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Newspaper Front Page Stories, October 2022 With Links To The Climate Crisis

 

 

In light of COP27 happening this week, this photo above is striking and shows the newspaper front page stories in October 2022 with links to climate change and climate risks, from the Media and Climate Observatory (MECCO) Monthly Summaries. The work of MECCO is to monitor media coverage of themes associated with climate change and global warming, as there are no comparable monitoring services for news coverage of climate change or global warming.

MECCO reports that October media coverage of climate change or global warming in newspapers around the globe dipped five percent from September 2022 and 37 percent from September 2021 levels. MECCO’s analysis also shows that coverage in international wire services decreased 15 percent, as radio coverage rose 21 percent from September 2022. Compared to the previous month, coverage decreased in the European Union (EU) (-4%), Asia (-6%), Oceania (-6%), the Middle East (-7%) and North America (-11%).

What is apparent from this data, is that when it comes to news about this topic, media outlets often struggle to gain audience attention. The climate crisis story can seem intractable, depressing, and often difficult to understand. It is also frequently politicised, with audiences polarised on the topic.

However, the following data from MECCO is insightful, showing coverage was up from the previous month in Africa (+14%), and Latin America (+19%), revealing that interest in climate change news is highest in these regions, and this is probably because the countries here have witnessed extreme weather events linked to the climate crisis. Where Chile continues to suffer from severe drought, which has made climate change ‘easy to see’, while this year every part of the African continent was affected by extreme weather events, ranging from wildfires in Algeria to catastrophic flooding in South Africa. It may be that audiences are more interested in news about the topic when they are not so polarised and can clearly see the negative effects of extreme weather where they live.

This data clearly shows that while the climate crisis is one of the biggest challenges for humanity right now, it is not always front-page news. Audiences appear to be more interested in and pay more attention to climate change news in places where the negative effects are felt more acutely. But it is too late if audiences only pay attention once disasters have already struck!

The challenge is how newsrooms continue to cover the issue in a way that draws attention to the causes and decisions that lead to disasters, not just the disasters themselves.

Are there other ways journalists can take to make climate change stories feel more relevant? Perhaps environmental documentaries are the way forward, which have wide appeal and provide clear and engaging stories. Afterall, we are the ‘age of the visual’, with video becoming increasing popular on social media. These visual narratives help audiences connect with what is a very large and sometimes abstract story – while not necessarily being ‘political’. A good example of this is the BBC’s very successful Blue Planet series with Sir David Attenborough and according to the Sunday Times, so many Chinese viewers downloaded Blue Planet II “that it temporarily slowed down the country’s internet”.

As a public relations professional, who knows only too well about the power of storytelling, I believe it all comes down to this…there is always room for better storytelling about the climate crisis.

 

In The Top 15 Women Influencers in PR & Comms And In The Top 100 Of The PR Influencer Index

 

 

There’s nothing like a good surprise and finding out that I had made the PR Influencer Index was certainly a good one; am in the top 100 at number 25! It feels good to be up there with my peers and to be recognised for the work Serendipity PR & Media does. Plus, I also made it in the Top 15 Women Influencers in PR & Comms, am at number 10!

A little about  – The PR Influencer Index, is by Commetric, which uses an influencer mapping methodology and human analyst expertise to identify social media influencers working in PR & Communications. The Index is based on both quantitative and qualitative evaluation of English language Twitter data.

My Love of Podcasts!

During lockdown and our changing world, I have been keeping myself busy with writing and podcasts, not just listening to them, but being fortunate enough to be invited on to various shows to share my stories.

I enjoyed sharing my business wisdom and stories and have recently been on two popular US based podcasts shows – CurryUp StartUp Podcast and the #365FirstChallenge

Both shows are hosted by great podcasters who have the mastery of asking great questions and importantly, good listeners, knowing just when to come in to ask that timely question.

Podcasts are great for sharing knowledge, experiences and stories with a wide audience. You can listen to podcasts about politics, business, cooking and more; the options are endless. Data shows that two million podcasts are registered by Google.

According data released from Buzzsprout, Latino podcasts are flourishing due to the large number of Spanish speakers in both the US and South America, with Chile in the lead with a podcast growth rate of 85 percent; followed by Argentina; then Peru and Mexico. The country with the fifth-highest rate is China; and I know that in India, podcasts is a growing market.

While in the UK, 12 percent of adults listen to at least one podcast per week and are the most popular among millennials (21 percent) and only five percent of Baby Boomers have caught the podcast bug.

