know someone brilliant? nominate them and make their day

We know that a common complaint from comms folk, and others for that matter, is a lack of recognition for their work.

Whether it’s a brilliant campaign, managing communications through a crisis or just turning up every day of the year and being the best you can be it’s not a lot to ask to get the odd ‘well done’ or ‘thank you’.

But it doesn’t happen often enough and that is the ultimate reason behind the comms2point UnAwards 15. To shine a light on the colleagues proudly flying comms flags across the sectors.

by Darren Caveney

Now there’s only one thing better than being shortlisted for an award and that’s being nominated by someone else for an award. It’s a special thing.  It means you’ve caught someone’s eye, demanded their attention or impressed them with your creativity, doggedness, enthusiasm and skills.

Know someone like that? Then why not nominate them in the UnAwards 15.

All you need to do is complete this dead easy entry form here.

Read more
Print Friendly and PDF
Tags , , , , , , , , , , ,

10 gems to take home from #psdigital

An event for public sector comms people was staged in Cardiff. There was a lorry load of learning. Here's a snapshot from one of the organisers.

 by Will Barker

Last week in Cardiff saw the culmination of a good few months of work for Kate Hammond (@GlamHamm) and myself (@willdotbarker) – yes Will and Kate and no, not that Will and Kate – at our #PSdigital conference that we’d set out to organise on behalf of 1000 Lives Improvement and Public Health Wales.

Cool, but what exactly was #PSdigital?

We’re glad you asked (I’d recommend taking a look at the hashtag or this Storify if you have five minutes, which you probably do as you’re reading this blog).

Read more
Print Friendly and PDF
In Tags , , , ,

read all about it - a story from before the smartphone

There's a generation of people now who have never bought a newspaper. Ever. And even for those of us who have it's more an occasional, old skool treat for a train trip or a day sat away from screens. So it's good to be reminded of the sway they once had, and, in some areas, still do...

by GUEST EDITOR Will Mapplebeck

My first job in journalism was with the Westmorland Gazette in Kendal in the Lake District.

God, I was bored. I sometimes joke that I was there for almost three years and absolutely nothing happened.

There was one murder.

It was my week off and I missed it.

New Labour was elected, Princess Diana died, the IRA blew up half of Manchester city centre. There was a palpable sense that Britain could be on the cusp of big change.

But not in Kendal or its picturesque patch which still resembled what George Orwell was talking about when he described 'old maids cycling to Holy Communion through the morning mist'.

Read more
Print Friendly and PDF
In Tags , , , , , , ,

your new 3-person comms team. who makes the cut?

Very rarely in life do you get to choose a brand new comms team from absolute scratch. You normally inherit folk and work with what you've got. But what if you had a blank sheet and the chance to choose. Who would make the cut?

by GUEST EDITOR Ben Capper

Let’s just say you were creating a Comms team totally from scratch.

Let’s also say it can only include three people.

Sure, you could always buy in a bit of agency time here and there, but that’s essentially your lot.

Who makes the cut? Who doesn’t? Why so?

Would this be the same as it would have been five years, or even a year ago?

How do we future-proof ourselves? What experience, and what attitudes would you want to see?

Read more
Print Friendly and PDF
In Tags , , , , , , , , ,

is ave really dead in pr measurement?

Measurement and evaluation. Fundamental to any effective piece of communications activity, project or campaign. Of course, there are lots of ways in which to do it these days. But should the much derided AVEs be consigned to the bin in the corner forever, or do they have a small part to play after all?

By Nicky Speed

Put your hand in the bucket those who know that the CIPR will disqualify you if you enter one of their awards and include ad value equivalency (AVE) as a measure of success? No, not something I was acutely aware of either - until I attended an event on managing major events and some of the key speakers used the dreaded AVE word!

Now I’m not saying for one minute that we hurtle back to the days when this was pretty much the only performance indicator we used for PR. But should we discount it completely when sometimes it’s the only language that some of our boards, trustees or stakeholders understand?

PR measurement has become a bone of contention in the communications sector. For many industries, services can be measured and return on investment can be easily quantified. This is not the case in our world and I know that many of us are struggling to get to grips with evaluating our work and showing our worth.

