Etta James, perhaps more famously, and more pertinently than James Brown, once sang: “This is a man’s world, but it would be nothing, nothing. Without a woman or a girl.” In the current climate we must all look inwards at our industries and ask the questions; are we fair with equal opportunity and do we have parity in terms of pay? Having started as an intern at another agency, a few years back now, I was in an office of 15 women with me and the Financial Director being the only guys. During that time I naturally thought the opposite to the above song’s lyrics and never would have thought the industry needed to ask the above questions… but what if we did? The PRCA’s Diversity and inclusion Guidelines were launched this week and show there is a 64%/36% female/male gender split, but rather ashamedly, the average annual salary for the PR profession’s women is £9,111 less than for its men. Ensuring equal pay is a question for senior management, however there are ways to offer equal benefits, opportunities and development for all: Flexible Hours: Why not offer staff flexible working hours so they can arrive at work later and leave later and vice-versa. This will show your PR-pros a high level of trust and give them freedom to live their lives a little more. There is of course the option to work form home, if you have the discipline that is. Gratitude: End of year bonuses and demonstrations of everyday gratitude such as small value gift vouchers, offer workers something to work towards, and it is easy to define how they are calculated or distributed in an internal document. Development: Formal reviews are an easy way to identify ways for professional development and then you can tailor career paths for each member of staff accordingly. Using company resources, like people, to offer training and bringing in outside help when necessary is another easy way to offer equal opportunity and essential for staff to flourish. Staff away days are also great bonding exercises and brings the team together. Rewards: Why not reward long service with extra holidays or the option to take a sabbatical? Although it may take time for the PR industry to do the right thing and close the pay gap we can start by providing equal and open opportunities and benefits. It’s easy for me to say this as, fortunately, I’m now working at a company that thinks this way. Nathan Nye
As agencies are still finding their feet with Gen Z’s unique contributions, it’s time to gear up for the next big wave – Gen Alpha. Born between 2010 and 2024, this group is beginning to enter the workforce, starting with work experience and internship roles. As the most digitally native… Read more
London PR agency, Richmond & Towers (R&T) has been appointed by two new SaaS (Software as a Service) businesses in as many months, as it continues to grow its specialism in the performance marketing arena. Already well-known as one of the UK’s top PR and social media agencies, R&T is… Read more
A busy press office has been the bread and butter of a PR agency for years and years (and years!). And for good reason – it’s the window into your business, so it’s vital to get right. Even though times are changing and the way media operates has streamlined, it’s… Read more
Premier League football clubs are often masters of bad PR. The next scandal is always right around the corner, yet football clubs continue to provide weak responses to crises that infuriate and alienate their supporters – time and time again. The latest debacle at a football club is unfortunately at my beloved Arsenal. Owner Stan Kroenke has just launched his new television channel ‘My Outdoor TV’, which broadcasts angling, blood sports and trophy hunting – in other words, killing animals for what some might call sport. When questioned by the media, Arsenal FC responded with: “This is nothing to do with the football club so we’ve got nothing to say.” The response from fans has been damning, with high profile Gunners such as Jeremy Corbyn and Piers Morgan both condemning the club for ignoring the issue. This separation of church and state is endemic in football – why has Arsenal chosen to offer no comment when a response was clearly required by the fans? And how can PR help avoid this in future? Building your response: Defining clear and concise key messages that will help spokespeople tackle difficult questions with confidence is the starting point. Arsenal didn’t need to apologise on behalf of the owner – that’s his job – but they did need to assure fans that they didn’t condone blood sports. In the majority of cases, ‘no comment’ looks weak and evasive. Choosing the right spokespeople & media training: An essential for any company or organisation that needs to field spokespeople, good media training can help identify who your best spokespeople are for different occasions. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger may be a master PR man when it comes to deflecting flack away from his players, but it’s not his job to do the same for his club’s owner, which leaves the question about why Arsenal had no one else to step up to the plate. Ensure you’ve got the right counsel in your corner: Before sending a company spokesperson into the lion’s den it is vital to carry out due-diligence by having media relations experts construct a full brief before the interview. Furthermore, there should always be someone on-hand to step in if a journalist asks a loaded question and to provide a source of knowledge in case your spokesperson forgets a vital piece of data. And if you’re putting someone before the cameras or microphone, then make sure they are bomb proof. Just ask Diane Abbott if you want to know how it feels when it goes wrong – and the subsequent consequences. No comment: Should only be considered if you are asked to comment on a wider issue, such as if Arsenal FC were asked to comment on a Manchester United player being accused of gambling on football games Arsenal were not playing in. There is no need to make yourself part of the story when you are not directly involved. Arsenal have millions of fans who have a perfect right to know what the club thinks about its owner’s unsavoury hobbies. ‘Nothing to do with us, gov’ simply doesn’t cut it, at least it certainly didn’t for me on this occasion.