Other research by Music Oomph shows that brands that advertise products and services during business podcasts have a 14 percent lift in purchase intent! There is plenty of research on customer behaviour proving that podcasts impact brand lift.

Other interesting podcasting statistics on customer behaviour:

  • Brands that have ads in podcasts about society and culture are most likely to have a 9.2 percent lift in purchase intent.
  • Brands that advertise in news and politics podcasts are most likely to have a 12.8 percent lift in purchase intent.
  • Brands that advertise in comedy podcasts are most likely to have a 7.3 percent lift.
  • Brands that advertise in sports podcasts are most likely to have a 9.3 percent lift.

According to Forbes – 36. 39 percent of US small and medium-sized businesses owners are podcast users and 65 percent of them listen to podcasts weekly, according to 2018 podcast listenership stats.

So, if you happen to be looking for something to listen to…give CurryUp StartUp Podcast and the #365FirstChallenge a try.

How To Manage Your Business Comms During Coronavirus

 

The world is going through very difficult times with the dreaded coronavirus and everyone is in the same boat. It feels like one of those Hollywood action-packed blockbusters, only there’s no hero to save the world right now.

However, during these times of crisis of complexity, brands are rising to these new challenges and are really engaged with consumers. Over the last week consumer brands such as Holland & Barrett; Boots UK; Riverford; Nanuska; Space NK to big global brands such as JCrew have been emailing their customers to reassure them of measures taken in-store to deal with the virus. Their messages have been mindful of others and reflect their company’s values.

This is an extract of what Seb James, MD of Boots UK sent out to the customer mailing list last week:

“For 171 years, Boots has been at the heart of community care, providing support, advice and healthcare to communities across the U.K. Never has this been truer than today, as our colleagues work tirelessly to support you and your families whilst the COVID-19 situation is ongoing.

We are doing everything we can to help our customers and our team to stay healthy and safe; whether that’s through the products we sell, the experience in our stores, or the support we provide to our employees”.

Brands in today’s chaotic world have a key role to play, especially in these new times of dealing with public health challenges. Companies need to imbibe lots of empathy with a balanced tone that is understanding, cautious and optimistic. Trust needs to be reflected along with the ability for everyone to work together and find solutions. This engagement is so much easier with all the multiple social media channels; and apart from engaging externally, internal communications is also crucial to inspire confidence in the brand.

So, what can you be doing right now as a business or brand? Well, there are three simple things you can be doing to manage your business communications during these times:

  1. Understand and know the role your brand plays in people’s lives, how it has changed and how your brand can help or be useful during this crisis. Look for opportunities to do the right thing, where it makes sense for your business. One brand who is doing this is, LVMH Moët Hennessy, the French company behind major brands like Louis Vuitton, Fenty Beauty and Benefit Cosmetics, announced on 15 March that its factories, which normally manufacture perfume will shift to manufacture hand sanitizer gel.

In a statement according to Reuters LVMH said,

“LVMH will use the production lines of its perfume and cosmetic brands … to produce large quantities of hydroalcoholic gels from Monday.”

The brand said it would be delivering the products to French healthcare authorities for free.

  1. Stay on top of the news and conversation. Everything is changing fast and what was the right message yesterday, might not be appropriate the next day. Recognising this, is the UK government who has decided to step up its external communications and hold daily briefings to keep the public informed.
  2. Understand the needs of your customers. As people are being asked to self-isolate, or stay home, there will be a number of behaviour changes that might impact their needs, as well as how they interact with your business.

Organisations and brands and that includes governments who continue to communicate factually and with empathy at this time, have the chance to resurface from the crisis with deeper consumer, customer and public connection.

 

 

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

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

Get Legally Speaking Podcast – First UK Legal Consumer Podcast Tackling Issues People Want To Know About

It doesn’t matter for how long you have been working in PR, when you gain media success there’s nothing quite like that feeling, and it’s always sweeter when the project you are working on is purposeful – making a difference.

So, it is with great fanfare I can say that Serendipity PR & Media is delighted to be working with legal professional and entrepreneur Hatti Suvari on her new legal podcast, Get Legally Speaking, which launched on 4 November to great success!

Get Legally Speaking is Hatti’s brilliant creation and yet a simple idea. It’s the first UK legal consumer podcast tackling the issues that people want to know about, asking the questions that the public want answers to and stripping down to the facts. Hatti will be speaking to the best UK legal minds on Get Legally Speaking and will cover all issues from divorce, to family law, employee rights, customer rights and yes! Brexit rights of EU citizens.

