A report from CIPD also showed around 40% of employers said they expect more than half their workforce to work regularly from home after the pandemic has ended.

This represents a significant shift compared to the pre-pandemic world and presents opportunities for organisations to establish new ways of working. It also presents many challenges, and for business leaders, HR and communication professionals one of these challenges is ensuring effective internal communication for hybrid teams.

Last year, in the midst of the pandemic, we shared our six top tips for good internal communications – looking at ways to keep your team motivated and productive while maintaining a cohesive culture. Now, we’re taking another look at those top tips and helping you plan your internal comms strategy for 2022…

1. Over-communicate in times of crisis

The pandemic is still ongoing, with regulations changing frequently and the nations anxiety rising with every new news update.

You may want to continue regular briefings on the status of travel, working from home, and changes to the workplace. Communicate frequently to maintain confidence – people panic when they feel a lack of control, so be sure to be consistent, calm and communicate regularly to support your employees. Internal communication is key to ensure company morale and business continuity is maintained throughout and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Similarly, in a hybrid working environment, you need to ensure everyone is aware of important company messages, whether that’s in relation to COVID restrictions or things such as general company updates. You want to ensure people are receiving updates in an appropriate manner and not through the company grapevine – conversations can happen between people in the office or in a Zoom meeting some people weren’t part of, so consistency is key here to ensure all teams no matter where they’re based are up-to-date with company news.

Make sure anything important has been communicated to everyone – even if this means having several calls or following up with an email to ensure you’ve captured everyone with the messaging.

2. Conversation, not dictation

Internal communications shouldn’t just be about disseminating information, but it should spark conversation and help you understand your team – what are they concerned about, what motivates them, what makes them tick, how happy are they. Encourage feedback as this will help increase employee engagement, productivity and overall retention. It will also give everyone a sense of belonging.

It’s important to always make sure you encourage two-way communication, with questions from employees being listened to and answered, and if appropriate shared with the wider team. Whatever the situation, it’s likely many people will have the same concerns and questions.

Take this opportunity to let your workforce share their individual and collective ideas about how the new working environment might look – they may have ideas and suggestions that you haven’t yet considered.

Being transparent and creating a culture of openness and shared ideas will help earn respect from your team, as well as encouraging collaboration.

3. Choose the right channels

Preparing, creating and sharing factual and engaging content is only as good as the tools you’re using to communicate with. There’s a plethora of channels you can use for effective internal communications and depending on what you’re communicating and who you’re communicating to, a different approach may need to be taken for each message. Sometimes combining multiple channels to ensure your message is received is the best approach.

Make use of tools such as company-wide emails or e-newsletters, internal employee engagement and intranet platforms, phone or video conferences, town-hall-style events and in-person team meetings.

With hybrid teams, using channels such as company-wide emails or newsletters may be the most convenient way for people to digest messages at a time that suits them, without having to juggle other meetings or childcare. It’s also best practice to follow-up any important verbal meetings with written confirmation of what was discussed to ensure everything was conveyed correctly and it can be referred back to if required.

4. Create a network of champions

Any company initiative needs internal champions to ensure it succeeds, whether that’s rolling out new company processes or welcoming people back into the workplace after a long period working remotely.

Identify people in your team who understand good communication, embody your brand values and culture, and then bring them on board as champions. This doesn’t necessarily have to be people in leadership positions, you should select people from across all levels of the business.

During times of company change, such as implementing hybrid working, this is important as it can help put people at ease if they see others accepting and positively responding to your organisational initiatives and messages. It also provides teams with people they can comfortably approach with any issues or concerns they have, again encouraging two-way communication.

5. Create engaging content

Good communication, internal or external, is about creating a dialogue. Whether you produce articles, videos, e-newsletters or podcasts, make sure you include ways for people to engage with, comment on and share that content.

Your internal communication doesn’t have to be boring. Make sure it’s engaging as well as informative – look at introducing new ways of communicating with your team such as quizzes, surveys and podcasts. Or mix up your current internal comms – turn your weekly update email into a newsletter format with colour and images rather than a wall of text. Include a call-to-action or pose a question, get your employees really thinking about and engaging with what they’re reading, rather than just reading it and moving on.

6. Celebrate success

Teams continue to do great things under extraordinary circumstances, so make sure you celebrate it.

Recognition is important – it boosts morale and engagement. Share the positive stories that are happening within your company and highlight those people that are embodiments of your company values. It’s also a great way for employees to shout about the great work their peers are doing, encouraging contributions from everyone in the business.

Make sure you don’t forget the people that are more regularly working from home – just because you can’t see them every day, doesn’t mean they won’t appreciate a phone call, shout-out or email to praise the great work they’re doing.

The post How to plan your internal comms for hybrid teams in 2022 appeared first on No Brainer Agency.

What is thought leadership in public relations?

Thought leadership in PR is a strategy to get influential media coverage on the opinions of key people from within the brand or organisation. This means that their voice is heard by a relevant audience, with thought leadership designed to build trust and influence with potential customers/clients, media and industry experts over time.

Thought leadership content can be outworked in PR in a number of different ways, which can include:

• A key individual from the organisation providing ‘expert’ quotes or commentary to journalists or trade media on something relevant that is happening in the news, whether that’s in print, online, or via a TV or radio interview.
• The key person producing their own ‘thought leadership content’ such as blogs, articles, whitepapers, talking-head videos, guest posts in relevant publications, newspaper columns, podcasts (as a host or guest) or webinars.
• The key individual writing a book on their area of expertise.
• The individual speaking/presenting at seminars and conferences or being on roundtables or expert panels at industry events. This could also include being on judging panels for industry awards.

Why does thought leadership matter in PR?

Is there any evidence that someone becoming a thought leader has an impact on the business or organisation they represent? A 2020 report found that nearly half of B2B decision-makers spend at least an hour a week consuming thought leadership content and a similar number say that it influences their decisions. Another study indicates that around 83% of buyers value the thought leadership content they find.

In the B2B arena, where buying decisions are often made based on a wide range of different factors, using thought leadership to help increase brand awareness and foster trust within your target market can’t be a bad thing. Many businesses, by their very nature, are risk-averse. Therefore, PR activity that reinforces the impression that your organisation is the ‘real deal’ and are true experts in your industry can be a game-changer.

