Posts

Camilla Long’s column in the Sunday Times, ‘Enninful’s big goodbye says his Vogue was never for us’ – Is Wrong

/0 Comments/in /by

 

 

 

On Sunday, I read Camilla Long’s column in the Sunday Times, entitled, ‘Enninful’s big goodbye says his Vogue was never for us.’ It was interesting to read Long’s perspective, which I believe is one of white privilege and is something that I conclude after a lot of deliberation.

In a nutshell, Long says that under Enninful, British Vogue had lost its way and become empty and that as editor-in-chief, Enninful had failed to do what Vogue was known for, which was to discover new talent of writers, photographers, designers, etc.
Long also references Enninful’s last cover which he created for the March 2024 issue of British Vogue, which is called, ‘Legends Only: 40 Iconic Women’, and says ‘it missed the mark.’ See the photo here, what do you think?!

I re-read Long’s piece, and mulled it over…and it just did not sit with me, so much so that I was compelled to write this post. I believe Enninful had shaken things up at Vogue and put diversity and inclusion at the heart of his vision. There was more modern representation than ever before. More ethnic representation than ever before.

I remember the issue that came out during the pandemic, when everything in the UK was in lockdown and Enninful played a blinder or should I say an ‘equalizer’, by featuring frontline workers on the front cover. For the first time in Vogue history, there were ordinary people on the front of the magazine.

This column by Long misses the point and does not see the difference that Enninful made to women like me, women of colour…the rest of us, who have always stood on the outside looking in…

Representation matters because what we see in the media doesn’t just reflect reality – it also shapes it. On the other hand, positive representation can shift public opinion for the better and create greater understanding and appreciation between cultures and communities.

Contrast this with the photo of the editorial team under the last Vogue editor, Alexandra Shulman, which came under a lot of criticism when it made its way onto social media. There was no representation whatsoever, it was not an inclusive team.

 

And I shall leave you with this last thought, a Reuters 2021 survey of 100 major UK news outlets found that only 15 percent of the 80 top editors were non-white.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lionesses Inspiring Us All

/0 Comments/in /by

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a moment for women’s football in this country, what a moment for women’s football globally, what a moment for women’s sport, and what a moment for women everywhere. There is only one story right now. The England women’s national football team, also known as the Lionesses, did it last night and brought football home, securing the nation’s first major trophy since 1966. Captain Leah Williamson said she believes the win has inspired “change of the best kind”, while the Queen hailed their historic win “an inspiration for girls and women today, and for future generations”.

Last night change happened in real-time and this win is also about purpose, equality, and equal pay for equal work, which all come under the umbrella of corporate social responsibility. The Women’s Super League (WSL), English football’s top domestic competition, is one of the most competitive and professional in world football, however, the salary in the WSL can be as low as £20,000 per year in some cases. The average yearly salary in the WSL is said to be £30,000. Some players are even being reportedly “priced out” of playing professional football due to the low starting wage and lack of opportunities.

England right-back Lucy Bronze, considered one of the best players in world football, makes an estimated £200,000 a year from club football and has signed endorsement deals with brands like Pepsi, EE, and Visa. She is set to join Barcelona after her Manchester City contract expired over the summer. While Gareth Bale was reportedly paid up to £600,000 a week while at Real Madrid; six-figure weekly wages are commonplace among the elite men’s players. The highest-paid male footballer according to Forbes, is Lionel Messi, who earns £62million per year before endorsements. There is clearly a wage gap when compared with men’s footballers.

Former England international and BBC pundit Alex Scott reprimanded Premier League clubs who refused to host women’s Euros matches this summer and explained live on-air after BBC One’s full-time coverage how difficult it had been to convince men’s Premier League clubs to agree to host matches when the competition was being planned back in 2018.

She said, ‘Let’s just remind as well, back in 2018 we were begging people [Premier League clubs] to host games in their stadiums for these Euros and so many said no’ and powerfully added, ‘I hope you’re all looking at yourselves right now because you weren’t brave enough to see the vision… I’m not standing up at corporate events in front of sponsors anymore begging for them to get involved in the women’s game, because you know what? If you’re not involved, you’ve missed the boat, you’ve missed the train. Because look at this… it has finally left the station and it is gathering speed.’

Over the next few days, we will see brands and football clubs climbing on the bandwagon, wanting to be part of the Lionesses’ success and the sudden success of women’s football. While these deals will be welcome because they will make a difference to the sport and the players, as the investment will be needed to keep the momentum going, a lot of it will be corporate publicity spin and hype.

Many will be getting on board only for the PR and not because of passion, belief, or real purpose. These types of brands and sponsors won’t stay the course, because they will be using women’s football as a fix, to push out their brand and make themselves look good. Especially, if these corporates have internal challenges and do not have enough diversity or inclusivity within their own organizations, they will be called out for greenwashing.

 

 

 

 

2020 Will Be The Year Of The New Type Of PR Strategist

/0 Comments/in /by

 

Traditional public relations (PR) has been evolving for the last ten years, but in 2020, I believe we are really going to see traditional PR experts forced to become all round PR strategist if they are going both survive and to be able to service the needs of their clients. Where we will focus not only on PR but social media, branding, marketing, copywriting, diversity in campaigns, sustainability and technology, where technology will be playing a bigger role than previously thought.