The first episode is focused on divorce, a big topic for many as we go into Christmas. In this episode Hatti speaks with leading family law barrister Maria Scotland from 5 St Andrews Hill Chambers, London who is joint head of the family team at her chambers, finding out – how to get the divorce process started; how does it work; do both husband and wife have to agree to a divorce; how much will a divorce cost; and how long will the process take.

Hatti is passionate about making UK law easy for people to understand and says, “I come across people daily, who are confused about the legal matters that are affecting them and don’t know where to start. With the Citizens Advice Bureau’s around the country over-stretched, and with their outlets on the high-street reduced, I wanted to do something and Get Legally Speaking is the answer.”

Hatti will be covering a specific topic on each Get Legally Speaking podcast, chatting with the best legal experts, asking the questions that people need answers to in an easy way and speak. Get Legally Speaking is on Buzzsprout and can also be found on iTunes and Spotify.

Apart from running the media campaign for Get Legally Speaking, Serendipity PR & Media has helped shape the branding, the website and creative, including writing all the copy, ensuring brand alignment and the over-seeing of social media.

The PR Knowledge Book

For the last six months I have been beavering away and as a result, I know have some exciting news…I have just published my first book called, The PR Knowledge Book, published by BEP Publishing. My book arrived yesterday 13 August and it felt and still feels wonderful to hold.

I have written the book for a global audience, using my international client case stories and insights. The PR Knowledge Book is for anyone, irrespective of where they are in the world—student starting out in this industry, self-employed, a home business, small business, start-up, charity, or any other type of organization wanting to embark on their PR journey or someone just plain curious about what it all entails.

The book covers everything within the world of PR – from how to create a brand, how to use social media, how to be newsworthy, to how to contact the media, how to have a global mind-set, the power of networking, and more. Written in an easy style, packed with powerful tips and proven tools. In 12 chapters you will discover how to get your brand out there so you can attract clients and new business.

I have made sure to tackles hot topics from diversity in the newsroom to fake news. There’s also a chapter dedicated to how small businesses can go global and how serendipity can make your brand grow.

I am very proud that The PR Knowledge has already received advance praise from industry leaders world-wide and includes – Jérôme Chouchan, Godiva Chocolatier, President, Japan, South Korea, Asia and Australia; Julia Hobsbawm OBE, Editor-at-Large, THRIVE Global and author, Fully Connected: Social Health in an Age of Overload; Professor Jonathan A.J. Wilson PhD, Partner at Dragonfly Black, LinkedIn Top Voices Award Winner; Tami Belt, Author and Founder, Blue Cube Marketing Solutions, Las Vegas; Erik Korsvik Ostergaard, Leadership Advisor, published author and guest lecturer at The Copenhagen Business School; Jill Totenberg, CEO, The Totenberg Group, New York; Dr. Harbeen Arora, Founder, BIOAYURVEDA, ALL Ladies League and Women Economic Forum, India; Tom Seabrook, Commissioning Book Editor, Jawbone Press; Malcolm Stern, Co-founder and Director of Alternatives London; Raja Majid, Las Vegas Entrepreneur; Rusen Kumar, editor-chief, India CSR Network; and Asian Voice Newspaper.

Below are just some of the endorsements:

Julia Hobsbawm OBE, Editor-at-Large, THRIVE Global and author, Fully Connected: Social Health in an Age of Overload says, “Knowledge is power and this book is powerful knowledge. Clear, direct and creative: it explains the digital landscape of PR for practitioners and clients alike.”

Professor Jonathan A.J. Wilson PhD, Partner at Dragonfly Black, LinkedIn Top Voices Award Winner says, “Sangeeta is a seasoned PR professional and her wisdom is captured within this book. It’s just what the doctor ordered!”

Dr. Harbeen Arora, Founder, BIOAYURVEDA, ALL Ladies League and Women Economic Forum, India says, “I greatly welcome this book that helps us reimagine PR as ‘People Relations’, a vital tool for empowering brand and business creation in a connected world.”

Tami Belt, Author and Founder, Blue Cube Marketing Solutions, Las Vegas says, “Sangeeta Waldron is a trusted colleague and inspiration. The PR Knowledge Book shares practical and proven strategies from the front lines of PR. She outlines the building blocks of creating a Brand and PR plan that delivers results by building relationships. Business is personal. It’s about relationships. That’s the bottom line.”