Read more
Print Friendly and PDF
In , Tags , , , , , ,

a message from cipr presidential candidate Jason MacKenzie

The CIPR is a membership body for public relations in the UK. It is a major voice for the profession. In the race for the Presidency of the organisation Andy Green takes on Jason MacKenzie. We carry a message from both Andy and Jason.

by Jason MacKenzie

The PR industry remains at a critical juncture. Many people still don’t understand or appreciate the value we create for organisations.

The CIPR’s mandate to unite practitioners in the drive to professionalism is vital. We’re on the right track. Now is not the time to zig-zag or to go off on a tangent.

There are three specific areas I will concentrate on, if I’m elected president.

Read more
Print Friendly and PDF
In , Tags , , , ,

a message from cipr presidential candidate andy green

The CIPR is a membership body for public relations in the UK. It is a major voice for the profession. In the race for the Presidency of the organisation Andy Green takes on Jason McKenzie. We carry a message from both Andy and Jason.

by Andy Green 

Public sector comms faces massive challenges in this age of austerity.

Digital transformation continues. We are working in an increasingly networked society where old models of command and control are now no longer valid.

 A context of ever rising expectations starkly contrasts with a reality of less resource.

We face the task of ensuring CEO’s understand the value of public relations.

An effective CIPR means you don’t fight these battles alone. A CIPR that increases your resilience. A CIPR that leads the way in redefining a ‘New School PR’ that helps you prove your worth.

I’m going to put a plaque in CIPR HQ reception saying: ‘We are a members led organization’.

Read more
Print Friendly and PDF
In , Tags , , , , , , , ,

top tips for success in the UnAwards 2015

We know many of you are working on your entries and nominations for the UnAwards 2015. We thought it would be useful to share some top tips on giving you the best shot at success this year.

By Darren Caveney

You have six weeks to work on your entries.  Sounds plenty of time doesn't it?  But the deadline will be here before you know it.

We’ve all left award entries until the last minute in the past due to other competing work demands. But is that what your best work this year deserves? No, course not.

So use the time wisely and have a think about which of the 15 categories are a best fit with the activity and projects you are most proud of. Grab a coffee, sit somewhere quiet for 10 minutes with a pencil and a piece of paper and begin sketching out your ideas or a small mind map for your entry. Focus on the best way to make it stand out from the crowd.

Read more
Print Friendly and PDF
In Tags , , , , , , , , , ,

10 years of being a head of comms and what do I have to show for it?

10 years in communications is a long time. 10 years being a head of comms is a really long time. Lessons are a plenty so here’s a post which attempts to capture the key ones.

By Darren Caveney

Well here’s the thing. I woke up this morning and for the first time in 10-years I am not a head of comms. This is a good thing because it means I have moved on to an exciting new phase of my career.

It’s an obvious time to reflect. Has 10 years of being a head of comms made me a better comms professional? And would I recommend the role to someone else? Here’s my take on it, my top tips and answers to these two simple questions.

I have had some fantastic opportunities. Worked with some brilliant colleagues. Won over a dozen industry awards with them and learned way more than you could ever capture in a single post. I have also sat in some dreary meetings. Had to argue the case for comms, over and over and over and over, and crossed swords with some quite unpleasant people. The rough with the smooth. You know the score.

Read more
Print Friendly and PDF
In Tags , , , , , , , , , , ,

measuring experience and engagement with intranets

The Intranet Now event is on the horizon. It's an excellent event that seeks to celebate and showcase some of the best work in the field. As one of its organisers says, user experience is of growing importance. 

by Wedge Black and Brian Lamb

The clearest indicator of a successful intranet is that people can use it to get things done: finding a person; booking time off; checking a part number; reading the latest news. Can they do these things? How easily? What percentage of people trying to do them are successful? To discover these success indicators, you have to do some form of usability testing.

The ‘user experience’ is of growing importance as the workplace becomes more and more the digital workplace.