The benefits of effective thought leadership content

With an effective thought leadership content strategy, the benefits can include:

• Increased brand awareness – your organisation gets a mention every time the key individual is referenced/featured in the media.
• Building authoritative links – online publications will often link to the organisation that a thought leader represents, especially if they have an in-depth bio page on their website for that individual, containing information not found elsewhere, as this provides the reason to link. Links form a major part in helping to build an effective SEO strategy.
• Building the brand narrative – having thought leaders within your organisation helps to ensure you’re seen as a brand on the cutting edge of industry expertise, trailblazers within your field, and can assist with telling your story, especially concerning the future.
• It gives you a USP over competitors – being known as thought leaders can be a great way to help your organisation stand out from others and give potential buyers the differentiating factor they are looking for to help with their purchase decision.
• Attracting the best talent – people want to work for an employer who is a market leader, knowledgeable and progressive. They also want to see that an organisation they work for will value them as an individual and help them develop their own knowledge, skills and industry profile. A 2021 study found that 50% of buyers believed that thought leadership content helped companies attract the best talent.

How to leverage thought leadership content in B2B PR

Having established how beneficial that effective thought leadership content can be to a business, it’s important to make sure that your organisation leverages it in a way that stands the best chance of producing the best possible outcomes. It isn’t something that happens overnight, but, over time, it is possible for key individuals within a business to become a real ‘go-to person’ for local, national and sometimes even global media on certain issues, which can help to amplify the brand, products or services and their other thought leadership activity.

Choose the right key individuals to produce thought leadership content

It’s essential for anyone who will be representing your business to be someone who is:

• Passionate about what they do and what your business does
• An expert in their subject matter
• Already active in industry conversations, whether that’s on social media, forums, through blogging or at in-person/online industry events
• Media trained (or willing to be) and enjoys speaking in front of an audience
• A good communicator and able to effectively explain complex topics in simple terms
• Happy to represent the organisation and build the company brand as well as their own
• Critically-minded and willing to challenge established ways of doing things – taking things into potentially new territory and offering fresh insights on the wider industry as well as their niche

Often, this person already holds a fairly senior position in the organisation, such as CEO, director or the business owner/founder, but this isn’t always the case.

Develop a proactive thought leadership content and PR strategy

Having a thought leadership strategy that has a strand which the key individual themself sets is important – as it’s truly authentic and led by the real expert. They already have their finger on the pulse of the industry and have opinions on certain aspects of it. That doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t benefit from some ideas about different types and forms of content that can be produced, as well as specialist digital PR expertise when it comes to getting it in front of the right people. Whether that’s guesting on a podcast, producing a whitepaper or research report, speaking at a conference or doing an interview about a specific topic, coverage gained here can be a great foundation to build on and provide evidence of expertise and a heightened profile for future opportunities too.

As well as planning in opinion-led pieces that are not necessarily linked to certain dates, seasons or events, it’s important to stay on top of things reactively as well.

While some things that enter the news agenda can’t be predicted, there is a lot that can be for most industries, and you can plan content and PR opportunities around this to some degree. For example, if you know that relevant regulatory legislation will be changing at a certain point in time (or is under review/out for consultation), be ready with relevant content, quotes and pitches ahead of time whenever possible.

Reacting quickly to the changing news agenda

On days when something relevant does hit the news, whether it’s a surprise budget announcement or something else completely unexpected, reacting quickly is key, and that’s where experienced PR professionals with existing relationships at key publications and media can be worth their weight in gold. Getting in ahead of others and being available for comment or interview when needed can make a huge difference to whether you achieve coverage or not.

Thought leadership is about selling narrative, expertise and opinion, not products or services

Thought leadership content is about leveraging the expertise and opinions of a key individual to help build brand profile, along with media and audience trust, rather than pushing products or services, and the distinction here is important to help build and retain credibility. The good news, as mentioned earlier, is that thought leadership content does positively influence conversions too, as well as the many other benefits it can bring to an organisation. Once an individual’s profile has been raised, and people find their opinions interesting, the rest generally follows automatically.

If you want assistance with a thought leadership PR strategy or would like more information on media training for thought leadership activity, get in touch using the form below.

The post Why is thought leadership content important in B2B PR and marketing? appeared first on No Brainer Agency.

New digital techniques, an increased shift to social and click-bait, and the changing needs of news outlets and journalists have really transformed the discipline.

So, if you’re an experienced comms professional terrified that everything you’ve learnt so far in your career is becoming irrelevant – do not panic. Or if you’re just starting out in your PR career, worried you’ve flushed nine grand-a-year down the toilet with your ‘traditional’ PR modules, you absolutely haven’t. Traditional and digital PR are not mutually exclusive. Instead, both have their roles to play – they simply have different objectives.

And so, while media consumption continues to evolve, traditional news rooms keep shrinking and media outlets pull their print editions, where does this leave ‘traditional’ PR? Here’s five reasons why its going nowhere…

1. Traditional media is still a powerful channel to reach your audience

The traditional media is still one of the most credible news sources and word of mouth remains a powerful tool for spreading a message.

Let’s take the largest pandemic of our lifetimes as an example of that. According to Ofcom, traditional media remained the most-used source of news and information about the coronavirus, used by almost nine in ten people (86%) and of these people, 63% said it was their most important news source.

Additionally, the most common way people shared news or information about coronavirus was by talking to family, friends or colleagues, either in person or over the phone.

With the rise of misinformation and fake news in our online world; radio, television, and news outlets will always be identifiable as a credible source of information to anyone at any age, and something that shouldn’t be discarded.

2. ‘We can’t measure PR!’ – Yes you can

There’s simply no skirting around the fact that measuring traditional PR has always been ambiguous and our old friend AVE (Advertising Value Equivalent) just isn’t a credible measurement tool. Was it ever?

Digital PR is much easier to quantify and you can prove its value in terms of website traffic, backlinks, performance on organic search and ROI for a business (like sales or enquiries).

Genuine brand awareness should continue to be a metric that’s held in high regard, particularly in a world where consumers buy into a brand’s values as much as the products or services it sells. That’s why it’s so important that you set out clear aims and objectives for your campaign or PR retainer from the outset so you can measure and quantify success.