Asian Voice Newspaper, UK and Europe’s leading Asian newspaper says, “If PR has always baffled you, then this is the book to read. Written in an easy style with lots of examples. It will become your best-friend.”

With US employment for public relations specialists expected to reach 282,600 in 2026, up 9 percent from 2016, according to projections from the Labor Department, it makes The PR Knowledge Book a timely read.

I hope if you do choose to buy a copy of The PR Knowledge Book, that you enjoy reading it, as much as I enjoyed writing it. The book can be bought from various online platforms including Amazon or the publisher’s website.

One last word…I have always wanted to write a book, since I was 10 years old, 40 odd years later, it shows that dreams can come true!

 

 

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

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.

 

Indiaaaaaah!!

The last time I was back in Delhi was a year ago and each time I arrive back in the city, I notice how much it has changed. It’s a place that is continuously growing with new buildings, new suburbs and new brands. It’s a hub of activity and while I was there, numerous international conferences and events were taking place.

Delhi is a place that I used to know and a place that I love. It has something called the Delhi vibe, wrapped up in its own special smell of heat and dust…and so, it was here that I found on 27 April, where I stayed till 2 May. As I was fortunate to be invited to speak at two different events – the first was at the India CSR conference on CSR and Leadership, and the other was the Women’s Economic Forum (WEF) where I spoke about the power of networking, PR and social media.

At both events I was honoured to receive two different awards, but both awards acknowledging my work, for which I am very grateful.

The first accolade was the India CSR Author’s award and I have been writing on this topic globally for more than seven years…working on this topic since the 90’s. The WEF award was for an ‘Exceptional Woman of Excellence’ in my field.

Delhi is alive, vibrant and there are huge opportunities right now for doing business, collaboration, networking and creating new ideas.

On this trip to Delhi, I also took my client, LID Publishing who publishes business books, as they are keen to explore the Indian market. It was important for them to experience India, see how it operates and breathes, and of course for me to make them a few strong introductions.

And I too was making connections for my next business venture, which is an Indian British Trade Expo taking place here in London in November, which is being supported by the House of Lords. I am proud to say that Serendipity PR is one of the media sponsors for this event.

I shall leave you with this last thought – India is set to become the third largest economy in the world.

 

 

100 FSB Women for IWD

Yesterday, 8 March 2018 marked International Women’s Day (IWD), a global celebration of women’s social, political and cultural achievements, while still pushing for progress for future generations. In the last year, we’ve seen women from all walks of life stand up and start the conversation on issues that women still face, from gender equality, to fair pay and sexual assaults. This year’s theme is #PressForProgress, a call-to-action to press forward and progress gender parity.

Thanks to two recent big social media campaigns – #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, the call for change this year has not gone unnoticed.

I am a member of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and am also on its Diversity Taskforce, and this year the FSB created a very strong and inspiring digital campaign to raise the visibility of role models for women entrepreneurs. It’s called 100 FSB Women. These women come from all sectors and each has a special story to tell and valuable advice to impart to other women.

2018 is the 100-year anniversary of when the first women got the right to vote, following the suffragettes’ campaigning, and the FSB felt it was fitting to feature 100 women FSB members and share their wealth of advice and inspiration with women all over the world.

I am very proud to be alongside these women and be part of this 100 and for my business tip to be featured by Business Leader.

The UK currently has 5.7 million small businesses and self-employed, but it is estimated that could be boosted by a further 1.2 million new enterprises led by women. This untapped business potential of women can be tackled, in part, by increasing the visibility of role models for women entrepreneurs, according to a recent FSB report.

Sadly and perhaps unfairly, research shows that women are less likely than their male counterparts to know a person in business and, as a result, have fewer opportunities to benefit from exposure to others with business experience and are less likely to see people like themselves succeeding.

Entrepreneurship was once considered a man’s domain but this is changing throughout the world – Nigeria now outranks the US and the UK in terms of percentage of entrepreneurs among women with a rate of 41% for the African country against 10% and 5.7% for the two developed countries respectively.

Yet women in Nigeria and other developing economies have shown to be 20% less likely than men to have a bank account and 17% less likely to have borrowed formally. Factors such as legal restrictions on women to open bank accounts without a male relative’s authorization are a challenge for women in the region.

While IWD is now over till next year, our work to press for progress continues – today, tomorrow, the day after that and the day after that… and the last verse of the poem, The Woods Are Lovely Dark And Deep by Robert Foster springs to mind…

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.