This need to become all round PR strategists will be pushed by the brands who recognize that they have to up their game, which in turn will be driven by consumers who will demand that brands do better and get it right. This isn’t something that marketing or digital professionals will be able to deliver on, but instead by communication experts who will have an overview and a real understanding of the brands they are working with and representing.

For instance, we have seen many of the luxury brands starting to drive diversity in 2019 by employing ‘diversity chiefs’ after many culturally insensitive campaigns. Chanel hired its first ‘Head of Diversity and Inclusion’, Fiona Pargeter, this year, as a way to reportedly “beef up the resources” devoted to creating diverse and inclusive environments. While, Prada launched its ‘Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council’ earlier this year in February. This was after, the brand came under scrutiny when some of its products (black monkey figurines with oversized red lips) displayed in a New York, US, store were thought to resemble blackface imagery.

Other luxury fashion houses, including Burberry, are also hiring for similar roles. Renée Tirado was named as Gucci’s first global head of diversity, equity and inclusion and followed its out-of-touch autumn/winter 2018 collection featuring a balaclava polo neck jumper with large red lips – a product accused of portraying blackface. The Italian fashion company apologized, stating it would turn the incident into “a powerful learning moment”.

These hires are not clever publicity moves, but a must have for companies worldwide who recognize that they need to embrace diversity, as there is no longer the excuse to get it wrong. Consumers are demanding better and for brands to be inclusive and sensitive.

Sustainability will be seen as a bigger core brand value and news item than any PR or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) professional could have imagined. With climate change, plastic pollution and reducing waste continuing to dominate global headlines, companies will need to ensure that their CSR initiatives are not just used as marketing tools, as they will face a consumer and media backlash, but are instead integral to their core brand values, which is then sincerely filtered through to all their internal and external communications, operations and delivery.

Thirteen years ago, companies would start CSR projects to show their stakeholders how good they were, which was window dressing. Fast-forward to 2019, businesses need to prove how good they are!

This means creating a human connection between a brand and its audiences will be pivotal in 2020. Where the PR strategy will need to be driven by emotion and have the human element in order to be more meaningful and lead to a growing focus on expert, local and enthusiastic micro-influencers, instead of macro-influencers. Everything will be drilled down, as consumers suffer from constant information overload and expect to engage with businesses on their own terms. It’s so important to create campaigns that provoke emotions that are relevant and memorable, and therefore, PR experts will need to consider all aspects of a client’s social and digital footprint.

The best campaigns will focus on creating not just customers – but true fans who are passionate about the brand, who proactively search for information and become active advocates for the business.

Simultaneously, it will be important and a challenge consider how to reach consumers undergoing digital detoxes. How is your brand providing value to an audience overwhelmed by hypo connectivity? As interactive content and video are no longer enough; no one-size-fits-all, off-the-shelf solutions. The challenge is real –creating campaigns that tap into human truths and acknowledge human potential will be key.

I am definitely looking forward to 2020…as Serendipity PR is more than ready.

 

 

 

 

 

It’s No Longer Possible For Brands Not To Be Diverse In Their Advertising Campaigns

/0 Comments/in /by

I was recently invited by a high-end luxury online shopping brand for women to give feedback on its new online advertising campaign. First-off, I had not even noticed it’s new campaign and I suppose that was in itself telling, because it had not been memorable for me. However, when I did carefully consider it, I realised why it had not hit home…and that’s because it was not relatable and it didn’t connect with me. The advert looked out of touch and dated in the context of today’s conversations and I gave this feedback to the ‘enquiring luxury online shopping brand.’ But I also wondered how they could get it so wrong?!

Research shows that female consumers are calling time on airbrushing and have ‘perfection fatigue’, which has significant implications for brands. Therefore, it is no longer possible for brands not to be diverse in their advertising campaigns, and when I say ‘diverse’ I mean diversity in the age of models, race and reflective in body-types. While thin and prepubescent bodies are still the preferred choice for the runway and print media world, social media is giving a platform for celebrating more diverse body shapes. The #bodypositivity movement is empowering women to push against narrow and unattainable beauty standards and instead celebrate their differences and their imperfections.

Again, traditional magazines and other forms of advertising have always heavily featured white models largely from western European backgrounds. This lack of diversity has meant poor representation of other ethnicities. Yet, the explosion of social media has been incredibly positive for making beauty more accessible and inclusive.

Importantly, social media is no longer the natural habitat for millennials, as older women are using the medium to smash one of the most ingrained prejudices in fashion and beauty –  age. With styling, skincare and beauty tutorials aimed at older women, they’ve celebrated and empowered this demographic. Furthermore, they’ve also vanquished the myth that fashion and beauty is limited to youth.

As a result, brands casting only young, thin, white, flawless models no longer feel relevant in the modern age. But crucially advertising campaigns are also very much about the story that a brand is trying to relay to its audience and is connected to the brand values of the company, so any kind ‘tokenism’ will immediately be apparent. It’s important for brands to not stop at advertising, but instead embrace realness and transparency in their values.

It is also important for those of us working in media and communications to keep pulling up those brands that are falling short. The needle is shifting. Diversity and inclusion should not stand as buzzwords; but treated as a reflection point where brand managers and content creators strive for approaches that avoid reductive stereotypes and unintentional continuation of classism, racism and sexism.