Compelling compliance? Why not?
Let’s talk about annual and compliance reports…
If you’re still here, well done! The truth is that every annual report I’ve ever seen, including the ones I’ve been involved in producing, have one thing in common…they’re boring. They suffer more than just about any other document of “it’s how we’ve always done it” syndrome. There are over 4 million of them written in the UK every year and they still seem to occupy a space largely void of creativity simply because they carry the dual weights of compliance tradition.
Which is why, if you’re still reading, you’re about to have an opportunity to flip that convention on its head.
In an industry full of people demanding compelling storytelling, why aren’t we using the document that is literally responsible for telling your company’s story in a more engaging way? The missed opportunity here is enormous! Here’s my top 4 tips for reimagining the world of compliance documents.
1 Liven up your data
Break up wordy sections with graphs, infographics and other creative ways of painting a data-led picture. Not only will it stop your document from looking like a tome, it will appeal to a wider range of readers. Some people take information in with text, others with numbers and others with images so don’t limit yourself to only one of these.
2 Talk about impact
Often a company will feel the pressure to include detailed information about each facet of the organisation. You don’t want to leave anything or anyone out after all. However, all this competing noise will just dilute your message. Let your team know that the report will be audience-focused, highlighting the things that you have done that people will be able to see or relate to the impact. There are plenty of other avenues to celebrate the detail of your work – talk to your IC team, believe me, they will be full of creative ideas.
3 Make it a content source
You are required to produce annual reports so why not make it useful for more than one thing? If you have compelling content, you’ve automatically created something that can be repurposed for press releases, blogs, social media and your intranet. If you approach it with this mindset, that you’re writing for an audience rather than a bookshelf, you’ll be using mandatory compliance time to save money and effort in other areas.
4 Tell your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) story
Of course you need to talk about your bottom line but what about the strides you’ve made in the CSR space? I bet there are some great tales to be told around topics as wide-ranging as you community impact to diversity initiatives. These will not only help tell your brand and values story but also, attract like-minded consumers, advertisers and sponsors to your cause.
If this sounds like something you'd like to explore further, you don't have to do it on your own. Contact the team at Periwinkle PR and we'd love to have a free discussion with you.
Are robots going to take my job?
This is an actual question I was asked by a team member a few years back, in the heady days before Gen AI was common parlance. Even before Chat GPT was on everyone’s phones, he was concerned that the pace of technology would overtake the need for communicators.
It forced me to consider how valid his concerns were, after all, he wasn’t alone. The ONS has reported that 32% - nearly one in three - Brits are worried that AI could take their jobs away.
As he was a junior member in the team, a lot of his work would be the first to be automated. Data analysis, reporting, drafting early copy, and maintaining action logs and meeting summaries. I could see why he was a bit worried but rather than exacerbating his concerns, I set him two challenges.
Tell me what you can do as a person that can’t be automated?
What are you doing personally to stay ahead of the tech curve?
He went away from our catch up to do some thinking about this and a couple of weeks later asked to present at our next team meeting. He ran an interactive session where he pitched his thoughts on those challenges and got the rest of the team to discuss their thinking. In so many ways, this answered my questions – he showed initiative, leadership and facilitation skills, none of which AI can currently do for us. He also worked on a learning programme to help the team enhance their tech skills. Something that continued to grow as technology inevitably advanced.
So no, robots aren’t going to take your job (yet!) but they will change it. The real challenge to our industry is showing adaptability and being prepared to adopt change.
Want to know more about how AI can support your PR and comms team? Contact us at Periwinkle PR for a free consultation.
Just ask for help
An all-too-common misstep companies make is relegating vital comms work, especially IC, to “side of desk”. That is, assigning the work to someone who already has a role, treating it as an add on or “stretch task”. I understand that businesses need to be as efficient as possible but often the pressure this puts on that person is overlooked. How do I know this? Because I’ve worked for and with them. And what did I see every time? Resentment. Disappointment. Stress. Anger. Oh, and more than once, someone leaving.
