Distinctive Dispatch #19: Crafting credibility in changing times
Putting spokespeople forward; join our webinar with Bristol City Council’s leader; how to make the most of your development’s green features; help us tackle holiday hunger in Bristol this Christmas
Better comms for people, places and work
This edition lands in the slipstream of Labour’s first budget in more than 14 years. It followed extensive speculation and sparked widespread commentary from media, experts and business leaders on how it affects their sectors. We won’t know the true impact for some time. But the Chancellor’s focus on leveraging £40bn in tax rises for investment and rebuilding the public realm while supporting growth feels big.
Thanks as ever for supporting our newsletter. If you have thoughts or suggestions on what you’d like us to cover in future, let us know in the comments or get in touch.
Our post-budget tips for media engagement
The BBC captured the West Country’s immediate reactions to the budget with The Forum in the heart of Gloucester city centre as its backdrop. We were pleased to facilitate this visit as part of our support for the £107m mixed use development.
Billed as a prime business destination on one of the year’s biggest news days, opportunities like these don’t appear out of nothing. They come from consistent, engaging media relations that tell a development’s story and show its impact over several years.
When you think of PR and media relations, you might think press releases. Thought leadership and comment opportunities play a crucial role in building authority, reputation and trust too. And having a great story with reliable, accessible spokespeople helps massively.
The budget and the recent general election present great opportunities for worthwhile commentary. They also point to a wider mood and sense of priorities that businesses must take heed of and respond to.
We’re fortunate to work with clients who are already leading the way in many of the areas heading towards us – in sustainable investment, skills, inclusion and responsible place-making.
We look forward to working with them to address the challenges and seize the opportunities ahead of us.
How to make the most of the next big opportunity
If you’re considering putting spokespeople forward for big stories, here are some tips to keep in mind.
Be true to your values: Understanding what you stand for will help you to pick the subject areas that you want to be known for. It’ll also make it easier for you to lead the discussion if you’re passionate and expert about it.
Have something valuable to say: Don’t speak for the sake of it, as you’ll soon come unstuck and sound inauthentic. Ask yourself: do I have something authoritative, insightful and genuinely useful to contribute?
Show, don’t tell: Messages without evidence are slogans. Back your points up with examples. If you’re saying your company champions its staff, highlight your initiatives. You operate a sustainable business? Prove it. You’re saying something will impact the industry? Explain what the impact is. Your actions and achievements speak for themselves.
Understand journalists’ needs: Making the journalist’s job easier helps to build strong relationships. Respect deadlines, understand the outlet’s requirements and provide collateral such as logos, photos and briefing notes promptly. Remember, you are there to facilitate and not direct. Don’t insist that they use messages or facts to suit your agenda. Our recent webinar with business journalist Rob Buckland covers this in more detail.
Plan and anticipate opportunities: Fiscal events like the budget and other milestones in the news calendar provide opportunities to engage the media – if you have something valid to say. Get ready for these. Prepare statements on these in advance. Having them approved and to hand will mean you can move quickly when an opportunity arises. As we’ve touched on before, putting out a statement on the budget a week after it’s happened wastes your time and damages your credibility.
Positioning yourself or key people in your business reliable, expert voices is a great way to showcase your expertise and build credibility.
We help clients to find, secure and craft media opportunities that demonstrate their expertise. Get in touch if you think we could help.
Join our webinar with the first Green Party member to lead Bristol City Council
Hot on the heels of the budget, we’re delighted to welcome the first Green Party member to lead Bristol City Council as the guest on our next Distinctive Discussion.
Bristolian Tony Dyer took the reins as council leader in May this year, at a time of local and national change.
Our webinar will explore how he and his Green Party colleagues are managing the transition to the committee-led model of governance in the face of financial pressures facing the council. There’s an opportunity for attendees to ask questions too. If there’s anything you’d like to ask, please sign up and get your questions to us.
Things we’ve seen
Last month saw a Heinz miss the mark with a billboard ad depicting a Black bride eating spaghetti as family members look on in concern (that white dress!). Critics on social media pointed out the apparent erasure of the bride’s father could perpetuate outdated and harmful stereotypes about absent Black dads. Heinz apologised and pulled the ad. Not a great look – especially during Black History Month – and a timely reminder of why greater diversity within advertising is key. Marketing blunders can be avoided by including members of the communities featured at all stages of the creative process.
Things we’ve read
Press releases have become way too hyperbolic - Adweek: Groundbreaking. Thrilling. Cutting-edge. Research by PR Newswire shows an increase in the use of hyperbolic language in press releases over recent years. But, more than half of journalists said they “would cut off contact with a PR professional for sending a pitch that sounds like a marketing brochure” – ouch! The advice? Stand up your claims, speak plainly, and stick to newsworthy content – which is what we aim to do at Distinctive. Disclaimer: the report looks at US data, but we’d wager it’s a similar trend here in the UK.
A radical approach to flooding in England: give land back to the sea - New York Times: Football writer Rory Smith reports from Somerset on amazing attempts to tackle flooding on the levels by deliberately flooding land on the coast. Ten years on from the project’s uneasy start and political criticism, this piece sets out the transformative result. Congratulations to WWT and other partners for showing the foresight and courage to deliver the scheme and stick with it.
Things we’ve heard
Taking a ‘less is more’ approach – Management Today’s Leadership Lessons: Defined objectives and a clear strategy are core to a successful business, but clarity on how to reach them is also key. Research from the Project Management Institute found that bad business strategies cost the global economy one million dollars every 20 seconds. This Podcast explores how ‘strategic minimalism’ could combat this, with each team focusing on no more than three goals. Every resource put into one project has to be diverted from another, so actions need to be purposeful.
TBE Awards 2024 – the highlights: Huge congratulations to our client Nine Feet Tall on winning the ‘Flying the Flag for the South West’ award at the inaugural celebrations for regional business. Founder and CEO Esther McMorris spoke to broadcaster Graham Seaman at the event on what the award means to them (hear Esther from 43:39). We were pleased to be a finalist in ‘Best Creative Campaign’ category for our engagement work in Cheddar Gorge. Well done to friends at Clearly PR who took home that accolade.
Things we’ve said
SuDS and glory: why developers should focus on stories about their greenest features: Homebuilders and developers are keen to demonstrate their green credentials. But are they overlooking the features right under their feet? Rules introduced in February 2024 mean that all new building projects must achieve a 10% net gain in biodiversity or habitat. It’s no longer enough to just limit the damage done to ecosystems. Companies must ensure that natural habitats are left in a better state than they were before development took place. You can use these features to deliver a net gain in your communications too.
DP World storm highlights big questions about our economy: Recent investment in the UK by DP World at London Gateway highlights tension between attracting global capital and improving workers' rights that go to the heart of government. Ben’s blog looks beyond the headlines about a disrupted investment conference to ask about the values behind foreign investments, and how these contribute to genuinely inclusive, sustainable growth.
Finally…
Help us tackle holiday hunger in Bristol this Christmas
As the festive season approaches, thousands of children in Bristol face the reality of going without enough to eat during the holidays. We’re backing a campaign with Community of Purpose, Bristol Post and Bristol Live to raise £25,000 by Christmas to support 1,000 disadvantaged children with meals and a memorable celebration.
With more than 17,000 pupils in the city relying on free school meals, the campaign needs the support of local businesses to reach as many young people as possible. Join us in making a difference. You can find a link to the full story and how to support below.
📷: Dougie Allward.
Look out for our next update on 6 December. We hope you found this useful. If you’d like to share or discuss anything before the next edition, please leave a comment or get in touch.