Read more
Print Friendly and PDF
In Tags , ,

don't turn an emergency into a crisis

If you are public sector there's a strong chance you'll be involved in emergency communications. It could be anything from a protest march to a terrorist incident. It's a fascinating part of the job. But isn't that crisis comms? Well, actually no...

by Ben Proctor 

I tell people that I work in emergency communications and, to be honest, most of them suddenly find they have an urgent appointment.

The vast majority of those that are too slow to make a convincing excuse will almost immediately say

“So, you work in crisis comms do you?” and I will almost certainly say

“Yes” because I don’t want them to leave and, really, what does it matter?

Actually I think it matters quite a lot.

Read more
Print Friendly and PDF
In Tags , , , , ,

the UnAwards are open

The comms2point0 UnAwards 2015 are now officially open. How can you enter? how can you nominate and how can you attend them? Here’s the lowdown…

By Darren Caveney

So you’ve delivered some great work this year which has made a difference. And you might just feel like it deserves a little smidge of recognition. Well you’re in luck because the comms2point0 UnAwards have arrived giving you the opportunity to show off your best work.

It might be a social media initiative which delivered amazing returns or it might be a shiny new website which has made your online business purr. How about a campaign which has made a difference to your residents, patients or customers. Or a good old fashioned piece of great storytelling.

Whatever you’ve created this year there’s almost certainly a category amongst the 15 in this year’s UnAwards.

Read more
Print Friendly and PDF
In Tags , , , , , , , , , , ,

the UnAwards are back

Following their huge success and popularity in 2014, the comms2point0 UnAwards return on 3 December 2015, even bigger and better than last year but still remaining true to their original ethos.

By Darren Caveney

The UnAwards are our opportunity to showcase great work and celebrate a hugely creative and dedicated community.

Why ‘UnAwards’, you ask? Well they’re a deliberate alternative to the £300-a-pop, black tie, swanky London hotel event awards machine which exists in our industry. 

That’s not a slight on these events – if you have been to one of them, and won an award in the process, you’ll have felt pretty good about the whole thing.

But for many the cost has become prohibitive. This is making the awards landscape a bit, well, ‘exclusive’.

That’s not how we like to do things. We’re more Sundance Film Festival than Oscars Ceremony.

The UnAwards are accessible to the entire comms, pr, marketing and digital community and, importantly, will recognise the contributions of colleagues across the sectors for their creative endeavours over the past 12-months.

Read more
Print Friendly and PDF
In Tags , , , , , , , , , , ,

Cwrdd mewn cae

Mae ymwneud, gwrando a siarad yn sgiliau cyfathrebu allweddol. I Gomisiynydd y Gymraeg mae hyn yn golygu sefyll mewn cae - yn llythrennol. Yn ein herthygl ddwyieithog cyntaf rydym yn edrych ar sut beth yw ymwneud i sefydliad ble mae diwylliant yn elfen allweddol.

Gwyn Williams

Dwi’n siŵr ‘sa ni gyd yn cytuno mae’r ffordd orau o “ymwneud” yw i ni, y cyfathrebwyr, fynd ar y bobl yn hytrach na fel arall.

Dyna pam mae Comisiynydd y Gymraeg yn mynychu tri o ddigwyddiadau mawr Cymru, gan roi’r cyfle i dros hanner miliwn o bobl alw heibio i ddweud “helo”, i gwyno, i wneud sylw, i awgrymu, mynnu, holi a pob ffurf ar eiriau arall sy’n bosib mewn sgwrs.

Read more
Print Friendly and PDF
In Tags , , , , , ,

engaging in a different field... literally

Engaging, listening and talking is a key comms skill. For the Welsh Language CommissionER this involves standing in a field - literally. In our first bilingual post we look at what engagement looks like for an organisation where cultural is a key element.

by Gwyn Williams

I’m sure we’d all agree that for effective “engagement” to happen it is much better for us, the communicators, to go to our target audience, rather than the other way round.

That’s why the Welsh Language Commissioner attends three large annual events in Wales giving over half a million people the opportunity to stop by her stand, to say “hello”, complain, suggest, demand, propose, enquire, insist and every other word that the thesaurus can come up with!

Read more
Print Friendly and PDF
In Tags , , , , , , , ,