Picture this: you’re given work you weren’t hired for or qualified to do. You say yes because your manager asked, and you thought you could make it work. You start with some comms tactics that you’ve seen other places do but the needle isn’t moving. You end up feeling judged and to top it off, find yourself failing, whether in your regular work which is now a little sidelined due to the new “comms lead” you were gifted or in the new comms portfolio that is a lot more complicated and time consuming that you had realised. Your confidence suffers and you’re constantly stressed. Then it gets worse - your boss is disappointed. From their perspective, it’s not hard and you said you could manage. You’re angry and it’s fair enough because in so many ways you’ve been set up to fail. A situation that was supposed to solve problems has just created a mountain of new ones.
So what can be done differently?
If you see a gap, don’t just ask someone to do more, give them the tools to actually do it. Look for some help. The right agency can come in and provide a strategy that aligns business goals with clear comms actions your team can execute with confidence or ask for the training your people need to feel good about what they’re being asked to do.
Bottom line is that supporting your team sometimes means temporarily augmenting your team so get in touch with us at Periwinkle to talk through how we can help that person in your team who is talented, unintentionally overworked, and just needs a partner.
It's coming home
With the Euro final tomorrow, football is at fever pitch in England right now which has got me thinking about the unlikely parallels between PR pros and footballers.
We deliver on the pitch
When you’re trying to land your dream client, your success relies largely on your pitch. How you put your best foot forward and demonstrate your worth. The same goes for the brave men and women who put themselves out there in the competitive arena that is football. Ultimately, while behind the scenes matters, you live and die on the pitch.
We value goals
In PR, tactics are pointless without a clear goal in mind. It’s what drives us and prioritises our work. In football, well, whether you’re scoring them with a Bellingham-style bicycle kick or defending them like a Pickford penalty, goals matter.
We’re resilient
You’re not going to win them all. Sometimes, even with the best preparation and intent, things don’t go your way. The best PR pros and footballers know this and strive to learn from what’s happened and become better for it.
We’re always training
Your body and mind need constant challenge to stay sharp. PR pros treat every day as a school day, always incorporating CPD to remain ahead of trends and best practice. Similarly, there isn’t a successful footballer alive that doesn’t focus their physical and mental energy on training to be the best possible version of themselves.
We’re part of a team
Whether it’s your literal team mates, people behind the scenes or strategic partners, no man (or woman!) is an island. We’re only as good as the people around us and the best PR pros and footballers know that you’re only as strong as the sum of your parts.
So with the Euro final due to be played tomorrow, the team at Periwinkle are behind the English, especially our Arsenal boys, Saka, Rice and Ramsdale!
Trust me...
The UK general election is looming and it’s led me to think about politicians. People’s trust in them is at an all time low but what could PR do to improve the situation? After all, reputation management is one of our core functions so here are my top 4 tips for restoring confidence in politicians.
Be the real you
We constantly hear about authenticity but what does that mean in practice, and can it realistically be achieved? With constant audience analysis and segmentation, politicians are often pushed towards positions and characterisations that aren’t natural to them and the result often comes off as inconsistent or, even worse, fake. But how can you avoid this when your job security is based on public opinion? I believe you need to find at least 3 issues that you are genuinely passionate about and stick to them as your core values with no room to compromise. This might risk your position if it doesn’t fit in with your party’s core values but in that case are you even the right fit in the first place? By platforming yourself on your values, and aligning yourself with real causes, you will become known for that significantly more than the other policies you vote through.
Make it relevant
Anyone else sick of being bombarded with numbers and statistics? Sure, talking about record investment may sound impressive on paper but it doesn’t connect with people whose lived experiences can’t be found on a spreadsheet. Showing the actual difference your ideas will make in real people’s lives carries significantly more weight. You’ll naturally be seen as more trustworthy and accessible. I’d go even further and say that the more relevant to people’s lives you make your content, the more people will see space for themselves in politics rather than it being a nebulous concept that only members of a certain class can be a part of. This movement towards inclusivity can only be a good thing.
Mind the gap
Speaking of inclusivity, who you trust behind the scenes to advise you is all too often a non-inclusive space. By that I mean it’s easy to surround yourself with those with a shared background. Need some evidence on this? Simply look at the educational backgrounds of politicians and their special advisors. And what does that cause? It limits your perspective. It’s why we see politicians speaking in ways that possibly make sense in a room full of people who agree with you but look disconnected and untrustworthy to the majority. What if people looked for their gaps and hired advisors based on those? People who could give actual lived advice rather than confirmation? I believe that this broader range of views would drastically improve the scrutiny of positions and help our politicians demonstrate a more empathetic world view.