Great PR isn’t about what you say about yourself, it’s what others say about you. And even better PR encourages a behaviour change. And there are so many ways to measure that too. We follow the best-practice guidelines laid out by AMEC’s Integrated Evaluation Framework, which means we’re focused on measuring:

• Outputs:
  Media reach, impressions, sentiment, event attendance, clickthroughs, tweets

• Outtakes:
  Subscribers, unique vistors, enquiries, comments, return visits, social followers and shares

• Outcomes:
  Trust level, statements of support, brand preference, sign-ups, leads, registrations

• Impact:
  Public support, sales increase, retention, donations, cost savings, targets met

Depending on your objectives, PR agencies like us will be able to make suggestions on the route we take to achieve that – whether that’s a paid media campaign to boost clicks or sign ups to a landing page or a traditional PR outreach plan with a well thought out story – or a concoction of both (which we love!).

Either way, one of the first questions from us will always be: ‘what does success look like for you?’. 

3. Traditional media is trusted

Behind the smart branding, CSR strategies and witty social channels, brands are still headed up by actual real life human beings. And so, trust plays a key role. In a world where a brand’s purpose matters to people – and it is proven to influence their buying behaviours – you could argue trust is more important than ever.

Just like meeting your partner’s Mum for the first time, traditional media has had a much longer relationship with its audience (in this case, your partner!) and that established bond and connection makes it more difficult to swoop in on.

In the age of fake news and mis-information, people still tend to trust highly reputable, long-standing media outlets and news organisations over information from social and messaging apps.

Even as a millennial, when a viral news story breaks, I’ll always head to the BBC for the verified low-down but then straight onto Twitter for all the quick-witted memes and public reactions. So too do many others.

And that’s exactly why the traditional and digital worlds still complement each other.

4. The evolution of the press release to integrated comms

In Ye Olde days, press releases were the main and only form of communication between PR and journo – usually issued by post, fax or carrier pigeon (ask our MD, Gary about that one!).

While press releases still carry their weight when it comes to communication, we’ve also acknowledged that not everyone consumes information in the same way. This is why as PRs in a digital world, we go that step further in considering other tactics and channels to present the same information.

A blog with target search queries from your SEO agency; a guest-appearance on a relevant podcast; visual content with an animated video; a CEO interview or a social media launch with a sponsored hashtag and a list of pre-briefed target journalists are all examples of going that extra mile when considering how you can communicate with your audience and understanding the channels that work best.

It’s about thinking beyond a single tactic. It’s about thinking in an integrated way.

All of this, however, still relies on the traditional PR skill of storytelling.

While the channels and tools might have changed, the required expertise to pull it off are still completely relevant.

5. Digital has made us more human than ever

The coronavirus pandemic and the shift to working from home has meant that journalists have been even more difficult to get hold of, so PRs have had to work even harder to capture their attention.

As I mentioned earlier, we’re all human beings with lives outside of work. Many of us enjoy a Saturday night takeaway, a drink in a beer garden (finally!), and we all face our own personal challenges.

But digital channels and social media have given us more access to people’s lives than ever before. Through Instagram, I still follow the lives of girls I’ve met on holidays years ago, and people from my Uni courses that I did one group project with, and I’m sure I wouldn’t be the only one to admit that either. But naturally as human beings, we’re all just quite nosey! So how as PRs, do we use that to our advantage?

With more and more news outlets canning their print editions and focusing on digital subscriptions, there’s much more focus on website visits, clicks and engagement. After all, these outlets are still businesses, and these figures can be a highly attractive leverage for advertising and advertorial teams.

So, what inspires these clicks and comments? You guessed it – people. Real-life, relatable people with a story to tell.

Instead of leading with the brand’s story, what about the story behind how the brand’s Financial Director battles with dyslexia and still manages to head up a team of analysts? Or how your company’s pillow, while marketed to athletes and sportspeople, is helping hospitals tackle the coronavirus pandemic, or how an entrepreneur used your business to launch his own?

PR – whether traditional or digital – is rooted in storytelling but that knowledge to create those stories comes from a trained eye for one. And that’s a skill not to be sniffed at.

A good knowledge of the news landscape, a keen eye for a story and the skill of conveying a message is the foundation for a strong PR campaign – whether that’s digital or traditional.

As we face ever-changing technologies, new tools and approaches, PR agencies and professionals that evolve along with these changes will only continue to deliver real value for their clients. Traditional media and PR will always have its place, but those who complement their existing skills with digital tactics and tools will only keep on winning.

In this age, everyone’s an expert, but good PR isn’t always guaranteed. The skills of the “traditional PR” are here to stay, we’ve just added to our toolkit.

At No Brainer, we’re constantly embracing changes to our world and take steps to ensure we’re armed with the knowledge and tools to adjust and adapt. We’ve found that sweet spot between solidifying our understanding of the news agenda and journalist priorities, and complemented it with a more authentic understanding of our audiences and where we can find them in real-time *chef’s kiss*.

The post 5 reasons why traditional PR expertise still has a role in a digital age appeared first on No Brainer Agency.

How businesses behaved during 2020 – and how they ‘read the room’ of the nation through their communications, Digital PR, SEO and marketing strategies during the pandemic – will also last long in memories too.

While it’s been a year of epic fails when it comes to PR handling during the COVID crisis (we’ll touch on these!), it’s also been one where brands needed to be truly creative in their approach to reach consumers in the right way.

We’ve picked out the most epic PR fails and holy grails we’ve seen during 2020 and here we celebrate the five best and worst we’ve seen:

5 epic PR fails – campaigns that bombed in 2020

Before we get to the best of the best PR campaigns of 2020 (promise!), we felt we needed to give a few special mentions to some of the biggest PR fails we’ve witnessed in 2020.

1. The Government – a ministry of mayhem

First, big shout out to the government for its handling of the COVID crisis, which the New Statesman says has been viewed “as a cautionary tale” by nations across the world.

During the first lockdown, the mantra “Stay at Home. Protect the NHS. Save Lives” resonated brilliantly. But then came a raft of mixed messages, empty slogans, r-rates, regional chaos, Cummings and Barnard Castle-gate… the list goes on. News of a vaccine was a welcome plus point in a hail of PR fails during 2020.

