind the scenes over the last few months to build up to the launch of our new brand and opening of our inspiring international HQ in Hook.

“To be awarded the PRCA’s highly respected CMS standard is a wonderful endorsement of all the high standard of work that our talented team provide to our clients and in the outstanding way that everyone contributes in running our B2B tech PR agency.”

The agency is currently recruiting for a number of new team members in the Client Services and Business Support teams and applications can be made online on the Whiteoaks website at https://whiteoaks.co.uk/careers/.

As a result of the new brand positioning, Whiteoaks offers clients with global communications requirements four individual routes to deliver this, all under its’ International Performance Management (IPM) model. Created in 2013, the unique ‘agency agnostic’ model includes four different options, to provide clients with measurable results and ROI, in every country.

Clients can choose to:
• Select relevant agencies from the newly-branded WIN PR Group, an instant network of owner-managed agencies providing services in over 70 countries around the world
• Work with locally-agreed agencies within the Whiteoaks IPM operational structure
• Combine agencies from the WIN PR Group with other local agencies and work within the IPM framework
• Bring pre-existing relationships with a different local network of agencies and execute projects and campaigns within the IPM approach.

Whiteoaks’ new office development was project managed by Grey Interiors Ltd, a leading commercial design and build agency.

As someone who has spent half my communications career working in the retail industry, this is a subject very dear to my heart. Despite all the immense transformations that the sector has seen, the age-old maxim, “retail is detail”, is still totally true. Whatever changes and challenges retailers face, the more attention to detail given to range, price, promotions, demand planning, distribution and communications, through an omnichannel lens of course, the better.

Two significant transformations have taken place in the last couple of generations that have led me to the realisation that we are no longer a nation of shopkeepers, but instead a nation of ‘experience-providers’. The shopkeepers, big or small, online, offline or both, that are introducing personalised experiences, are thriving.

Self-service tills were arguably the first technological catalyst that created less personal experiences in the retail industry. In 1950, after Alan Sainsbury made a trip to the US to investigate new styles of tills, Sainsbury’s opened the first self-service store in the UK. It was a 10,000 sq ft branch in Croydon, and the retailer later added a car park for customers’ convenience. The chain became a large-scale supporter of the technology in the 50s and 60s and expanded the initiative to many more stores.

Brits had to wait a number of years before the second real technology transformation took place and it came in 1998 when Amazon.co.uk launched as a retail website selling only books. This was closely followed by the creation of aggregator sites like lastminute.com and price comparison sites like Kelkoo. It would be a number of years before companies like these were able to increase personalisation online — initially, they reduced it.  They took previously personalised offline experiences — like shopping for books in a bookstore or buying a holiday in a travel agent and talking with knowledgeable staff — and let the first iteration of AI manage it online. Now, it’s obvious these were the brands that changed the retail landscape in the UK forever, creating what is now a highly personalised and intelligent e-commerce ecosystem, combined with the sophistication of online advertising, that probably understands our buying needs before we do.

In 2018, technology and personalisation are increasingly colliding to create exciting and sophisticated experiences. In stores, retailers are trying to make shopping highly personalised, using technologies such as digital and RFID price tags, kiosks, smart mirrors and more. Recent research by our client, Ecrebo, the point-of-sale marketing specialist, found that 44% of UK shoppers shy away from brands that don’t offer them personalised, relevant offers. And our client, Vista, a leading IT services company for the retail and hospitality sectors, recently researched consumer attitudes and found 61% said they wanted retailers to give them a real in-store buzz, using personalised technologies including kiosks, interactive screens and smart mirrors. Online, shop bots, live voice and online help widgets and ‘try before you buy’ techniques are leading the way. And when a retailer combines the two with social service, well, it doesn’t get much better….

In a few weeks, the leading retail technology conference, RBTE, kicks off. We’ll be attending and looking forward to some of the key themes that will be discussed and showcased, including omni-channel payment strategies, customer data security best practices, AI, supply chain innovations and of course, personalisation. And we’ll be reporting from the conference too.  Plus, during April we’re showcasing our retail tech experience and insights about working with top providers on our social media pages – and you can read our retail credentials in this Slideshare below. From case studies to blogs and that reporting from RBTE, follow @WhiteoaksPR on Twitter for it all.