Be a grown up
Between showing off on TikTok and going for a zinger at PMQs you could be forgiven for thinking that politicians aren’t taking this very seriously and that’s a mistake. Let’s showcase and normalise constructive conversations rather than point scoring. I’d certainly trust a politician who debates a policy and gives a straight answer to a question like a proper adult. Sure, have a little fun but not at the expense of your credibility.
My favourite teachers
Every day’s a school day and I’ve recently found myself acknowledging some unexpected teachers.
My dogs are very much part of my family. I like to think I’ve taught them well but lately I’ve been thinking about the things I’ve learned from them.
Keep it simple
We have a tendency in our industry to overcomplicate things. For some reason, when something is committed to writing, we bring out multi-syllabic words that we, quite frankly, would never use in every day conversation. Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and a place for that but it’s much less of the time that you think. My dogs remind me that basic commands are pretty damn effective. I’m not suggesting you walk into a client meeting and ask people to “sit” and “stay” but it’s absolutely worth spending some time defining exactly what you want your audience to do and keeping the way you communicate that simple.
Just move
In the process of setting up Periwinkle I walked my dogs a lot and realised that not only was I shedding some of those office-brownie-indulgent pounds but that my mind was becoming unleashed (pun intended) in a way that I hadn’t felt in a long time. I was giving myself more time to think rather than being stuck in a constant cycle of respond and react. I wasn’t getting dozens of teams messages, scores of emails and endless phone calls every hour so I had this newfound luxury of truly enjoying the outdoors. Now the phone is ringing again and the emails are pretty relentless but I prioritise movement every day to get the creative juices flowing.
Press play
Similar to the last point, when you’re working constantly you can forget about the importance of just letting your imagination run riot. I look at my dogs playing with their toys and having funny dreams when they’re barking and running and I can’t help but think we lose something special when we grow up and stop playing. Now I make sure I find fun in something every day – I actively seek out laughter in my life. It’s not always easy but it’s always possible. Laughter and fun fuel that child-like creativity and make me better at what I do. How often are we asked to be creative without being allowed space to play around and find it? Thanks in part to my dogs I now seek creative solutions rather than just finding problems which is such a big part of play.
You've got a friend
Some days things are really hard. Whether it’s a tricky situation, not having enough hours in the day, or trying to make the books balance – stress is real! But did you know that patting your dog can actually increase endorphins, oxytocin and dopamine while reducing cortisol (the stress hormone) and blood pressure? So when I’m really up against it, spending a few minutes with my dog can emotionally and physically help. After all, a happy worker is a productive worker. They’re not called man’s best friend for nothing.
Woof!
More than a logo
We all have a brand that sticks with us. For me, it’s Nike. As soon as you see the iconic “swoosh” you know exactly what brand you’re looking at. But it’s bigger than that. I know it stands for quality, excellence and getting off the couch to “just do it”. It’s aspirational, motivational and tightly connected to sport which makes absolute sense given it’s a company that sells sportswear.
Ultimately, Nike wants you to buy a pair of trainers and maybe some new athleisure wear but their branding is what makes you choose them in what is, quite frankly, a crowded field. It’s a carefully crafted strategy to make you feel a certain way and believe a certain thing simply by seeing an image or reading some words.
You can go back a few years to when they put Michael Jordan front and centre of their campaigns – a spokesperson for aspiration and excellence, surrounded by children who wanted to “be like Mike”. It’s so clever. Jordan is the personification of their brand, creating a human connection and spreading their message into almost borderless communities. It’s also no accident that there are children involved. It’s targeting a group who are known to want to keep up with their peers and that something being cool is very important. How many parents had their kids desperately pointing them towards Nike when out on a reluctant shop for clothes? I know mine were.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that when you’re looking at your brand, don’t just think about your logo. That will leave you at the back of the pack. Think about your identity – who you are, what your promise is and what your customers can expect – and that’s your brand.
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