2. Burger King’s “Veganuary”

There was also backlash to a range of other epic PR fails in 2020, including an honourable mention for Burger King, which launched a new vegan burger in a blaze of glory for ‘Veganuary’ 2020. It was later found to come with mayonnaise (which, as we know, contains egg) and was cooked on the same grills used for its meat-based burgers. It ended up not being suitable for vegans… or even vegetarians, and required a warning on its ads. As a result, this was one PR campaign that went up in flames.

Note: Although, they did sort of make up for that fail (in PR terms), by launching the Burger Queen campaign in 2020 as a brilliant follow up to their Stevenage FC campaign in 2019. 

3. Oh Polly – more like Oh Dear!

Fast fashion brand Oh Polly did an amazing job of ostracising many UK nurses and care workers after launching a competition to celebrate NHS workers’ commitment during the first COVID lockdown. Unfortunately, one of the Oh Polly team told the Glasgow-based winner Lara Harper ‘thanks, but no thanks’ as she couldn’t make the brand’s virtual party… because she was a nurse working a 12-hour shift that day. The social media storm against the brand was damaging to say the least.

4. Boeing hit new lows

Commercial jetliner manufacturer, Boeing cried ‘mayday’ several times during 2020. In days, the aerospace company found itself battling against tragic air disasters, workers being reassigned, embarrassing emails mocking its regulator and joking about safety, and complaints around its ex-CEO’s pay. The result? It posted its first annual loss since 1997, proving once again how important reputation is to the bottom line.

5. Trump – the ultimate bad loser

And the last honorary mention in this section goes to pretty much any of Donald Trump’s tweets about the Presidential Election results in most states, many of which carry a warning from Twitter about their accuracy. He lost to Joe Biden. Although he doesn’t think he did and he’s still harping on it about it…

The Holy Grails – 5 PR campaigns we loved in 2020

As our world tipped upside down in 2020, we saw businesses pivot, strategies halt and budgets reviewed, but that also bought out the very best in some brands.

We saw so many of them harness the power of their best creative minds to develop new ideas, fresh approaches and wild and wonderful campaigns that inspired consumers when inspiration was truly lacking for so many.

We’ve listed some of the ones that stood out most to us, but we’re always happy to chat through other campaigns that have – unlike the other five examples above – captured hearts, minds and attention for all the right reasons.

1. Spotify ‘Wrapped 2020’

Spotify owned Christmas with their ‘Wrapped 2020’ campaign this year. The campaign gave Spotify listeners and creators a personalised opportunity to celebrate and reflect on their year through a lens of audio and culture on the platform.

The campaign helped millions of us look back on the year through the music and podcasts that helped us all through, and the volume of shares in social was incredible.

As campaigns go, it didn’t miss a beat.

2. Tesco Gets Rid of the ‘Naughty List’

Tesco owned one of Santa’s (and let’s admit, every parents’) prized possessions this year…Father Christmas’s ‘Naughty List’.

Without a doubt, one of our top five campaigns this year, Tesco poked fun – in the right way – at the tough year we’ve all had and gave everyone a year off of the naughty list (phew!).

Tesco’s TV ads played to the Britney classic “Oops, I Did It Again”, and the character monologues and confessions were light-hearted, playful and brilliant. It spread a bit of joy, when we needed it most and for that, they get on this year’s ‘PR wins’ list.

3. ‘Moments of Joy’

Talking of joy, we helped Appreciate Group launch their ‘Moments of Joy’ campaign in December, which celebrated all the positives of 2020.

One hundred-year-old war veteran Captain Sir Tom Moore’s extraordinary fund-raising effort topped this year’s list, capturing 39 per cent of the nation’s hearts.

Second was Donald Trump’s defeat to Joe Biden in the race for the US Presidency, with news of a coronavirus vaccine in October ranking third. Manchester United ace Marcus Rashford’s campaign for the Government to reverse its decision to end free school meals was the nation’s fourth most joyful event (he was also named ‘Communicator of the Year’ by PR Week), with the day pubs re-opened after the first lockdown ranking fifth.

4. Aldi’s 30^th Birthday Party

Aldi love to push the boundaries when it comes to a bit of tongue in cheek banter with their competition, and they nailed it once more in 2020 with the brand’s 30^th birthday party campaign #Aldi30thBirthday.

Writing a card. To ourselves.#Aldi30thBirthday #NoOneCares pic.twitter.com/pnu3YqOq4t

— Aldi Stores UK (@AldiUK) October 6, 2020

As we know, brand’s birthday celebration can always be a bit of a damp squib… but Aldi laughed at themselves with the extra #NoOneCares hashtag bolted on for good measure and invited Asda, Iceland, Tesco, Sainsbury and even Lidl along for the laughs. Others like the Coop who weren’t invited, also got in on the act, providing a day of amusing light relief for all of us.

In the end we all cared as #Aldi30thBirthday took Twitter by storm.

5. Now TV’s ‘Greetings Gram’

Streaming service Now TV hit the mark with its Greetings Gram campaign towards the end of 2020 to give us all some much-needed throwback feels. The creative team behind the campaign managed to dig out ex-EastEnders star Martine McCutcheon (…whatever happened to her TV career?), to recreate a scene from Christmas classic Love Actually (…whatever happened to her film career too?).

Launching the TV service’s Christmas movies, members of the public were given the chance to reprise the famous Andrew Lincoln and Kiera Knightley ‘cue card’ scene from the movie to send friends and family a special, personalised Christmas message.

Honourable mentions….

It’s also worth some genuine honourable mentions too.

• HomeServe’s NHS campaign – providing free home repairs and improvements for NHS staff and care workers – stood out as something truly special in the year. It’s one of ours, and we’re super proud of it, so why not eh?!
• We loved Park Dean’s “Biggest Disney Fans” campaign too, which mapped the world’s favourite Disney characters by country. Simple, SEO and data-inspired (which we love!) and executed brilliantly.
• Author Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler helped children understand social distancing by recreating scenes from The Gruffalo in a really beautifully delivered campaign in 2020 too.
• A picture is worth a thousand words they say, and the images from this campaign created by artist Lidija Milonvanovic certainly made an impression. Released in May, the #SupportTheDoctors movement captured the mood of the nation at a time when support for key workers was on everyone’s mind.

