Astute.Work's managing director and management and PR consultant Sarah Waddington CBE shares five things related to business, PR and marketing that she's found useful and you might too.
Here at Astute.Work, we regularly bookmark articles, apps, books, podcasts and academic research that help our thinking and practice. Here I’ve curated five from the last few weeks that piqued my interest because of their implications for the world of business communications.
1. Greggs and Primark
Anyone looking for creative inspiration need look no further than the new high street collaboration between Greggs and Primark. The announcement of the roll out of a limited-edition clothing range, coupled with a pop up boutique display in Soho, set Twitter on fire at the start of February with its offer of a ‘new flavour of fashion for the very first time’. This was a clever campaign aimed directly at both companies’ core target market with the knowledge it would hit the tabloids and go viral. We only have one question: does this mean we now have to call leggings ‘Greggings’?
2.After Life
A second smart campaign will resonate with fans of Ricky Gervais’ After Life. This superb link up between Netflix and CALM has seen 25 park benches placed around the UK to encourage people to sit down and gather their own thoughts or share them with others. It’s a commendable piece of work at a time when society is increasingly fractured and charity Mind reports that one in four will experience a mental health problem each year in England. You can find one of the 25 park benches at Exhibition Park in Newcastle inscribed with the words ‘Hope everything is ok’.
3. New Twitter tool box
Twitter has published a list of recommended content scheduling, safety, and measurement tools. Buffer gets the thumbs up for scheduling; Moderate for management; Thread Reader for unrolling threads; and Followerwonk for analytics and bio searches. It’s well worth a look if you’re keen to know more about self-serve tools that can add functionality to your Twitter experience.
4. Cycle of distrust
The latest Edelman Trust Barometer is out. This well-regarded trust and credibility survey takes in 28 countries and more than 36,000 respondents. A key headline is that nearly one out of two respondents view government and media as divisive forces in society. Similarly, there is a growing expectation among members of the public that businesses must provide greater leadership in addressing societal problems. At Astute. Work we only work with purposeful organisations focused on growing their social capital. If you’d like help with this, why not give us a call.
5.Digital pile-ons
If you or someone you know has form as a keyboard warrior, time for a rethink. Proposed online safety laws as part of the government’s new online harms bill could see anyone involved with digital pile-ons or writing threatening social media posts landed with a jail sentence. If you’re a company boss, it’s worth revisiting organisational guidelines and reminding staff about the workplace policy you have in place.