As agencies are still finding their feet with Gen Z’s unique contributions, it’s time to gear up for the next big wave – Gen Alpha. Born between 2010 and 2024, this group is beginning to enter the workforce, starting with work experience and internship roles. As the most digitally native… Read more
London PR agency, Richmond & Towers (R&T) has been appointed by two new SaaS (Software as a Service) businesses in as many months, as it continues to grow its specialism in the performance marketing arena. Already well-known as one of the UK’s top PR and social media agencies, R&T is… Read more
A busy press office has been the bread and butter of a PR agency for years and years (and years!). And for good reason – it’s the window into your business, so it’s vital to get right. Even though times are changing and the way media operates has streamlined, it’s… Read more
It may be becoming increasingly challenging to get the new time-pressed breed of journalists, bloggers and influencers to attend press trips, but is there still a place for them in PR today? In short – yes, and here’s why: A press trip remains an invaluable environment in which to form lasting relationships with media. It’s human nature that being able to put a face to a name brings all parties closer. Indeed, personal contact will always make the goods, services and people that we are trying to PR seem more real and relatable, while fostering a better understanding of what you and your company or organisation are really all about. As such, brand owners should always try to meet journalists as often as possible, and press trips remain a great way of doing that as they help facilitate positive relationships, meaning the next time you interact with a journalist there will be a genuine recognition and rapport. There is also inevitably a high level of exclusivity on press trips that allows journalists the chance to fill their MP4 players with hours of interview material, which can be used in features and articles for years to come, while in the short term offering the chance for one on one contact will give them material that will be unique. With any press trip, a brand owner or organisation will understandably want to see a good return on their investment – and this is invariably the case. Again, it comes down to human nature. If you’ve got a good story to tell, and the journalist has invested their own time in allowing you to tell that story, then they are inevitably going to be more interested in relaying it to their readers, listeners or viewers. Journalists are also always looking for interesting press trips that offer new experiences from which they can extract desirable content. Our recent press trips to Cuba, for Havana Club, and Ireland, for Irish Distillers, have had top tier media attending and then writing bespoke brand stories based on their exciting time abroad, leading to many more column inches and pieces of coverage than a press release alone would muster. So here are our top tips for a successful press trip: When recruiting for a press trip, tailor every pitch to target a specific section/opportunity/column in the magazine or website that the journalist contributes to Negotiate the coverage each journalist can reasonably be expected to commit to as part of their attendance on the trip Be open to including additional cultural events and local areas of interest in the itinerary to support with the guest’s editorial – give them some colour Make sure there’s some down time – press trips are hard work for all parties, so it’s good to factor in some breaks that allow everyone to go back feeling they’ve had a productive trip, but not so exhausted that they need a week off to recover Stay in touch – the trip is just the start of the relationship, so make sure that all parties – both you and the journalists – continue to get the maximum return on the investment
As agencies are still finding their feet with Gen Z’s unique contributions, it’s time to gear up for the next big wave – Gen Alpha. Born between 2010 and 2024, this group is beginning to enter the workforce, starting with work experience and internship roles. As the most digitally native… Read more
London PR agency, Richmond & Towers (R&T) has been appointed by two new SaaS (Software as a Service) businesses in as many months, as it continues to grow its specialism in the performance marketing arena. Already well-known as one of the UK’s top PR and social media agencies, R&T is… Read more
A busy press office has been the bread and butter of a PR agency for years and years (and years!). And for good reason – it’s the window into your business, so it’s vital to get right. Even though times are changing and the way media operates has streamlined, it’s… Read more