We could go on, but what we do know is that – despite many marketing and Digital PR agency offices being shut down and teams working from home – creativity has been pushed to the forefront of so many communications, digital PR and marketing campaigns in 2020.

2020 has pushed us all to be even more imaginative, resourceful and most importantly, appreciative of some of the positive takeaways from this year.

We’ll certainly be taking it into 2021 with our clients.

And if you need help coming up with your next big creative campaign idea – rooted in data – then we’re always happy to have a chat over a brew.

Let’s get together for a chat and a brew to see how we can get your next campaign on the “hails” list!

The post Five of the best – and worst – PR campaigns of 2020 appeared first on No Brainer Agency.

B2B PR doesn’t have to be boring

Business to business (B2B) PR and marketing have a bit of a bad rep when it comes to being creative. It’s often seen as being boring or cookie-cutter, and whilst that can be true of some organisations and their approach to B2B Digital PR and other marketing channels, including social media, that doesn’t have to be the case for your business.

Here are five of our favourite examples of creative B2B PR campaigns that will change the way you think…

1. IBM’s Every Second Counts campaign

IBM’s award-winning Every Second Counts campaign targeted Chief Information Officers and IT leaders, encouraging them to tackle the topic of data breaches and cybersecurity.

Centred around a pair of short films showcasing the importance of having a rapid cyber recovery plan in place, their aim was to educate businesses on cyber disruption through the use of real-life stories.

Accompanying content included promotional video trailers, GIFs, infographics and social tiles that were activated on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Targeting CIOs and IT leaders, the content drove people to the campaign landing page, which featured the full videos. This activity was aligned with a series of thought-leadership articles in online outlets frequented by their target audience.

The films and content were created in collaboration with technical experts and consultants – this partnership between the creative and intelligence teams meant the stories were grounded in real-life issues and processes and were brought to life in an engaging way. The campaign was activated through the right channels, targeting the desired audience; bringing creativity and data together.

2. Hectare’s Tudder – Tinder for Cows

Tinder for Cows? Yes, you read that correctly! Hectare wanted to raise awareness of their platform to sell livestock, letting farmers find and trade breeding animals online. As well as helping to reduce costs in the process, they also wanted to dispel the myth that farming is an industry in the dark ages and prove that technology plays a major part in modern farming.

Tudder was born.  It allows farmers to swipe left or right on profiles of real-life cows and bulls, complete with mooing sounds and their perfect profile pics. As part of the launch, Valentine’s cards were sent to journalists to get their attention, along with a fun video on how to use Tudder.

The campaign resulted in worldwide media coverage with features running in outlets like The Guardian, New York Post, the BBC and James Corden’s The Late Late Show.

3. StoreKit’s Pint Map of London

Map of London Underground by the Cheapest Pint which combined both B2B PR and consumer outreach.

Their idea was to build a map showing the cheapest pint in an independent pub closest to every tube station in London. As part of their research, they (one person on the team, actually) contacted 263 pubs in London and asked them about their cheapest and most popular pint.

This act in itself put StoreKit on the radar of hundreds of pub owners – their exact target audience and was a great way to start the conversation. Once they published the map, their research was also extensively covered in consumer news media, putting their brand name in front of thousands of people including, once again, their target audience of pub owners. This PR outreach also helped to significantly boost their website authority and organic search (SEO) performance.

The findings from this research are really interesting – from the cheapest pint to the most expensive, the nearest and furthest pubs and the best drinking line. So, if you’re in London, feeling thirsty and want to save some pennies, check out their blog for tips.

4. Shutterstock’s Fyrestock video

Shutterstock has an ongoing global campaign; “It’s not stock, it’s Shutterstock”, aiming to shift perceptions around stock imagery. They’ve created a series of promotional videos using their own stock footage, aiming to prove that content created with stock footage and imagery can be both low-budget and high-quality.

As part of this, they tap into current trends and popular culture, with videos inspired by Game of Thrones and Stranger Things, along with the PR and social media disaster that was Fyre Festival.

Shutterstock leveraged the buzz around this and utilised it as part of their wider campaign. They created their own Fyrestock video using only their own stock footage and parodied the promo video for Fyre Festival. It racked up over 2 million video views across all social channels in the first week alone.

It’s a great example of a brand jumping on real-world hot topics to stay relevant, as well as showcasing a bit of playfulness, whilst ensuring its content stayed aligned to a wider strategy and message.

5. #LifeInsideDropbox

Dropbox has several great B2B PR campaigns, but one that really stands out is their #LifeInsideDropbox employee engagement campaign.

As part of an ongoing initiative to showcase company culture and attract new talent, Dropbox created the hashtag #LifeInsideDropbox, which was brought to life through both user-generated content as well as company-owned content.

Content frequently features their employees and focuses not just on their work-life but also on their personal passions, showcasing the people and personalities behind the brand. To ensure the content stands out on social media feeds posts tend to include striking visuals, photo collages and videos. Take a look at the example below…

Employer branding and attracting the best talent is a PR activity that is often overlooked by organisations, but people are key to the success of any business, so this should still be a target audience, even if you aren’t currently recruiting. It also shows potential partners what your values are and builds personal resonance with the brand.

Bring some creativity to your B2B campaigns

Hopefully, these examples of creative campaigns have inspired you to think differently about B2B PR – it can (and should) be fun and engaging! But it also has the power to drive fantastic return on investment, whether it includes traditional PR, digital PR or a combination of both.

There’s no limit to how creative you can be, just make sure it’s relevant to your brand and resonates well with your audience.

B2B audiences are no different to other purchasing audiences – every purchase decision has an element of emotion attached to it.

People seek out a human connection to businesses they want to do business with, they want to see personality-filled campaigns and companies that align to their values.

So, when you’re planning your next B2B campaign ask yourself, if you didn’t work for the company, would you be interested in this content?

And if you need an objective opinion – get in touch, we’re always honest and we know what works… And what doesn’t!

The post Five of the best examples of creative B2B PR campaigns appeared first on No Brainer Agency.

In PR, earning media coverage is the bread and butter of what we do, and it is an essential part of any integrated communications and marketing strategy.

But the reality is, when it comes to earning coverage, it isn’t enough to simply throw a press release together, send it out to a couple of journalists and keep your fingers crossed that the story lands – if only it was that easy!

Having a couple of handy tips in your back pocket to ensure your news gets covered can make all the difference. Here are just five simple ways to earn media coverage…

1. Consider your story, asking yourself: who’d want to read this?

Although you might be confident that your story is absolutely newsworthy, you may need to put yourself in the shoes of the journalist who will be receiving it. What’s the real news line? What’s going to entice people to read this article? Would you read it yourself?

They say you have seven seconds to make a good impression when you meet someone new, and the same approach should be taken when pitching to journalists. Start with the most attractive, newsworthy element of your story to pique their interest.

I speak to journalists on a daily basis and in my experience, if the subject line doesn’t grab their attention, then you have little chance of them opening your email to find out more.

2. Tailor-made media lists

 As an agency, researching key journalists and building bespoke media lists for every new story is an approach we pride ourselves on – and one we find highly effective.

Although it may seem time-consuming, making the effort to research which journalists will find your story relevant will save you a lot of headaches in the future and will help you in building positive relationships with key journalists too.

You wouldn’t want to put all your efforts into writing a great press release, only to receive emails from journalists telling you it isn’t their patch! A scattergun approach is very unlikely to get you results.

3. Maintain your relationships with key contacts

 As PR professionals, building relationships with journalists is a vital part of what we do. Making connections and maintaining positive relationships with key journalists will have a massive impact on the coverage you’re able to gain in the future.

Checking in with journalists when you notice a relevant story and offering your organisations expertise can streamline the PR/journalist relationship and will help position your company and spokespeople as the go-to on their specialist subject. Don’t forget to follow and engage with them on social!

4. Consider the SEO strategy

PR, like the rest of the world, is moving at a rapid pace towards a more digital approach. Google rankings matter now more than ever before, and brands want to be on the first page of Google searches wherever possible.

Taking the time to research the relevant keywords and search terms and building them into your content will help with searchability, and as a result articles have a better chance of reaching the desired audience. Keep this consistent across all content you write; not just press releases, but social media and web copy too.

Digital PR also provides a fantastic opportunity to earn high quality links to your website. Backlinks from high authority sites, such as media outlets, are a signal to search engines that your site is a trusted source. Therefore, high quality backlinks will generally increase your websites authority and as a result, will improve its search engine ranking.

5. Be persistent

Statistics show that PR professionals outnumber journalists five to one nowadays, so just imagine how many press releases drop into the average journalist’s inbox. Understandably, your story might get missed, so it’s never a bad idea to follow up if you think your release has true news value.

It’s also worth noting that your story might not land right the first time, but don’t be disheartened – the worst thing you can do is pass it off as a bad lot. Back yourself, and your story, and gently remind journalists of your angle. Sometimes, the news angle you’ve presented might not work, but be accommodating and offer to adapt the story to suit what they’re looking for.

Whatever your industry, there are outlets and journalists out there looking to draw on your expertise, share your news and help tell your story. The hard part is knowing how to forge valuable relationships with them, and that’s where our bespoke PR advice can make all the difference.

If you’d like to chat to one of the team about how we could help tell your story, get in touch via team@nobraineragency.co.uk

The post Five simple ways to earn media coverage appeared first on No Brainer Agency.

It’s fair to say that PR isn’t easy to define. In fact, Google Trends data shows that ‘What is PR’ is one of the most frequently searched terms on the topic of public relations.

However, to put it simply, PR is all about building reputation through communication. A PR person’s job is to build trust, awareness and credibility for brands by engaging with audiences through a number of different channels.

There isn’t a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to good PR. Strategies will be dependent on the business, its target audience and its goals. At No Brainer, our B2B PR campaigns combine earned, paid, shared and owned techniques to deliver meaningful results that align with bespoke objectives for each client.

Our experience shows us that when it comes to marketing and PR, the opportunity for B2B organisations is huge, but the thinking has to go beyond just media coverage. Here’s why…

PR is an important brand-building tool

PR can open up a host of growth opportunities for businesses, especially in today’s highly competitive market.

I recently came across an interesting report that stated ‘B2B marketers need to start looking at brand-building to drive long-term growth.’ The research showed that brand-building reduces price sensitivity and increases margins and as a result, is one of the main drivers of long-term growth and profit.

Image Source: The B2B Institute 

The same report also highlighted the importance of share of voice. Whilst the share of voice rule, which states that ‘brands that set their share of voice above their share of the market, will tend to grow’, has been tried and tested in the B2C arena for over 50 years, plenty of studies suggest that the same rules also apply in B2B markets.

With the evolution of the digital landscape, consumers have a myriad of options when it comes to choosing a product or service. People trust established brands and in such a competitive market, it’s clear that brand reputation and share of voice is more important now than it ever has been before.

Whether it’s through shared tactics such as online reviews and organic social or through earned media such as blogs, podcasts, whitepapers or media coverage – when companies invest in their brand reputation, the results are staggering.

Brand trust matters

Brand trust is a big deal when it comes to purchasing decisions. In the most recent Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report, 81% of people agreed ‘I must be able to trust a brand to do what is right.’

Additionally, the coronavirus pandemic has sharpened consumer attitudes and brand trust has become a valuable asset during this time. In times of crisis, people turn to the brands that they know and trust – the ones they can rely on.

But how can brands build trust?

As well as having a strong brand reputation, having clear communication is at the heart of achieving brand trust. A well-executed PR campaign combines tactics that will create and develop valuable relationships with a business’s target audience – often this is through media coverage online, in print or shared through social media.

Emotion also plays a key role, if a buyer has positive feelings towards your brand, they are much more likely to convert and as long as the experience matches up to expectations, they will likely come back again. Reputation is everything and people are much more likely to work with businesses they perceive to be trustworthy.

The decision-making process is complex

The B2B buying journey is often longer and involves multiple touchpoints and decision-makers, each armed with their own research and knowledge. As such, the buying process is much more complex and it’s crucial that marketers take this into consideration in their strategy.

Alongside credibility and trust, B2B buyers are looking for businesses that prove to be highly knowledgeable and have expertise in their field. That’s why positioning yourself as a thought leader is so important.

As a thought leader, an individual can provide answers to detailed questions a target audience is asking but also direct a conversation with their own knowledge and experience.

LinkedIn recently teamed up with Edelman to produce a ‘B2B Thought leadership impact study’ and the results really do speak for themselves. A total of 89% of respondents said thought leadership had enhanced their perceptions of a brand, with 49% suggesting it would influence their purchasing decisions.

Many see LinkedIn as just a networking platform, but in reality, it’s an incredibly powerful tool for positioning yourself as an expert in your field and reaching your target audience. It’s a tactic we recommend implementing into most B2B strategies and it proves to work time and time again.

B2B PR is a need not a want

Often marketing – including public relations – is seen as a luxury within the B2B sector, but hopefully we’ve proven that it’s an essential tool for companies who are looking to grow and evolve their business.

There is increasingly more competition and companies can’t rely on customers simply finding their business. You have to stick your head above the parapet and make sure you are being noticed, and for the right reasons.

These are just a few examples of the impact PR can have on your B2B marketing strategy, but if you’re interested in exploring this further, get in touch and we’d be happy to tell you more.

The post The role of PR in your B2B marketing strategy appeared first on No Brainer Agency.

As PR professionals, it’s a question we’re asked regularly, but the truth is that in today’s fast-paced news environment, driving national profile isn’t easy. However, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. In fact, it’s something we’re doing for our clients on a regular basis.

In the past few months alone, we’ve secured coverage in The Financial Times, The Telegraph, The Independent, The Daily Mail as well as broadcasters like BBC Radio Five Live, and other key regional news outlets and trade titles. More often than not, we’ve delivered this through what’s called “newsjacking”.

Hijacking topical and trending news, done effectively, is a great way to increase brand awareness, position key employees as thought leaders and is one of the best tactics for securing high-quality coverage in national outlets.

In my opinion, it’s a really important element of any integrated PR strategy and marketing plan where national media exposure is a key objective.

What is newsjacking?

Also known as editorial hijacking, media piggybacking or issue jumping, newsjacking isn’t a new concept for our industry.

Simply put, it’s about using trending news topics to your advantage. When a news story breaks, journalists will often be looking for independent specialists to provide expert comments or insights – and that’s where we can step in.

As an agency with a strong focus on media relations, digital PR and all the Earned media tactics that come with it, it’s our job to identify potential opportunities and work with our clients to provide journalists with expert comment, insights or opinion on relevant topics as quickly as possible. It’s a tried and tested method and through this approach, we’ve consistently secured coverage in top target outlets across a range of different sectors and industries.

How does newsjacking work?

Newsjacking can be simple, but it’s important you get it right.

The coronavirus pandemic has been incredibly disruptive for everyone – including national media news desks – but it has also created unique opportunities for newsjacking. Never before have we seen so many breaking news stories in such a short period of time and this meant there is a real need for the kind of advice our clients can provide.

Let’s take the legal teams we work with as an example…

From new government support schemes, to constantly changing legislation, employer responsibilities and developing health measures, we’ve been presented with huge amounts of unfamiliar information.

Through all this, we’ve worked with our legal clients to highlight opportunities to join the conversation and provide expert advice to help make sense of the barrage of information we’ve all been faced with and continue to be.

For us, this meant establishing key topic areas and identifying the go-to spokespeople within the law firm. Timing is critical with newsjacking and so having topics and spokespeople ready to go is key. The more proactive you are, the more reactive you can be.

For newsjacking to be truly effective, you have to remain on top of the news agenda. As things continue evolving on a daily basis, constant news monitoring is even more important. We monitor all the topics and themes relating to our clients daily, so we’re ready to react to any breaking stories quickly and be on the front foot to provide exclusive commentary.

The result? Well, we placed comments in a range of national and trade media titles discussing key topics such as furlough, self-employed workers rights, managing remote workers and custody arrangements during lockdown.

Is newsjacking effective?

 It’s fair to say that newsjacking can be challenging, and coverage is never guaranteed. However, having the opportunity to be part of the nation’s biggest news stories and to be positioned as an industry expert brings with it so many positives for your brand, including awareness, enhanced search engine visibility and leads.

Effective measurement proves newsjacking has a value way beyond the warm fuzzy feeling people get when they see their name in lights in the pages of a national paper, radio or TV broadcast. The outcomes can be fantastic, and we know from working closely with our clients that our efforts have directly resulted in new instructions.

The great news is that this type of coverage can also assist with your SEO strategy as a means of link building too.

If you want to find out more about how we’re working with brands on newsjacking as part of their integrated marketing strategies, then drop us an email. We’d love a chat over a virtual coffee!

The post What is newsjacking and how can brands get national media exposure from it? appeared first on No Brainer Agency.

Following these tips can help not only with the practical side of building up essential skills and finding ways to stand out on your CV and in interviews, but also in giving you the confidence in your own ability to forge a successful career in PR and marketing.

1. Know your stuff

You might have studied marketing and public relations (or maybe not) but all the buzzwords, models and theory in the world are only useful if you can apply them to real-world scenarios, campaigns, and activity. A really useful exercise can be to try and reverse engineer successful campaigns that you’ve seen (and admire) to work out what it took to put them together (or illustrate how you would do it), and also how the campaign actually benefitted the brand involved in a tangible way.

This is the kind of thing you can talk about in a job interview which shows that you really understand marketing principles and have taken the time to really think about why certain campaigns are successful and how it was done.

2. Do an internship or work experience placement in a PR or marketing agency

We’re not talking about the lengthy unpaid internships of old here, but a great way to get real experience of the PR and marketing world is to ask for a one to two-week placement in a marketing or PR agency where you can learn from people at various stages of their career. Not only does this help you with hands-on experience, but it can also help you to start building contacts within the industry, which can prove really useful throughout your future career.

You don’t need to stop at one placement. Getting experience in different agencies or teams is a good way broaden your knowledge and network with even more people.

3. Get some journalism experience if you can

If you want to work in PR, a busy news desk can be the perfect environment for you to learn, because of the close relationship between journalism and public relations. Lots of PR people have previously trained and worked as journalists and the transferrable skills between the two are many. You need to be able to find and pitch stories, write good copy quickly and deal with tight deadlines in both professions. Working alongside journalists can also give you great insight that will help with pitching once you’re working in PR. You’ll see first-hand how journalists choose which stories to use from the dozens or even hundreds they receive every day, along with essential knowledge such as the best time to call a journalist and what makes a good story for a variety of different audiences.

4. Get some other relevant experience

You absolutely don’t need to wait for your first role in PR and/or marketing to find relevant experience, and it can really make securing your first job in this industry a lot easier too. Are there any local charities or non-profit organisations that you can volunteer for to help gain experience in the right areas, and achieve something else positive at the same time?

This could be anything from local radio to sports clubs, community groups or any kind of charity. You often get the freedom to try new things in these types of settings and it can be a great way to learn and get that essential real-world experience, which are a great bonus to have on your CV and to refer back to in interviews.

5. Utilise free training opportunities

PR and marketing may have traditional roots but the present and future is ever more digitally focused. To help ensure you have the necessary knowledge and skills in digital PR and digital marketing, there are numerous free online courses that you can take which not only offer value as a learning tool for everyday use in your working life, they also show that you’re committed to developing your skillset and career. Try Google Digital Garage for a range of digital marketing skills and Facebook Blueprint for learning about marketing on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp. An absolute must for marketers and those working in PR now is a good working knowledge of Google Analytics. You can access the free Google Analytics Academy training courses here.

6. Build your own personal online/offline brand and make sure you network

Anyone applying for a job in any industry should be aware of their public profile on social media and what it says about them as a potential employee. For those looking at a career in PR or marketing, this is even more important as you can proactively build a personal brand that backs up your CV and can also help you network online with professionals in the area you want to work in.

Networking on social media by engaging with other people’s posts is one thing, but networking in person can have a real and lasting value too. Attending free events run by professional bodies such as CIPR and PRCA can help you meet PR professionals you probably wouldn’t run into otherwise, and free conferences like BrightonSEO can not only inspire you in all areas of marketing, including but not limited to SEO, but also act as a great way to meet marketing professionals from across the full spectrum.

At No Brainer, we’re always happy to help people with their first or next step on the career ladder whenever possible. Take a look at our current vacancies here.

The post Six tips for getting into a career in PR and Marketing appeared first on No Brainer Agency.

On February 19, KFC announced that it had shut more than half of its 900 UK restaurants after problems with delivery caused the fast-food chain to run out of chicken…and the internet basked in the misfortune.

The initial response and reaction

After a banquet of memes, viral tweets and the woman who “’ad to go to Burger King!” snowballed across the web, KFC’s marketing managers knew they had to respond and a comeback operation was launched.

Riding on the initial public outcry, KFC did a great job in controlling the message and used various online and offline channels to not only apologise for the cock-up, but to keep the public well informed on how they were attempting to fix the issue. This included full page ads in all the national newspapers (as shown below) and these images sparked a wave of positive responses from the public.

The brand also took to social media to engage in some lighthearted repartee with its customers. KFC’s Facebook and Twitter feeds became populated with the latest information and were constantly filled with updates including the whereabouts of its chicken deliveries. This not only kept its customers informed but also quashed any rumours flying around about the brand being in turmoil.

The social media accounts also published regular Q&A content in a creative way, confirming information posted by the media. Then use of language like “gossip in the hen house” kept the tone playful and in keeping with KFC’s younger target audience, but it was also clear and informative.

Jumping on an empty bandwagon

KFC’s response across social media was a masterclass, but perhaps it was an opportunity missed for some of its competitors. There was little in the way of rivals hijacking the story to steal the limelight (where were you Nando’s?!) and if it wasn’t for Iceland coming in to save the day with some classic brand-to-brand banter, we would have been super disappointed. Here’s what the frozen food giant had to say:


Even This Morning ran a piece on how to make your own home-made bargain bucket yet from McDonald’s, there wasn’t a Chicken Legend mention in sight.

‘We Always Want What We Can’t Have!’

Although quiet on the competitor front, the breaking news of KFC running out of chicken caused a huge surge in public searches for “KFC near me”, with the largest search peaking on 19^th February according to Google Trends data (this was closely followed by hungover New Year’s Eve party-goers clearly looking for a chicken-fix on January 1)

The story put finger licking chicken at the front of mind for consumers, with many searching online for their nearest fix. KFC took that on board and responded beautifully…

#WheresMyChicken

Reacting to this, KFC made great use of Twitter’s automated message system and launched #WheresMyChicken. Kentucky-fried lovers could simply private message the brand’s Twitter account and, using geo-location, Twitter would find the nearest KFC outlet and send directions. The tone was fun again with users encouraged to easily share the results (cleverly expanding the reach of the campaign and a simple but absolutely genius idea from KFC helped to drive customers back into its restaurants.

The hashtag also became the main hub for information, updates and the odd hilarious meme. In the first couple of days, the hashtag created 586,399 impressions on Twitter alone along with top related hashtags #nopatty #gutted and #settlingforfish. Interestingly, while 40 million more women visit Twitter than men each month, it was the guys who topped the use of the hashtag with 62% of men on Twitter engaging with the campaign. Men really do love their fried chicken!

The latest – “We’ve got the chicken but BYO gravy”

Just as we’d got to the bottom of our Bargain Bucket and thought the crisis was over, KFC announced that its restaurants had run out of gravy! Again, this was put down to delivery issues (probably with a large helping from the weather and the Beast from the East) and meant that most KFC restaurants were serving a ‘reduced menu’ in the days that followed.

Conspiracy theorists (and more than a few cynical PR practitioners) argued that the brand was milking the product shortage story for all that it was worth, but the media continued to lap it up and KFC remained one of the most talked about brands on the internet over a fortnight after the crisis first came to light.

Job done? Well, it remains to be seen. Some media outlets were reporting that KFC was losing up to a £1million a day when the vast majority of its restaurants were shut. That’s a big shortfall to make up, but given the perfectly executed response, it doesn’t seem as if the KFC brand will see any long-term reputational damage. If anything, it’s much more likely they’ll see a rise in demand so we’ll be watching with interest to see what comes next in the saga!

The KFC marketing team deserve a lot of credit for their response because they were honest, relatable, calm, and kept the public well informed throughout the issue. All the key elements of a successful crisis communications response.

If you followed the KFC crisis and have some thoughts you’d like to share with us, we’re all ears! Drop a comment in the box below or send us a tweet to @nobraineragency.

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